Good evening from Ireland

Submitted by Sara on Fri, 08/13/2010 - 6:31pm

Just popping online in Belfast to say things are great! We miss everybody back home and wanted to share a few highlights from the thousand or so pictures we've taken. Enjoy!


Wicklow Mountains

It's my turn!

Submitted by Eliana on Sun, 07/25/2010 - 3:01pm

I have been spending so much time watching William play baseball or swim in the big pool. Now it's my turn to do some activities and he gets a chance to sit and watch me. He liked taking pictures at dance class and even a few movies. Daddy came with to our last class to get a couple of nice videos of me. Mommy put them to a song sung by Laurie Berkner, my favorite singer! You can also see me at my swimming lessons doing a poem that I really like about a turtle called Tiny Tim.

My latest adventures

Submitted by Eliana on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 5:09pm

We have been having so much fun lately! I want to tell you about everything that's been going on. I'll start with today and then go back as far as I can remember. So...

Today we went strawberry picking! I had been waiting to pick strawberries for a long time. Last year we got to go in the barn and see the baby goats and I wanted to go really bad. But there was no one in there. Everyone was in the fields for the last day of picking berries. I picked a lot of berries. And ate a lot, too! But there were still plenty to bring home to eat and make into jam.

Yesterday was a quiet day. I slept until 10:00. Then I got to help make brunch. William and I made the waffles. While Mommy was turning the sausages, I snuck a little extra vanilla in the batter. Everyone agreed that it was a delicious addition! The sausages also got a little blackened with all those hands in the kitchen. But we decided that was a good change, too! After lunch, I took a nice long nap so I would be ready for my first dance class! Mommy and I got to dance together! And the teacher asked me to help demonstrate the side step. I was very brave and agreed to hold her hands while we stepped down the line.

On the 4th of July, William and I got to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house while Mommy and Daddy went to a baseball game. They were pretty excited and so were we. Because Grandma and Grandpa brought us to Big Fish Lake to play in the water with friends. I even jumped off the raft twice! Grandpa caught me. After the lake, it was time for big fireworks! It got pretty late for me because the fireworks were delayed by a helicopter coming to the hospital. And then we stayed for a little ice cream (I ate mostly cherries) while we waited for the crowds to walk past. But I didn't mind staying up late. I was having so much fun!

The two days before that we had a family reunion at Grandma Barb's house. There were a lot of people there to see. I was a little shy with the grownups, but I had lots of fun playing outside with the other kids. We played and swam and ate lots of junk food. We even got to go out on the boat with Grandpa Ron and see fireworks on the river on Saturday!

Well, that's as far back as I can remember. I have a few pictures and will probably have some dance pictures soon. I hope you're having as much fun as I am this summer!

I love Picasa! It was so easy to get rid of all the mosquito bites on her face. I don't know why they always have to get her right between the eyes! She's apparently the tasty one in the family.

'Plip plop 'plide

Submitted by William on Sat, 06/26/2010 - 9:22pm

Me and Eliana had a blast with our new "Soak and Splash!" And I just had a little too much fun because I ran on the slip and slide and bumped my head. That's all I need to tell you about that. But there's something else I need to tell you. And I had another little too much fun because almost every time my knee started hurting. And we got to use it two times today!

What we've been doing this summer (videos)

Submitted by Sara on Wed, 06/23/2010 - 7:40pm

We've been busy this summer. William's been playing baseball, although half the games have been rained out so far. He's also started piano lessons. He has had four lessons and already he is using both hands and the pedal! A couple more classes and he'll get to start playing on the white keys. Here's a video of his most recent song:

Eliana is following William around a lot lately. Unfortunately, she isn't able to go to his birthday parties, or on the ball field, or in the big swimming pool (today was also his first day of swimming lessons.) But soon she'll start dance class and her own swimming lessons. And her friend Katie often comes for play dates. Katie is also two, which Eliana will gladly tell you. Ellie especially loves arts and crafts. She's very handy with her scissors, so keep a close eye on all your important papers when you're around her!

Happy Father's Day!

Submitted by Sara on Sat, 06/19/2010 - 10:45pm

We are all so happy that Daddy is home! William has another set of ears to tell all that he's learned about Bakugan from the book he got at the library. Eliana was beside herself all day. She jabbered on about Daddy on the big airplane and going to pick him up at the airport. After we got home, she giggled as she watched him mow the lawn out her bedroom window. She was so happy he was going to sleep in his own bedroom and be home. On my part, I'm thrilled to have another grown up in the house. Just in time for Father's Day!

We let Darren open up his gifts tonight, which he picked out himself and they were fortunately delivered while he was away. He got a GPS system, something he felt he absolutely needed and I was dead set against. So I think wrapping it up for him for Father's Day was especially generous of me! Don't you? Upon opening it, he asked William if he thought it knew where we were. William, in all his wisdom, promptly replied, "Yeah, OUR house!"

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

What a day!

Submitted by Sara on Thu, 06/17/2010 - 11:41pm

Before the tornado warning, running out in the rain to see the beautiful rainbow, playing in the rain, finding a crawfish in the grass, and the cat bringing me a mouse it had caught in the house during our bedtime routine, but after taking down Eliana's crib, I happened to catch the kids on video singing a Laurie Berkner song (at least they sang the chorus, the verse was more of a mumbling). There are quite the photos in the June album from today's adventures. And here's the video:

Follow Me in San Fran

Submitted by Darren on Wed, 06/16/2010 - 1:25am

As we traveled around San Francisco, we marked the sights we visited and places we ate. Oh, and if you don't see the new sail boat and Golden Gate Bridge background of the site, click the "Golden Gate" button in the Themes block to the right.

From San Francisco

Submitted by Sara on Sun, 06/13/2010 - 12:14am

I'm signing in from San Francisco. Our 13th anniversary is in two days and this year Darren had the opportunity to plan our trip. I was surprised when he handed me a boarding pass for a flight to San Francisco after we arrived at the airport.

We've had the most amazing weather here this week. It was perfect for a wine tour in Napa Valley yesterday. Today we enjoyed a gorgeous hike in Muir Woods to experience the majestic redwood forest. In between times we've enjoyed walking the streets of San Francisco: Chinatown, trolley cars, Fisherman's Wharf, and the farmer's market. Tomorrow we're thinking of visiting Golden Gate Park. But we also have to switch hotels, which will be sad because the Omni has been wonderful! Darren has a conference starting on Monday at our new hotel, so hopefully it will be half as nice as this. I'm not expecting a rose from the doorman, complementary coffee and juice at my door in the morning, or champagne in the evening. I'll just enjoy those things while they last.

I've overheard quite a few funny things since we've been here. Many of which came from some Aussie friends we met on the wine tour. That was "full on!" But the two that stick in my memory the most were these:

In the Muir Woods, a group of three adults sat down on a bench to eat, which you are not supposed to do in the woods. One woman made sure to tell her friends, "Don't feed the animals!!!" The other loudly replied, "What animals?!? I haven't seen any animals!" (Darren and I had seen a chipmunk, a mother deer and her two fawns during our quiet stroll.)

Last night, as we were walking back to the hotel along the piers, a large mob of inline skaters and a few mountain bikers zoomed past us with music blaring. There continued to be a few stragglers as we continued on our walk. We were getting pretty tired and could empathize with those skaters who were lagging behind. But about a half hour after the first of the skaters passed, one lonely guy walked by pushing a bike and talking on his cell phone saying, "It's a lot farther that you'd think!"

Milestones

Submitted by Eliana on Wed, 06/02/2010 - 5:07pm

Mommy decided today that I'm going to be potty trained. After yesterday when I decided to hold it when sitting on the potty only to pee in my diaper two minutes later, she took away my diapers. I tried putting one on myself, but she took me to the potty instead. I really like peeing and pooping in my diapers. Unfortunately, Mommy's putting her foot down, so I'm going in the potty. I don't like accidents and don't have very many. It doesn't sound like we'll be going far from home for a week or so, though, if Mom won't give me anymore Pull-ups or diapers.

I'm a little hesitant about all this growing up stuff. I don't sit in a high chair much anymore. I'm learning to stay in my booster during meals and keep my feet off the table. I don't use bibs much. I only get a little messy. I usually start out sleeping in the big girl bed but I have a hard time staying in bed these days. So I end up sleeping in the crib, even though I can climb out of it. The old familiar is comfortable, kind of like my old familiar diapers. And my old familiar blankie and nuk that are hard to give up. Mom and Dad are making me keep them on my bed. That's been tough!

I'm off to play outside, my favorite place to be. It's a beautiful day!

[Mom notes that her response when told it was time to go inside was a five-word sentence which garnered her more playtime strictly based on length of utterance overlooking the excess of attitude. "No, play outside little more."]

Oh Ellie! You are growing up so fast! You'll master potty training in no time! And sleep in your big girl bed all night!