Black Eye

Well, Kevin went to Downtown Grandma's and came home with a black eye. But in all fairness, he also went there with it. (It just wasn't as colorful.) Thankfully Downtown Grandma (Jane's mom) took Kevin Saturday night since I was still sick and K2 was getting sick. So we were down to one child for 24 hours. After having two children we realized that having only one is like a vacation. It is also great to get one-on-one time with Colin. He is growing so fast! He is learning new words and animal sounds everyday. And he shocked me when I told him that we were going to Downtown Grandma's to get Kevin and he looked very excited and said "Chooch!" (That is how he says choo choo train. The last time we saw Downtown Grandma we took the train down.) I can't believe he remembered that. I told him no we were not going to take the train, but we would go for a walk in the stroller, which seemed to be a decent consolation prize since he continued to smile.

About the black eye: We went to get family portraits on Saturday morning. (When we left the house everyone was fever-free, although the fever would come back for me later on. We also called ahead to let them know we had been sick, just in case.) Anyway, about halfway through the pictures, Kevin slid and hit his face on a wooden box, giving him a small welt on his left eye. So when we get the pictures back half will be with a bruised eye and half will be without. The picture does not show that much swelling or color, but I tried.


Also included: a few action shots of Kevin with his sword. He really wanted me to take them. As well as the picture he wanted of him hiding with Baby Owen.

Snuggling on Daddy

Colin's favorite thing to do is snuggle. After we got dressed today he decided to lay on daddy for a few minutes. I had to get a picture.

Sick Week!

Well, the week started off with Colin getting sick on Sunday. He recovered and all was going good until I got sick on Thursday. I spent most of the evening upstairs, avoiding the boys as much as I could. I told them that I didn't want to get them sick. So when Friday morning came around, and I was feeling better, I wanted to help help get the boys up. I went in and got Kevin and helped him downstairs. As we were heading down, he told me, very seriously, "I hope you are not getting me sick Mommy."

Maybe I should have stayed in bed.

A Day With Thomas

Kevin and I headed to Granite City for "A Day with Thomas." It is basically just a bunch of activities set up near train tracks for kids to see the "real" Thomas the Train. Kevin went with his friend Kyle from daycare. Even though it was pretty muddy, we had a great time.

At first Kevin would not play with much. It was "too muddy" (his words) and he was cold. He didn't even want to sit on the large lego Thomas. But once he found the giant slide, he was non-stop! Which is strange, since this is the FIRST time he has ever had fun on the large inflatable things, even though I have tried for years. But I was so glad to see him laughing, and he even went down with Kyle a couple times. At the end, he even said that the slide was his favorite! (I guess unlike SteveKerr, Kevin has favorites.)

"Before" photo with Lego Thomas

Down the slide with Kyle

There were plenty of tables set up with train tracks, and Kevin enjoyed playing with them, but only after he found the table that had no one else around it. Once he got used to things he rode the "train," played putt putt golf twice, and then ran around and climbed in the maze for about 20 minutes! Before we left he wanted to climb the lego Thomas one more time to yell "All Aboard!" He may have pushed a smaller kid out of the way to get up there, but I was just glad to see him coming out of his shell.

Making sure the train has enough coal

Riding the train

Putt putt with me


In the maze


Seeing Thomas


"After" photo with Lego Thomas

Ferris Bueller Day!

Kevin and I used to take a day off of work together to have fun. We haven't done that for three years. So, when I had this past Friday off (conferences) he took a vacation day to have a day to ourselves. We were determined to enjoy ourselves without having to drive everywhere, but rather using only public transportation.

After we dropped the kids off at daycare (woo hoo!) we missed the train by about 20 seconds so we waited for 15 minutes. But then we took the Metro Link downtown to Crepes in the City where we had a delicious breakfast. Then we headed to Macy's for shopping. Afterward we headed to the Loop (again we barely missed the train) where we spent the afternoon eating lunch, shopping, walking, and relaxing.

Around 4:30 we headed back to UMSL to get the boys, and head downtown for dinner. (We had 30 minutes to walk to the daycare, pick up the boys, get Kevin a potty break, gather blankets, stop at the car for the diaper bag and heavier coats, and get back to the train. We had 5 minutes to spare. Things move faster when you pay attention to the schedule.)

All 4 of us went to Union Station to eat, meet Downtown Grandma, watch fudge get made, eat fudge, walk around, eat fudge, watch trains, eat fudge, look at fountains, and eat fudge. Seriously, we only ate fudge twice, but I think the boys would have preferred to eat more. And by boys, I mean all 3 of them.

Colin stayed with Grandma for the night, while Kevin, Kevin and I headed back home on the train. It was after 7:00, and it was the first time we got in our car since 8:00 that morning! For as much as Kevin and I say we want to use the train more, we truly enjoyed a day using it! (I think it is faster than it used to be. It didn't seem as slow. Also, my son told me it was the fastest train in the world, and he is pretty smart...)

The evening ended with a snack. (Not fudge.) We had told Kevin he could eat his snack after the train ride, and this is where he chose to eat. Why not???? (Both of his aunts would be so proud.)

Stay tuned next year for another Ferris Bueller Day!

Waiting for the train downtown


Lunch on the Loop



Kevin riding the train



This is Colin's new "smile" face when he sees a camera


Kevin's snack spot

Toothpaste

The boys ran out of toothpaste this past week. We bought a different kind during the weekend grocery shopping because the grocery store did not have the same kind. After trying it, Kevin said, "I don't like it. It doesn't taste good." So Tuesday night K2 took the boys with him after dinner as he went to a drug store, a different grocery store, and an all-in-one retailer looking for the right toothpaste. None of them had the toothpaste Kevin likes. Kevin stated his confusion, "Somebody took it all? Why did they take all the toothpaste? They should share with us. They don't need it all."

The toothpaste was found on the internet for $3. Why nobody carries it anymore is beyond me.

Uncle Jake Visits

My brother Jake came to visit this weekend, and the boys were very excited when their uncle picked them up from daycare on Friday! Jake stayed with us until Saturday afternoon, so we were able to make both birthday cupcakes and birthday cake. We tried to decorate them all ourselves, as well as make the cake a cool color. It didn't turn out to be the prettiest cake, but it was all delicious!



After baking Friday night, Jake and I headed to the Heights Observatory. Unfortunately it was closed due to weather, so we went to the Planetarium instead. We got some ice cream on the way home. Saturday, after Kevin and Colin got haircuts (Jake said he didn't need one) we headed to Faust Park. Lunch was at Steak N Shake. I don't know the last time I had that much ice cream in one day. I hope Jake wasn't sick the rest of the weekend!

Needless to say, no matter what Uncle Jake was doing, Kevin and Colin had to do as well. I included a few pictures of them trying their best to imitate him. This includes when Jake was playing with the scooter and Colin had to get something else with wheels. It was adorable!

Colin gets his own set of wheels.

Colin Memory

I sometime wish that I had started this blog a while ago so that I could have shared other crazy things with the few people who read this blog. Like for example, the times when Colin, as a newborn, would pull his own freakishly-long hair and not let go. He would just scream and wonder why his head hurt.

June 2008

Hannah Visits Us! (Oh yeah, her parents came too.)

Last weekend the Kerr's made a late-evening trip to visit us. We haven't seen them since we took the train out to KC for McWeekend a few months ago.

They made it in around 11:00 pm on Friday. For breakfast Saturday morning, all three boys (Kevin, Kevin and Colin) made blueberry waffles for everyone. Colin picked up a habit of scrunching his nose anytime you tried to take a picture. Kevin read a book to Hannah, while Colin circled her slowly, getting closer and closer until he finally gave her a few small kisses. They adored Hannah. Both boys, when taking a break from playing tackle and sword games, enjoyed talking to her. And as was expected, I was not allowed to hold Hannah without screams from Colin. I didn't get to hold her as much as I wanted to, but I will continue to try.

Then we hea ded to the zoo. The Kerr's like to visit zoos in each city they visit. Because we wanted them to know our zoo is the best (because it is) we gave a historic tour. While there, Kevin told me h e w as a gorilla and walked on all fours, but used his knuckles instead of palms. We feel confident that before leaving, the knew our zoo was better than Omaha's.

The most surprising thing about Hannah was how many varieties of birds she can imitate. That girl sqwaks to talk, to laugh, to grunt, to do any form of communication. Also, she already knows how to smile with her eyes. I tried desperatly to capture it in a picture, but she obviously doesn't like me enough to smile. I think it was because I couldn't hold her, courtesy of Colin. She was hilarious and adorable! Following a round of naps, we made cookies and ordered Imo's pizza. Kevin was gracious enough to order thick crust for Megan so she could have "real pizza."

Sunday had us travel to the park, where Kevin (son) called the rock wall "Pride Rock." I tried to convince SteveKerr to present Hannah (like from the movie) but he wouldn't. I even offered to sing. We finished up with a spaghetti dinner before the SteveKerr, Megan and Hannah headed home.

It was a great weekend, and we can't wait to see them again soon! Newman O's!