Hit the Road Jack

I haven't posted in forever. There's a lot to say, where to begin? Probably with Alice. As usual, she's been very busy doing what she does. She was very excited last week to go see Sean Johnson and LoLo Jones at their Olympic send off event. She carried the LoLo Jones' stats card all week and showed it to anyone who would look at it.

Last week we hit the road headed to Galena, just the kids and I. I was a little nervous about travelling alone by myself with both kids, but it went off without a hitch. Dallas and Laura loaned us their portable DVD player which made all the difference. Brad and I joked that before we had kids we wondered why someone would need a DVD player for their kids in the car. Now we know. I hardly heard a peep from Alice during the whole trip. Once in a while she would say, "Can I watch that movie again, please, please, please?" She was pleasantly surprised when I said, "sure!" We met Aunt Cindy and Uncle Mike at Eagle Ridge, just outside of Galena which is near where Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin meet. They rented a great house which had plenty of room for everyone. It even had a portable crib for Will, who got to sleep in the closet in my room. Alice slept in a double bed for the first time. I surrounded her with pillows, but she probably could have done without them. I don't think she moves at all at night. We went up on Wednesday and Brad joined us on Saturday afternoon. I think Alice had ice cream at least once each day. Aunt Cindy made sure of it. I think the highlights for Alice were the ice cream, playing with the dogs, and "swimming" in the jacuzzi tub. I really enjoyed seeing the town of Galena. The shopping was great, even though we didn't do that much. The kids just weren't up for it. I finally lost it with the double stroller. It got stuck in the downtown area and I had to work really hard to make it go. When we got home, I broke down and bought a new one. Thanks to Aunt C. who contributed to it. It was nice to see Aunt C. and Uncle M. and we didn't have to go all the way to Chicago to do it!

This week Alice and I took another art class. I think she loved it. She was very interested in walking through the art museum and talking about what she thought it looked like. She was also very focused on her art during class.

Alice Story of the Week: While cleaning up after a big storm on Tuesday, we found a bird's nest and dead bird on our deck. This is how it went:

Alice: How sad, that bird doesn't have anywhere to live.

Me: He doesn't really need anywhere to live because he's dead. It's ok, he's going to live with God in Heaven.

Alice: Oh, ok, Are you going to call God, or is he just gonna come get it.

Me: He's already in Heaven.

Alice: No he's not Mommy, he's right here is the garbage bag.

Me: End of theology lesson.

Will is really focused on trying to move. He can play in a side sitting position, can get one leg behind him and rock, and can move around in a circle. I think he is getting close to crawling, but I'm a speech therapist, what do I know. He is doing a little better with solid foods. He has mastered the Cherrio, but still isn't crazy about other solids. I think its a lot of work for a little reward. It's much easier to have someone "dump" baby food in your mouth. We think he is saying "mama" and "dada", but it could just be babbling.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

I'm a little late with the blog this week. We were busy celebratin' the fourth. Last weekend we took the kids to the Cubbies Game. It was Will's first time. It was also his first time wearing blue jeans-nevermind they were girl jeans (they used to belong to Alice!). Brad put him in his own seat. He looked so big sitting there by himself. Again this week, Will's big news is that he got another tooth. It's a big one and it has made him a little cranky. He also has a cold so that could also be a contributing factor. We think he started waving this week. Most of the time he will wave back to you if you wave to him first. We still have to change his clothes about three times a day because he constantly spits up. We tried to give him cherrios, but all three times he started gagging and threw up. I think he has a hypersensitive gag reflex. I did give him a biter biscuit today, which he liked. I had forgotten how gross they get. He had it all over his shirt and my shirt. He also likes almost all fruit in the bag feeder. It's a bag you can put food in. He can suck on it and get all the flavor without all the little pieces going in his mouth.

Alice loved the ballgame. She got to wear her Cubbies hat, sing "Take me out to the ballgame" and "Go Cubs Go", so she was definately in her element. On the Fourth, she marched in a parade with all of the Obama supporters. She was so excited. Brad pulled her in the wagon and she threw candy to the kids. There was a donkey that marched with them which was a big hit. Alice's big thing this week was making up stories. She gives you the topic and then you are supposed to immediately come up with a story. If it isn't long enough, she'll let you know! I think I made up about 25 stories about throwing up. Evenually I had nothing left to say about throwing up. She was a little disappointed. She is beginning to make up her own stories that actually have a plot with a beginning, middle, and end. Alice is "on" from the time she wakes up until the time she goes to bed. It can be exhausting, but lots of fun. She has also been into playing doctor. We take turns being the doctor and the patient. I think she could play doctor all day. Come to think of it, I think we have.

Alice's quote of the week: To a group of Obama supporters talking about being hungry: "I'm not hungry, I just ate all my boogies!" Alice story of the week: Brad and Alice were cleaning out the cars in the driveway. While he was working, she was playing with her doll. When he turned around, she was sitting on the curb "breastfeeding" her baby as all the cars went by.

Brad is busy settling into the Obama campaign. He just found out that Bruce is having a concert in Kansas City in August. He is trying to figure out if he'll have time to go. I hope he can.

Nothing new on the Lisa front this week.

Scroll to the bottom for pictures.