Tjabe

Tonight I was vacuuming the living room after dinner. Tjabe was sitting in an armchair doing a workbook for fun and Maggie was climbing on all the dining room chairs which were pulled out so I could vacuum under the table. As I vacuumed around her I heard Tjabe say something, but I couldn't hear him over the vacuum. Turning off the vacuum, I asked him to repeat it. Without looking up from his book he muttered matter-of-factly, "Don't vacuum up Mags." And yes, he was being completely serious. (Note: He calls Maggie "Mags" and "Peanut.")

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We got gas next to a Burger King the other day. Tjabe looked over and saw the big windows looking into the playland area.

T: Mom, can we go there?

Me: Not today.

T: What is that place?

Me: It's called Burger King.

Days later we were driving in town up the street from the same place.

T: I have an idea. Let's go to King Hot Dog.

Me: Where?

T: King Hot Dog.

It took me a minute to realize he meant Burger King.

Advent

We've started a tradition in celebrating advent, now that Tjabe is old enough to actually retain some of what we teach. Sam is posting it almost daily on his blog, and we actually got the idea from a book we read a couple of years ago. Those of you with children, or who know others with children, may be interested. Tjabe has loved it so far! I'll try to post a picture of our "advent tree" at some point.

For those of you who don't want to move your mouse over to the right a few inches to the link to Sam's blog, here it is:

http://thedawnpiper.blogspot.com/

Leave a comment! Even if it's just "I read it!"

The Big Brother

I also got some pictures of big brother yesterday. After a few goofy poses and some serious bribing on my part, he gave me a nice smile.

The silly look

The surprised look (why does the word "surprised" always look like I spelled it wrong?)

My usually-sweet boy

The Birthday Girl

It's been a while. We'll start with a picture of Maggie several weeks ago in a cute little sweater/hat ensemble:

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And now, heeeeeeeere's Maggie!

Maggie's interests include talking on the phone, playing in the (toy) kitchen, walking, eating, and climbing, climbing, CLIMBING! Her biggest achievements are climbing onto the dining room table unassisted and getting a seventh tooth. Her motto for life is "Hi Da-da! Yeah yeah yeah!" She loves to give hugs, but watch out for that temper! Let's hear it for this one-year-old!

For her birthday she got a carrot cake cupcake with cream cheese frosting.

Getting the cupcake

Trying to grab the flame

Being told she can't touch the flame

And finally getting to enjoy her cupcake

Couldn't resist throwing in this picture of her in the adorable hat Aunt Beth made her

Little Sister

Sometimes when Tjabe and Maggie are playing in his room, he gets the idea to dress her up and go on a trip. He collects a bunch of her clothes and hair clips from her room, puts on her what he can, and sticks a bow randomly on her head. She never seems to mind. Here she is on a trip they took "on a rocket."

Nothing new

Just an update on what the kids are doing, since that's all anyone cares about anyway (and justly so!).

Maggie: Has recently taken to holding any type of phone to her ear and barking "Hi" into it over and over. That's the only way I know to describe her husky voice. We're convinced that she's going to be a sultry lounge singer. Not only can she do the deep Diana Krall sound, but she can also hit Mariah Carey's high falsetto when she gets really mad.

She also tries to climb onto anything she can find, any way she can, and gets very angry when she has trouble doing this (or is thwarted by a cautious adult).

Tjabe: Has started doing school with me for an hour every weekday (although not always on Fridays - sometimes we do something else that day, like the library or a big art project). He loves it. We're working our way through his big Bible (I would recommend it to anyone with kids - it is theologically sound with great pictures and we probably get through it every month, and then he's excited to start it over again the next day). Then we do his catechism questions and memory verses, then writing his letters and numbers, then an art project, then reading practice. Often then he will go teach school to some of his toys, where he gets to be in charge.

He has been very excited about the snow we've gotten and can't wait to play in it. He gets sad when it melts but I try to convince him that there will be plenty more to play in in the weeks to come.

When we practice writing his letters I will sometimes have him write words that he knows - the typical "cat," "mom," etc. Then he makes long combinations of random letters and writes his own words. The other day he told me he was writing "huge words. Powerful words." If you have read the beginning of the aforementioned Bible you will understand.

From his point of view

Tjabe has been talking about death a lot lately, probably because we have had two deaths within our extended family over the past few weeks. The first was Mary, the mother of our brother-in-law, a very dear woman whom the Lord called home at the end of August. The second was Kirby, my parent's dog, who had to be put down a couple of weeks ago. Tjabe has talked more about Kirby's death, since he had never met Mary and doesn't really grasp what happened there, but has met Kirby several times. My parents are now beginning a new chapter of their life as they invite Darwin, their new puppy, into their home in a few weeks. Since hearing about Darwin, Tjabe will randomly talk about animals or people dying and their "owner" getting a new one. Today in the car we had this conversation:

T: Mom, when I get bigger, as big as Winston, and Grandma dies, then Grandpa can go and get a new Grandma!

Me: I hope Grandma doesn't die when you're as big as Winston [Winston is seven]! Plus, I think it's a little bit different with people.

T: And then when people die they'll go to Minnesota.

Me: They'll go where?

T: No, they'll go to Iowa, and then heaven. But first Iowa.

This happens to other people too, right?

I lent Sam my phone for the afternoon and evening. When I got it back tonight, I checked voicemail and listened to the six messages I had. The last message went something like this:

"Hi, it's me. [The voice in my head is thinking: Oh, it's Megan] I think I probably will come [She must be talking about visiting this Thanksgiving or Christmas - yea!], but I'll probably be a little late [Does she mean the end of the holiday?], like around 6-ish [Wait, what is she talking about? Is she coming here tonight from Washington?]. I'm just getting things finished up here. [At this point I'm assuming that she thinks she is leaving a message for someone else] I'll talk to you later. Love you, bye." I stewed over this for a minute, thoroughly confused, before it finally dawned on me that this was a message I had left for Sam earlier about our plans for the evening (which I didn't make it to ).

The kids today

Also today

Tjabe helped me with housework by taking down Maggie's diapers that were drying on my makeshift clothesline outside our back door, while I got dinner ready. He's a good sport.

My Instant (Bedroom) Facelift

Today Beth came down and helped me (or rather, did all the work to) make new pillow coverings for my bed pillows. I had been wanting something different, so a few weeks ago Mom K. and I went shopping for some fabric for new pillow shams (and found the leaf print below). Then Beth and I went shopping later for complementary fabric for the remaining pillows, and voila! Below are before and after shots. I love them, and look forward to making my bed every morning just to see how beautiful they are! Yes, I am a homemaking nerd.

Before: Nothing matched anything

After: We found some colors that complemented the green walls, white comforter and chocolate throw

Those First Pigtails

Yay!

*Thanks to Addie for the microscopic rubber bands, and Beth for the distraction.

This evening

I gave Tjabe his first styled haircut (meaning I didn't just attach a #3 guard to the clippers and run them over his head). Here are some after pics. For a before shot, see the previous video post. I think I did okay, considering it was the first time I really put any effort and thought into it.

He insisted I get a shot from every side of his head, including the top.

Hi from the kids

This afternoon

This afternoon Maggie sucked on an ink cartridge for our printer that she found within her reach. And I didn't freak out about the mess once.

This morning

This morning I watched as three three-year-old male "crackerdiles," one one-year-old male "crackerdile," and the lone female, a nearly-ten-month-old, roared around the house and created general havoc in the living room and bedrooms. And I didn't freak out about the mess once.

I've come a long way, baby.

Tjabe

As we drove from Kansas City to Iowa, the sun was beginning to come up (we left at 5 am). Tjabe, who hadn't gone back to sleep, commented, "Look Dad, it's getting day-er!"

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The other day I thought it would be good to mention to Tjabe the whole "Stranger" lesson. I explained to him that if someone he didn't know came up to him outside and asked him to go with them, he should say no and run away to find me, or someone he did know. I also told him to never open the door to someone he didn't know. After letting him think about this for a minute, I asked him: "If a person you don't know comes up to you when you're playing outside and says, 'Little buddy, come for a car ride with me,' what should you do?"

He looked confused, and replied: "Run away." (long pause) "But Mom, if they ask me to go in their car with them, and they don't have my carseat, I can't go with them."

So he kind of gets it, but maybe not for the right reasons.

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On our way to Denver, we left home very early (3 am). We woke the kids and put them in their seats. Maggie was happy as a clam, as usual, but I wasn't sure how Tjabe's attitude would be at that hour, since he can be a bear when he wakes up. But as he was waiting in his car seat for us to go, he practically shivered with joy and said, "I'm so esciged [rhymes with excited]!" Down the road Sam asked him (yes, we were making fun of his mis-pronounciation) : "Tjabe are you so escited?" "No Dad," he replied, "esciged."

When his tiredness finally hit him, half an hour later, he began getting poetic, and we heard him murmuring in the backseat: "...Big trucks in the night... bright moon in the sky..." Then he drifted off to sleep.

A lot of catching up to do...

Well, we're finally home. We enjoyed a month-long road trip, visiting family and enjoying each other's company as we toured the US in our Birdvan. We spent a week with Sam's parents, then ventured to spend two weeks with my parents in Denver, continuing on to central Kansas to spend a night with my Aunt Linda and Uncle Glenn, then to Kansas City to spend a few days with Grandpa Chuck and Grandma Lisa (aka Daddy and Lisa to me), then up for a few days in Wisconsin for my grandparent's fiftieth wedding anniversary, then back across South Dakota, stopping for a night to visit my good friend Michelle. After one more night on the road, spent in a hotel in Gillette, WY (with a pool and a water park!), we arrived home. And now, the month in pictures (minus our time in Denver - see previous post):

Tjabe and Uncle Glenn having a serious conversation on their back deck

Tjabe playing in Uncle Glenn and Aunt Linda's "cowboy hot tub"

In Kansas City - one of Maggie's post-dinner cleanup looks

Tjabe fishing with Daddy and Grandpa Chuck on Grandpa's boat

Grandpa Chuck and Grandma Lisa

Here we have the first of Maggie's multiple on-the-road blowouts. We were made aware of this by Tjabe calling from the back seat (and I quote): "Mom, there's poop everywhere!"

We pulled over, laid Maggie on the hood of the car, and went to town with the wipes (since the poop got all over her legs and feet, on her hands, and subsequently on her face).

Here's Maggie after the blowout while we're cleaning up the hood of the car

On the trip between Kansas City and Wisconsin (or through "Iwowa" to "Wisconskin", as Tjabe puts it), we stopped at the Amana colonies. Our favorite part of them was the brewery, with it's lush outdoor tasting room, where both kids fell asleep (see photos above and below) while we enjoyed the beer.

Below are some pictures from the photo shoot with the family in Wisconsin:

Grandpa S and Tjabe

One of us and the other one

Grandpa and Grandma S

Us

Me and Michelle

We were excited to return home to a fruitful garden:

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Here are some shots from the short hail storm we got Friday. It made the parking lot by our condo flood more than usual so Tjabe and I and some neighbors were out playing in the lake.

Holy Cow More Pictures

I'm too tired to make many comments, so let the pictures speak to you and use your imagination, if necessary. I will say we have been enjoying our family immensely. Maggie is now crawling like a speed demon, pulling herself up on things, climbing up stairs if left to her own devices, and sporting two teeth. Tjabe is still the little bugger he always was, and still a great big brother.

Maggie and Grandma S.

Watching the water rocket

Doing the water rocket

Our champion waver

Probably twirling again

Go-karting (they spelled it with a k there, I never knew)