Off to Wee Care

Today (Sunday) Holden went and got his lunch box, stepped to the front door, and waited patiently for someone to open the door - evidently he expected to go to Wee Care.  

10 Months

After watching "Kung Fu Panda" with Grace last week, we stopped at McDonald's on the way home for a Happy Meal (with Kung Fu Panda toys). Grace was ecstatic, and immediately initiated negotiations for her next trip to McDonalds. It's difficult, of course, to precisely predict our next McDonald's trip to our children who don't quite understand time yet. So Aimee told her, tongue-in-cheek, she could go again in 10 months.

So today, one week later, Mom brought home another Happy Meal home. Grace, with wide eyes, said, "Has it been 10 months already?"

Scenes from June

Wee Care

Holden is adapting quite famously to Wee Care. He now walks into the room, on his own, with a big smile on his face - and immediately runs to the toddler playroom. I think he's almost looking forward to it, now. On the flip slide, they wear him out in the morning. So he takes long naps in the afternoon, and doesn't want to go to bed until later in the evening.


Poor Grace, on the other hand, fell pretty hard yesterday afternoon and slammed her nose on the carpet. The doctor says it's not broken. We're hesitant to go out in public because we think we'll be suspected of causing the damage.

Zoo

A quick trip to Como Park - the family at the Japanese Garden.


Giraffes and a monkey.

Picnic Photos

Here are some photos from a couple weeks ago that I'm just getting around to sharing.

The advantages of having a picnic dinner on campus: people share their chocolate cake with you.


ML enjoying some food.


Holden attempting to figure out what his Dad was doing with the charcoal and lighter fluid.




Cousin Kevin, showing up the picnic, is apparently hitting his midlife crisis - hence, the mohawk.


The reason Kevin is compelled to suddenly sport a Mohawk: little Murray. There's just no telling how a person will react to a new baby.


Enthusiastically endorsing the picnic.

ML is back in GA

Aimee’s Mom left for Georgia yesterday – the kids and I dropped her off at the airport.  She saved the two of them from Wee Care for a week, for which Holden was grateful.  We had a very nice visit, and the children enjoyed have Grammy to play with them, and take them to the Zoo and Como Town, and Aimee and I could go to our respective worksites knowing the kids were happy.

 

Last Day of Kindergarten

Today is Grace's last day of Kindergarten.  She's ready for first grade next year.  (We're keeping her at the same school next year for first grade.  She still gets to ride the bus and it is a good school.)

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ML is in MN

Aimee's Mom is here to visit for a week - she rescued Holden from having to go to Wee Care for the rest of the week, and the little boy has been grateful for it.  He has been screaming and shrieking in delight all day, spinning in circles, climbing everything in sight, and eating anything he can get his hands on.  ML will be staying in the "customer's room" as Grace calls the spare bedroom.

Working up an appetite

Aimee started CPE today.  Therefore, Holden spent all day at Wee Care - his first full day.  He did okay for a little guy, which is to say he was in good spirits most of the time but got overwhelmed at the end of the day.  When he got home he ate a hot dog, a bunch of grapes, one and a half bananas (the 1/2 banana he ate after he climbed onto the kitchen table when we weren't looking and pulled it from the fruit bowl), and 1/2 container of yogurt.  I guess he worked up at appetite.

Brainerd Weekend Getaway

We're back from our weekend sojourn to Brainerd.  I'd like to say that we explored the area and some of Minnesota's lakeside wilderness, but in fact we mostly explored the Paul Bunyan Water Park at the Lodge at Brainerd Lakes.  Grace took to the water slide and lazy river with enthusiasm and knew where the current was fastest around every corner.  She even got her head wet and didn't mind too much.  I must have climbed 2,000-3,000 steps going up to that water slide, which, in retrospect, was entirely positive, since I needed the exercise to counterbalance all the rich food I ate over the weekend.


Grace and Holden in a little mechanical car.

Holden voicing his skepticism on whether that fountain of water was safe for him to touch.

A couple of video highlights.

Camp K

I'm in Northern Minnesota at Camp Knutson tonight for a work retreat.  It's thundering and lightening outside.  The camp itself is beautiful and the cabins are surprisingly civilized.  Aimee and the children are driving from St. Paul and meeting me in Brainerd tomorrow afternoon for our last weekend before Aimee begins her CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education). 

Gardening

We have a nice little plot in the community pea patch.  We planted a great variety of seeds and a few starts, and a week later we are seeing our garden sprout.  In addition to providing us with something fun to do (watering the garden and playing with dirt and sticks and worms), the pea patch is a sort of community gathering place - there's usually a few other people tending their gardens when we're there.  So the children always want to come when we go to the garden.


What better place for a 16-month old than a pile of dirt?

Our little homestead.

Grace on the compost heap.

Littlest Petshop Pets are Organized

I've noticed a curious tendency for our Littlest Petshop Pets to organize themselves into bands and militaristic formations. I'm not sure if I should be concerned that they appear to be organized, or that they appear to using some of Holden's trucks as troop transport vehicles.

Spring Scenes

Yesterday we had our first preview of summer - 80 degrees and a certain mugginess in the air. Reports of a thunderstorm threatening a sunny day. And Grace had a friend over to play.

Miniature Golf Chaos

While we were at the museum, we thought it might be fun to play a round of miniature golf - the golf game was designed to provide an education on river systems. Of course, we didn't learn one thing, since chaos broke out as soon as Holden saw that we had multiple small golf balls in our possession and multiple water hazards.  After a couple holes we quit keeping score, since we weren't following any of the rules normally associated with a civilized game of miniature golf.

Science Museum

For Memorial Day Grace asked if we could go to the Science Museum in Saint Paul.  A "family date," as we call it.  


Holden climbing a glacier.

In the stomach of a Brontasaurus.

Checkup!

In a Hmong outfit.

Fortunately, Holden will fall asleep when he gets tired, even if we're out doing something fun and exciting.

Spring Garden and Playtime

We had a full dose of cool spring weather this afternoon.

Holden and Aimee (who was getting ready to go study).


Holden playing in the rocks at the playground.


Grace playing in the garden, putting earthworms on leaves with her friends. (The seminary has a little community garden where we can have a plot of land to plant vegetables.)

Hot Dog!

Grace's first word was "Booty." She loved to eat veggie booty.

Holden's first word is "Hot Dog." "Holden, would you like a hot
dog?" we ask. "Da da," he answers, not quite enunciating the words,
but it's clear he's saying hot dog.