Thanks Craigslist...

We got the best, new (to us) playground set from Craigslist in November. The set would cost $3000 to $4000 new, but Kirsten found it for $200, what a deal! Huge thanks to Julie and Doug for helping us dismantle, transport, and rebuild the set in our backyard. That endeavor ended up taking hours longer than we all anticipated, but we got it done.

While Grandma and Papa were here visiting, and I had time off work, we decided to work on refurbishing the set a bit. We restained the wood, replaced the chains on the swings, laid some sod in the backyard, and built a mulch playground area under the swings. The mulch is even made of recycled tires, very eco-friendly and low maintenance. Now the playground is like our own little park. Great job everybody!

Four Mile Cove

We took Grandma and Papa on a walking tour of a preserve in Cape Coral called Four Mile Cove. It was pretty warm despite the fact that we went in the morning in December. But we had a great time and learned about mangroves and wetland species in the area. If you look closely at the second picture, you will see a water bird drying his wings in the sun so he can fly away after his breakfast. So awesome.

Picking tomatoes with Grandma and Papa

While Grandma and Papa were here for their Christmas visit, they took the boys to a local farm that lets you pick your own strawberries and tomatoes. Kirsten and I went for pedicures and a wonderful Korean dinner out :)

This picture is of my favorite boys, all in a row!

At the park with Papa

Grandma and Papa came to stay with us for Christmas 2007. This is a great example of how much fun we had one morning at a Pine Island park.

Baking Gingerbread Cookies!

Emmett received some great chef supplies for his Christmas gifts, including a gingerbread cookie kit. Grandma and Papa were happy to assist Chef Emmett with his gingerbread cookies. Looks like they had a great time! The cookies were pretty good too :)

Merry Christmas!

The boys awoke at 5:50am Christmas morning to a pile of gifts beneath the tree and stockings stuffedd full. Harrison spent most of his time dumping his stocking, refilling it, and dumping it again. The boys received trucks, cars, pencils, special drinking cups, and various cooking utensils, including a lettuce knife and cutting board shown below. Emmett made us fruit salad and egg salad (with his new egg slicer) for breakfast. It was an enjoyable, although very early, morning.

Kirsten made a delicious standing prime rib for dinner. I made Mascarpone AuGratin potatoes from scratch (new recipe, was yummy!). Dinner was eventful, thank goodness I'd had a glass of wine. Harrison wasn't overly interested in eating so he was content playing with the salt shaker. Somehow no one realized the salt shaker was glass, until he dropped it and it shattered all over the floor. Being that we live in Florida and it was about 85 degrees outside, everyone was barefoot. So, while Papa and Emmett went right on consuming large amounts of prime rib, Grandma braved the glass shards and grabbed Harrison. She handed Harrison to me while Kirsten went for the shopvac. When I sat Harrison on my lap, copius amounts of babypoop squirted out of his diaper and all over my lap and him, so Grandma went to get me shoes. I went to wash myself in the shower and change clothes, Grandma cleaned up Harrison, Kirsten shopvac'd the dining room. Of course, when all this was through, Papa and Emmett were still eating :) Thankfully, they had saved a little for us all to finish our meal!

Florida Family Christmas

We attended a nice gathering just before Christmas at Aunt Vickie's new house in North Port. Grandma and Papa were in town already, so they joined us. The boys enjoyed playing with all of Kirsten's cousins and their second cousins (I think that's what they should be called?)

Aunt Jenny made wonderfully heaping piles of food, including chili and saffron rice. Clint even brought a peanut butter chocolate pie from Wheeler's in Arcadia. All the kids received generous gifts from Aunts and Uncles and we had a good time.

Emmett's Christmas Show

Emmett's preschool did a performance on Tuesday. It was so adorable and he really did a great job. I don't know how the teachers got a group of 3 and 4 year olds to stand on stage and sing 4 songs, without anyone crying, hitting another, or running away. Quite a feat! Plus, most of them knew the songs :) That's Emmett in the middle, top making an OH with his mouth, he was very deliberate with his mouth in all the songs. It was very cute!

And here's a picture of Emmett with the Santa that came to the performance hall for the kids. Harrison would have absolutely nothing to do with him, staying at least 100 feet away at all times. So no Santa pic for him this year. Anytime we even say "Santa", Harrison waves his hands and shakes his head "NO!"

Right back!

Harrison's new thing is sooo cute! He'll gather a few things in his arms, or a tool or something. Then walk away from you, stopping to turn around and point at you, then wags his finger and says: "Right back!" He then turns and walks away, as confident as ever off to do his important business. He did it all weekend. To me, to Kirsten, to Emmett, to the dog, the neighbor, the waitress yesterday. What a cutie pie.

I haven't gotten a picture of it yet, since it just started on Friday. But here's a cute recent picture of him, posing in his room with his brother's hat on :)

10 years!

Thanksgiving 1997 was the day that I realized that Kirsten was the ONE for me. Kirsten and I met in October 1997 through mutual friends she was visiting in Tucson. When I found out that she had no plans for Thanksgiving, I insisted that she attend Thanksgiving dinner with me at my parents house. She was reluctant, considering she hadn't met anyone in my family and really hadn't spent much time with me either. But I was my pushy, insistent self and left her no choice ;)

We had a GREAT day. Kirsten fit right in with my family, helping with the cooking, helping with my parent's godchildren that were visiting, joking around... I vividly remember watching her playing with the kids in the living room while I did some cooking thing in the kitchen. My mom said something like "she's pretty special". I said something like "I know" and I knew right then that I loved Kirsten and that we could and should spend the rest of our lives together. Thanksgiving is always a wonderful reminder of that for me. I can't believe it, but this Thanksgiving marks an amazing 10 years that we have been together!

In those 10 years we have gone through a lot of things, both good and bad, but we have always had each other and our love for each other. Now our family has grown to include two wonderful boys, a few more cousins, and lots of new experiences. I love you baby and I love the life we have created together, here's to a few more decades together and lots more Thanksgivings...

Emmett the Cook

This Thanksgiving, I helped Emmett make his first pie! Granted it was made with canned pumpkin and a frozen pie crust... but it was so fun to make with him and it turned out so well.He was so excited about it, he started asking about it when we bought our Halloween pumpkins then didn't drop it until the night before Thanksgiving. He was a little flummoxed by the canned pumpkin and wanted to know where the real pumpkin was, but he got over that. We made a recipe from Bon Appetit this month's issue, check http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/240423 for the exact recipe. We skipped the whipped topping, because I didn't have enough whipping cream and we frankly didn't need the extra calories!

Emmett measured and poured all the spices, did the grinder for the cloves, helped with the mixer (which he loved!), measured and scraped the mascarpone and the brown sugar. Then he helped put the mixture into the pie crust and was so excited to taste it the next morning. It was very cute and a good experience for some very rare one on one, Emmett mommy time. Kirsten took Harrison for a ride and picked up salads for dinner from a near-by chain restaurant.

On Wednesday, we also received the movie Ratatouille from Netflix in the mail. We must have watched it about 6 times over the holiday weekend. Emmett had tears in his eyes when he put it in the mail this morning... the DVD is now on his Santa Christmas letter and I think Granny or Grandma and Papa will come through! The other item that made E's Christmas list was a chef's knife, so he can "chop it up". He really does like cooking and he is very attentive, and remembers what we teach him. Does anyone make a chef's knife for children? Off to google that...

Emmett the Turkey

Emmett had a Thanksgiving party at preschool yesterday. They had a great time, with lots of good food. Kirsten made these great sandwiches with turkey, stuffing and cranberries. She wrapped and cut them so nicely that the other parents were asking where we bought them :) She got some dirty looks when she reported that she had quickly made them herself, just that morning... Martha Stewart watch out (although, thankfully, Kirsten is not in danger of being arrested for insider trading!)

When Kirsten arrived to pick Emmett up from school, he was wearing his Thanksgiving craft and looked quite cute dressed as a turkey. He is doing great at school, the teachers love him. They say he is absolutely the kindest, most thoughtful child in their class and others. He's also very smart, the teachers have mentioned that we need to work hard to make sure that he is in a stimulating environment as he gets older. Just this week, he started writing letters and numbers with relative accuracy. He also is doing a lot of pre-reading by telling us "what" signs say, and identifying letters and themes anywhere there is anything written. He has also memorized a number of his books and likes to help us read them to him. What a big boy!

Oh and Emmett has become quite confident on his 2-wheel bike, with training wheels. He would ride off into the sunset if we weren't yelling behind him to turn around ;)

Harrison at the Park

Emmett's preschool is an affiliate of our local parks and recreation, and is located in a building that shares a campus with a great neighborhood park, Four Freedoms. When Kirsten takes Emmett to school, the boys usually have some park time before school.

Here's a picture of Harrison from yesterday. He really is starting to look like a little boy rather than a baby... I can't believe he is 18 months old now! He is a happy guy who loves to do exactly what his brother does. He waves at everybody, including passing cars and pets :) He loves watching birds, getting very exciting when he sees them.

The lump on his head is a result of his misplaced bravery on our swingset at home. He jumped for the monkey bars, missed, and fell about 5 feet to the ground, hitting his head on a piece of wood at the bottom of the swingset. Poor baby... unfortunately it didn't deter him from other climbing and jumping forays!

Who needs expensive toys?

When a cardboard box, a hill, crazy cousins, and a sunny afternoon will do the trick?

Dominic came up with the idea to get inside the cardboard box and ride it down the hill, while rolling... he loved it and then convinced his sister and his cousin Emmett to do it also. Harrison was happy to hang out on my hip and watch.

Hilarity ensued!

Never enough time...

This vacation reminded me yet again that I just don't get enough time with the boys. We had a such a good time, with no obligations, no schedules, no restrictions. Nothing like sitting in the sun in a beautiful park nursiing your baby while he takes a break from playing with his older cousins. And holding both boys while we chugged along on a hayride, pulled by a real farmer on a real tractor around a corn field. We are so fortunate to have these experiences together, but I always want more!

Eating on Vacation is Fun :)

Sydnie, Harrison and Emmett enjoying cupcakes at a Fall Festival on Beck Mountain in Tennessee. I thought it was quite funny that Emmett ate all the frosting on his and then nicely offered to "trade" with Sydnie for hers (which still had frosting on it!)

Campfire weinie roasts are yummy and smokey! Kudos to Kirsten for somehow allowing all the kids to roast their own hot dogs without anyone falling into the fire or getting poked by a skewer.

Trip to Tennessee

We just got back from an awesome trip to the hills of Tennessee, to visit Granny, Uncle Mark, and cousins Sydnie and Dominic. Granny generously treated us all to a few nights in an amazing cabin at Safe Haven Farm on Roan Mountain. Melanie, the owner of Safe Haven Farm, has a beautiful property and the cabin was so much fun and surrounded by so much natural beauty. Check out their website http://www.safehavenfarm.com/phototour.htm Without TV reception or cell phone reception, we had lots of fun exploring the mountain, finding cool autumn leaves, roasting marshmallows and hot dogs, playing silly games and just RELAXING!

The cousins all got along very well, although Emmett and Dominic seemed to butt heads a few times. At 3 and 5, they have very different ideas of what is fair... and it doesn't help that Emmett is exactly the same size as Dominic, right down to the shoes. Makes it hard for Dom to remember that Em is really quite a bit younger.

Sydnie and Dominic seem to be settling into life in Tennessee quite well. Both are doing a great job in school and are loving having their Granny close by to help out when Uncle Mark (their Dad) has to work late. The parks in the area were amazingly lovely, with large expanses of hilly areas and tall, beautiful trees. We timed our trip perfectly with the turning of the leaves. The area's first frost happened the morning before we left, brrrr!

We will definitely be back to visit (maybe after the snow melts) and we all hope to be staying at Safe Haven Farm again soon.

Harrison is getting so big!

This is Harrison "smiling" for the camera :)

What a big boy... and a worm. Not sure if you can tell, but he is in a booster seat instead of his highchair and he is playing with the "big boy" leappad instead of the baby leappad shown in the background. He just has to be the big boy...

Harrison's New Shoes!

Harrison was fascinated with Hannah's cute little white sandals over the weekend. He wore them for a few hours and kept insisting that we put them back on him...

So, Kirsten took him to get his own pair of sandals the other day. Cute little brown StrideRites. He is so proud to wear them, even fell asleep for his nap wearing them. He has an ear infection in this picture, that's why he looks so sleepy. Poor guy, the antibiotics should be kicking in today.

Columbus Day Parade

Eventhough all may not agree with our Country's choice to honor Columbus for his mistaken, not quite real discovery of America... considering others already lived here ;)

The kids still enjoyed a great, local parade in Cape Coral, FL with their cousins. Beaded necklaces and loads of candy... when can we go again, Mom?!

We love summer!

Cousins, popsicles, a pool and summer... what more does a kid need?

This is from this weekend at our house. Grandma Debby was in visiting from Arizona, Granny Susan came over with Aunt Julie and her two granddaughters. So we had 3 grandmas, 2 moms, and 4 kids over for lots of fun!

From left to right in this picture: Kaylie (4.5), Emmett (3), Hanna (20 months), Harrison (15 months)

Granny and Emmett

This is a great photo of Emmett with his Granny Susan, taken at Joe's Crab Shack where Emmett always eats everyone else's shrimp and crab :) He requests "crab dinner" at least once a week...

This is another pic from the same evening, Harrison (1), Emmett (3) and their cousin Kaylee (4.5). Such cute kids and dinner was very fun too!

New trees, Monk Parakeets!

We planted 3 new oak trees in our back yard shortly after moving back this summer. We lost all trees during Hurricane Charlie in 2004, then we added the pool in early 2005, so there was nothing but small shrubs and grass in the back yard.

After we added the trees and a few strategically placed bird feeders (thanks to Kirsten, of course) ta-da, we have Monk Parakeets! I count 10 in this picture alone... they are so cool and they now visit us everyday. Good job Kirsten!

Grandma came to visit!

For Vanessa's birthday, Kirsten and Grandma tried to surprise me with a hush-hush trip to Florida. Well, I figured it out but was still totally happy to have my Mom come visit for 10 whole days. We had a great time, mostly just hanging out and playing, swimming. It was so nice to have a third pair of hands with the boys and even a few adult conversations without interruption (the joys of two young ones!)

This is Grandma on the front porch at our house with the boys, on the "kid bench" that we got from Granny... that's Ruby in the corner wishing she were a "real human child" ;)

This is Grandma being silly, playing arts and crafts with the boys. Harrison wasn't quite sure what to make of the hat!

Charlotte Harbor

Kirsten takes the boys to meet Granny at Charlotte Harbor sometimes. These are a couple of pictures from their recent visit. As you can see, the water is quite calm where the Peace River flows into the Gulf of Mexico. They are still dealing with water quality issues from poorly managed upstream runoff and debris, damage from Hurricane Charlie but it is still a nice place to visit for the day. I couldn't go, because I was at work... but the pictures give us a nice glimpse into the fun!

Mango-fest baby...

We took the kids to the Mango-fest on Pine Island this weekend. It was SOOOOO hot that we only stayed from 9:15 to 10:30 in the morning and then all had heat stroke the rest of the day. But, we had fun regardless. Emmett had his face painted for the first time, what a cute little doggie :)

Harrison in his recliner :)

We just need to get him his own remote control and a cool drink and he'd be all set. So cute!

Kid-friendly ATV

After our "incident" with an ATV (see October 2006 post, "Oh My Gawd!") we opted for a smaller ATV, that is electric versus gas powered. Emmett received a gently used, new to him, 4-wheeled ATV the weekend after his birthday. He loves it and drives it very well, even in reverse. Can you tell how proud he is?

Mount Lemmon, Tucson AZ

During our visit to Tucson for Father's Day in June, we took everybody up to Mount Lemmon to escape the heat and survey the damage from the fires a few years ago. Emmett and Harrison thought the fallen, burnt trees were great fun to play with but Kirsten and Vanessa were saddened to see the mountain so desolate. There were signs of recovery and rebound, but it was so drastically different from when we had seen it last.

Still, it was a cool escape from the City heat and we all had a great time. Both boys napped well after all that fresh mountain air!