a boy and his pup

 

allergies

I took Max to the allergist earlier this week because of my cat allergy suspicion. After the family history portion of the appointment, the doctor decided to test him for 16 common allergies. It was pretty interesting what they did, so I took a picture on my phone. The top left red spot was the control and then #5 was mold (an outdoor mold usually found in late fall) #6 was cats and #7 is dogs. Thankfully the dog allergy is very slight, but it's definitely there. We're going to start with getting Chloe out of his room as much as possible. (telling Max this produced some alligator size tears, but since then he's been fine) We are also getting some air purifiers in our house and we'll be brushing/bathing Chloe a lot more often. Here's the pic!

strawberry pickin' fools

This morning we took a ride over to Wisconsin and went strawberry picking! It was really fun and the kids had a great time. We'll definitely go back next year. We ended up with about 16 pounds of strawberries! (well..16 pounds is what ended up on the scale. Not sure how many pounds were in two little kids' bellies:) Here are some pictures. Something is up with our camera. It was a little hazy out today, but not as hazy as the pictures make it look.










Now if you'll excuse me...I need to go figure out what to do with 16 pounds of strawberries!

The week

The weeks are flying by these days! We're so busy that the kids can't keep one day straight from the next! It's all fun and we have some good naps around here in the afternoon:)

Max had his first playdate this week where the mom picked him up and took him to her house. Granted, it was in our neighborhood, but a big deal nonetheless. Jamie was going to pick him up at 11:45 and this picture was taken at 8:45 a.m. Yes...he was sitting in his chair out on the sidewalk, reading his spiderman books, waiting for his ride to come:) Moments like that make my heart melt and I just wanted to squeeze him so tight.



To get his mind off of the playdate, I took the kids to a pond down the road that has a trail around it. We've run/walked this trail before, but this time I took the kids' bikes. Much to my surprise, both M & M made it all the way around the pond (.9 miles) without blinking an eye. They would have gone again too, but we had some other kids with us so it wouldn't work this time. I was so happy this worked because I can take Chloe there and let her swim and get some exercise walking while the kids bike. We're in the between stage where they're too big for the stroller, but they're not big enough to let them ride bikes on the street and up hills in our neighborhood. Sorry no pics of this. I had my camera with me too, but never took a pic. Next time!

We all got a care package in the mail from Chris's grandparents, which is always fun. It reminds us of college when we'd get random packages in the mail:) The kids got new t-shirts so here they are modeling them!



We got lots of rain this week which our garden really needed! One evening there was a cool rainbow and Chris snapped a few pictures!


That's about all I can think of! Hope you all have a great weekend!

Niabi Zoo

Yesterday we took a day trip to the Quad Cities to see our friends Ron and Maryanne who are just a few weeks away from the arrival of their first baby! We are so excited to meet their little guy. We also snuck in a trip to the Niabi Zoo! We lived in the QC for 3 years, but never went to the zoo, so it was our first time! We had a great time and hope to do more trips like this before Baby 3 makes his/her arrival. I'm not taking it for granted that we travel without a stroller, diaper bag, bottles, nap schedule, etc. Here are some favorite pictures from the day!

A highlight was the train ride that started our day at the zoo. It took us around the whole zoo so the kids were able to see what was ahead! They both loved this and were saying "choo-choo" the whole time!




They had a small petting zoo area where the kids got to feed the animals. Max was all about it and Mya needed a little help from her dad as you can see from the picture:)



Mya was a little scared of the tigers!


Another favorite part--I think I would have puked if I had been on that merry-go-round. Chris is hiding between them.




My favorite:)

green thumb? close, but not quite

I am officially turning into my mom. We (my sister and I) have given her so much crap through the years for taking pictures of her flowers. Year after year our photo albums are full of pictures of the same pot of beautiful flowers, the same perennials, and the same gardens! Now that I am getting a "light" green thumb I enjoy taking pictures of the flowers that I take care of, baby, miracle grow, etc. Each time I snap one, I think to myself that I am just like my mom!! The thing is...I can think of a lot worse people to channel:)




And this picture has nothing to do with the post, but I wanted to include because I thought it was cute!

 

And this picture has nothing to do with the post either! We found out today that this little man is allergic to cats! The last few times we've been around them he has had red, itchy eyes. Today we were in a house with 2 cats, were never in the same room as them, and his eyes were completely blood shot, swollen, his nose was dripping and he was down right miserable. A dose of benadryl did the trick thankfully! Now I just need to talk to the pediatrician about what to do if I know we're going to be around them.

precision

Normally if one of my kids got a hold of a sharpie marker and colored on themselves, I would not be a happy camper. However, when I saw what Mya was able to do with the marker, I was quite impressed! Check out those blue fingernails. She did both her left and right hands with nearly flawless precision!




Can you tell I'm trying to look at the glass half full this summer???:) Someone told me at the beginning of last summer to try to say "yes" to my kids as much as I can when it comes to having fun. Can you give me an underdog? YES! (even if it is the 100th underdog I've given of the day) Can you pitch to me? YES! (even if it is painfully boring to do this and fighting with Chloe to get the ball is not my idea of a good time) Can we paint the swing set? SURE! (that was actually a good idea. It took up an hour and I sat in a chair the whole time:) Can we wash our bikes? WHY NOT! (another fun activity that involves me sitting in a chair:) Can we run in the sprinkler? YES! (even though this requires a full application of sunscreen and I am already so sick of sunscreen and it's barely June!)

I know my kids will not really remember this time in their life specifically, but I hope they can look back and remember having fun, staying busy, and smiling a lot:)

bball skillz

In honor of the NBA Finals, I decided to post a video of Mya's mad dribbling skills. She has no chance at being tall, so being a good dribbler is pretty much her only shot at being a basketball player. Right now she's very right-hand dominant, but I figure we have a few years to work on the left:) Auntie Tara--guessing you're pretty proud watching this video. At least someone in the family may be able to challenge you in the ball handling department:)

1 year down....lots more to go!

Today marked the last day of Max's first year in preschool! He's a little confused about what "summer vacation" means though! He told our neighbor the other day that he had 1 day of school left and then he would be on summer vacation and she would never see him again! We are so pleased with how the year went for Max. We couldn't be happier with the choice of preschool and with everything they learned. I was able to spend the day with him today in his classroom and it made me even happier that he has one more year at this school and that Mya will be joining him next year! The teachers there honestly love the children and want what is best for them.

I asked Max what his favorite parts of school were this year and here's what he responded: (with a few prompts, but not many)

--crafts
--playing with Bella
--dinosaur and truck centers
--taking a picture with my teachers
--being the cow for our Christmas story play
--bike week (side note: each month there is a week designated as bike week and they go into this big room and ride bikes for 15 minutes)
--Thanksgiving chapel
--my spiderman backpack (followed by...Can I get a new backpack next year???)

For me, the best parts were:
--meeting the other parents in his class and making some new friends.
--our conversations every day on the way home from school.
--having some alone time with Mya each week.
--seeing Max's face each time he came out of the classroom and saw me waiting there. He usually couldn't wait to tell me something.
--seeing his end of the year picture book and all of the progress he made from September until May.
--hearing him talk about "what Mrs. Julie or Mrs. Laura said" as if they were God.


Here's a pic of him with his teachers. I've decided there is definitely a place in Heaven for all preschool teachers. They are the most patient, positive people I've ever met!

soccer time

Today was the last day of Max's week developmental soccer program. Overall it was a good thing for him because our goal was just to give him some exposure to the sport. However, it appears (for now at least) that he's not naturally gifted in the area of soccer:) I think we need some lessons from Uncle Jeff! It was fun to see him run around and have fun, but he wasn't inclined to go for the ball or try to get it away from the other team! He was a super teammate and was encouraging them throughout the game.

The medal at the end was definitely the best part. He's so proud of it and wants to tell the whole world! Here are a few pictures. If nothing else...he's really a cute little kid all dressed up in his soccer gear:) I'm sure we'll sign up again in the fall!




Dubuque U5 soccer better watch out when this little girl comes around though...she's looking tough!