Cow Sandwiches

As a way to pass the time on the way to Grandma and Grandpa's house, we look for animals at the farms we pass as we drive. This past weekend, Greg felt that Sophie was ready for "The Talk." The "Where does hamburger come from?" talk.

Out the window, we saw black and white cows..."Those cows give us milk," Greg explained. Then we saw brown cows..."Those cows give us hamburgers." "No!" Sophie said. "Yep!" Greg continued, "I'm going to have a cow sandwich at Donald's." "No!" Sophie protested, "We don't eat cow sandwiches. Yuck!"

They went back and forth on that issue for a while, and I don't believe Sophie ever accepted that hamburgers come from cows. However, it finally came down to this fight...Greg: "You're a nut!" Sophie: "No, You're a nut!" This went on for a few rounds. Then finally, Greg: "You're a nut".....slight pause.....Sophie: "You're an acorn!" Sophie won!!

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As Sophie and I were reading books before naptime today, we came across a page with farm animals on it. She pointed to the black and white cow and said,"What kind is that one?" She answered her own question, "It gives us milk." "Very good!" I praised her. "It comes from the udders," she continued. HUH??? "It comes from the udders," she repeated, as she pointed to them. Yes, yes, Sophie, that is correct.

Another vocabulary moment occurred yesterday (not related to cows). As we were playing and teasing, Sophie said to me, "Mom, you're old fashioned." WHAT??!! She giggled and said it again, "You're old fashioned!" I asked her if she knew what that meant, and she just laughed at me. I've been trying to buy some new clothes, I just got my hair done, and though my birthday is coming up, I'm not THAT old. I felt a little better later though, when we were playing with Owen and Sophie said, "Owen, you're old fashioned."

Who has she been talking to???

Memorial Day Weekend: Part 3

While at the zoo, we had opportunities to feed several different kinds of animals, including a crazy goat. He wasn't free to roam around, I'm guessing due to his huge horns and impatient personality. As Courtney, Jozie and Sophie approached the wooden post below, that goat trudged across a swinging bridge to look down at them from on high. He knew the routine and what he was in for, and as our toddlers were a little slow putting the treats in the silver cup, that goat started banging his horns around the boards and rope at the top of his little shack.


In the end, that goat finally got what was coming to him. And he didn't even say thank you.

Memorial Day Weekend: Part 2

On the day Aubrey was quarantined, we headed out of the house to keep away from her germs and we ended up at the zoo! Immediately upon entering, we were greeted by free-roaming pigs and goats in all shapes, sizes and colors. I was just starting to read aloud the sign behind Greg when this happened....what a friendly little goat...

Oops! Should have read all the signage before interacting with the zoo inhabitants!!

Jozie was strapped into her stroller where we neglected to pay attention to her for the two seconds her mother left her in our care when we heard her screeching and turned to see a big goat right in her face. Greg rescued her, but after that, Jozie and Sophie weren't too fond of the goats. Owen didn't seem to mind them though.

Sophie and Jozie and I got into the rabbit cage with the dwarf rabbits and got to pet and hold them. Sophie was very brave and requested to hold this rabbit. She thought that was very cool until it started to squirm and it's claws touched her hand. Then she was done with that.

We got to pet a chinchilla, a ferret, a hedgehog and huge rabbit--bigger than Owen! We also saw a skunk and a porcupine up close. Sophie and Greg got to pet a deer--notice the antlers.

We had a picnic lunch and then we ventured back inside to see the last few animals we hadn't seen yet.

This was when Sophie was finally ready to confront the goats and feed them herself. These ones were behind a fence and she very bravely held onto her crackers and wouldn't just let the goats take the whole thing at once. They were loving her!
Then she wanted to go back and feed the loose goats, especially the babies, so we did that on our way out. However, those goats had had their fill at the beginning of the day and couldn't even be forced to eat Sophie's crackers, though she tried.

Memorial Day Weekend: Part 1

We went to my parents' house (Yellow Grandma & Grandpa) for Memorial Day weekend, and the whole family was there! We had so much fun, and took so many pictures, that I'm breaking this up into more than one post so I don't overwhelm anyone or myself either. We had good weather, mostly, and were able to enjoy a lot of outdoor fun. Courtney brought a water table for the kids to play with on the deck, and Owen particularly loved it. He liked splashing in the water and chewing the little floaty toys. I think we've discovered what we'll be getting him for his birthday!

Aubrey, Jozie and Sophie had a good time playing together and got along with each other pretty well most of the time. Jozie and Owen didn't always hit it off really well, as he upset her by getting into her stuff and she knocked him over frequently. Unfortunately, we awoke Saturday morning to Aubrey's retching noises, which turned out to be the beginning of strep for her. I think the toughest part of that ordeal (once she quite puking and got meds in her) was that she was a quarantined for a day so the other kids wouldn't get sick. Otherwise, we only had to pay attention to Sophie long enough to feed her or clean her because she was busy playing with her cousins.


We visited the lake once to check for fish and to bring bread to the ducks, but I don't really think we found either while we were down there. The kids (and Uncle Gerrit) enjoyed the big swing, though.

Owen had a great time crawling all over the house and the deck, and he even ventured to take some steps while we were there. Unaided!! We could hardly believe it!! He also got his first sliver from the deck, which he didn't even notice. Owen was highly upset at being held down so Greg could extract it, but he didn't even notice the actual extracting. Thank goodness!

My family had a little surprise birthday celebration for me by singing "Happy Birthday" over a candle in a cheesecake.

We had a major fish fry on Saturday night when family friends brought over fish to fry in a big, outdoor frier. First we had fried bread, and then Marty fried blue gill, northern, walleye, grouper and some other seafood fish that I can't remember the name of. Good stuff! Except for the coconut covered fish, which was an experiment. It tasted like vomit.

All the adults played a new game that Cassie and Gerrit suggested, "Pictionary Telephone." Each person gets a stack of papers equivalent to the number of players of the game. You start by putting a well-known phrase on the first sheet (eg. "You are my sunshine"). Then you pass the stack to the next person. They draw a picture to represent the phrase. Pass the stack. The next person writes the phrase they think the picture represents. Pass the stack...and so on until it gets back to the original person. Then you read through and show the pictures to the group. It's hilarious!! We were crying from laughing so hard.

Best Storytime Ever!

Today, as we walked into our library's storytime, Sophie announced, "I'm going to wear my nametag, Mom!" This is amazing because she has refused to wear one all year, and she wore one last week for the first time only because I suggested it...again.

This week's theme was "Firefighters" and our local firefighters were there to show the kids their cool firefighting gear and big, red trucks. Sophie and her buddy Lydia looked longingly at the other kids trying on the firefighter's helmet and jacket, but neither of them had the gumption to ask (heaven forbid!) or even agree to (when it was offered to them) try the gear on themselves. They did, however, check out the firetrucks parked outside. Sophie got to "drive" one--so cool! And, she and Owen and I got to take a ride in the other one. Wow! Sophie was grinning ear to ear for the whole ride around the block, and she was especially excited when the driver turned the siren on.

That was the best storytime ever!

Owen's New Faves

Owen has been crawling around for a few weeks now and is getting quite adept at it. He's branching out a little, not just following around at my heels and trying to pull up on my pant legs whenever I stand still. He has discovered the joy of the refrigerator! He likes to pull off all the magnets that are within his reach and anything they may have been holding onto the fridge.

Owen also loves the bathroom. Probably because parts of it are taboo. Whenever we are in there for Sophie to go potty, Owen tries desperately to get to the toilet and pull himself up on it. He attempts to climb over, under and around my pesky leg which is always blocking the way. So, this morning, while my attention was focused elsewhere, Owen made a b-line for the toilet. (At least the lid was closed!! I still washed his hands after this!) Then he noticed the toilet paper. Hmmm. Even better. All he managed to do was tear off a tiny chunk. Although, he may have eaten a bit too--still not sure about that--there was a little gagging going on, but no paper to be found.

Picnic in the Park

The kids and I tried out a different park today and stayed for a picnic on a blanket in the shade. It was the first day we have all worn shorts, and full-body sunscreen for that matter. The kids are both sporting new summer clothes (I love new summer clothes!). I also was sporting new shorts, but you'll not be seeing any pictures of those. As my mother says (and perhaps my Grandma Snookie before her), "Tan fat looks better than pale fat." This was the first time my legs have seen the light of day since last year, so they have a ways to go before being picture-ready!

Owen was not amused that we were eating without him. He kept trying to get Sophie's food. Too bad he didn't remember that he still gags on half pieces of cereal. A turkey sandwich was a little out of his league. I did let him lick a piece of cookie and suck on a few little crumbs by the end though.

Owen's new duds.

Aren't his new "shorts" cute?

Play Date

We went over to play at the K's house yesterday. Sophie loved hanging out with her buddy Ella and her big sister McKenna. Owen loved checking out somebody else's stuff.

Owen did not, however, love the grass.

Or his hat. This hat fit him in January, but now the straps will not meet under his rather ample cheeks. When he remembers that the hat is there, he tries to pull it off.

The girls put on a pet show...circus...something like that.

Teacher Jessica (she's Ella's mom but also Sophie's teacher at Bible study on Tuesdays) led us all in singing some songs. This was "Hey Elephant!"

We also did an art project. In the big jug is a piece of paper, some squirts of paint and a few golf balls. The idea is to roll the jug around to paint a picture. This is a great, mess-free project! The only drawback is having to eat a jug-full of cheese balls in order to do it!!

Owen even did one!

Bear Park

We made our first trip to "Bear Park" for the season. Sophie was a little more interested in rock climbing than she was last year. Great. Greg, not wanting to squelch her interests, let/encouraged/helped her to climb up some fairly tall rocks. Seeing her up there made me a little nauseated as I envisioned her crumpled little body lying in the sand below them. However, though she had an interest in climbing (which I, grudgingly, agree we should not squelch), she had a healthy fear and therefore was very cautious up there. In the very last picture you can see her perched at the top. It looks much more scary than it really was as the ground is not too far below the bottom of the picture. Her feet were at Greg's eye level. I'm just hoping she isn't going to want to be doing this when he's not around!!