Mi Ranchito

Time for a yummy dinner with the family at Mi Ranchito!

Oh Butter!

Kate was excited to "help" make cookies. I heard "Uh-oh! " while I was in the laundry room and found this when I came into the kitchen. Yes, that's four cubes of room temperature butter on the floor. That's apparently what they look like when you drop them.   Kate was climbing down to try and clean it up. 

Oops

We forgot the diaper bag...

Time for Well-Checks

It was well-check day today for both Daniel (2 months) and Kate (almost 18 months).  Kate did better than I expected, of course she didn't have any shots. She was due for one, but it hasn't been quite the 60 day waiting period yet, so she'll get it next time.  She was interested in the ear-looker-inner (Matt's not home to ask what the other name for that instrument is, but you know what I'm talking about) with the light on the end that makes your finger turn pink when you put it over the light. Who wouldn't think that was pretty awesome!?  Daniel didn't get off quite so easy. He got three shots today. I left the room to get Kate dressed and Matt stayed with Daniel.  Poor little guy.  By the time Matt was out in the hall, Daniel was asleep in his arms.

I always try to schedule the well-checks for a time that we can join Matt for lunch either before or afterwards.  It makes for a fun afternoon. We headed down to the doctor's lounge and enjoyed a stir fry (I enjoyed Matt's more than mine). Kate ate from sboth of our plates and also had a yogurt and some fruit. There is a freezer full of yummy ice cream bars that we has for dessert. Kate was in heaven! I predict her loving future visits to Daddy's work as she gets older.

It's Official

Well folks, there Is no denying it any longer. We have officially embarked on the adventure of toddlerhood. Part of our routine now includes full body collapses onto the ground, following me into whatever room I'm in to continue crying, and being told "No!" with a furrowed brow (although, it's still so cute it's hard not to enjoy this one) multiple times a day.  Timeout, lovingly refereed to by Matt and me as "The Grouch Couch," had been instituted.

Mama's Breakfast

I got Kate up this morning and after shower she had breakfast. Daniel had already eaten, so now its my turn.  Perhaps I looked lonely or maybe my honey nut cheerios looked extra delicious because both children insisted on sitting in my lap.

Kids

No one can get Kate and Daniel more excited than their older siblings.

Little Mama

Kate has been noticing more and more things I do with Daniel. She started wrapping her doll in blankets and putting it in his bouncy bed.  This morning she found one of Daniel's bottles that wasn't quite finished, and started trying to feed it to her little doll.

Looks like we need to work on her aim.

Tonight

Matt got home earlier than normal this evening.  He'd originally said he'd like some cold cereal for dinner (gotta love a man who requests cold cereal for dinner every once in a while).  But he was holding Kate when he went into the pantry to get the cereal and she thought the pasta salad mix looked good.  So he decided to whip that up instead.  Daniel and Kate sat at the table with Matt and me tonight.  Daniel fell asleep while he sat on my lap.  Kate leaned over every few minutes to give him a kiss on his head.  He had little bits of the salad sauce in his hair as a result of her affections.  We had a few pieces of chocolate from a Christmas gift mom gave us because she didn't want to eat it all.  We chatted about the day.  Everything had gone well at the office, there seemed to be a pleasant, busy, rhythm throughout the day that made the day pass quickly.  I'd finally gotten through all the laundry and mail that had been piling up.  We cleaned up briefly before Matt's presidency meeting would begin and I would start getting the kids ready for bed.

It was a good day.

Daddy's Day Off

I love Mondays. I love them because they are Matt's day off. Today is the first Monday in a long time that we haven't had some major event coming up that we were trying to prepare for. It's always easier to get things done when we're both home. Today, we slept in and do did Kate. She's been sick for a few days. She sounds awful in the mornings. All croupy and hoarse.

Well, after we all finally had breakfast,  showered, and dressed Matt and I sat down to budget and go through paper work. Kate wanted to participate. So we got her little desk and coloring book. She parked herself right next to her Daddy.  I think she is going to love Mondays, too.

Our Little Artist

We got Kate this little lap desk for Christmas. She immediately set down and started coloring as soon as she got it. she has been at it ever since. She leans forward and really concentrates on what she's doing. I love to watch her. She even holds the crayons, in both left hand and right hand, quite well. Especially for such a little person.

Happy Boy

Daniel has smiled several times in the past few weeks, but for the first time this week he has been smiling in response to us. I've taken at least a dozen pictures of him smiling. I just can't get enough.  They grow and change so fast. It makes me a little bit sad to know that the newborn stage is coming to an end.  But it's so exciting to watch these little ones learn and grow.

Daddy's Girl

Matt got his shop set up and has been working in it a lot, especially in preparation for Christmas. He's had an almost constant shadow in Kathryn Elaine. She wears ear plugs when he's using his power tools.  You can see them sticking out of her ears (they're purple) if you look closely.

It's hard to say who enjoys these times more.