Fridays with Nannie

My sister, Mary Beth, reminded me in a post that I forgot about Friday afternoon's adventures when I reported back on the weekend.

Let's set the scene. Jennifer and I had to go to the closing on our new house. Of course, we are buying it from my mom and dad. That's a story for another day. Anyway, Mary Beth generously volunteered to take Justin and Kate with her to the mall where she had to pick something up for work, then deliver it to her office.

At some point shortly after Mary Beth drove off in our car with the two seats, we realized this was the first time she would be flying solo with Justin AND Kate.

So, through the closing we checked in periodically.

As we got close to the end of the process, we decided to get something to eat across the street and called Mary Beth to see if she wanted to meet us and dump them. She decided to go back to my mom and dad's house where she would feed Kate and Justin could watch TV.

When she got to the house she realized she didn't have her keys...they were with me because she had our car. So, resourceful as she is, she began feeding Kate with her in the stoller while they sat in the driveway.

Then Justin told her: "Nannie, I have to potty."

If you drove by Oak Harbor Boulevard on Friday and saw a little boy tee-teeing, that was Justin.....under Nannie's direction.

What are you doing next Friday, Mary Beth?

Another birthday party....

Justin had another birthday part this weekend. This time it was for Miles, from his class at school. The party was a superhero theme and held at the local gymnastic place. Yet another one of these "double-themed" events.....placing a little pressure on Jennifer and myself for Justin's upcoming 4th birthday party.

Time for "night-night"

With an empty house and momma often away at practice, Daddy and Kate got into a new bedtime routine. We are trying to get the bottle out of her bed altogether becuase, while we had a house full of sleepers, a middle-of-the-night crying Kate was not so pleasant. So, to silence her, we would warm a bottle and just hand it to her. She would drink it and go back to sleep.

Well, we have to break that habit! So, there are no feedings in the bed. Just before bedtime....say 6:20 or so. (Yes, she goes to bed for the night at 6:30.) We warm her bottle (32 seconds in the microwave), turn down all the lights and se guzzles her six ounces.

Then, we tell everyone good night, walk to her room, lay her in the bed, put the blanket on her, turn out the lamp and she's done......until she cries/gets fed again, etc.

Emily G's Birthday Party

On Sunday, Justin was invited to a birthday party for one of the children in his class, Emily G. Interestingly enough there was a petting zoo at the party.

Justin made friends with this goat.

I guess that is a goat.

Pretty short, must be a Compretta goat.

What's wrong with this picture?

REAL Applesauce

Justin was finishing his dessert, cherry-flavored Elmo applesauce, and Kate was VERY interested in it. First, it was red. Second, it had Elmo on it. Third, and most importantly, it was something you could eat.

Let's just say she loved the stuff! We are guessing it had a little more flavor than the Gerber brand.

Confusion about "home"

Some of you may remember we went to Washington D.C. for Thanksgiving and took an airplane to do so. Keep that in the back of your mind for the rest of this story.....

In the car this morning, Justin requested that Jennifer play Michael Buble's Home on the CD player. In case you haven't heard the song or paid attention to the lyrics, here's a sample:

"...Another aeroplane Another sunny placeI ’m lucky I know But I wanna go home Mmmm, I’ve got to go home Let me go home I’m just too far from where you areI wanna come home And I feel just like I’m living someone else’s life It’s like I just stepped outside When everything was going right And I know just why you could not Come along with me But this was not your dream But you always believed in me Another winter day has come And gone away And even Paris and Rome And I wanna go home Let me go home...."

So, Justin asks Jennifer, "When we went to Washington D.C., how did the plane know where to take us?"

She explained to him that you buy a ticket to a destination and everyone on that plane is going to the same spot.

His response, "Well, how are they going to know where to take this guy (in reference to Michael Buble - from the song) if he's trying to get home?"

Beauty and the Beast Pictures!

Friday night was spent at the Slidell Little Theatre watching Jennifer's performance. The show was very good, as was Belle.

I have seen Jennifer perform in many roles over the course of time, but this was the first time I brought one of our children to see something like this. Pretty unique. I actually think he was impressed and thought it was pretty cool that his mom was up there and had such a big role.

Justin started in his seat....then made it to my lap when the Beast appeared on stage....and was fading, as an 8:00 start coincides with his bedtime. But, by the second act, he was actually pretty into it and cheering and laughing with the crowd like the little theatre goer he's become. It musty have been my influence! Not!

Here are a few pics. One of Belle and Justin. The other of Belle signing autographs afterward.....yes, autographs! Little girls think she flew over straight from Orlando for the event. Amazing.

Opening Night!

Tonight is opening night for Jennifer's play, Beauty and the Beast. Interestingly enough, I told somebody the other day she was in the play. They asked me what she was playing and I told them Belle. Their response was, "Well, hell, that's better than playing the Beast." I guess they are right.

With an 8:00 curtain, we announced to the troops who made the cut for opening night's performance:

Based on the above pictures, you can see Justin will be in attendance. Cruella will be sitting this one out and probably will be asleep 90 minutes before the show starts.

Animals, animals everywhere....

Justin is the king of animals. It seems like every time he leaves the house he comes back with a different set of plastic animals. If he gets to go to the Treasure Chest at school, he always chooses and animal. I bought him a bat and tee over the weekend, he wants to find a way to hit animals instead of balls. Take a bath....the animals need to be cleaned. It's amazing.

Two pictures.....

One, all of the plastic animals were laid out and sorted by species so we could take a picture for the "All about me" board at school. The angle on the lens is not wide enough to capture all of them.

The second picture is of Justin painting a set of animals...since we have all of them in a "pre-finished" state, we are now moving into the category of self-performed, custom finishes. Ever see a florescent aligator? Now you have!

Ready for takeoff.....

A couple of pictures of Kate....

The first is in the tub. That's what her hair looks like after a long, hard day of baby food, naps and playing with Fisher Price's Little People.

The second picture is just after the same bath. Are those wings in her hair ready for takeoff? Wow! We'll see what that hair is really going to do after her first birthday when we trim the ends and encourage a little growth.

The thought of Kate sitting in a chair for a haircut is disturbing and could be dangerous.

Relaxing in the evening....

Not sure if you have noticed or not, but Tuesday night's TV schedule is weak. So, we have selected a different form of entertainment.....

Pitching in around the house.....

As most of you know, Jennifer has been preparing for her role in the play Beauty and the Beast with late night practices. So, everyone has had to pitch in to keep the house clean and straight.

Kate has kept her high chair tray clear of any food.

Justin has been a major helper, too. Beside putting all of his animals in the proper place each night, he has taken over the vacuming duties. As a matter of fact, he knew enough to adjust the settings over carpet and bare floor.

AKC Eukanuba Dog Show Color Commentary

After watching the 2006 AKC Eukanuba Dog Show last night, I have a bit of advice for the folks at Animal Planet when they plan the 2007 telecast....maybe Justin can be the color commentator: Here are some of his better quotes:

- Hey Dad, come see this dog...his name is Albert and he's 6 year old. (With a stress on "Albert" like what kind of name is that for a dog.)

- That dog looks like Bach. Why don't we put him in a show?

- That looks like a moose. I thought this was a dog show.

- That dog looks like a lamb or a stuffed animal.

- That dog looks like those people that live with the penguins.....you know the eskimos. (See picture; envision the coat the eskimo wears with the fur around their head.)

Kate.....getting better?!

Kate has been fairly sick over the last couple of weeks. She had/has a cold that had her nose very runny. Somehow in the midst it must have turned into an infection because she has been on antibiotics since before Christmas. The last batch dealt with the nose.....but she was still extremely irritable. Yes, more so than "normal".

Come to find out, the recent addition of four teeth (she now has eight) has triggered some of the good ole REFLUX we so enjoyed through the early stages. Prevacid is back on the counter and part of the daily routine, again. But, since she started taking it she is much better......

Nothing proves that more than the return of her appetite and her consumption of Gerber's Fruit Puffs. Last night while we were eating Justin and I gave her four handsful. Each handful must have had six or seven in them. Then Jennifer told me she had four handsful before I got home. That is somewhere close to 60 puffs. Maybe those new teeth were worth it?

Hair.....

Last night at bathtime, as Justin is getting ready to jump in the tub, he pulls down my t-shirt from the neck and says, "Daddy, you have hair on your chest." So, I took the opportunity to tell him that boys have hair on their chest and one day he will too....when he gets older."

He responds with, "Yeah, when I am older, like when I am four or maybe five."

New Year's Weekend

Justin and Kate had a pretty good New Year's weekend. Friday was a shopping day. Both got bookcases for their rooms. Bookcases, if you know Jennifer at all, are essential bedroom furniture.....even if she cannot assemble them. I guess that's what Daddy's are for.

While re-organizing the garage on Friday, we saw a family walking their pets. I had to do a double-take because one of their "dogs" was very small and very pink. As you can see, it was no dog at all. It was their pet pig, Teluhlah.

Saturday was spent rounding up supplies for dinner. Gunny, Pappy and Aunt Jodi came over for dinner and fireworks. Justin was a little scared of holding the sparklers, but Kate seemed more receptive....as long as Momma held her.