Trip to the firehouse

Yesterday we went to the firehouse and had dinner. Everyone takes turns cooking dinner for everyone else, and there is a dinner the last Tuesday of every month. Believe me, I welcome the break from cooking, and the kids like going up there and playing with the other kids. I also checked out the little workout area (yes, little) and actually got up at 5 this morning and ran on the treadmill there. A good habit to get into..but an incredibly boring one. I just wanted to post some pics of the kids at the fire station... Here's Papi's little fireman...

Trip to the zoo

Today I took a personal day off of work. Jamie had a job interview near the St. Louis airport, and rather than have the kids in daycare all day we decided to just make a family day out of it and go together, then go to zoo (which we've wanted to do all year). We left by 6 am and drove to St. Louis. I dropped Jamie off at a hotel where he was to have his interview, and I took the kids for breakfast at Ihop. They loved the pancakes, and within an hour we picked Papi up and headed toward the zoo. It was a chilly and sort of drizzly day, but thankfully it wasn't very wet by the time we got there. As we suspected, we had the zoo nearly to ourselves. We took the wagon, but the kids got to get out and walk around a bit because there were so few other people there. We took a ride on the little train that goes around the zoo. We did get to see four tiger cubs playing, but that was it for animals on the train ride... so that was pretty much a bust. We didn't see a ton of animals, partly because some of them were inside and partly because we didn't spent a whole lot of time at the zoo. Asher absolutely loved the bears. He actually squealed when he saw them. He also trumpeted at the elephants entirely without prompting from us. Avery was interested in everything, and especially loved the big beetle she got to crawl on. We got her face painted and of course she didn't choose a cute little animal...she wanted a shark! That's my girl. We actually timed it perfectly, as the kids were *just* starting to get worn out when we were leaving. By the time we started heading west, they were both sleeping in the car. It was a good day!

Avery-isms

Avery is so fun to be around! She says such cute things, I think it would be a shame to not write them down and keep them somehow. So... here are a few! When something is big, it's not just big. It is "big one." I like I want a big one drink, I took a big one nap. When you ask her her name, she will say Avery Rose. We are teaching her her last name, so now she will say Avery Rose Lehman (Ay-wee Wose Wehman). We are also trying to teach her OUR first names in case we're ever separated somewhere. Yesterday we were informed that our names were Daddy Rose Lehman, and Mommy Rose Lehman. She is big into favorite things. Whenever she sees something she likes, like her bike she'll say "oh, that's my favorite bike." She calls everyone her favorite friend. Everyone she meets is her friend. The other day she introduced Asher to our neighbor by saying "this is my good friend Asher." And of course when she introduces us like that, she always cups her hands a little and points in the direction of the introducee. Her new thing to do this week is to tell us that she has an idea. If she wants to go outside to play, she tells us "I have an idea, let's go outside...isn't that a great idea?" If she does something naughty and we punish her for it (like spreading diaper cream on the carpet or drawing on the carpet with a Sharpie), when we remind her of it she'll say "I won't do THAT again." If we catch her doing something she isn't supposed to do, like flushing the toilet or drawing on a paper we need- she'll tell me "I just pretend- I not do it." She is always telling us funny things, like to be very careful, or I will miss you. The other day she said she was proud of me for coming home from work. Avery is tenacious, and loves to keep trying. When she doesn't get it right the first time, she'll say "it's okay, I'll try again." She will also encourage us to keep trying again, and sometimes it can be really funny. Once she asked for a cookie right before dinner. I said I can't give you a cookie, and she looked at me, cocked her head and shrugged a little and told me "just try!" It's okay is another one. When she makes a mistake, I'll tell her it's okay. Well now when she does something naughty she'll say it's okay mommy. I caught her in a pile of macaroni noodles that she'd dumped out on the ground. I said Avery what did you do? Her response- it's okay mommy. :/ I'm sure I'll think of more... I will just have to edit this as I remember them! :) Asher is pretty little yet, so doesn't have many Asher-isms. He has learned the word "diaper" (pah-pah). A few weeks ago every once in a while he'd bring one to us and we'd change him. Now after he poops he'll say diaper. So, all you can hear is him grunting to poop, then he says diaper. It's so funny! The other day he farted, and said diaper! Hahaha

First day back at daycare

We decided to start the kids back to daycare twice a week, just in case there were problems adjusting. This way we could pick them up early if we needed to, before it wasn't possible. Jamie had to be at the Caterpillar plant this morning so it worked out well. Avery was SO excited, she was squealing. All morning long she was talking about how she was going to see her friends, how Derrick and Owen were going to be surprised that she was a big girl, and that she could go to the potty. Everything she picked up, she asked if she could bring it along to school to show Bobby, because Bobby would 'wub this.' We arrived and the kids were so happy to see Avery and Asher. Of course, Asher didn't remember any of it and was really upset that everyone was crowded around. When it came time for me to leave he just screamed. I have been worried about him all day. Jamie called to check on them, and heard Asher screaming in the background. Jamie went to pick them up at 4, and the kids were all sitting around their tables eating snacks. Asher was there and eating his snack, just like a big boy. I guess he loved the slide (of course!) and went up and down it all day long. Avery and Derrick were holding hands most of the afternoon. :) It does my heart good to know that they are being cared for. It really is the best case scenario having them in a couple days a week. We aren't going to break the bank, we get to take care of them most days, and they get to play and develop friendships with other kids.

Busy day!

Today was the fifth annual Columbia Half Marathon Challenge. We had so many more people registered this year than in years' past! I think there were nearly 500 total runners with nearly 400 of them being individuals rather than teams. I stepped back a bit this year from the planning and Lisa did a great job of stepping up. I look forward to the day that I can just step back completely and maybe even run things... getting up at 4 am the first Sunday in Oct every year is getting old! I didn't see the kids much today, but we did have a nice evening together. Avery let a daddy long leg walk all over her- up her arms across her back, on her tummy- and she loved it. She was VERY upset that the spider from the face-painting the day before had worn off. The more she cried about it, the more it ran off her sad little face. I ended up getting out some makeup and painting on a new one. She thought that was way cool, and kept running to the mirror to look at it. Someone in Walmart said something to her about it, and she just beamed. I wonder how many spiders I'm going to have to paint on her face before she loses interest. ;)

The Pumpkin Patch

Well, we got news yesterday that Jamie got a job! What an answered prayer. It's not his dream job, but he will work on Sat, Sun, and Mon for 12 hours per day and get paid for 40 hours. It's in Boonville, which is 40 miles away, but he only has to go there three times a week, so it's not that bad. We only have to get childcare on Mondays, but we are going to send the kids Friday too. That way Jamie will have a day completely off (lucky him). He is still talking to people outside of town- specifically in St. Louis about jobs. He would commute there (5 hours each day). I would see him only an hour or so at night, and the kids would only see him on weekends. I'm not a big fan of this idea, but he really wants to do something with his life that has to do with construction, and I guess it's important enough to him to be willing to make that sacrifice. In the meantime, I wouldn't enjoy being a single mom, so to speak. Ah, we'll cross that bridge if it comes. So, since we figured that Jamie might soon be working weekends, we took our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch with the kids. This is our third year. It was a beautiful day... the weather was perfect. The kids enjoyed climbing around on pumpkins... ...a hayride and feeding the goats. Asher is fearless when it comes to the goats. He was feeding them one piece of food at a time, and they were nibbling his fingers as he was laughing. Avery wasn't quite so brave, but did choose to get a spider painted on her face. It was the first time she'd had that done, and out of the butterfly, pumpkin, and ladybug she chose a big hairy spider! We had our neighbors over that evening for grilled pork chops, and all in all had a really nice day!

Busy day

I have a busy day today, and the next couple days. The half marathon is this weekend. This is the first time in four years I haven't been the director. I told Lisa that I would take on the responsibilities of coordinating the volunteers. Ugh. I remember why I told her I would do it- I was feeling guilty for not directing so took upon myself the most thankless, difficult jobs. I'll be glad when Sunday comes. Funny- for the last five years I've been dreading the first Sunday in October. The kids are doing better- the whole family was sick for the past week. I think Asher still has a bit of the bug. Last night I really had a good night with him. (I had both kids by myself... and Avery was a good girl, but Asher was being fun.) Recently he learned that a monkey says 'ooh ooh ooh' and whenever you ask him what a ___ says, he says ooh ooh ooh. As cute as it is, horeses and dogs don't say ooh ooh ooh. Well, last night I asked him what a horse said and he neighed! Then I asked him what a doggy says and he started panting (then he said ooh ooh ooh.. but hey, baby steps!). Then I read brown bear to him and he actually sat still for a good part of it- big accomplishment. We made all the sounds the animals make and he mimicked each one perfectly. When we got to the teacher at the end I pointed my finger and said 'wah-wah-wah' like Charlie Brown's teacher. He cracked up! Every time I did that he giggled himself silly.. then he started doing the same thing with his chubby little sausage finger pointing all the while. Avery in the meantime is obsessed with being a big girl. Every time we eat, or she pees in the potty she says that 'now I can grow.' (yes, we told her she would grow more if she went to the potty- and takes naps... LOL) She is such a lovely little thing. Every morning she comes into my room carrying something or other (lately it's been her rubber lizard Joey) and tells me she wubs me. We usually watch Little Mermaid together, then I turn on Little Einsteins and she watches that while I get ready to go to work. She really doesn't like when I go to work... it makes me so sad when I see her get sad, knowing I have to leave. Jamie is on the verge of getting a job at Caterpillar. I know he doesn't want to work there but we NEED the money. If he gets it, we'll have to (get to?) send the kids to daycare two days a week. He'll only have three 12 hour days to work, so he can watch the kids Tu Wed Th. I'll have them pretty much all weekend, but that's okay- I miss them so much during the week I love spending time with them on the weekend. I'm praying he gets this... he needs to get out of the house more, and we need the money.