And the hair!!!

(Todd here)

Dylan was being her usual pain in the rear "I don't want to nap" self so I volunteered to take her with me for some groceries. Trying to distract her from everything that was making her grumpy I gave her the shopping list momma had prepared for us:

1. Tent & Sleeping Bags
2. Trail mix
3. Individual Cookie Snacks
4. Individual Fruit snacks
5. Liquid Soap

Off to Costco we went. Things went well. Dylan attempted to read items off the list as we went but basically just asked what was next and repeated it over and over until I picked one up from the shelf.

D - "Trail Mix."

D - "Daddy we're looking for Trail Mix."

D - "Trail Mix Daddy."

D - "Daddy how come you're not getting the Trail Mix?"

We were doing well but couldn't find the individual cookie snacks we needed for some upcoming road trips. I had to keep reminding Dylan to move onto the next item on the list as I couldn't find the cookies we wanted.

D - "Can we find the cookies now?"

T - "I don't think they have the kind mommy wants"

D - "That's ok daddy. We can get other cookies now"

This is how it went until we had everything except the cookies. I was able to distract Dylan a bit at the cashier by letting her scan some of the items and push the debit card buttons. We collected our receipt and headed for the door.

Costco generally has an employee who checks your cart and receipt as you leave the store. Most of the time they take our receipt and draw a little smiley face or stick figure on it for the kids. This time was no different.

Employee asking Dylan - "Do you want a boy or a girl?"

D - "Girl please"

The employee then draws a smiley face on our receipt (pictured above) and hands it back to Dylan. If you haven't looked at the smiley you may want to scroll up and take one more look. Dylan politely says thank you and we head out for our car.

About twenty feet outside the door Dylan screams out, "Wait!" I stop the cart and look at her asking what was wrong. "We forgot something." Frustrated that I am about to receive another lecture about how important it is to find the cookies I tell her, "I told you they didn't have any. We'll have to get cookies at another store." To which I receive the following reply:

"No daddy. She (costco employee) forget the nose and ears!"

Looking back at the receipt I discover Dylan is right. Dylan, now with a disgusted look on her face, adds one parting shout to the employee as I continue toward our car, "And the hair!"

Smurfies

Now, in case you're thinking this is going to be a post about cute, little blue, cartoon characters, let me just tell you how wrong you are!

This morning Dylan woke up and wanted Smurfies. Wha??

I asked again, "What do you want?"

And again she responded, "Smurfies."

I think this line of questioning repeated several times, and each time I would try to guess what it was she was asking for, and each time she would draw the word out a little bit longer hoping I would understand. By the end I believe she was saying, "No, mom, Smuuuurrrrfieeees."

That didn't help.

Eventually we got Isaac up and changed and it was time for breakfast. Again, Dylan wanted "Smurfies."

I finally got smart and asked her to show me. She got into the fridge and pulled out the strawberries, bananas, yogurt and orange juice.

The light finally went on.

My daughter wanted a Smoothie!

Last Day of School

Yesterday was Dylan's last day of preschool. She had such a fun year and loved going to school each week. Preschool was only one day a week and it was the perfect amount of time for her since she is still so young.

We met at school so the kids could show us the alphabet book they worked on throughout the year and for a special surprise their teacher had for us. Here's a picture of Dylan with her book turned to her favorite page...the letter E. She loves elephants just like her Aunt Jamie. She carries her elephant around wherever she goes.


After looking at her book Miss Sarah showed us a short slideshow she created using pictures of the kids she had taken throughout the year. It was so cute and the best part? She made a copy for each of the kids to have. Here is a picture of Dylan with her teacher. Dylan just loves Miss Sarah and can't wait to start going to school again next year.


After the video we all got into our cars to head to the pool to play and have some fun. All the kids had such a great time and we're going to have to go back to the pool again. We played and had a good time before saying goodbye for the summer. All in all it was a good first year of school for Dylan and I love that she's already looking forward to next year.

She doesn't look like she's having much fun in this picture, but this pout is
because I kept trying to get her to smile for the camera.

Mom or Dad's Balance?

I'm not sure on this one (at least I didn't choke the kid).

The End of an Era

I really thought Todd would write this post, but then realized it never would have happened, so now it falls on me. And I feel like it needs to be written.

Yesterday was the day. The day that Todd has been talking about and joking about for months. The day I never thought was going to happen because I didn't think he'd be able to handle it.

About 11 years ago Todd found a good and loyal friend. He paid $65 for this friend, but still, he found a good friend. He brought Michael home from the pound and Michael was such a good dog. When Todd and I started dating Michael and I would play and we would take him to the dog park and he would stay loyally by our side.

We think Michael had abandonment issues because he was always afraid we were going to leave him whenever we took him to get groomed or to the dog park. He would shake uncontrollably and get so scared and whine. It was hard to leave him anywhere. When we left for vacations he wouldn't eat unless someone stayed at the house long enough for him to eat a few bites. He just was beside himself if Todd wasn't around.

Then the kids came into the picture and Michael tolerated them. He never barked. (I think in the six years I was around, I heard him bark twice. Twice!) He didn't want to be bothered by kids anywhere. If we were walking down the street, he'd cross the street just to avoid kids. It was actually pretty funny. With our two, he tolerated them. If they were too loud, he'd get up and walk into a different room. If they were bugging him more than he wanted to be, he'd go outside. Michael shared a room with Isaac and never seemed to mind, unless Isaac woke up in the middle of the night crying. Then Michael would go sleep in the front room.

For the last year or so, Michael has been getting old. Really old. He's blind in one eye, going deaf if not already completely deaf and he's not interested in leaving the house. It scares him to go down to the park.

Last week I woke up in a panic at about 1am because I heard a noise in our room. It was Michael. He never comes in our room and he was just completely disoriented. He tried to leave our room and ended up in our bathroom. Todd helped him back to the hallway and as they were trying to get back to his bed, Michael fell down the stairs. His hips were starting to go and add that to the blind and deaf issues, it was time to think about letting Michael go.

Todd had been hinting at this for quite some time, but I didn't think he'd really go through with it. Yesterday Todd took the morning off and took Michael to the Humane Society. He didn't want to take him to get put down, and was pretty sure that if we took him back to the pound, that's what would happen. We're hoping that the Humane Society will be able to find a home for him for his finally few months or years of life. A nice elderly couple who just wants a friend to sit by and be there. That's our hope.

It's not the same at our house without him. It was odd to sit at dinner last night without Michael hanging out by Isaac's chair in hopes of some fallen food. It was hard to tell Isaac where Michael was when he asked for him first thing this morning. And it's going to be an adjustment to have to sweep up food after each meal now because Michael's not there to be our vacuum.

We loved Michael but know it was time to let him go. It truly is the end of an era.

There is a Reason...

Why three year old kids should not get markers unattended!

her leg

the bookshelf

the wall

the wall again

This afternoon Dylan asked from her doorway if quiet time was over. I told her it was and she could come lay with me in bed for a few minutes. As she was laying next to me, I noticed some black marker on her leg. I asked where it came from and she told me her book. I knew exactly what she was talking about.

I had ordered her a write and wipe book so she could practice writing her letters. I keep the book high out of reach for fear that she will use the marker on other surfaces. Apparently, my fear was very valid.

I asked where she got it and she said her Grandma D gave it to her. I called Grandma D, only to find out that Dylan had said she was allowed to have the book. Sneaky girl.

Needless to say, we'll be spending a good chunk of time trying to "erase" the dry erase marker from the walls and bookshelves.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Paparazzi part 2

(Todd here with a quick update)

We let Dylan loose with the camera again. I think she picked right up from where she left off last time.