Will and Hallie's page

Trickster

2012-01-26T07:00:00.001-05:00

Will worked on this trick for weeks. WEEKS. There were tears of injury (his). Yells of frustration (his). Declarations of failure (his). Followed by... Words of encouragement (from me). Tactical discussions (between him and me). And then one day, he finally did it. This accomplishment may look small, but to me it's Oh So Big.

Basketball is Underway

2012-01-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

Basketball season is underway! The season officially began on January 9th with two weeks of practices. Unlike soccer season, which from the get-go includes one practice and one game each week, basketball starts off with two full weeks of practices before the games start. The reason for this is that, even at four, five, and six-years-old, the kids are expected to actually play the game the way it was intended to be played. The biggest challenge for the kids is dribbling, or at least their biggest challenge as of yet is dribbling - they really haven't even touched defense, which I imagine will be much tougher.

Here's Will as we were heading out the door to his first practice...

...and here are a few action shots from that first night.

We can't wait for Will's team (the Bulls) to actually play a game!

It's Yike BABY BABY OH!

2012-01-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

This video of Hallie needs no real introduction. I will only say that I hope the Biebs likes it.

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

The Ferris Ladies

2012-01-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

(Minus Chandi, sniff sniff.)

August 2009

December 2011

Spicy

2012-01-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

Will has always been pretty tolerant of spicy foods. He started eating and enjoying buffalo wings as soon as he was old enough to eat meat, and he actually enjoys spicy salsas and dips. But despite the fact that Will's spicy-tolerance age is probably three or four times his chronological age, Tom is always trying to get Will to sample even spicier foods like jalapeño peppers and hot sauces. And because Will wants to please his daddy, he often agrees.

Recently, Will tried something hot (perhaps Tom's homemade salsa or a drop of hot sauce on a chip), didn't like it, and exclaimed loudly, "Oh! That's too spicy!"

Hallie heard Will use the word "spicy", determined that it meant "bad", and within hours started using it as a replacement.

"Mama, I not eat my Cheerios. Dey (they) are too spicy."

"Daddy, I not take a snoozy-snooze. Bedtime is spicy."

"WILL! DON'T CHASE ME! Dat (that) is spicy!"

Hallie is in the throws of the terrible two-and-three-quarters, and can be pretty difficult to be around these days. As I've mentioned before, she must do everything all by herself, has very specific ideas about how everything she can't do by herself should be done, and believes all of our lives should revolve around hers. One day a couple of weeks ago, when Hallie was driving us all crazy, Tom looked at her and said, jokingly, "Hallie, you're being a little bit spicy". She freaked out ("I'M NOT SPICY!"), but the rest of us laughed and the descriptor took. We now regularly use "spicy" in reference to Hallie's behavior, and she's come to use it herself as well. It actually works really well, as it's a way for us to let her know we don't like the way she's behaving without telling her she's behaving badly or being a bad girl.

I fear we may have ruined hot foods for her though...

The Best Nap Ever

2012-01-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

This has always been Tom's favorite place and way to nap. Above: Tom and a
two-and-a-half-year-old Hallie. Below: Tom and a six-week-old Will.

Christmas Recap

2012-01-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

We spent Christmas, as well as a few days beforehand and a few days afterwards, in Lincoln, NE with Grandpa Mike and Grandma Susie, AJ, and Unkie Grant. We missed Uncle Adam and Aunt Chandi, who were traveling to PEI to spend the holidays with Chandi's family, but hope to see them sometime this summer. Christmas in July, anyone?

We were also lucky enough to see Tom's grandparents, who visited the Ferris house while we were in Lincoln, and we drove north to South Sioux City, NE the day after Christmas to share lunch with Tom's grandma, two aunts, two uncles, and five cousins. Will particularly enjoyed Tom's cousins George (10th grade) and John (7th grade) who both played "boy games" like wrestling and football with him. As I watched Will run George and John ragged, I remembered with a smile just 10 or so years ago (when George and John were about Will and Hallie's ages) watching George and John run Tom ragged. What goes around comes around, in a round about way. :)

I took embarrassingly few pictures, considering everything we did and everyone we saw during our trip. I guess we were just too busy having fun...

Wrapped up like a present.

Discussing her wrappings.

AJ and the kids after Christmas Eve mass.

Setting out milk (Santa's not allergic to regular milk, in case you were wondering)

and cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer.

Opening one present on Christmas Eve.

Modeling her Christmas Eve gift from Grandma and Grandpa.

Santa's gift to Hallie (she already had the doll, whose name is

Cassie Grandpa - yes, that's first name = Cassie,

middle name = Grandpa): a tea set and a tea table and chairs.

Santa's gift to Will: a Storm Troopers Bullet Gun (Santa's had a really hard

time deciding whether or not to follow through on Will's request for a gun...)

and the book One. Read it. You won't be disappointed.

Setting up her first tea party.

Enjoying tea and cupcakes with Cassie Grandpa. I absolutely cannot believe

Hallie fits in the designed-for-American-Girl-dolls chairs.

Moments after this picture was taken we established the "DO NOT POINT THE GUN

AT PEOPLE'S FACES INCLUDING YOUR OWN" rule.

AJ gave Hallie her first tiara...

...and her first pair of fake/fashion glasses. The glasses were perhaps the biggest hit of the day - she wore them all day on Christmas and for many days after that.

This picture is included to illustrate two things. First, Tom is wearing an orange mustache labeled with the mood "sassy". Fitting, I suppose, as he can be a bit sassy. Second, look outside. It's still dark out, and at this point we'd already been opening presents for at least 30 minutes. I do not like getting up before the sun, even on Christmas, but it was worth it to see the excitement on Tom's face when he opened that sassy mustache. And the excitement on the kids' faces when they realized Santa'd come.

AJ and her melancholy mustache. She wasn't melancholy - she

just thought the blue mustache went best with her outfit.

Helping Hallie open her gift from him - is was a pink hair bow

that he spent 25 minutes carefully selecting.

Will with his gift - an Angry Bird - from Hallie. Though Hallie had A LOT of helping

picking out this present, Will thought she'd done it all on her own and showered

her with love and thanks for giving him something so awesome.

Reapplying Hello Kitty chapstick for the 187th time.

Unkie Grant - no mood mustache here, just the real deal.

Grandpa Mike and Tom opening the birdhouses the kids painted for them.

Merry, merry Christmas!

Tis the Season...

2012-01-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

...for colds and infections and broken bones, oh my!

In the last two weeks we've all had colds of varying severity, Will developed pink eye in one eye and then the other, and Hallie broke her collarbone.

The colds are to be expected. Pink eye is a right-of-passage for preschoolers (I had it when I was three or four, and vividly remember lying across my mom's lap and crying while she tried to ease drops of medicine into my infected eye). But a broken collarbone? In that teeny, tiny little pip-squeak of a thing? Now THAT I wasn't expecting.

On the Sunday night before Christmas Hallie slipped and fell - sideways - off one of our kitchen stools. It happened in slow-motion, really - I watched her tip to the side and slip, and then I saw both of her legs fly into the air and drop below the counter. (If she hadn't broken her collarbone during the fall it would have been quite the comedic scene.) By the time I'd run around to her side of the counter, she was lying on her back on the floor, whimpering. Not crying, just whimpering.

She guarded her shoulder for the rest of the evening, but I wasn't terribly worried.

The next morning, Will woke up with pink eye and I called the doc to schedule an appointment for later that day. I decided that since I was already heading to the doctor's office, I might as well have Hallie looked at too. The nurse practitioner (our doc wasn't available that morning) felt Hallie's shoulder, tested her strength, and asked her to move her arms in a variety of ways. Apparently Hallie did well, because the nurse practitioner deemed her in good shape. Though I'm sure she didn't mean to, the NP made me feel a little paranoid for bringing Hallie in, which rubbed me the wrong way because I'm as far from a paranoid mom as they come - following in my mom's footsteps, I'm a "take two Ibuprofen and put ice on it" kind of gal.

We went about our merry way, going to school on Tuesday, and driving to Nebraska on Tuesday and Wednesday. But on Thursday afternoon, when Hallie was still complaining of pain and guarding her shoulder and after Doctor Grandpa and Physical Therapist Neighbor/Friend/Jake each examined her, we headed to a doctor friend of the family for an x-ray. Sure enough, not only was Hallie's collarbone broken, it was displaced in a way that looked terribly painful.

The funniest thing about all this is that Hallie hardly complained AT ALL. She was happy and smily and funny EXCEPT when someone picked her up and put upward pressure underneath her arms. Tom felt a bit sheepish about the Vicodin regimen, week off work, and 12+ week recovery he needed after he broke his collarbone last April...

Hallie was also happy and smily and funny at the doctor's office - she charmed the pants off everyone who worked there, scoring herself a number of new friends and about 25 stickers that she stuck all over her bare chest while wandering the halls of the office with her pants falling off her teeny butt.

There weren't slings and/or apparatuses small enough to splint Hallie's collarbone, but that didn't really matter because she was doing a great job of splinting and guarding her arm on her own, and quite frankly, she wasn't all that interested in wearing either anyway. That is until Grandma Susie fashioned her a sling out of pink toole. This was the only sling my little princess would wear.

Can You Hear Me Now?

2011-12-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago Grandpa Paul got his first hearing aid. Will was very curious about the device itself, how it fit in Grandpa's ear, and how the volume adjusted, so Grandpa helped Will try it out.

Helping Grandpa take his hearing aid out, perhaps a little too aggressively.

Will loved turning the volume up and down - he's already trying to tune me out.

And then, thinking that the hearing aid AND Grandpa's glasses would make him unrecognizable to us, Will donned both. I think glasses make Will look like the little boy from Jerry McGuire.

"The human head weighs eight pounds."

It's kind of silly, but I love watching the kids try on their grandma and grandpa's glasses, hats, jewelry, etc. When I was a little girl I used to trade such things with my grandma and grandpa, believing that doing so made my parents think I was my grandpa and my grandpa was me. My favorite picture of me and my grandpa is of the two of us sitting on the couch, me wearing his black framed glasses and him wearing my pink glasses and clutching my Winnie the Pooh.

It's December

2011-12-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

This month, instead of watching one video, you really should watch five. These five videos tell a pretty funny story of how Hallie finally came to perform "It's December".

At first, the pressure of performing - and her fear of not knowing the words - sent Hallie into a downward spiral.

Eventually she pulled herself together, but she still couldn't muster the strength to make it through the song.

Will stepped in to save the day - as they say, the show must go on - but when Hallie saw her brother stealing her spotlight she started to come alive.

With Will out of the picture, Hallie stepped tentatively back onto her stage.

And finally, she hit her mark.

It's November
It's October
It's September

We Wish You a Rockin' Christmas

2011-12-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

Rockin' around the Christmas tree, let the Christmas spirit ring.

Merry Christmas, from our family to yours.

Christmas at the School for Little People

2011-12-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

"Cap on head, suit that's red, special night and a beard that's white.

Must be Santa, must be Santa, must be Santa, Santa Claus."

All of the four-year-old classes singing their Christmas tunes.

Will's class, posing - as best they can - for a group picture.

Will and his buddies, Thomas and Logan.

Hallie's class entered ringing jingle bells.

My little performer.

Listening to the message...sort of.

Cupcakes for Will's class' "Happy Birthday Jesus" party.

Decorating ice cream cones as Christmas trees at the "Happy Birthday Jesus" party.

Oops!

The 12 Days of Christmas, Version 2

2011-12-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

On the first day of Christmas my children gave to me: love to last an eternity.

On the second day of Christmas my children gave to me: two hands to hold, and love to last an eternity.

On the third day of Christmas my children gave to me: three homemade cards, two hands to hold, and love to last an eternity.

On the fourth day of Christmas my children gave to me: four great big hugs, three homemade cards, two hands to hold, and love to last an eternity.

On the fifth day of Christmas my children gave to me: five "I love you"(s)! Four great big hugs, three homemade cards, two hands to hold, and love to last an eternity.

On the sixth day of Christmas my children gave to me: six bouquets of flowers, five "I love you"(s)! Four great big hugs, three homemade cards, two hands to hold, and love to last an eternity.

On the seventh day of Christmas my children gave to me: seven breakfasts in bed, six bouquets of flowers, five "I love you"(s)! Four great big hugs, three homemade cards, two hands to hold, and love to last an eternity.

On the eighth day of Christmas my children gave to me: eight slobbery kisses, seven breakfasts in bed, six bouquets of flowers, five "I love you"(s)! Four great big hugs, three homemade cards, two hands to hold, and love to last an eternity.

On the ninth day of Christmas my children gave to me: nine ear-to-ear grins, eight slobbery kisses, seven breakfasts in bed, six bouquets of flowers, five "I love you"(s)! Four great big hugs, three homemade cards, two hands to hold, and love to last an eternity.

On the tenth day of Christmas my children gave to me: ten joyful giggles, nine ear-to-ear grins, eight slobbery kisses, seven breakfasts in bed, six bouquets of flowers, five "I love you"(s)! Four great big hugs, three homemade cards, two hands to hold, and love to last an eternity.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my children gave to me: eleven quiet cuddles, ten joyful giggles, nine ear-to-ear grins, eight slobbery kisses, seven breakfasts in bed, six bouquets of flowers, five "I love you"(s)! Four great big hugs, three homemade cards, two hands to hold, and love to last an eternity.

On the twelfth day of Christmas my children gave to me: twelve morning snuggles, eleven quiet cuddles, ten joyful giggles, nine ear-to-ear grins, eight slobbery kisses, seven breakfasts in bed, six bouquets of flowers, five "I love you"(s)! Four great big hugs, three homemade cards, two hands to hold, and love to last an eternity.

Wordless Wednesday Wonder

2011-12-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

The 12 Days of Christmas, Version 1

2011-12-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

On the first day of Christmas, my children gave to me: a gigantic apology.

On the second day of Christmas my children gave to me: two broken toes and a gigantic apology.

On the third day of Christmas my children gave to me: three carpet stains, two broken toes, and a gigantic apology.

On the fourth day of Christmas my children gave to me: four orange juice spills, three carpet stains, two broken toes, and a gigantic apology.

On the fifth day of Christmas my children gave to me: five sleepless nights! Four orange juice spills, three carpet stains, two broken toes, and a gigantic apology.

On the sixth day of Christmas my children gave to me: six broken windows, five sleepless nights! Four orange juice spills, three carpet stains, two broken toes, and a gigantic apology.

On the seventh day of Christmas my children gave to me: seven runny noses, six broken windows, five sleepless nights! Four orange juice spills, three carpet stains, two broken toes, and a gigantic apology.

On the eight day of Christmas my children gave to me: eight migraine headaches, seven runny noses, six broken windows, five sleepless nights! Four orange juice spills, three carpet stains, two broken toes, and a gigantic apology.

On the ninth day of Christmas my children gave to me: nine stopped up toilets, eight migraine headaches, seven runny noses, six broken windows, five sleepless nights! Four orange juice spills, three carpet stains, two broken toes, and a gigantic apology.

On the tenth day of Christmas my children gave to me: ten o'erflowed bathtubs, nine stopped up toilets, eight migraine headaches, seven runny noses, six broken windows, five sleepless nights! Four orange juice spills, three carpet stains, two broken toes, and a gigantic apology.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my children gave to me: eleven grass-stained pant knees, ten o'erflowed bathtubs, nine stopped up toilets, eight migraine headaches, seven runny noses, six broken windows, five sleepless nights! Four orange juice spills, three carpet stains, two broken toes, and a gigantic apology.

On the twelfth day of Christmas my children gave to me: enough fodder to fill a song twice this long.

Happy Birthday Baby Lily!

2011-12-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

I can't believe she's already one. Last year, we had JUST moved into our rental house in Texas - I was standing in the kitchen surrounded by unpacked boxes - when my mom called to tell me my sister had gone to work, decided she was in labor and left work (that's a commitment to teaching), and checked into the hospital. A few hours later we learned that Will and Hallie's first cousin - "Baby Yi-yee" - had been born.

We all love this little munchkin so much, and wish her the happiest of first birthdays!

Christmas Preparations, Round 2

2011-12-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

On Friday night we participated in the Bryan Christmas Parade. I handed out candy and information about the Red Cross, Will rode on the Red Cross float, and Tom pushed a cheerful Hallie in the stroller. Will lost interest in "parading" about halfway through the route, but Hallie yelled "Merry Christmas!" and waved enthusiastically for the entire 30 minutes.

After we finished the parade route we walked back against the flow of traffic so the kids could see some of the other floats. Hallie enjoyed Santa, but Will, he couldn't get enough of these cars.

The following evening I took the kids to "Christmas at the Creek", an outdoor Christmas celebration at a park here in College Station. While there were lots of activities available, we didn't give many of them a try. (I had a bit of trouble keeping track of Will and Hallie by myself in the dark, and neither kid was on their best behavior.) Perhaps next year Tom and I can take them together and we can try out the hayrides, crafts, cookie decorating, and live nativity scene.

We did, however, watch quite a few dance performances, including one by Will's buddy Logan's older sister, Kendra, and Hallie's friend Caroline's older sister, Natalie. The stage was gorgeous, and I could see Hallie dreaming about the day when she gets to take dance lessons and perhaps perform on that same Christmas stage.

Christmas Preparations, Round 1

2011-12-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

Baking and decorating christmas cookies.

Opening our first Christmas presents (we always exchange ornaments when we decorate the Christmas tree, and we gave Grandma and Grandpa a little gift that evening as well).

Our first visit from Chris the Elf (Chris is short for Christmas, and was selected after the names Harry, Super Grover, Mark, and Ho were nixed). Will was excited, Hallie was just confused.

Games, activities, dinner, and chats with Santa at the annual School for Little People Dinner with Santa fundraiser.

Fishing for Sweet Tarts

Will's letter to Santa

Hallie's letter to Santa

Working on marshmallow snowmen

Putting together a bag of reindeer food

Showing off her balloon flower corsage

Attacking other children with his balloon sword

It was an epic battle

Telling Santa what she wants for Christmas

Our first picture of the two of them together on Santa's lap!

(Two years ago, when Will was three and Hallie was eight months, Will refused to sit on

Santa's lap so our picture is of only Hallie. Last year, when Will was four and Hallie

was 20 months, we were moving and never made it to Santa's lap.)

We hope you're having fun getting ready for Christmas!

Yep, It Finally Happened

2011-12-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

Last week, while cruising through the grocery store, Hallie informed another shopper - a male - that he had a penis. Her exact words, I believe, were, "Hi! You has a penis!". We were approximately seven feet away from this man when Hallie made her announcement, so unless he was completely deaf, there's no way he didn't hear her.

Nearly crippled by shock and embarrassment, I mumbled something to Hallie in hopes of keeping her quiet and quickly escaped to the next row. I must have looked very surprised/upset, because within seconds Hallie started apologizing - loudly - to me for what she'd just done. The man (who was just one row away) and a few additional shoppers in our new row were lucky enough to hear Hallie's apology, "Oh Mama, I so sorry for saying dat man has a penis", at least three times.

Between being newly potty trained and having a bit of a potty mouth, Hallie's become an interesting and unpredictable shopping partner...

Pink Octopus

2011-12-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

After talking about pink octopuses all summer and fall, and after dressing up as a pink octopus for Halloween, Hallie Claire finally gets her very own pink octopus.

Wicked Witch

2011-12-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago The Wizard of Oz was on television as the kids were getting ready for bed. I wasn't sure they'd be all that interested - they tend to like cartoons better than real-life movies - but they were hooked as soon as they saw the Emerald City scene during which the horse changes colors. (Which occurred just a couple of minutes after we turned on the television - unfortunately we missed the first 2/3 of the movie.) And as it turns out, Hallie learned a little something while watching...

This is yet another example of how Hallie takes after two of her aunts and neither of her parents. It's only a matter of time before the theater calls her name.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving in Arkansas

2011-12-06T08:00:00.001-05:00

This year we spent Thanksgiving at my Grandma Geri's (my mom's mom) house in Greenbrier, AR.

The trip was relatively short considering the drive (nine hours in the car on Wednesday and then again on Saturday), but it was wonderful to see my Grandma and for the kids to get to spend a little time with their Great Grandma. We were also able to visit with my Aunt Janice, my cousin's wife Tammy, and my cousin's daughter Jordan for a few hours on Thanksgiving afternoon; I can't remember the last time I saw Janice and Tammy, and I'm not sure I'd ever met Jordan before, so catching up was great fun.

We arrived on Wednesday night, and joined my parents, Grandma, and her husband, Ace, for dinner at their house. The kids were in rare form (and I don't mean that in a good way) seeing as they'd been cooped up in the car for nine hours. Thank goodness Grandma has a treadmill, where both kids were able to walk off some of their excess energy. (They seriously loved that thing - I bet that Will walked two miles on it over the course of our visit, and considering he traveled at only one or two mph, that's a lot of time spent walking.)

Because my parents were already staying in the guest room at my Grandma's house, our foursome stayed at a hotel about a mile away. Getting the kids to bed that first night (and the second night and the third night) was rough. We eventually had to move Hallie into her own room, and keep Will in the same room as Tom and me, because she was causing so many problems - screaming, crying, laughing, tickling, reading, singing, dancing, jumping, slamming dresser drawers, flipping lights on and off, you get the picture. Poor Will kept coming into our room and complaining that Hallie wouldn't let him sleep. Sleeping was in short supply on this trip.

On Thanksgiving we cooked and ate, played and watched football, sword fought, rode bikes, played bean bag toss and checkers, flew balsa wood airplanes, arm wrestled, and walked on the treadmill a bit more.

On Friday, Grandpa Paul, Tom, and Will headed to a park near Little Rock for a round of disc golf while Grandma Geri, Grandma Brenda, Hallie and I went shopping - we did Black Friday, only we did it flea market-style. It was actually really fun, and we came home with some steals and deals.

Hallie was exhausted after a full day of shopping and no nap.

But check out those princess high heels!

While trying to pick out a stuffed animal, Hallie fell into the bin.

While she cried for help I searched for my camera.

Later in the day we visited my Great Aunt Edna and Great Uncle Bernard, which confused Will a bit - there were a lot of "greats" being thrown around as new family members were introduced, and I think from this point forward he would like to be referred to as the great, great Will.

The icing on the cake, and the final activity of the day on Friday, was driving Grandma tractor. Will's wearing his bike helmet because he's just finished riding his bike, not because Grandma's not a good driver. :)

Thanks for a wonderful visit, Grandma and Ace. We hope to see you again soon!

Kids Say...

2011-12-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

At least once a day one of the kids says something I'd like to remember and/or share. Unfortunately, by the time I'm with pen and paper or able to type on my phone, I've forgotten much of what I wanted to document in the first place. Here are just three recent conversations I've had with the kids that made me chuckle/laugh out loud/pee my pants.

Not VERY Pretty

Will, Hallie, and I were sitting in the car, waiting in line to gain entry to a parking garage. A young women - likely a college student at TAMU - was collecting money at the gate. As we crept closer and Will could see her out his window, he commented to me that he thought she was pretty. I knew that if I was that young woman I would appreciate knowing that a sweet little boy thought I was pretty, so when I finally reached the entrance to the parking garage I told her what Will had said.

Erin: I have to tell you, as we were pulling up my son (gesturing to Will in the back seat) told me he thought you were very pretty.
Young Woman: Really?!
Erin: Yes. I just thought you'd like to know.
Young Woman: Thank you!

Then, as we were pulling away but while my window was still down and the young woman was still within earshot, Will yelled at me from the back seat.

Will: MOM?!
Erin: What?
Will: I said she was pretty, not VERY pretty!

I guess he has pretty high standards.

Doctor, Doctor

Will: Grandpa Mike is a doctor.
Erin: You're right.
Will: Grandpa Mike is a surgeon. He does operations on sick people.
Erin: Right again. Your daddy is a doctor too - did you know that?
Will: Yeah, I know. But he's not the money kind (of doctor).

Untitled

Hallie has recently come into the knowledge that she has a vagina. She LOVES talking about her "bagina", so much so that we've had to restrict talking about that particular body part to when we're in the bathroom. Consequently, whenever she crosses the threshold into the bathroom and right before she exits the bathroom, she shouts "BAGINA" at the top of her lungs. It's been interesting.

Last weekend Hallie and I were in the bathroom together and the following conversation unfolded...

Hallie: BAGINA!
Erin: Hallie, what is a vagina?
Hallie: Um, it's like ko-ko (or co-co - I wasn't sure).
Erin: What do you mean?
Hallie: It's like hot chocolate!
Erin: Oh.

Giant pause while I tried to come up with something to say next.

Hallie: That's why there are flowers on the wall.
Erin: What?
Hallie: And you...have a big bagina on your butt.

And with that, she skipped out of the bathroom.

It's November!

2011-11-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

It's time for "It's November" - a classic Thanksgiving number.

"It's November, it's November.
Let's give thanks! Let's give thanks!
Pilgrims set the table, pilgrims set the table.
Turkey tastes great! Turkey tastes great!
Yum!"

It's September
It's October

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

Throughout the month of November I periodically asked Will and Hallie what they were thankful for. Here are a few of their answers:

Will
- I'm thankful for my mommy.
- I'm thankful for nothing. Except my daddy.
- I'm thankful for God.
- I'm thankful for Logan and his family. Even Kendra. (Kendra is Logan's older sister.)
- (While looking out the window of the car) I'm thankful for sun and clouds and rain and bushes and grass and streets and cement and acorns and pine cone trees. And rainbows - I'm thankful for rainbows.
- I'm thankful for when my whole family gets to be together, like on Thanksgiving. (I swear he actually said that!)

Hallie (Hallie usually chose her answers - which were always exclamations - by looking around the room and selecting something in her field of view that she was fond of on that particular day.)
- Raisins!
- To be a butterfly!
- Pink octopus!
- I'm sankful for Jack! I'm sankful for Hudson! I'm sankful for Kate! I'm sankful for Zachary! I'm sankful for Ethan! I'm sankful for Jess! I'm sankful for Caroline! (All kids in her class at school.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Feasts

2011-11-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

Will and Hallie's school hosts Thanksgiving Feasts for each class and their families the week before Thanksgiving.

On Tuesday I attended Hallie's Thanksgiving Feast. We made and brought carrot cupcakes decorated like turkeys, and enjoyed a meal of three grapes and a cracker (at least that's what Hallie consumed - she used the fact that the plates were not pink as an excuse not to eat anything else) together.

Showing off her Thanksgiving placemat.

Gobble gobble!

And on Thursday, my mom and I attended Will's Thanksgiving Feast. We made and brought (thank goodness they actually turned out, as it was our first attempt) cake pops decorated like pumpkins and presented on a piece of green styrofoam - a cake pop pumpkin patch!

Will Feast was a little more elaborate than Hallie's. The "big kids" sang two songs and a prayer - all with sign language - before joining us at the table to eat.

Will's class as they took the stage.

The Pilgrim song.

The Native American song.

"Soaring Eagle" and his Grandma Brenda.

Handing out the cake pops that I refused to bring home.

Happy Thanksgiving, a few days early!

Another Future Badger?

2011-11-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

A few years ago we took these photos of Will wearing his Wisconsin Badgers "Jump Around" t-shirt and frog Easter basket on his head. University of Wisconsin students are little crazy, and we figured that if Will included one of these photos with his application for admission to UW, the admissions panel would likely look at it and immediately think, "this kid was meant to be a Badger". (I'm not saying Will's necessarily meant to be a Badger. We just want him and Hallie to have options.)

Now the "Jump Around" shirt has been passed on to Hallie. And while it doesn't quite fit her as well as it fit Will when he was Hallie's age, she really likes it. Last weekend we took her University of Wisconsin application for admission photo - nothing says "I'm a Badger" like a red potty party while wearing the t-shirt and Minnie Mouse ears and hair bows.

Watch for their applications in 12 and 14 years, UW!

Hilarity

2011-11-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

This conversation took place in the back seat of my car while I was driving Will, Hallie, and Will's best friend Logan home from school one afternoon. Though the conversation is written in a way that makes it look like the children took turns speaking, it's important to note that all three of them were talking over one another the entire time. I never had a chance to answer their questions because they so quickly moved on to something else; instead I took mental notes so that when I arrived home I could type up what they'd talked about. Enjoy!

Hallie: You’re sitting next to me, Logan!
Will: I’m sitting in the way back!
Logan: I don’t like this song. (The radio was off.) I like Jack Johnson.
Will: I have SO many cup holders back here!
Logan: My sister likes Justin Bieber.
Hallie: You’re sitting next to me, Logan!
Will: Justin Bieber sings Baby, Baby.
Logan: This is how you make a heart.
Will: Can we play the Wii?
Logan: I love my mom. I kiss her all over.
Hallie: You’re sitting next to me, Logan!
Will: Can we play the Wii?
Logan: I have two lunch boxes. One is a hot dog.
Will: I have a hotdog race car.
Logan: We did apple pie tasting at school today.
Hallie: You’re sitting next to me, Logan!
Will: Have I ever had pie?
Logan: It was made of cookies and marshmallows and chocolate syrup.
Will: How many kinds of pie have I had?
Logan: It was delicious.
Hallie: You’re sitting next to me, Logan!
Will: I’ve had apple pie, peach pie, banana pie, pumpkin pie…
Logan: My backpack is sitting next to Will.
Will: Baby, baby, baby ohhhhhh, like baby, baby, baby ohhhhh!
Logan: Where do you live?
Hallie: (Having given up on someone acknowledging that Logan was sitting next to her.) Miss Holly left me.
Will: Have you ever seen Tom and Jerry?
Logan: I live in CastlegateCollegeStationTexas
Will: I live in College Station too!
Logan: Do you have a Mario purse?
Hallie: Miss Holly left me to go to kinnergarnen (kindergarten).
Will: It might rain. We should play inside.
Logan: I don’t like tornadoes.
Will: What's a tornado?
Logan: I do like Storm Troopers.
Hallie: WHERE’S MY LUNCHBOX?!
Will: Lightening can electric your house.
Logan: Oh snap.
Will: Or your garage.
Logan: Baby, baby, baby ohhhh, like baby, baby, baby ohhhhh!
Hallie: I NOT WEARING ANY SHOES!

Play Date with Friends

2011-11-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

It makes my heart sing to see Will and Hallie with their friends. I am so proud of how well they (Will especially) adjusted to their new school, and how they've made friends - good friends - since we've been here.

A couple of Fridays back (there's no school on Fridays, so everyone is free on Friday mornings) we met up with lots of these friends at a nearby park for a large-scale play date. Here are a few highlights:

Will, Matt (Ali's little brother, who's Hallie's age), Ali, and Kennedy jumping rope

Will, Kaylie, Mason, Logan, Ali, and Madison heading for the stairs

(WAY more fun than the playground, right?)

Hallie following Kennedy around (while everyone else plays on the stairs)

Matt, Kennedy, Logan, and Will rigging up their jump rope elevator

Kaylie, Ali, Kennedy, Madison, Logan, Will, and Hallie feeding the turtles

Will chasing Kennedy with his claw

Kandace (Kennedy's little sister, who is Hallie's age), Matt, Kaylie, Madison, Connor, Ali,

Kennedy, Hallie, Logan, and Will having a picnic lunch

We're lucky that so many people have welcomed us into the School for Little People and College Station families.

A Little Light Reading

2011-11-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween

2011-11-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

I missed out on quite a bit of the Halloween weekend because I was shopping with my mom and sister in Chicago. (My apologies, Chicago friends - my trip was short and I didn't call/text/email because I knew I wouldn't have time to get together while I was in town. Boo.) Tom held his own at home though, managing to get the kids ready for both their school Halloween parties on Thursday (he had help with Hallie's hair from another child's mother in the school parking lot though) and an unofficial, out-of-school school trip to the pumpkin patch on Friday.

Here's Will's class at their Halloween party. Will chose to wear his glow-in-the-dark skeleton shirt and gloves instead of his Batman costume to school - something about not being able to adequately play on the playground dressed as a super hero.

Unfortunately, Tom had to work late on Halloween and missed trick-or-treating. I could have used his help mostly at the beginning of the evening, when I was trying to take pictures of the kids (I needed someone to stand behind me and get them to smile/not frown/not cry and JUST LOOK AT THE CAMERA AND STOP HITTING YOUR BROTHER FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!). Fortunately, once we started trick-or-treating, both kids were angelic and had the time of their lives. I stopped counting after Will said, "this is just so much fun!" six times.

Here are a few pics of my Pink Octopus and Batman pre-trick-or-treating.

Notice that Hallie's wearing sandals and only tiny shorts leggings under her costume - Halloween in Texas is quite warm, and both kids sweat through their costumes by the time we arrived home.

And here's me and my little octopus, picture courtesy of Batman.

Here are a couple of pics of the trick-or-treating experience.

Once we arrived home, both kids stripped down and dug into their candy. (Well, they dug in after I confiscated nearly 2/3 of what they'd collected because of peanuts, dairy, and the Hallie-potential-mess factor.) Hallie never lost interest in her candy, but Will quickly moved on from his own candy to handing out candy at the door. We had 113 (?!) trick-or-treaters - more than we've ever had - and gave away all of the candy I'd purchased as well as nearly all of what I confiscated from the kids just a few minutes earlier in the evening. Don't tell them, please.

Happy Halloween from the four Ferri!

Thoughtful Thursday

2011-11-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

It's October!

2011-11-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

Last month an Oreo-faced Hallie performed "It's September", and this month she learned "It's October". I know today is November 1st and therefore I'm a day late in posting this video, but late is better than never, right?

I love that Hallie's teachers write these little songs for the kids to sing each month!

"It's October, it's October.
Trick-or-treat! Trick-or-treat!
Jack-o-lantern's glowing, jack-lantern's glowing.
Halloween, Halloween.
Boo!"

Grandpa Paul's Surprise Visit

2011-10-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

Will and Hallie see all of their grandparents quite a bit, which says a great deal about the grandparents' commitment to their grandchildren because we all live hundreds to thousands of miles away from one another. (Tom and I are committed to fostering these relationships too, but it takes everyone involved to be on board and we're lucky to have pretty much the most dedicated and generous parents around.) I think we've seen at least one grandparent every single month this year.

October's grandparent visit was from Grandpa Paul, who decided to surprise the kids by stopping in College Station on his way back from a business trip to Mexico. (Grandma Brenda didn't travel with Grandpa Paul to Mexico so she didn't get to visit us this time around.) He arrived Thursday morning while the kids were at school and came with me to pick them up.

Will did the most priceless double take when he saw Grandpa standing in the hallway outside his classroom.

Hallie was equally excited but not at all surprised to see Grandpa - go figure.

That afternoon they jumped rope and Grandpa pretended to be Hallie's horse.

"Paul and Brenda sittin' in a tree. K-i-s-s-i-n-g. First comes love, then comes marriage,

then comes a baby in a baby carriage."

"Giddy up, Grandpa!"

After Hallie turned in for a nap, Will and Grandpa had multiple water fights and played beanbags, hockey, football, golf, and basketball.

Hunting bears

Beanbag toss

Hockey

Football

Golf

Discussing club options

After a visit to Tom's new office and dinner at Dixie Chicken, we headed home for a bit of wrestling.

The next morning, while Tom was at work, Grandpa and Will had a treasure hunt...

...and Grandpa, Will, Hallie, and I went to the skate park for a quick ride and the playground for a game of tag. (At one point Will got himself stuck in one of the skate park basins and Grandpa had to climb down and help him out. After that, Grandpa had to give the basin a try as well.)

Stuck

Saved

"You're it!"

Deep in conversation

That afternoon, while I stayed home with a napping Hallie, Grandpa took Will to the TAMU golf course where they hit a bucket of balls and played all the holes on the putting green.

The dad of one of the little boys on Will's soccer team is a coach for the TAMU women's soccer team. I know, score, right? I grew up going to UW women's soccer games with my dad, so we thought it would be fun to carry on the tradition of a different kind of "Friday Night Lights" and take the kids to see the TAMU women's soccer team play. The game was great - TAMU won 3-0 - and everyone enjoyed the atmosphere and the TAMU school spirit.

One of the primary reasons Grandpa Paul came to visit was to see Will play soccer. Grandpa Paul coached mine and Sara's soccer teams for years when we were little and still plays soccer himself, and I know for a fact that if we lived closer to Grandma and Grandpa, he'd be coaching Will's team now. Just thinking about that scenario brought tears to my eyes - I would LOVE to see the two of them as "members" of the same team, doing something that special together. But since that can't happen, coming all the way to College Station to see Will play is the next best thing.

Breakaway!

One of my favorite pics. Coach Jordan: "Which way are we going?"

Austin, Riley, and Will: "That way!"

Right before Grandpa had to leave on Saturday he spent a little quality time with Hallie - a few special moments shared when Grandpa wasn't being monopolized by Will.

Cuddling under the pink blanket while watching football

Can't wait to see you at Thanksgiving, Grandpa!

The Playground Beckons

2011-10-25T08:00:00.001-05:00

Now that the high temperatures are (only) in the upper 80's we're visiting the park once again. I kid you not - we went to the park in early May and didn't go again until late September because it was just too hot.

Hallie loves to "paint" on the sidewalk with water, though she usually gets her dress wet and ends up heading home in just her diaper.

Will loves to run laps around the track...

...and play tag. When tag doesn't end well he likes to pout.

But their favorite activity is sword fighting. By themselves, with me, with each other.

About 15 months ago we filmed this sword fight:

And last week I filmed this sword fight:

I'm so proud of how far Hallie's come with regard to her sword fighting. (I especially love the last couple of seconds of this video, when Hallie just cracks her sword down on Will's head. For the record, no children were injured in the making of this video.) I find it comforting to know she'll have something to fall back on when destroying books for a living doesn't work out.

Future Soccer Star

2011-10-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

Soccer season is underway!

He Rides!

2011-10-18T08:00:00.001-05:00

Bike riding started off much like swimming and soccer did for Will: tears, tears, and more tears. Will never wanted to ride, and when I WAS able to convince him to pull out his bike he would only ride in slow circles on the back patio.

Will overcame his aversions to swimming and soccer very, very S..L..O..W..L..Y. I required him to continue participating, and with each new day I pushed him just a little further than I'd pushed him the day before. (For example: swimming day #1 = sit on side of pool; swimming day #2 = put feet in water; swimming day #3 = walk in water up to knees.) As I'm sure you imagine, it took a very long time for Will to get to where he is now with both swimming and soccer.

Will wasn't making any bike-riding progress, even with training wheels, so one day I decided it was time to say goodbye to the training wheel safety net. I knew Will could and would eventually learn how to ride a bike if I opted for the slow-and-steady forward progress method we'd used in the past. But to be honest, I can't stand that method and wanted to see if just jumping in feet first would work.

Both Tom and I doubted it would, but I stuck to my guns, and that weekend we went to the park (the sidewalks in our neighborhood would be terrible for learning to ride a bike) to give bike riding - without training wheels - a try.

Yes, there were tears. I knew there would be. At one point both Tom and Will wanted to pack it in for the day, but drill sargeant mom made them keep trying, and you what? He did it. Just for a moment or two, but in that moment I saw him realize that bike riding was something at which he could succeed.

The next day we went back to the park, and he did this:

And this:

If you listen carefully to the end of the first video you can hear me start to cry as Tom lets go of the bike and Will takes off.

There are times when slow and steady wins the race, but there are also times when it pays off to just take a deep breath, say a little prayer, and jump.

Birthday Recap

2011-10-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

Will woke up early, put on his Batman shirt and Birthday Boy ribbon, and ate Fruit Loops - his choice - for breakfast.

At school his friends sang Happy Birthday to him and he shared Batman cookies with all of them. (A special thank you to Brittany of Sugar: Cookies, Cakes, and More in Utah for the Batman Cookies!)

Later in the day Will shared pirate cupcakes with his teammates at soccer practice, the four of us went to McDonald's for dinner, and Will opened his presents.

Batman shirt

Spongebob Squarepants golf balls

LIGHT SABER!!!

GOLF CLUBS!!!

Mario & Luigi mustaches

Epic sword fight - last one ever this close to the new TV

Hallie opened a half-birthday present and then slowly broke down when she realized that on half-birthdays you only get one present.

Will wrapped up his special day by blowing out a candle on one of his pirate cupcakes, which interestingly enough he didn't actually eat - I guess he was too full of sweets by that point in the day. (Lest you think me a terrible mom for not making Will a birthday cake for his birthday, Will decided he wanted cupcakes on his actual birthday and a Batman cake for his birthday party.)

Will's birthday party was held on the Sunday following his birthday. After hemming and hawing about what kind and how big of a birthday party he wanted to have (all the kids in his class, some kids in his class, all the boys in his class, his best boy friends and his best girl friends), he finally decided on inviting just his two best boy friends, Logan and Michael. Tom and I took the three boys (and Hallie) miniature golfing and out to lunch at an indoor golf/bowling/arcade in town, and then we all came back to our house for Batman cake, presents, and Batman cape favors for all three boys.

Will's frighteningly out of control putt

Michael's much more controlled putt

Jail time

Will, Michael, & Logan

Waiting patiently for their lunch

Hallie's one ride/game was the "Merry Round"

The boys ran wildly from game to game until the $$ ran out

He's five.

Tea Party

2011-10-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hallie's had a little, glass tea set for more than a year, though she didn't know about it until a couple of weeks ago. I finally felt like Hallie's destructive tendencies had waned enough to allow her to touch something made of glass, so I pulled it out and introduced her to tea parties.

Now we have tea parties every day, usually wearing pink ballerina tutus and leotards and pink ballet slippers.

We invite Pink Octopus, Herky the Hawkeye, and various other stuffed animals, dolls, and action figures.

Mrs. Potts, anyone?

Cheers!

Dancing Queen

2011-10-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

While at a wedding a couple of weeks ago, I channeled Hallie on the dance floor.
Someday she's going to be SO embarrassed of me.

One Whole Hand

2011-10-04T07:00:00.000-05:00

Today is my boy’s fifth birthday.

When Will was a baby, and I was trapped beneath the crippling weight of postpartum depression, I dreamed of the day he would turn five and head off to kindergarten. In my altered mental state I believed that school would heal my broken mind and heart; I’d finally have my life – and the sanity I’d enjoyed before Will was born – back when he was out of the house for a few hours each day.

After many months, the cloud of depression that hung threateningly over my head lifted. And now, today, the moment I dreamed about so long ago has finally arrived and I’m overjoyed. Not because Will now spends four mornings a week at preschool and will soon head off to kindergarten. But because we survived, and then thrived, and because he’s become such a wonderful little person.

Will is sensitive. At times he has trouble controlling his emotions, and his feelings get hurt easily, but he can sense when someone else is hurting and needs a hug, a kind word, or a even just a smile. Will is driven. He can’t stand losing, but his competitive spirit will serve him well if he chooses to play sports beyond the under-5 level. (It drives him – and me, quite frankly – crazy that they don’t keep score in his soccer league.) Will is inquisitive. Though the topics that interest him are often arbitrary and unrelated (this week we’ve covered abdominal muscles, evolution, trolls, electricity, and “the force”), he throws himself wholeheartedly into learning as much about them as he possibly can. And Will is smart. He’s entirely uninterested in writing and art projects, but he loves and is very good at reading, math, and science. I fear he will surpass me academically in three or four years, at least when it comes to chemistry and physics.

Today Will is a whole hand old – it hardly seems possible. Happy birthday, my sweet boy.

Slight Change of Plans

2011-10-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

Once again, I'm changing things up a little here at Will and Hallie's blog. Because of a new writing opportunity (I'm now blogging regularly for the National American Red Cross blog) I'm going to transition from writing here on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to writing here on Tuesdays and Thursdays. In case you want to keep up with my other projects, I'll be writing at Midwestern Girl on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and at the Red Cross blog early in the week. (I can't give you an exact day of the week for that one, because regardless of when I submit my posts for review it's up to the social media team at National when they're actually posted.) So Mom, Dad, Michael, Susan, Sara, and Jenna (I believe you're my regular readers here at Wiggles :)), I'll see you here on Tuesdays and Thursdays!

Our Family According to Will

2011-09-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

During the first two weeks of school, Will's class focused on families, friends, pets, and homes. One of their art projects related to this focus was to create their home (using construction paper, crayons, etc.) and place all of their family members inside (using pictures cut out of magazines). Here's Will's finished product:

I was actually quite impressed withe the work he put into this project; Will doesn't care much for art and his projects usually involve a slash of crayon across an otherwise blank page. But when I looked closer, I discovered that while Will certainly spent a good amount of time cutting out and coloring his house, he likely didn't spend a great deal of time selecting the pictures of his family members. Here we all are up close:

Tom

Erin

Hallie

Now and Forever Fictional Brother

And Will

Hmmm.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

Doesn't That Hurt?

2011-09-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Will and Hallie's (and Tom's) first day of school. Now, a few weeks in, school's going wonderfully for everyone. Tom and Will are having great semesters, and Hallie has discovered that school is in fact her favorite place on the planet.

Hallie talks about school ALL THE TIME. She begs me to drop her off there (I probably hear "When you drop me off, Mama?" every hour or two) on the days she's home with me, tells anyone who will listen that she goes to school (which she pronounces "skoal", so no one ever has any idea what she's referring to), and talks a mile a minute about what they did in class once I've picked her up.

Hallie is a little bitter about the fact that Will gets to go to school four mornings a week and she only gets to go two mornings a week. That first Wednesday, when we dropped Will off and then walked past Hallie's (dark and empty) classroom, she burst into tears and didn't stop crying for more than an hour. Later that day, while shopping at Lowes, Hallie picked out two women who somewhat resembled her teachers (whose names are Holly and Andrea), pointed at them, and yelled, "You are NOT Miss Ha-wee! You are NOT Miss Andwee-a!" The women were very confused.

The playground at the kids' school is pretty awesome - lots of play structures, sand boxes, and bicycles - and both kids consider recess a highlight of their day. I already knew, since Will attended this school last semester, that the play structures are surrounded by small pebbles. I'd periodically find a pebble or two on our carpet or in Will's shoes after he'd taken them off, but for the most part he'd clean out the pebbles and sand at school when they got to the point of bothering him. Apparently Hallie either doesn't know how to take off and clean out her shoes or has a considerably higher tolerance for pebbles underneath her feet - here's what I found in just one shoe right after she took it off.

This might be the only downside to skoal.

Kids Say the Darndest Things...

2011-09-23T08:00:00.001-05:00

Super Powers

Will: Do you want to know what my super power is?
Erin: Sure!
Will: I can be invisible.
Erin: Cool!
Will: What’s your super power?
Erin: I can fly.
Will: No, that’s not it. Your super power is singing while you’re eating. And Dad’s super power is driving with his eyes closed.

Baby

Will skipped his nap and then fell asleep in the car while we were running errands later that afternoon. When we pulled into the parking lot at our first stop, I gently woke Will up and he started to cry.

Hallie: Mama, Will’s cwy-ing!
Erin: Yes, he is. He’s having a hard time waking up.
Hallie: (turning to Will) Ha ha ha! Will’s cwy-ing! He’s a bayyyyy-beeeee!
Will: (through sobs) I’m not a baby!
Hallie: Will’s cwy-ing! He’s a bayyyyy-beeeee!
Erin: Hallie, it’s not very nice to make fun of Will. Let’s try to cheer him up so that we'll all have a good time at the store.
Hallie: Ok. I chew him up. Will! I chew you up!
Will: (cries harder)
Erin: Sheesh.

Safety Manual

Last month we traveled – via four-hour airplane ride – to Washington for a wedding. Once on the airplane Will required very little of his parents’ time and energy; thanks to his Leapster and a few snacks, we heard from him only when he had to go to the bathroom. Hallie was a different story, needing an endless supply of books, art projects, cartoons, and snacks to distract her from kicking the seat in front of her and screaming at the top of her lungs.

Toward the end of our flight, a restless Hallie desperately wanted Tom to read to her but was less-than-thrilled about the books in her backpack. At that moment she discovered the seatback pocket in front of her, pulled out the safety manual, and handed it to Tom.

Hallie: You read dis.
Tom: (Reads Hallie the entire safety manual while Hallie listens intently.)
Hallie: Now seen (sing) it.
Tom: What?
Hallie: You seen (sing) it to me.

For the remainder of the flight, Tom sang the safety manual – cover to cover – to Hallie. Now if you ever hear her singing about lifeboats or oxygen masks you’ll know why.

There's No Place Like Home

2011-09-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

Baby Lily Update

2011-09-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

Time for a baby Lily update - she's just too cute not to post pictures of.

Rockin' out with Grandpa Paul (the first picture, and the way Lily's looking at

Grandpa, made me tear up).

Enjoying a wine cork.

A cute close-up.

Swimming in Grandma and Grandpa's sled...

... just like Will did, four summers before.

And enjoying bubbles...

...also like her cousin Will.

I can't wait to hug that little munchkin again!

Family Fun Night

2011-09-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

The week before classes started at TAMU, new faculty members were invited/encouraged to attend a two-day New Faculty Orientation. (Even though Tom began working in January, he attended the orientation figuring that more information would be better than less information when it came to the University and its system, policies, protocols, etc.) After the first day of orientation, faculty and a guest were invited to a reception and dinner hosted by the President (Tom and I attended), and after the second day of orientation, faculty and their families were invited to a Family Fun Night at the TAMU Recreation Center. The invitation to the Family Fun Night indicated that after the dinner families would be able to use the recreation facilities, including the swimming pools, so we were geared up and excited about taking a dip in a VERY nice outdoor pool on a VERY hot day.

Unfortunately the individual/team in charge of planning the event never bothered to check the hours of the rec center, which meant that after promising the kids a swim if they behaved during the dinner, we had to go back on our promise and deal with the inevitable meltdowns that came soon afterwards. Kind of a bummer.

We did, however, enjoy the center pieces on the table.

And Will loved the bayonette-twirling presentation.

Hallie, not so much.

I guess guns with swords on the end just aren't her thing.

First Day of School

2011-09-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

All four members of my family were excited about heading back to school (though I wasn't heading back to school myself, I was pretty excited about everyone else doing so and about the four of us getting back into our school-year routine), but Hallie was beside herself with glee in the days, hours, and minutes leading up to her first real school day. She was up bright and early that morning, and was all smiles throughout breakfast.

I tried to take a picture of the three of them before we headed out the door, but after five minutes and 40 attempts in triple digit heat (at 8:30am), I called it quits and accepted that these photos were the best I could do.

When we got to Hallie's classroom she strutted in, said "hi Miss Holly, hi Miss Andwea" to her teachers; and parked herself on her spot on the carpet. I had to beg for a hug and kiss, and after I took this picture she told me I could leave. I'm incredibly proud that Hallie is as independent and confident as she is, but she's two, people - how about missing mommy just a little, Hallie...

One of the goals for the four-year-olds in Will's class is for them to become as independent as possible in preparation for kindergarten. To this end, parents are asked to walk their children to the door of the classroom, but to say goodbye at the door (we don't go into the classroom) and allow the children to handle signing themselves in, hanging up their backpacks, putting away their water bottles and lunch boxes, and getting to work all on their own. Will cowered a little at the classroom door on the first day, but has done well since then - it helps that his best buddy Logan and gal pal Kennedy are in his class.

Tom's class/semester is going well so far. His department (Industrial and Systems Engineering) moved into their new building over the summer, so he now splits his time between a very nice office and a tricked out lab. Tom has three students - two graduate students and one undergraduate student - working for him, and has a group of solid graduate students taking his class, Special Topics in Cognitive Ergonomics.

As I mentioned, Hallie loves school. Here she is singing one of the new songs she's already learned - I LOVE it. (In case you can't tell, the lyrics are, "It's September, School is here, we are making new friends, fall is near.") Please excuse her husky voice (allergies) and messy face (spaghetti).

Reminds me a little of this video, filmed when Will was exactly the same age as Hallie is now. (The lyrics are, "I'm a little shamrock, look at me. These are my green leaves, one, two, three. ??? it's time to say, Have a happy St. Patrick's Day.")

How About a Bowl Full of Toys?

2011-09-12T08:00:00.003-05:00

(This is a potty-training post. Those of you who don't like to read posts with the words "pee" and "poop" in them should stop reading now.)

To hear my mom tell it, potty training me was like skipping through a field of daisies. "When you were 22 months old you asked to wear pretty panties. I told you that to wear the pretty panties you had to pee in the potty, and you said 'OK'. It was so easy!"

Because I believe(d) in karma, I expected to have at least one easy-to-potty-train child.

Karma's a b*^%#.

Will, at 35 months, was a late potty trainer. He started making progress around 18 months, peeing on the potty whenever we set him on it. It took him a year and a half though, punctuated by a three-day potty training boot camp weekend, to get from that point to actually potty trained. The process, with the exception of the boot camp weekend, wasn't particularly difficult or stressful, it was just L...O...N...G.

He looks so little here!

After that experience, I assumed that Hallie would be the one for whom potty training just clicked. Ha.

Potty training Hallie has been both difficult and stressful. She can tell us when she's actively peeing and pooping, asks immediately after she's done to have her diaper changed, and can, to some extent, control her bladder. All good things, right? The flip side of the coin is that Hallie CANNOT figure out how to release her pee while sitting on the potty. She also REFUSES to sit on the potty, regardless of what we offer her.

It doesn't help that most of her underwear - size XXS,

the smallest size made - won't stay up.

This morning Hallie woke up with a dry diaper. I suggested she sit on the potty. NO. I asked her to sit on the potty. NO. I begged her to sit on the potty. NO. And then in a moment of weakness and desperation, Tom and I collectively offered her - and had every intention of following through on - the following rewards if she would just sit on the potty. (She didn't even have to pee - she just had to SIT.)

- One M&M
- Five M&Ms
- One sticker
- Five stickers
- Fruit Loops for breakfast
- Fruit Loops with M&Ms for breakfast
- A new toy
- A bowlful of new toys

After each offer she just smiled and said "no" in her little sing-song voice. She even said "no, thank you" a couple of times, and after Tom offered her a bowlful of toys she laughed and said "I awe-weddy (already) have a toy fwom McDondalds!"

In two weeks Grandma Susie and Grandpa Mike are coming to stay with the kids for a few days while Tom and I head to Iowa for a wedding. We're leaving the potty training to her.

Peace

2011-09-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

There is no master race.

There is no greatest nation.

There is no one true religion.

 There is no inherently perfect philosophy.

There is no always right political party,

morally supreme economic system, 

or one and only way to heaven.

Erase these ideas from your memory.

Eliminate them from your experience.

Eradicate them from your culture.

 For these are thoughts of division and separation,

and you have killed each other over these thoughts.

Only the truth I give you here will save you:  WE ARE ONE.

Carry this message far and wide,

across oceans  and over continents,

around the corner and around the world.

~Neale Donald Walsch

PEACE.

The Best Part of My Day

2011-09-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

My absolute favorite part of every single day is when, while getting ready to take a bath, I take off Hallie's diaper, hand it to her, and watch her teeny, tiny butt race through the bedroom and the living room on its way to the Diaper Genie. I know that sounds like a weird thing to appreciate/enjoy/look forward to, but the enthusiasm with which she delivers that diaper to her room makes me smile, and the way she runs crookedly cracks me up. Though I'm looking forward to Hallie being potty trained, I'll miss this little diaper delivery.

O-R-E-O

2011-09-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

Is there a way for kids to eat Oreos that isn’t so disgusting?

Destructo Baby

2011-09-05T08:00:00.002-05:00

Hallie is remarkably gentle when she pets animals and combs my hair. Hallie is remarkably destructive when she does ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING ELSE.

Hallie hits members of her family, her toys, the furniture, the walls – anything within reach, really – when she’s even a bit bothered.

And even when she’s not bothered, Hallie rips the eyes off stuffed animals and dolls and pulls the heads and extremities off Will’s superheroes. She throws toys out the window of the car, jumps up and down on board games, and walks on books.

Oh, the books. The poor, poor books in our house. Nearly from birth, Will was as gentle with books as a child could possibly be. He graduated from board books around his first birthday and has literally never torn – accidentally or on purpose – a page of a book. Will used to insist that we check ripped books out from the library so that we could take them home, repair them, and return them to the library in better condition.

Hallie, on the other hand, destroys an average of three to four books a week. And we’re not talking about simple, easily-reparable rips; Hallie tears book pages into 20 or 30 teeny, tiny pieces. She then brings me the books and the 20 or 30 teeny, tiny pieces and boldly states, "You fits (fix) it, Mama." As if, Hallie. I'm not a miracle worker.

You’re probably pretty worried about Hallie, and about what kind of child and adolescent Hallie will become, after hearing all this. You can bet I’ve done my fair share of worrying about her. There’s a positive in all this though, and that’s that, with the exception of the hitting – which is pretty normal two-year-old behavior – none of Hallie’s destructive behavior is done out of malice or in anger. I actually think she’s just incredibly curious about how things work, and what happens when things are taken apart.

It’s because I believe she’s not out for blood that I was able to forgive her for this:

Day 1

Day 2

That’s right, folks. Hallie broke my toe. (I wish I would have taken a picture on day four or five - that's when it looked REALLY good.)

I’ve broken seven toes (competitive soccer was not kind to my feet), so this, my eighth broken toe, wasn’t really a big deal to me. I treated it as my nurse-mom used to instruct me to do when I was in high school: take Ibuprofen and put ice on it. Thankfully, 24 days post-break, the bruising is gone and the swelling and pain are almost gone.

My goal in the coming months is to (continue to) teach Hallie to treat books, toys, and people a little more tenderly – I certainly don’t need another broken toe!

Any Way You Want It

2011-09-02T08:00:00.002-05:00

These two love to dance. Especially in their underwear.

And just for fun, here are links to a few of their dance numbers throughout the years.

Baby
Super Heroes
Keyboard Demo
Block Party
Lion
Single Ladies

We're starting Zumbatonic (Zumba for kids) at the end of September, mostly because it's time for Will to learn a new "super move".

I DWOOOOO IT MYSELF!!

2011-08-31T08:00:00.000-05:00

And this is what happens when Hallie tries to make breakfast all by herself.

I Can Do It Myself! (No Really, I Can!)

2011-08-29T08:00:00.001-05:00

Last weekend I suddenly realized that Will was old enough and capable enough to make his own breakfast. I talked him through the steps on Saturday, and on Sunday I supervised from the dining room.

Selecting his cereal.

Gathering his bowl, cup, and utensils.

Transporting everything, via rocket ship chair, back to the counter.

Pouring his cereal.

Getting out the soy milk and orange juice.

Pouring the milk (while I held my breath).

Recapping the orange juice.

Breakfast is served!

I bet you can guess where all this independence means for our family... This weekend, for the first time in nearly five years, Tom and I are BOTH sleeping in while the the kids fend for themselves. Will knows how to watch On Demand cartoons and make breakfast - what more could they need?

I Wish...Things Kids Say and We Wish They Could Take Back

2011-08-28T21:38:00.007-05:00

I've hemmed and hawed for the last two hours over whether or not to write about what happened to me tonight, and while I probably shouldn't do it, I'm going to anyway. Because I know writing it down will make me feel better. And because (I hope) my mom and mother-in-law and friends with kids will comment and tell me that their kids have done the same thing to them and that they got over it.

Tom had to work late tonight - so goes the beginning (and the middle and the end) of the university semester. As a treat for the kids, who were missing their dad, we...

1. Went to Blockbuster to rent a movie.
2. Played on the indoor play structure at the McDonald's next door.
3. Purchased Happy Meals for dinner.
4. Had a picnic with said Happy Meals on the floor of the living room while watching the movie we rented.
5. Took a bath in Mom and Dad's "swimming pool" bathtub WITH the jets on.
6. Finished the movie curled up in beanbag chairs.

Not a bad evening, right? At least until that point it wasn't.

I asked Will to pick out a book to read before bed. He said no.

I told Will that his two choices were picking out a book to read before bed or going straight to bed. He said no.

I told Will that if he didn't make a choice I would make a choice for him. He said no and ran away.

I made the choice for him and put him straight to bed, at which point he told me he didn't like me anymore. Will tells me he doesn't like me whenever he doesn't like what I've asked him to do or not do, and while I tell him it hurts my feelings, I try not to overreact.

It was after I'd sent Will to bed and was tucking Hallie in that he went for it - he told me he wished I was dead.

I have no idea where he heard the phrase - we certainly don't use it in our house, and I'm pretty sure the four Disney Channel cartoons the kids watch On Demand don't either - and as it turns out, he doesn't really know what it means. He knew it was hurtful though, and he chose to direct it at me. (We did eventually discuss what Will said meant, how it made me feel, and better ways for him to express his anger. Not sure that conversation was all that productive.)

So I'm kind of sad, I'm pretty pissed off at Will, and I'm wishing there was a way write this outburst off as just another thing almost-five-year-olds do and eventually outgrow. Is it? That's what I'm wishing for tonight.

Hallie's First Haircut

2011-08-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

With the exception of a trim of three “rooster tail” hairs at four months old, Hallie has never had a haircut. She has very fine hair that has, since she was born, been growing out in crops. As one crop reaches about an inch and a half, the next crop shoots out of her head both around her forehead and at the top of her neck. Though I hated the idea of cutting off even a millimeter of Hallie’s gorgeous curls…

No curling iron needed - those ringlets are all natural.

…I decided it was finally time to start evening up her crops of hair with little trims.

Here's Hallie before:

And here's Hallie after. She doesn't look any different, but there are considerably fewer snarls at the ends of her curls.

Another “first” we can file in the College Station folder!

Allergy Update #4

2011-08-25T08:00:00.001-05:00

(Read Allergy Updates #1, #2, and #3.)

This morning Will and I returned to the allergist for Will's fresh milk challenge. (In case anyone is keeping track, I've spent more than 10 hours at the allergist this month alone. They're going to set a cot up for me in one of the smaller exam rooms so I can save on travel time and gas money.) His first skin test was negative, but his second skin test was positive (negative = good/no reaction, positive = bad/documentable reaction); these results, when combined with all of Will's test results collected throughout the last few months, make absolutely no sense. Even the allergist is baffled. So while Will played Star Wars math games on his Leapster, the allergist and I discussed all of the options in front of us as well as all of the possible outcomes associated with these options. Long story short, I chose to go ahead with the fresh milk challenge.

We've spent the last four and a half years monitoring absolutely everything Will put in his mouth, making sure he didn't eat or drink something that could quite literally kill him. I knew - both logically and instinctively - that going ahead with the challenge was the right thing to do, but that didn't make it any easier for me to watch Will consume what we had previously considered poison to his small body. I was sick to my stomach from the moment the challenge began until we finally called it quits two hours later.

There's good news and bad news.

The bad news... is that Will is still allergic to dairy.

The good news... is that Will's allergy has dramatically improved/decreased. He was able to drink a teaspoon, and then 30 minutes later, a tablespoon, of chocolate milk for the first time in his entire life. He didn't throw up. He didn't break out in a full body rash. His throat didn't swell. After the teaspoon and tablespoon we moved on to an ounce, which unfortunately led to watery and itchy eyes (which are considered an allergic reaction and therefore ended the challenge) but fortunately didn't cause any dangerous reactions. Will will continue the cooked milk muffin trial for the next six months (heaven help us, and thank you Grandma for offering to send Will a package each week he eats all of his muffins), at which point he'll try the fresh milk challenge again. The allergist is 99% certain that when we test again in February Will's dairy allergy will be a thing of the past.

For some reason I'm feeling particularly sad for my little boy tonight. To be honest, I wasn't expecting Will to completely pass today's challenge - an allergy as severe as Will's clearing up in just five months simply doesn't happen. But deep down I had hoped that today would be the beginning of a new way of living for Will. The beginning of a less-stressful, less-restrictive, more-enjoyable relationship with food and mealtimes and restaurants and birthday parties and friends' houses. He never complains (except about the damn muffins), and he never asks "why me?"; instead, he takes responsibility - in a way that no four-year-old should have to and most adults wouldn't/couldn't take responsibility - for what he puts in his mouth and his own safety.

So tonight I'm complaining for him, and asking why for him. But tomorrow I'll follow his lead and take responsibility for helping him play the hand he was dealt. I'll also say a quick prayer that come February, when the trial is over, this too will have passed.

#4

2011-08-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

Will has now "marked his territory" in four College Station parks.

I appreciate the convenience of trees (for boys) when a bathroom isn't nearby, or when the bathroom nearby is disgusting, but what are us girls supposed to do? I figure I only have another month or two before Hallie also wants to "go pee pee on the potty tree yike Will"...

Cupcake Extravaganza

2011-08-22T08:00:00.003-05:00

Lately Hallie and Will have really started to enjoy the Pinkalicious books. Though we currently only own Pinkalicious, Purplicious, and Goldilicious, we’ll be picking up a few more books about Pinkalicious and her friends from the library next week so that I don’t have to continue reading the same three stories over and over again every single day.

Pinkalicious loves all things pink (gee, you think?), especially pink cupcakes. So Will, Hallie, and I decided to use the red KitchenAid Stand Mixer to whip up some Pinkalicious cupcakes, and to go with them, some Go Blue cupcakes as well.

Hallie does most of her baking without clothes on. Come to think of it, both kids do a lot of things without clothes on these days, seeing as it's a bazillion degrees here.

Blue cupcakes, blue frosting, and blue sprinkles. Go Blue!

Pink cupcakes, pink frosting, and pink sprinkles. Pretty, pretty pinkalicious!

Your Love is Lifting Me Hyer, Part 4

2011-08-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

The Wedding!

Prior to the wedding, the Mueller/Ferris/Ekena clan gathered for a photo. Or 174 photos. This is the best we could do.

Sara and I dressed the girls in matching dresses, but this is the best picture we could get of them together that evening. Lily was EXHAUSTED, and Hallie wanted to go play with their babysitter.

Hallie's butt was far too little for the diaper cover that went with her dress (size 24 months - Hallie is 28 months old).

So after Lily went to bed, we took the diaper cover that went with her dress (size 6-9 months) and exchanged it for the diaper cover Hallie was wearing. The little diaper cover fit Hallie perfectly.

Ben and Laura's wedding was held in the Skamania Lodge Ampitheater, overlooking the Columbia River Gorge, at sunset. Just as the sun began to slip behind the the Lodge, Laura walked down the aisle with her father. She looked relaxed and happy and gorgeous, and Ben looked relaxed and happy once he saw her.

After a beautiful ceremony, we strolled just 100 yards to the reception, which was held in a clearing in the woods on the Skamania Lodge grounds. If I wasn't already married, I'd be planning my wedding and reception to take place in this exact location - it was perfectly picturesque, like something out of a movie.

The path to the reception after dark.

Part of the group.

First dance.

Though the kids didn't attend the wedding, we picked up Will and Hallie after the ceremony so they could join everyone for dinner at the reception.

Pre-dinner dance party (with kids).

Timeout. (As Tom took Hallie away from the table for her timeout she waved to the entire group and yelled, "Bye guys! I go to timeout!" When she returned she yelled, "Hi guys! I back!")

There was wonderful company, delicious food, amazing drinks, glow necklaces/bracelets, and a rockin' post-kids dance party.

Betony and Lucas.

Kyle and Alexis.

Sara and Jeff.

Within the Camping Family Tom is known for his dance moves.

Cute, and kind of weird.

Congratulations Bed and Laura, and thanks for including all of us in your celebration!

Your Love is Lifting Me Hyer, Part 3

2011-08-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

Ben and Laura's wedding was on Saturday, but because we knew we'd want the opportunity to spend plenty of time with the Camping Family and see some of the sights in the Columbia River Gorge, we few into Portland on Wednesday and didn't leave until Monday.

The Bridge of the Gods connects Oregon and Washington near Stevenson. The view from the bridge is spectacular, but is almost enough - if you're not a big fan of heights - to make you throw up. Unfortunately the bars along the sides of the bridge took a little something away from my picture. Fortunately there were bars along the sides of the bridge so we wouldn't plunge to our deaths in the river.

Friday morning we drove first to Horsetail Falls, along Oregon's scenic Highway 30. (We're wearing JACKETS! Can you believe it?! Hallie had all but forgotten what the word jacket referred to.)

After Horsetail Falls we drove on to Multnomah Falls. Despite the motivational literature, we decided to first hike (a pretty easy 1/4 of a mile walk) to the Lower Falls viewing bridge.

"Go ahead, hike on up! Hopefully you won't be hit by falling rock!"

The Lower Falls and the viewing bridge.

And then we decided to hike to the Upper Falls viewing platform (a more challenging one mile hike) as well.

The viewing bridge and the Upper Falls. The viewing platform isn't visible in this picture, but is just to the left of the mouth of the falls.

How Tom and Hallie hiked up the mountain. They chatted, kept a lookout for bananas (Hallie got confused between looking out for banana slugs and looking out for bananas) and "hunted" for pink horses and a brown octopus the entire time.

How Jeff and Lily hiked up the mountain. Lily yelled the entire time.

How Will, Grandma, and Grandpa hiked up the mountain. Grandma held a death grip on Will's hand, and Grandpa hugged the wall.

(In case you're wondering, I carried the camera and the snacks, took turns holding Will's hand, and carried Hallie 2/3 of the way down. She screamed - because she was mad about her Nutrigrain bar breaking in half - in my ear for a long enough period of time that I had to put her in timeout on the side of the mountain. Thing was, I didn't want to take her out of the backpack, so putting her in timeout meant that I had to sit in timeout with her. You're welcome for the entertainment, fellow hikers.)

When all was said and done, only Grandma, Tom, Will, Hallie, and I made it to the Upper Falls viewing platform. (About 4/5 of the way up, Lily fell apart and Sara and Jeff decided to take her back down. Grandpa went with them - he was looking for any reason to get down off that mountain.)

My photo of the falls wasn't very good, so I borrowed these from Adam's Facebook page.

I was incredibly impressed with Will, who hiked the entire 2.5 miles - must be all that working out he's been doing at the gym lately.

Friday evening we attended a bird show on the front lawn of the Skamania Lodge (our hotel/resort). It was the kind of presentation that, as an elementary school child, I would have found bland. But as an adult, it was fascinating. Two professional falconers (until that day I no idea "falconer" was a real profession - I assumed it was just something Saturday Night Live made up for laughs) and their assistant, Buddha. They showed and taught us about a variety of unbelievable owls, falcons, and eagles.

We decided this owl was Lily's kindred spirit because it didn't stop yelling the entire time it was out of its cage. Unfortunately Lily and the owl never got to meet.

Liberty the bald eagle had been rescued, rehabilitated, and released back into the wild three different times. Since Liberty could not survive on his own, eventually the decision was made to keep him at the bird sanctuary and train him to become part of the educational team. Our presentation was only his third outing!

Before his moment in the spotlight, Liberty wore a helmet to prevent him from being frightened or intimidated by the crowd. He looked adorable. And kind of confused.

Without his helmet.

Taking flight.

On Monday morning we visited two different wineries and ate lunch at the Full Sail Brewery near/in Hood River, Oregon. The views were spectacular.

That afternoon we hiked to the peak of Larch Mountain (the hike itself was quite short, but because I had to carry Hallie on my hip, it felt much longer), where, from a lookout platform, you can see five mountains at the same time. Incredible.

Mt. Hood

Mt. Jefferson

Mt. Adams

Mt. Rainier

Mt. St. Helens

My parents; Sara, Jeff, & Lily; and Tom & Will in front of Mt. Hood.

Stay tuned for the fourth and final installment of "Your Love is Lifting Me Hyer", when we finally attend Ben and Laura's wedding!

Your Love is Lifting Me Hyer, Part 2

2011-08-16T08:00:00.001-05:00

This post could also have been titled "Rule Breakers in Washington".

Four times on our trip we did something and then moments later saw a sign asking/telling us not to do the something we just did. Four times.

Climbing on the waterfall.

Petting the black bear.

Using the spa.

Playing in the laundry cart.

Perhaps these establishments should put their signs in more noticable locations!

Stay tuned for the third installment of "Your Love is Lifting Me Hyer" later this week!

Your Love is Lifting Me Hyer, Part 1

2011-08-15T08:00:00.001-05:00

35 (!) years ago my Camping Family was born. The first generation women (my mom falls here) met while working as nurses as St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, and after they and their spouses all became friends, they began the tradition of an annual summer camping trip.

Throughout the last 33 years, 13 children – the second generation (Sara and I fall here) – joined the Camping Family, and when the second generation was still young, the tradition of an annual winter hotel trip was added.

Throughout the last 10 years, seven spouses and two significant others – part of the second generation (Tom and Jeff fall here) – joined the Camping Family. Then 10 children – the third generation (Will, Hallie, and Lily fall here) – joined the Camping Family. And sadly, we said goodbye to one family member, my kind, thoughtful, “big brother” Camping Cousin Matt.

My Camping Cousin Adam posted a Camping Family group picture on his Facebook page this week, and he captioned the picture, “the loves of my life”. I couldn’t agree more. I have known these people since the day I was born or the day they were born. In addition to our annual summer camping and winter hotel trips, we have spent birthdays, Easters, Thanksgivings, and Christmases together. We have been there for each other’s sporting events, musical recitals, and theatrical performances. We have attended each other’s graduations, and attended or even participated in each other’s weddings. Many of my most amazing adventures and memorable experiences involve these people. Many of my funniest stories involve these people. They are, in many ways, the loves of my life.

So…that is why last week the four of us met up with my parents; Aunt Sara, Uncle Jeff, and baby Lily; and nearly all of my Camping Family in Stevenson, Washington for CC Ben’s (Hyer - hence the title of this post) wedding.

Stevenson, Washington (and the Colombia River Gorge, where we stayed and played), while VERY far away, is one of the most amazing places I’ve ever been.

The view from our hotel room at the Skamania Lodge.

Checking out the carpet in the hotel room.

Baby Lily has an adorable laugh, but she doesn’t let us hear it all that often (she’s too busy yelling). Turns out Lily finds Hallie jumping on the bed to be just about the funniest thing in the world though, so for the first time ever, a parent encouraged – even begged – her child to jump on the bed.

After the jumping-on-the-bed game, I asked Hallie to sit with Lily so I could take a picture of them together. Hallie is apparently pretty used to be the smallest person in any picture, so she walked over to Lily and sat down – in Lily’s lap. Lily did not seem to mind.

Will, Tom, Grandpa, and Sean playing various ball sports on the hotel lawn.

Remember Hallie’s foot phone? Apparently Anne, Amanda, Marsha, and Grandma – after a few beverages – decided to follow suit and drop their cell phone plans in favor of foot phone plans. The reception in Stevenson wasn’t great.

Photo ops in front of the Colombia River Gorge.

Photo bombs – by the king of photo bombs and his apprentice.

The Skamania Lodge sundial – completely accurate!

Tom and Hallie, sunning themselves on the rocks.

Camping family swimming.

Kyle - very creative.

Amanda and Autumn.

Avery. Those eyes!

Lily and Grandma.

Jeff and Autumn.

Jim and John.

Uncle Jeff and Will, who was on his way up about nine feet in the air.

Uncle Jeff and Will, after Will came down from nine feet in the air on his stomach. Classic belly flop.

Will, passionately jamming on his air guitar.

Hallie and Avery, enjoying their Teddy Grahams and a pretty good conversation, considering they’re both two.

A hug for baby Autumn.

Uncle Jeff and Will watching Wipeout, Will's new favorite show.

Stay tuned for the second installment of "Your Love is Lifting Me Hyer" later this week!

Allergy Update #3

2011-08-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

At their worst, Will’s allergies included peanuts, dairy, egg, and wheat. Meat, fruit, and vegetables remained safe, together making up a pretty challenging and downright depressing (at least to this Wisconsin-bred cheese and milk lover) menu.

Thankfully Will either outgrew or had a false positive test to his wheat allergy, and thanks to the fabulous doctor and nurses at our allergy clinic in College Station, who actually paid attention to Will’s medical history and test results, Will was able to challenge out of his egg allergy earlier this year.

I’ve mentioned before that I like our allergy clinic (the doctor, nurses, support staff, and environment) here, which is in stark contrast to how I felt about our allergy clinic in Ann Arbor. One of the best characteristics of the team at our College Station allergy clinic is that they care more about simply diagnosing allergies and then sending patients out the door with a prescription for an Epi-pen; they care about our quality of life, and how to improve it.

Allergies can be life-changing, and not in a good way. Between research, doctor appointments, breathing treatments, prescription refills, special grocery shopping, and Will-friendly meal preparation, I spend between five and 20 hours every month managing Will’s food allergies. And that’s not the worst part. The worst part is the constant worry that Will will ingest an allergen and go into anaphylactic shock. My fear of breathing emergencies was less when he was younger, because Tom and I controlled everything that went into his mouth. Will is getting older though, and as his independence increases, my level of control decreases and my fear increases. We take every precaution – Will attends a peanut-free school, his teachers are very aware of his allergies and know how to use an Epi-pen, I talk to his friends’ parents before I leave him in their homes, and I talk to Will on a regular basis about what he can and can’t eat – but sometimes it just doesn’t feel like enough.

It’s unlikely Will will ever be rid of his peanut allergy – they’re not commonly outgrown, and there is currently no “cure”. Today, however, we took the first step toward (hopefully) curing Will of his dairy allergy.

Studies have found that children with diagnosed dairy allergies who consume specially made (specific ingredients mixed in a particular way) and baked (significantly overcooked) muffins are more likely than their counterparts who simply avoid dairy products to outgrow their dairy allergies. Today, because he was able to successfully eat one of these muffins at the allergist’s office, Will joined our allergist's trial. Beginning tomorrow Will will consume one of these muffins (that I will learn to make) every day for the next six months. We don’t know for certain that this treatment will work, but as long as we keep the muffins coming and avoid all other dairy, Will has a good chance of being dairy allergy free in six months to a year. The only thing we do know for certain is that after this trial is complete, Will will never want to eat another muffin for as long as he lives.

Wish us luck!

They Say It's Your Birthday...And Your Anniversary!

2011-08-11T21:07:00.002-05:00

Happy birthday to Uncle Adam, and happy anniversary to Uncle Adam and Aunt Chandi!

Bedtime Bear

2011-08-10T08:00:00.003-05:00

When we were growing up, Sara and I were huge fans of the Care Bears. We had all of their records ("what's a record, mama?", asked Will) and the accompanying story books, the pages of which we turned when the chimes rang. Each of the Care Bears had their own song, and you can bet your bottom dollar that Sara and I knew every single word to every single song. Still do, actually, and we often sing Care Bear songs to Will, Hallie, and Lily.

Bedtime Bear's song was, obviously, about bedtime, and our parents used to sing it to us as they left our room at night. Here are the lyrics:

Bedtime's here, there's the moon,
You'll be sleeping very soon.
Close your eyes, and hug me tight,
Bedtime bear is with you tonight.

And here are Hallie's lyrics, which I heard for the first time this morning:

Bedtime's here, dare's da moon,
You'll be seeping very soon.
Cwose your eyes, and hug me tight,
Bedtime bear seeps wit shoes at night.

In Hallie's version of the song, Bedtime Bear gets to sleep with shoes on. It's Hallie's dream come true.

A Candy Apple Red KitchenAid Stand Mixer

2011-08-08T08:00:00.002-05:00

One afternoon I was watching The Barefoot Contessa when Will woke up from his nap. He joined me on the couch because Ina Garten was baking and frosting cupcakes, but eventually found himself considerably more interested in Ina’s stand mixer than in what she was making with the appliance. At the end of the episode Will turned to me and said, “Mom, I really want you to have a KitchenAid Stand Mixer.” I replied that I too wanted me to have a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer – I’ve wanted a red one since I first learned they existed but have never been able to justify the expense. (Will went as far as to tell Tom – completely unprompted – that he wanted me to have a KitchenAid Stand Mixer.)

Luckily for Will, and me, my parents bought me a beautiful candy apple red KitchenAid Stand Mixer as a housewarming gift. It might as well have been a gift for Will.

I bake once or twice a week, mostly because I love to lick the bowl. Will has always enjoyed helping me – in five-minute increments – but now that I have a KitchenAid Stand Mixer his interest in baking has increased 10-fold. (Tune in next week for a post on our Pinkalicious-meets-Go Blue Cupcake Extravaganza!)

Hallie’s just now beginning to show an interest in what we’re doing up on the counter (though she has zero appreciation for my new kitchen appliance) so a couple of weeks ago the three of us baked something together for the very first time. It was a special experience for me - I remember baking with my mom and sister when I was a little girl - and I’m fairly certain that our banana blueberry muffins were the best I’ve ever tasted.

What a Stud!

2011-08-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

At 61 years old, Grandpa Paul is still a soccer-playing, water-skiing, rock star.

I believe the word you're looking for is "awesome".

When I was a teenager, I wondered what I'd do for fun when I was 20, because 20 seemed so old. And when I was 20, I wondered what I'd do for fun when I was 25, because 25 seemed even older. And when I was 25, I wondered what I would do for fun when I was 30, because 30 seemed, well, unfathomably old. Now that I'm 32, and because of people like my amazing dad, I no longer wonder what I'll do for fun when I'm 35, 40, 50, and 60.

Missing Duke

2011-08-03T08:00:00.005-05:00

Our cats, Duke and Clemmy, haven't lived with us since April 2010. When we put our AA house on the market that spring, my parents volunteered to let the cats live with them until we had sold the house and were situated in Texas.

Now that we're settled, we're trying to figure out what's to do about Clemmy. (Will recently tested positive for an allergy to cats, but since we don't really believe the result - he's never had any problems with cats in the past - more testing in on the agenda for later this year.) We don't, however, have to figure out what to do about Duke, because if you recall, he was hit by a car and died last fall. Duke's passing was incredibly difficult for Tom and me, and for Will as well, and the thought of not being able to bring Clemmy home either is tough.

The kids and I talk about and look at pictures of the cats fairly often - at least a couple of times a week - but the conversations always feel kind of abstract to me. It's hard to remember what our house felt like with Duke and Clemmy living here.

Until today, that is.

One of the back cushions on our couch has had a huge indentation in it where Duke used to sleep. (Duke weighed close to 20 pounds, so he could really squash a cushion.) I tried for quite a while to get Duke to sleep somewhere else, if even just a different cushion so that the three cushions would evenly indented, but he would have none of it. I also tried for quite a while to figure out a way to return the pillow to its original shape, but I was never successful.

This afternoon I had to give the couch a good scrubbing, thanks to a topless runaway Hallie ("I won away fwom you!") and her topless hot pink marker.

As I was cleaning the couch, I glanced up and noticed for the first time that all three back cushions look exactly the same. Duke's indentation is gone. And I cried.

Dress Up

2011-08-01T08:00:00.002-05:00

One of Will’s best buddies is a little boy named Logan. They were in the same preschool class last year and became fast friends over their shared love of all things Mario. Logan’s mom, Stacey, and I became friends, and now Tom is getting to know Logan’s dad, Aaron, as well.

Logan doesn’t have a little sister to play with Hallie; instead, he has something better…a big sister. Seven-year-old Kendra adores Hallie, and Hallie idolizes Kendra – it’s a match made in heaven.

Last weekend we spent a few hours Kendra and Logan’s house for their family’s housewarming party. Kendra and Hallie disappeared into Kendra’s room as soon as we arrived, and we didn’t see either of them again for at least 45 minutes.

The first time Hallie came out she looked like this:

Tutu, gold crown with hair jewels, and gold purse.

The second time Hallie came out she looked like this:

Lipstick added.

The third time Hallie came out she looked like this:

Second purse and neck/shoulder piece added.

And the fourth time she came out she looked like this:

Quick change to Kendra's t-shirt, but hanging on to the gold purse.

Hallie loved every minute she spent with Kendra, and I loved watching Hallie experience – if even just for a few hours – what it would be like to have a big sister. Hallie has a very special relationship with her big brother, but there’s a part of me that wishes she could have either a big sister or little sister, like I did. I don’t, however, wish this enough to have a third child, so Will and Hallie are on their own to compromise and combine little girl activities with little boy activities. Luckily they both enjoy having tea parties while dressed in their superhero costumes.

All Grown Up

2011-07-31T18:49:00.004-05:00

Will: "Mom! I like peppers now!"

Erin: "That's great news, Will!"

Will: "Back when I was deep down (?) four, I didn't like peppers. But when I got older to four and a half, I suddenly liked peppers. (Long pause.) I'm practically a grown up."

Gone Fishin'

2011-07-29T08:00:00.001-05:00

As I mentioned in my Lincoln Lodge post, Will’s become quite the fisherman. Grandpa Mike and Tom have slowly and patiently (I’ve seen them in action – they deserve medals) taught Will how to cast his line, reel in a fish, take the hook out of the fish (in the simplest of cases), thumb the fish, and toss the fish back into the lake. Most recently, Will learned how to catch a fish flopping around on bottom of the boat; I find this feat particularly impressive because when a fish starts flopping around on the bottom of a boat in which I’m fishing, I cry like a little girl and jump into the water. (As if a lake full of fish is “safer” than a boat with one fish in it.)

Last year Uncle Grant (Will tells us it was Uncle Grant, but both Tom and I confess to not remembering), who is also an excellent fisherman, gave Will a child-size but real-deal fishing pole and a little tackle pouch. We weren’t able to take Will’s fishing pole with us to the Lodge because we flew, so it finally came out of it’s packaging last weekend.

Tom and Will spent what I considered far too long prepping for the fishing trip. (I recall waiting on my dad to prep for our fishing trips when I was a child. By the time he was done, I wasn’t usually interested in going fishing anymore.)

Then the four of us made a stop at Gander Mountain for a few lures and a new reel for Tom. Gander Mountain was considerably less interesting than I anticipated, and I had a hard time entertaining Hallie while the boys shopped.

And then we went to the fishing pond, where the boys both got one bite but didn’t catch a thing. They had a fabulous time.

Hallie ate apples.

And I kept a lookout for snakes.

This One's For Aunt Chandi

2011-07-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned on Monday, Hallie's transition to a big girl bed isn't going as smoothly as we'd like.

When I checked on her yesterday afternoon, I discovered that she'd taken absolutely everything out of her dresser (she'd even uncoupled all of her pairs of socks), all of the books off her bookshelf, and all of the diaper wipes out of the package. When I opened the door and saw the chaos, I gasped and asked Hallie, "What happened in here?!" Hallie replied, "AUNT CHANDI DID IT!"

Sorry Aunt Chandi, Hallie ratted you out.

Big Girl Bed

2011-07-25T13:49:00.000-05:00

Our recent move presented an opportune time to move Hallie from her crib to a big girl bed. Will moved from his crib to his big boy bed when he was exactly – within a week – the same age as Hallie is now, and for Will, the transition was unbelievably smooth. We figured the transition would be equally smooth for Hallie, you know, because we’re idiots and have obviously learned nothing throughout the last 27 months about how our two children are COMPLETELY different from one another.

Will, circa January 2009, just before his first night in a big boy bed.

Hallie, circa last week, just before her first nap in a big girl bed.

Pretending to sleep.

Carefully planning her escape as I exited the room.

Hallie’s first go at the big girl bed was during naptime. After she’d been in her room for about 15 minutes I checked on her for the first time. I found her completely naked (she’d taken off all of her clothes AND her diaper), except for her dressiest pair of shoes and all of her jewelry. I helped her out of her dress shoes and jewelry, put her diaper back on, and helped her climb back into bed. 15 minutes later I checked on her a second time. She was sitting in the dark in the corner of her closest, brushing her doll’s hair. Scattered throughout the room were ALL of the diapers that had been in the diaper genie…and ALL OF THE CONTENTS of the diapers that had been in the diaper genie. That’s right, folks – she opened all of the diapers and dumped what had been in them on the carpet. I cleaned up the mess, discussed with her what should and should not happen during naptime, and helped her climb back into bed again.

Hallie never did nap that afternoon, and when Tom went to get her up at the end of naptime, he found her standing in the middle of her room, completely naked once again. She informed him, “I have some-ting (something) in my hay-ya (hair)”, which prompted Tom to investigate and led to him discovering that she’d taken the protective paper off the back of eight Command Hook wall mounts and gotten them stuck in her hair.

After that first nap we had about a week of good nights and good naps. And then she learned how to open doors. (Cue the Jurassic Park background music and the parallel line from that movie about velociraptors.) She’s only come out of her room once – when Tom found her in the hallway she smiled guiltily and cheerfully said “ta-da-da!” – but she regularly stands inside her room and opens and shuts the door over and over and over again.

A few nights ago, when I checked on Hallie before going to bed myself, I found this. (She's literally hanging off the side of the bed - her feet are not touching the ground.)

It reminded me of this. (At least he had something to rest his feet on.)

And so that we’d having a matching set, we took this picture...

...to go with this picture.

I have no idea how falling asleep hanging out of bed is even possible, but somehow they’ve both done it. Maybe it’s some kind of special skill.

Lipstick

2011-07-22T13:09:00.003-05:00

While Daddy wasn't paying attention, Hallie put on "piddy yipstit (pretty lipstick) just yike (like) my mama".

Thank you, Crayola, for making Washable Markers.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-20T15:40:00.001-05:00

Kids Say the Darndest Things...

2011-07-18T15:50:00.003-05:00

Losing

Will's fairly obsessed with winning these days, to the point that he somehow trained Hallie - who has no idea what losing actually means - to think that losing is cool so that he can always be the winner. We've recently heard all of these exchanges between the kids:

Will: I’m the winner!
Hallie: I da you-ser!

Will: I won!
Hallie: I yoose!

Will: I’m going to win!
Hallie: I going to yoose!

The funniest part about listening to the kids have these conversations is that Hallie is legitimately excited about losing.

Uncle Jeff's Fan

Uncle Jeff needs the white noise of a box or stand fan to sleep, so the day before he, Sara, and Lily arrived for a visit Hallie and I hunted down and cleaned up our stand fan for him.

Hallie: What you doo-ing?
Erin: Cleaning up the fan for Uncle Jeff.
Hallie: Dat's NOT a big girl bed.
Erin: No, it's not a big girl bed. It's a fan.
Hallie: Hmm. It's a very nice fan.

The Lincoln Lodge, Summer 2011

2011-07-13T14:51:00.002-05:00

We spent last week vacationing with Tom's family (everyone - Grandma, Grandpa, the four of us, Adam and Chandi, Jenna, and Grant - made it) at The Lincoln Lodge in Northern Wisconsin. We fished, swam, and lounged in the lake; played disc golf, Blongo Ball, Uno, and checkers; watched girly movies and Man vs. Wild episodes; read books and trashy gossip magazines; sang “If You’re Happy and You Know It” and Justin Bieber’s “Baby”; danced to keyboard demo songs; and shopped “in town” at antique and touristy shops. We ate too much fried fish, too many brownies, and too many Harry Potter Bertie Bott’s beans (there’s a story here, but this isn’t the post for it), and drank a few too many Blue Moon beers and Amaretto Sours. We laughed and cried and talked and sat in comfortable silence and made this vacation, as vacations at The Lodge always are, perfectly relaxing and rejuvenating.

Bottom line: we had a blast. And here are the pictures to prove it!

We're back!

The airline misplaced our luggage for about 24 hours, so for the first day of our trip we were all wearing other people's clothes. Hallie and Will thought it was awesome.

Enjoying the view from the end of the dock.

My super hero boy.

Happy Birthday, America!

Good times shopping at Wal-Mart.

Chandi's leg goes on forever!

Horribly ugly Wal-Mart 4th of July shirt #1.

Horribly ugly Wal-Mart 4th of July shirt #2.

Horribly ugly Wal-Mart 4th of July shirt #3.

Waiting for Uncle Adam to start the campfire with fireworks. We convinced Will, in the name of fireworks safety, that Uncle Adam had attended and graduated from a special school that trained and then qualified him to use fireworks.

The Bertie Bott's beans we snuck into Tom's birthday cupcake were heavy and fell to the bottom of the cupcake paper, thus ruining the surprise. (Or at least preventing Tom from learning about their presence when he bit into his cupcake.)

"Cheers-ing" the beans. (We played quite a few rounds of Uno. All of the losers - everyone except the one winner - had to eat a bean at random from the Bertie Bott's box of beans.)

"Chasing" the beans with donuts.

Rotten egg.

The girl loves her boat coat, and the water, to the point that I just couldn't stop her when she was ready to go in.

Will is a pro at fishing. He knows how to climb in and out of the boat (for the record, the boat is on the shore here, which is why he's not wearing a life jacket),

Cast,

Take the hook out of and thumb the fish,

And throw the fish back in the water.

He can also do all of these things naked. (?!)

We bathed the kids in the lake one night. One child loved it...

...And one child hated it.

Love.

Aunt Chandi painted tiny hearts on Hallie's toenails.

And every morning, Aunt Chandi and Hallie picked bouquets of Sweet Williams (or "Will Sweeties", as Hallie called them). Chandi's bouquet was displayed in the kitchen, and Hallie carried her bouquet around for the entire day.

Cousin Molly and her husband Kevin stopped by and Hallie caught up with their full-grown-but-just-Hallie's-size dog.

Sharing Fruit Loops with Grandpa.

Cuddling with Grandma.

Will learned how to play Checkers, Uno, and Sorry on this trip.

We gave potty training a try at the Lodge, but found out that Hallie is definitely NOT ready.

Awww... Grandma consoles naked Hallie (who's not picking her nose) while Hallie's mom sits back and drinks a beer.

Culvers - mmm...

Fish fry - double mmm...

Playing with Uncle Adam and Aunt Chandi.

Will and Hallie LOVE the song "Baby" by Justin Bieber (thank you Glee). Here's a video of them singing and dancing to Tom's piano rendition of the hit tune. I think Will's trying out a heart throb meets superhero-who-has-to-pee performance style.

There's still one video post to come, but we're waiting on AJ (who is super busy these days) edit a couple of different videos down into one top-notch video. Just thinking about it makes me smile, and I'm sure you'll love it. Hint - the video has to do with "Baby", and Hallie's obsession with singing the correct words...

Thanks, everyone, for a great trip!

Moving!

2011-07-13T14:50:00.003-05:00

We're moving on Friday, so I put up Friday's blog post (about our vacation at the Lodge) today in case our internet at the new house isn't working by then. Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-13T07:56:00.002-05:00

Can You Hear Me Now?

2011-07-11T15:11:00.002-05:00

“Heh-yo? Tit’s me, Ha-yee, caw-wing fwom my foot phone!” (Translation: “Hello? It’s me, Hallie, calling from my foot phone!” Just trying to help out those of you who don’t speak two-year-old.)

Thanks to a well-timed and completely coincidental call to my mom’s phone, Hallie is 100% convinced that her foot is an actual phone. Many of you have received calls from her, but its possible her calls didn’t go through because of spotty foot phone service in our area. College Station is hoping to upgrade to a five-toe network later this year.

Happy Belated 4th of July!

2011-07-06T13:25:00.001-05:00

Whether you spend it at a BBQ or picnic,

“I carried a watermelon”

Watching a parade,

Watching (or safely playing with) fireworks,

Or just relaxing,

Enjoy your 4th of July!

Change of Plans

2011-07-01T15:53:00.003-05:00

Next week, because of internet access issues, my blog posts won't follow the usual Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule. I hope to talk to you (write/post pictures for you) soon!

Baby Lily Came to Town

2011-07-01T15:49:00.001-05:00

That’s right folks, Miss Lily (and her parents) came to visit us last week.

Their arrival was rough. Because of bad weather, both of their planes were delayed; this meant I left home at 11pm to drive two hours to pick them up at the airport at 1am, and then we all drove two hours back to our house, where we arrived at 3am. None of us could remember the last time we saw 3am, or at least saw 3am when weren’t up feeding a baby. Sara, Jeff, and I drank A LOT of coffee the next morning.

Though we had to work around three kids' nap schedules, we were still able to fit in Will and Hallie's swimming lessons, a walking tour of the TAMU campus, lunch at McDonald's, a couple of great take-out meals, an On Demand movie, two trips to the park, nine holes of disc golf, a few projects at the new house (pictures to come), recreational swimming, and drinks at The Dixie Chicken. Oh, and 107 readings of Knuffle Bunny and Knuffle Bunny Free.

Here are some pictures from our visit!

Getting reacquainted.

Will was obsessed with Lily's cheeks, and pinched them (gently, of course) at least a few times each day.

The girls loved taking baths together.

A lip kiss, followed by a cheek kiss.

We borrowed this bouncer from our neighbor since we no longer have any baby-sitting-aids. Hallie used it AT LEAST as much as Lily did. Thank goodness she only weighs 22 pounds.

The three faces of future TAMU Aggie Lily.

That bowl is full of Cheerios.

Not anymore.

I'm proud, and only a little grossed out, to report that Lily ate her very first Cheerios off my living room floor.

Just because.

Swinging.

Will's first solo trip down the pole.

Driving already.

We don't have a highchair anymore, so Lily ate in Hallie's big girl chair - made for some messy meals.

Another trip to the park, and a bit more swinging.

We went out for drinks (which is super relaxing, as going out for drinks is supposed to be, with three kids in tow) at a great College Station hang out called The Dixie Chicken. Lily enjoyed the decor.

And the costumes.

This is what it would look like if I had three kids.

We miss you already!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-29T20:26:00.000-05:00

Check Out AJ's Blog!

2011-06-29T20:22:00.001-05:00

Check it out - Hallie made it on to her soon-to-be-famous AJ's blog!

jchristinemusic.blogspot.com