Ballet Recital

Well, not so much a recital as a "show-off" day for Carlie's last day of dance class. Glad we brought the video camera as well because it was quite amusing. I did feel like the worst mom in the world when all the other moms/dads had flowers were their girls when it was over. I clearly need to learn the etiquette for these types of things. Carlie was definitely the best at the "seal walk" and can also do crab walk- forwards and backwards, bear crawl, log roll, somersault and many other things. After she did her somersault, she peeked around her teacher and said "I did it, guys!" They did a little dance at the end. Then, they got to do this parachute game. The teacher said when he said, "RUN", they were to let go of the parachute and run under it. Well, when he said, "RUN", Carlie let go of the parachute and rather than run under the parachute, she ran away from the parachute. It was funny.



Here she is running AWAY from the parachute.

GCA Fun Fair

Sunday we attended the Grace Christian Academy Fun Fair after church. We wanted to support it, especially since Carlie will be attending preschool there next year. It was really fun. Carlie enjoyed the games. They gave out tokens which could then be cashed in for toys. After doing many games, it became abundantly clear that the fish pond was the best place to get multiple tokens. I was definitely an encourager that she do that game. She ended up with a little stuffed ballerina bear and a stuffed Barbie doll. I also encouraged the cake walk too(we didn't win-grrr...) Noah made it through the afternoon like a champ- no diaper accidents and a nice nap.

MOPS Picnic

Saturday we went to the end of the year MOPS Picnic at Millenium Park. It was a very nice park, and I am surprised we didn't even know it existed. The playground equipment was pretty high tech as you can see, not your basic slides and swings at this park. It was a beautiful day/evening. We have to enjoy them while we can as it won't be long before we are wishing it was winter when all the humidity rolls in.




Don't worry, there is a story with this guy, too. Notice the paper towel he is sitting on. After we had eaten our picnic, he was crying in his stroller. This atypical behavior for him. I decided to take him out to see what his deal was. Well, there was a little surprise in the stroller that found its way to my arm and down his leg. It was not pleasant. And, guess how many wipes I had? Two! Yes, this is when one must use every square inch of what they have available being careful not to get anything on ones self. I managed like a pro. Good thing I picked him up instead of Mike or he would have been about eight wipes short. As a side note, I was also able to clean off his outfit too. Being the organized person I am, I didn't have an extra.

Noahbug

Here are some photos I took last week of Noah in happier times. He is teething right now so he is somewhat Mr. Crabbypants. Notice all of the attractive drool everywhere. I was doing some bench press moves with him last week using him as my weight and ended up with drool in my mouth, it was quite disgusting.

And So It Begins...

Well they have started work on our side of the cul-de-sac now so we have no garage access for probably two weeks. Since only one lane is open, we have to park on other streets in the subdivision. This is not easy when you have a 20 pound bag of sugar (Noah) attached to your left hip. And, I need to go to the grocery store this weekend so that will be fun lugging stuff to the house. Ah, the inconveniences of life, but nice, toned legs would be a nice benefit. At least we get a new driveway apron (glad to see my taxes are being put to good use). They were offering to do people's upper driveway as well for $6.50/square foot. We said no thank you when it wound up being over $3000. Not worth it when you want a bigger place anyway in the future.


Dudes, it's not even 3:00pm and you are already done for the day??

Not Mozart, (YET!)

This new feature of our home was purchased from some friends who were moving to a smaller place and no longer had room for it. It was just $50 and freshly tuned. They gave us all the books too. I have made it through the beginner book and feel that I did earn all the stickers that were already on each page. Carlie likes to play too so we may do lessons for her at some point in the future through the school.

When is Pawpaw Coming Again?

This little varment is really starting to get on my nerves. He runs across the patio while I am sitting outside having my quiet time and scares me to death. I think I need a pellet gun... grrrrrr!!!

Just Hangin' with My Sis

Like Sister, Like Brother

I came in this morning from watering the bushes and found Noah asleep in his exersaucer. It reminded me of when Carlie was that age. We have to get out for our morning walk now because it is supposed to be 90 degrees today. I may try to set up the turtle pool.

Making Zoo Tracks

Saturday was an absolutely beautiful day here so we took full advantage and went to the zoo (along with everyone else in St. Louis). The kids were just angels all day long, and Carlie pretty much walked everywhere. We got to see the newest elephant, Jade, and finally got to see the chimps and other apes enjoying their new outdoor habitat.
Hey sis, hook me up with some of that applesauce...
I'm not very good at holding the camera out in front and taking pictures.



In case you are wondering why I took a picture of this complete stranger sitting on a bench, let me explain. I had seen her earlier and thought, "What a cute outfit!", and then it dawned on me how proud Stacy London must be. Clearly this woman knows what appropriate zoo attire is and not caught in a "What not to wear" moment. Functional with the flip flops, stylish and comfortable top, and breezy pants (although the fact that they are white was questionable since you never know what you may sit in on one of those benches.) I definitely need an outfit like that for my next trip to the zoo. Sorry the layout on this post is so choppy, I'm not very good at that part.

New Park

Today we met Perrin, Lia, and Lia's friend, Ella Kate, at Des Peres Park. I had never been there before, but they have a very nice park. Carlie really enjoyed it, and I am sure she wishes she had a park in her backyard (even though Creve Coeur Park practically is in our backyard). She is getting more and more adventurous with the stuff she tries at the play area. Makes me a little nervous.

Hanging out in the stroller
Conquering the rock wall
Lia and Ella Kate

A Little Behind

These are from Saturday when the Roses were in town. Carlie got to play with Rebecca. She was so sad when they had to leave. She loves to play so much, and it always breaks her heart when it has to come to an end.

Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

Well, unfortunately, we kept our losing streak alive at Trivia Night. Going thru the first five rounds we were kicking cans, but once the intermission was over, trouble lay ahead. After tanking the Mothers and Daughters category (who is Lorna Luft or Lund anyway, and I already forgot who Laura Dern's mother is-- oh yeah, Diane Ladd), it all came down to Candy. Well we got five out of ten there leaving us one point shy of the money... Grrrrr!!!! But, we had a nice time with the Rose's being able to join us. I think they will definitely come back to town for the next trivia night should any of the usual suspects be unable to come. Rahul's friend was a big help as well. Sorry no pictures, I had my camera, but forgot to take it out. I get a little tense at Trivia Night. (Oh, and I won't tell you what category I did best at, let's just say make sure you sleep with one eye open-- buwahahahaha)

Happy Easter

What an awesome church service we had this morning! The kids actually stayed in the service with us because they didn't have nursery during the 9am service this week. They both did really well, but I think they like to play much better at this point. We came home and had a yummy lunch prepared by yours truly consisting of ham, green bean casserole, biscuits, mashed potatoes, corn, carrots, and deviled eggs. Not exactly the healthiest fare, but it was good. Then they opened their gifts from Grammy Dobbins. Later this afternoon Carlie will have to hunt around the house for her basket from Grammy Rodgers. We figured we would spread the day out a little bit with the presents. I guess we are too cheap to get them anything.


Mmmm, tastes like chicken

Egg Hunt Extravaganza

A local realtor put on a multi-subdivision egg hunt for the kids. It was a good turnout even if it was 40 degrees outside (if it was that warm). He even gave away raffle prizes to the parents like gift certificates to restaurants, but don't get too excited, we didn't any. The Fire Department was also there handing out hats to the youngsters. Earmuffs would have been nice. Overall, we got way too much candy. It would have been nice if it was candy I actually liked. Does anyone like "Bit of Honey", ewww!!!???

Carlie with her neighbor friend, Irina

Tell me again why I'm here

Big Score!!!
Mom, look at this!!

Time to Dye Eggs

On Monday we dyed Easter Eggs. After the dry run this year, hopefully they will turn out better next year. It was very difficult to get the eggs a uniform color all the way around so I just decided to start dumping them in all the different colors to see how they would look. Not so good, but I don't expect to make millions dyeing eggs for the masses. (I was hoping to get eggs like those on the tablecloth.)


The Fresh Prince of Butterfield Court