family news – Page 18 – Out Of Their Minds Design

Apple Orchard, Ian’s Class!

Alright, check back often, updates are all lined up.

Let’s start up with some of the videos I’ve been promising you from the last several weeks….

Video, September 26th
Click here to check out a video of Nina and Ian playing choo choo. 3.3MB

Video, September 26th
Click here to check out a video of Nina running around a park. She looks older again! Stop it! Also, at the end, you can hear Ian’s first close encounter with a squirrel! 5.4MB

Video, October 3rd
Click here to hear Ian, Nina and I babbling. 2.4MB

Video, October 9th
Click here to see Ian lead Nina to the front of our church for Children’s Time. 4.3MB

Video, October 10th
Click here to see this special music video of our apple orchard trip. This video is big but it does a great job of showing what a good time Ian had on this field trip! Check this one out if you can, please! 7.9MB

That should catch us up. Ian’s class had a field trip to a nearby apple orchard on the 10th. I took Nina and Ian and Mommy took some time off of work to join in! This picture is of Ian saying something along the lines of “You stay here and take pictures, I’ll be right over there having fun with my classmates.” See this image larger.

This was a gigantic pile of corn in a silo. It was very hard corn. Nina fell off a tricycle on the sidewalk and pretty much merged her face with the loose corn that was on it… this was, of course, the day before picture day at school. Ironically, the pictures came out fantastic! See this image larger.

Ian shoved a toy into this funnel to stop it up so he could fill it to the top. Smart kid! See this image larger.

Chillin’ with some goats. See this image larger.

*Yeah that’s enough of this, let’s get out of here.* See this image larger.

Later on, Nina is dressed up as a… alright you know what, let’s just say she’s dressed up! 😉 See this image larger.

October Audio

These are some sound-clips that have been collected throughout October. You should be able to click on them and your browser should simply play them. Definitely don’t miss October 15th’s clip from our dinner out, very cute!!

Audio, October 4th
Honestly, I don’t know what is being said here by Nina… this clip was twice as long but I trimmed it down. She kept saying the same thing over and over, and I never did understand it.

Audio, October 10th
Ian asks an important question, and after a brief interruption, I think it was answered!

Audio, October 15th
Nina Says "I SEE you!" and "SU-per Grover!"

Audio, October 28th
Ian and Nina takin’ a bath!

Trying to Hold On to Summer

October 8th… we took the kids downtown for the Fall Harvest Whatever The Heck Rockford Calls It Thingy, 2011. We ended up at a clothing store that had a play area in back… I was very proud of Ian for the following conversation. See this image larger.

Dialogue, October 8th
Kid being pushed in stroller, indicating the play area where we sat: “I want to go in there!”
Ian waves, says: “Wanna play?”
I gush with pride, ask: “Is that a friend of yours, Ian? Maybe from school?”
Ian: “No, he’s not a friend. But I can make friends wiffum. (with him.)”
I’m unable to respond to the perfect answer from my wonderful little boy.

Nina can’t believe we didn’t bring crayons and paper to go with the table. See this image larger.

It is a zorse. Yes. A zorse. I’m not kidding. See this image larger.

Today’s trip to the playground is brought to you by the letter “P.” See this image larger.

And the number 0. See this image larger.

She got ready a lot, but didn’t go down the slide. See this image larger.

*What, me worry?* There’s a little Uncle Chris in all of us. See this image larger.

Ian poses in front of his castle. See this image larger.

Not too sure about that smile, it looks like it might be the real thing, or it might be the one right before he steps on Daddy’s hand. See this image larger.

Not too sure about that smile either… it’s either “I love you, sister” or “Trust me, I won’t push you down this slide!” See this image larger.

Nina goes for a little swing. See this image larger.

We attempted to find the secret in the middle of the monkey-bar-dome. There wasn’t one. See this image larger.

This is the scarecrow that we made at the Fall Harvest Festival thingy. See this image larger.

We got boo’d by the boys next door! (That means somebody leaves a bag of candy on your door…) See this image larger.

And here’s Ian with those same boys. (Ian’s hiding behind the tree branch.) See this image larger.

Ian on the left, Brendan in the middle, Jacob on the right. They’re awesome little boys, and their parents are very cool as well! See this image larger.

She looks really old in this picture… See this image larger.

October 9th, here’s our fav kids on the iPad again… love Nina’s elbow and toes on the left. See this image larger.

October Begins

On October 1st, I don’t remember exactly why, but Nina gave me a big strong hug, and laid her head down on my shoulder. I don’t know why I have this noted as “first big hug” but I wanted to mention it anyway. She and I have grown so close, I guess I’ve lost track of which happened when. They’re wonderful though!

October 1st… Beep boop beep. See this image larger.

The kids tried out the pack n’ play again… this time different. See this image larger.

Not a whole lot of sleeping going on… See this image larger.

Unless you ask them to act like it… 😉 See this image larger.

Voila, choo choo! See this image larger.

I think she’s pretending here too, I’ll have to ask Melissa, she took these. See this image larger.

These are her bravery beads! See this image larger.

Cute! See this image larger.

October 2nd, love her in this dress! See this image larger.

What a sweetie! Looks a little angry though. See this image larger.

Peek a boo!!! See this image larger.

October 3rd. You. Haircut. Now. See this image larger.

And here we are after the haircut, taking a break while running down a trail. See this image larger.

They just keep getting bigger. See this image larger.

They liked looking at the geese and ducks and stuff along the river in Rockford. See this image larger.

On October 4th, Seth threw up blood, and I had to take him to the vet. I took him alone and it was very sad and frustrating. The vet basically was giving me a “what do you want me to tell you?” kind of attitude.

October 5th, and Seth shows no signs of any kind of sickness. See this image larger.

Yup, just rollin’ around. See this image larger.

On October 5th, Nina was told to put her zooey/pacifier on the dresser. She put it in her crib instead, knowing she would want it later and deciding, rightfully so, that the adults were full of beans.

October 6th, and Nina’s tent gets a new occupant while she’s away! See this image larger.

Wrapping Up September

I have a number of videos, but no time to process them… so we’re going to stick to photos for now and come back for some videos like we did last time.

Dialogue, September 26th-27th
Brendan, leaning through our front door: “Can Ian come out and play?”
Ian, holding up the iPad: “I will but I just have to finish playing this really cool robot game!”

Ian, after being praised for trying his potatoes, and apparently playing one too many video games: “I did it! I got the key that opens the lock door!”

Ian: “I know God made water but where did he get it?”

Ian, after being hurt, and while crying and wailing, took a breath and forced out: “Waaah!! You’re going to have to play with my toys for me because I can’t move my arm!!”

Ian, from the back seat of my car: “I have hide seeker eyes. They let me see things that you can’t see. I see a pig under a submarine but you can’t see it, do you know why? Because you don’t have hide seeker eyes.”

Ian: “You sit here next to me and I… will sit next to you.”

Ian: “I need to tell you about a dream I dreamed last night, mommy. I dreamed that I was asleep. And then I dreamed another dream…”

September 26th, Ian and Nina take a ride in the Thomas tent. See this image larger.

Choo choo! See this image larger.

Same day, I took the kids over to a nearby park, expecting them to have the same wooden fortress of a playground that they had during my last visit… but everything had changed. See this image larger.

And you know, change is good sometimes. See this image larger.

Nobody mentioned the word “splinters” or “bees” this day, for example. See this image larger.

Nina approved of the changes and drove the park home. See this image larger.

Reminder, oversize hat on Ian results in no pictures of his face. See this image larger.

Nina kept directing me here, I think she wanted a photoshoot in the grass. See this image larger.

I think this is Spanish for “Your kids need to be between 5 and 12 years old.” They aren’t. They did great anyway. See this image larger.

September 27th, more iPad time. See this image larger.

Nina flies a ship around the living room! See this image larger.

And now it is book time! See this image larger.

The night of September 29th I could tell conditions were right for a rainbow, and we got a great big one. See this image larger.

Make that two! See this image larger.

Artsy Lens, Part II

Same day, check out his nubby little teeth, heh! See this image larger.

Gotta remind myself to remove all eye boogers before photoshoot. See this image larger.

Someday me calling these his “Luke Skywalker Hair Days” will make more sense to him. See this image larger.

Still has a heart of gold. See this image larger.

Like this one a lot for some reason. See this image larger.

So easy to hold still while staring at the TV. Sigh. See this image larger.

Love this one. Would make a neat painting, almost abstract. See this image larger.

I think once we get through some of our newer situations, we’re going to start weening the kids off of so much TV and iPad stuff. See this image larger.

Still, like I said… a good time to take pictures. See this image larger.

I was so impressed with this space ship, I think I’m going to borrow the general design for a project. See this image larger.

Artsy Lens, Part I

September 24th, and I pulled out the artsy lens to see what kind of images we would get! Practice shot on the kitty. See this image larger.

*What’re you doin’?* See this image larger.

Nina plays with one of Ian’s tool sets. See this image larger.

Lately I’ve been loving my kids’ toes and fingers for some reason. So cute! See this image larger.

Nina tries to find another cheerio. See this image larger.

This has potential for her the cover of her next album “Diaper Rash Hurts Everybody.” See this image larger.

Bing! See this image larger.

More Early September

Video, September 9th
Click here to check out a video of Nina taking part in our nightly grace before dinner. 1.2MB

Video, September 10th
Click here to see Nina down some broccoli. I know that sounds boring, but let’s face it, a kid eating broccoli is as rare as a yeti. 2.5MB

Video, September 12th
Click here to check out Nina saying “Oh No!” and “Up! Up! Up!” WARNING: she also screams, very loud, at the end of the video. 5.3MB

Video, September 12th
Click here to see the kids on a horse at our local Meijer. 1MB

Video, September 12th
Click here to see some wrestling, and some lost socks. 8.7MB

Video, September 17th
Click here to check out a video of Nina reading in her tent. 2.7MB

Video, September 17th
Click here to watch Nina give Daddy a piece of her mind for trying to take her vacuum cleaner. 1.2MB

Video, September 19th
Click here to see Ian and Nina run the gauntlet we made out of our furniture! This is a long and large video. 9MB

Dialogue, September 18th
Daddy: “I’m sorry, we can’t play outside, Nina. Unless you’re really cute.”
Ian: “She is! I’ll show you! She IS really cute! Look!”

Mommy showing Nina how to drink soup: “Use two hands, like Mommy.”
Nina then soaks both of her hands in her soup, like an old Palmolive ad.

With Heavy and Broken Hearts, We Trudge On…

Everyone that knows Chris is feeling the same thing I am, I’m sure of it. An emptiness. It is impossible to move at times; difficult to breathe. But I know that the less that I do, the more this is hurting me; and the more Chris is rolling his eyes at me. So I’m going to continue with the blog, because Ian, Nina and Melissa are the people here in our home, keeping me alive every day; and maybe they’re helping you too. After a week that has felt like a month… or a year… we trudge on.

These pics were taken shortly after the tent pics, the next day on the 18th of September.

Another thing I bought Nina was this purse. See this image larger.

*You know, to put stuff in!* See this image larger.

*Like the keys to my stroller!* See this image larger.

Ian is a bit of an exercise nut, if I haven’t said so. See this image larger.

They’re both in motion a lot more than you’d think from those iPad pics! See this image larger.

He always says he has to get his laps in. See this image larger.

Some weirdo faces. See this image larger.

More weirdo faces! See this image larger.

September 19th… I left the room with the bowl full of cheerios sitting squarely between them… when I came back, they had moved a little! See this image larger.

He’s still so cute… See this image larger.

I do this sometimes when I really don’t have time to do more. Hand them a bowl and let them do what they will. Cheerios end up everywhere. See this image larger.

We built a bridge to the sunroom from the living room. (And a whole lot more, I’ll show you the videos soon.) See this image larger.

September 20th, and there was some kind of chair-train thing going on in the sunroom. See this image larger.

*ALL ABOOOOOARD!!!* See this image larger.

Farewell, Uncle Chris

The world feels a lot colder already without you around, and I wish so much that you could come back to us. I am thrilled that, long before you left, we re-connected: sometimes brothers don’t. We never grew apart per se, but we just got very busy; and it was so nice to hang out together, even if it was just our avatars playing cards, or the two of us ripping up a dirt road in a jeep-like vehicle on some faraway planet. It was always good to hear you laugh, and I thank you for taking the time to spend with me. I hope God gave you the wings you’ve always wanted, my Bro; so that you can fly like in your dreams. You the man.

I want to share with everybody else the last text message I received from Chris. It said “See ya, bro! Thanks again! Love you guys too!” He’s signed some cards with “Love, Chris” but I think that was the first time he said “Love you guys too!” It makes me glad that of all that we’ve said, this was his good-bye.

If I could only ever convey one story about my brother, I would have to choose a tale from one of the few times we walked back from DuVall Elementary School together when we were quite young. It was winter, and a safety (a student crossing guard) flaunted his power by making us wait an extremely long time at his corner. (For the record, his name was Tommy, and he didn’t like me much.) As long as his arms were outstretched, we had to wait; those were the rules. So he made us wait until he got bored, and then made us say please, and pretty please, before he finally let us cross. We got about half-way down the next long Dearborn block when Chris motioned for me to stop. He picked up a handful of snow, formed it into a ball, and with a grunt of effort, threw it into the sky. I squinted up into the afternoon grey and mentally traced a path to its intended target. Tommy was facing away from us, trying to get somebody’s attention way up the street. As fate would have it, Tommy was so intent on getting that person to look, that he removed his knit winter hat to wave it as well. The moment the hat came off of Tommy’s head, Chris’s snowball impacted in its place, perfectly centered on the top of his skull. I swear a better and more satisfying explosion has yet to be made by a Hollywood effects company. I laughed and laughed. He smiled down at me, I beamed up at him, and we walked on. That was my brother, in a wonderful, perfect nutshell.

See this image larger.

Rest in peace, you will be sorely missed. See this image larger.