family news – Page 19 – Out Of Their Minds Design

That Same Day… Cuteness Continues

All the pictures from the last entry (“Best 50 Cents…”) were taken on the 17th. That day continues here…

So yup, same cute sweater, same day as the tent pics… See this image larger.

*This is for you!* See this image larger.

*…and this part too.* See this image larger.

Nina seemed to really like our cheap-o vacuum cleaner. It is very weak and very light, but perfect for hardwood floors… and beginner vacuumers. See this image larger.

She did not want to give it up, and I have a video to prove it! (Coming soon!) See this image larger.

The cutest part of her outfit actually can’t be seen in this image… look down! See this image larger.

Our friend Elena handed down these shoes from her daughter, and unfortunately, this is the first and last time Nina could wear them. They were too small. 🙁 So cute though! See this image larger.

Eventually she decided it was my turn, and simply handed the vacuum to me. Such a sweetie! See this image larger.

Meanwhile, Ian built this elaborate set-up of a bunch of his toys… See this image larger.

Nina shows off her kitty jammies. See this image larger.

Sometimes the best pictures are not those with the kids looking at the camera. I love this one. Our two little ones, in their jammies, playing nicely together… at least as for the moment, right? 😉 See this image larger.

The Best 50 Cents I Ever Spent

I went to a garage sale across the street, where a little girl was selling off a lot of her favorite stuff. There, I spied a “Care Bears” tent that looked perfect for Nina to get a little time away from Ian, if she wanted to. It cost me 50 cents, and I honestly can’t think of a time in my life that two quarters bought so much.

It doesn’t see nearly as much play as it did this first day, of course. See this image larger.

But just look at that smile! See this image larger.

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Cutest shot, right here. Please click to see this image larger. See this image larger.

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So cute! Thanks for the fun, Peanut! See this image larger.

10 Awesome Years

Dialogue, September 8th
Ian finds out Daddy likes cottage cheese but never gets to eat it because his kids like it so much: “We should buy some cottage cheeses and write on there ‘for daddy’s only.'”

Ian, during dinner…regarding the food no longer on his plate:“I’m makin art!”

Ian, helping Daddy snip one branch off of a tree: “We’re cutting down trees to make wood!”

Ian and I had fun playing a game with a helicopter, but I had to go outside quickly to take out the trash. I came back in to find the helicopter parked in front of the bathroom sink, where he knew I’d head to wash my hands after the aforementioned chore. (This is one of those things where the meaning chokes you up more than the words I can type here… he left the helicopter there as if to say “I had fun, Daddy. Let’s keep playin’.”)

On September 8th, Melissa and I celebrated our 10th anniversary. Hard to believe that much time has passed. I love you, Sweetie, and I love how you’ve grown our family and surrounded us with your care.

In the interest of getting a couple of updates up here, I’m going to skip videos and come back to them in a little bit. They’ll cover the time period between the 10th and the 19th, and will all appear in one entry, coming up. (It takes a bit more time to edit those.)

We got gifts and cards and flowers, and I thank you all for helping us celebrate. These flowers from Grandma Sue looked so good in the sun room that I had to take a picture, but again, thank you all for everything! See this image larger.

And these are from me to Mommy! See this image larger.

September 11th, the kids go nuts on an inflatable balance beam. (Really this is meant to protect their little noggins on the inside of a tub, but they’re too old for that.) See this image larger.

September 12th, I told Nina I was going to buy her this book while we tooled around Meijer. She casually started reading it. I love Ian peeking through, trapped in his section of the basket. See this image larger.

A real page-turner, that one! See this image larger.

Attention, Grandparents: No. See this image larger.

September 13th. We bought Nina this potty to see what she’d do with it. Mostly, at the time, she seemed intent on using it as a reading chair. See this image larger.

Again? See this image larger.

September 14th, a board game that we purchased for the kids included this piece of foam, and immediately the Chapmanooga Choo Choo was born. See this image larger.

*All aboard!* See this image larger.

Wow, are they getting big. See this image larger.

Me: “That’s Ian’s. Please put it on the table.” And Nina does it. She’s amazing like that. See this image larger.

Reading again! See this image larger.

This is the baby swing that we had when Ian was just born. He loved that little blue bird on the swing, I think there’s a video of him pointing at it on a DVD somewhere. I spent time then considering how to pry it off of there for him. Melissa puts a huge amount of effort into a sale that comes around once a year that gets us a quite a bit of money to get rid of stuff that is taking up a lot of room, like this swing. So here we’re saying good-bye to the little blue bird for the last time. Life’s weird, isn’t it? I was probably the most vocal in saying “let’s get that thing out of here,” but it was me that got a little sentimental as it went away. See this image larger.

Nina September/October Daycare Notes

As I’ve mentioned before, we get a sheet from daycare telling us how are children did that day, every day. I noticed with Ian that there’s just a certain point in their lives where these notes get more interesting, and the same is holding true for Nina at around that same age. Here’s some of the notes we received.

I should also say, before we get too far away from the cottage trip, that Nina putting her hands up to the top of her head and saying “OH NO!” was at an all time high… mostly regarding missing shoes. Really adorable. (You’ll see more of that in the notes.)

Daycare Notes, September 8th – October 6th

9.8.11
Nina had lots of fun this morning! She loved the book “let’s go visiting” that we read in circle time. She would repeat the animal sounds back. For art we made footprints with ink pads. She didn’t like her feet getting wiped clean. At the sensory table we have sand with buckets, she liked sticking her hands in the sand more than using the shovel. She was also trying to eat the sand. She would suck on her finger, dip it in the sand then eat the sand off of her finger.

9.14.11
Nina loved the walk. She liked how we were moving the buggy from one side to the next. She kept saying “whoa!” She was super excited to see a puppy on our walk. She put her hands to her face and was saying “Oh no!” She didn’t eat really anything for lunch. One of the kids in the room is picky, so her parents bring her other food. Nina was trying to sneak her cheese. Everytime I told Nina no, she would cry. She didn’t like that she couldn’t have some cheese also.

9.16.11
Nina started off having a good morning. She played in dramatic play with Mia. They both wanted to play with the sink for some reason. Then she was being goofy and singing about Elmo. She was really getting into it. She wasn’t too happy on our walk. Every little thing set her off. She didn’t like something Mallory was doing and she started screaming and she got upset. We figured she might have been just tired.

9.22.11
Nina got to paint with apples for art. She used the apple for a little, then she just wanted to use her hands. She also played with apples and water in the sensory table. We would count up to five as we dropped the apples into the water. She would say five every time is very cute that she caught onto the number pattern.

9.29.11
Nina was so silly today! She would walk up to the mirror in the room. When she see saw herself, she started to cry and then she would watch yourself cry and then stop, laugh and do it again. It was like her own little game.

9.30.11
Nina was a little feisty today. She was really into the “mine” thing and then when she didn’t get it she would get upset. She threw toys a couple times that she was mad. She was very excited for art. We colored scarecrows and Nina love changing crayons. Both her and Mia were trading constantly.

10.6.11
Nina was walking around with the firefighter hat a lot today. There was even a time I went to go change her diaper and I couldn’t find her. I didn’t realize she was right in front of me with the hat on.

September 2011 Trip to the Cottage, Part III

September 5th, and it was the last day of our Cottage trip…

It was a very interactive morning! See this image larger.

These kids certainly know how to use apple products, anyway. Here Nina’s on the iPhone 3GS. See this image larger.

*Brother, I see you’re on an iPad with a much larger screen… Gimme.* See this image larger.

*What is this? An iPad 0.0?* Thanks for reading Gramma! See this image larger.

*Look! The page animation works so smoothly on this thing! I can almost feel the… word… ink… holder… Huh? Paper! (Yes, thank you Grampa…) the PAPER!* And thanks for reading, Grampa! See this image larger.

*Look! When you’re done coloring you just hang it on the wall, you don’t have to print it out or anything!* And thanks for coloring, Mommy! See this image larger.

We did get a little exercise in, which was a great idea given that the car-ride home would be a long one. See this image larger.

There are times when I can’t help myself and I have to stop everything and give that little girl a hug. See this image larger.

Awesome pigtails! So cute! See this image larger.

Exhausted, Nina settled in for a little nap. See this image larger.

Ian waited until we got into the car, but not long after. Here we’re in line for the ferry to head home. See this image larger.

Thank you Gramma Marcia, Grampa Dave and Great Grandma Betty for a fun trip, we had a blast and look forward to next summer!

September 2011 Trip to the Cottage, Part II

The princess surveys her subjects. See this image larger.

Yay, morning boat-ride! All these pictures were taken on September 4th. See this image larger.

*Say, Nina, is that a park?* See this image larger.

Ian, Nina and Grampa Dave all enjoy a quick ride on the teeter-totter. See this image larger.

Ian senses danger but can’t quite tell what’s up. See this image larger.

He looks cute here, but there’s a small white dot heading in his direction, over his shoulder, to our left. It is a small dog, it closed in fast, and it scared the bejeezus out of him. See this image larger.

Facebook profile image… go! See this image larger.

Ian looks perhaps a little too happy… maybe just thrilled to get some water between himself and the canine missile. See this image larger.

Looking cute! See this image larger.

Chilling out on the awesome deck! There’s Great Grandma Betty, Gramma Marcia, and Donna! See this image larger.

Nina liked the bigger chairs, lots of room to maneuver. See this image larger.

Grampa Dave helped Ian write his name with some leaves! See this image larger.

Don’t get TOO comfortable sitting in Uncle Chris’s chair, Ian! See this image larger.

He started looking a little warm and a little tired. See this image larger.

When he started to pretend he was sleeping, I made loud snoring noises and Ian giggled in waves. See this image larger.

But soon the giggling stopped… See this image larger.

and sweet slumber set in. See this image larger.

Nina watches Grampa Dave playing with some hoops. See this image larger.

Such a nice little smile, I love the sun on her face! See this image larger.

These two heard somebody spell boatride, I guess! See this image larger.

Ian watches the ripples disappear behind the boat. See this image larger.

He really likes sitting right in that spot. See this image larger.

The ladies are all in the front, with big smiles! See this image larger.

Nina enjoyed the ride as well! See this image larger.

Beautiful sky that night! See this image larger.

A few birds did a flyover and coasted off on the winds, just as the sun set. See this image larger.

The West-Side Chapmans… What a perfect picture, thank you Gramma Marcia! See this image larger.

A quick kiss! (Did you guys read the story about how a future version of photoshop will fix this kind of motion blur! It examines the pixels, figures out the path of the wiggle, and reconstructs it, clear as a bell! Awesome!) See this image larger.

Have you met the ship’s crew? See this image larger.

Marcia sneaks in a quick smooch… See this image larger.

… and a giggle! What a great smile! It is neat to see Grampa Dave and Grandma Marcia makin’ a little time to be Grampa Dave and Grandma Marcia! See this image larger.

Over at Pat and Eric’s… Ian wins the goofiest face award! See this image larger.

September 2011 Trip to the Cottage, Part I

September 3rd, as we approached the cottage, Dairy Queen ran out into the street and forced us to stop. See this image larger.

I’ll have to double-check… I don’t think this is her first ice cream. It probably IS her first Dairy Queen, though. And also possibly her first actual cone. See this image larger.

They enjoyed it and said they’d consider going again. 😉 See this image larger.

Great, Ian’s all pumped full of sugar, let’s go wait in line for the ferry! See this image larger.

The West-Side Chapmans are at the Island for a visit! Hurray! We were so thrilled to be there! Look at that happy crew! (Thank you Grandma Marcia for pulling off the perfect arrival shot!!) See this image larger.

Nina adopted this pose all on her own… looks a little like the Captain Morgan’s pose. See this image larger.

It took Ian 25 seconds to find this candy, without even trying. It took me 3 seconds to say “No you just had ice cream.” See this image larger.

*Um, Ian… there’s a pool. Mommy, here’s your shoes.* See this image larger.

And who gets out there first? Ian. CAREFUL, YOU’RE IN THE DEEP END!!! See this image larger.

*Wait, what deep end?* See this image larger.

*YOU THERE. YOU BEGAN WITHOUT ME, EXPECT SWIFT RETRIBUTION!* See this image larger.

*Come on, Gramma, let’s go straighten those boys out.* See this image larger.

And then a lot of fun was had! See this image larger.

I’ve got a lot of these, so I’ll caption the ones that stick out… See this image larger.

Cute! See this image larger.

A little bit of splashing going on! See this image larger.

Grandma Marcia plays lifeguard! See this image larger.

Look at how big these kids are getting! See this image larger.

Hey there, Peanut! See this image larger.

Such a winning smile! See this image larger.

Just chillin’! See this image larger.

Is he splashing again?! See this image larger.

Ooop, somebody had to sit in time-out for splashing too much! See this image larger.

And he’s not happy about it. He’s looking over to make sure that we all know he’s not happy about it. See this image larger.

And then back to sulking. See this image larger.

So Nina fought her way out of the swimming pool, and ran over to Ian and gave him a big hug!!! She decided to do this all on her own! See this image larger.

Back in the pool! See this image larger.

*Warm spot in the pool, you say, Grampa Dave? Why whatever are you implying!?!* See this image larger.

Nina dribbled this ball down the walk better than Daddy could, I bet! See this image larger.

And then came the rain!! It was a good thing we got in the pool so quick! See this image larger.

It was raining in my eyes, I had to close them. Otherwise brilliant pic, thanks Grampa Dave! See this image larger.

Ian enjoys a quick sit. See this image larger.

And then let’s all go in and get out of the rain and play whatever the heck this is! See this image larger.

Later, Nina insisted on an evening boat cruise! Here she inspects her zooey. The cottage always makes me smile, love seeing it in the background there. 🙂 See this image larger.

Wow, some photographer, huh? See this image larger.

BLAB BOOOOOO!!!! (That’s “Land hoooooo” if you have a zooey in your mouth.) See this image larger.

Grampa Dave steering and taking a picture at the same time! Thank you! See this image larger.

Ian smiles big! See this image larger.

A boat trip is a great way to round out the evening, right guys? See this image larger.

More soon!

Some Missing Bits…

Dialogue, September 1-3rd
Ian to Mommy: “You have a cool belly button.”

Nina: “Babysitter.” (Nina said this while pointing at the Elmo book where he has his first babysitter.)

Nina with stroller: “Beep beep!”

Ian to Daddy: “Mommy’s car has a p button. Where’s your car’s p button, Daddy?.” (P is for “Park.”)

Ian: “They’re like leprechaun bananas!” (Green.)

Ian: “I could have a banana while I’m waiting.”

Ian to Daddy on the way up to the cottage: “3 hours? 1 2 3 are we there?”

Ian: “When’s it going to be October?”
Mommy: “What’s in October?” (waiting for halloween)
Ian: “Elmo video game!”

August 25th, sometimes I pass by a real good shot accidentally. This is one. See this image larger.

August 31st, this shot is missing from the “trash” sequence… she threw it out, she now looks at her hands to see if they are dirty, and then back to the other shot of her clapping the dust off of her hands. (You’ll need to look at an earlier entry to see that.) See this image larger.

So Long, August

Video, August 21st
Click here to check out a video of Nina seeing the Sesame Street website for the first time! There’s one point where you’re going to see me tear up a bit — Nina’s mouth drops open in amazement and she looks at me like “This is great, isn’t it awesome, Daddy?” You can’t really see the look from the camera’s angle, but the look is there, and I’ll take that with me everywhere. 🙂 I should note that she said “Big Bird” before the camera went on, but listen for a lot of other character names too. This is a pretty big video. 11MB.

Dialogue, August 23rd-28th
Ian: “I’m really hungry. You should cook really fast or cook slow and give me a Popsicle.”

Nina: “Mommy, me and Ian” (Nina said this while looking at a photo of Melissa, Nina and Ian. Hasn’t happened again since, sadly.)

Ian: “When mommy had a bad throat she would take a treat, but it wasn’t really a treat it was medicine. Can you remember that, for all the days?”

EDIT – Just found some more stuff that belongs right here on August 29th. Nina correctly identified blue and yellow. Nina got the shapes right that were on the fridge. and finally, this bit of dialogue from Ian and I:

Dialogue, August 29th
Ian watching videos on TV: “Can I watch another one of these?”
Daddy: “Are you learning things by watching it?”
Ian looks over at Daddy.
Daddy: “Just say yes.”
Ian smiles: “Yes.”
Daddy: “Go ahead, then.”

August 28th, could she get any cuter? See this image larger.

Oh. Why, yes! Yes she can! Is she praying? *Dear God, please bring poor Ian and I more toys. We don’t nearly have enough, and truly could use something to play with. Amen.* See this image larger.

*I kid! I’m kidding you!* See this image larger.

So cute! See this image larger.

So proper! See this image larger.

*Would you care for some tea?* See this image larger.

Don’t bite the dog that feeds you. See this image larger.

August 29th, and I took the kids to the park near Ian’s school. See this image larger.

Don’t take this picture too seriously, Nina looks like she’s having a great time, but it only lasts for about four pushes before she’ll say “up! up!” See this image larger.

Hard to get a shot like this. Wanted to get everything in the picture, didn’t want to get too far away from Nina. See this image larger.

Ian with bows in his hair. When I see this kind of thing, I take a picture and try not to laugh, to be honest – lol. See this image larger.

I gave them each a bowl of Cheerios by the kitchen “gate” and went to refill a water jug. When I came back, there was a secret picnic being had under the table! I can’t imagine what these two are going to get into later on in life. See this image larger.

*Please, sir… another bowl?* See this image larger.

“Thank you!” See this image larger.

Whenever I turn around he’s a little taller and a lot older looking. :-\ See this image larger.

August 31st, Nina compares her wispy do to Mommy’s new haircut! See this image larger.

I know Daddy approves. See this image larger.

My oh my how Daddy approves. 🙂 My beautiful wife of 10 years… can you believe it? See this image larger.

Nina throws something away again… she’s been doing this for months and I think she’s only twice thrown out something that wasn’t trash! See this image larger.

A bad picture but an important detail… she claps the dust/dirt off of her hands when she’s done! See this image larger.

NEWSFLASH: BOY ATTACKED BY TICKLE-MONSTER, BARELY SURVIVES! See this image larger.

August Continues!

Video, August 21st
Click here to check out a video of Nina feeding Ian a couple of cheerios. (I know this is how we all get colds, I’m sort of over it.) Ian’s quote at the beginning of the video is also priceless. Nina’s “no” still sometimes means yes. We’re working on that.

Video, August 21st
Click here to check out a video of Nina using the iPad and talking. Audio is off slightly sorry.

Video, August 21st
Click here to check out a video of Nina using navigation on the iPad.

Video, August 21st
Click here to check out a video of Nina waking up her brother. I love the way she stops at every opportunity to wait for further instruction. Turn up the volume so you can hear me giving her the “ok” to continue through each step. This is a long video!

Dialogue, August 18th-20th
Ian: “I want to go completely underwater.” (I mention this for bravery. It still hasn’t happened without the velocity of a jump, but just the fact that he said it made us proud.)

Ian: “When’s it going to be October so I can play that Elmo video game?”
Mommy: “You are SO your father’s son.”

Me: “Remember when you were a baby?”
Ian: “Yeah and you would rock me and sing me songs like: (Singing) Twinkle twinkle little star… baby fall right out the door.”

Me: “Nina, you are breaking your daddy’s heart, here…”
Ian: “OK! She breaked it.”

August 21st, I almost can’t use my iPad anymore, honestly. We’ve raised some kids that love interactivity, I guess. See this image larger.

She’s very good at it too. See this image larger.

August 24th, love my kids! See this image larger.

If I look exhausted it is because I am. See this image larger.

August 25th, there she goes again! See this image larger.

Nina nibbles on corn-on-the-cob! (I think this might be her first on the cob.) See this image larger.

More good eats! See this image larger.