Monday, June 30, 2008

today's other birthday

A special birthday wish to regular reader Debbie, who shares a birthday with Liam!

one birthday, two parties

Today is Liam's fourth birthday! Our little man just left with his dad to celebrate the occasion by getting his first swimming lesson. It's an exciting time for him. And it was a very exciting (and exhausting) weekend as we held two birthday parties. It should be noted that we didn't have two parties because our two families can't bear to join together, even for a few hours; nope, it was simply a scheduling issue. Mike's older brother and nephew could only make it on Saturday, because they flew back to California that night; meanwhile, my mom was already booked into a quilt show on Saturday, Loni and Klaudia had a 4-H obligation, and Bethany had to work, so they could only come on Sunday. So instead of leaving anybody out, we just decided to have two parties.

For Saturday's party, Mike's family came, along with good friends Mark, Katie, and Linus, who brought exciting news of their own: they're closing on a new house in Chicagoland this week! We're so excited to have them closer to us, even if they did wait until we had vacated Chicago before they decided it was safe to move back. Anyway, we grilled burgers, dogs, and brats, and had a good time hanging out. Barb and Kevin got Liam a soccer goal for his birthday (along with a soccer ball for each boy), and once that was up, the boys (except for Linus, who just felt like hanging out in the house) had a great time playing soccer. After everyone left, the boys sat down to watch a TV show, and Liam was asleep within five minutes. Max, however, stayed up until bedtime, getting progressively crankier. Once I finally got him to sit in the rocking chair with me that night, it took only about 30 seconds before he was out. They had to rest up for another big party, after all.

Blowing out the candles; Max takes advantage
of
the opportunity to steal more frosting.

Success!


While Liam opens gifts, Max creates his own
entertainment.


What nice-looking family! Katie, Linus, Mark.


Grandpa and the boys celebrate the successful
erection of the soccer goal.


Looks like a swing set ad, doesn't it?

Sunday's party was a little earlier, to meet the needs of the after-church crowd. We had about twice as many people, and a whole bunch of kids. The boys had aunts, uncles, great-aunts, cousins (mine and theirs), grandparents, and even a great-grandma to celebrate with. Brunch was polished off, along with cake and ice cream, and everyone had a good time visiting and playing out in the gated area (highlight: the newly finished swing set). There were a couple of minor fights over balloons, but other than that everything went very smoothly. Both boys got sleeping bags from Yami and Papaw, which turned out to be an excellent idea, as it actually facilitated the after-party naptime efforts. This time, all four of us got to take naps after all of our guests went home. Success!

Liam: "I love balloons!"


Kelsey: "Look, I'm six. I've been around this
birthday block a time or two, and nothing you
can do will impress me."


Max: "I love frosting!"


All the kids are interested in this frog bowling
set from Aunt Janis.


Max got some good presents too,
including his very own firefighter
jacket for fall.

Friday, June 27, 2008

late-breaking news

I just called the police for the second time in my life! That's kind of newsworthy, right? Loni had just loaded the boys into the car to head to a new park (report to come) when she noticed a boxer (dog, not pugilist) in the front yard. The dog was running around, all confused, dragging broken chain behind it. I'm not much of a dog person -- I like them well enough, but strange and agitated dogs are a little beyond my comfort zone. Luckily, a man happened to be walking by and made friends with the dog. He held the chain and got the frightened dog to calm down a little. I went back inside, got it some water, then called police non-emergency number. Must be big news (or slow night) for them, because they sent not one, but two (!) squad cars to check things out. What must the neighbors think?!? After much discussion, police decided on a course of action. Managed to get dog into back of one of the squad cars (like canine criminal) and took it off to the Humane Society. The dog was clearly well cared for, and I'm sure someone is missing it right now. I hope they're all reunited soon, whoever they are.

[And in case you're wondering, first time I called police was to report a brush fire in forest preserve that I saw on my way back to work after lunch one day. Was doing civic duty, as were the two people who had called to report it before me, and the countless others who probably called afterward.]

Will now have quirky small-town anecdote to share at Liam's birthday party tomorrow, provided all guests aren't lurking on the blog on a Friday night, just waiting for me to post something.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

the jig is up

Last night the boys were playing upstairs in Liam's room. Suddenly, Liam came racing down the stairs, burst into the room, and yelled, "Mommy! There's a playground in our yard! Can we go play on it?" It was hard to watch the sheer excitement on his little face fade to disappointment as I explained that Daddy was still building the playground, so it wasn't finished enough for him to play on it, but that it would be before Saturday. We've been keeping the curtains closed in Liam's room because it's one of three windows in the house from which you can see the swing set, but I guess he opened the curtains to let some light in. Oh, well. We knew we probably couldn't keep it secret all the way up until his birthday. I'm amazed that we managed to keep him from noticing it for three whole days!

Monday, June 23, 2008

here and there


Sunday morning, my dad and brother came over to help Mike with the swing set (!) we got for the boys for Liam's birthday. Mike has been working on it in the garage for a couple of weeks, and got to the point where the smaller structures that he had built needed to be hauled out to the yard and assembled there. Since the swing set is a surprise, that left me with the important job of taking the boys somewhere else for the day so they wouldn't get curious about the proceedings. We chose to head out to Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend. We haven't been there yet, despite having purchased a membership, so it was the perfect time to go. And luckily Klaudia was available to join us, so the boys got an added treat.




It's a small zoo, but it was still pretty impressive. Probably my favorite part was their Australia section. It was open! I mean, obviously there was fencing around the borders, otherwise the kangaroos and wallabies might vacate the premises, but within those boundaries, it was just open lawn. There was a path through the middle for visitors to walk on (and not stray from), but theoretically, the kangaroo or wallaby could just walk right on over, if it wanted to. It was weird to be so close to exotic animals with nothing in between us but a few feet of grass.




We also went into the brand-new butterfly house. Klaudia was excited to see the butterflies, while Max was pretty indifferent, and Liam was downright freaked out by the whole thing. He was convinced that the butterflies would try to get him and eat him. By the time we finished in the humid, foggy butterfly house, he was feeling a little bit better, but was still ready to leave the zoo.


We made one last stop on the way out so the boys and Klaudia could admire a giant turtle, and then we were on our way to enjoy the rest of our day. We had lunch at Chipotle (a first for Klaudia!), then hit the bookstore before taking Klaudia to cheerleading practice and going to visit my mom. By the time we got home, my dad and J were gone, and the the swing set was up. Mike still has a few last things to do on it, but basically, now we just have to worry about hiding a very large structure from a very inquisitive (almost) four-year-old for the rest of the week. It's going to be, as Liam says, very tricky.

saturday in the park


In the morning, we made yet another stop on our tour of the parks in Our Town. There are a surprising number of them. Today's stop was the Washington School playground. Those are some lucky kids! The playground structure was incredible, with all the bells and whistles. And the boys were doubly lucky, because they got a rare trip to the park with their dad, who even tried out some of the equipment for them. We all played happily until a storm came rolling in (last picture) and then we had to head for the hills. Or, in our case, for a restaurant so we could have some lunch together.





Wednesday, June 18, 2008

stitch update and visual park report


Liam's face seems to be healing quite nicely, especially now that I've learned that if I slather him with neosporin the way the ER doc wanted us to, our pediatrician won't be able to remove the stitches as scheduled because the wound will be too wet to knit itself back together. Glad I found that out before Friday. One of Liam's teachers clued me in, after she followed ER neosporin orders for her daughter, and ended up having to leave the stitches in for two more weeks before the wound was healed enough to take them out. It's been a thankfully calm week so far, so there's not much else to report. Instead, I'll let Loni's photographic skills from today's park visit speak for themselves:



who, me?

Sunday morning (pre-ER) I was summoned to the bathroom so Liam could point the finger at his brother. I just love the expression on Max's face.


Later that morning, they put their heads together and decided it would be fun to play hide-and-seek in the laundry closet.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

happy father's day


As you can tell, it turned out to be not quite what we hoped for. The day went along with relative peace, but just before we were ready to head out the door to go to my parents' house for a cookout, Liam fell down and cut his chin on a wooden chair (one of the finds at the yard sales yesterday; I'm thinking this might be the first and last day that it's in our house). It's funny, considering how many times we yell at them to be careful when they're running and warn them that they could fall down and get hurt (especially on the sidewalk), that Liam was walking inside the house, minding his own business, when he tripped and fell.


Anyway, we knew right away that we would have to go to the ER for this one. Luckily, my grandparents were also getting ready to head to my mom's house, so we dropped Max off with them, then headed to the hospital with Liam. He ended up getting five stitches. It was an experience that he did not care for in the least. Getting anesthetized hurt, and got him started on the wrong foot. He screamed and cried and begged to get up the whole time. It just about broke our hearts. We were a little worried that he might be traumatized for the rest of the day/life, but he was perfectly fine by the time we got to my mom's house (two hours late). A little swollen, but otherwise in pretty good spirits, especially once he had some dinner.


Besides, I got six stitches in my forehead when I was six (swiped my uncle Matt's bike and was riding up and down Gram and Grandpa's driveway, then hit a big rock and fell off, landing on my face--good times!), and all I remember from the experience was the bright light, and my mom being there. At dinner, Mom told me how I screamed and cried, which I apparently have totally blocked out in the intervening years. So there's hope for poor Liam yet.

mint festival

Saturday morning, the boys and I set out bright and early for Yami's house, and then we headed down the highway to Wanatah, a small town that was hosting town-wide garage sales. We did very well, scoring tables, chairs, toys, a tv for my brother, and various other stuff. After a couple of hours worth of yard sales, though, the boys were pretty pooped, so I stayed out in the car with them during the next leg of the trip, in which my mom visited a new fabric store in Winamac.


After that, we headed to scenic North Judson for the Mint Festival. There was no actual mint to be found in the downtown area, but we did enjoy a nice lunch of carnival food, and then a couple of rides in the surprisingly big kiddie section. We intended to stay longer, but it was really hot and the boys were getting cranky. Then Max had a blowout, so we decided to call it a day. They did ride on a train, and Liam went in a bouncy house. We also saw firefighters playing waterball, which was not as exciting as you might think for the boys. It was a very full day.



Thursday, June 12, 2008

sonic boom!

It's understandable that Mike has trouble getting up early in the morning after working the late shift every night. But early morning is the only time he has with the boys each day, so we try to make that happen. Until this week, that's meant that I spend an hour each morning trying to wake him up, sometimes going to extreme measures, and usually losing my temper after about 50 minutes. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so I present to you...the Sonic Boom Alarm. As you'll note, it's designed "for the deepest sleepers," a demographic that suits Mike to a T. You may also notice on the box that this alarm clock comes with powerful shaking action. That white disc on the cover slips under a pillow or mattress, and shakes the whole bed. Loni was curious about the power and noise generated by the Sonic Boom, so I decided to get her first reaction on video. If you listen closely, under the shrieking of the audio, you can hear the vibrations of the shaker (also note the way Lon jumps up from the bed once it starts). The look on her face when it goes off is priceless!

today's park report, by liam


I slid many times.
I went on the sliding monkey bars.
And I swinged. A lot.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

another day, another park


What lucky boys! Monday, Yami took them to the park at Webster Center. Tuesday, Loni took them to Centennial Park. Today, the park parade continued with another visit to Webster Center. This park is a favorite with Max because it has stairs leading up to the slides, instead of ladders, which he can't quite figure out yet. Liam, meanwhile, was impressed that he got to ride his bike (although smart Loni put Max in the stroller for the trip).



Tuesday, June 10, 2008

the return of loni


Loni's been away at camp for a whole week, and the boys were so happy to see her make her triumphant return tonight. As a double bonus, Klaudia came too. The girls took the boys out for a fun evening. First, they headed off to Centennial Park to let the boys run wild and use up some excess energy.



After the park, Lon chauffeured them all to DQ for a cool treat. The boys have renewed their obsession with The Very Hungry Caterpillar lately, and there's an ice cream cone on one of the pages. Liam's been asking me every day when he can try an ice cream cone, so I figured this would be a good opportunity. Note the way Liam takes dainty little bites, carefully analyzing the taste and texture like a budding food critic; while Max just dives right in.



On the way home, they happened to see cousins Kelsey, Emma, Jimmy, and Gracie outside playing with Aunt Laura and Uncle Jim. So the boys got a second session of outdoor running around, which was enough to really tire them out by the time they got home. Thanks, Loni and Klaudia!