mn state fair in collages

Last Thursday S took the afternoon off of work and we took the kids to the "Great Minnesota Get-Together," otherwise known as the MN State Fair. We have gone the past couple of years and just love it. We even took W as a 1-month old last year! (We can't believe we did that though - were we crazy or what!) As good B's, we of course always do a little research and plan out what we want to do at the fair - and really, with as huge as the state fair is, it is nice to know what you want to do otherwise it would be overwhelming for us especially with antsy little kids! But Thursday was the opening day of the fair which we had not been to before and this means there are not as many newspaper articles or stories on what it good at the fair. But we looked at the fair's website and found some things we wanted to do and it was a very successful day. The weather was good, the kids did very well, and we all had fun!

And we both said that opening day is a great day to go:
#1, it is Thrifty Thursday, which means admission is cheaper and there are deals at various food vendors and other things which is great for us Dutch folk.
#2, there are about 40,000 less people than on a normal day which makes it a little easier to maneuver around, especially since we decided to bring the double stroller (which is big, but was a great thing to have along if only to get kids from car to fair and fair to car - and it was easy to haul all our junk too =).
#3, things are really quite clean yet - after 10 or so days of fair goers tromping through everything it can get quite grungy.

Anyway, when going through our pictures there were about 15-20 that I wanted to share with you! That could get overwhelming in one post, so I used a nifty computer program that I have called Lumapix. This was given to me by my friend T a number of years ago and I just love it. It easily organizes pictures in collages. So here are a few collages of our experiences at the fair!

Little Farm Hands - super neat hands-on exhibit at the fair that allows kids to become farm hands and do projects around a pint-sized farm. See if you can match what we did with the pics! G donned an apron and picked up her pail and entered the Cargill Farm (pic took specifically for Uncle L, who works for Cargill =). Then G figured out whether she could ride the tractors or not. She could, so she hauled her bag of corn to the chicken coop where we fed the chickens and gathered eggs. Then G planted and harvested potatoes (W helped too!), felt the wool on the sheep and milked a cow. Finally it was time to sell what she had at the farmer's market and take a picture by "Farmer" Charlie Brown. Oh and also take pictures as dairy farmers too. Good fun was had by all (even silly W)!
Petting the animals - this by far was G's favorite part of the fair. W loved looking at all the animals, but G loved petting them! We went through all the animal barns as well as the Miracle of Birth Center, and G was able to pet every animal that she could possibly want (with permission of course)! She pet bunnies, a horse, calves (even a 3 hour old one!), a turkey chick, a 5 hour old lamb, a 4 hour old piglet, and a turkey chicky. S and I enjoyed looking at all the animals as well, but I don't think we would have spent nearly as much time with them if we wouldn't have had the kids along. There is just something about seeing the excitement on their faces that you just gotta love.

Other misc pics from the fair - W fell asleep in the stroller against G's shoulder at one point (G was not too excited about this, but allowed him to sleep until we had reached our destination). We had ice cream 2 times at the fair, once from a homemade stand while we waited for the barn tour we didn't get to go on, and then again before we left from our favorite place, The Dairy Goodness Bar, which uses local everything! My favorite part of the day was with W in the cow barn. He has just learned the sign for cow and also how to moo so he kept us smiling as he excitedly signed and moo'd at the cows in the cow barn for 15 minutes! Then a pic of my silly boy playing "peek-boo" through the stroller window. =)
We were there from about 2 until 8:30pm. We didn't think we would last that long, but we actually could have spent longer as there were a few buildings (and food!) that we didn't make it to. For ummy fair food we had wild rice burgers, hotdogs (for kids), cheese curds, ice cream, and a local apple (which G said was her favorite until we hit the ice cream again =). Worst part of the day? Walking through chilly rain from the fairgrounds to our car (8-10 blocks). Oh well, at least it waited until we left to rain! And the kids were warm and dry since the stroller had a rain guard. Best part of the day? Definitely watching the kids with all the animals. And of course just spending a fun day together as a family! Until next year, state fair...

P.S. Don't look for a post until next week- we have G's birthday this Friday and have family coming to celebrate it with us over the weekend! That means I need to stop typing and start cleaning and getting ready!

yay w!

W's walking!!! Oh, my little boy is getting bigger (14 months, can you believe it?). He has been taking 1 or 2 steps for the past week and a half or so, but last Saturday he finally got up the nerve to try more and has been getting better each day! He still has a quite a ways to go, but it won't be long before he is running after G. Thought I would include some videos for you to watch the incredible cuteness (and all falls and bonks incurred during taping did not harm the boy =).

sometimes you just gotta craft

S doesn't understand it, but sometimes, I just have to make something crafty. Now I am by no means opposed to buying things and taking shortcuts, but there are just times when I have to get out the scissors, glue, duct tape, whatever, and do it myself. G's birthday is coming up, and she is getting to the point where we think she might be ready for some board games (big YAY!). So we did research (like all good B's do) and found 3 great games for young ones. Two of them we ordered for her birthday (Orchard, Picnic Game), but the 3rd one (Snail's Pace Race), I read everything about and decided I could easily make that, and it might be fun to do it right away to start getting her interested in games. So off to the big craft store we go and for less than $6, we buy game pieces, dice, and self-adhesive foam sheets in pretty colors. Then comes the work for momma - paint game pieces to coordinate with foam sheet colors, paint those same colors in circles on dice, make foam strips for game board, and also make starting line and finish line. Now this would probably take the average person without kids 1 hour to do, but it took me 3 of W's morning naps to complete. I then found a box for everything and let G decorate it herself with the little scraps of the foam sheets (she was even able to peel off the back to get to the sticky side!). And VOILA! We have G's Guy Game.

G showing off her game box:
Setting up game board(I didn't stick the strips down - this makes it easier to store, and also gives you a random set-up every time!):G rolling the dice (with aid of a shaky cup!):Moving the guys ahead (can play either move one space - guy game 1 - or move to the rolled color - guy game 2):Cheer for the guy that wins!!!!:
G loves it. The game is not W friendly though, so we have been playing while W naps or while both momma and dadda are home and one or the other can entertain W while the other plays with G. Any and all are invited to come over and play whenever you want...=)

then some bad nights

We have been having some bad nights for the past week or so with both kids, which also leads to some rough days too with all of us tired.

G has never been a good sleeper, from day 1. It took her until well past her 2nd birthday to sleep through the night fairly consistently, and even then, we had about once a week where she would wake up during the night with nightmares or something and need one of us to go to her. S and I night parent vs. crying it out (oh and we have tried it - just doesn't work for our kids, they can't calm themselves well at all), and it generally only takes a few minutes to calm G down and we can head back to our bed if we don't fall asleep by her first! =) But anyway, the past week or so, G has been waking up at least 2-3 times a night, mainly with nightmares and bad dreams and at least one waking a night takes her quite a while to calm down. I thought that maybe it was the little bit of TV she watches during the day so I cut that out for a while, but she would still wake up yelling things like "momma ate all the french toast!!!" G has also been having a hard time going to sleep as well - usually if she takes a nap, she is alseep by 9:30-9:40, and if she doesn't take a nap, she is asleep by 9. Lately it has been after 10 whether or not she has taken a nap - it was even 11:20 the other night with no nap! And she still wakes up between 7 and 8, so she is not getting enough sleep, and neither are we! We were hoping that a change in her sleeping arrangements would help. She was sleeping on a queen mattress on the floor, and we finally moved her to a "big girl bed" daybed with a rail on the side. Then S and I are sitting by her rather than laying by her thinking this might help her sleep on her own more. She loves her new bed, but nothing has really changed. At least it didn't get worse! But we keep plugging along and trying new things every few days in hope that by the time B3 comes along, we might have at least one child with better sleeping habits! Here is G in her new bed!!!


W has been a better sleeper, but not perfect, and he has been having troubles in the past week or so too. We think that his problem is teething, but that doesn't make it easier, and with molars, tylenol or teething tablets doesn't always cut it. He is usually waking up between midnight and 2 where I can get him back down easily, and then again between 4 and 6 where he is inconsolable and ends up being awake for an hour or so after I can get him calmed down. I have been very happy they replay Olympics in late night! =) I will say though that he is a good little napper, taking a morning and an afternoon nap at least an hour long, sometimes 2 hours which is a huge lifesaver during the day.

So that is what we have been dealing with lately. Makes for a tired momma and dadda during the day and less housework done than usual, but this too shall pass, right?! Last night was slightly better with both kids asleep by 9:30 and although about the same amounts of wakings for each, they were easily calmed down so we all got a better amount of sleep. That makes the today look a little brighter...

a good day!

Some days are just better than others. I have a wonderful husband S, who completely out of the blue yesterday (on his day off when we normally hang out at home and work on yardwork/cleaning/projects), suggested that we take the kids to Como Zoo in the afternoon! Then, while I was looking through the fridge trying to figure out what to make for a quick lunch before we went, S suggested that we go to Panera and pick up sandwiches for a picnic that we could eat at Como Park which is right by the zoo! I was blown away by his spontaneity and thoughtfulness, and we had such a good day together as a family! We haven't done a family outing just us like that in a while. Como is a great place - it has a lake and a park next to the zoo and conservatory area and being that we went on a weekday, it was not that busy! There were people, but it was still easy to get to see all the animals and also push our double stroller around. G and W both LOVED looking at all the animals! I was impressed by their attention spans at some of the animals too - we spent 10 minutes watching the tiny tamarin monkeys, 20 minutes watching the giraffes, and 30 minutes watching the butterflies in the butterfly house! While W called most every animal "pu-pu" for puppy, we tried to teach him the names and signs for each one, or at least get him to call the tiger kitty! G was so excited at most every animal ("Wow! Look a zebra! I LOVE you zebra (or whatever animal we were looking at)!"), and even did good looking at the tigers and lions which she was scared about on the way there. The butterfly exhibit was also a huge hit with G. W didn't care that much, but G loved looking at all the butterflies and matching them to the information sheet we were given as we walked in. The weather for the day was really good too! It was a little cooler and cloudy, and while threatening rain, we only got wet on our way to the car on the way home.

But, you may be asking - where are the pictures???!!! Where are the pictures of our Panera picnic? Where are the pictures of G&W's sheer wonder and excitement looking at all the animals? Where are the pictures of G hugging the giraffe statue while asking us if she could take it home? Where are the pictures of the butterfly that landed on my pregnant belly in the butterfly house? Where are the pictures of G&W smelling flowers and looking oh so cute in the conservatory? Where are the cheesy family pictures in front of the monkeys? Sorry, there are none. But why? Did you forget the camera? No. Did you forget how to add pictures to a blog post? Nope. Did you decide to rebel against the system and not take any? Oh no. I was loading pictures on the computer the day before and I left the memory card in the computer. Argh!!!! Oh well, while it would have been nice to get pictures of our fun day, it was also nice not to have to worry about it too!

Today is shaping up not to be one of the better days - crabby kids, tired momma, miscommunication on an appointment already this morning that we thought was tomorrow, etc. Time to get a few more things done while W naps!

...and then a week went by!

Boy that week went by fast too! Really, I think that after I did my first post, I was too scared to come back and do it again. But after this post it should be all downhill from here, right? Or at least I will just have to fall back on the normal excuses of procrastination and being too busy! =)

W has had quite the week. On the down side he caught a bad cold and has been clingy, crabby and just miserable (We don't have to put him in nursery for him to get sick at church - the 4 year old with a cold came right up to him and coughed in his face after church, nice.). On the up side, he has taken his first steps - one to dadda last Tues and Wed and one to momma on Sun. He will be walking before we know it! He has also picked up a few new signs - boat, cow, and rain. G actually taught him rain this morning - it was so cute! She asked me what the sign for rain was (it actually was raining outside as well), and then proceeded to point to the rain outside the window for W and teach him the sign for it! W also has started to be interested in using a spoon - the pics say it all on this one!

G has been into all things play dough this week. She has finally figured out how to do stuff on her own with the play dough without having to have momma or dadda "make" her things. She always had grand ideas, we would just be called on to execute them, otherwise she would lose interest and put it away. Now pretty much every time W goes down for a nap, she asks me to get the play dough out and is busy making pizzas, using cookie cutters, making bunny families, etc. She has also picked back up the interest in drawing stick people again and just in general wanting to draw pictures with her crayons rather than just scribble. Here is a picture of our family holding hands - including baby B3!, and an Aahma too, I think - the tear came from after W got a hold of it, but tape can fix almost anything! =)


And the other thing that we have been up to this week is just being outside. It has been a little cooler (78-84 degrees rather than 88-94 degrees), and we have been enjoying playing. I also finally cleaned out the baby pool and got it out for the kids too (I know, the summer is almost over, but at least it is out now, ok?! =). G could stay in the pool all day and become a wrinkled prune, while W's interest goes in spurts. He doesn't like it that his legs slip on the bottom, so when he tries to move and slips a little, he screams and needs me to hold him.

The last pic is from a couple weeks ago, but I just had to show off G's cutie cutie pig tails that we put in when she swims! (I didn't get a good one from this week. =) Time to stop. This has taken way longer than it should as I am trying to figure out how to add pictures and the right size and such. We will see how this works!

the first post...

Oh boy. Am I really doing this? I have been getting bugged by various family members to start a blog for almost a year now, and both S and I drug our feet in doing it because we didn't think we had anything blog-worthy to say, and also just a lack of time. Then, a few months ago as we found out we are adding Baby B3 to the mix, I thought maybe it would be a good idea - I am getting worse at sending out email updates, I am getting worse at writing down things that happen with my babies, and just maybe, a blog would be a new way to get me back into it. But, did I jump right in and start blogging? NO. Only because I could not think of a title for our blog!!!! For me it just seemed like it had to be creative and fitting and thoughtful and perfect, and The B Blog just didn't do it for me. Even though I know you all would have read it anyway, I hope. I have been toying with names like "Help Wanted - PLEASE!" (play on brother M's blog title), "Only Mom" (play on one of sis-in-law C's blog titles), "Growing Dirty Dishes" (play on C's other blog title), "Life with a peanut, a monkey and B3" (G's, W's, and ?'s nicknames), and many others. But last week I received a belated birthday present from my friend A that helped put things into perspective for me. It was a little abstract sculpture of a young mother with her two children and it was entitled, "Blessed." I was having such a rotton day when I opened that present - the house was a mess, dishes were not done, my mother-in-law was on her way to our house, I was supposed to have supper ready for us, her and J&C&K&G in 3 hours, the kids were just acting horrible, and I was ready to break down and cry (not to mention all the pregnancy hormones reeking havoc on me)! And when I opened that present (and did cry - happy tears), it helped remind me that God has blessed me with a wonderful husband, 2 incredible children, and another on the way, and no matter what happens, that is really what is important. So there you have it. I am an incredibly blessed wife and mom with a chaotic and messy house, dirty dishes and laundry, piles of unfinished projects, and I guess now I am also a blogger. Can't promise you how many times I will write on this, and knowing me it will probably go in spurts, but hopefully this will share a little bit of us with you.