Dear Stephanie:

Dear Stephanie:

Thank you SO MUCH for asking me and my looney tunes kids up to Minnesota for almost an entire week.  I'm still in awe that you were brave enough to do that, because I'm not sure I could have handled that kind of crazy in my own home when Peter was barely three months old.  I'm flattered that you thought of our visit as help rather than one big headache.  Miss Whiny-Pants-Two-Year-Old and Mr. Crawl-Super-Fast-and-Get-Into-EVERYTHING-Eleven-Month-Old can be a lot to handle.

You are a terrific mama.  Quinn is growing up to be a scary smart little dude with a great smile and and an infectious laugh.  Maisie is gorgeous and getting stronger every day.  Watching her do tummy time should scare you a little -- she's going to be rolling over before you know it!  It's a slippery slope to crawling after that.  You have your act so much more together than you give yourself credit for, and please believe me when I say that it only gets easier and easier as the kids get older.

I think we got two great things out of my visit this week -- the cousins got some really quality time together and you and I worked out a really good rhythm that will serve us well when we invade NanaB and GrandDad's house in Michigan the week of Thanksgiving.  Even though Quinn and Maisie live a 15-hour drive away, Charlotte and Peter will grow up knowing them well if we can work out a couple of quality visits like this each year.

I feel like we're closer than just sister-in-laws now.  If we could keep that house running AND manage to get all four kids down for naps on several occasions, we could rule the world!  Now if we could just figure out how to get Miss Maisie to take a bottle...

Love,
Niki

A Brief Moment of Calm

The kids and I are visiting their cousins in Minnesota this week.  I flew alone with both kids for the first time, and somehow we made it here in one piece without getting blacklisted by the airlines.  The pilot and first officer of our plane were even named Captain Pete and Captain Charlie.  How's that for a coincidence?

My sister-in-law, Stephanie (aka Aunt NiNi), and brother-in-law, Don (aka Uncle Don), have done some great posts with photos of the Great Cousin Convention of 2010.  (Their blog is linked on the sidebar.)  I didn't bring my camera this trip, but here's one sweet shot I took with my camera phone of Quinn, Charlotte, and Peter watching Maisie in her crib.  (Charlotte looks extremely tall because she is standing on the bottom rail of the crib and the boys are standing on the floor.)  The boys are in matching outfits courtesy of their Granny Great.

This is the first time all four cousins have been together since Maisie was born in August, and it's the first time Charlotte, Peter, and Quinn have seen each other since February.  They have been playing together really well, and Quinn alternates between running after Charlotte and crawling on the floor with Peter.  With less than two and a half years separating the oldest from the youngest, these four are going to be quite the pack as they grow up together.  I fear for NanaB's house when we all invade in a few weeks for Thanksgiving!

BAZINGA!

A summary of sorts

A good 50% of the arguments Corey and I have can be boiled down to this strip.  I love you, Uncle Jerry.

The closest I will ever come to being a cartoonist...

(Made with pictures from my phone using my online photo album editor provided by my cell phone carrier.  Not sure why this functionality exists, but I thought I would give it a whirl.)

Halloween 2010 - Max and Ruby (and 80's Dan and Alicia)

This Halloween, Charlotte and Peter dressed up as Max and Ruby from the Canadian TV show and books. They (well, Charlie) have been looking forward to it and talking about it for months.

Max and Ruby.

"Cheese!" Okay, "Carrots!"

Peter, aka Max, for 1 of the approximately 7 seconds (cumulative) that he allowed those ears to be on his head.

The Max and Ruby Express on its way to go trick or treating.

Ruby is seriously contemplating her Trick or Treating strategy. Max is just worried.

Stringers Halloween 2010. Niki and I are dressed as our neighbors Dan and Alicia, circa 1980's.

Dan and Alicia, 1980's Dan, 1980's Alicia, Max, and Ruby . . . Looks like 1980's Alicia and Alicia already are on a sugar high . . .

Vet appointment

Peter tagged along while I took Connie to an appointment at the vet.  We were concerned that her normally TERRIBLE breath had become ridiculously worse in the past few weeks, plus she was due for some shots.  I put Peter in his sweater that has little golden retrievers embroidered on it (thank you, Great Uncle Dave, Great Aunt Lisa, and cousin Ellie!) for the occasion.  Petey charmed everyone there, of course.  He also decided it was time for a dance party in the exam room.

Oh yeah - Connie was there too.  She just had a little gingivitis and some aging eyes (nothing unusual for a dog her age), but otherwise she passed with flying colors.  The vet was super impressed that Connie could still run crazy fast and still had so much energy.  [Don't worry, Mom -- I washed Petey's hands many many times during and after the appointment.  It's just tough to keep the little guy off the floor nowadays!]

Snip snip

NanaB just sent some shots she took of Peter's first haircut.  Unfortunately, he looks kind of like a zombie in all of them -- probably because he was totally overwhelmed and confused about what was going on.  He actually cooperated very well for the first two-thirds of it.  After that, he screamed like a stuck pig and I held his head in a two-handed vise grip while the stylist frantically tried to finish.  I like how I got to wear a smock as well.  I still ended up with a ton of hair on my arms, but it was better than all over my clothes.

My little boy looks so neat and clean now!  It definitely made him look older.  Another milestone reached...

Two quick things

1.  Why am I spending time arguing with Charlotte about whether Pacey the cat is a boy and Connie the dog is a girl?  She's pretty convinced that the opposite is true, and I'm starting to wonder why I'm bothering to correct her considering both have been neutered/spayed.

2.  One of Charlotte's assistant teachers told me that Charlotte was the last to leave the table at the Halloween party at school today.  Then she said something like, "I have a feeling that she's always going to be the last one leaving the party!"  I just giggled, but now I'm wondering exactly what she meant by that.

These are the deep issues I ponder nowadays.  I think I need to start paying more attention to world politics or something.

The spaghetti apocalypse

The real apocalypse was on the floor, but I didn't get a picture of that.

He knew he had bested me.  Here he is, declaring victory over my broken spirit.

Scenes from a fun weekend with NanaB & GrandDad

Cheering the Michigan State Spartans on to victory:

At Lucky Ladd Farms:

Giggling at the ducks:

Posing as a cow:

Driving his first tractor:

Measuring up:

At our favorite little park:

Carving pumpkins:

Had to get this shot quickly before tornado warning sirens went off due to a wild storm:

GrandDad and his Mini Me:

After his first professional haircut:

And finally, after a particularly yummy chocolate ice cream cone:

We had a great weekend, NanaB and GrandDad!  See you at Thanksgiving!

Dressing up like Mommy

I'm not saying I wear a baseball cap and tennis shoes every day to take Charlie Jo to school, but let's just say her teachers aren't really sure if I shower more than once a week.  Here is Charlie, modeling Mommy's regular fashion statement (I wear the hat on forward, though).