March 31

Every little boy needs a cape...

Somehow Tyler developed a fixation with Superman. He runs around the house shouting, "Superman to the rescue!" This is odd because we have nothing Superman and I have never even seen it on tv but I put in the call to my mom and told her Tyler had a desperate need for a cape. She understood the severity of this need because my brother had three capes (Batman, Robin and Zorro) that he wore everywhere for quite a few years. So voila, ask Grammy and it will be delivered. After dinner we let Tyler run around the house in his new cape and mask and a rather odd assortment of clothing and pjamas.

March 29

THE BIG 3 0!

Today was the day that I officially went from being in my twenties to being in my thirties. UGH! Somehow, to me, that sounds a lot worse than saying I just turned 30..

Mike really went set the bar high for his upcoming 40th birthday (I have 2 years now to figure out what I am going to do to top the wonderful day he planned today). Late Friday night after I had gone to bed, he decorated the kitchen with streamers, balloons and flowers. This morning he got downstairs before me, before he showered or had coffee, (which if you know Mike that in itself is a major event). He took Tyler with him and Tyler was in awe and yelled to me, "Mommy, please come downstairs." When I got downstairs, Tyler and I got doused in silly string. It was so funny watching Tyler's reaction you would have thought he got shot with real bullets. Mike then watched the kids while I went and got a pedicure and manicure and did some shopping. When I returned home, there were beautiful tulips waiting for me from my brother Matt and his girlfriend, Lisa. Thank you so much!!

While I was gone, Mike helped the kids make me a beautiful card with their handprints and they wrapped gifts for me. Later in the day, we had cake and raspberry champagne and then Mike and I went out to a wonderful dinner. He had the restaurant print menus that said, "Happy 30th Birthday, Keli! March 29, 2008." so I will always have a treasured keepsake from this perfect day. He really knocked this one of out the park.

March 24-28

Spring Cleaning!

Mike was out of town this week so I decided to do some much-needed spring cleaning and run a bunch of errands we have putting off. I took Tyler and Mia to the local mall to get new shoes and ride the carousel horse. Tyler's feet continue to grow at an alarming pace. He went from a toddler size 9 to a toddler size 10 in a mere 4.5 months. Before we left for the mall, I gave Tyler quarters to ride the carousel. He put them in the pocket of his jeans and when we got there, he went up to the lady who runs the ride, dug his hand into his pocket, pulled out his quarters and said, "Two for the carousel, please." So cute.

In order to accompish this spring cleaning mission of mine, I essentially move the kids and their toys from one room to another. Here are some picture of them playing in the mud room.

March 23

Happy Easter!

Late last night, Mike and I put together an easter egg scavenger hunt for Tyler. Similar to the one I did for Valentine's Day but with eggs hidden in every room. He really wanted nothing to do with the Easter Bunny this year due to the "scary easter bunny" in Rosemary Well's Chocolate Chicken book. I didn't think the Easter Bunny was portrayed in a scary manner but he hides behind trees and that creeps Tyler out. So anyway, we told Tyler we would meet the Easter Bunny outside that night and hide the basket for him. So after he found all his eggs, we gave him some clues and he found his basket in his closet. I think the most exciting thing he found in his basket was a $2.00 box of Diego Band-aids. Mia's favorite part of the Easter Basket was the cellophane grass that we are still finding in the family room.

I was not ready for dyeing eggs with Tyler so we made bunny cupcakes which may have been just as messy but very fun for Tyler.

We had Mike's parents over for dinner and just had a very relaxing day. One of the best holidays yet with the kids.. The one picture is me trying to get Mia and Tyler to sit together for a picture together. Now that Mia is crawling there is no sitting still for pictures. Mia is wearing a dress from great-grandma roos. I had one just like it when I was her age so it is very special to me and hopefully something I can preserve for my grand-daugher. The lamb Mia is holding was a present from Grammy Posch. It is so soft and beautiful.

The "men" watching basketball after dinner...

March 22

We had egg hunt number 2 this morning. Much better than the first. It was actually held at a church (inside) with 12,000 eggs and we had no idea it was such a big event. They organized it so each child had to follow a course and went from room to room collecting a certain egg color. It worked out really well and took us about 30 minutes to find all of Tyler's eggs. He had fun but I think was a little overwhelmed by the number of people. When we first walked in, he was holding my hand so tight. The first time I didn't need to say, "Tyler, please hold mommy's hand."

This evening, we went to church so we can have a lazy Easter morning. Here are some candid shots of us getting ready to leave. Mia wore one of her "showstopper" bows and there was an older woman who saw her at church and said to me, "Oh, that is just wonderful, she is just so beautiful." I just love bows on Mia too. I smile every time I look at her. This last picture is me trying to eat clam chowder with both kids on my lap. And yes, Tyler has his finger up his nose. We promised him a bike if he stops doing it. It drives me so crazy I have resorted to bribery. Mia is starting to like baby food less and less so I have been letting her try some new things. She had hummus for the first time this week and loved it. Tonight she had part of Tyler's vegan burrito and loved that too. My kids seem to love spicy, flavorful food. I wonder if it's because that is the kind of food Mike and I like and they got in-utero and through my breastmilk. I wonder if that makes a difference?..

Tyler loves this new truck Aunt Lori and Uncle Eric got him for Easter. It's so big that Mia fits in it!

March 20

Officially a Crawler!

Well Mia has been experimenting with crawling for quite awhile but today the technique just all came together and she crawled out of her bathroom, through her bedroom and was out in the hall in about 10 seconds. I don't think I will be getting much accomplished in the near future. This opens up a whole new world of trouble for her to get into. She can now reach all of Tyler's miniature toys and she is an expert at finding cords and little specs of who-knows-what on the floor. Before I could sit her somewhere and know she would be there when I returned. Now I turn my back for a second and I can't find her. The second picture is of her playing peek-a-boo. She will hold a pillowcase up over her face and wait for me to say, "Where is Mia?" and then she will drop it down and wait for me to say, "Peek-a-boo!" She loves to do this after bathtime with her towel while I am putting her lotion on.

Tyler is quite the helper in keeping things from Mia. Today she had a magazine and he said, "No, no Mia. You are too little to read magazines. Here is toy you can put in your mouth. I will put this away. Ok, Mia?"

March 19

Thank you Grammy and Papa Roos!

Tyler and Mia celebrate all holidays Hanukkah-style - meaning that because so much of our family is scattered across the country, they get gifts the entire week leading up to the holiday and the week after. It's really pretty nice for them. It makes it last longer. Tyler got new scooby-doo pjs and Mia got a very soft bunny from Grammy and Papa Roos.

Today, Tyler was licking his yogurt of the placemat so I asked him, "What are you doing?" He said, "Daddy showed me how to do this." Hmm.. I am thinking something must have gotten lost in the translation of that one.

March 16

Every Mouse Needs a House...

We have a little mouse who must live in our garage and every weekend he builds an elaborate nest in Mike's car. It's extraordinary how fast he is able to build it and how much work he puts into it expecially since Mike removes it Sunday afternoon. I am sure it's not good for Mike's car so we'll probably have to set traps but I keep hoping by spring he will leave and find a better home.

Easter Egg Hunt Number One

With a balmy high temperature of 38 degrees in the forecast, we packed up the crew in the warmest clothes possible and set out for our first Easter Egg Hunt of the season (we have another one next weekend). If you have never been to an Easter Egg Hunt in Chicagoland (I am not sure if they are done differently in other parts of the country) there is not much hunting involved. This one consisted of 15,000 eggs and maybe a thousand or so people. As you can see from the pictures, the eggs are not hidden, they are strewn across a large park. Now you have to get there at 9:45 a.m. for a hard 10:00 am start. We got there by 9:45 and the kids were already lined up waiting for air horn to sound so we park as quickly as possible and got to the starting line at about 9:50 and then waited for the longest ten minutes of Tyler's short life. The air horn sounded and the kids rushed the park with parents filming and cheering their every move and then by 10:01 am, it's all over. Tyle has his ten eggs and Mia is wondering why we just went through this painful exercise of putting her in her snowsuit strapping her in the stroller, standing outside shivering for 10 minutes, trekking back to the car and removing the snowsuit but mommy hooked her up with a warm bottle in the car so it was all good and Tyler was thrilled to with his ten eggs and gorged on candy all the way home (did I mention it was only 10:05 am?)

Here is a picture Tyler and Grammy doing puzzles this afternoon.

March 14 (con't)

So after waking up from his nap and being a little shocked that the mess was still all over the kitchen floor waiting for him to clean up, Tyler took about 30 minutes to quietly ponder his next move. When he finally realized that either he was going to clean it up or have a very boring afternoon so he says to me, "Ty is going to pick up this mess right now." And he really did sit there for a good 10 minutes picking up every piece. Now hopefully, he will think twice before he decides to do it again but I know better than to ever try to figure out what my children are going to do next. For now I will consider the exercise a success...

The Battle of Wills

If you have a strong-willed 2-year old, you can relate to the ongoing battle of wills. While I was feeding Mia lunch, Tyler decided he wanted some attention so he dumped a box containing a thousand foam pieces, that we use for crafts, on the kitchen floor. This is not the first time he has done this but I am trying to make it the last. He did this about an hour before his nap and I told him that until he picks up every last piece, he will not play outside, he will not watch any tv and he will not go to the library this afternoon. The pieces are still on the floor. He just walks around them like they aren't there. So we will see what happens when he wakes up from his nap but I can tell you that I am not picking them up so we will see..

Stay tuned...

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today was Mike's 38th birthday. He had an early meeting at the house so I took the kids shopping to get decorations and food for dinner and then Tyler and I decorated with streamers, balloons and of course a Dora tablecloth and Diego party hats - just what Daddy always dreamed of for his birthday! Actually, I think Mike had a pretty great birthday. Tyler just kept singing Happy Birthday to him and telling him what we had planned. It's fun now that Ty really gets into it. (In the background, you can see our paint selection process on the walls.)


Mia trying cheesecake for the first time. She was so tired by this point though I think she was just placating us.


Here is Tyler with Magee, our surrogate puppy. He is actually our neighbor's puppy. I take Tyler over and they tire each other out. Neither minds getting dirty or romping in the mud. Thank goodness for Crocs!!!