Totally Random

I've been asking and asking Ben to upload his phone's camera pictures...and he finally did! So now I've got some totally random pictures from like the past 5 months to share! Aren't you lucky?! Well, I also have some super cute stories and things we've heard from a while back, too. Think you're lucky now?! Well, here we go! (Oh- and most of the 332 pictures on Ben's phone were taken by Annabel- "ONE picture with your camera, pleeeeaaase?!"...but I won't bore you with that many pictures! Now, you're really lucky!)

This was from one of those Lowe's Build & Grow workshops Daniel and Daddy did last summer. This one featured Dusty Crophopper from the Planes movie. Daniel loves these workshops and is always asking when the next one is... (I may have shared this picture already, can't remember!)

 S'mores for dessert on Grandma Mary Kay's patio one Sunday night! We simply couldn't resist this photo op! (Sorry, Daniel!!)

Such blue eyes and a cute cute smile on this little girl (and some chocolate from her s'more)!

This was back at the end of September. I'd gone out shopping with my mom and Aunt Kathy for the day, so Ben took the kids to Cantigny for an outing to keep them busy, an outing that only went so-so, Daniel very much did not really want to be there (he just wanted the Legos that they have there in December, he always remembers this!). I remember this day very clearly because it was also the day Ben called while I was out and simply said "How much does Daniel weigh?" which I knew right away was only asked because he needed to know Daniel's Tylenol dose for a fever- and then I just felt SO bad for leaving Ben with the kids, with a sick kid (this also kinda explained the so-so outing to Cantigny and Daniel not really wanting to be there). Anyway, there were these cute scarecrows set up all over the place and Ben got some really cute pics of Annabel, who was quite happy to pose apparently! Love the two pigtails- I gotta do that more often- so cute!

Getting ready for Halloween, making sure Daniel's costume fit him...and of course Annabel had to try it on, too. By the way- my kids are still talking about Halloween and deciding what they want to be next year already. And this week we've been playing trick or treat, too- go figure!

 Annabel's cute selfie! (and, okay, I did NOT even know "selfie" was a word until like a few weeks ago, seriously- I am just that lame, and old!)

Meijer has this FREE ride-on horse that the kids just love to ride after every single stop at the grocery store. This has to be THE cutest photo of all the kids in the world riding this free horse. Note the festive wintery background they put up, too!

 "Recka-ninja turtles" or something like that- Daniel was quite excited to see these masks and had to try them on. Pretty cute.

Annabel had to try on a mask, too. A camera phone comes in handy for random moments like these. My phone's camera sucks (I am still using one of those old flip-shut phones, more lameness/oldness on my part, but you know what? I'm perfectly happy with my phone! not interested in updating one bit- no way, nu-uh! I'll be the last person to switch over!), thus my begging my husband to take pics all the time!

This was taken when we went out to dinner at Red Robin, after our wonderful night at the Illuminations at the Arboretum with Grandma Cheryl and Grandpa Gary. Annabel was just so cute sitting there waiting for our food.

And Daniel was so cute snuggled up to Grandma Cheryl, too. I love the sweetness here.

Tinkering Daniel with his headlight on. We have several of these headlights in our house and they are worn pretty often- from the random moment like this to "one more story with the lights out" in Daniel's room before bed!

Love the bit of randomness Annabel captured in this picture alone...the piggies are to die for!

No-noggins! (Inspired by Curious George's Halloween episode featuring the legend of No-Noggin, this picture was taken in December, mind you- clearly we're stuck on Halloween in this house!)

Another cute free horse ride picture! It cracks me up when Annabel smiles this way...so clearly pleased with herself.

Peek-a-boo between Grandma Mary Kay's cardboard-brick blocks!

Ben's phone can apparently do fun photos like these...

Other randoms from my camera lately...

I love the way kids do not even care how they look. (I hate that they lose this at some point...) Daniel added these lovely things to his outfit one day while we were playing. I'm not even sure what he was trying to be, but from his bowtie (from Aunt Rose and Uncle Brad's wedding) to his pink tie (from Aunt Christina and Uncle Jason's wedding) to his striped belt (that came with some pants I bought once upon a time a long time ago, never used) he sure looked...ummm...interesting!

Annabel helped me make Baked Cinnamon French Toast for New Year's Eve dinner. It's one of those dishes that has to soak for hours or overnight, so we made it in the morning while Daniel was outside shoveling with Daddy. Annabel sure loves helping in the kitchen and since she wanted no part of shoveling (she actually cried that morning when invited to go out- I remember this!), I was happy to have her help me make dinner. 

OH- and I had NO PART IN DRESSING ANNABEL that morning- Daniel actually did this! No idea how this all came about, really, but I had been puttering, getting ready for the day, and chatting with Ben, the kids were happily playing in Daniel's room, we loved just listening to them playing so nicely together and we were happy to have a few minutes to get some stuff around the house done; at one point Ben thought to go check on the kids and this was what he found- Annabel in Daniel's dinosaur shirt (Daniel picked it out for her) with her aqua colored leggings (ouch! totally not matchy! but at least those were hers) and wearing his boxer underwear because he couldn't get her new diaper on her (Ben quickly fixed this...but Annabel had a fit when the underwear came off and insisted on putting that back on over the diaper...aiyiyi- quite a picture I've painted, yes?!) Anyway...I take no responsibility for the clothing that day. This is the stuff memories are made of! Annabel proceeded to wear Daniel's shirts for a few days...then forgot all about doing that, thankfully.

Daniel wanted me to take a picture of this page from one of the Scooby Doo books I had to return at the library today. Please tell me it's not because Daphne (his crush?) is in a swimsuit!

The kids have been having a LOT of fun with the wrapping paper scraps I left out for them after all my wrapping fun for Christmas. They've been wrapping presents (for themselves), putting them under the tree, and then unwrapping them over and over. These pictures are from the first time they did this. They wrapped presents, put them under the tree, took a nap, and then made sure this was the first thing they did after naps!

Oh- and we've been doing lots of "pickins" under the tree lately- Annabel obviously loved that first picnic we did under the tree before Christmas, because she has been suggesting that almost daily. It's been fun and I'm glad it made an impression on her!

Funny story: In putting the "presents" under the tree, one present happened to get buried kind of far back under the tree, so when we took all the ornaments off the tree this past Sunday (a job made oh-so-fun by oh-so-helpful children- at least we got it done! they would have been devastated if I'd done it without them, that's how much they wanted to "help"), Annabel was excited to find "one more present!!" (her stuffed Minnie doll) and she proceeded to rip it open, and then with dismay and the poutiest most confused look on her face state, "Already HAVE this!"- we were cracking up, I think she really thought it was an actual leftover present of something new from Christmas. I explained to her that that was her Minnie doll that SHE wrapped herself that day we played with wrapping paper. It took her a while to settle into that explanation. Oh she was upset. It was too funny.

Daniel is REALLY into mazes these days. He will find all the maze pages in any activity books he has and immediately get started on them. This was the mini activity book Santa sent to them when he wrote them a letter in response to their letters. I love the excitement on Daniel's face upon completing the maze successfully!

And now for cute things we've heard and other random stories (some I can't remember if I've mentioned, but hey, they're still cute the second time around, right?!)...

Annabel: "Itch you want?" Which one do you want? I love "itch."

Daniel and his emergency town stories- oh my goodness- these are always told in the car while we're going somewhere, usually preschool, sometimes even Grandma's house, the stories just come up whenever he feels like telling them. AND, these are THE most elaborate stories you have ever heard a child come up with. LOVE them. He makes up whole stories about his house in his emergency town, the stores in his emergency town ("That's the thing about it, Mom. That store went out of business, TOO!!!"), his car that he drives in his emergency town ( his car usually has buttons that can turn it into other cars and trucks; one time his car was a houseboat, and it was so old it had spiders in it, so he had to wait until they died to clean them up, and he really wanted a boat with his name on it, I suggested he paint his name on it, and well, "that's the thing about it, Mom. That store went out of business! I CAN'T paint my name on it!"...and oh my goodness Ben and I were dying of stifled laughter in the front seats for this one!)...and on and on. I would just LOVE to catch one story on tape sometime...but how? (I feel the same way about the baby monitors...if I can just catch what they say, what they sing (Annabel) when we hear them on the monitor whether they are playing or in bed trying to sleep, oh the things they say...) Anyway, catching one of these elaborate stories on tape wouldn't even do the stories justice anyway- you kinda have to be there. Daniel really has an amazing imagination! Always has. And of course Annabel has started to talk about her emergency town now, too- it has a (you guessed it!) pink house!

Daniel: "Who knows? There might be a million!" He was guessing about something, how many there would be, I'm sure it wasn't anywhere near a million (maybe a handful or so) thus my writing this down! His expressions, exclamations, and declarations are just so cute!

Annabel: "Man in tall hat"- that would be the man in the yellow hat she's talking about, from Curious George. Love "man in tall hat"- ohh, so cute!

Annabel is so proud to know my name: "Asson." Just like my brother and sister used to say it when they were toddlers...cue the awwwwws... Love it.

Daniel: "figgers" for figures (as in his Scooby Doo figures, which he plays with all the time!).

We love how Annabel says "icicles" for ice cubes. She has been loving using her penguin "icicles" (from her Kiwi Crate) in her juice and water these days. That ice cube tray is constantly filled up!

Annabel drops her "y" at the beginning of many "y" words (except for "yes"). I think it's cute. "Not et"- not yet- is my favorite one "et"!

And I personally love when Annabel says "no me know"- I don't know. This cracks me up every. single. time.

"Numnum"- can you guess what Annabel is asking for when she says that? Hint- it's a candy. She was asking Ben for them the other day, saying it over and over and Ben just had no clue, poor girl, poor guy (both were trying so hard), and when I came in I was all oh, that's M&M's (I knew this from my pathetic attempts at guessing in exactly this same scenario one day a while back, though really, it was too hard- she'd recently gotten M&M's in her stocking and has been gobbling them up)- I was Annabel's savior right then. And Ben's, too, I think. He may have gone crazy from her whining and persistence, heck I'm going crazy from her whining these days. (These kids are a little house happy from this super cold weather we've had- thanks to the polar vortex, Arctic blast or whatever that was! We're a little over weather that "feels" like -25 degrees!)

Funny story that had me cracking up, but maybe you had to be there...still, I'll try describing it here: Daniel was holding a box of snacks one day this past week, I think bunny crackers, and saying to Annabel, inspired by a recent Scooby Doo book, "Annabel, I say one Scooby Snack, you say no, I say two, you say no, I say three, you say YES! OK, Annabel?" Annabel: "Okay!" Daniel, holding up one bunny cracker: "Annabel, do you want one Scooby snack?" Annabel wasted no time at all saying "YES!!!!" to Daniel's dismay! I was practically wetting my pants, laughing so hard. So much for his plans and directions!

Last night, Annabel was coloring in her coloring book when at one point, she went to turn the page and the page literally ripped right out thanks to perforations. She was shocked at first- she didn't even know the pages could come out, she didn't know that was a thing you could do! Well, that was the end of the coloring "book" as we know it- she proceeded to "color" (read: totally scribble in one small spot and not really color at all!) and rip out about 20 more pages! She was delighted that they could come out and she could give them to people now! Oh boy. Good thing I have about a million coloring books in this house.

Ben finally took our tree down while the kids and I were all out and about this morning, finally getting back to our routines (between Christmas break the past two weeks and then school and activities being cancelled the first part of the week because of that super cold weather I mentioned). Well, let me tell you, we faced Annabel's total and utter devastation around here when Annabel realized there was no tree to "pickin" under for lunch...I'm talking big tears, wailing, for a good while, because the tree was gone, it was so pathetic it was kinda funny. I had even warned her when we were leaving gymnastics (because I knew Ben was going to take it down while we were gone), but that clearly didn't sink in until she saw it for herself. Oh man. Poor thing- she was just SO unbelievably sad! I did not see that coming. I should have though. She has been saying for days how we have to leave the tree up for Santa so he can come back and leave her Sleeping Dora for Christmas. Aiyiyi. And her new Dora ornament (thank you Grandma Cheryl- she loved it!) was THE last ornament off the tree- Annabel made sure of that. Oh boy. This girl. So glad we're getting back into our routine. We all need to move around a bit and get some fresh air, even if it is freezing cold air! Whew!

And that's all I got. If you're still reading, let me know and I'll send you a medal, or something. Love ya for reading!

Wheeeeee!!!!

We went sledding this morning!!!

I had just read my friend Connie's email inviting various friends of hers to go sledding this morning, closed it up having said not a word to the kids, unsure of whether to join or not (mostly because I didn't know if I wanted to go driving out in the snow and also because I wasn't sure about sledding with the two kids on my own without Ben- neither of which I needed to worry about at all it turned out! and I hadn't even eaten breakfast, the kids were still in jammies, and Connie was meeting up in a half hour!), when not ten seconds later Daniel said "Let's go sledding today!!!"- this kid, I've told you before, he reads minds! Well, it really was perfect sledding snow out there, with the snow still falling so prettily, so we quickly finished up breakfast, got dressed and bundled up, and off we went to meet up with Connie and go sledding. The kids could not have been more excited!!! Daniel did not remember going there before originally (the time he hit the big snowball last year) but as we pulled up he totally remembered- "yeah I hit that big snowball last time" (it was the same hill hence the memory sparking as we pulled up!)- but remembering this, you'll see, didn't put him off the idea at all, thank goodness!

We parked our car, finished putting our gear on, and off we went. Daniel pretty much dove right into the snowy hill- literally. He needed no help or encouragement at all- he was off and flying down the hill. Annabel happily followed suit with my help- I pulled her down on her little sled and she loved it. She did not want to walk back up the hill at all, so I kept having to pull her back up, but we managed just fine (though my legs are telling a different story now!). Daniel continued to do great on his own the whole time, and Annabel was eager to keep up.

This was a GREAT hill, as we found out last year- this time we were on another section of the hill, an even better section than last year since we were the only ones there (which surprised me greatly, not that I minded one bit!). There were two little hills with sort of a plateau in the middle, which was perfect for Annabel as it made the sled go just fast enough for her I think. Daniel did great and just kept right on scooting down if his sled slowed down at the plateau. It was too funny to watch Daniel because he would scoot and scoot up to the edge of the hill, take off sliding down with a big smile on his face, and then if he slowed down at all (on that plateau for example) he would just paddle paddle with his hands- we were cracking up! You can see what I mean in the video below- so cute! It worked for him though and he just LOVED sledding!

Annabel, we've discovered is not nearly as enamored of snow as Daniel is- Daniel could LIVE out there in the snow, he lasts forever out there, Annabel not so much. Annabel really wanted to sled with Daniel, which he obliged for a couple times, but otherwise he was perfectly happy on his own. So Annabel went down on her own sled some more- she was brave and let me push her down a few times, too, instead of pulling her down like I did at the beginning- she thought that was pretty fun. Daniel pushed her down a few times, too, which she loved.

Daniel also got to try out Connie's round sled (he very bravely asked her if he could try it out- I was so proud of him!). This round sled spun him around and had him going backwards down the hill- he LOVED this! Now he wants a sled of his own like this- so we're going out to find one, soon I hope, if we're not already too late to find one. Annabel has also decided she wants a sled like Daniel's (she was using the only other sled we had which was the toddler/baby sled, which she didn't love so much- I think mostly because she was jealous) so we're hoping to find her a new sled, too- pink of course!!

Anyway, we had a great time sledding! Daniel could have easily kept going with the sledding (especially since he'd just discovered how awesome it was to lay down on his back on the sled- it goes really fast this way!), but Connie and the others were keen to hike a little, and get out of the wind in the forest a bit, too (it really was very cold today!), so we joined them on a mini hike in the nearby forest before heading home. We even played a quick game of hide and seek, which even Annabel joined in playing (in spite of being super frozen and so miserable I had to carry her for this hike!). The forest was just beautiful with all the snow- I would have liked to hike a bit longer, as would Daniel, but Annabel was pretty frozen and very done at this point, so we didn't hike long, which upset Daniel because of course he LOVES to be outside and in the snow. He was also very into the whole social aspect of the outing today, with the kids all helping each other out, walking and talking amongst all the others, adults included- it was so cool to watch him, really, I loved it, I was so proud of him today. He was promised another outing sometime soon and was of course happy to stop at Starbucks and get us all some hot chocolate (they make a dairy free version for him) to bring home and warm up with!

Such a fun, spontaneous morning! I'm hoping we find us some new sleds and that we can get back out sledding again in the next couple days- maybe even with Daddy! So glad we were brave and headed out into the snow- what a wonderful memory!

Here's a video Daniel paddling his sled down the hill- Go Daniel!!!

2013 in Review

This was a year of big numbers in this house...well, big to us, milestones for us, for our family...so I've been collecting numbers this year. Here's my little collection!

 

I've known Ben half my life. So weird to think about.

(This means 18 years now- you do the math for how old I am, hah!)

We've been parents for half a decade! Whoa. Now that's strange to think about.

I met a mom this year, very interesting woman, who was celebrating a decade of being a mom, not just her child's 10th birthday, but a decade of parenthood- and they were actually celebrating for themselves, too. I've thought about that all year long.

Annabel turned 2 this year. This was HUGE for her- she just LOVED turning two and being able to do two-year-old things! I think two is just one of those ages that is big for the little ones.

Daniel turned 5 this year. This was huge for him, too. Lego sets start at age five- and this kid could not wait to do Legos. 5 also means being in Kindergarten, which for him will be next year due to the cut-off, but still, he knows this and he knows how big this will be. And I feel like the minute he turned 5, he totally matured. He grew up overnight! Like two, I think 5 is another one of those ages that is big for the little ones. So we had two "big" ages in our house this year with our kids' birthdays!

Ben and I celebrated our 10th Anniversary this year. Another big number for our family. 10 years is a pretty big deal and one that just totally snuck up on us, I think. I always thought when we had our tenth anniversary we'd do something big, go somewhere awesome, but life has a way of changing things like that, because in the end, I could NOT imagine leaving my little ones for any amount of time. Besides, again with life changing things- I mostly wanted to celebrate with my family because while an anniversary is all about the two married people, it's also about our family, our family's story started, or really, continued that day- Daniel and Annabel are as much a part of that day as Ben and I are, I think.

This is a silly personal little milestone, but one I worked very hard at- I read 45 books this year! (Actually I finished the 46th one before I went to bed last night- snuck that one in...though it was technically after midnight and thus completed in 2014. Oh and I'm a slow reader, too, plus I have two little ones, so this is a really good number, for me.) I had really wanted to spend more time reading this year and less time on the computer. I wanted to take myself back to books, to something I really loved- I'd missed good ol' books. So I made it a point to really read. And I read some really good ones this year! Gotta love Goodreads (whom I have to thank for this statistic by the way- no way I actually keep track, and honestly I may have read more since I don't always remember to mark them on Goodreads nor do I always tell Goodreads what I read, AND actually I didn't even know I could get statistics about my reading till they sent me an email one day a while back...)

Another book milestone- Daniel and I read ALL 50 of the Magic Tree House chapter books this year! We just loved them and read them one after another the whole year through pretty much. We did have to wait for #50 since we'd caught up to it before it was released! Anyway, we both learned a lot from the series; each book is really a great introduction to a lot of things in our world and the history of our world. And I have a friend who says her children just love the fact books that go with the series- we might have to check those out someday, too. Now we're waiting on #51 out this month! (Daniel and I also read a gazillion other chapter books and series this year, too- The Magic Tree House series was just a big chunk of those books, at 50.)

Yet another book milestone...our library has an adults' ongoing online book club, which I joined towards the end of last year (I didn't know it existed before that), where you just keep track of books read (it's not a read-this book club, just a count and keep track club), Books for Life, and I finally reached the 50 book milestone- I remember being quite excited. (This was before I realized Goodreads also kept track for me!) I got a journal as a prize, which I'm sure will end up in Annabel's hands someday, little artist that she is. Next milestone is 100, then 500- aiyiyi, I'm happy having reached 50 I think!

Grandma Ann turned 90 this year. Quite the milestone age to hit! We loved being able to celebrate with her! As I've said before, makes me miss my grandparents that much more...they would have either been 90 about now or nearing this age not too long from now. Along this nostalgic line of thought, I must say I read a lot of historical fiction this year, mostly of the lighter variety, but I just loved reading about different eras, different times, different places...and all I can think, is 90!- wow!- how things have changed, how many stories must be part of a life lived that well and that long...
I only wish I knew (or remembered) more of my family's stories.
And with that, here's my next number...

Speaking of stories...I wrote 137 stories on this here blog this year alone...not as many as other years, but still, so many wonderful memories for my little family. I absolutely love writing our stories here- it's all for my kids someday, they'll have our stories right here (I still make our blog books every 6 months!).

Another note along the whole "story" train of thought (that train thing again; so many trains of thought here tonight...)- I started this daily 5-year-one-line-a-day journal this year and I totally managed to keep up! I'm super excited and so proud of myself; I love doing this every night. I had always loved journaling when I was growing up, but I never seemed to keep up, but this was different- just one line, I thought "I could do that" and I did- every single day 365 days worth! I love saving up all these little thoughts and memories from my day, from Annabel's new words to special moments that warmed my heart to what we spent our day doing, just random little things. I can't wait to reread what I wrote each day as I continue to write each day for the next 4 years! I just hope I can keep it up! And my mom gave me another journal for Christmas- a daily question one- which I love the concept of and can't wait to get started on tonight! Here's to 4 (and 5 for the questions) more years of one-line-a-day thoughts!

Farthest distance we traveled this year- all the way to Disneyland! The kids still talk about it from time to time. Such a wonderful trip we had- I loved it. 4 days of Disney bliss and amazing memories. I'm just really hoping I can find the time this year to make a scrapbook for this trip- I already got all the papers and embellishments- can't wait to put it together!

Total miles traveled this year between our trips to Disneyland, Crystal Falls, and Detroit! Just another factoid in the year of 2013 for our little family.

Total numbers of pages I read this year, within the 45 books completed. This number just boggles my mind.

And just for fun- number of hugs and kisses received this year! Maybe a little exaggerated...but oh so much love from my wonderful children- that's gotta count for something, because it fills me with joy, warms up my every day, and keeps my world spinning.

Here's to a fresh and Happy New Year for us all!