Ugh, Grocery Shopping

The kids and I went to Publix today for some groceries for dinner and for the rest of the week. Seems like I can't get out of there without spending a fortune, but anyway.
The kids love to ride in the double "green cart" they call it, which is fashioned like a car, and each child has their own steering wheel. They love to "drive" and then of course reach over and drive the other wheel to see if it makes any difference. I thought I was going to go crazy today with them though, as Kaitlyn started to kick the cart and make noises. Of course, James followed, and I couldn't get them to stop. Hmmm... next aisle over, fruit snacks, 2 for 1. !!! They didn't even eat them... the box was enough. James had "Nemo" box, and Kaitlyn had the "Little Einsteins" box. Whew, crisis averted. I though I was going to have to find a naught spot for James. Fruit snacks to the rescue.
The cutest part of my day: James and Kaitlyn actually giving each other fish face kisses while riding in the cart! So cute!

Good Morning Sunshine, Hello World!

When James was younger and we had just moved into our house here in WP, I opened the shutters in his room one morning and said, "Hello world!" This must have stuck with him because I caught him saying it a few times. It's just one of those things that I don't want to forget.
Every morning when I get Kaitlyn out of her crib, we go over to her window, open the curtains and then the shutters. Oh, wait, let me clarify, SHE opens the shutters after I open the curtains. It's so cute! She always says, "Ittsiiit!" and then pulls them open. This is the first word she always says to me when I get her out of the crib too. It has yet to be determined what the heck it means, but she says it over and over and over again. Of course it should be obvious, but it's not! :)
She also has reversed the process at bed time. We walk over to the shutters and she has learned to push them up and close them. I love it!
Kaitlyn has also crossed into the next danger zone. She can now climb up onto our ottoman and the couch all by herself, although she usually uses the other to push against. Whoa Nelly. Here we go!

"You Look Like Kaitlyn!"

Kaitlyn is 16 months old. She's never had a hair cut, since we're trying to let it grow out so she doesn't have any bangs. It's very cute and she has curls, so I really dread having to cut it. She likes barrettes (to keep the bangs out of her face), but takes them out of her own hair usually within a few minutes of me putting it in. So most of the time at home, her bangs are in her face since I can't really do anything about it.
The kids and I were just playing on the couch, tickling each other and such, and James grabbed my hair and put it in my face. He then announced, "MOM! You look like Kaitlyn!" Ha ha ha.

Bye Dad! Have a Good Day at Work!

Nathan just left for work, and I wanted to write down something that makes me giggle every time he leaves. James makes him go around our huge family and give a hug AND a kiss to everyone. If Nathan forgets one of those, James reminds him. It's also James' tactic on getting Nathan to stay for ONE MORE MINUTE before he leaves for work. It's so funny! A few times Nathan has been half way out the door when James yells, "DAD! You forgot to give hugs and kisses!" So funny.
Likewise, when Nathan gets home from work at the end of the day we are usually here to greet him. He knows the kids are going to bombard him, so yesterday he went so far as to not bring any of the groceries inside when he walked in for the first time. Smart, smart man.
James always yells, "DAD! You're HOME!" and runs to him, while Kaitlyn always says, "Da-DY, Da-DY! Da-DY!" and runs to him. Their delight makes us smile and laugh and really appreciate their ages right now. It's so fun to see them light up when he walks in. Nathan always wrestles with them too, which is hysterical!
Right now the kids are running back and forth from the garage door to the ottoman laughing at each other. They are laughing hysterically. "They" always say that little ones under two years usually do what is called parallel play, they play next to another child but not necessarily with them. Apparently this does not apply to Kaitlyn, as she is a HUGE fan of her big brother, and loved to mimic him and run with him.
Just a few moments ago, James was teaching Kaitlyn how to sit on the kitchen floor and slide on her butt. Now... if only I could invent some way for those Swiffer things to stick to their bottoms, we'd get somewhere. :)

So NOW She Starts Having Fun!

Kaitlyn, Kaitlyn. We got to swim lessons this morning (first day of the last week), and as soon as Kaitlyn saw Alisha she stared to cry. Hard. Poor Alisha, it probably breaks her heart to have kids look at her and cry. But today we had a huge pay-off. About half way through K's lesson, she started laughing and smiling! It's almost as if a light bulb went on in her head, "Hey, this is actually kinda FUN!" I'm sure she was thinking that.
Such good news! It's so nice to see her enjoying something that usually frightens the pants off of her. :)

Monotany? I don't think so.

Monotony is not the word I would use to describe our summer. We have been so busy, with trips, jobs, and the kids (understatement). Although I really do appreciate how the days tend to go by quickly, it's no fun to be sick or not feel good for the ride. I got sick in Iowa and am still battling what I think is a sinus infection, so alas, I'll probably get to haul the kids into the doctor tomorrow so I can get checked out.
We are almost done with swimming lessons (ISR), and the kids are doing marvelously. James is almost a fish (not quite), but is doing very well. I think he'll be in good shape at the end of the program. Kaitlyn can float perfectly, but not swim so great. Alisha and I agreed that she's got the survival float down, but she's probably just not ready to swim. Fine with me! Alisha has done a wonderful job with my kids, and now I've even got her to come over to babysit! Hee hee hee! Just kidding Alisha, James is super excited to have you come over to play. I told him you wouldn't make him get in the pool though. ;)
I've decided to start looking for a part-time nanny for the upcoming school year. James will have school three times a week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, so I'm thinking that I could hire a nanny for Tuesday and Friday. Nathan is off of work on Wendesday. This way I can have all day with both kids on Monday and Thursday, work on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Make sense? Anyone know anyone that wants to nanny?
Last night Nathan and I went out to shop. We were at the mall at Millenia for about 3 hours, and then we went out for a drink at Park Plaza Gardens. OOoooh, I had their chocolate martini, very good. We stayed at Park Plaza Hotel the night of our wedding, so it's always fun for us to go by there and reminisce.
Nathan took the kids to the Science Center this morning while I was home nursing a migraine, NO, not from the martini, from the aforementioned sinus infection. We are now members, so this outing will probably become a favorite during the rest of the hot summer. Sounds like they had a pretty darn good time, I can't wait to take the kids there.
Mom, get home from Germany already, we miss you.

Hi Sprinkler!

James helped me roll the trash bin to the curb this morning, and when we got to the curb he saw a sprinkler across the street. He said, "Mom! Sprinklers! Hi Sprinklers! Oh it's just one sprinkler... hi sprinkler!" :) He has always done this, said hi to inanimate objects as if they have feelings or see him standing there. So funny!
Kaitlyn is dirtying her diaper as I type, for the second time this morning. I had a dream last night that I put her on the potty and she pee-peed right away. Ha, if that was true, she'd probably be pooping in the potty before James. Ha ha ha.
Today is Friday and Nathan is off of work today instead of Wednesday this week. I was supposed to get him up at 7:20 for me to get out of the house and go work out. Alas, I've come up with every excuse in the book to stay home and be lazy instead. Ha.
I'm excited to be shooting tonight, for a Mom in my MOMS group. I get to see friends out in Clermont tomorrow and take photos of their kids, so fun! I can't wait to see them, as we don't get time to get together much. I'll finally be able to give their kids some attention, instead of having to focus on my own kids since I'm not bringing them.
The kids are off playing with toys and I just heard James say, "I broke it! Fiddle-dee-dee! Oh well." Ha ha ha.

Why Buy Toys?

I swear, I'm not going to buy any more toys. Ok, yes, I'm kidding, but seriously, kids like playing with everyday things such as the cardboard roll that your wrapping paper came on, or the laundry baskets. Once in a while the kids will spend a half hour playing with laundry baskets...!

Go Cameron!

My niece Cameron got to play "Wendy" in her drama camp's performance of Peter Pan!
What a doll. I'm so sad I missed her debut, sniffle sniffle... achoo!
Love you Cam.

Mommy's Night Out, Thanks Ladies!

Oh I love having friends. I was blessed last Spring when I was given the chance to meet a group of women through the MOMS program at Saint Margaret Mary Church here in Winter Park. Just after my family and I moved to Winter Park, I ran into a high school friend of mine, Kelly Bert. She married her high school sweet heart, and their son attends the school that James attended last year. It was always fun to run into her, and once when I saw her she told me that she was facilitating MOMS in the Spring. I decided to commit and go through the 8 week program with 9 other women (3 facilitators, 7 members). This group has been so fun, and I enjoy everything we do together. We all immediately hit it off and became friends. When our MOMS program was over on the calendar, we made up our own schedule, we'd meet twice a month, once to discuss a book and once to have a social outing. All have been going very well and I am thankful that we have kept it going this long, and hope to keep it going as long as possible.
I adore these women, and many of them have given me the opportunity to photograph their families (see at www.meredithwilckephotography.blogspot.com). They are all very pleased with the work that I have done for them, and for that I am grateful to God for blessing me with my talent. Their support has allowed me to boost my business to the point of actually making money instead of shooting as favors for people. They have given me encouragement when I need it, and for that I am thankful. I am thankful to be able to support them in their times of need and times of excitement and sadness, they really are true friends.
Last night we went out for mexican food in Baldwin Park at Colibri. I like the social meetings much more than the spiritual book meetings! We laughed about stories of our kids, our recent travels and experiences, and celebrated a new pregnancy by talking about how to get rid of nausea! :)
Thanks Raquel, for inviting me into your home to see my work so beautifully displayed in your home!
See you in a few weeks ladies!

Kaitlyn's New Words!

Kaitlyn has now added NO, ow, baby, bye, and kitty (sounds more like daddy though) to her list of frequently used words.
She loves to wave bye bye too with her whole arm bouncing up and down. She also claps for herself... like this morning, she pointed to a boy on a game box, said, "baby" and then clapped for herself. I guess she learned this trick from Bennett Neipert on our recent trip to Iowa. :)

Go, Diego, GO!

James keeps pestering me to play with him as I sit here and dink around with restyling my blog. He has a tool set from Gr. and Gr. Wilcke that has a pretend bird house that you can put together, take apart, put together, etc. At this time we are demolishing it. He just brought the saw to me, and two pieces of wood that are stuck together by velcro, and said, "Mom, cut this! In spansish we say, 'pila'!" Now you tell me... (after my education of two years of Spanish in high school and one year in college,) is that right? !?!

Picky, Picky.

James hasn't always been the best eater. He ate like a champ when everything was pureed and smooth, but when things started being in chunks and had texture to them, things went downhill. He wouldn't eat things, and still wont, if it LOOKS weird. Pureed peas? No problem.... Real peas? No way. Pureed corn? No problem.... Real corn? No way. He has finally started eating corn and he's 3!! I'd even try to sneak a pea or corn into soup, and he'd find it in the pasta shell and pick it out. Sneaky, sneaky.
One distinct memory I have of James eating was once when we were having pizza for dinner. He wouldn't eat it. I don't remember who we were eating with (and if it's you reading this, let me know), but they pointed out that it was quite screwy that we were withholding fruit for bites of pizza. "If you have one bite of pizza, you can have more fruit." That type of thing. Nathan and I just laughed and looked at each other and agreed that maybe sometimes our kids would be strange. Ha.
A few nights ago we were having Taverns and once again, James wouldn't even try it. Well we were also having broccoli... his favorite green vegetable. "Try a bite of sandwich and then you can have more broccoli..." we'd say. Very strange!

Kaitlyn says, "WHOA!"

Kaitlyn makes us giggle with her funny sense of humor. Last night we were having scrambled eggs and toast for dinner, and if you've read before, Kaitlyn isn't very keen on scrambled eggs. She has proved to me that she eats them, but only if she's in the mood. Last night she was attacking her toast with peanut butter, but leaving the eggs alone. Hmmm, what about ketchup? I asked her, "Kaitlyn, do you want ketchup to dip dip?" She grinned so hugely that I got it right away.
As soon as I squirted some on her tray, she says, "WHOOAAA! Whoa!" Like it was the coolest thing she's ever seen! It was so funny! I ended up putting more ketchup on her tray two more times, and each time, the same WHOA! :)
She has also done this when I break out the red grapes and watermelon for "dessert". Both of my kids love their fruit!
Kaitlyn has also been using a fork and spoon for about a week now. She really does better with a fork, since it doesn't matter which way it is flipped, it'll still get the job done. Marilyn and I were laughing in Iowa because you could put anything down in front of Kaitlyn and she'd eat it if she could stab it with the fork. Even broccoli! She's never been a fan, but if you give her a fork, she eats it! She likes it! She likes it! :)

ROCK ON!

Kids... go play!

Last night Nathan and I were in the kitchen while I was making "Taverns" (hamburger, onion and cream of mushroom soup), and James and Kaitlyn were playing together and laughing together in the living room. It was one of those moments in time, and Nathan put it best, as the time in your life with babies/toddlers that you can finally say, "Kids! Go play!" and they actually do!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my Mom's birthday, it's one of those milestones, but if I dare say which one, I'd never hear the end of it. We got to celebrate with her on Friday night at their house with friends, family and BBQ! You can't get much better than that. I put together a book of photos for my mom, and my brothers put together a photo slideshow for her that made us all laugh and cry. Mom was doing fine throughout the slideshow until the one picture of KALEY popped up on the screen. Kaley was Kevin's short-haired Collie that Mom grew quite close to during Kaley's life. Mom watched the dog a lot, and she even lived at Mom and Dad's for a while. Kaley passed away quite suddenly over a weekend when Kevin was out of town. I'll never forget the tears I sobbed when Mom called me and told me that she had died. OVER A DOG! :) They are truly part of our families. It just made me laugh that of ALL of the moments that were re-lived, births, parties, fun times, the one thing that got to her was the dog. :)
The party was very nice, and thanks to everyone that came over. For someone like Mom who didn't want a party in the first place, she seemed to have a pretty good time. Thanks everyone.

We love Grandma Marilyn and Grandpa Gary

Grandma Marilyn once again made us feel welcome and at home at their house in Ames. I struggle with allergies, BADLY in Iowa, and this time James had allergies too. Too bad we hit Ames right in the middle of pollen season.
Nevertheless, Marilyn made us feel at home with her love and FOOD (mmmm!), and she even made me chicken soup when I got a cold. She helped Nathan a TON when I was sleeping for two days, and I thank her for that!
Gary had to leave town for work, so we didn't get enough Grandpa time. Next time Grandpa!
Here are some pictures of us playing at their house and some other shots from the trip.
XOXOXO, we miss you Iowa family!

Little Miss Independent

Kaitlyn is spunky. She is starting to voice her opinion about things, not with words, but with gestures and reactions. She is entering the beginning of trial tantrum phase, where she's experimenting with cause and effect. What will Mommy and Daddy do if I do this? A few times now, if I'm holding her and tell her something she doesn't want to hear, she swats me in the face. When I give her a firm "NO", she cries. She is also starting to drop things or throw things on the floor if she doesn't get her way. I must admit, it's hysterical. I never let her know that though, of course. She's spunky! If I go this way, she goes that way. If I want her to eat one thing, she want to eat something else. And so it begins... when is it that I can start using the naught spot with her? Ha.
She is soaking up information so quickly and steals my heart every day. She's really into giving me kisses right now and today in the car I taught her how to blow a kiss. It's so cute. She truly amazes me. Her favorite words right now are Hi! and Daddy. Figures.

A Moon Piece!

As we were driving from the rehearsal dinner to the hotel, it was still light out. James looked out the side of the car into the sky and saw the moon. It was a half moon, but to my sweet little three year old, it was a moon piece. "A MOON PIECE! A MOON PIECE!" he was shouting and cackling, it was too funny!