July 4th Photos and Video

mmmmmmm... sand!

Yes, we're 30... so?

Fourth of July Weekend

This weekend at the beach was a lot of fun! We celebrated the 4th of July at our family condo with my friend Trippi and her baby Tobyn. We did NOT grill out like everyone else did, thankfully, since the grills were booked solid all night. We got to watch fireworks from the balcony, and James just loved it. He got scared, then would giggle and clap, and all of that fun stuff. I'm not sure if that was his first time seeing fireworks or not... ugh, my memory is failing me already.
The rest of the weekend was pretty relaxing, we did all of the normal things at the beach that people do, but had to custom tailor it to young ones that sleep a lot. Ha. That's fine with me, I'd rather take naps myself. Ha.
This morning after Daddy headed to work, yes, Daddy finally has a job, the kids and I and Tubby McTubberson (aka Kona) went for a long stroller ride/walk. We headed through the humidity over to my parent's house to check on things over there. We had a nice time, but seriously, I think I would have passed out from heat if we'd been outside for five more minutes. My parents are in Utah, and right now I'm thinking that they are getting it right. Who needs this kind of humidity?!?
We headed to the YMCA for swim lessons after our walk. The kids are doing so well it's crazy. I told Alisha about this blog so hopefully she'll see the video of James and laugh her head off just like I do every time I watch it. She's really enjoying James, he makes her laugh, as he tends to do with everyone he meets.

Alisha, Alisha, get in the pool

Crazy Times Yield a Chubby Dog

We're going to the beach in the morning, after Trippi comes here with Tobyn. We're going to drive together. I'm so excited to spend the weekend with my friend!
We had a crazy afternoon. Kona was supposed to go to Uptown Dog (doggie hotel) today, but they called us to tell us that he's due for his shots. They can't take him until he's had his shots... so... we scampered and the girl at Uptown Dog found an appointment at Winter Park Vet Hospital over on Lee Rd. Meanwhile, Nathan is out golfing with Kevin and Rich, and here I am with two kids and expected to miraculously get my 97 lb. dog to the vet. Enter Mandy... God bless her. She watched Kaitlyn and James for me so I could take the dog by myself for his appointment at 4:30. Mandy even had friends over, so it was really sweet of her to watch the kids so closely by the pool when all the other kids were swimming. Goodness. Kaitlyn has no fear either, she'll go straight in (thank goodness this hasn't ever happened).
The kids' swim lessons are going well, and the kids are getting better every time. It's amazing to see your 15 mo. old baby floating in the water and being okay with it. She cries, but she does it. It's amazing. James is doing well too, and his sense of humor really makes Alisha laugh.
So yes, we found out that we're over feeding Kona. He is 97 lbs. HOLY COW! He should be eating 1.5 C of food each meal instead of 2, making that 3 C a day instead of 4 C. No wonder he was starting to leave some kibble in his bowl! Tubby McTubberson!

Time to Fold the Sheets!

Ever since we moved here, James had taken a liking to running under the sheets as Nathan and I both fold them up. All we do is fold it lengthwise, and pop it over his head when he runs under. Boy does he laugh and scream! It's adorable, and NOW we have TWO that like to run under the sheets. Kaitlyn likes it so much that when she was in her high chair yesterday watching James get to run under the folding sheet, she was laughing too. Just the anticipation was making her giggle! :)
There really isn't anything quite like seeing your two kids interacting, laughing and having fun. Of course there are times when they scream at each other for the most horrible crime of taking a toy away from the other, but usually things are pretty calm between them. Kaitlyn loves to play with James, and she laughs so hard when he tickles her or wrestles with her. Of course it's not too rough, but she's a tough girl! They play every night after dinner together by the ottoman. We have an over-sized ottoman instead of a coffee table (it's sooo ugly, but whatever), and the kids just run around, and around, and around again, and LAUGH at each other. It's almost part of the routine these days. It's like unleashing crazy dogs after they've been fed to watch them run free and play. So funny!
They also love to "race" up the stairs. It's obviously not much of a race, but Kaitlyn insists now on climbing them by herself. She practically throws herself out of my arms if I try to carry her up the stairs. She is also starting to throw tantrums a bit. Nothing too wild yet, but she's very cranky if she doesn't get her way. Hmmm, I must be getting what I deserve. Ha.

Who Wants to Eat in Peace?

When my parents are in town, we try to get together for dinner on Sunday nights. We've always had Sunday night dinner, ever since I was in High School, but now that we are all grown up and my parents travel quite a bit, it's harder to keep it going. It's always nice though, to gather as a family when we can, especially since we're all so busy all of the time.
Tonight my parents graciously invited us to their country club for dinner. They, for our benefit, made the reservation at 5:45 so Kaitlyn and James wouldn't "hit the fan" before we ate dinner. It was fantastic, and we all enjoyed eating such great food.
My mom has always been the one to sacrifice/delay her hot meal for us newer parents, she takes the kids around and walks with them so we can eat in peace. She's a saint that way, thanks Mom. I do feel guilty, every time though, even though she always tells me that "that's what Grandmas are for".
Mom took James and Kaitlyn to walk around tonight after they had eaten, while Nathan and I continued to stuff our faces with great food. At one point I looked up and here is James with the biggest smile on his face, holding a peach rose up for me. I guess there had been a wedding yesterday at the CC, and there were flower arrangements that they were taking apart. How sweet, to see the glimmer in his eyes and giving his MOMMY a rose. So sweet. He was so proud of himself. It's times like this that I wish that kids that age remembered special moments, and I cross my fingers that I'll remember this moment forever.
Mom and the kids returned to the other room to look around some more, and the next time I looked over, James was running towards me. This time he didn't have a rose for me, but he did have something to tell me. James announces to our table and several tables around us, "Mommy! Kaitlyn is going poop! Kaitlyn is pooping!" Trying not to choke from laughing while trying to swallow, I look across the room at my Mom and she's beaming with a smile across her face. Just remember Mom, these people know who YOU are, not me. :) Ha ha ha. She even kindly brought Kaitlyn to me so I could change her. What a sweet Grandma! ;)

Happy Birthday Tobyn!

Tobyn McGlinn turned 1 yesterday, and today we're heading down to Lakeland for her party at the McGlinn residence. Trippi Szukis McGlinn is a friend of mine, and has been since first grade. FIRST GRADE. Of course we've had our times when we didn't talk for a while, but we can always just jump right back into our friendship. She is a wonderful person, a wonderful mom, and I'm excited to be able to celebrate her baby's birthday with them today.
Last night Nathan and I got to go on a date! WOOHOOOO! We went to dinner at The Ravenous Pig here in Orlando, a fabulous new restaurant. The head chef and owner, James Petrakis, is a class mate of mine from Bishop Moore High School. This restaurant is amazing, with gourmet food in a pub-like setting, called a gastropub. If you're here in Orlando, definitely try it, and if you're coming to visit, we'll take you there. Last night I had Grouper in a Greek Stew with orzo, and Nathan had Lobster Tacos. For our appetizer, we shared the shrimp and grits, which is one of the favorites that never leaves the menu. That's another great thing about TRP, is that they change their menu a lot, but always keep a few main staples that everyone loves. That way you get NEW things to try. Nathan said last night, "I could come eat here every time we have a date night because there is always something new to try!" :) Ha, me and food.
We went to see Iron Man last night at the movie theater, it was good, but not really something I would love to watch more than once. Ha. I've heard great reviews about the movie, and I'm glad other people enjoy it, but you can't really beat a good romantic comedy when it comes to my movie taste.
My mom, Grandma Kathy, watched the kids yesterday for the afternoon and then while Nathan and I went out. This morning when I walked into James' room to get him out of bed, he CRIED when he saw me. "I want Grandma Kathy!" he said, "I like her, and I want her!" It was very cute and pathetic, and melted my heart a bit at the same time. I hope my grandkids feel like that about me someday. Grandma Kathy is always a favorite with the grandkids, she sings to them, plays the piano, RARELY says no to them, and gives them pancakes for dinner. :) Grandma Kathy is the ONLY other person on the planet that can be holding Kaitlyn, and Kaitlyn not want to come to me. She pushes me away. It's so funny! Are my feelings hurt, no! I'm glad she loves her Grandma, and recognizes her even after she's been gone a month and comes home.
Kaitlyn has a new sound/word. She says, "WOOOOOOOOOW" in a whisper. Shock and awe. :) She's so cute. It's not perfect, and comes out sounding like 'ooow' a lot, but "wow" is what she means.

Powells Visit Florida

My cousin Courtney Casey Powell came to visit us last week with her husband, Steve, and two amazing boys, Alex and Gabe. Courtney and I are related by blood, but are also great friends, and we are loving the fact that we're having kids at the same time. It's been so fun! The four kids had a great time playing with each other, and amazingly we didn't have any fights that were horrible. There WERE disagreements on who could play with which cars, but after a few naught spot visits and apologies, all was well.
We stayed at the condo over the weekend, and the Powells sure had fun at the beach. It was so fun to have them around for James' third birthday, Alex and Gabe sure wanted to help James open his presents. :)

James' 3rd Birthday Party!

On Tuesday, the 24th, we had James' party. What fun! Thank goodness naps were had by all kids in the Wilcke household, which included the Powell kids. We had such a good time, and if you haven't watched the video of James laughing when we sang to him, you MUST watch it. It's so funny! He was absolutely thrilled to have everyone there and to get a cake with CARS on it! Cameron Miller, my niece, made this cake. What a genius. Did I mention she's 10? Great job, Cam! You're hired for my next party! :)
The party was a great success, and we kept things moving rather quickly. Pizza, cake, presents, done. :) Two hours went by so fast though, and I'm so glad that everyone could come that made it. We missed some people, especially our Wilcke family members!
If you'll notice from the photos, James is dressed in a gladiator costume for one of the shots. That was the hit present of the night, voted best by adults and kids! Thanks to Kelly, Bennett and Anna for bringing that one! :)
Now if you ask James how old he is, he says, "free!" and holds up three fingers! What a cutie.
Thanks to the Powells for your help with the party!

Video of James' Birthday

Happy Birthday James!

James turned 3! We were at the condo for his actual birthday, so when he woke up, Nathan made him a birthday pancake! It was topped with a smiley face of M&Ms and a number 3 candle. We sang Happy Birthday to him and we started the birthday fiesta. Notice the photo of the mound of pancakes? Those were the LEFTOVERS! :) We doubled the recipe, silly us, and we had enough left to fee the Army.
Then came presents... Nathan and I gave him a new Radio Flier Big Wheel complete with a flag, and Kaitlyn (even had time to go shopping!) got him a new Go Diego Go Rescue Truck! WOW! Steve, Alex and Gabe gave him a Candy Land game... but it's different, it's awesome! You pull on the candy cane to eject a shape, and if you have that shape on your gingerbread man, then you put it on him. Each gingerbread man has four different shapes. Once you complete your gingerbread man decorating, you're done! My child is saying, "octagon!" and "oval!" it just cracks me up. Alex and Gabe also got James two cars... they're trying to get him into cars as much as they are. We'll see! ;) Those boys are so cute with those cars! Alex knows EVERY car and it's name. Gabe asks Alex, "What is this car called?" Ha.

We headed home just before lunch (not a good time) so we had to hit McDonald's on the way out of town. A birthday isn't complete without a Happy Meal, right? Right. Whatever. So after that binge feast, we got in the car and the kids were out within two minutes of leaving New Smyrna.

Twenty minutes into the car ride, we stopped to put a diaper on James keeping our fingers crossed that both kids would fall back asleep. They did NOT fall back asleep. Ugh, we live, we learn. Next time I'll take an accident on the car seat rather than waking them up... yes, disgusting, yes, I value their sleep that much.

I crashed when we got home since I'm struggling with some sort of a fever/head cold deal. I've been getting through the birthday party stuff though, so at least that's good.

The rest of James' birthday was pretty uneventful. The party was on the 24th, and boy do I have some good video and photos to put up!

One year ago...

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

James and Nathan had a "ball" at the Rays vs. Cubs game last night in Tampa!

Cindy-Loo WHO?

James' Tag Lines

James has made us laugh since day 1, but when he started talking we really started laughing... with him of course, not at him. :) He's always been pretty dramatic with his sayings. He gets on a phrase and sticks with it for a while. One of the first ones that I remember is when someone would enter the room, he'd say, "Oh, HI!" Of course I can't represent the intonation of his voice on the blog, but it was very cheery and full of surprise.

The next one that I remember him saying would come out right after he got hurt. Since Mommy and Daddy were always asking, "What happened?" when he'd get hurt, he though he should say the same thing. "WHAAAAAT HAAAAPPENNNNED? WAAAAA!" Ha ha ha. My friend Ana and her boyfriend James came to visit when my James was going through this phase, and Ana told me that when they got home and she got hurt, she said, "WHAAT HAPPPEEEEENED?" I guess they had a pretty good laugh.

One that he says now is probably my fault. When he gets hurt now he says, "I'm having a bad day!" Ha ha ha.

Others that make the list:
-I so handsome! (after combing his hair and looking in the mirror)

-What's the big idea? (Donald Duck on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse)

-It's a beautiful day!

-Why not? instead of Why?

-Mrs. Girl

-Vamos! (Go Diego, Go)

-Mommy, do you know where our home sweet home is?

-I'll NEVER get to (fill in the blank) again! (I have no idea where he got this!)

and finally, if we ask him why he has to do something,

-because I HAVE TO! ;)

Of course there are tons more, and I'll probably add some to this list when I think of them.

June 15, 2008

Happy Father's Day! I wish I could be with my dad today, but he's in Utah. Rich is out there though, and they get to play at an amazing golf course, so I'm sure dad will have a great Father's Day. He mentioned too that they were going to eat lamb vindaloo, mmmmmm, even better.
Nathan woke up to blueberry pancakes this morning. James, Kaitlyn and I served them to him in bed with a nice big glass of juice. I tried to find a babysitter for this evening, but since all are wanting to spend the evening with their own fathers, we'll have to spend it all together at home. Fine by me, I love it.
We're outside now, kids are playing with the water table. Just a minute ago, James was watering Kaitlyn with his toy watering can. Surprisingly, she didn't object, just laughed and went along with the joke. :) Of course, when I suggested that James do it to himself, he pretended not to hear me. Ha.
Now it's later... I just posted the pictures and movies. We had a fun time at dinner tonight. Kaitlyn LOVES baked beans, the ones with the maple syrup in them. Can you tell? That's what's all over her "silly" face! Nathan has already named her, for tomorrow, "the incredible tooting baby". :)
During lunch yesterday, James and I were talking about his birthday coming up. I told him that instead of holding up two fingers now, he'd have to hold up three. We went to Publix today to get some groceries, and James made me giggle. He decided to tell the man at the deli
James and Nathan will be going to Tampa on Wednesday to see the Cubs play. I'm so jealous! We were going to go, just the two of us, but couldn't find a babysitter to watch both kids overnight, so he decided that he'd take James. They'll have so much fun... I can't wait to hear the stories of the trip there, the game and the trip back. I wonder if James will make it through the whole game... and I wonder how much money Daddy will have to spend keeping James entertained and fed the whole time. :) Good luck, sweetie.

Good luck!

James just told me, "Good luck Mom, I'm going surfing now!" Huh?
I think we're pretty fortunate to not have been flooded while spending our 3 years in Iowa. I can't help but wonder what I would have done with myself had that happened to me. I just can't imagine.
What is the language called that uses clicks? Kaitlyn is fluent in it now. When I ask her if she's hungry or wants a snack, she looks at me and clicks her tongue like she's got a glop of peanut butter on the roof of her mouth. So funny.
I need to start making notes to myself during the day about what I want to blog about, because I go to write and then I completely forget what I was going to write about.
Oh, well, you ask... how are swimming lessons going? Well, while trying to float, James keeps asking Miss Alisha, "Can you please pick me up Miss Girl? Please?" Poor thing, she doesn't know what to do- crack up or cry. Ha. Kaitlyn is swallowing pool water since she can't get the fact that she has to keep her mouth closed while under water. Alisha and the other instructor, Denise, seem to think that it's either the way she's entering the water or from teething. ? I don't know. So on Monday, they are going to start working on her floating, since that's the key safety part of Safe Start. Fine with me.
James' birthday is approaching... 3 whole years! I was just flipping briefly through his baby pictures to see if he was interested in looking at them... NOPE. Maybe next year. Ha. He makes me laugh every day with his enthusiasm for the silliest things. Especially when he sits at the edge of the pool cheering on Kaitlyn, and then when he figures out it's his turn, he runs away and cries. Cute, but makes me sick to my stomach to do that to him. I just keep it in my head that it's for his benefit.
Funny about Kaitlyn: she's learning to give kisses really well. Last night, or was it the night before, she was walking from me to Daddy giving us kisses. She kisses with her nose, though, it's either that or an open-mouthed slobber. I'll take the nose. ;)

Big Night OUT...

... to IHOP!
Nathan asked me what was for dinner tonight, and I said, "Well I was going to bake that chicken, but forgot."
He replies with, "Let's go out... the four of us are going out!"
"Where to?"
"I really want to go to Denny's or IHOP... preferably IHOP."
"WHY?" I asked.
"I don't know, I just want to, and I don't even know what I want, but they'd have it."
Ha ha ha.
James' vocabulary is just getting funnier every day. While at IHOP the waitress asked him if he wanted a booster seat. He said, "No... but yes." Then proceeded to ask the waitress, "Mrs. Girl, will you get me the BLUE booster seat?" Ha ha ha. Note the blueberry syrup all over his face in the photo. :)
Swim lessons went okay today, but Kaitlyn threw up. Yuck. Luckily it was only liquids. She's swallowing a bunch of water because her diaper was SOAKED about two hours after her lesson. Hmmm... better work on keeping that mouth closed.
While at lessons today, James decided to tell his teacher Alisha that, "That was AMAZING." I think he was referring to how he swam and got the wall. :)

June 10, 2008

Wouldn't you like to wake up to this face every day?
We've had a few milestones in this house the last few days.
Kaitlyn and James both just started Safe Start yesterday, a swim lesson program at the YMCA for infants/toddlers to give them the necessary tools to stay alive if they fall into water. Beth was right in her most recent blog when she said that motherhood isn't for chumps. It's really hard to sit there and watch some stranger (kindly) dunking your child under water and then having them come up and almost throw up because they are crying so hard. BUT... yesterday was only the first day, and today went a little bit better. They both still cried the whole time (just like all the other kids do), but they did better on the whole. We have this every morning for the next 6 weeks. Our instructor said to me this morning that James might finish early since he's really doing well. Hooray! Does that mean I get some money back? Ha. RIGHT. I can't yet bring myself to take pictures of this "horrific" scene so you'll have to forgive me for that. I'm pretty sure you'll understand.
The other milestone is that James pee-peed on the potty like daddy does for the first time by himself. All by himself! And he didn't even make a mess. 'Atta boy! Be clean about it! ;) He told me that he had to go but he was mad enough at me for some reason that he didn't want any help so he said he could do it by himself. Well... I said, "SHOW ME!" and that got him over there really quickly. ha. Voilla! He did it!
Things for me have been a bit hectic lately between working and taking care of the kids and a sick husband. Nathan was only down for one day though, and his spirits were back up for his birthday (pics on June 8 blog). We had a good 'ol pizza party for him at my parent's house. Cameron, our niece, made him one of the best cakes I've eaten in a long time... butter cake with both chocolate and vanilla icing, and she decorated it with a football! How cute! Great job Cam!

Baby Cousin Love