Lions and Lambs

Spring is trying to make it's way to Wisconsin, and we are taking full advantage of it! With highs around 60 today we didn't hesitate to get outside and play, and play we did. Bikes, scooters, the Gator, lawnmowers...we used them all, and plan on doing it all over again tomorrow. Four days ago we were building snowmen and today we watched it all melt away. In like a lion out like a lamb here in our world (at least we hope)!!!

Winter Fun

We spent one of the last weekends of Winter up at the cottage enjoying everything great that Winter has to offer. Uncle Steve, Aunt Claire, and Elizabeth joined us for one evening too which made it all the better! We built not one, but two snowmen. They each only survived a day though after Wrigley tore the arms and face off of one, and the rain toppled the other. We went sledding, and then we went SLEDDING. We started small on a little hill, with Lily's first solo trip down resulted in her being taken out by a branch. I wasn't crazy enough to follow suit, but I did somehow end up in a giant sled being pulled behind the 4-wheeler which was awesome! Lily rode a snowmobile for the first time, but there was no way I was getting on that "flying machine". Lily was hesitant at first as well, but once on the only words uttered were "Daddy, go faster!" We also built a snow tunnel, which after some persuasion I climbed through. Uncle Steve managed to rig Lily's boots with duct tape since every time she took a step her foot sank in the snow and then her boot came off. After his tape job they didn't come off again until Mom pried them off. We loved each trip outside because they always ended in our coming inside for hot chocolate and cookies. Grandma also read us so many stories that I think she had them memorized by the time the weekend was over. We didn't think we could make the weekend any better until we heard the words candy store! After this weekend, it is official, we love Winter here in our world (although we're ready for Summer any day now)!

Play Ball!

After watching Lily at ballet for the last few weeks, I've been itching to take a class of my own. Today my dream came true and I started baseball. It isn't baseball in the traditional sense...we don't actually play a ball game. Instead, we learn all about the game and how to play it right. After arriving today, Coach Kyle realized he had forgotten to contact us about the time change so he gave me a private lesson so that we didn't have to come back. It was great! The first thing we learned was baseball stretching techniques. I didn't have much interest in that, and I think Coach Kyle quickly realized that we needed to move on to something else. That's when it got fun. I learned the names of the bases and how to hold a bat. He brought out the tee and I got to take quite a few swings all while maintaining proper batting technique (or at least attempting to maintain proper technique)...feet apart, knees bent, bat up next to my ear. He was impressed that I already twisted my back foot when batting, or what he referred to as "squishing the bug". I had a hard time remembering to keep my bat up though, but he said even grown-ups forget that sometimes so I was doing pretty good for a three year old. After taking some swings we practiced running to first base. That part was easy, but remembering to drop the bat was not. Since it was just Coach Kyle and me, he let Lily join in on some of the fun when we worked on picking up all of the balls I hit and catching. We learned that your eyes are the most important body part when it comes to catching...Lily and I both guessed your hands. Oops! We started learning how to throw to one another, but by that time I just wanted to see how high and far I could throw the ball. Mom and Coach Kyle decided to call it quits since we were having a hard time controlling our silliness. I'd call it a successful first lesson though and next week I get to play with all sorts of new friends! Batter up here in our world!

Water Tricks

Since starting swim lessons, we have been wanting to practice at home. Only problem is we don't have a pool, and it's still cold outside, so the bathtub will have to suffice. It gets pretty crowded in the tub and we bump into each other a lot, but there's water so that's all that really matters. With all of this practice Lily has learned that she can't hear us when she puts her ears under water and she thinks this is the coolest trick ever. I on the other hand am learning to balance multiple objects on my head. Mom keeps reminding us that we had a pool when we lived in Arizona, and after all this snow we're beginning to wonder what Mom and Dad were thinking moving to Wisconsin. Just imagine all of the tricks we could do with our own pool here in our world!

Hungry Hungry Hippos

I'm ready to admit that I was not the easiest child to potty train. Once I agreed to it a few months back it really wasn't that hard, but I'm still not quite sure what all the hype was about, hence the recent setback. I decided sleeping through the night was way more important than getting up to go potty. Nothing Mom or Dad did helped me with this so called problem...not taking my water away, not waking me in the middle of the night. Mom was getting pretty frustrated with me because it entailed her doing a lot more laundry than she cared for. She even tried having me be responsible for loading the washing machine, but I thought it was fun. What Mom came up with next seemed like a pretty good deal to me...a reward chart where if I stayed dry for 7 nights in a row I could earn something fun. That something fun turned out to be the best game in the world, Hungry Hungry Hippos. Last night was the big night, night number seven, and I did it! Mom and I headed to Target first thing after breakfast today, and the rest as they say is history. I played Hungry Hungry Hippos ALL day, and even got Dad and Uncle B in on a game with Lily and me. After all that fun, Mom did break a little bad news to me though, in order to keep my game I need to continue to stay dry at night. I guess Game On!

Swim Lessons

We started swim lessons today at Le Club. We were both pretty excited to go, but upon seeing the pool I had a little change of heart. It took Dad awhile to coax me into the water, and then once in, I wasn't in the mood to follow the teachers directions. Lily on the other hand jumped right in and told the teacher she could do it all by herself...little did she know the objective was to keep your head above water. She required some assistance from Dad, but she loved everything about it! By the end I was ready to try a few things out, but then the teacher announced it was time to go so I got upset all over again. Mom managed to get me home, and by then I was in a much better mood. Lily jumped right on the couch saying that all that swimming pooped her out. If that's the case Mom might take us to swim lessons more often. We're just trying to stay afloat here in our world!

Time to Dance

I've been asking Mom for a few months now if I could take a ballet class. Well my wish finely came true, and today I had my first dance class. Mom and I had fun shopping this week for a leotard, tights, and ballet slippers. The outfit made it feel official, and I was so excited to put it on for real and head to class. Today we learned lots of fun stuff like how to hop, skip, and gallop. We learned to point our toes, twirl around, and curtsy. I made lots of new friends too and struck up a lot of great conversations mainly about nail polish and tutus. It is great to be a girl here in our world!

Super Bowl Champions

Green Bay Packers Super Bowl Champions! It has a nice ring to it doesn't it?!? Since the Packers are my team this is my night! Being a split household, it was fun watching the game with two Bears fans, but by halftime, Mom had Ryan yelling "Go Packers". He wouldn't give up his Bears shirt, but we made progress. Sundays in our house means football and no cartoons, but when your team is playing in the biggest game of the year it isn't too bad. Dad buying yummy cookies helped too! Go Pack Go!!!

Dad's Birthday

Dad was in Arizona for his birthday this year so we celebrated a day late. Lily and I picked out his gift this year, and tried our best not to let it slip before the big day. I think the word popcorn came out of our mouths a few times in the last few weeks, but Dad never caught on so we're all good. We're beginning to wonder if the gift was more for us than him, but that doesn't matter because he loved it! He promised us some yummy popcorn for the Superbowl tonight and we can't wait! We love popcorn here in our world!

Blizzard 2011

While Dad's away we get to play...in the snow that is. Daddy flew out to Arizona early to beat the blizzard, and good thing, because otherwise he'd be plowing us out right now. Since everything is closed we're not going anywhere, and someone had to help Mom shovel so we immediately volunteered. Not sure we're what Mom had in mind, but she bundled us up and off we went. We weren't aware that the snow was higher than us in some spots so we let Mom take care of those areas as well as most of the other areas now that I think about it. Lily lost her boot more times than I have fingers and I kept sinking in the drifts so Mom had to rescue me on a few occasions. I'm not sure we were much help, and it probably took Mom twice as long as usual, but the sidewalks are clear, and Wrigley can get outside now which was very important. We also managed to make a few snow angels and find some pretty cool snowballs so we consider the morning a success! This blizzard can't slow us down here in our world!