National Book Fair

NATIONAL BOOK FAIR

WASHINGTON DC

SEPTEMBER 27, 2008

The day didn't turn out at all like I thought it would. To start things off, Michael wasn't feeling well and the humidity was 100% with the temp in the 80's. The area had just gotten 2 days of heavy rain so there were puddles and mud all around. We did get to ride on the metro, have our picture taken with some characters, and heard Dooreen Cronin read her new book Thump, Quack, Moo. The most disappointing part of the day was not being able to see & hear Jan Brett read her books, or get our books signed by her. We were late getting to the tent where she was reading and then couldn't even get in because secret service had it blocked off due to Laura Bush being there. When we went to get in line for the book signing it was already 3 lines long and she only had 1 hour to sign books. There was no way everyone in that line was going to get a book signed so we gave up.

One of the highlights of the day was walking through the Magic School Bus and listening to Miss Frizzle read a story. The boys even got a free Magic School Bus book.

Learning about planets on the Magic School Bus.

We got our picture taken with: Super Why!The Target Dog even licked Zach's face (he could smell the chicken strip he just ate)
Mikie's favorite was CLIFFORD!
But, he wouldn't stand next to Wonder Red.
We tried to into the book sales tent, but the lines were too long. We were going to go into the PBS kids activity tent, but it was way too crowded and hot. Conclusion: there are TOO MANY PEOPLE in this area! It makes everything a lot less enjoyable. They need to have this event over the entire weekend instead of just one day.

Mikie says more & more

9/2008 While at Petsmart, Mikie found a guppy that looked exactly like the yellow and black spotted one we have at home named "jaguar" (purchased during our study on rain forest animals...hence the name of a mammal given to a fish). I was trying to convince him that we should get a different colored one instead of having two very similar fish. Mikie just stared longingly at it and said, "But they have to be the same so they can be best friends."


9/20/08 6:30 am....Master bedroom...parents sleeping....Mikie standing next to mommy's side of the bed says: "Get up Mommy! I looked outside and didn't see any of the lights burning so we can get up now!"


9/21/08 After I put on a green shirt and pink flowered skirt (first time wearing this post-baby) to go to church, Mikie comes upstairs and says: "Oooh, that's such a pretty dress." (Awww......he'll be a good husband one day...as long as his wife wears pink)


9/21/08 Mommy said: "Yay, look at our strawberry bed!"

Mikie said: "Can we sleep in it?"

9/25 While sitting on the potty: "If I fall in and flush then I'll be at somebody else's house." Apparently this is a new way to travel.... ha ha

Ongoing: "Now remember....." used to emphasize important directions such as:
"Now remember....when you hear this sound (whistle blow) it's time to come play with me.

"Now remember....the speed limit is 35"

"Now remember....I don't like peas, green beans, or baby trees (broccoli)"

After reading the 3 Billy Goats Gruff we put on a puppet show. Enjoy:

Wedding plans....

On the way home from Cubbies (AWANAS) tonight, it was just me and the boys as Michael was in Denver on Navy business, Mikie and I had a really funny conversation that went like this:

Mikie- Mommy, my foot hurts.
Tracy-I'll look at it when we get home.
M-Don't cut it out or you might cut out my ribs.
T-Did you learn about how God took one of Adam's ribs and made Eve?
M-Yes, that was not a good thing to do.
T- Then I explained a little more and told him that when he grows up he will find the one woman God made for him and they will get married. I thought it would be fun to start asking questions since he was in a chatting mood. So, I asked: How old do you think you'll be when you get married?
M- 49 years old (oh great...I may be dead by then and not get to plan a wedding!)
T- How old will the woman be that you'll marry?
M-I think she'll be 48 (if I am still living, now my hopes of grandkids are all gone!)
T-What do you think she'll look like?
M-She'll look like someone from South America (ok...good chances of being beautiful)
T-What do you think her name will be?
M-I don't know! (said as if he meant duh Mommy, I can't possibly know that!)
T-Where do you think you'll live when you're married?
M-Oregon. It's a long ways to get there. You have to fly over Ok-la-hi-mo
T-How many kids do you think you'll have?
M-I don't know, maybe 100 101 1o2 103. We'll have 103 kids. (I almost laughed outloud!)
T-Is there anything else you can think of?
M-When I get married I'm going to choose pink and silver. (of course!)

I think I'm going to keep the radio off in the car a lot more and just start asking questions. I'm always in need of a good laugh.

Strawberry Bed

Over the summer, we have enjoyed fresh ripe strawberries right from our own backyard.

When my mom was visiting in April, we planted 4 strawberry plants in a flower box and hung it on our fence. Mikie helped dig in the dirt, plant the shoots, and took great pride in watering them with the garden hose (he really enjoyed testing the 6 different spray streams on the nozzle..."jet" being his favorite but reserved only for the tree and not my fragile vegetable plants). Thanks to Super Boagie (aka: my mom) we outsmarted the birds and added netting to keep them from eating our fruit before we had a chance to enjoy them ourselves.



After a long weekend trip to Ocean City, MD (and an accidental oversight on watering) I thought our precious plant was done for. We returned to find most of the leaves shriveled and brown; however after much TLC, it is now thriving and still producing strawberries. In an attempt to produce larger and more scrumptious berries, we (mostly Michael) built a small strawberry bed in the corner of our yard and I transplanted more than 2 dozen (wow...they really multiplied) plants from their cramped little box to a more spacious garden.
After completing this project, I happily exclaimed: "Yay! Look at our strawberry bed."


To which Mikie innocently asked: "Can we sleep in it?" :-)

Allergy results...

Zachary had his allergy tests today. He did great and didn't even cry. I left Mikie with my friend, Kim, because they told me it would take 2 hours. After they pricked him in the back, I had to get him to hold still for 20 minutes....I thought.....YEAH RIGHT! But, God is good and Zachary sat on my lap with my undivided attention for the full 20 minutes while I sang him silly songs and fed him apple snacks. I can see how having an older brother causes him to be more hyper. I wonder how different he would be if he were the first child?

So, the results.....he is allergic to milk & eggs! (I know, I know....one child needs his own cow and the other can't have a single thing made with milk...it is slightly comical) We are suppose to cut everything out of his diet that is made with eggs or milk for 6 months and then go back for testing. They said he will probably out grow this, but not to be surprised if he develops environmental allergies. He has been drinking Pediasure for 2 months now and absolutely loves it...well...it contains milk.....so we switched to rice milk tonight. He did not like it at all. We first tried adding vanilla to it....that didn't work......so we added mango and sugar.....bingo! He loved it....so now he'll be drinking rice milk smoothies.

On top of all this, I am getting sick with a fever and chills right as Michael is suppose to be leaving for 3 days tomorrow morning. I pray that the children don't catch it.

Three Lakes Park in Richmond, VA

Last Thursday, the boys and I headed south to Richmond with about a dozen ladies (and their children) from the MOPS group. We had never been there before, but we will definitely be going back! It was so much fun! The kids peeked in all the aquariums, had a chance to pet a turtle, played on a very large and unusual playground, ate a picnic, and fed the ducks. Zachary loved all the animals! Mikie and Zachary check out the fish in the aquarium. In the video below if you listen very carefully you can hear Zach say "Fish" which sounds like "ish".

Again, our study of insects was reinforced with the"larger than life sized" bug exhibit. I'm so proud of Mikie reading the insects names in this video clip. He amazes me with his ability to sound out words.

I snapped this photo of Zachary in mid-screech. He was SO excited to see fish and turtles!

Mikie's strange pose for this picture reminds me of a time when I was a pre-teen and woke up one morning in this position unable to move my neck and had to go to a chiropractor. Mikie petting a box turtle. (Another mom was taking a picture of him at the same time, hence the bright light)
Growing up....I stood here watching him traverse this obstacle on the playground and realized he is almost 4 years old. It seems like such a short time ago I was climbing all over the steps and slides protecting him from tumbling off the edge (now I get to do that for Zach). Lately, I have really started seeing Mikie in a new light. He is more adventurous and less hesitant in new situations and seems more comfortable venturing away from me.
On the day that I am posting this, Mikie played outside with the other children in our cul-de-sac while Michael was in the front yard mowing the lawn and I occasionally glanced out the window to see him running around in the yard at the house across the street. It seemed a little strange to be able to see him but not hear him. Another memorable moment in the process of letting go...

How runaway trains come back...

Whenever Mikie would throw his trains in a fit of frustration, we would just take them away and put them on a shelf for a day or two. Lately, this has not been working. In fact, after I take a train away, he often hands me another one and says, "take this one away too, because he's not doing the right thing." Which means that said train has fallen off of a poorly constructed track due to Mikie's multiple levels with unstable supports or because said train was given too big of a load to haul around a dangerously sharp curve. No amount of logical explanation of the problem or suggested solutions can convince him to reconfigure his track (stubborn little boy!).



So, when Edward went flying across the toy room I decided to take a new approach. After Edward bounced off the wall and landed on the floor, the #2 blue engine "talked" to Mikie and told him that he didn't want to be thrown and he didn't like living at our house anymore. So...Edward ran away! Mikie frantically searched all over our house trying to find his beloved friend and finally relented to the fact that he was gone. I told him that Edward might come back if he saw that he was treating his trains nicely again. Well...a few more trains "ran away" over the next few weeks due to uncontrollable fits of rage. But after a few days of really good behavior, Mikie asked if he could have Edward back. I took this as a great teaching opportunity and helped Mikie type a letter on the computer to send to Edward. It said:



Dear Edward,

I am sorry for throwing you. Please come back.

Love,

Mikie

Here he is putting his letter into an envelope.
Mailing his letter to Edward.
Behold! Edward returns via mail.
Mikie reads a letter that Edward wrote asking him not to throw anymore trains.

Hopefully this works!

Mikie says more...

September 2008

While handing Zachary his bull stuffed animal, Mikie said, "here you go Zachary. Here's your water buffalo." Upon correcting him, he reasoned: "No mommy, bulls are black and water buffalos are brown. So, see this is a water buffalo."

September 16, 2008

Mikie, two cookies for dessert is enough. "No mommy, I need 3 because I'm 3. That's how old I am, 3, so I just need 3 cookies." I guess if I make him eat 3 peas then in all fairness he should be allowed to eat 3 cookies, right? :)

September 17, 2008

We read The Selfish Crocodile where the little mouse crawls in the crocodile's mouth and pulls his tooth to relieve his pain. Mikie's stuffed crocodile talked to him before going to bed about the story he just read and he was quick to say "Sharky was in the river way up past the crocodile and he has a broken tooth too." When asked who helped Sharky feel better, Mikie replied "A really long creature helped him. It's an eel. The eel swam into Sharky's mouth and pulled out the broken tooth."

September 16, 2008

Mikie has a placemat with the United States on it. He was able to sound out many of them on his own, but when he came to Arkansas he asked me for help. About a week later he was looking at his placemat again and said "Mommy, it's not Arkansas it's AR-KANSAS (pronounced like the state of Kansas)" When I asked him why (knowing what he meant but wanting to hear his logic) he said "See AR- K-A-N-S-A-S. They are the same." I was so proud of his reasoning!

September 13, 2008

When he saw the castle on top of the hill at Dutch Wonderland Mini-golf, he said: "That's just like Leah's princess party!"

Strasburg, PA (Thomas Train Ride)

Since Mikie is still fascinated (maybe I should say obsessed...a fan for over 2 1/2 years now) with Thomas and Friends trains, we didn't hesitate in the least to drive 4 hours north to the Strasburg, Pennsylvania Railroad for a 15 minute ride on the famous blue engine. A little over a year ago (on Mikie's 2 1/2 birthday) we enjoyed our first Thomas day in WA with the Wymans on a very humid July afternoon. This September morning turned out to be just as hot with full sun and the temperature reaching into the 90's. We were very thankful to have 10:45 tickets and be finished and headed home by 1:00. It was still VERY HOT!!!!

We waited until the night before we left to tell Mikie of our upcoming weekend adventure. When I told him that one of his friends who really likes trains is going to be there too, he said with such enthusiasm "TATE!" (we miss you!) I had to disappoint him and tell him that Tate lives too far away to go with us this time. So his next guess was "Leah!" Again, a disappointing "no". But when I reminded him that he has a good friend who loves Thomas just as much as he does and told him to guess the third time, he got it right "Lenny!" Kelli, Dominic, and Lenny Klepic (minus the twins) were planning to meet us for the day so the boys could share in this special time.

The drive up on Friday afternoon went quickly and smoothly thanks to the DVD player and Baby Einstein videos. Upon arrival, Mikie learned that he would be spending the night in a real caboose! His first question, "Will it move while we are asleep?" As fun as that may be, "no they don't work anymore" was enough to stifle that disappointment. I was prepared for him to be very upset because we didn't get to choose the number we stayed in, however to my amazement, caboose number 20 was a "good number" but he has requested the pink caboose next time (only my son!).

The highlight of the caboose was the bunk bed. When Mikie saw it, he said so excitedly, "Zachary, this is going to be so much fun! We get to sleep in these beds." But of course, Zachary would be dreaming safely in the pack n' play 6 inches from the ground and not on the 6 foot tall upper bunk. Although, our fearless younger son would have jumped at the chance to tower over his older, more cautious brother who chose the bottom bunk because it "wasn't as scary." Both boys spent every chance they could ascending and descending the 5 rungs, rolling around with their blankie and 'bashi', and bouncing up and down only to hit their heads on the bunk or ceiling above knocking them down in hysterical laughter. (Vision: 3 years in the future. My boys sharing a room, fighting over who gets the top bunk and the countless falls, broken bones, or stitches... Note to self....get plush carpet with extra padding and remove all pointed objects from a three feet vicinity)
Saturday we spent the day at Dutch Wonderland amusement park for kids. Mikie could (and almost did) ride every ride except 4 and Zachary could ride most of them as well. We saw two shows: Thomas Live & The Frog Prince. Mikie said his favorite show was Thomas, but he was cracking up at the high diving frogs splashing into the pool below and at one point cooling us off with a gigantic splash.

Now, what would make this day even more special for two little boys? A round of mini-golf Dutch Wonderland style! Mikie was bubbling with excitement as usual and Zachary was as cute as ever with his short little club whacking the ball in all directions.
We wore them out!!... which meant we had to skip the movie (and popcorn) projected onto the barn at the motel grounds that evening and everyone (I do mean EVERYONE) was nestled snugly in bed and asleep by 8:30 (I think I was still in elementary school the last time I was asleep before 9:00!)

After our good night's rest, we enjoyed eating breakfast in a caboose at our motel. Zachary does not enjoy sitting in his high chair and isn't placated with food, so dinning out with him is always a tag team effort. Thankfully, it was Sunday and the Amish people were headed to church on the road right out of the dinning car window providing enough distraction every time a horse and buggy went by for us to scarf down our food before a lot of wailing began. Then...it was off to the Thomas activities.... The line for official Thomas pictures was way too long and hot to stand in, but I managed to get this shot as Thomas wheeshed by us at a crossing. I only had one push of the button to take the picture, so I was thrilled that Mikie was the one looking (and smiling with eyes open) at the camera!

From the parking lot, Mikie said he saw "Toby" and was so excited that Toby came to PA too! I thought he was just getting his hopes up and letting his imagination run away with him. As you can see from the picture above. Mikie was right! Toby did come all the way from the Island of Sodor! And...we got to ride on him!!!!!!! One more train made his appearance in Strasburg...can you tell who it is? It's "Salty". Mikie and Lenny try numerous times to balance on the tracks so that their blogging moms can take just the right picture!


This video was shot while we were sitting on Toby:



Time for our ride on Thomas! Oh, the lovely breeze we felt (and smelled thanks to a cow pasture) in the open air cars. The boys are showing off their Thomas and Henry tattoos.


We ate lunch at the railroad cafe and then headed to the car. Along the way, we had to pass the train museum which Mikie really wanted to go in, but we could tell that not only was he very tired, but Zachary was in a zombie like state after having been awake for over 6 hours. So, we strapped two screaming children into their car seats and headed for home. It only took Zachary 1/4 a mile before he was out, but Mikie kept breaking my heart asking, begging, pleading, screaming, crying, kicking, etc. to go back to the museum. I hated ending such a special day in such a negative way. We promised him that we would return again at the end of October when we travel north again up to Maine to visit Grandmommy and Granddaddy Jones. Finally, after the distraction of a DVD, Mikie fell asleep in this position:
And just so you have no shadow of a doubt that I did indeed clone my child, this is how Zachary fell asleep (and no...I did not pose them like this!)

Just in case you are still reading this very long blog and haven't seen enough of my adorable boys, you can view all the good pictures from our weekend in my latest photoshow:

Day Out With Thomas Photoshow (click here)

Did you know? You can click on the individual pictures in each blog and they will pop up larger on your computer. I just found this out! Now I'm going back to everyone's blogs and looking at all the cute kids in more detail. There have been so many pictures that I wish were just a little bigger so I could see the expressions on people's faces. YAY!

Virginia Beach 9/3-9/4

Thanks to the Navy, we went on a free trip to Virginia Beach and crossed paths with the Lyon family once again when we accompanied Michael on his business trip to Norfolk, Va. While Michael was at meetings, we spent the first morning at Carrie's house and had a great time playing inside and out.

Mikie & Gunner checking out the coy and catfish in Carrie's front yard pond.

Zachary and Hudson meet for the first time.
As soon as we told Mikie we were going to the Virginia Beach, he immediately connected that with the beach at Ocean City and asked if we could play mini-golf. Luckily, there were 2 courses not far from our hotel. The first night we played the Pirate course.

This club was just the right size for Zach. He would hit at the ball about 10 times at each hole and then decide that picking it up and carrying it to the hole was a much better idea.

Sorry...I can't figure out how to rotate this video clip.

Of course, while waiting for the rest of us to finish, he needed to climb on the rocks to get a better view of the shallow (but very blue) water flowing through the course.

Early morning on the beach! We ate a quick breakfast at the hotel and then headed across the street to play in the sand before checking out of the hotel.

Staying a safe distance away from the waves after the last incident in Ocean City.

We were so lucky...a cranky crane was busy working on the hotel across the street.

Testing the waters...still not taking any chances.

This play structure was right on the beach! Mikie pretended to follow the treasure map painted on the inside and led us on a trail past the sea turtles (garbage bags), palm trees (spotted in the distance), and mountains (hills of sand from a construction area), etc. It is fun to see him starting to use his imagination.

After showering and checking out of the hotel, we dropped Michael off on base and I took the kids to the aquarium. Mikie took this picture of me, but would NOT get in for me to take his. He really enjoyed building sharks on the computer by adding different fins, teeth, and tails.

Mikie was cute watching the sharks pass by. Zachary wouldn't get very close...I think this is because earlier, we were at a porthole viewing window and a giant sea turtle came swimming up from the bottom and passed right by the window startling Zach. He took a few steps back and fell down. It was funny at the time, but I think that made him a little leery of the shark exhibit.

At the aquarium, there was a "Little Builders" hands on exploration room for kids. I thought it was very well organized and I was impressed that they had 3 animal exhibits in the room: finches building nests, beavers building dams, and alligators (building a ladder by climbing on each other to get out of the water? ok...that's a stretch) Zachary of course, was thrilled with the funnel of air that keeps the balls suspended above it.

While Mikie was fascinated with moving balls and blocks along a conveyor belt.

Hammering with your mouth open assures that you will hit the nail on the head!

I really must get a paint sprayer next time. It'll cut my time in half!

Pushing was fun, but now Mommy can give me a ride.

I'm too little for these silly hats!

Mikie got to pet a baby alligator.

One of my favorite exhibits just happened to correlate with our study of insects this past month. There was a room with giant grass and insects (yes I know this snake is not an insect but he was so cute standing next to it) that made you feel as if you had just been zapped with the Zalinskey's shrinking machine and were now living in the movie "Honey, I shrunk the kids." Mikie did a great job answering the questions on the computer quiz and hopefully learned a few things about the creatures in the marsh.

After Michael finished working & after eating at a restaurant on the beach, we played the jungle mini-golf course.
Zachary followed his ball and crawled right through the little rock cave.

I think Zachary enjoys mini-golf just as much as Mikie does.
Mikie next to his favorite animal. You may wonder why I don't have any pictures of Mikie golfing...well..that's because he was always one hole ahead of us. He was just so excited he couldn't wait to play the next hole.

Once in a while, I am appreciative of all the Navy trips Michael has to go on and this was one of those times. We had a great time and the boys were so well behaved.

Unfortunately, the day after we got back Zachary got another ear infection (which I think is a result of him cutting another molar) and was put on the antibiotic Omnicef which caused him to have major GI problems over the weekend and a very raw bottom. We find out in 3 weeks if he'll have to get tubes in his ears.