Happy Birthday, Sweet Baby Girl

I think it's official - I have to stop calling her Baby Girl, but alas, it has stuck for 2 years now. On her birthday we hosted our weekly playgroup AND the kids from our block. It was a great little party and Kate had a blast. Her true happiness began when she found out that under the pretty paper and ribbons were toys and books and surprises! Check out this face while opening gifts...

Hello!

We've rented a mountain cabin for the winter with our friends, the Bausch's. We're trying to make the most of this 6 month investment and have already made multiple trips there to enjoy the quiet of the woods, streams and mountains. The other day my mom asked me, "What do you guys do when you're there?" It took me a second, only to realize the answer was, "Nothing." And doesn't that sound wonderful?!? Here's a glimpse of the "nothingness."

Guess what I wished for when I blew out my candles!

Halloween 2008

Okay okay! Enough with our fans asking for the Halloween photos! I'm a busy girl, people!

Kate isn't quite sure what this Halloween business is all about. It was exciting and fun, but she was confused by her friends that didn't look quite the same and by all of the dad's answering the doors (men = scary!). Her costume, although SUPER CUTE, was hot and kept pecking her in the face. She wanted to eat the candy, but you'll see why that wasn't an option outside of her highchair in a photo below. Once the bigger kids started trick or treating she loved the continuous door bell ringing; however, once Brad scared the kids on the front step and they screamed in her face she pretty much panicked. An interesting night to be sure, and yet another event where I sum it up by saying, "she'll get it next year."

Pumpkin Weekend 2008

We had fantastic weather this weekend - and gladly took advantage of it. Friday afternoon we enjoyed our weekly playdate, which turned into good-timin on the back porch, ending with 4 of us huddled for warmth around charcoal on the grill while 2 little ones slept upstairs.

Saturday we had big plans to ride the Pumpkin Liner Train out of Horseshoe Bend; however, didn't realize that a lot of other folks had the same plan and that tickets would be sold out. Instead we headed to a pumpkin patch - the same one featured in pumpkin picking pictures approximately 1 year ago on this blog. This year we were able to take advantage of the super fun kid activities - which was delightful (for us to watch and for Kate to do). It was great fun seeing her do the big kid stuff. She had her first pony ride, first cow train ride (?), first public bouncy house thing, and lots of fun food! Oh, and we picked out some pumpkins, too.

Today we headed up to Horseshoe Bend early and took an 1 1/2 hr train ride to a pumpkin "patch" (a place where picked pumpkins are placed for families to come and make a selection). When we pulled up to the station Kate said, "choo choo!" She seemed to really enjoy the ride, and although it was nap time, she fared quite well (Brad gave her a B- for behavior, but I'd say it was a solid B).

This afternoon we've relaxed, watched a Packers victory! What a weekend!

Fall in McCall

Happy Birthday to The UB! We had a fabulous weekend in McCall with our dear friends at a great cabin in the woods. The weather was just as you would want it, and of course a trip to McCall means a trip to the lake. Here Kate is, discovering sand and the glory of letting it wiggle through your fingers, as well as learning the hard lesson that you can't go running into the water all year round. As you can see here, it was a very hard, sad, lesson.

Happy Birthday to my dear, sweet UB.

Michigan Recap

What a whirlwind trip. Every night after I put Kate to bed over the course of those 2 weeks I wanted to do nothing but go to bed myself. It was FANTASTIC seeing all of our family and ALMOST all of our friends. The 40 days and nights of rain, my sinus infection, Kate's ear infection and the 7 trips to Walgreens, did put a damper on things, and prevented us from seeing Lauda at her cottage and Steph and Paul; however, the number of visits we were able to squeeze in between the daily naps and the early bedtimes was still remarkable. Thank you to everyone who made time for us, fed us, and showered Kate with love and affection of the greatest kind! It was wonderful to see you all. And a special thanks to Grammie B - who set aside her life for 2 weeks and dragged us all over tarnation and back. We love and miss you!

More more and more Michigan!

Michigan! The Mother Land

Here we are in Michigan! I knew it was too good to be true - sunny, breezy days by the lake, cousins, aunts, uncles, Pronto Pups and Fricano's Pizza... and HORRIBLE allergies that I had long forgotten about. Unfortunately I'm sick as a dog, but we're making the most of it. Here are a few pictures from the first couple of days. We miss you, Dada!

Zoo, Friends and Good Times

We went to the zoo yesterday with the Triplets (and their mom, Jules) and Joey (and his mom, Courto). Good times.

Nothing to Share?

I feel a great deal of pressure from you all to post something each week, which can be difficult if there was a lull in activity or if we just didn't get out to do something fun and family friendly over the weekend. Unfortunately I suffer(ed) from the flu this week(end), and didn't really bother to take photos of Kate watching videos, recorded television and the Olympics (she loves the diving). #2 was able to get away yesterday for white water rafting with friends, but again, no pics. I do, however, have a great deal of video that I haven't bothered to put together until tonight, so please enjoy this hodge-podge of this and that (mainly Kate wandering around and being Kate).
Things you'll see here:
- Kate pushing baby Ben in her baby stroller. He didn't much care for it, but she thought it was pretty cool (although she has to work on looking where she's going, much like me)
- Kate enjoying the entertainment of our neighbors Esme and Isabelle. I don't know who enjoy's their company more, me or Kate
- Kate having fun in the pool with our friend, Bailey. Bailey taught Kate to say, "I did it!"
- Kate enjoying an Oreo cookie as a bedtime snack tonight. If you can catch it, we have the following exchange:
K: "What's that?"
G: "The power button."
K: "Good job, Mama."
G: "Thanks, Kate."
K: "You're welcome."
- Kate playing on the swings during our trip to Wisconsin. Leave it to Brad to stir things up
- A random assortment of pictures that I had yet to share with you all

Hodge Podge

On the Go

We've been going and going lately (hence the lack of updates). 2 weekends ago we enjoyed a great weekend in McCall with Peter, Kerry and Baby Ben. It was nice to get away and to relax in this beautiful town. Kerry took all the pictures, so I have none to share, but it was memorable due to the fact that Kate had the chance to feed a bottle to a REAL baby, instead of a creepy doll with a tuft of blond hair sticking out the top of her head. Thanks Peter and Kerry for a great time! Oh - and this trip taught us that Kate can climb out of a port-a-crib. It also taught Kate that she should try crawling out her crib back home (successfully).

This most recent weekend we headed to Cedar Rapids, IA for #2's 20-year high school class reunion and to visit Grandma S. We went to the St Jude's Sweet Corn Festival and made a trip to a local watering hole while reuniting/getting to know Brad's classmates. It was a great deal of fun. Saturday morning we headed off to Westby/Viroqua, WI to visit with the (Great) Grandma's for dinner and breakfast, followed by a trip back to IA and a flight back home on Sunday. It was a lot of time in the car and on planes, but it was also some wonderful, quality time with Grandma S and Kate's Great Grandma's. A special thanks to Grandma S for all of the time she gave us - sans Kate! A win-win for everyone involved.

Camping!

A Week In Review

We had a fun week since our last update. Kate has been up to... everything. She will say nearly anything I ask her to say and she's in the process of figuring out how to communicate with us when it comes to the words she doesn't know. If anyone knows what, "ta ta? ta ta? ta ta?" means, I'd LOVE to know. My favorite thing that she's currently saying is, "you're welcome-ah." I don't know where the "-ah" comes from, but it almost sounds like she's saying, "you're welcome, mom." Oh - and she has this confused with, "thank you." For example, when you hand her a toy she responds with, "you're welcome-ah."

On Tuesday Kate and I went to see the Boise Hawks play. There was a Special Olympics event there so we joined some of my co-workers and a group of athletes at the game. We didn't last long, but Kate loved the never ending steps, the loud music and the mascot Humphrey the Hawk (although when he came close to us she wasn't so sure). I only caught one photo, and please imagine the "cheeeeeze" she's busting out here.

Yesterday Brad took us all to the local water park. She shivered the entire time even though it was 100 degrees - I think it was from excitement. She was so thrilled to be there that she was grunting like an animal. She is the hugest dare devil - she went down a curvy crazy slide by herself and LOVED it. After shooting down every slide, immersed in water, she tried to stand up and climb back up it, only to get knocked down by the next kid. It was insanity. She was happy to walk right into deep water, swirl around under water for a good couple of seconds, only to be pulled out, spitting water and laughing. When we tried to put a life vest on her she screamed bloody murder until we gave up...

And in the midst of the fun, we've been struggling with our entrance into the Terrible 2's. This girl can throw a tantrum with the best of them. I'm trying to keep it together and not react to her the way she's reacting to not getting her way, but wow - this is a daunting time.

Happy Birthday, Joey!

Thank goodness Joey likes Yo Gabba Gabba, too. Last night Mike and Courtney threw the best Yo Gabba Gabba party to which we've ever been. I don't think Kate realized that Yo Gabba Gabba could exist outside of the television set, but alas, it exists in Joey's backyard. Well done, Mike and Court! Thanks for a fun party, Joey!

Reading Genius Baby

Last night I showed Kate her name spelled out on her magnadoodle and she said, "KATE!"

Brad said we can't call her Buba Girl anymore because there's nothing Buba (baby) about her (aside from the diapers). I'm struggling with the change to Lil' Kate, but I have to admit, if she can read her name she likely isn't a buba anymore.

Independence Day, 2008

Yes, I know it is over, but it takes me a few days to get it together to get the pictures out here. This said, I can still hear fire crackers off in the distance so this still counts as being on time. We took it easy this weekend, but that included a float down the Boise River with friends (while Kate was with a sitter), a BBQ, a picnic in the park, a trip to Idaho City for breakfast and a couple of visits to the Bausch household to hold that new, sweet, fresh, squeaky baby they brought home on our nation's day of independence.

Sweet Baby Bausch

McPhee asked me a long time ago, "If my mom isn't here for the birth, will you be in the delivery room with us?" And of course, I started secretly wishing that the baby would come a little early and I could wiggle my way into this exciting situation. McPhee's wonderful mom (Grandma Charlie) arrived on June 25 and it was official - I was out. This did not sadden me in any way, as I remember being in those same, fat, swollen feet about 19 months ago, absolutely COUNTING on the support of my own mom in the delivery room.
On the morning of June 30 McPhee called me to tell me that her brother's wife's water broke and they were in the hospital in Milwaukee delivering their twin babies at about 27 weeks. As you might imagine, Grandma Charlie felt she needed to be there and McPhee was showing no signs of labor, so off she went to Milwaukee. The twins are doing very well and her brother updates the following daily: http://www.freewebs.com/mckennatwins/index.htm.
I was feeling terrible that I was about to benefit from this scary time in McPhee's family's lives, and gave them the option to cut me loose in the event she went into labor before her mom's return to Boise. She assured me that Peter's response to her question, "Do you know what we need to bring to the hospital?" was, "Your black bag and GOOTCH."
As it would happen, McPhee went into labor on the afternoon of July 2. Things moved slowly at first, so Peter said to wait until after Kate was in bed to join them. I got there just in time for things to kick into gear, and Benjamin Francis Bausch was born on July 3 at 3:00 AM, weighing in at 8 pounds, 8 ounces and 20.5 inches long.
This was one of the most incredible moments of my life, one I will never forget, and one for which I am eternally grateful to Peter and Kerry. I am blessed to have been a part of this remarkable event.

To What We've Been Up

The other day I received an email from Grandma Sloane asking something like, "What is she up to these days?" I knew I'd been slacking on the blogging - mainly because we've been up to a lot (summer lovin, mainly). We attended the Triplet's 3rd birthday party, we purchased a zoo membership, Kate learned to count to 10 (but no recent video yet). Enjoy...

Walkie Talkie

Last night in the tub I was putting her foam numbers on the wall. We had the following exchange:
ME: One
KATE: Twooo
ME: Three
KATE: Fooour
ME: Five,... six,... seven
KATE: Eight

I could hardly believe my ears.

Additional new favorites are:
"Hiiii! Howareyou? Good (or good, thanks)."
"Oh my"
"Oh boy"
"Okay. Bye. See ya!"
"Share?"
"Kisses"
"Annie! Sit! No!"
"Ello" (Elmo)
"Book"
"Bebe, bebe, bebe, bebe"

June Good Timin'

We've been enjoying our slow-starting summer. Last weekend was the neighborhood garage sale where I scored a large number of great things for Kate. To note, she got a kitchen ($5!) and a toy vacuum that is an exact replica of mine (with which she's been obsessed for a year now). Attachments, humming, light, dust bag and everything. Finally late this week it warmed up and we were able to go to the pool. Kate has absolutely no fear of the pool and wants to do nothing but climb out, walk away from the edge and then run and jump in. I will be purchasing a swimsuit with a built-in safety vest this week. Last night we threw a BBQ/babyshower for Peter and Kerry - they are expecting in just a few weeks now. I keep telling Kate that McPhee (Kerry) is having a baby and so now when we see her Kate says, "bebe?" Soon enough she'll get to see that tiny baby!! How strange to have a BBQ on a Saturday night with 8 kids watching the Disney channel in my living room. Huh. Who would have thought?

Travel Conclusion

I know I have gone on and on about this trip, but let's admit it - it was an adventure! A child-less adventure with my best friend. I finally got the videos in order and have shared them here. When you have a moment please enjoy.
Istanbul:

Amsterdam:

London:

June Bug

We had a nice suburban weekend ringing in June 2008, although Kate had a rough go of it. She is struggling to ring in four new teeth, one of which is practically all the way in; yet hasn't cut through her gums. It is a sad state affairs. This said, we tried a lot of tactics to distract her from the pain, her bad (short) naps and temper tantrums.
Quite a while ago our sweet neighbor, Esme, gave Kate an easel. It finally occurred to me that Kate was tall enough to use it and sure enough - it was a big hit. We quickly figured out that we have to keep a close eye on the chalk, or the coffee table also works nicely as chalkboard. The next tactic was to do some much needed yard work, and have Kate join in. Her favorite part was trying on my gardening gloves and using cut branches as a broom for the sidewalk. We both got a little sun in the process and ended the afternoon in the pool. Kate loved it so much that I've decided we're not going back until we purchase some floating device in which she can be secured.
Today (which was cloudy and rainy) we decided it was time for Kate's first hair cut. If you've seen her - or pictures of her - lately you would agree it was time. First it was a mullet, but now it was just plain shag-a-riffic. The actual cutting process didn't go well (she was so upset she didn't even want the sucker they offered), but Kate livened up after the scissors disappeared and enjoyed watching Daddy get his hair cut. And there was a balloon involved, so all was well.

Before we left...

When planning our trip I mentioned to Grandma B that Kate might love a baby stroller (and I knew she had one in her gift stash). When we visit the triplets their baby stroller is the number one attraction. When I knew she would be able to fit the stroller in her suitcase I decided Kate was also ready for Bitty Baby. Grandma Sloane sent us Bitty last fall, and back then Kate was just getting used to her first doll and typically was found throwing her, banging her head against something, or chewing her feet. Needless to say, that baby doesn't even have lips anymore. Since then Kate has matured greatly. On the morning that Grandma B was scheduled to arrive I gave Bitty Baby to Kate. Her reaction was gleeful! Unfortunately I didn't have the camera ready when Kate first saw the box, but enjoy this video of her reaction once I freed Bitty from her cardboard restraints. Also included in this video is the presentation of the stroller and the love connection ever since. As a matter of fact, this morning when Kate woke up she said, "Baby?" She absolutely loves Bitty and her new stroller.

London - Day 4

Now that I'm home it is getting harder and harder to keep this up. Don't get me wrong - I have fond memories and all, but it just seems like you wouldn't want to read about it as much. This said, Day 4 was our last, short day in London. We woke at the crack of dawn, packed our bags and headed to the British Museum. Wow! What a place. Oh - and on the way UB promised we'd find some "impossibly cute" place for breakfast. We arrived at the museum before it opened and found exactly that - an impossibly cute place for breakfast. Mmmm.

The main thing to note is that we saw THE Rosetta Stone. Enjoy the photos I shot as we ran through the museum.

We rushed off to the airport and watched bad movies and TV until we arrived in Boise. Kate was in bed but we peeked in at her. Mmmm!

In the morning, the minute she stirred Brad and I rushed into her room. She looked a little confused and surprised and then slowly started a big smile. It was a most wonderful moment. Then The UB took us all out for breakfast!! YAY!

It is wonderful to be home and settling in. A HUGE thanks to Grandma Bylsma who kept things running on the homefront, and who taught Kate to take nice long naps. Maybe it is time to add on Mother-In-Law quarters...

London - Day 3

Up and Adam, and off to see St Paul's Cathedral. It is a fabulous place and there was a special treat (in comparison to my last trip here about 8 years ago). We were able to walk to the top of the dome, which is 365 feet high. At the very peak of the dome there is a tiny glass opening, allowing you to look all the way straight down to the middle of the floor (365 feet straight down). As you might imagine, the steps up where,... a lot. The climb was hot and uncomfortable, and the height at which we finally arrived was scary - at best. This said, it was a great spot to spend our morning.

Our next stop was the Tower of London. This place is full of crazy stories of death and dismemberment. Many people lost their heads here over the years, literally. As it turned out, kings and queens were big fans of the chopping block. They were greedy, crazy fools who weren't very nice to each other, making the stories delightfully juicy.

After our visit to the T of L, we looked around for a place to sign up for a Jack the Ripper Foot Tour. We had both read about these and knew they started near the tower. We asked around and ended up signing up for a tour starting at 7:30PM. We decided to grab a couple of beers and wait for our tour. It was well worth the wait. Our tour guide was named Leslie and she was perfectly charming and great at what she did. The tour lasted about 1.5 hrs and took us all over East London (which was the ghetto in those times). We saw many sights during this tour, to include Prostitute's Church, an actual death scene, the stairway where Jack left his only piece of evidence, and the bar where he likely hung out - with his prey. It was loads of fun! And - chilly. I special shout out to The UB who shared his long sleeved shirt with me.

And twas the end of Day 3.

London - Day 2

There is nothing like a big, air conditioned, luxury hotel to make a person feel better. The hotel offered (for a large price, as are all things in London) a wonderful "traditional English breakfast" which I loved (as I do all breakfasts) but which also offered some surprises: eggs (poached, scrambled and hard boiled), potatoes (wedges and formed hash browns - like McDonald's), black bacon (what is this?!?), weird sausage links, regular bacon (sort of), mushrooms and tomatoes. Mmmmm mmmm!

Off we went to Buckingham Palace to catch a glimpse and see if we could see the changing of the guards. A police officer told me that the changing of the guards would take place at 11:20AM ("twenty past eleven, miss"). That wasn't too far off so we walked around, took some photos and waited. And waited and waited. If it weren't for the fact that we have 2 days in London and a lot to see, I don't think I would have lost my mind like I did, but by noon I was incredibly irritated. It was noon on day 1 of 2 and we hadn't done anything yet. As we started to walk away the changing of the guards process began and we were very happy that we stayed long enough to catch it.

The next stop was Westminster Abbey where we were blown away at every turn. If you haven't been, please read more about it. The opportunity to see the graves of Isaac Newton, Charles Dickens and insurmountable kings and queens and hundreds of others - as well as the place that held Princess Diana's funeral was incredible.

As we left Westminster we took a moment to take in the sights of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliment. Then we crossed the Thames River and took a ride on the London Eye. Wow.

After the Eye we parted ways as UB had plans to attend a Public Enemy show with some friends and I had plans to relax. I decided to walk for a while to take in the sights and pretend I was big-city-Gootch, versus suburban-mom-Gootch for a little while. I quickly came upon Trafalgar Square, which is a beautiful area filled with people relaxing. It was about 6pm on a Friday night and it was packed with people just starting their weekend. I decided to keep moving and possibly walk all the way back to our hotel. I walked and walked, and kept checking the buses to make sure they were the ones headed in my direction. Soon enough I came upon St Paul's Cathedral. The bad news about this sight is that it was in the opposite direction of our neighborhood. Oops. I stopped in a Starbucks and humbly got out the map. Once I found my way home I called room service and enjoyed a quiet, relaxing night in.

Brad came home late - and extremely frustrated. We found the public transportation system in London to be lacking - mainly because they shut down large portions of it for the "Bank Holiday", deeply effecting our ability to get around how we pleased. This said, he loved the Public Enemy show. Good for him, I say.

Amsterdam/London - Day 4/1

It was very difficult to leave Amsterdam after a day like today. We got up early, packed, enjoyed our last delightful breakfast at this hotel and headed out to rent some bikes. As everyone knows, riding bikes in Amsterdam is part of the culture. Everywhere we went there were bikes; piled high and locked up tightly were tons and tons of rusty, decrepit bikes. They had bike baskets and buckets attached to the front, bikes with up to 3 child seats attached to the frame, bikes carrying dogs, children and friends. It was fantastic. Anywho, we rented some bikes and headed for Vondelpark . One thing to mention here is that the weather we've been having has been exceptional - so a bike ride in an incredibly beautiful Dutch park was over the top, great. We then braved the real streets - I made Brad lead and we set out to find a impossibly cute store we had passed the day before while out on our carriage ride. It was in the middle of a lovely neighborhood on one of many streets that looks just like another. On our carriage ride we asked the driver to tell us where we were, and between the two of us we were able to find it again. Personally I think this is a miracle. There I picked out the most delightful little tea set for Katers. I can't wait to have tea with her and Annie The Dog and her stuffed animals using this little set. After our ride around town we stopped and enjoyed the sun and some some Heineken's at the same street side cafe before we had to turn our bikes in, pick up our luggage and head for the airport. Although I knew that our flight to London would be quick and effortless, I was mostly heartbroken to leave Amsterdam. I would like very much to return to this place. The people, the culture, the sights - what a wonderful place!

Our flight to London was easy peasy. It was the tube ride into town from Heathrow and the idea to get off the hot, cramped underground a little early and walk the last little bit that maybe was the beginning of the end for us. We quickly figured out where to go, but it was further than anyone schlepping luggage would have wanted. We finally arrived at our hotel - in the middle of hustling and bustling London. I have to admit - maybe I'm getting old, but it was a little much to take after the laid back environment of Amsterdam. Our hotel was great - very luxurious for a European place, and as I mentioned before, The UB knows how to pick a hotel!

We headed out on the town and I offered to lead us to Piccadilly Circus . It wasn't too far, but we took a bus which allowed us to see a little of our neighborhood along the way. I don't know for sure what day it was (Thursday?) but we couldn't figure out why there were mobs of people everywhere. The streets were packed with traffic, the sidewalks packed with people, and every pub and restaurant had tons of people spilling outside. We decided that in our state of mind it would be best to find something more quiet, so we walked (and walked, and walked) to find a pub with outdoor seating that seemed a little less insane for us. We ended up sitting with a group of young Norwegians who have been living in London for a few years to study and enjoy big city life. They found it very amusing that Brad is from a little Norwegian town in Wisconsin and we talked about lufsa and other various Norwegian things. It was entertaining and they shared with us some tips about London and good things to do and see. Oddly enough, the night with them ended in a way I never would have imagined. I don't want to get into the details, but as it turned out they made a horrible comment that mainly just confused and befuddled us.

Good night, London! We trust that tomorrow will be a better day for us.

Amsterdam - Day 3

I think it is day three, but I tend to ask Brad a few times a day, what day is it? It is very hard to keep track with all of the excitement and fun and sights. Today we decided to take a couple of tours. Unfortunately - or fortunately - the second one didn't work out, so it ended up that we took a one hour tour around the city with a gentleman pointing out the various sights. It was interesting and helpful, as we haven't seen all of the different areas yet and this gave us a broader view of the city. At one point we stopped and I helped myself to the cheese store near our parking spot. I bought the most delightful Gouda cheese sandwich I could have imagined. Brad tried to swipe it from me. It was good.

After the failed attempt at a second organized tour we decided to start walking and see our own sights. We came across a beautiful square (where we enjoyed a slice of pizza the night before) and decided that if we are going to be tourists, we should really do it - and hired a horse drawn carriage. It might be the most delightful thing we've done yet! I enjoyed this a great deal. The carriage driver was a lovely old chap and was very informative. His horse was fun, too.

We thought we were going to rent bikes after this excursion, but our wanderings took us to more of a trendy shopping street and then the flower markets, and bikes never came into the equation. We decided to sit at an outdoor cafe and enjoy some wonderful, cold Heineken in the warm sun. THIS is vacation.

We enjoyed a fantastic dinner at an Argentine steak house and then returned "home" to retire early. We're tired kids.

I'm tired and will be out of Internet minutes very quickly. With that, note that tomorrow evening we travel to London, so I likely will not post tomorrow. Have a great day and we'll see each other soon!