Sneaking Gum

We recently bought a big bag of variety candy to use as a motivational tool for David's potty training as well as a reward for kids' good behavior in Liz's Primary class. Since we're not big fans of the cheap bubble gum, Liz took all of it out and put it in a separate bag. Liz had planned to give it to the Bishopric, as they give out candy to Primary kids who can quote scriptures or share something they learned that day. Liz had the bag hidden in her purse all week, but Analeigh kept sneaking into it and opening the bag for herself.

Dumping "Dirt"

David, as many of you know, is fascinated with trucks and tractors. His friend, Matthew Cheney, gave him his old front loader last year. David loves that front loader more than life itself. But now, thanks to Matthew's increased generosity, David now has an awesome dump truck (the very same one crashing into him in these videos). Matthew gave David this truck on Sunday, when we went to their home for dinner. Since that time, these two toys have been near David every waking hour (he would even sleep with them, if we let him). David has been moving his smaller toys (i.e. - "dirt and rocks") all over the house by using his front loader to load up the dump truck and then driving the dump truck across the room to dump it somewhere else. Then the process repeats itself. At least we can say that all of this play is making David's hand-eye coordination quite impressive.

Headaches and FHE

We had Family Home Evening tonight and, as always, sang a number of songs (per David's request). Lately he has been learning the words to Have You Ever Seen a Lassie, Old McDonald, Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree, and more.

Due to Ben's headache, he wasn't really into the songs, but he persevered, singing with his eyes closed.

A New Toy

As part of our special project for Analeigh's birthday, we decided we needed a drill. So Ben was able to talk Liz in to buying one, rather than borrowing one. We opted for something with a little more power (as in corded, rather than battery powered). We went with a 7 Amp Black & Decker Drill and a 66-Piece Drilling and Screwdriving Bit Set.

When Ben tried to explain that he was getting a drill for the project to a female co-worker (all of them are female), she told him he could have borrowed hers. Ben tried to explain that he was actually looking forward to getting his own drill. Nevertheless, she persevered, saying it really wouldn't have been any trouble to let him borrow hers. Apparently women, while very generous, will never understand a man's desire to collect power tools.

A Friend to All

As Russell from Up would say, "A wilderness explorer is a friend to all, be it bird, or fish, or tiny mole!" While we know the saying doesn't rhyme, Analeigh lives by the creed whenever she visits her many friends at the zoo. Since the weather was decent, Liz took the kids out to visit the animals. Analeigh said "hello" to each animal she saw, and waved goodbye when it was time to go to the next exhibit. Obviously one duck loved her in return as it chose to follow her.

Babysitting

A family from church needed someone to watch their two girls for a couple days this week. Since we haven't asked them how they feel about pictures of their children being on our blog, we're not naming names, and we placed black bars over their eyes. Then we decided black bars we're enough, so we pixelized their faces too.

Anyway, David and Analeigh had a great time being able to play with other kids. Analeigh especially enjoyed having other girls to play with, even though she was wary of sharing her dolls.

Coming Soon

To the average observer, the object in the picture below would likely be identified as an entertainment center. If you had the same thought, you would be correct. However, by March 13th, we will have transformed this piece into an amazing birthday present for Analeigh.

What will it be? Come back next month and you'll see for yourself (or you could just talk to us and we'll tell you because we're pretty lousy at keeping secrets).

Raiding the Candy

Analeigh was sick today, so Ben stayed home with her while Liz took David to church. Even though she was sick, Analeigh still got around the house pretty well, even sneaking into the dining room to snag some of the cookie flowers we made earlier this week. Ben caught her before she ate any, but she's just such a cute little sneak.

A Gift for Liz

While watching television, Ben has been persuaded to believe Liz either needs new jewelry (according to Kay Jewelers) or a cell phone with better 3G coverage (according to Verizon wireless). Liz has been insisting that she neither needs, nor wants, either of these things. Instead, she just wants more scrapbooking material. With that in mind, we took a trip today to Hutchinson (about an hour away) to check out a few scrapbooking stores Liz found online.

The first store we went to didn't have anything Liz wanted. The second store didn't exist anymore. So, we stopped for lunch at Danny Boy's Smokehouse. Their BBQ is delicious (if you're ever visiting us, you're welcome to treat us to dinner there)!

We then drove to the Hutchinson Mall to look at the third scrapbooking store Liz had identified from her online search. Alas, it did not exist either. However, in order to salvage the trip, Liz stopped by Hobby Lobby and snagged plenty of paper, felt, and other scrapbooking materials (and all on sale too!).

While walking around the mall trying to find the scrapbooking store that is no longer in existence, we notice that the Kansas Depot had rented an empty store and was showing off their model railroading setups. What was really nice was that they didn't push us to buy anything, they just let us sit back and watch - they even gave David a free booklet of Thomas the Tank Engine. David was completely enthralled by the room and cried when we had to leave. In hindsight, we should have taken a picture of him with the trains. Alas, it is now too late.

Valentine's Day Gift

Ben's family never gave gifts to one another on Valentine's Day (or, if they did, he must have been left out). Liz, however, has encouraged Ben to have a more generous spirit. Thus, David and Analeigh will both receive a little gift. We've purchased a small Matchbox tanker truck for David. Liz has also been working on sewing a new outfit for Analeigh, as you can see below.

Making Sugar Cookies

The Valentine's Day week of activities continues with the making of sugar cookies. Analeigh and David both had the opportunity to use cookie cutters to make heart-shaped cookies, which they then decorated. While the decorative skills are questionable, the taste remains delicious!

Catch Me If You Can... Again

Last month we told you about David and Analeigh playing a game of chase. We explained it using pictures, but now we have video to share. Sure, it's just a minute and a half of one kid chasing the other, but, as an added bonus, you can enjoy listening to the Popcorn song in the background.

Growing Cookie Flowers

For today's Valentine's Day-themed activity, Liz helped the kids make cookie flowers. Each flower consists of a wooden skewer, a cookie, and two gumdrops to hold the cookie in place. David was not as interested in making the flowers as he was in putting them into the vase. However, he was more than happy to boss his mother around and tell her what color of gumdrops she should put on each skewer. In the end, we ended up with quite a lovely bouquet.

Valentine's Day Preparations

Tomorrow David's Story Time group at the library will be having a Valentine's Day party. So David got to make his Valentine's cards, in preparation for tomorrow's party. Liz decided David should take an active role, so David had to practice the letter D to go on all of his cards (Liz wrote the rest of his name). David then helped put the stickers on the cards to hold them shut.



Liz is planning on doing a number of holiday-themed activities, so expect a number of Valentine's Day oriented posts for this coming week.

Peek-A-Boo Fun

Analeigh had some fun this evening pulling off her own peek-a-boo game. Generally it involves Ben tossing a blanket over her head and having her find her own way out of it. Alas, tonight, Analeigh decided to use her doll's blanket on Liz's head. The results were much the same with Analeigh laughing at the end.

Mohawks

Long ago, Ben's dad used to give his kids mohawks using shampoo, while giving them baths. Well, the tradition continues with David...

Pudding Goatee

Tonight we had pudding as a treat. David and Analeigh love chocolate pudding. Fortunately, David has gotten old enough to eat it in a fairly clean manner. Analeigh, however, tends to sprout goatees out of pudding.