BRUCE the Builder!

Can we fix it? Yes we can!
This morning we drove to Rochester to go to the Strong Museum of Play for their opening of the new Bob the Builder exhibit. Bruce LOVED it! He was so excited that he got to meet Bob and play on all the fun things. Jane just loves everything in the museum and had a lot of fun playing everywhere. She did like picking flowers "with Wendy" in sunflower valley, and playing dress-ups. Kate slept through most of it. I enjoyed seeing my friend & her 2 cute kids again, and Brad enjoyed spending time with all of us.
Just in case you wanted to listen to the Bob the Builder theme music or play games, here is the link:
http://www.bobthebuilder.com/usa/bob_the_builder_official_US_website_homepage.htm

*Plus a bonus picture of Baby Cakes with lots of stickers her new friends put on her.
(Thanks Craig and Lori for the outfit!)

Kate's Head up high

Here's our sweet, strong, Kate holding her head up.
(This video doesn't really do her justice, she can hold it for a long time.
She gets a little ticked at the end though.)
*Yesterday I put her on the bed on her tummy and bent down to get something and when I looked at her, she had flipped over onto her back- oh no, now I really have to start watching her.

Bed's, Trains, and Popcorn

Bruce's favorite things:

Last Saturday B build Bruce's bed~ half way~ it still needs drawers and paint.

We got this train table for cheap in the classifieds.
It's all natural wood so it's not all cute and painted like other "Thomas" tables.
He loves that he can reach anywhere on the table to play.

Bruce loves to eat popcorn.
Yesterday I found him like this. He had gotten everything out himself and even poured the kernels in and was waiting for me to come plug it in.

Bowling!

Yeah! We found the bowling ally and sure had a great time.

We were really happy because it was clean, non-smoking, and a fun atmosphere

Footage of Bruce Bowling:


Jane liked picking out the bowling balls.

Kate liked smiling on the couches
THANK YOU STILLSONS for the cute "shoes"

B and Kate on a couch.
It's so cool because when your not bowling you sit on these big couches (tables are behind the couches.)

I won!

Wordless Wednesday (almost)

"The world laughs through flowers."

Saturday Morning Yard Sales

Across the nation Saturday morning can be a time full of wonderful Yard Sales, Western New York is no exception.
Here's our loot from last Saturday:

Scroll Saw ..............................$ 8

Chutes & Ladders .............. .50
Racko-O .............................. .25
Puzzle .................................. .25
Little Tikes B-Ball Hoop ..... $1
Tricycle .................................. $1
* Cute Bruce.... priceless
For a Grand Total of = $11

For the tricycle I bought some red spray paint and new handle bar things and wow:
Before:

After:

Also a big thanks to our friend Skigh for coming to visit and enduring a dinner at Duffs with our fam.
Kate was sure happy you came- big smiles!

Whipped Cream

Ahhhh !

We have this "fun" tradition on our family (as many of you may have as well) where whenever our kids see a bottle of whipped cream they go crazy and B squirts some into their mouths. Luckily Kate hasn't taken part yet.

Kate and I.
The weather has been so beautiful this whole week. "Fall" is in the air. We have really enjoyed spending a lot of time outside at parks, on walks, and playing with friends.

When my mom called the other day, I told her that it "smelled like apples." Growing up we had lots of apple trees and I remember picking an apple everyday before I went to school. This crisp air in the morning, school starting again, it all takes me back.

Kate's 2+month Stats!

Sweet Kate now weighs 11 lbs 4 oz and is 23 inches long.

Sorry it's a picture of a picture, but here's what she looked like at 2 months.

We took her in for her shots and she did so well.
She just had one small, delayed reaction to the last shot.
All the nurses kept saying, "Oh she's such a doll baby, so adorable and calm."

Modest Kate with Band aids.


Here are all their pictures on my wall (I'm getting Kate's frame today.) So cute!

Scissors

Scissors

~ such a small and simple thing, right?

Story: yesterday afternoon I was on the phone with Brad's mom and Jane came down with scissors and a bunch of hair missing (yes she did is again.)

I thought "Where are Katie, Sarah, and Naoma- oh not here." Luckily a friend had told me about a really cute kid's haircut place here. I called them and they said they were full for the day and then I asked her, "Do you know of any other place like you, my daughter just took scissors to her hair?" She said, "Come in right now."

So we drove there, fixed what we could, and she suggested I go buy some thick headbands and just try to hide her non-existent bangs so she could avoid any questions and embarrassment that may come. So we drove to the mall, got a bunch of headbands, and she's super cute again.

Luckily, the huge chunks of hair she cut off and all underneath her top layer of hair so you can't tell on those ones. We had (another) big talk about why we don't use scissors and cut our own hair, we'll keep you posted.

Sleep Kate & Smiles!

7 Hours!

Yea!
This whole week Kate slept from 10-5 every night and then went back to sleep after eating until 7:30. She is also keeping up her great track record of being a good sleeper during the day.
Oh, sleep feels so good. ..
Kate sleeping in "her pinkness."
(We put batteries in finally and the vibrating puts her right out.)

"Good Morning!" after a great night sleep.

Jane's Preschool!

Hooray! Jane made it through her first week at preschool and loved it! The preschool she attends is the only accredited pre-school in Western New York. Here's the web site if you want to look: http://www.gse.buffalo.edu/DC/ECRC/index.html
She really likes her teachers. One is named Brandon and he's just starting his PhD in Early Childhood Ed at the University of Buffalo. Another is named Jessica who just moved up here from Florida and is also pursuing her PhD and then there are 5 students who are working on their masters degrees.
The classroom/playground are great. "They learn through play," but the activities are all very well structured. There are, at most, 20 kids in her class from 11 different countries, so it's a cool group to be in.
It only take us 15 minutes from door to door, but I don't really like having to get everyone out of the car, walk to her class, then put the 2 remaining kids back into the car, but I'll live. Somedays B will take her on his way to work and that will be nice. (oh, she goes Monday-Thursday for 3 hours.) Here are some cute pictures:

Sooo excited to go to preschool!

Outside her new preschool.

Art work done during her 1st day
(Grandma Damstedt loves purple.)

We are so proud of our Jane! She is so smart and very creative. Both of the head teachers have already told me how wonderful she is and how she has such "a great imagination, she tells great stories." All the other student teachers have also told me how cute and awesome she is... we know!

Our Little Prince

Jane came downstairs wanting to dress up as a princess, so Bruce decided that he wanted to be a prince.

Luckily, there was a great looking outfit in the box from his cousins- Bruce 007!
Close up:
Our princess (too busy coloring to smile)

Beer Here!

Last Saturday night we went to a German/American Festival and wow- lots of beer. Apparently our city is sister-cities with Dortmund.

It was in a park in a city nearby and there was a big pavilion with lots of old drunk people at 5:30 p.m. There was also a little "bounce house" next to it where our kids and the few other kids that were there played.
We got dinner of Brats, potato salad, and kraut that was O.K., nothing like Siegfrieds. We did get to speak German to a few people and it was fun to listen to loud German music again.

Jane w/ sign


Beer Hall


Leaving (w/ bounce house behind)