Thank You Auntie Heidi

In Jonathan's words..."We finally got a package!  Yea!  Diana look...this is for you, this is for me.  This is sooo much fun!" Thank you Auntie Heidi for brightening the kids day with all of the Goodrich and flight show goodies.  Jonathan couldn't wait to put the plane on his bike and Diana loved her cup and the box of course.

Olympian

Another swimming day at GB and Grandpa's pool! Yay! The kids are loving the pool time and the extra time with GB and Grandpa Weeks'. I explained to Jonathan today that it is a special privilege surprisingly I think Jonathan may be learning a thing or two. Today at the pool, he said, do you want to watch me swim like an Olympian? He crouched down to the cement, like they do on the swimming blocks, dove in and swam using his arms really well. I was very impressed! He did this for awhile and we kept having Grandpa move further and further out in the pool. Eventually Jonathan was diving in almost to the first swimming lane line and then swimming past the third line, which is half the width of the pool! Next Grandpa suggested that Jonathan try and dive in between Grandpa's legs. After only a few times of Grandpa helping Jonathan swim down, Jonathan had the hang of it! We decided though that Grandpa was better than Mommy for this because his legs are longer. GB was teaching Jonathan how to play water polo today and I think he enjoyed that. After lunch, Jonathan really enjoyed playing with a little girl. GB's comment to me later was, Jonathan does like little girls more than Brad did at 4 years old. Oh man am I worried now!!!

Swimming

We Love Our Daddy

Diana has been getting jealous lately when Jonathan is sitting in someone's lap so she will manage to find a way into the lap too.  Today it so happened to be Brad's lap that everyone wanted to sit in, which was super adorable except for the fact that Brad had just finished working out and I am sure he was stinky.  Oh well, I guess kids don't care about such things.

Whole Foods Camp

Jonathan had his last camp of the summer this week, a cooking camp at Whole Foods. On Tuesday, they made pizzas and took a couple walks through the store. Wednesday was turkey rollup day and they got to go outside and see the stores garden. On Thursday, they made pasta and also pasta necklaces.  Friday was taco day, guacamole in a bag and sidewalk chalk.  He also got a cute little apron.  I think he enjoyed camp, especially since once again his buddies: Alivia, Rocco, Alex and Evan were there. 

So Many Animals

Jonathan is definitely my child...he loves stuffed animals. He has always had his "blankie-bear" but now we sleep with: party bear, airplane bear, chick, and whale. He carries them down every morning, which makes me nervous with the steep stairs, so we will need to put an end to that. Today he told me, "Mommy, I love blankie-bear so much, please do not ever get rid of them."

Jonathan's First Sleepover

Tara, Dean, and Wyatt came down tonight for a playdate and have dinner. Lucky for us, they lost power at their house due to the storm so they spent the night! Jonathan has been teasing me to have a sleepover, with any of his friends, so he was super excited! He slept on his top bunk and Dean slept on the lower bunk. We put them to bed around 7:45 and at first they were being quite and we were shocked. Well, pretty soon the giggling started. Jonathan was peeking down at Dean and then they started tossing their stuffed animals back and forth and talking. About 8:15 they settled in and actually fell asleep without us having to say anything. I must say I was impressed!

Really Happy Birthday Grandpa

It was Grandpa Weeks' actual birthday today and when I called him this morning and said happy birthday to him, Jonathan said "are you celebrating your birthday again today?". It was funny. So on our way to meet them at the pool, Jonathan decided that we should get something for Grandpa since it was his birthday. We stopped at busken to pick up cupcakes, although Jonathan really wanted donuts, I convinced him cupcakes were better for lunch. the kids loved the pool once again. Jonathan was doing a better with diving in today, not as much of a belly smacker. GB also enjoyed his cannon balls and said that he does a good job since those put him in a harder position to swim after going underwater. Diana wanted to have another tea party today with GB, not so much with me but with GB. Funny how she remembered that.  I went back to the house to let Diana take a nap and GB and Grandpa stayed with Jonathan to swim longer, this is our new deal.  This is what GB had to say about Jonathan's swimming while I wasn't there...

JT was trying to swim underwater and reach the bottom of the pool. He was close and we made a plan where I would push him down...........the first time he touched the bottom............what a smile! He picked up several items off the bottom with a little push. FUN!! He tried to copy a 7 year old girl who was retrieving items.

New Pancakes

I decided to make "healthy" pancakes from scratch this morning and when I asked Jonathan if he liked him...this is the face he gave me...

he eventually said yes, which I was happy to hear. 

Swimming with dean

We went to Momma G's again to swim and have dinner. The whole Gerstemeier family was there this time. It was nice for me to get to see everyone and they were all so helpful with the kids, since I am still flying solo with Brad being in Milwaukee. This family has always treated me as one of their own and I am so thankful for that.  The boys had fun with the riding toys again today but quickly figured out that it was really hot and that swimming might be a better idea.  Jonathan went down the slide today but didn't want to go down the diving board. 

Happy Birthday Grandpa Weeks

The kids and I went to GB and Grandpa Weeks' today to celebrate Grandpa's birthday. I think Jonathan thought it was his birthday. He kept saying Grandpa let's go play golf, Grandpa let's have a bonfire, Grandpa... He did keep a secret about what kind of cake and what was on the cake though. We met GB at the pool earlier in the day while Grandpa was golfing. After being an hour+ late (due to Diana taking a 2 hour morning nap and really bad traffic), Diana didn't get much swimming time but still had fun. Diana and GB had a little tea party, GB would pour the water in a little cup and Diana would dump it and laugh. It was really cute. Jonathan continues to love the water and improve everyday. He was doing "belly smackers" jumping in off the side of the pool today. I think he has his head underwater as much as he has it above water lately. We then all went to church together and Diana was very entertaining, as usual in church. She wasn't too loud, only screamed once, but she was all over the place. After church is when Grandpa or "Grampy" as Jonathan is now calling him, took him to the club to hit golf balls, then we had a wonderful dinner, had ice cream cake that had a golfer on it, opened presents and then had a bonfire. At 10 pm we were sitting by the bonfire and Jonathan said "mommy, I am ready for bed.". I don't know if I ever heard him say that before. I am pretty lucky to have such wonderful kids and in-laws to help while brad is in Milwaukee for work. It was a great day.

Another Playdate

Dean, Wyatt and Tara came to our house today for a playdate. Both dean and Jonathan were asking to play again today so why not!  What are we going to do when the Hamilton's go back to Texas?  The boys played really well together again today.  They have a little bit different personalities and have different interests but they always seemed to work it out.  It's been fun watching them play together.

Entertrainment Junction

We got to go to Entertrainment Junction today with the Gerstemeir crew. It was my first time going and Jonathan's second time. What a neat place! It was extra special because Daddy G helped build part of the exhibit. Actually him and Momma G have both volunteered a lot of time there. We got the inside scoop on what pieces they helped build, how things have evolved, etc. The kids had a great time! I left Diana home with grandpa Dave, which I think was a good decision, he said she was really good.

 The boys (Dean, Jonathan, Wyatt and Matthew) waiting for the train...

Playdate with Texans

We met Tara and Dean for breakfast this morning at T's favorite place, original pancake house. It's soooo yummy! The boys even know it's our place to go together. Diana let out a couple of her shrills and at one point the waitress said to me, "Is she your child who doesn't get out much?"  Ha! She is just at that tough age where she doesn't want to sit and has no clue how to behave in a restaurant. After breakfast, we went back to Momma G's for swimming and to play. Jonathan discovered some really cool riding toys, including one that looks like a race car.

Diving Board

Today we went and had breakfast with our good friends Tara and Dean at the Original Pancake House...yummy!  Afterwards we went back to Momma G's house to swim.  Jonathan is seriously a little fish and loves the water.  It makes me so happy.  Jonathan is doing great in the water, swimming, jumping in and holding his breath under water, so we decided to take it to the next level.  Lately we had been talking about since he was doing such a good job swimming that the next thing we needed him to work on was going off a diving board.  Momma G's house has a diving board and Dean said "Jonathan why don't you go off the diving board".  Jonathan said "OK" and off he went.  He loved it and kept going back for more.  I caught him but we both went under and would come up and then he would swim to the side.  I was very impressed!  I wish I would have had my video camera or had Tara take a picture.  Next time.  There was also a water slide which he enjoyed as well, but he did that last summer too.  :-)  Thank you Momma G and TT for inviting us to the pool today!  It was a very fun morning.

Buddy Dean

Jonathan's buddy Dean is in town from Texas! We went to Tara's parents house, I refer to them as Momma G and Daddy G, to swim and see them this morning after Diana's nap. I love how Jonathan and dean can go months without seeing each other and pick up right where they left off. It's really very sweet. Of course it was fun seeing Tara and Aaron and Diana had her little buddy Wyatt to play with. We have lots of fun things planned while they are here. I am so excited!

Fire Hose

Today while Diana was sleeping and Daddy was getting some stuff done, I decided to take Jonathan to the Fairfax pool.  It started to rain with thunder and lightning so we waited in the car for awhile, longer than I thought.  Eventually the sky turned blue and we were able to go swimming.  Yea!  It was family fun day at the pool so the firetruck showed up, of course just as we were leaving.  Well luckily for Jonathan, not so lucky for Mommy, Jonathan had enjoyed "driving" so much while we waited out the storm, that we drained the car battery.  Oopsie.  We had to get a jump from the pool manager but we had to wait since the fire truck was there.  This allowed Jonathan to listen to the firefighters talk about their truck and fires, go inside the fire truck and Jonathan's favorite go back in the pool and swim.  Not only did he get extra swimming time but he got sprayed by the fire hose!  They sprayed the pool for about an hour.  It was a little chilly but very fun.  There was lots of kids screaming and laughing.  I have never experienced something like that before.  Unfortunately, we were over an hour late getting home and Daddy didn't get his workout in as planned so we felt bad about that but we sure did have fun!  Uncle Kyle, Aunt Amanda and Cousin Natalie came over for dinner to end the day.  It was an eventful but great Sunday.

Love My Garden

The garden is seriously one of the best things we have done.  Not only do Brad and I love the fresh vegetables, the kids do too!  I know this is odd but Diana loves to chew on the swiss chard stems.  Today she took a whole leaf from me and was perfectly content just chewing on it and eating it while I cooked dinner.  She also LOVES tomatoes.  Any time she sees the little cherry tomatoes on my salad or plate she points and whines until I give her one. 



Nature Camp

Jonathan had nature camp this week at Ault park.  It was a hot week, although not as hot as last week, but he survived every day from 9:30-11:30 outside.  The week focused on the five senses: touch (Monday), sight (Tuesday), smell (Wed), hearing (Thurs) and taste (Friday).  On Monday, he learned about nocturnal animals and specifically the possum.  He made a possum craft and showed me how they hang from their tails by hanging his possum in a tree.  Then on the way to the car, we stopped at the playground so he could show me how he can hang upside down from the pull up bar.  Tuesday he got to play with a frog named Beatrice, made a bat mask craft and learn about camouflage.  Since he learned about camouflage on Tuesday, he decided that he had to wear camo the rest of the week.  Good thing Grandpa Gordy has supplied us with lots of camo gear.  Jonathan had a different camo outfit to wear the rest of the week.  He wanted to wear his camo flip flops too but tennis shoes were a must.   On Wednesday, he got to pet a box turtle and made an owl craft.  It's funny that he got to learn about frogs and turtles since we caught both of those in MN.  He was very excited to tell his teacher Ashley and buddies all about it.  Thursday the kids got to go down to the creek.  He got his shoes "a little wet" according to him, I thought they were soaked, because him and his friends thought it would be a good idea to jump in the creek to see how deep it was.  He also brought home a mini garden with dill, cilantro and basil growing in it...well hopefully...he planted seeds I should say.  Friday was another creek day and they made a "snail in the garden" cookie using Oreos, vanilla frosting and gummi worms.  Jonathan asked when he was going to get to do nature camp again so I think it is safe to say that he enjoyed it.  He of course had his little buddies Alivia, Rocco, Alex and Evan to play with and talked about his new friend Tommy.  

Diana's First Haircut

Diana got her first haircut today! Jonathan had one scheduled and as I was looking at Diana's hair earlier this week and how out of control it looked, I decided it was time for her first haircut. I may have rushed it a little bit because the lady today me I couldn't really trim the sides because then she would look like a boy. So she still has wings that I just need to keep training to tuck behind her ears and wait for it to grow out. She told me I could put product in her hair and I kind of laughed, considering I don't use any in my hair I don't think my 1 year old needs to. Diana didn't want to sit on her own animal stool, she kept trying to get down, so I had to hold her. She didn't cry at all, but she didn't want to sit still at all...Lynee said she got her workout this morning. Diana also got new shoes today...she jumped a full size (wearing a 4.5 now) No wonder I was having to jam her feet in her old pair.

Out of control hair...

 Before...

 After...
(she was really hard to get pictures of..wouldn't sit still and I don't like her paci in her mouth but that was the only way I could get her to sit)

Fairfax Pool

I have been promising Jonathan all week now that we would go to the fairfax pool. We really haven't been a lot this summer and with just getting back from vacation, I figured it would be a good activity since he is doing so well with his swimming. Well Monday, Diana slept until almost 5 so we didn't make it. Tuesday, I woke Diana up from her nap, which I never do, so we could go, only to get there and have the pool be closing for a swim meet. We finally made it today!  The kids enjoyed the pool and I continue to be impressed with Jonathan's swimming.

Diana 14 Month Update

Diana is 14 months!!! Jonathan corrects me though and says "no mom, she is 1 year old.". I rarely say how many months she is anymore because of that, which makes it harder to remember how many months she is. I actually got called out on the fact that I don't know how many months she is off the top of my head because I knew to the week with Jonathan...poor second child. Sorry Diana! (I turned out ok though and I was a second child). Either way, Diana is growing up too quickly. Not that she ever enjoyed being held, but since she started walking she is really on the move! She sleeps from 7 pm to about 6:30 am, naps from 9-10 am and again from 1-3 pm, drinks about 5 (8 oz) bottles, eats 3 meals a day of "real" food (there is no baby food for this girl...she doesn't like to be fed, wants to do it herself), she is doing really well with signing more and all-done, she will shake her head yes and no when you ask her questions...mostly when it involves food if she wants/doesn't want it or she shakes her head no when she knows she isn't supposed to touch/do something.  In addition to babbling and saying "Mama, Dada and BroBro" she now says "Oh Oh" when she drops something, thanks to Nana teaching her that while we were in MN.  Oh Oh was one of my first words after "No No."

Don't Mind If I Do

Diana decided to help herself to some graham crackers this afternoon.  She has been loving sitting in Jonathan's old car seat (he is now in the booster) inside the house so I have just let it sit in our kitchen for a few days.  Today she grabbed the box of graham crackers from inside the lazy susan, which she can get to, and got in the car seat herself and started eating.  She was SO proud of herself.  This probably entertained herself for about 30 minutes, getting in and out of the car seat and eating.  She likes this car seat so much that I think we will move her out of her pumpkin seat into this one sometime this week.



Jonathan Practice Reading

We have been working on Jonathan reading this summer. My rule with the library summer reading program this year is that it only counts if he helps read the book. I have to time the reading when he is not tired or full of energy. He is doing better, at least I can keep his attention for 1 to 2 books and he is really starting to recognize sight words and words that are repeated over and over in the book. He doesn't have patience to sound out words quite yet though...no idea where he gets that from.

Walking

Apparently Diana needed to stretch her legs after sitting in the car for 12+ hours.  We got home and Diana seemed tired after dinner so I put her to bed around 6:45, which I admit I thought was a tad early but she fell asleep.  Well at 8:30 she decided it was time to get up, I think she thought she was just taking a nap.  She wanted NOTHING to do with her bed or bedroom for that matter.  After an hour of trying to get her back to sleep, I decided to bring her downstairs.  She was happy as good be and decided it was time to start walking.  Up until this point, she would take a few steps on her own or walk holding a finger from one hand of someones but not anymore.  This girl is off!  It's crazy to me that it finally just clicked for her.  She practiced her walking until 11 pm when I finally decided she had to go to bed, which she did reluctantly.

On the Road Again

We woke the kids up bright and early this morning, 4:30 eastern time, to get back on the road again.  We weren't even 10 minutes into the drive and Jonathan had to go potty...my fault for not making him go before we left but he was so sleepy.  Diana finally fell asleep at 5:30 and slept until 7.  Jonathan finally fell asleep at 6:30, after I told him that if he slept we would stop and get donuts.  At 7:10 he woke up and said "Where is the donut?"  The kid doesn't forget a thing!  At 9 am we made our first stop to get gas and donuts.  Diana took another nap around 9:30 for about an hour.  Jonathan played on the iPad a lot, as I had downloaded him a bunch of new aps that he was really enjoying.  Around noon when we were downtown Chicago, Jonathan was watching the movie "Cars."  He was cheering and making comments and Brad didn't realize that Jonathan was watching a movie so he thought Jonathan was cheering for his driving.  It was so funny I was in tears.  At 1:30 we made our 2nd stop of the day, mainly for gas and a potty break.  Brad timed us this time, 13 minutes.  Not bad!  Diana took another nap right after that stop and slept for about an hour.  The kids then played with a bunch of toys and read lots of books.  With only about an hour left of our drive, we had to stop for the 3rd time as Jonathan had to go potty.  We pulled into our driveway at 5:30, which included stopping off to pick up a pizza.  Brad and I were both amazed at how well the kids were in the car.  Remarkable really.  Jonathan even said "That wasn't so bad.  I could do that again sometime."

Bonus Day

We were supposed to leave yesterday, but because the kids were so good on the car trip up and because it rained yesterday, we decided to stay another day.  Yea!  I am calling in the bonus day.   Grandpa Gordy has been getting up early with the kids, well mainly just Diana as Jonathan has been sleeping in.  He takes her for walks and I think enjoys their special time together.  It was a beautiful day and I think we all enjoyed the extra time together.  It was almost like the first day where we had to do it all.  We went back to the pool to swim in the morning.  I think it is safe to say that swimming has "clicked" with Jonathan now.  In the afternoon we hung out at the beach, swimming, jet ski riding.  After Diana woke up from her nap, we went on a boat cruise.  We stopped in the middle of the lake so Jonathan could go swimming...well he had to go potty too...but did that off the back of the boat.  Diana really wanted to get in the lake with Brad and Jonathan.  I think she partly was concerned about them because she would not take her eyes off them.  When we got back to shore, there were 3 frogs hanging out on the beach so of course we had to catch them.  Jonathan started chasing Heidi with them and she flipped out as expected.  Later on, Jonathan was playing with the frogs and a claw type shovel and he said "Don't worry Heidi, I think I killed it." We went into the diner for dinner and the kids enjoyed watching them make malts...of course we had to get one to try ourselves.  Diana even liked it!  We had another campfire and down on the beach, Jonathan had built the "Ohio" river with Nana, Grandpa Gordy and Auntie Heidi.  When I came down from putting Diana to bed, Jonathan said "Mommy, come look at this.  It's incredible!"  He looked at me then and said, "Mom, is it ok if I get these [shorts] dirty?"  When I said yes, he said, "Boys do what boys do."  I have no idea where he came up with that but it was hilarious.  He has the best one lines.  All in all it was a great vacation and a wonderful bonus day!

First Tennis Lesson

Jonathan had his first tennis lesson today.  He was really excited about it and was enjoying it until about 15 minutes into it when it started to rain.  They did go inside and played for a little bit, which Jonathan thought was super cool.  He learned the parts of the racket, open/close face of the racket, a game called "popcorn", how to balance a ball on the face, and then inside they "walked the dog" and played hockey with the tennis balls.  Back at the cabin, Jonathan got to play one of my favorite games, Hotels.  It pretty much rained on and off all day so we played in the garage with all sorts of things, including a huge bucket of sidewalk chalk Nana had bought.  Daddy also took Jonathan over to the indoor pool at Madden's to work on his swimming.  Jonathan fished off the dock with daddy tonight and caught some more fish.  I don't know what he likes better...swimming or fishing.  Diana was silly tonight...enjoying trying on a raccoon hat (probably because she saw BroBro wearing it) and then decided to sit on top of the car ramp...why not right?!? 

Jonathan Swimming

We went over  to Madden's today and played at the playground, played some tennis, lawn bowling, shuffle board, badmitten...basically everything they had to offer.  It was a fun morning!  Diana went for a walk with Auntie Heidi and fell asleep.  Grandpa Gordy surprised us by ordering a pizza for lunch.  While I took Diana home to nap, Jonathan, Auntie Heidi and Daddy headed back to the Madden's pool.  When the rest of us joined them later, I was amazed at how well Jonathan was doing swimming.  He no longer used his water wings, was swimming underwater with his goggles on and going a fairly far distance.  Daddy was working with him on coming up to take breaths and then keep swimming.  Nice work Daddy!

Buddy Sam

Jonathan and Sam have become quite the buddies.  It is nice for Jonathan to have some one to play with.  They pretend the hammock or the swing are their rocket ship and the blast to the moon.  They started using a sand bucket filled with sand as their gas.  They also enjoyed the toy cap guns and fishing tackle box.  The two of them have quite the imagination so it was fun listening to them play.  They even enjoyed sharing smores and talking.   Sam is very intelligent and was super adorable.  Jonathan also got to go fishing tonight out on Uncle Jason's fishing boat (shhh don't tell) with Daddy and Grandpa Gordy.  He eventually tried the fish and said he liked it. 

 



Happy 4th of July

Jonathan, Nana and Grandpa Gordy started off the forth of July by participating in the boat parade in the wood boat.  Jonathan thinks the wood boat is special, which it is.  Nana thought Jonathan might have fallen asleep if it would have been just a bit longer.  He was tired today, so after a lot of convincing, he finally took a nap...and he slept 3 hours!  He was promised he could stay up for fireworks if he took a nap.  The bummer of the day though was that it actually stormed really bad tonight and the fireworks were cancelled. 

Catch of the Day

Jonathan got to help Uncle Jason plow the beach today with his cub cadet tractor. This is the first time Jonathan has gotten to drive an actual tractor and he thought he was hot stuff. Uncle Jason had a lot of patience with Jonathan. Diana started making this really fun face lately.  I call it her intense look and Auntie Heidi caught it on camera to show everyone!  She makes it quite frequently but can't figure out why she does it.  Diana got to experience her first boat ride today.  She was actually very content and didn't fuss about her life jacket at all.  Although it did tip her over when she tried to stand with it at first.  Uncle Jason let Jonathan help drive the boat too.  The horn is still Jonathan's favorite part of the speedboat.  After the boat ride, the boys provided entertainment by trying to catch fish with nets.  Of course it turned into a competition.  I was impressed with the number of fish that were caught.  Jonathan even caught one off the end of the dock with a fishing pole.  To top the catching of the day, Daddy caught a painted turtle.  Diana was very interested in the turtle...she kept going over to the bucket and saying "Ohhhh" and pointing at it.  She also tried to put sand, sticks etc into the bucket so then Jonathan decided the turtle might be hungry and shared some of his popcorn with it.  Jonathan met a new friend today.  A little boy named Sam, 5 years old, was staying at the cabin next door.  Instantly Jonathan and Sam became friends and played very well together. 

Beach Day

It stormed last night but luckily both kids slept right through it. Diana did wake up this morning screaming though and I could hear Jonathan on the monitor saying "It's ok Diana, I'll go get Mommy & Daddy." She of course screamed louder when he left the room but he is such a good big brother and does a good job taking care of her. Today both kids got to experience the hot tub and loved it. Diana threw a fit until we allowed her to go in. She has to do everything "Bro Bro" does. I think she might be inheriting my nickname of "me too" soon. Jonathan took Nana, well everybody really, for a ride on the jet ski today. He went so fast that Nana started calling him speedy Gonzales. I think we may need to find the "kid" (i.e., slower) key.

Do It All

Today Jonathan could not do everything fast enough. He seriously tried to do it all. I am pretty sure he rode in every boat/water vehicle possible and was in or by the lake all day. I guess we did go to the playground for a little bit after church but otherwise it was a beach day. We had a good old fashion water gun fight, which ended with Jonathan throwing buckets of water on Nana.  Jonathan discovered Uncle Jason's snorkle gear and had a blast with it.  Diana loved the water too and enjoyed playing in the sand with a bucket and shovel as well as riding the toy bulldozer. We finished the night with a bonfire, to roast marshmallows, per Jonathan's request. It was too hot to really sit by the fire but we hung out at the tiki bar.