Paiges Upon Pages

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-09-25T22:07:00.010-05:00

Okay...so I know I haven't posted pictures from the final days of summer (read: State Fair) and I'm about to post my second set of "Fall" activities. In my defense: It's going to take 120 minutes to get all the State Fair pictures and videos off the camera...and even unemployed I don't have time for that. ALSO, we are trying to squeeze in a little Fall fun while we are still a family of 3! Enjoy these pictures from Anoka County Farms today!

Paige colored this pumpkin for the Anoka County Farms coloring contest. Dad printed it this morning and Paige worked very hard on it as you can see!

Fun in the pumpkin patch!

Fun with Farm Animals! (That's Chico the pony)

Paige picked out a "Jack-B-Little" and got him all washed up. Then, Daddy helped her paint him blue and pink.

...And here are a few more pictures we posed for...

One last photo op before we left...Paige is getting pretty big! She took this nice pic of Daddy herself.

And finally...Pumpkin Bowling...which we didn't do....because Paige pinched her finger between two bowling pins and started to cry....a good sign that it was time to head home, eat lunch, and take NAPS!

Scarecrow makin' 2011

2011-09-21T10:10:00.007-05:00

We did this in 2009 too...

You provide the clothes and Bachman's provides the rest for free!

A FEW of the things Paige has been up to this summer...

2011-08-31T09:07:00.011-05:00

Paige (as usual) had a busy summer playing barbies, swimming, reading books, playing games and just being her silly self. She also had her FIRST s'more on Memorial weekend, her FIRST Twins game (see previous blog post) and her FIRST trip to the dentist! Here are just a few of the videos and pictures that captured the action. :)

Paige's First Baseball Game

2011-06-11T01:56:00.004-05:00

June 10th, 2011. Paige went to her FIRST Major League Baseball game! (Mommy's first game at Target Field by the way....)

Here she is waiting for "The Baseballers" to come out on to the field.

Paige and Daddy.

Paige and Mommy.

It started to get cold and rainy so we found Gram and ate some chips where it was dry.

It started to REALLY rain, so Paige caught some raindrops to wash down the chips.

We left at nine when the Rangers were winning 8 to 1 I think. Paige's shoes and socks were wet from jumping in a puddle and she had a tummy ache from all the cotton candy. She cried a little on the way home. Her reason? she "wanted to watch the rest of the football game!"

Easter 2011

2011-04-30T14:30:00.010-05:00

Waiting to start the Easter Egg Hunt.

Uncle Ben sees one....

Papa tried to give her an onion.

Spoons Anyone?

2011-04-18T20:12:00.001-05:00

Big News

2011-04-14T06:42:00.002-05:00

You can't always get what you wah-aunt....

2011-03-04T21:21:00.001-06:00

While the baby sleeps...

2011-02-25T06:19:00.007-06:00

A friend posted a link to these pictures on facebook and I couldn't resist posting them on the blog. So cute!

This little girl’s mother is a computer specialist from Helsinki, Finland. While her daughter is soundly asleep, she creates a completely different world … from whatever she can find around her! What a truly fabulous imagination!--buzzfeed.com

How to eat Dairy Free!

2011-02-09T20:12:00.009-06:00

Paige was re-tested for her Milk allergy in December and unfortunately it hasn't improved. Actually she's had some big food reactions this year on a couple of occasions and the lab results from December showed an increase of the allergy.

To be honest, its been a relatively small adjustment to meal planning....frankly we cook more "real" food than we probably would if she didn't have special food needs (ie. its easier to wash, peel, cook, and mash a potato than it is to look for allergen free instant mashed potatoes).

That being said, we are not the only ones who feed her. Friends, family, and her daycare family have a lot to say about what she eats. I feel bad burdening *real* people with the task of reading and re-reading labels, asking for ingredients lists at restaurants, and preparing/packing "special" food for Paige.

*Mike and I don't count as *real* in this scenario because as parents you do whatever your kid needs and its not extraordinary (even if its difficult) because you were always going to do it....because your kid needed you to....does that make sense?

THAT being said, food labels are kind of fascinating to me now....

Food manufactures are required to list the "big 8" allergens that are present in their packaged foods or MAY be present in their packaged foods. That includes: MILK, EGGS, PEANUTS, WHEAT, SOY, TREE NUTS, FISH & SHELLFISH.

THAT being said, milk (and milk PROTEIN) are hidden in a lot of packaged foods. Things like cooking spray, Carmel color (like in syrup), even hot dogs (if casine or casin are listed as ingredients) may be sneaking dairy in where you didn't expect it.

The most fascinating parts of food label are the Kosher symbols. They are (well....they were) kind of cryptic and mysterious, but have been VERY helpful!

Any foods that contain the above symbols indicate that the food was prepared in accordance with Jewish Dietary Laws. The symbols each represent a different Jewish organization that monitored the process, facility, and the food itself.

Most often we see the "circle U" or "circle K" symbols. These are okay for Paige.

We also look for food labeled "pareve", "parve" or "parev". These foods contain no meat or dairy!

The kicker..... a "P" in Kosher symbolism stands for "passover"....NOT parve (or pareve or parev for that matter)

ALSO! if you see a "D" next to the "circle U" or "circle K" symbols, it DOES contain DAIRY!

(so....D for dairy, but P for passover....not parve....)

ALSO! You might come across a "DE" after the "circle U" or "circle K" symbols....this means the food was processed on "dairy equipment"

Like I said, I think its kind of interesting....makes grocery shopping a little more like a treasure hunt than anything....frustrating at times, but an interesting challenge!

I've pictured some food labels below to help clarify a few things....

This is okay for Paige. Wheat and Soy are two of the "big 8" listed here....but not milk. A quick look at the ingredient list looks good too!

Circle U and Pareve. Both good!

Nothing in these potato chips that can hurt her! Well....the carbs....and the sodium...but that's not really what were talking about right now.....

Circle U. This is a good symbol for her (stands for Orthodox Union by the way).

Kosher, Parve, Yummy!

Circle K= good Circle K +D = bad

This one lists MILK....one of the big 8.

Can you spot the dairy allergens listed above? There are 3 that you actually should recognize...(by that I mean regular people don't know what the heck disodium guanylate is).
Answer will appear at the end of this post!

Here's another shot of that pesky "D".

Before you start feeling too bad for Paige, she's not really missing out on much.

She can eat marshmallows and we buy parve butter. We can turn ANY dairy free cereal into "rice krispy" style treats! She drinks gallons of vanilla soy milk (which I HIGHLY recommend). You can even warm up a mug of vanilla soy, stir it with a candy cane, and have "Hot Cocoa".

She eats tofutti cheese and has dairy free CHOCOLATE ice cream! A lot of great "junk food" is dairy free and on her list of favorites (namely, fruit snacks & skittles).

Some "normal" food we've eaten recently includes Ham, turkey sandwiches, meatloaf, spaghetti, hot dogs, chicken drummies, all kinds of fruits and veggies, baked beans....we just don't eat a lot of pizza and mac & cheese...

Here is Paige with her birthday cake, totally Dairy FREE. Duncan Hines cake mix & whipped frosting...bought it in the same section of the grocery store with all the other cake mixes!

ANSWER: Whey, Cream, Butter

Mom and Dad got their hair did

2011-02-08T10:21:00.003-06:00

Gingerbread Building with Lainey

2010-12-28T12:34:00.009-06:00

Since Paige was sick the weekend before Christmas (....which happened to be the weekend we celebrated Christmas with the extended families...) She didn't have a chance to play with any of her cousins....

So today....

Aunt Cher came over with Miss Lainey to make a gingerbread house!

The girls played for a little bit together (don't know WHAT they were playing...but there was a lot of giggling and A LOT of toys out) and then got to work on decorating...and eating....

...and decorating...

...and eating...

...and decorating...

...and smiling...

They both seemed to enjoy themselves, though Paige's inner diva showed up just as Lainey was heading home. A quick lunch and a loooong nap was a nice way to end this fun morning!

Birthday dinner with Mom & Dad- & one more party with cousins Katie & Jakey

2010-12-08T21:33:00.007-06:00

November 27th-Christmas tree & 3rd birthday party

2010-11-28T10:51:00.010-06:00

On Saturday Gram, Papa, Auntie Jessie, Uncle Jaden, Auntie Katie & Uncle Ben came over to go Christmas tree hunting, eat pizza, cake & icecream, and celebrate Paige's 3rd birthday!

Halloween Pictures

2010-11-13T07:58:00.004-06:00

Grand Slam

2010-10-22T15:51:00.012-05:00

To make the most of our MEA weekend together, Paige and I went on a couple of "field trips." First, we went to Anoka County Farms Pumpkin Patch. We had a great time walking through the pumpkins, playing in a wagon, running, pretending a little shed was Dorothy's house, running, eating marshmallows, picking out 3 pumpkins, running, and running. No pictures. They would've been blurry anyway...

On Friday I took Paige to Grand Slam. I knew they had some bouncy house things but I wasn't sure what they would be like, if it would be crowded etc. Turns out we were the only ones there who wanted to play in the bounce house area....for 2 hours! This was great because Paige could let loose without getting shy around other kids, taking a strangers knee to the face and so on. Actually, the only other family there when we arrived happened to be the Hagerty's...I didn't feel too bad skipping the MEA convention when my Principal was at Grand Slam too....

She enjoyed the "jumping castle" for a while, but spent most of her time inside a giant yellow dragon.

CORN

2010-10-22T15:24:00.008-05:00

Persuasive Appeals Ethos Logos Pathos

2010-09-22T00:51:00.001-05:00

Persuasive Appeals Ethos Logos Pathos

This post has little to nothing to do with Paige...though I have a feeling she will be a master at persuasive appeals in about 10 years....this video is actually just being posted here as a "back-up" location...I'm using it for a class and in the event I can't persuade the video from teachertube I want it available here....anyway, enjoy!

Divide and Conquer

2010-09-20T20:36:00.003-05:00

With both of us working full time, Mike a full time student, and me teaching night school, we've taken a divide and conquer approach to many of our weeknights.

I'm not going to lie....I feel a certain sense of dread the nights driving home from a long day at Jackson knowing that I'll be "on duty" afterschool, through dinner, and bedtime routine while Mike does schoolwork.

But

Actually being on duty is so cool. Tonight for example:

-Pick up Paige from Linda's
-Hang pictures Paige drew today on fridge
-Listen to Paige tell stories about said pictures (from what I can gather there was a camel in a mud puddle)
-Color more pictures
-Be disappointed that our markers don't smell good like Linda's
-Put on Dorothy Dress and Ruby slippers
-Decide we should go potty after we are dressed up
-Turn on radio in playroom and blast toddler songs
-March in a circle clapping hands and stomping feet per Paige's request until SHE gets tired
-Dump out the piggy bank and talk about who is on each coin. Say goodbye as we return them to the pig ("bye Lincoln!)
-Still dressed as Dorothy, head out to grab a few things for dinner.
-See a train on the way home and roll down windows to hear it better
-Discuss how much/little said train resembles Thomas
-Honk car horn at said train per Paige's request
-Find two sticks in the driveway that make great swords
-Find a leaf in the driveway and discuss why we DON'T need to drive to Gram's in Fridley to show her
-Hug and kiss Dad
-Wash hands for dinner
-Open up every green bean to eat just the "baby" beans inside
-Bath
-Wash Paige's hair while she washes Goofa's baldy head
-Watch the whirlpool together while we drain the tub
-Wrap her in TWO towels and cuddle because she's 'fweezing'
-Comb hair, brush teeth, put on footy jammies
-Candyland!
-Mommy loses fair and square
-Turn off the lights, lay on the rug & listen to the rain song together
-Pick a book and head to the rocking chair
-Read, Pray & finally tuck her in for the night.

As summer comes to an end

2010-08-22T00:08:00.008-05:00

I'm going to miss seeing this face all day.

Summer 2010

2010-08-16T09:09:00.002-05:00

I scream you scream.....

2010-07-26T01:04:00.003-05:00

Even after nearly 7 years of marriage, there are still things that Mike and I don't know about one another.

Today we decided to get serious and talk about something that we had been putting off for too long. Ice cream. What we like, what we don't like. It was raw and honest. Think you know what each of us had to say?

Click on the link below to find out!

2010 Gonzalez Family Ice Cream Preferences Quizlet!

Be sure to click on "Show the Answers" when you get your results.

Have fun!

The Beach...the waves kiss your feet....the sand is your seat....

2010-07-16T14:40:00.009-05:00

Paige and Mommy headed out the "The Lakes" today with the beach calling to us. Its a great beach and it was a gorgeous day. We played in the parks splash pad (fountain thingy), swam, built sand castles, splashed, danced, laughed, went potty on a big potty twice, shared our toys with a baby, ate lunch, and layed out on the beach. Papa and Uncle Ben joined us after a while too!

Pumpkins July 12 (and a B'dazzled birdhouse)

2010-07-12T00:17:00.006-05:00

Paige is having a summer fling with Elmer's school glue and B'jewels. She made 4th of July Goodies for the three of us and Auntie Jessie, Uncle Jaden, Uncle Ben, Auntie Katie, Papa and Grandma...AND was disappointed that Kirby (Auntie's dog) didn't need a foam can cooler covered in B'jewels & Glitter & Stickers. This weekend we painted and B'dazzled a birdhouse for the back yard. This fling has the makings of a 'lets cover things in glue & glitter' lasting love affair.

Here are some updated pumpkin pictures from today, July 12th. You can see that the leaves that were hit with the mildew are just not ever going to be the same. Luckily the secondary vines look healthy enough. No apparent damage from the vine borer I spotted earlier this month, but I applied pesticide tonight just to be safe (organic-orshmanic).

huh......

2010-07-07T08:44:00.004-05:00

Apparently these female flowers show up as quickly as they die....

Yesterday I had 2 ONLY and I looked HARD for any others....

This morning I have 5?!?

They are really small still...(smaller than a pea) with the exception of the first two (up to marble maybe).

I'll keep my fingers crossed...they are about the same size as the first 8 that shrivled up and died....

OH! No sign of any squash borer eggs or damage....for now :)

Males are doing just fine as you can see.

Do you want the good news or the bad news?

2010-07-06T08:49:00.005-05:00

UPDATE:

Since Paige is napping I headed out to our pumpkin patch and started poking around again. In between swatting mosquitos and trying not to cry I found another female flower! Here are some pictures that show how the plants look overall plus the two females. You can see there is a lot of leaf damage (presumably from the mildew) but there are a few good vines...

By the way, the yellow flowers are fine. They are only open and pretty for a few hours in the morning...it was 4:00pm and MUGGY when I took these pictures so.....

ALSO
Last week while I was fertiliz-insecti-fungiciding I spotted a HORRIBLE red-moth-bee-monster.

Turns out its a squash vine borer.

And they are bad. Very bad.

IF my insecticide wasn't enough to prevent this horrible thing from laying eggs on the vines then I'm in BIG trouble.

So....

Now I'm on the lookout for tiny eggs, tiny holes, and something called "frass".

And.....

If I find any of the above mentioned items, the only way to rid/save my plants is to locate the area of the vine where I suspect the squash vine borer larvae to be, cut it open and (blech) remove the worm (BLECH)!

ORIGINAL POST:

The good news is the heavy rains we've gotten this weekend provided a nice refreshing drink for the pumpkin patch.

The bad news is it doesn't matter because most of the female flowers have shrivled up and died.

The good news is at least I don't have to worry about the wet weather kicking up the powdery mildew because dead plants don't care!

The bad news is I have to look at said dead plants for several more months.

The good news is despite all the trauma there is one ONE little female flower that seems to be thriving. We still have a chance to get one pumpkin....so....I guess I'll keep you posted....

Here she is. No pressure little lady.....

Update

2010-07-02T08:39:00.004-05:00

Those of you in the blogosphere who also happen to be facebook friends already know that our pumpkins were stricken with powdery mildew. I tried to fight it off with fungicide but it didn't seem to help as much as the (finally) hot dry weather we've had the last week or so. It rained 20 days in June which was great for the roots but terrible for the leaves. In the end, all three plants were affected....and I'd say about 1/2 the total foliage. I ended up removing some of the worst leaves leaving a gaping hole in one plant....I think at this point I'm just going to have to let nature take its course.

There are still A LOT of male flowers blooming everyday and I've even seen 8 to 10 teeny tiny female buds. Of course there haven't been a lot of bees (fungicide /insecticide may have discouraged them from stopping by) and I'm not sure how the loss of soooo many leaves will affect the plants long term (shade, photosynthesis that kind of thing). Anyway, here are some pictures from today, July 2nd.

You can see they've grown a lot since we planted in May.

The little 'Howden Pumpkin' tag as a reference point.

Here is the big bare spot after I cut some leaves. You can see how the mildew is still killing a few off. Do you see the leaf that is yellow with black crispy stuff around the edge?

Here is how the mildew looks early on....

One of many many many male flowers that open every morning.

Here is what a male flower bud looks like. They are much larger than the females, bloom first, and are missing the little 'swelling' that the females have.

Here is a female. Not a great picture because they are still so small. See the round thing at the base of the flower? THAT is what becomes the pumpkin! Well....it has the potential anyway.....I still need this little gal to grow, bloom, be pollinated, grow again, ripen, and be harvested.....THEN it will be a pumpkin....

On a side note....a family of chipmunks have moved in about 6 inches from where I need to turn the hose off and on. They are NOT happy about it.

Twilight Tribute

2010-06-30T14:53:00.001-05:00

Only got a couple of hours of sleep last night after the midnight showing of Eclipse. Paige is napping now so I'd better do the same. YOU however, should play this AWESOME InTeRaCtIvE Youtube game. Good luck!

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

2010-06-27T02:13:00.002-05:00

Here is a short video of Paige's trip to the Emerald City today.

Pumpkin Progress-First Flowers

2010-06-24T08:19:00.005-05:00

The first male flowers have bloomed on two of the three pumpkin plants! I had do get up early this morning and take these pictures because these flowers won't last long. The purpose of these guys is to attract the bees that will later be responsible for pollinating the female flowers.

Father's Day

2010-06-21T01:41:00.012-05:00

Its been a very buy father's day weekend! Last year Mike missed out on a lot of Father's Day fun because we were fresh out of the hospital and still being very cautious. This year we decided to really live it up!

On Saturday we headed to the zoo as a combo "You-filled-a-whole-sticker-chart-for-going-potty-on-your-potty-chair-and-not-your-big-girl-underwear" AND Father's day celebration.

On Sunday morning we ate cinnamon rolls and skipped church to go to Costco instead!

On Sunday afternoon Grandma and Papa came over for lunch and finger painting/playing in a bucket of water.

Sunday evening Paige and Daddy built a fort! After Paige was in bed Mommy and Daddy got to stay up and watch a movie.

In case you are wondering: Daddy got a card from Mommy and one from Paige (hers had a pigtailed skateboarding girl on it). Daddy also got a lantern for his canoe trip (pictured below) and new underwear (Which Paige told him about on Saturday).

My favorite father's day moment (and I think I speak for Mike here as well) was when Paigey crawled into our bed, leaned down to Mike's face and in a very sweet voice said "Happy Mother's day Daddy!"

Pumpkin Progress

2010-06-20T07:20:00.007-05:00

A few shots of the pumpkin seedlings the day they were planted (Mid May)

A few of them in early June...coming along nicely.....

Here they are in mid June (Father's day weekend). They are getting plenty of water with the rain we've gotten plus lots and LOTS of water from the hose. I've lost a couple of leaves to pests, but not bad....a little worried they might not be getting enough sun sometimes...

I can't distinguish between the male and female flowers yet, BUT there sure are a lot of them!

Pumpkins for sale?

2010-05-29T07:36:00.012-05:00

Last year mom gave us some perennials for the back yard. All but one (miraculously) made it back this year and Paige and I added some annuals to keep them company!

We also planted pumpkins, which has been very stressful for me. I feel like there is a lot of pressure for these little guys to grow, flower, and produce fruit....I'm having heart palpitations just thinking about it. BUT, we've set them up for success (I think). We planted them the right week, in the right soil/manure/compost slurry, on a hill, the recommended distance apart, with the right blend of starter fertilizer (high nitrogen now, high phosphorus later). I'm a little worried they might not get enough sun, so Mike has been instructed to do some tree trimming and I did come home from work to find them a bit wilty (perked up after I watered them)....so I need to make a plan for that. I also noticed a local critter had taken a few bites out of one of the leaves this morning :( What ev. I (apparently) can expect 1 to 2 pumpkins per vine...we've got 12 vines right now between our 3 seedlings sooooo.....yeah.....if we lose a vine or 2 or....6 we should still get something this fall....otherwise we'll be selling pumpkins out of the back of Mike's truck someplace.

I wish your computer monitor was scratch and sniff, because these smell amazing! *Please note they are on the opposite site of the yard that has the composted manure mixture.

The plants in the front are the pumpkins prior to planting. You can see the lilies in there too....pretty sad looking without the new stuff I think.

I had taken Paigey with me to Bachman's to get these sunflowers and marigolds. Truth be told, she didn't seem very interested in what I was doing. I was trying to talk to her about the different flower varieties, the difference between annuals and perennials etc. SHE however was looking for bugs to kill and puddles to walk in so she could make footprints. She also wanted to hang on the back of the cart while I sang the "super babies" song. Anyone who watches Dora should get that reference. ANYWAY....a couple of days later while we planted Paige (no joke) says to me "Are we going to water these marigolds?" I mean come ON! She remembers 'marigolds' from three days earlier when she didn't seem to be listening at all!?!

She's done this with a few other things too. I found out this week that I can't just say "look there's a birdie!" She informed me that we have red cardinals & we have robins & we have woodpeckers that go like this (and then she pecked the air with her face). I guess she was correcting something Papa said recently too and scolded him by saying "Actually Papa.." Maybe I'm biased, but this kid is a smart cookie. A few years ago I had a 7th grade student who tried to argue with me that a duck wasn't a bird....that a duck was just....a duck....never mind the beak....or feathers.

As adorable (and astonishing if I do say so myself) as it is to hear my (not even) 2 1/2 year old say these things, they come without a price. 1) She's not my BABY anymore...sniff...sniffle.... and 2) Her gem from last night was "I DON'T have a sassy mouth Mommy!"

Final note: As I post this I have only 7 more days with 7th graders & then the whole summer to stare at my pumpkins...er...play with my child....

Record Heat Today....

2010-05-23T22:28:00.027-05:00

88 degrees, but Paigey didn't seem to mind.

2010-05-01T21:58:00.001-05:00

A few nights ago when I was tucking Paigey into bed she told me a story.

She said that when she was a baby she was trapped in a net in the sky and she was crying....

....And then God came and took her out of the net and gave her to me and Daddy and she was not crying anymore....

...Also, God used scissors and is very big.

My 2 year old can climb higher than your 2 year old

2010-04-27T20:47:00.004-05:00

Definitely, one of the coolest things about having a little one is watching them concentrate as they're learning something new and picturing their little wheels spinning like crazy. Kind of recently, for Paige, it's been doing things like climbing in or out of her car seat or climbing up into her high chair, etc. that have been little challenges that she wants to conquer, so we practice where she should put her feet and what to hold on to, and she loves it. Well, when the opportunity to bring Paige rock climbing came up, I knew she would think it was pretty cool. Boy, did we have fun! We went with friends, Andy and Emma, to Vertical Endeavors in St. Paul.

She's checking it all out

There goes Emma

Next is Paige's turn

After a couple of hours climbing in "the butterfly cave" (as she called the upstairs area), looking up at random times to see people climbing on the ceiling above you, pointing at the snakes (ropes) and climbing just about far enough that I couldn't reach her anymore, we headed home. She has already said that she want's to go climbing again so we'll have to have another go at it soon. What a blast!

Girl Talk

2010-04-24T21:04:00.003-05:00

This morning. Paige sitting in the center of her beanbag chair.

Me: Hey Paigey! You look like a birdie in a nest!

Paige: Yeah! (reaches into her lap and under her butt) Here! You want a egg? (hands me an invisible egg)
Me: Okay!....you know....Paige, birdies don't eat the eggs that are in the nest....did you know that?

Paige: Blank stare.

Me: Yeah. Mama birds sit on the eggs that are in the nest to keep them very warm....and when they are ready, a baby chick will come out of the egg!

Paige: Like MY chick from the LIBRARY! (pictured above)

Me: That's right!

Paige: Smiling.

Me: Actually....Paige, do you know what birdies eat? They eat worms!

Paige: Not smiling.

Me: Nodding my head yes.
Paige: Nodding her head no.
Me: Wondering if somehow Paige is not ready to handle this new information.
Paige: Still shaking her head no.

Me: Actually...ya know what else birdies eat? Berries like the tree in the front yard!
Paige: Smiling & nodding yes.

Me: That's right! Birdies eat worms AND berries!

Paige: Reaching into her lap and under her butt. "Here Mommy! You want a berry?"

Me: ....Sigh....sure sweetie.

At Grandma's tonight.

Me: Paige, do you have to go potty?

Paige: Nope. I already went potty on Grandma's big potty....like a big girl.

Grandma: Yes, and Grandma is very proud of you sweetie.

Paige: Yeah....(pause)....Like a bumble bee!

Me, Grandma & Grandpa all look at each other....and then it hits me...

I'm bringin' home a baby Bumble Bee, won't my mommy be so proud of me...

In the car driving home tonight from Grandma's. Me driving, Paige in the back seat.

sniff sniff sniff sniff

Me: Paige, are you smelling something?

Paige: Yep. BunBun's ear.

Me: Oh. How's it smell?

Paige: Good.

sniff sniff sniff sniff

Paige: Mom?

Me: Yeah?

Paige: That's how dogs do, right?

Me: Um...yes, doggies say "sniff sniff".

Paige: Okay. Now I a dog okay?

Me: Okay.

Only about 30 more school days and then we can have these little talks ALL day, EVERY day!

I can't wait.

Some Easter Pictures-2010

2010-04-10T13:00:00.009-05:00

2010-04-07T22:15:00.005-05:00

Andrews Park Egg "Hunt"

2010-04-02T15:38:00.007-05:00

* Paige just woke up from her nap and was telling Daddy about the Easter bunny we saw today. She said "he was scared." I think she is probably right.

I understand that the title of this post implies that eggs were searched for, however that wasn't really the case. A perimeter was set up at Andrews Park in Champlin complete with construction cones and police officers. In the center of the perimeter were what appeared to be...oh...3 to 4 hundred candy filled plastic Easter Eggs just lying in the open, but within the perimeter. As Paige and I stood outside the cone line (which is more than I can say for at least one mom who felt a good 8 feet inside the perimeter and a scant 6 inches or so away from a pile of eggs was more appropriate for her children...ahem...I digress) I was shocked to see the number of 1 to 4-year-olds...and their entourages....growing and growing and growing.....and growing. The video in this post doesn't quite do it justice. I told Paige she could run and pick up just 2 or 3 eggs...which she was just fine with. As soon as we were out of danger I swapped the City of Champlin candy for some Teddy Grahams ("Peddy Gams") and we showed our loot to our friends Alecia, Matt & Emerson. Kind of a fun experience...and she'll be ready for Black Friday Christmas shopping with Mommy that much sooner!

Maggie

2010-03-19T21:51:00.011-05:00

Here are some of Maggie Very shortly after we got her.

Miscellaneous cute pics

A lot of these pictures show me pregnant, or us getting ready for Paige to come. Paige really enjoyed taking care of Maggie and playing with her. I'm glad she enjoyed her as much as she did...not hard to do, Maggie was SUPER friendly...seriously...ask anyone who ever visited out house...Maggie would do whatever it took to get into the lap of whoever came over. I was looking through all of our photos and SOOO many of them show Maggie sitting in the background on somebody's lap. :)

There are also tons of her just lounging...I'm not gonna lie...the dog liked to lounge. It was not unusual for her to just pull over during walks and refuse to go on....always in the shade too. I have lots of memories of the whole family being outside...doing yard work, having a BBQ...and seeing Maggie in the window looking out at us...she preferred nice air conditioned air over fresh.

Some more cute pics of our cute pup

Dejavu

2010-03-19T21:45:00.000-05:00

Cute thing falling asleep....

2010-03-17T22:02:00.002-05:00

Paige had a little trouble staying awake at dinner tonight....but she did manage to eat all of her dairy-free pudding first (as evidenced by her hand jammed inside the empty pudding cup while she slept).

Here is a link to other cute things falling asleep. Enjoy!

Signs of Spring

2010-03-14T19:40:00.002-05:00

Paige is 2 years, 3 months, 1 week and 1day old!

2010-03-08T09:06:00.005-06:00

Sooo....I guess I should post some pictures from her 2nd birthday party...er...parties!

Paige is a big Finding Nemo fan. It was a bit of a challenge to find Nemo party decor (the movie came out 7 years ago!) but I managed to find a few things. We had this party at Grandma and Papa's after Thanksgiving dinner.

Paige got this puppy from Uncle Ben. She named him Enum.

She LOVES this fishing game....can't wait to see if she likes REAL fishing...I bet she will.

Here is Paige seeing Goofa for the first time. Yes, Goofa. She got this baby doll from Old Grandama. Its a dolly that goes in the bathtub with you...except...Goofa goes EVERYWHERE with Paige...usually naked and leaking water from the tub. :)

Mike's family came over for a party on Paigey's actual birthday. She LOVES playing with her cousins. :)

I love this picture. We are singing Happy Birthday to her and she was just so happy!

We got her a princess swimsuit. She wanted to wear it at her party.

Cupcakes I sent to Linda's so Paige's daycare friends could celebrate too! Thanks goodness Duncan Hines makes delicious dairy free cake mixes & frosting!

Fall Fun

2010-03-08T08:40:00.004-06:00

With Spring just around the corner, I thought it would be nice to post a couple of pictures from a fun day last Fall! Paige and I played in leaf piles, the sandbox, picked up pine cones, and eventually made it to the park while Daddy raked. Enjoy!

Paige-Lish Lexicon

2010-02-08T20:53:00.003-06:00

Paige is a talker (not un-like her mommy).

While most of what she says is discernible to the layperson, there are a few little gems that Paige has come up with all on her own (remember coco-chairs?)

Here is a short list of words and phrases that Paige (and only Paige) uses often:

Mitnits: [n. mit-nits] Mittens. As in "It's coooold! I need mine mitnits!"

Gimmers: [n. gim-mers] Fingers. As in "I put mine gimmers in mine mitnits."

Wassing: [pronoun. was-sing] Something. As in "I hear wassing!" or "I found wassing!"

Wikes: [interjection.] Yikes! As in "Wikes! Dat monser comin a get me!"

Goofa: [n. Goo-fa] The bizarre name Paige came up with for a dolly that she got for her birthday. As in "I need a play wif Goofa!"

Fumper: [n. Fum-per] Thumper (of Bambi fame). As in "Fumper sliding on dat ice wif Bambi! Dats a funny joke!"

Jakey's First Birthday

2010-02-07T16:41:00.007-06:00

Jakey is ONE!

He had a birthday party yesterday.
He liked the Cookie Monster Toy that Paige picked for him.

Also....
He had birthday cake at his party.

...And it turns out....

He liked THAT too!

LIttle Green Machine

2010-02-07T13:11:00.002-06:00

Paige has been doing great learning to use the potty. We'll spare you the details but when she used it this afternoon, she was excited and exclaimed, "There's mine pickle poop!" as we dumped it in the toilet. How great is that!

-Dad

2010-01-17T20:34:00.003-06:00

Last November Paige REALLY started getting into Dora. There where lots of Dora goodies showing up at her birthday parties and Christmas (actually....Diego snuck in there a few times too...I've got pics and video of our trip to Mall of America coming soon).

BUT

We hear about "Noche Buena" several times a week. If she wears a pretty dress..."I Noche Buena!" If she sees a table full of food "It's Noche Buena!" If Dora spins in a circle she sings "Noche Buena noche BUENAAAAA!"

I love her.

Dora's Christmas Carol from SpanglishBaby on Vimeo.

Goodni...er...morning moon!

2010-01-06T20:42:00.004-06:00

The following conversation took place between Paige and Daddy this morning:

Paige: "Moon is broken!"

Mike: "Yeah, it IS broken!"

Paige: (Pause) "Daddy will fix it."

5 reasons that Paige could not take a nap this afternoon:

2009-12-29T14:57:00.002-06:00

1) She needed water .

2) She needed to sit on the potty first.

3) She needed to turn off her train.

4) She needed to cover up her mouse.

5) Baby Jesus needed birthday cake.

She's been asleep for an hour and I think I'll have a little nap now too!

Bear and Paige

2009-12-29T11:53:00.001-06:00

Life sized bear and Paige

Paigecasso

2009-12-28T11:44:00.007-06:00

Paige was playing so nicely I thought "Surely I have time for a quick shower..."

What an idiot.

I showered for five...six minutes at the most...and thought it would be wise to check on my angel right away.

I came downstairs and she had THIS in her little hand.

Uncapped.

Her hands & face were fine...and I actually thought "Hey! Great timing! I got to her before she did any damage!"

Idiot.

I reminded her that these are "Daddy's crayons" and that she isn't allowed to use them...blah blah blah...time out...blah blah blah...ask mommy for Paigey's crayons blah blah blah....

She smiled at me and said "I color mine pig!"

Huh?

She runs downstairs and shows me this.

I ask her if she colored anything else.

"Um.....I color Daddy's computer!"

"Egads child! You did WHAT!"

A quick examination of the computer revealed nothing and I breathed a sigh of relief. I did a quick scan of the rest of the family room and everything was fine.

But when I sat down to write this post, I did find this.

"c'mere otter!"

2009-12-28T01:57:00.001-06:00

Playing in the Snow ~ December 2009

2009-12-24T11:20:00.010-06:00

Holiday Lights

2009-12-19T08:28:00.011-06:00

Mom treated us to a holiday lights tour limo ride this week! She came up with the idea for Grandma's (AKA "Old Grandma) birthday gift. We got all snazzed up in our gay apparel (sparkly Santa hats, Christmas socks & sweaters....Mike had a silver neck tie with little Christmas trees on it...that played music). The car showed up at 6:00pm sharp at Grandma's house in Spring Lake Park and all 11 of us piled in! There was holiday music on the radio, a DVD of a Yule log was playing on the multiple TV screens, A cooler full of Holiday treats, and Mom asked us like a gazillion Christmas trivia questions. The trivia was hilarious mostly because Paige lost the little flashlight that we needed to read the questions almost immediately, Mom somehow got her answer sheets all mixed up, and when you got a question right you didn't get a point, you got a "Ho".....ahem....

Naturally we answered each question enthusiastically...and about 50/50 "real" guesses and smart-ass comments....ahhhh...good times.....

Paige did pretty well...lets face it...to her it was a lot like a 3 hour car ride. She did look at all the "sparkles" and got pretty excited about some of them. :)

It was tough to take pictures, but here are a few that I did like.

These ones were all from Phalen Park in St. Paul...They were really cute.

Here is Rice Park. The pictures don't really show how beautiful this was in person.

The rest of these are just a few pics from all over the place. There was a house in Mounds View that was INSANE!

2009-12-11T15:58:00.002-06:00

I (happily) removed Paige's weight gain ticker from the top of her blog today! At her 2 year appointment Dr. Dessa informed us that not only was Paige beefed up to the 3rd percentile, but her recent weight checks indicated that she was following a "curve".

She also happens to be in the 45 percentile for height.

Tall and skinny.

She gets that from me. :)

-Mommy