I want shorts

"I want shorts" - this is the answer I get every time I ask Ryan what he wants to wear lately. Unfortunately, it is winter in Minnesota so wearing shorts probably isn't the best option. I've been able to convince Ryan that wearing shorts during the day isn't a good idea because you can't wear a winter jacket and shorts - it just looks too funny. Luckily he thinks about this statement and usually gives up his desire for shorts and will pick something else out, but lately, he has been wanting to wear shorts to bed as well. This poses a problem as my usual answer of winter coats and shorts looking funny does not apply. So instead of trying to think of some other reason he can't wear shorts, I told him we could compromise. He of course didn't know what that word meant so I told him that it would make both of us happy - a simple answer which got me easy results. He agreed to the compromise, and this is what we came up with . . .
He thinks it looks cool, I know he'll stay warm all night long = happiness for both of us!

Is it Christmas already?

So Trav came through big time this weekend! On a whim, we decided to go to some furniture stores and check out some tables for the basement bar area. Anyway, after just two quick stops, we found a table both of us liked. It was reasonably priced, but still a bit too high for our liking so we had a quick conversation with the salesman who informed us that the table would be discounted by 20 percent on the day after Thanksgiving - now that is more like it - the price suddenly became more what we were looking for so we headed home and agreed that we would go back and get it on Friday. Well, when we got home, I of course went through my usual questions when it comes to making any large purchase . . . do we really need it?, will we even us it?, can we justify spending money on it? After my own personal question and answer session, I called my mom to get her opinion as she is always very practical and usually tells it like it is. To my surprise, she said that in the 32 (I think) years that she has been married, she has never bought a new table - kind of amazing isn't it? Anyway, after hearing that, I started to doubt our need for the table and decided that we could hold off for a while. As it turns out, I wasn't the only one thinking about the table. Trav brings it up as he was getting ready to head out to the gym. He says, "if we could get the table today for the reduced price, would you want it?" Is this a joke, of course I want it, but there is no way we'll get that price, at least not today. Well, Trav has other plans and says he is going to stop by the furniture store and see if he can work something out. I agreed to this with the realization that he'll never get it so I wouldn't get my hopes up. About a half hour after he leaves, I get a call from Trav with some good news. He was able to sweet talk a lady into letting him get the table today at the price we wanted - YEAH!!! So as it stands, we will get the table the night before Thanksgiving, just in time for our first Thanksgiving celebration at our house - how fun! I must say, Trav has become a much more savvy buyer in the past couple of years. In the past, he would just go and buy whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, regardless of the price. Now, with my encouragement and teaching, he has proven that he can get a good deal when he needs to - what a guy! We both decided that the table will be our gift to each other for Christmas - maybe not the most sentimental gift, but a great gift non-the-less.

Besides our furniture shopping, we spent the rest of the weekend cleaning out some baby items that we no longer need, baked some treats, picked up the lawn toys and put them away for the winter, and just hung out. We even got outside a few times as the weather was pretty decent (by MN standards at least).

Licking the brownie batter

It's time

It's been a while so there is a lot to catch up on. For starters, Trav was in California most of the week for work, so the kids and I were left to fend for ourselves. As usual, when Trav leaves, Auntie usually comes to keep us company - no different this time, she came up to spend one night with us and do some shopping for her new house. Yes, I said her new house. Ash and Mike close on their house this Wednesday so the family will be spending most of the Thanksgiving holiday helping them out (we all owe her for all the times she has helped the rest of us move so it is time for payback). We're very happy for Ash and Mike, but will be sad the next time Daddy leaves, and Auntie can't come stay with us because she has her own life to live (she also got a new job which she starts on Dec 4th - yeah!), and her own responsibilities - sad, but good. With Trav away, I made an executive decision that it was time. Time for what you ask - time for both Ryan and Lauren to kick some old habits. With Lauren coming up on her 1st birthday in less than a week, I thought it might be time to get rid of the bottle. The decision was kind of made for me on Friday morning when Auntie used the last bottle liner that morning when Lauren got up. I had two decisions, go buy more bottle liners (the easy choice), or take the bottle away and hope for the best - I went with the second option and to my surprise, it wasn't awful. Lauren was a little confused when I filled her sippy cup with milk for her morning nap, but she drank it down just the same, and headed off to sleep. The afternoon nap was a bit more challenging (maybe she was starting to figure out that her bottle wasn't coming back), but we got through it, and she has been bottle free since. Another sad (she isn't my baby anymore), but good thing. With Lauren's situation under control, I figured it was a good time to get rid of one of Ryan's bad habits - the sippy cup, once and for all. He really doesn't need the sippy cup, but it is convenient and keeps the spills away so I like it. Once I finally came to the realization that a spill here and there won't kill anyone, I was ready to help him get rid of his sippy. Again, I was surprised at how easy it was (with the exception of nap time when he gets a cup of hot chocolate when he lays down), but we got through it, and he has now been sippy free for three days (and only one spill) - yeah! So that is that. Daddy goes away and takes care of business on the road, and Mama stays home and takes care of business at home - a good deal for everyone.

Oh yeah, one more big thing happened while Trav was out of town. Ryan and I watched, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" which got us into the Christmas spirit so we decided to put the Christmas tree up. I know it is a bit early, but I figured with everything going on next week (my first Thanksgiving at our place, Ash moving, and Lauren's birthday), it might not get done for a while so we took the opportunity while we had it. Lucky for us, we already wrapped Lauren's birthday gift, so we had one present to put under the tree (which Ryan did with the utmost care - such a good big brother). Here are some random pictures form the past few days.

Sibling love
Showing off her new outfit

Almost walking by herself

Putting on some final touches
Putting the present in the perfect spot

Just like Dad

Ryan was digging into some clothing bins today and pulled out Trav's old AAU jersey. Lucky for him, Grandma Connie had re-sized it so it fit perfect and he was one happy kid! All day he went around saying, "Dad wore this when he was little like me." I tried to tell him that isn't quite how it went, but he didn't seem to care and stuck with his original story. He is currently debating if he wants to wear it on Thursday for show-and-tell, or if he should bring one of his many toys - tough decision.

I had a bad day

Lauren has been having some bad days lately. The problem stems from the fact that she thinks she pretty much owns everything in the house and should get whatever she wants, whenever she wants it. Ryan, unfortunately does not agree, and puts up a pretty good fight (albeit, a very gentle fight) to keep Lauren from his things. I can't blame him for getting upset at her considering she usually just bulls him over if he is in her path, but I can, and do get annoyed at the constant whining that comes with it. Anyway, Lauren was having an issue today with Ryan not letting her sit in his camping chair. There were two other chairs for her to sit in, but she of course wanted the one Ryan was in. The result . . .
What a sad little face, and just to make sure Lauren knew who won this battle, Ryan did a little song and dance . . .He better savor the victory, I think he has a long road ahead of him with Lauren as his babysister!

Baby loves her bath!

What's not to love about running (or crawling in this case) around the house naked in anticipation of getting into a bath full of toys and bubbles (for the first time). It's a dream come true if you are almost one and don't mind baring it all in front of your big brother - I'm guessing this may come to an end as the kids get older - but for now, it is tons of fun. I swear Lauren lives for taking baths. The minute you get her naked, she just gets giddy and can't control herself. And then, when you turn on the bath water, she stands by the side of the tub and watches and waits for the fun to begin. She reaches her hand out trying to touch the water, turns to laugh at you, and does over and over again until the bath is full - endless excitement. Tonight I used some Vick's vapor bath wash to help with her congestion, and the added bonus was the bubbles it produced! At first Lauren didn't know what to think, she kept her hands floating above the bubbles, after a bit, she finally dipped her hands in and sort of picked at the bubbles. Once they got stuck to her hands, she felt the need to eat them, which seems like the logical thing to do I guess. After everything checked out, she loosened up and did some splashing. Bath time was fun, getting her out was not, but I guess that is the price you pay. Check out the little lady in all her glory - she has a real swimsuit body don't you think!

Not much . . .

Not much going on here lately. With the kids at Grandma and Grandpa Quast's house for the weekend, Trav and I were left to entertain ourselves for a few days. We went out to a Mexican restaurant on Friday and spent some time catching up on some adult conversation. Unfortunately, I had to work on both Saturday and Sunday so Trav had a "free pass" to do whatever he wanted. He took the opportunity to hang out with some buddies and catch some weird concert he wanted to go to - he said it was fun, I'm pretty sure I would have hated it - good thing I didn't go with. After the weekend, we managed to catch a cold in the household. Ryan was first, I was next, and Trav and Lauren are currently teetering - let's hope they just have a cough here and there and that the bad stuff passes over them - we'll wait and see.

Here are a couple of pictures of Lauren all bundled up in her winter gear. As you can tell, she is still getting used to wearing her hat, but at least when she does get it pulled off, it keeps her entertained with all the ribbons it has to play with.