Saturday, May 31, 2008

Project #2

For the girls birthday we decided to buy them a playhouse. Our yard is not very big, and we thought it would be a good alternative to say, a swing set. Because of weather and other demands on his time, Christoph wasn't able to really work on it until a few weeks ago. It came without a floor, so he had to design and build a base for it. He added on a little deck as an extra surprise. We are also planning on putting a sandbox in the space to the left, but that will have to wait for now. We still want to put some Plexiglas in the windows and stain and seal the deck part, but they can play in it, and they love it! they were both so excited to watch it going up. It was a labor of love from Daddy for both girls and mommy. Emily and Katrina have a fun, imaginative new place to play. Mommy has a place to send them when she needs a little break or the new baby is sleeping. Thanks honey!







Friday, May 30, 2008

Oh Joy

A quick little post just for silly, as Emily likes to say. As anyone with kids will tell you, you never know what's going to come out of their mouths next. Usually it's not too difficult to trace the origin of their expressions and exclamations. They usually, for better or worse, tend to repeat what we, as their parents, say. However, this one had me stumped. A few days ago Katrina and I were out running errands while Emily was at preschool. One of our stops was the bank, which Katrina loves because they hand out stickers. As we were waiting in the drive-through, she suddenly exclaims, "My sticker, oh joy!" She proceeds to chant in her little piping voice, "Oh joy, oh joy, sticker, sticker, oh joy!" until she is given her sticker. I was laughing and at the same time thinking, "What?" That is not an expression either Christoph or I use. Occasionally, I will mutter a sarcastic, "oh joy", but I couldn't remember having done it at all recently. Of course I shared this story with Christoph and he was stymied as well. Then today, understanding dawned. My girls both like to watch a show called Backyardigans. Today, Emily woke up very early, so Christoph turned it on for her before he left in the hopes I could sleep a little longer (that worked, by the way). I came downstairs later, just in time to hear one of the characters exclaim, "I get to be in the spiffy club, oh joy!" Hmm...does that mean my kids are watching too much TV? In the last month, I would say definitely, but at least their mom's not in the loony bin, which is the other alternative. :) It is a relief to know she wasn't being sarcastic at the tender age of two.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Eight Years

Today is my anniversary, or should I say our anniversary? Anyway, you get the picture. It's a little hard to believe it's been eight years, although in some ways it feels like we've just always been married. I'm not really sure what I want to say in this post. I'm married to a great guy and I consider myself to be very blessed to have him. He is a great provider, a hard worker, considerate, patient, loving, kind. He is a wonderful father. I love how he can turn almost anything into a teachable moment, in a fun way. He has never balked at doing his share of all things in childrearing. He is so patient with me, always willing to listen. So, I love you Christoph! Thank you for all you do!

On a less sappy note, what have the last eight years entailed? It's interesting to me to think about what "life milestones" we've accomplished together.

*We have moved four times, including to a different state

*Purchased our first and second house

*Completed two degrees. BSN for me, Master's for Christoph

*Had children

*Bought a new car

*Invested money

*Got life insurance

*Started a business

Ok, so this is just a small list of things that come immediately to mind. Two people who are married go through so many things together. I mean those are just big things. How about all the little decisions and tasks that you do together everyday? I know single people do a lot of these things too, it's not the doing them that's the point, it's the doing them together. You can't help but be close to someone you've argued with, cried with, laughed with, everyday for years. I think of all the things that have happened, how we've grown and changed over the past eight years and it kind of blows me away. It's only been eight years! Imagine after being married 25, 50! I hope I never take any of it for granted, because I know the day to day can easily become mundane and expected. I'm so glad not to have to do life alone! I love you Christoph!

Thursday, May 15, 2008

May Synopsis

I know May is only half over, but it is shaping into a busy month for us! I figured if I didn't start putting some stuff on here I'd never catch up. So, here is a little summary of the month so far. At least the part I have pictures for. :)

Christoph has been doing lots of work in the yard. Katrina likes nothing better then being out there helping. Emily likes to be outside too, but I think she spends more time playing. In these pictures Katrina is helping move compost into the garden boxes. I love the seriousness on her face.





Emily had her Spring Sing at school. There is just something so hilarious and cute about a bunch of preschoolers singing. Her teacher this year was Mrs. Vicki. She is great!






We took the girls to see Sesame Street Live. Painful for an adult, but the girls had fun. Emily wasn't so sure about it, since she's outgrown the Elmo phase, but she got into the show anyway. Katrina was mesmerized. It was hilarious to watch her face. Of course, since I'm pregnant I also started tearing up to see her so happy. Every time Elmo would leave the stage she would look at me and worriedly say, "Where Elmo go?" Then, when he would come back she would practically shake she was so excited to see him again. I was really cracking up when Christoph took Emily to the bathroom and Elmo left the stage shortly after. Katrina informed me "Elmo go potty, too." I love how toddlers make sense of their world. I have to admit I was very excited to find light chasers just like they were selling at the show the next day at Kmart. The girls were asking for them, but I couldn't rationalize spending $15 each. The ones at Kmart were on clearance for $2.50!





On Mother's Day we drove over to the coast for dinner. Emily loves the beach and was so excited to run around in the sand and water, even though it was COLD! Katrina was excited until her feet actually touched the sand. Then she just wanted to be held. She did NOT like that feeling. After I took her over to the benches where there was cement to stand on, she was much happier. She did an awesome Monty Python impression (unconsciously of course). She looked out at the water and said, "Look out! Waves! Run away, run away!" while running in circles around the bench. I almost died.









Lastly, while not specific to May, Katrina loves being up in the morning with Christoph. She helps him make his coffee, my tea, and anything else he will let her do. She gets a little annoyed if I'm around during her Daddy time. Usually he does it so I can try to sleep a little longer, but today I was up, so she is helping him make me a bagel. He's so great! If you are very observant you can find his latest obsession in the background. That's a whole post in and of itself. :)





May has been good so far, although a bit hectic. Somehow, with baby number three's arrival a mere three weeks away I don't see things slowing down anytime soon! Grandma will be here in two and a half weeks! Yay! Now back to nesting, I mean cleaning...

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Springtime

Spring is my favorite season. Especially since we've moved up here to Oregon. After the cold, rainy winter, I love the more temperate sunny days and seeing the flowers and plants popping up all over and bursting into bloom. This spring has been a bit of a weird one here. The weather was warming up and then we had freak hailstorms, snow, rain, all in the course of one day. It was vacillating a lot between cold and warm. At one point it snowed a little and according to records it hadn't snowed in Corvallis that late in the year since the early 1900's! I love spring because the weather is sunny, but not hot. I love the cool weather and watching the clouds constantly changing. I have to admit that I haven't minded that the weather has stayed cold, being as I'm in the end of my pregnancy. On the days it's been in the 80's I've felt sooo hot. Lucky for me, only four more weeks, so I'm not worried about the weather suddenly making me miserable. ;) Here are some pictures I took when spring was first starting to peek it's head.