Just some snippets from our trip to St. Louis and back home again

In an effort to get Jack to stop playing with his trucks and go to bed, I told him the toys needed to rest, because they were tired. His rebuttal; "But they don't have so many eyes." (In other words, how are they going to sleep without eyes?')

On Tuesday of our visit, we went to Faust park where Jack played and played on the playground equipment. Maggie soaked in everything and enjoyed some time in the swing with lots of giggles. Leesha enjoyed herself by playing with the little ones.

Jack found a big boy playing with a handheld video game under a slide and hung out watching him for a few minutes, mimicking the older boy by pushing his finger or sticks through the holes in the playground floor. Later, a girl named Cecelia decided to play with him. In talking to her dad, we discovered that she and Jack share a birthday, but she was 2 years older.

Back at Grandma and Grandpa's, we had one very tired little guy on our hands. I told him I'd read "The Little Engine That Could" to him before rest time. His response; "I don' wan' to read "Little Engine That Could". I wanna stay 'wake."

During "Poop Time", Grandpa Steve was reading him his new books. After Grandpa explained that caring was sharing time with someone, Jack said something like; "But we have pumkins." (huh?)

Once he was done with "poop time", Grandpa asked if he could wipe him, Grandpa will have to help with the details, but I believe Jack said; "Yes, but only if you use this toilet paper." And then, "Don't make fun of my butt."

On our way home, I overheard a new version of an old classic;

"Father Abraham an' so are you. So let's just praise the Lord. Right arm, left arm..."

Jack also said; "Mom's a naughty woman and you're a naughty boy 'cause you ate all the donuts."

And later; "Dad, can we listen to "We will, we will, we will, we will rock you"?"

Jack didn't want to nap. I told him he needed to give me his lovey if he didn't want to nap. He went and found it and brought it to me. He'd been crying about having to nap and decided he needed just a bit more love from his lovey, so he wiped his face with it. After that, he announced; "I made myself glad!"

At dinner since we've been home, he mentioned that his thumb was stinging. Where did he learn what "stings" means?

I put Jack's sipy cup of milk on the top stair and pointed out that it was there. He said; "I'm coming." as he went and picked it up. When he had it and was heading back downstairs, he said; "Now I'm going."

Another new quotable; "Huh?"

Just for Willis South

Leesha just told Maggie that we're going "bye bye" on Saturday, then when Jack asked about it, she said we were going to visit Grandma and Grandpa.

His response; "Grandpa Steve an' Gramma Holly and Gramma Mary? That be great! I have fun at that!"

First in a while

It is a fine Spring day up here in "t' nort'" (the later said with a Scandanavian accent)

Now, a little back story ....

A while ago, one of Jeffry's co-workers gave him some trucks for Jack. The trucks were rolling around in the back of the CRV until last night when Jeffry put them in the strip of yard between the garage and house. Leaving for our family walk after dinner, Jack saw them and was successfully steered towards the walk. When we got back home, it was almost bedtime and too dark to play, so Jack "parked" all the trucks very nicely on the sidewalk between the house and garage. He said something cute about this, but Jeffry will have to record that because I wasn't there.

Now for this morning ...

I waited (and waited, it seemed) for Jack to wake up this morning before exercising to and from the grocery store for a few things.

Upon our return, Jack noted the trucks and wanted to play with them. I told him he needed to finish his lima beans before he could play outside. So, he worked on the limas and even ate some cereal then jumped up asking; "Now can I go outside and play?!" with all the joy and enthusiasm you can imagine.

So, after months indoors, our little guy finally gets to play outside again today!

He came inside the house periodically. At one point, he came in and said; "Let's pray about the boxelders." then places his hands together.

Oh the tears when I had him come in!

The Moon Makes Everyone Feel Better

We took a walk after dinner tonight. Jack fell down for some reason and hurt his lip. There was blood and crying, but it wasn't bad at all. To distract him Cara said, "Jack! Look at the moon!", which worked.  He was up on my shoulders and forgot about the injury a few minutes later. Then he says...

"The moon feels me better".

the kiddos

On Tuesday, I took the kids to Small Group. Jack pulled out the pair of 3D glasses that he's had in the car. He called them "Nerf glasses" instead of "Nerd glasses."

On Saturday, after we left "Uncle Eric's" birthday party, we stopped at Mom and Dad's to get a blender and a cake. Jack was talking about the birthday party and said; "Hafty Burfday'. Now, we'll see if we actually sing "Hafty Burfday" when it's people's half birthdays.

Maggie scared Mom and Dad by almost choking. Once she settled down and went to sleep, Jack took a tumble on their stairs. Then later, back at home, Jack was spinning and fell, giving himself another fat lip. Can't wait to see what he looks like this morning.

On the way to Mom and Dad's yesterday, Jack was singing in the van; "Pajamas. Pajamas. Pajamas."

He's also really taken with the word "Why?" We'll tell him something, and his pretty immediate response is; "Why?" even if "why" doesn't apply to what was said. For example; "Jack, here's a spoon of peanut butter." "Why." (It confounds me almost daily.) And since I mentioned peanut butter, he had a spoon of it yesterday, but mistakenly called it a "'Poon of speanut butter."

Out of the blue, Jack states; "Grandma has a bum knee." Since I didn't respond immediately, he tried again; "Mom, Grandma has a bum knee." This apparently after he wanted Grandma to sit on the bathroom floor and read to him. She told him she didn't want to get down on the floor because of her "bum knee".

Maggie likes to pull her hair when she's tired. Her bald spot on the back of her head is no longer bald, but I'm wondering if I should worry about the sides of her head now .....

She's gotten very good at pulling herself into a standing position. Funny how that's such a compulsion for babies. The other day, she pulled herself up on the Little People Farm, then went head-first over it. She'll get up on all fours, but I've yet to see her actually crawl on all fours.

Since she's a thumb sucker, we're trying to cover her hands at night to discourage the thumb sucking (even though it's so cute). A few nights, I was too tired to deal with her fussing, and let her have her thumb. I wish she were attached to the lovie with the thumb sucking since Leesha stopped sucking her thumb when she "lost" her blanket.

Maggie has a very uncanny ability to know exactly when we're dropping off to sleep and starts to fuss at night. She also loves to play with jack's potty and is hell-bent on getting the toilet brush.

Wednesday night, she thought it was "wakers" time at 11:30 pm. I sat up with her for 40 minutes or so, then tried putting her back to bed. No go. So (very frustated by this point) I tuned on the bright light, and sat her on the kitchen floor for a bowl of cereal. She blinked at the light and grinned at me which sent a shot of guilt right through me.

Leesha has signed up for Track. Strange since she hates running, but I guess when peers become so important, you'll do strange things. Glad that it's something appropriate and active at this point.

Today, she brought home a "B Honor Roll" certificate. I told her to put it on the fridge but noted it had not replaced the "A Honor Roll" certificate from 1st trimester.

On Friday, she came home crying because she'd had her first fight with a friend in a long time. Glad I only vaguely remember those days.

The humor of our lives

Jack came up to me; "Mom, there's something in my nose."

"What's in your nose?" as I try to take a look.

"No, I need to sneak it out." and off he runs.

Earlier, I'd given him a banana. He likes to peel them himself, so I just cut the ends off and gave him the banana. He peeled it and started to eat it. Next thing I know, he's slipped. I didn't see it myself, part of the banana peel was still on the floor. Did he slip on it?

At the mall, I told him to eat his orange. His response; "No, I just singing a little bit right now." (or something very similar to that).

Instructed; "Don't move." during time out, Jack soon states; "Dad, I just move my feet so Leesha can get out."

2nd post for the day - amazing!

Frustrated at not losing weight very fast, and deciding to challenge myself, I declared that our house would go meatless for March. I'm also trying to do less baked/mostly flour desserts. I served Jell-o for tonight. Jack called it "bill-a-bo" instead.

Walking around Menards; "What a wonderful place!"

Leesha has a friend whose name sounds like "Mew-tee-ah" Jack insists her name is tortilla.

I had Jack clean up in the basement, and when he was done, he and Jeffry brought up some of his night time diapers. There is a number 6 on the back (indicating his size). Jeffry has sowed him in the past that if they are upside down, it makes a 9. So, as Jack was helping me stack them to put in the drawer, he states; "If it dos (do with an 's' on the end) like this, it turns number 4!"

After brushing his teeth; "You know why I like him?" "Why." "That's why 'cause he's great!" I can only assume he was referring to "Li'l Fella" whom Jeffry has posted about previously.

Maggie cut her second tooth on Tuesday, when she turned 8 months. On Monday and Tuesday, she was crawling around saying; "Mamamamama."

2009 Newsletter

jeffrywith1e@gmail.com, carawillis@gmail.com, leeshamoreno@gmail.com

Check out our online photos at: http://picasaweb.google.com/carawillis

and blog at: http://williseast.blogspot.com/

This isn't fancy, but it's done, and before the first day of Spring too.

January:

Leesha and Jeffry took the "illness" baton from Jack and started the New Year under the weather.

After announcing our Final Addition/Edition, we learned friends were expecting about a month ahead, and another, a month after us.

Both our furnace and water heater decided to take a short break, but got up and running again.

Leesha and Cara went and saw "The Tale Of Desperaux".

Cara finally pulled out her maternity clothes with a sigh of relief, and later got a haircut.

Leesha was allowed to use the microphone at the Dr.'s office to hear "Toto's" heartbeat before celebrating her birthday at Culver's, attended the Young Author's Conference held at Bethel University, and helped with a "Culture Fair" at school.

February:

Throwing a bit of a tantrum while taking care of her trash chore, Leesha broke the window in our door. Cara burst out laughing. Friends installed the new door the next day. (Thanks Ben, Eric and Jon)

"Raising Sand" CD entered our home on Valentine's Day.

Jack grew a snaggle tooth, and learned how to climb out of his crib.

Ultrasound suggested "Toto" might well be a girl; Grandmothers were thrilled.

Cara got the first ear infection she remembers having.

March:

Jack pooped on the potty!

Our nephew Smith was born!

Cara and Leesha participated in a Global Banquet at NHCA. (If you haven't done one of these, it's a great experience.)

Dog-sat Hazel.

April:

Got a dining room table and chairs off of Craigslist.

Had a visit from Greg and Mandy during which the hole in our wall started to be repaired.

Jeffry and Cara had a date!

Got together with some moms from church at our neighborhood park.

Cara got a pedicure, and later got the basement organized to her liking.

Friends of Leesha's from our old neighborhood came to our house for an overnight.

Project day at the house where we had help with some of our "fixit" projects.

May:

Leesha was recognized for playing volleyball at the NHCA Sports Awards ceremony, and had various roles in "Esther-ordinary Faith".

Jeffry had an accident at work, and thus some unplanned time off; he used some of that time to clean out our gutters.

Lost finale with friends.

Helped other friends with refurbishing their "new" old house.

Celebrated Memorial Day with family and friends.

Jack tumbled down the stairs.

June:

Lots of cleaning and nesting.

Celebrating birthdays and anniversaries. For our anniversary, we actually had a sitter and were able to go to dinner and a movie. (Thanks Jeanelle)

Visit from the Macky's and ensuing outings which Cara opted out of for fear of labor.

Cara attempted painting our plastic bathroom tiles. The paint didn't take.

Ultrasound confirms a girl with Grandma and Auntie Caryn there for the showing.

Friends welcome a baby girl.

Cara mourned for friends who lost their 8 month old daughter.

We all mourned the loss of Great Grandpa Smith.

July:

Jack gave up on chatting under the door, and learned how to put himself to bed.

Got an apartment ready for Craig and family during their furlough.

The 9th, one week after the due date, we were at the hospital by 8am, measuring 6cm without much discomfort at all. We got the kids sent off with grandparents, took a walk, and then Cara's water was broken at 10:05am. 1 hour, 42 minutes and 2 pushes later, Margaret Mae Willis arrived squalling unlike our placid Jack. She was 8lbs. 2oz. and 20.1 inches.

Cara survived the two nights in the hospital despite really missing the rest of the family.

Tracy, Nathaniel and Aaron arrived from Kenya on the 9th as well, Craig followed later.

Trip with Nathaniel and Aaron to Como Zoo.

Sorley family reunion at Grandpa Sorley's old cabin during which Jack fell in the lake and Cara celebrated her birthday with everyone for the first time in a long while.

Anderson family reunion here in the cities - only 2 cousins were missing from the gathering.

Friends baby arrived on Jack's 2nd birthday.

August:

Maggie got water up her nose during a bath.

Cara survived a trip to the dentist with all three kids.

Dogsat Hazel.

Jeffry and Cara repaired the garage door.

We made the difficult decision to move Leesha to the local schools and eliminate the 2 hours of daily commuting to NHCA. We went bowling with her friends from NHCA so she could say goodbye.

Leesha got to go to the State Fair and was also at a Wells Fargo branch with her dad during a robbery.

September:

Celebrated Jeffry's birthday at Dino's.

Visit from Great Grandma Smith and Grandma and Grandpa Willis.

Leesha started school at Skyview, and went to an NHCA volleyball game.

Cara made the unintelligent decision to take both babies to the Dr. for shots on the same day.

After what seemed an eternity, Cara went back to work.

Visit from Marji, Ron and Nancy Sorley.

Dogsat Hazel.

October:

Leesha had a sick day, her first school party and got great comments from her teachers during conferences.

Maggie started going to the church nursery.

High Tea for Grandpa David before he took off for India again.

Went to "Where the Wild Things Are".

Trick-or-Treating with Craig and Family. This years costume: a hand-me-down from Leesha - Jack o'lantern.

November:

Cara undertook the overwhelming task of cleaning Leesha's room.

We babysat for most members of our Small Group so they could go out on dates.

Had neighbors over for dessert.

Maggie learned to roll over.

Leesha went to "New Moon" with friends from Church.

Celebrated Thanksgiving with friends and family.

December:

Maggie started "solids".

Jack got sick.

Leesha visited NHCA.

We went and visited friends in Altoona, WI, and then Jeffry and Jack took a day trip down to Farmington to hang out with friends.

Purchased new tires for our CRV.

We got a van! Finally settling on a meticulously maintained Honda Odyssey with 160K in miles.

Hosted the Anderson family Christmas dessert.

Due to sick babies and adverse weather, a very low key Christmas day at home.

There it is; our year in a nutshell.

The kids

Did I mention Maggie cut a tooth on Feb. 20th? I think we could easily call her "Elasti-gums" for it seemed an eternity before it cut, and the second hasn't cut yet - well, not as of yesterday anyhow. Fortunately, she isn't too upset by the teething process.
She is also eating cereal - real, adult cereal. It's so cute to watch her chase them around her tray then finally get one into her mouth where she "chews" it up.
She is also pulling herself up on things.

Jack has developed a bit of a mean streak with her, and not all intentional. If she's on the floor where he wants to drive his little truck, she gets run over. If she is sitting, and he thinks she wants to crawl, he'll push her over. He tries to pick her up. And, the usual; "It's MY toy!" attitude about any and all toys in the house.
He still has some loving moments too, which melt our hearts.

The other day, he came to me saying; "Mom, here's a corduroy. A money. A penny for my piggy bank. Can I have my ark?" Grandma Holly's work gave him an engraved Ark bank which has some money in it. I think he must have thought he found a quarter and decided it was called a corduroy.

This morning, I was informed that; "Jesus rose from the dad." And later; " I don' wan' (or was it like) you to go." referring to my heading to work. Awwww...... I finally get a comment like that because usually in the morning he'll ask me where Daddy is. When I tell him that Dad's at work, he vehemently denies it. He does accept that Leesha is at school though.

Apparently, he's learned the association of yawning and being tired, because he informed Jeffry the other night, "Dad, I'm almost tired. I just yawned."

One morning when Jeffry was making coffee, he asked Jack if he liked coffee. Jack's response: "No. I like milk and orange juice."

Make A Dalmatian Today

I suspect Jack saw a fundraiser somewhere today. That was the phrase we've been hearing him say this evening.