Sickie :(

This morning, Victoria woke up with a 102 fever that couldn't be tamed with tylenol or motrin. She spent the morning on the couch, and had to miss her first school field trip to the local fire station. Victoria didn't want to do anything this morning - she said walking hurt her legs and her whole body felt funny. She just pretty much stayed on the couch and cried because she didn't feel right, till she passed out.

Twice.

After her second nap on the couch, she woke up soaked and asking for ice cream. Hopefully it's on its way out, but we'll still head to the doc this afternoon just to be sure. After the ice cream, she's a new girl.

What's the haps?

Some more great one-liners:

One nation, under God, congratulations to all.

I wanna watch "Humfalump Hears a Who!"

On another note, per her teacher's suggestion, Victoria and I are trying out a different system of rewards and punishments. This has come about for a variety of reasons. Her two favorite things are her new bike and school. The bike's already been taken away for a week, and if we kept her from school, we feel like we'd be sending the wrong message (tho she LOVES it). As Miss Michelle put it, "That's what you have to deal with when you have a child with the mind of an 8-year-old and the emotions of a not-even-4 year old."

The new system? Good Behavior Tickets. I created tickets (simply 8-per-page layout), cut them apart, and explained them to V. For every good thing she does (doing something after I ask ONLY ONCE, eating all her food, helping around the house), she earns a ticket. When she gets in trouble, a ticket gets taken away. Ticket may be redeemed for a bike ride, a cartoon, or a treat. Day 1 went pretty well, and she told me as she was getting ready for bed that she wants to get 5 tickets tomorrow - setting goals!

Dead Buell...Alive Rod

As many of you may know, I wrecked. Nothing serious, but enough to total out my bike. Today was a sad day for me...not here to witness, but Kristin took photos of my bike being taken away by the auction company. Possibly the end of my riding days...

Today's One-Liner's

We were on our way into Kroger today, and V told me, "I love Meijer, it's my favorite store!" I said, we're not going in Meijer, we're going in Kroger. She said, "I know, but Meijer is my favorite because that's how God made me!"

Back home when we were unpacking the groceries, I hollered from the driveway thru the screen door to her to put her sunglasses away. I heard from inside: "Aye, Aye, Captain!!!"

Camping trip 2

Just a few photos from our Labor Day Camping trip. We had a blast!

Vacay 1 of 2

Last weekend was camping trip 1 of 2 before school starts back up. Here are a few pics from the fun times!

Rod versus the kids...

Finally warm out, and ready for school!

Now that it seems we're finally getting a few warm days, we can actually use our little pool, and V can get some use from her many bathing suits.






I told Victoria that I spoke with Miss Michelle (her teacher) yesterday, and since then I've overheard many school conversations:

V (yelling out the screen door): SCHOOL! Wait! Don't start until I get there!

V (pretending to read a story): Hello. My name is Victoria. And I can't wait to go to school. The end.

Basketball

Thankfully Victoria seems to have gotten Rod's athletic abilities. She loves playing kick ball, can hold a ball with one hand and hit it with a "bat" (really a plastic bowling pin) with the other, and daddy's teaching her the basics of basketball. In this one, she's practicing what he taught her. As she told me, feet facing the basket (or shoot, as she calls it), and bend your knees!

What's going on

When we were up north last weekend, Stefan's dad lit off some small fireworks. Note the hair - not bad for day two of the braids!





Elisabeth turned 4 on Monday, and we were invited over for a small party. Elisabeth is in the middle, V on the right, and Elisabeth's friend Katelyn (who will be 4 in February) is on the left.

We met Lauren and Elisabeth at the zoo yesterday, and were just heading out when the downpours began - perfect timing! The morning was beautiful, tho a little chilly.

On the way home from the zoo, in the rain, we were talking about stopping to get some produce from our neighbor. I told V to look for the farmer in the red truck. She repeated it back to me, then said, "I don't think so, mom. That's not right." When I asked her to clarify, she said, "Not the farmer in the red truck it's the Farmer in the Dell!"

Snacking

Just a pic, showing how much V loves veggies (today it was cauliflower), and hummus, of course! This girl is going to smell like garlic all the time!

Peas, trees and V

Though it was a little chilly the other day, and D didn't sleep too much, V and I still got a little time outside. We got some bricks that Rod started putting around the base of a few of the trees, and I found V over there like this (on a side note, she's now reading as fast as I type, sitting next to me):


Be sure to check out the video, as it will explain the toothy grin by the tree :)


And we have edible peas on the vine! The only downside is that there were a handful we got yesterday, but now V wants to check today to see if more grew overnight. Still working on timelines and patience.

A new face around the house

We have a new daily visitor... For the most part, Victoria is handling Delayney's presence pretty well. She wants to fix everything. Whenever D cries, V offers up any suggestion she knows - maybe she's sleepy, maybe she wants a bottle, maybe she needs her diaper changed... whatever she can think of!

The gifts

Among the father's day gifts were the aprons the girls made for the guys. Jeff and Jaja got theirs when we were in Ohio last week, and Rod got his yesterday.

Complete with personally written message from V!

Happy Father's Day

It seems every day I'm reminded how lucky Victoria and I are to have Rod in our lives. I couldn't have designed a better father for my daughter. How fortunate I am to be married to a man who believes as I do that we have a big responsibility to teach our daughter right from wrong with love and affection.

You are my rock. Thank you for everything you do for us. You are our provider, our protector and you bear the responsibility masterfully. We love you!

Can I call it Summer yet???

We saw Jeff & Alina's kids over at the neighbor's house the other day, so we walked over for a little visit...

I had people questioning how early we planted peas, but it looks like I finally found something other than Basil that I can grow! The spearmint, on the other hand, is not faring so well - and that's the one everyone said you can't kill! It's just to the left of V, and it's right where the rain falls off the roof so it's gotten quite a beating the past few weeks.

Today it felt like summer... complete with a 3-year-old who didn't want to nap (too warm, too humid, too much going on). At 7:30 tonight, I came home from the grocery store to Rod sleeping on the couch, and this:

Advanced thought process

Victoria proved again two days ago that I don't give her enough credit on things. A little back-story: I hardly ever tell her where we're going until we get there - too many things can go wrong and the disappointment of the anticipated event is usually too much for her to handle if plans change. So she didn't know we were meeting up with my parents until we saw them standing in the parking lot, and I didn't tell her we were going to Jeff & Marie's at all. Just that we were going on a road trip, and it was a surprise.

So here was the conversation in the car as we were on our way there...
Me: Do you know where we're going yet?
V: Nope! What's our destination?
Me: It's a surprise! But I'll give you a hint... it's someone's house.
V: Oh! Cool!
Fast forward to a few minutes later... I was just making conversation, thinking it was a good chance to chat about geography.
Me: Did you know we're not in Michigan any more?
V: Where are we?
Me: We're in Ohio!
V: Oh! HEY!!! UNCLE JEFF AND AUNT MARIE AND KASIA AND MOIRA AND BABY ELLA LIVE IN OHIO!!! WE'RE GOING TO KASIA AND MOIRA AND BABY ELLA'S HOUSE!!!! I figured out the surprise!!!

A long overdue trip

Victoria and I finally made the trek down to Jeff & Marie's place in Ohio. We met up with my parents in Detroit then headed down. I only wish it wasn't such a long drive, as I think the kids had a blast together (except for the lack of sleep!)

Just livin' life

Here are just some pictures and a video of recent Victoria goings-on. The summer craziness has begun, but I'm cherishing every day, every second of it!