Festivus

It's been a busy vacation so far. I have been pet-sitting and shipping out Zip-Its while on vacation from my normal job.

Grandma Susan and husband Richard have come for a visit. They arrived Tuesday and after spending time playing with the kids we went out to eat at Thai Ploy for dinner. It is nice having multiple people to share orders with, we got some old favorites and also tried a new dish.

Wednesday morning we had biscuits and gravy for breakfast, with fruit and toast. Richard fixed the plug in our bathroom sink. For a late lunch we had turkey sandwiches (vegetarian), chips, nuts, fruit and the Little Debbie cupcakes that I had won from the drawing on facebook. Richard would not eat one, he said he knows what's in them. I will admit, 250 calories seems a bit excessive for one little cupcake and I am sure there is nothing nutritionally beneficial about them. I am not sold on them and do not plan to ever buy them again. Wednesday evening my mom came over and we all played Apples to Apples and had a rousing competition develop between Susan and Karen, coming down to a tie-breaker of which I was the judge.

Thursday (today) we had fried eggs with pepper jack cheese on english muffins for breakfast, with fried potatoes and fruit. Levi was supposed to be taking a nap and Ellie was acting tired so I tried to get a nap in too. Well Ellie decided not to sleep after all and grabbed my nose and scratched it up pretty good (again) with her razor sharp little nails. In the meantime, Levi finally went #2 on the toilet! How exciting! I told him we could have a party later to celebrate, and what did he want to eat? Pizza, he said. Awesome. So now I am making dough for pizza for dinner.

This afternoon Susan, Richard and Karen (Oma) took Levi out to the Children's Museum of Walla Walla. When he got back I asked him if he had a good time. He said "Uh, it was O.K." I asked him where he had gone. He replied, "To Wal-Mart, to Andy's, and to the Kid's Museum" He told me he had gotten some Teddy Grahams again.

I guess while they were speed-walking laps in Wal-Mart they ran into the Arns family. Later Susan asked Levi "Do you know that little girl, what is her name?" Levi's response? "Yes, she is the girl who fell into the toilet."

Happy New Years, everyone be safe!

Christmas Day

Ellie is starting to do an army crawl. It is good to see her getting more mobile, I was starting to worry that she would walk and never crawl!

Christmas morning dawned cold and without snow, but that was ok with me because that meant the roads were clear for driving out to do the other jobs I have to keep up with. I got the stockings down and we all had fun opening the contents first thing in the morning. We all got a lot of tasty treats :) Then I had to drive out to the chores but I was back by about 9:10 am and my mom was there. Matt started in on breakfast - eggnog pancakes, scrambled eggs, prosage links, crispy crowns (potatoes), grandma Joyce's applesauce, mandarin oranges, oh yes we had quite a feast planned.

Jerry and Gail arrived and Gail made up some sweet potato pancakes as well. Everything was so good, it was a great way to start the day.







After breakfast my dad called so I talked to him for a bit and then we read A Christmas Story book. Time for presents! Levi helped to read the name tags this year, recognizing his own name easily, and passed out the gifts. Grandma Lille had sent clothes for the kids and also a motorized car for Levi that is really fast on our hardwood floors. Grandpa Don sent a sweater for Ellie (zips up the back) and a child's horseshoe game for Levi. Grandma Venetha dropped off a bag of goodies before her trip to Idaho for the holiday, and that included a motion-sensor "Baby's First Christmas" bib that lit up. Grandpa Jeff had sent some nice sweaters for Levi, and also some Thomas DVDs with matching wooden trains for his collection. Ellie got some cute pajamas and a hooded jacket. Jerry and Gail gave us some fancy peanuts. We presented the parents with their annual book of the kids photos from Shutterfly. It was a really nice Christmas morning.



The three generations had a great time playing with Levi's wooden train set, incorporating his new turn-table.


After Levi's nap we went to Oma's for Christmas dinner. She served up vegetarian turkey loaf, baked potatoes, and Gail brought a relish plate of raw veggies. Afterwards we opened presents from Oma. She got Ellie a bunch of cute clothes and some cool new pajamas for Levi. Matt and I made out pretty well too. We watched some Christmas videos for Levi and most of us fell asleep on the couch. A nice relaxing evening!

Christmas Eve Day

Christmas Eve is upon us and I don't feel ready!

I worked until 5 pm tonight and then came home and helped straighten up the house. I asked Matt if he would like to invite the parents over and he thought that sounded nice. So we had our dinner and then my mom came over. We told Levi we could all open one present on Christmas Eve, so after we ate he picked out one he has had his eye on for the past two weeks! It was a turntable for his trains and once he saw that he couldn't think of much else. Matt opened up a movie and I opened up my other gifts from my Secret Santa (model horse) partner. A beautiful bay Arab mare, and chocolates! Treats for the dogs too! She thought of everyone, I am impressed. Ellie didn't open anything but rather enjoyed trying to wrestle the bubble wrap away from me!

I had to step out to do some other work for a little while but while I was gone my mom and Levi made some sugar cookies and she said he did all the cutting of the shapes and decorating them.



When I got back Jerry and Gail were also there and everyone seemed to be having a very nice time visiting. Matt served up hot apple cider and I read Levi his choice of Where The Wild Things Are and then Matt's choice of The First Christmas. I brushed Levi's teeth and got him into his PJs and then he came back out to say goodnight to everyone. My mom left and then Levi tried on Jerry's santa hat. I found him another one - photo op!



Jerry and Gail said goodbye and went on their merry way.

Levi and Matt then got involved with playing with Levi's wooden trains and it was so nice to hear them planning out their railways and using the new turntable. They were having such a nice time I didn't want to spoil it with the word "bedtime." It is Christmas Eve, after all :)

Milestone

Today Ellie sat up on her own.

Weekend update

More good news on the potty-training front. Today I prompted Levi just about every hour to use the toilet and he happily agreed. He is really getting the #1 part down. The #2 part, not so much. But I am still pleased with the progression thus far. He is pretty proud of himself every time, so I think it's been rewarding for him as well.

Today Oma came over for a visit and to play with the kids. Levi was a bit cranky when she first arrived (it's hard to wake up from a nap) but they soon joined forces on some puzzles and then laid down railroad tracks. It was a fairly mellow day.

I started making pizza dough about 5:30 and we assembled Thai pizzas at 7 pm so we could be ready to watch the Survivor finale at 8 pm. Levi sat quietly for almost an hour and then Matt put him to bed.

Ellie didn't go down until about 10 pm so I am hoping she sleeps better tonight. She has been getting me up about 5 times a night lately.

Yesterday, driving home from my horseback ride, I started having some vision problems. It only lasted about half an hour but was followed by a very bad headache. Freaked me out a little bit. I am hoping it is related to sleep-depravation and not something more serious.

Potty progress

I haven't posted much at all about potty training progress, or lack there of, so I will catch you up to speed.

I was in an art conference this morning at work, so I missed a very special call.
9:55 am 12/18
When I checked my messages I heard a little voice
"Guess what I did?"
(whispering) "I peed"
(prompted) "Talk to you later"
(again, prompted) "Love you, bye!"

I called Matt to get the whole story. Last night I noticed we had only one diaper left for Levi in his size. Well after Ellie's bath I got confused and put this big diaper on her. (Really now, size 5 and size 3 and I can't tell the difference?! Maybe I will just blame it on sleep depravation). So after Levi's bath I felt really bad when the diaper I thought was his last one was actually Ellie's. I put it on him anyway.

This morning I changed him into underwear. I asked him "which pair? boxers or the blue ones?" He chose the boxers.

Later that morning Matt went to pick Levi up and noticed he twisted away from him. Matt asked what was wrong, and if he needed to use the toilet. Levi said "yes, I think so."
So Matt accompanied him into the restroom.

(Back story) We had been using a little kids potty chair but with the house being for sale and everything it was just too cluttered in the bathroom, and Levi never did much of anything on it anyway, so we took it out. We have a step-stool now instead for Levi to stand at the big toilet. We have had a handful of successes but mostly Levi has anxiety about using the toilet and I have to sit there on the floor and talk to him to distract him for about 10 minutes before he can relax and forget about it and pee.

Well not today. When Matt asked Levi if he needed to pee, he said "Yes, I do."
And when Matt asked him if he wanted to be told a story, he said, "No thanks."

Levi said he wanted new underwear as Matt was pulling them up.
Then he pointed to them and said "There's a little bit of liquid in there - just a little bit."

Yay! A small victory!

We still have a long way to go but at least now I feel like there's some hope.

Meal Idea #4

Chicken Cacciatore

1 can vegetarian chicken, diced
1/2 c. oil
1 onion, minced
1 large can of chopped tomatoes, I like Del Monte basil & garlic, or a jar of homemade canned maters
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Saute onion and chicken in oil
Add other ingredients
Simmer until soft and blended
serve over rice

This is a quick and easy meal that has fast become a favorite. Just think of all that lycopene!

Meal Idea #3

Eggplant Parmesan with spaghetti, cottage cheese and broccoli. I get a lot of grief at work from co-workers who think it's incredibly weird that I eat cottage cheese with spaghetti. I'd like to know what you do!


My eggplant recipe doesn't actually have any Parmesan, unless I happen to have some of the grated stuff on hand. I slice my eggplant, dip it in beaten egg, then dip it in bread crumbs, then let it fry in olive oil in a skillet. Once browned, I transfer it to a baking dish and top it off with spaghetti sauce (Ragu's super chunky mushroom is an old favorite) and grated mozzarella. If I have fresh mushrooms on hand, I sauté those and add them too! It all goes in the oven at 350 for about 20 min.

Meal Idea #2

This recipe was a big hit at our house and I even overcooked the potatoes! I also was a little short on cheddar so I substituted a little mozzarella on top. We served this up with a vegetable - Matt made Chesapeake corn, and also Swiss Steak (vege). I don't agree that it serves six - I could have been way off in my guesstimate of 1 1/2 lbs of potatoes but we ate it all. It also does have a bit of a spicy kick to it.



Pimento Cheese Potato Gratin
by Matt Lee and Ted Lee

serves 6 • time: 10 minutes preparation, 35 minutes cooking

3 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
1 1⁄2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1⁄4-inch thick rounds
3⁄4 cup heavy cream
3 shallots, finely diced (scant 1⁄2 cup)
1⁄4 teaspoon crushed dried red chile flakes
1⁄2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
One 9-ounce jar roasted red peppers or piquillo peppers, with their liquid
8 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated (about 2 cups)

1 Heat the oven to 375°F, with racks positioned in the middle and the top third of the oven.

2 In a 3- to 4-quart stockpot, bring 2 quarts water and 2 teaspoons of the salt to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook for 10 minutes. Then drain, and set them aside.

3 Combine the cream, shallots, chile flakes, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, the black pepper, and 2 tablespoons of the liquid from the jar of roasted peppers in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook until the chile flakes have begun to stain the cream, about 2 minutes. Add half of the cheese and stir until it melts, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat.

4 Layer roughly a third of the potatoes in a 6-cup baking dish, overlapping them slightly so that they fit in an even layer. Scatter half of the roasted peppers on top of the potatoes (cut up any peppers that have remained whole so that they lie flat), and repeat layering potatoes and peppers until all the peppers and potatoes have been used. Pour the cream mixture over the potatoes and peppers, and agitate the dish to distribute the liquid throughout. Cover with aluminum foil and bake on the middle rack for 15 minutes.

5 Uncover the dish, sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, and place the dish on the top oven rack. Bake for 8 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and gently browned on top. Serve immediately.

Meal Idea #1

Meal idea:

Baked Salmon (topped off with a little fresh ground black pepper, salt and garlic salt)
Salad greens with roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts and capers
Stuffed Green Pepper - rice is Uncle Ben's 'Roasted Garlic and Olive Oil' Long-Grain and Wild Rice

Secret Santa!

I signed up for a Secret Santa exchange with some other fellow model horse hobbyists. My box arrived from my secret santa today! Her name is Amy Wilkerson.

I could not believe the LOOT!! WOO HOO!!

In this little bag was a SM Dapple Gray Morgan Stallion for me, and a hoofpick for Sinwaan (in our color - red!)

This cute little crazy horse was a dog squeaker and they loved "getting it"

Here is the other dog toy

Levi enjoyed using the hoof pick on Buddy.

The horse treats for Sinwaan were also a huge hit!

I am going to try very hard to exert self-control and wait until Christmas Eve to open the rest of the presents!! Thanks Amy for the awesome package of goodies!!

Playing together

This evening I was updating the kids' drawers, working in their bedroom, so Levi decided to join me and play with his trains. At one point I had to get Ellie and change her and Levi said to me "Put Ellie down here ma, have her sit here on the floor." I was surprised and happy that he wanted her company. No sooner was she seated then he came over and presented her with some track, "Here Ellie, you can play with this." WHAT? Who is this child? Sharing without being asked?! Awesome!


Eventually of course the party crasher showed up. BeBe likes to hang out with the kids. She is never far away.

Black Friday

I hate clothes shopping. I really do. I know it's completely wrong for me to be a woman and not have shopping as an item on my résumé, but I really just do not enjoy going out and spending money on necessities...unless it's food. I don't like spending half the day trying things on and coming away with only a handful fitting as well as I like. But, it's a part of life, and if I must shop I at least try to be thrifty.

Enter Black Friday. SALES!

Matt and I drug the kids along to Macy's for their after-Thanksgiving sale. Most of the kids sleepwear was 60% off. There were various other sales but kids clothes were the reason I went since they both seem to be outgrowing their wardrobe at the same time right now. That, and most of Levi's shirts right now are t-shirts, not great for this colder weather.

Here's what I came home with;

For Levi, a pair of Levi's, a dressy sweater and a turtleneck. I know, it screams Preppy, but the collared shirt options were either the wrong size, or $40. I'm sorry, there is no way I am spending $40 on one shirt, that he will wear about 5 times. Thus the turtleneck. I'm sure he'll laugh at the photos when he's my age.

Levi jammies. Isn't he cool. I questioned the footie ones since they will be hard to manage if we can ever get him potty trained. But they are cozy for winter.

Ellie jammies. I think it's amusing how 3 of the 4 have some kind of character on the feet. Probably because babies grab their feet so much, this will give her something else to look at and talk to.

Ellie dress and long underthings. Forgot the stockings!!

Ellie day wear. I still don't know how I came home with three shades of pink pants. I was trying to find anything not blatantly pink.

I meant to get myself some things but after gathering up the above I just didn't have the willpower to struggle on with kids in tow. We stood in line about 20 minutes. I plan to go back when it's not Black Friday.

Thanksgiving 2009

I was up late (or should I say EARLY?) making the pumpkin cheesecake, so I was really hoping to sleep in today. I had turned off the alarm so it wouldn't wake up the kids. Ellie got me up at 1:30 and again at 4:30 am. I was exhausted. I heard a little rustling and opened my eyes to spy Levi climbing into the bottom shelf of Ellie's bassinet. I whispered for him to go back to his room to play so he wouldn't wake her up but - too late. Her little eyes popped open and that was the end of it for me. The clock said 7:14 AM.

Needless to say I was not feeling very motivated, I wanted to crawl back into bed. But there were dogs that had to go out, and little mouths to feed. I think I finally talked Matt into getting up around 9:30 and he made some Malt-O-Meal for us with eggnog.

After that we lazed around the house, watching the Macy's Parade in NY. Levi wanted to know the names of all the balloons and floats. We had a nice time snuggling on the couch. Ellie joined us eventually and started pulling Levi's hair and that was the end of that. Nap time!

While the kids napped I did get some more done on the model horse I have been trying to customize for my Secret Santa partner. He is coming along. Tedious work, and I am not thrilled with the overall product but I think it will be ok. I have learned a lot about remaking and sculpting and sanding and primering. I just wish I had more time. Well, chances are if that was the case it might take me a year to get it done instead of a couple months.

We got the kids up and dressed and headed out about 1:30 pm. Dinner this year was at Warren & Debbie Rood's house. I don't think the lot of us would have fit comfortably anywhere else! It was a brisk and foggy day, mid 30s-low 40s.

When we arrived, there was a lot of activity - greetings, hugging, talking, photos. Ellie went to Joanie and my grandma Joyce pretty well, but as soon as Wes took her the lower lip quivered and the brow furrowed and she started crying. Poor Wes!

The ladies wanted a group photo and Levi joined in.

The table was set beautifully and there was such an incredible display of food! Everyone had contributed something and Warren commented that this was the first time that he could remember that the food had to be set out in multiple places. There were indeed three tables of goodies. Turkey, gluten steaks, 2 kinds of stuffing, 2 kinds of gravy, creamed corn, peas, salad, relish plate, mashed potatoes and Kim's homemade braided breads. Everyone ate their fill.

Here is my cheesecake, not quite as neat as I had hoped but everyone thought it was delicious. There was also an incredible apple pie and pumpkin pie.

After the meal we all had a pleasant time visiting and catching up.





Wes showing Levi how to play games on his iTouch



Ellie loves to play the piano - who knew?!

Levi and grandma Gail

We had a lovely time, thank you to the Roods for their hospitality and to everyone for the awesome food! I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving :D

When I grow up...

This morning Levi was telling me that Thomas doesn't have a heart, but that he (Levi) does - in his chest. I was pretty impressed, so I asked him if he was going to be a doctor. He said he wasn't, so, being curious, I asked him what he was going to be then. He said "Oh - I'm going to be a teacher, like to Kidnastics."
-Matt

Horses - model, that is

I got a box of horses in the mail today. Levi loves to help me unpack them, it is so exciting for him to see what will come out of the paper and padding. Today he lined them all up and then he counted them.

I put a couple up on the shelf but let him play with the others, they are "bodies" and I plan to repaint them at some point in the future. He brought the two into the living room and had them nuzzling each other. I asked him what he was doing. "They are eskimo kissing," was the response. Then Matt asked him what their names were. "Um....Hasta la vista, and..... um.... Steam Locomotive." Matt said "that's right, the Iron Horse." "Yeah, Iron Horse," said Levi. Only one problem... Iron Horse is a mule.

Nice head

Levi loves playing with my model horses. Apparently he also loves playing with Brenda Breyer. I had asked him "Where's the pen that goes with this cap Levi? If you don't keep the cap on, it will dry out and you can't draw with it anymore." Levi's response? "Oh, the girl." And he scampered off and came back with this.

My oh my.

Sweet dreams

Ellie fell asleep in my arms. This rarely happens and it was so precious I tried to have Matt get a photo. Notice the little wisp of hair that is out of place.

Ellie's six month stats

Today Ellie went in to visit Dr Jen for her six month check up. Once again she was hailed as a perfect baby. "This is what I like to see, it's why I keep coming back in to work." Her current stats are: weight is 17 lb 14 oz, 85th percentile; height is 26 1/2", 78th percentile; and head circumference is 17 1/2", 92nd percentile. Wow! Giant headed baby!

She received three shots today - didn't seem to notice the first one but after the second one she started turning red! After a brief scream she realized it was all over and was easily distracted. Good, brave girl!

Levi was very talkative and inquisitive, telling Dr Jen "I have brown eyes" and "I love this book, I do." He wanted to see all the exam instruments and have her check him out too. Kindly, she obliged and carried on a conversation with him half the time.

He wanted a dump truck sticker for being such a good helper but Camille didn't have one like that, so she let him look through the basket. He settled on some tiny medical stickers and put them all over his pants on the way home.

Just updates.

Ellie has taken to growling lately. Kind of a determined, I can't get where I want to go, sort of noise. I mostly hear it when she is in her walker and is up against something immobile. However she also will do it when I am holding her to get a reaction out of me. What a silly goose! I really enjoy tickling her now because she has such a wonderful bubbly laugh. We'll have to get it on video one of these days.

She can sit when I put her in position but has not sat up on her own yet. I tried to give her a bath in the big tub last night and it about killed my back holding onto her the whole time. I guess we really aren't quite ready for that yet, but she seems too big for her baby tub.

Ellie has her six-month appointment tomorrow with Dr Jen.


Levi is the master of pushing limits. He was so wonderful as a two-year-old, I am really not sure what has happened to my child. He has his wonderfully sweet moments but it is so tough knowing when to allow him freedom and when to crack down. Is it so much to ask, to have a polite obedient child? Sure is a struggle some days. Three is tough! For all of us!

We have been nudging him towards potty training but no real success there to report on. I have had the cursed potty song stuck in my head the past two days from the video Levi seems to enjoy. We read potty books. We put underwear on him. We encourage and talk about it and show him what is expected. We offer rewards if he will use his potty. It turns into a big frustration for us all. I am not convinced that he really understands yet what is happening when he does have to go. He tells Oma that he will use the potty when he's four. I guess that's not so far off. (Sigh)

Matt has tried moving Ellie over to Levi's room lately and has not had any success with that (getting the kids to sleep/nap). Ellie might be asleep when he puts her in the crib but Levi is likely to shout about something (today it was "Squirrel!!") and wake her up. If Levi is napping and Ellie makes noise, it wakes him up.

We have outgrown our house! There is one we would like very much but will have to do some creative accounting to make it happen. It's a good time to buy, interest rates are low, so we're hoping we'll be able to sell our house and move on to bigger things. :) In the meantime we have taken to packing up stuff into boxes. There is no end to the things that need to be packed. How we ever crammed this much STUFF into this house, I'll never know. I hope it is not all for naught. All those extra cars are going to come in handy when I run out of space in storage, the garage, the camp trailer, to put these boxes.

It is late and I must retire. Happy trails to all of you.

Ellie stats

Ellie is 17 lb 7 oz today, and that puts her in the 75 percentile. I don't remember her length but it put her in the 90th percentile for girls her age.

The dietitian couldn't stop commenting on how beautiful she was. "She should be in the movies, I mean really! Look how that smile just lights up the room" I said thank you, that was very kind.

This was all for her WIC check-up. I am really impressed with how the program has changed in the past month. Less milk and cheese and more fruit, vegetables and cereal options. Finally they are practicing what they preach as far as healthy eating. I was beginning to think the main sponsor of the program was the dairy association. :D

Assisting

Dr. Sarah was looking for an assistant to help her with her dental practice on horses today and I told her I could help for the first part of the day. We scheduled 10-1 and then she called me back and asked if I could start at 9. No problem. It's a RARE day that I get to sleep in anymore anyway.



I assisted with the weight tape, and then loading the horses, holding while she administers the sedative, lowering the chest bar, removing the halter, holding the "spit bucket", strapping on the speculum, and then lifting the head up into the padded ring. I keep the horses' head upright while Dr Sarah works on them with her power tools and files, then lower the head, hold the spit bucket again, put the halter back on and back them out of the trailer.

While I was there we worked on Nugget, Derby, Shaiela, and Goldie. They were all fairly simple since all have had dental work in years prior and this was just a basic job today. We made pretty good time and had them done by 12:30 pm.

WOOT!

I feel two bottom teeth coming in!! Ellie's joining the ranks of the fanged... :D

She has slept great the past two nights, but the week before she was up every couple of hours. Wonder if this has something to do with that?

Things to love about Ellie

Just a couple of notes before Ellie grows up and I forget all the little details.

I love how she...

* blows bubbles at things that excite her

* smacks my arm with her little hand, or "gives me five" with her feet when we're grocery shopping

* cups my elbow in her little palm while she's nursing

* scrunches up her nose just like me when she smiles

* gets so excited about bath time, kicking and splashing and laughing the whole time

* makes incredibly hilarious faces when eating a new food (the latest - applesauce - you'd of thought I was feeding her lemon juice!)

* pulls Levi's hair when they are both trying to sit on my lap, and he doesn't react.

* is just so darn curious

* lights up a room with her smile when she sees me

* her blue eyes. I hope she can keep them. I never would have thought I could have a child with blue eyes.

Thanks Laura for giving me the idea to jot down this list!

Hee Haw

A co-worker (Cheryl) told me that tonight there would be a program at the Milton church for the kids and there would be a miniature donkey, so we went down to check it out.

As we entered the room, I looked around and saw a lot of senior citizens. Not so many kids. Hmmm.

Matt asked me "Do you know anyone here?"

"uh, no."

Levi asked me where the donkey was. I did not know.

Matt took Ellie and went and sat by the fireplace. I spotted a counter with popcorn and apples and cider so I wandered over there (even though I had just eaten, it's food, I can't resist, maybe I have a problem) I got a cup of cider and went back over to where Matt was seated.

Then I spotted Cheryl. Finally a familiar face! We went over and sat down next to her. They started playing a slideshow of photos from last year's cowboy camp-meeting.

The Kyle's showed up and discovered the donkey before I did. Yay!

Levi wanted to go over and see it, so we did. He even went up to pet it. I guess all that time at the barn has increased his confidence. They had him all dressed up with a pack and a hat. The handler told Levi that his name was Zacchaeus. But instead of being a wee little man, he was a wee little donkey. Ha ha.

Well, turns out it was a dry-run for a program geared towards "Snow Birds." That would explain all the seniors in the room. They played a round of donkey trivia, which was ok, I got some of the questions right but wasn't one of the participants. I don't think it was a very good program for little kids because it was pretty slow and drawn-out. They called Cheryl up and had her dress up and changed the donkey's clothes a couple times.

We didn't stay until the end. Levi got bored and I think the rest of us did too.

BeBe and Ellie

Matt was relaxing with Ellie on the sofa when BeBe wandered over and started snorting around for some attention. Ellie acted as though that was the most hilarious thing she had ever seen! I can still hear her shrieks and laughter as I look at these photos again.

These weirdo dogs really seem to enjoy the kids pulling on their ears and at their throats. Leave it to a Boston Terrier. I have been really impressed with how BeBe is with the kids. All the dogs have been great, but BeBe in particular seems to seek them out for this twisted attention all the time. While it's not an excuse to leave them unsupervised together, I am relieved they can benefit from each other's company.