One Epic Birthday Shopping Trip!!!

So last night I (Dad) took the kids (Alex and Rhoslyn) to the store to pick out some gifts for Mom (Kerri) for her birthday.

Of course Alex asked if we could look at Toys, I told him that we probably wouldn't have time since it was already 7:00 PM.  He got a long look on his face but then he came back and said that he didn't want to go that night but wanted to go the next night to go shopping for Mom so we could look at the toys that night.  This had Kerri and I laughing so hard!  Of course Rhoslyn had to chime in and say " I wanna go too!"  I told her that if she was coming then she was going to ride in the cart since it was so late already.  She said OK.  Much to my surprise!

So now everyone is in the car, Alex is being super secretive as to what he wants to get Mom and won't tell me since we are still in the garage; mind you that Kerri is probably in the back nowhere near the garage!  We start to pull out and I am pushing the button on Kerri's garage remote and all of the sudden I hear Rhoslyn saying "Come On Garage Come On!"  Already I can tell that this trip is going to be interesting and we haven't even left the garage yet!

Fast forward to Wal Mart...I am getting the kids out of the car and Rhoslyn off course says "I wanna walk!" So I tell her that she can walk into the store if she sits in the cart, again and much to my surprise she was like sure!  We are walking in and Alex is talking about what we are going to get Mom and he is saying he doesn't know what he wants to get her.  We get into Wal Mart and now it is time for Rhoslyn to pay up on her end of the bargain, into the cart she goes!  No screaming no nothing...Awesome, this trip is going great so far and we haven't even bought anything yet!

Now we are in the store, we see Halloween decorations and Alex is like we should get Mom some decorations...I am thinking Oh yeah that sounds like a great idea!  She will love that...Ok maybe not so much.  I direct his attention to getting her a card...Off to the card aisle!  We are walking up and down the card aisle looking for cards, nothing is really jumping out.  Rhoslyn finds a card with a cat on it, she wants to get that card.  I am like no problem, she needs to pick it out without my input.  Alex then finds a snoopy card, I am thinking alright not a bad choice.  I picked out my card for Kerri, so far looking good.  Then we passed some character birthday cards...Rhoslyn spots a Hello Kitty Card, now she wants to get this instead. Now Alex finds a new card too!  He finds a card with a puppies on it.  I am thinking this is going to be great!    The card Rhoslyn picked out is for a 6 year old birthday!  The card Alex picked out is a card for a boy!  This is great so far.

Now we have to actually find something...we are walking around and Alex says he wants to get Mom some new clothes...sounds like a great idea.  We are walking by the clothes and Alex says how bout we get Mom a new Bra? I am thinking probably not a good idea.  Alex: How about some new shoes?  Me: Let's look for something else.  We pass some sweatshirts and Alex says how about that!  Sounds good!  We pick out a nice pink sweatshirt for Mom.  We keep walking and then Alex says how about a bracelet?  Good idea!

Now we are looking at jewelry for Mom.  No luck on a bracelet but now we are looking at earrings and then perfect we found some hoop earrings that Mom has been asking about!  Perfect.  Now we are almost ready to check out when Alex says lets get Mom some chocolate.  Of course we can't do a birthday without chocolate.  We start looking for some chocolate first on the list...Raisinettes!  I tell him probably not... Next on the list Mint M&Ms.  Perfect!  Mom loves those.  Now it is time to leave!  Or is it?

We almost get to the checkout and Alex says...Dad we need to get Mom some Scotch Pop up Tape.  Of course what birthday present wouldn't be complete with scotch tape!  Off to the office supplies!  We find that quick and then I ask Alex if he wants to give Mom her present tonight...Answer: Yes!  Now we need to get a gift bag!  Alex picks out an orange bag and Rhoslyn picks out pink tissue paper...Even better.  Now we are done!

We finally check out, on our way Alex spots some Angry Bird slippers!  I tell him we don't have time to look at those.  Rhoslyn then spots some new slippers that open up when you walk all the way to the check out she is saying Stomp Shoes Daddy...Stomp Shoes!  Check out is complete and into the car.  I quickly dig out pens so the kids can write their message to Mom in their cards.  I write a quick little message in my card and now off to home.

We pull in and now I am trying to get her gift together quickly, the kids are running around probably wondering why aren't we going in.  Gift is put together in typical Dad style!  A whole lot of tissue paper mashed together and not very well.  Perfect.  The whole time I am thinking this is going to be Epic.  Alex is so excited to give the gift to Mom.  We finally go in, Rhoslyn gives the cards to Mom and Alex with a huge smile on his face gives the gift to Mom!

The rest I will let Kerri blog about...but trust me it was truly epic!

What a shopping trip!  Totally worth it!

She did it!

Rhoslyn has been very interested in the potty for a few months now.  She loves to sit on it.  Usually she will get off, go walk away, and then pee on the floor.  She has never actually pee'd on the potty... until tonight!

Rhoslyn was in the bathtub and said she had to go potty.  She climbed out by herself, sat down on her potty chair, and she actually pee'd!

Of course mom made a HUGE deal out of it and she was so proud of herself!  She kept saying, "I did it!"

Hmmm... maybe this is the beginning of our potty training adventure with her.

1st Day of School!

Today was the day!  Alex had his first day of 4k and his first experience on a bus.

It was hard waiting all morning for school to come.  Alex was very excited to go to school and became pretty impatient about it.  Of course the school bus was later then it should have been, so that made an impatient four year old even more impatient!

We waited outside for the bus to come.  Alex had a big smile on his face as soon as he saw it come around the corner.

We walked over to the bus and the bus aid came out to greet us.  Alex stepped on the bus, turned around long enough to get a quick photo and for me to say good bye and on he went!

I was definitely trying hard to keep the tears back!  Rhoslyn and I waited for the bus to drive away.  She was not happy that she couldn't go on the school bus too. 

As the bus drove away mom got teary eyed.  Then Rhoslyn started really started crying and said, "where is Alex going?"  Then mom really started crying... Rhoslyn had the saddest expression on her face.

Once we got inside she was fine and all afternoon she said, "Alex school bus."

As soon as her and I saw the bus pull up we went outside to greet Alex as he got off.

He had a great first day!  He came off the bus smiling from ear to ear.  He told me that they had taco meat, chips, yogurt, and corn for lunch.  He said for a snack they had a "new" granola bar and apple slices.  He met a friend named Gavin, which he thought was so cool since he has a cousin named Gavin.  They also ride the bus together.

He did a lot of playing, singing songs, and the teacher read books.  He even used the bathroom twice!  (This is a big deal since he doesn't like public bathrooms much)

He is excited to go back tomorrow and get back on the bus! 

Well, it's official.... we now have a school aged child.

"Is the bus ever going to get here?"

Here it comes!!

On the bus getting ready to go!

Off to school he goes!

One sad sister that her brother went on the school bus without her.



Alex is going to 4k!

Today was open house for the 4k students at Keller Elementary school.  I took this opportunity to snap photos of Alex, because tomorrow is his first day and he is taking the BUS!

He is very excited to go to school and even more excited that a field trip is coming up in a few weeks and mom is going with!

We can't wait to hear about his first day of school tomorrow when he gets off of the school bus.

This is his hook to hang up his backpack.  His picture is right above his head.

Rhoslyn had fun playing in Alex's classroom.

Playing in his new classroom.

Hopefully mom can keep herself together..... at least until the bus pulls away!



Labor Day Weekend 2012

We spent yesterday at Grandma and Grandpa Ritter's Cabin with the family.

We all had a great time!

The kids enjoyed going for rides on the ATV's and playing with eachother.



Bedtime struggles

Oh Rhoslyn....

Every single day I lay you down for a nap.  Every single day I need to go in your room at least once to tell you to go to sleep.  Every single day you sit in your room playing on your bed with all of your stuffed animals or grabbing things off of your dresser or shelves.  (ex. piggy bank.. which is now in her closet!)

But today...

I heard you crying.  So, mom went into your room and there you were....

On top of your dresser!

You were crying because you couldn't figure out how to get back onto your bed.

Please, please, just close your eyes and go to sleep. 

Happy 2nd Birthday Rhoslyn!

We officially have a 2 year old little girl on our hands!  Oh.. she is definately two!

Today Alex and I took her to the mall to play and make a bear and build a bear.  Then we all went to Chili's for lunch.  Rhoslyn enjoyed dipping her fork into her ranch (yep, she is my daughter) and eating it.  She tried drinking it too, but mom stopped that one.

When daddy got home we had dinner, cupcakes, and opened presents!  We kind of started a tradition in our house of letting the kids go to the store and pick out cupcakes or a cake.  Then when it's their party they get a cool cake!  Rhoslyn enjoyed everyone singing to her and enjoyed eating her cupcake even more!  She even blew out the candle on her own.

Alex needed to help her open her presents, she really just wanted to see what was in them and didn't care about opening them.  She was super excited to see her Minnie set.

A little bit about Rhoslyn at two:

1. She loves Minnie Mouse, Dora, and Hello Kitty (she says Kitty Hello).

2. She is starting to wear 3T clothes.

3. She talks A LOT! (5-7 word sentences)

4. She loves to look at books, but she doesn't have the patience to sit and read books.

5. She now screams at the top of her lungs when she gets mad, annoyed, or doesn't get her way.

6.  She HATES bugs.  She will cry and scream if there is a fly by her.

7.  She likes strawberry milk.

8. Her favorite fruit is berries (especially blueberries).

Happy Birthday Princess!!