Parakeet Repeat

Here are a few often repeated phrases around the McDonald household.

Noah:
"Maybe tomorrow"
"In July"
"If I go pee and poop on the toilet" (followed by what ever he wants as a potty training reward)

Zoe:
"No, no, no!"
"Why?"
"Good Boy!" (to anyone who uses the toilet)
"Kitty! Ruff, ruff, ruff." (still trying to teach her that a cat says meow and a dog goes ruff)

Just thought you might get a kick out of their favorite phrases.

Part II

Here are more pictures from our outing, we also decided to let Noah try bowling for the first time. He had fun for the first game, but was done having fun half way through the second game. He wasn't all that bad - he placed second both games and at the end he wanted to keep the bowling shoes.
Here is Noah picking up his bowling ball. The weight and size didn't seem to phase him. I was worried a time of two that he'd drop it on his sister, but he did just fine.
Here is Noah bowling with Dan's help. Noah actually did pretty well, he'd do even better if he could roll the ball with a little more power and give the ball more speed.

Here are a few shots just after he sent his ball down the lane and waiting to see how many he managed to knock down.

Of course, Zoe had to get in on the action too. We let her try it once. She was a great cheerleader to all around as she had a lot of fun clapping after the pins were knocked down. Somehow she managed to fall asleep halfway through our games and had a nice nap on the couch.

FHE

We've set a goal to be better about having FHE (Family Home Evening); however in our case it is more like FHA (Family Home Afternoon). With Dan's Tuesday through Saturday schedule we've decided to set the majority of Monday aside for family fun and togetherness. We have found by doing things during the day, the kids are much more cooperative, and a lot of activities have a cheaper day rate.

On this particular day it was Noah's turn to pick the activity. He chose to go to his favorite place, the indoor playground at our local bowling alley. He calls it "basketballs", because you can shoot balls everywhere. It's a three story play structure and since the kids are under 3 they are free.

Here's a picture of the kids climbing up to the second story. Zoe has learned to do it all by herself and has gotten pretty fast at it. She loves to climb up and slide back down over, and over.

Here's looking through the tunnel on the second level. We tried to get everyone to look at the camera at the same time, but failed. We also tried to get Zoe to climb through after Noah, but that didn't work either.

Here's Dan and Noah shooting at Zoe and me. I think Dan was having more fun and doing the majority of the shooting, at me. I guess boys will be boys.

Here you can see Noah in the background loading the big cannon. Zoe's just trying to figure out what to do next.

Here's Zoe loading the big ball launcher. You fill it up and then push the green button and it shoots the balls up in the air. She has a good time running around and gathering all the balls. It usually takes her several attempts to actually get them into the machine. She tries her hardest to keep up with her big brother and she actually does a pretty good job.

It's a Boy!!

Cat, that is. Noah has been asking and asking for an orange kitty and after hearing how the cats online at the humane society are "in a cage and we need to get a key so we can take'em home and not in a cage" we thought maybe we should consider a cat. However on a walk in the neighborhood a very friendly and very large cat or small raccoon ran up to the kids to say hello and both lost it completely. So we started to rethink the idea. I (Dan) then thought we should maybe go to the shelter and see the kids reaction . . . long story short Noah picked out "Bullseye" an orange tabby. As we had none of the necessary gear we told Noah maybe tomorrow we could get the kitty and he fell apart in the lobby in a fashion which caused me to be noticed 2 days later when I came to adopt the cat and bring him home. Noah has decided his name is Pumkin Pie but as he is a male we are thinking Pumpkin will do ok.

He is a very nice cat. He's 2 1/2, somewhat large, declawed, and very mellow despite Noah's ideas that he will eat your toes. He is super affectionate and very trusting allowing you to brush him and rub his belly. He even sleeps on his back like so:

So far so good . . . stay tuned to see whose toes are the first to go.

Noah's latest obsessions.....

Here is a look at some of Noah's latest obsessions. He is obsessed with going to the Park. He wants to go 24/7. I'm so glad our small town has so many parks to choose from. We have probably been to 4 different parks this past week alone and there are still several we haven't tried out yet. There have even been a couple of days we've gone multiple times or to multiple parks. We are seriously considering getting a play structure for our backyard.

He loves to climb on the different structures and slide down the various slides. He has just recently learned to climb up the ladder. As for Zoe, she could swing all day. She hates to get out. One of my favorite things is Noah will push Zoe, or even offer to push me on the swings. He'll give my one push and then inform me I have to do it myself.

His other obsession is "cutting the grass," known to others as mowing the lawn. When he's not at the park he thinks he needs to cut our grass, with his bubble mower. Hopefully he'll still be excited to do it when he is actually old enough to use a real mower.





The other night Noah was out there while Dan was actually working in our yard. You can tell he wants to help so bad. He'd follow his Dad around, but every time Dan would head his direction with the real mower he's sprint to the other side of the driveway. It was pretty funny to watch.

Zoe, has to get in on the action too. And usually observes from her stroller when the real work is being done. When Noah is working by himself pretending to cut the grass, she is usually decorating our driveway with sidewalk chalk.

7- eleven

I have to admit I am addicted to 7-eleven. There's nothing like a Slurpee or even a Big Gulp or Super Big Gulp. I say it probably started when I was 6 months pregnant with Noah and we moved to Utah. They pretty much have one on every corner. During the few month we lived in Sandy, I used to dig for change and make a stop on my way back from taking Dan to the Traxx station. Once we moved out to West Jordan, it became less convenient, but I still managed to find a reason to stop, or make a Slurpee run, especially during the summer months.

Lucky for me, there is a 7-eleven right here in Fernley, which I hate to say, I frequent regularly. However, I try to raid the piggy bank and gather change to do it. It's pretty bad when your husband will make a late night Slurpee run for you during movie night.

Unlucky for me, is now I have two kids that realize the goodness of a Slurpee, or in the pictures above a Super Big Gulp. So, I rarely get my own anymore. Even when we get Noah his own treat, he'd rather share with me. And if I'm not careful he helps Zoe drink mine as well.

At least he likes to share with his sister.

Cinco de Mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo! I know these pictures are a little late, but I couldn't resist posting them. The dress and hat are actually from Mexico, a gift from Uncle Trevor and Auntie Sabrina. I thought they looked so cute and festive.

A closer look of the entire dress and Zoe's big smile at the excitement of getting her picture taken.

This shot really shows off Noah's blue, blue eyes.











We had the Missionaries over for dinner and here's a picture of the aftermath.

Zoe has started insisting on feeding herself and I allow it most of the time. As, it's much better than her throwing a fit. Plus I get to eat my food while it's still warm. Well, during this meal she managed to smear refried beans on her head and face. After dessert she had ice cream sundae from the top of her head all the way down to her toes. She's talented! So, like after most dinners she got thrown in the tub.

What does $100 get you?

In this case it gets you a visit to the doctor for both of your kids and six prescriptions at the pharmacy.

Yesterday, we spent most of the afternoon at the doctors office. It was time for Zoe's 15 month check-up and Noah's spring asthma check-up. So here are the results:

Noah's asthma is pretty much under control and his main trigger is allergies, so it's starting to act up as things start blooming around here and the dust kicks up. However, he had a lot of fluid behind both ears resulting in a double ear infection. He hadn't even started complaining about it yet. So, he got a prescription for ammoxicilin. He also got a prescription for fluoride, since Nevada doesn't fluorinate their water. That's not all, it was also time to pick up his automatic refill for his Singulair. I was surprised to find out that he weighs 30 lbs, so it looks like he will be able to transition into a booster seat on his birthday and use a big seat belt. He's been begging to use a seat belt ever since he saw his cousins use one and realize the his dad uses one.

Zoe luckily passed the weight thing as well. She's still not on the curve, but managed to gain enough weight since her last appointment, so the doctor's not too worried. She weighed in at 18 lbs 3oz, she's still considered on the short side at 28.5 inches. The only thing about her that is on the chart, or should I say beyond the chart is her head. The doctor seems to think the rest of her body should catch up with her head by the time she's 2 1/2. Besides being a little disproportionate, she is managing to hit all the other developmental marks on schedule, if not early. Her favorite phrases right now are: "I want it," or "I want that," as well as "No." Zoe got three prescriptions as well, one for Augmenton for her green snot and impetigo around her mouth, one for hydro cortisone cream for her eczema, and one for fluoride.

So, I guess we got our Co-pays worth from the doctor and their check-ups were worth it. She's really pleased with the progress both kids are making and enjoyed watching them interact with one another.

Even with good health insurance it seems to cost a lot to keep your kids healthy.

Trade You

I thought I'd post a picture of our lovely weather conditions. A lot of my friends in Utah keep talking about the endless snow days. Right now I'd love to trade you. We have endless wind storms. Here's a picture from my front porch. We live at the end of development in our neighborhood, so we have a view of several empty lots and streets. On this particular day the visibility wasn't the greatest. It's like a dust bowl out here. It reminds me of the movie "The Grapes of Wrath" I had to watch in High School all about the great depression era.

Here's one of the results of all the dust. This is my entry way which I have to sweep daily. It's hard to tell, but I have a nice pile of dust about the size of a CD. I also have to vacuum out my window seals on a regular basis. Our garage has about an inch of dust covering everything as well.

Plus it doesn't help my kids' breathing troubles any either.

Remember times like this?

This post is mainly for my friend Ruthanne, since I know she checks this regularly.

She mentioned that she had a a picture of our old house on her blog, so I decided to take a closer look. It is amazing to see how much things have changed.

That got me thinking about the memories I have of our old neighborhood, so I started looking at old pictures and found these in the archives.

Here's a picture of Tayden and Noah, just hanging out watching their dads work in the yard. According to the date stamp from the camera these were taken August 5, 2006.

I can't recall what project they were working on, but the boys look like they were having fun just being outside. Remember how much fun they would have together? And the trouble they could cause? It's funny to look back at pictures when they still looked like babies, unlike the more recent ones were they look like little boys.

Hope this made you smile as much as it did me.