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| Topic: But There Is No TV |
| Date: 2009-11-12 13:47:32 |
| Message: Usually at bedtime, we'll let Emmett sit in our room and watch tv or a short movie as we wind down and get ready for bed. Yesterday we had taken the small TV from our bedroom downstairs so we could watch the Thomas the Tank Engine movies while we played on our train table during the daytime. After dinner we forgot to bring the TV back upstairs, and by bedtime we were too tired to go get it. Emmett had gotten his shower, dressed in his jammies, and wandered into our room. He stopped short at the door and exclaimed "dad we can't watch tv because there is no tv in here". "I know" I said, "we're going to try something new tonight: going to bed without a tv". Emmett was in shock. Not understanding, he repeated "I know but we can't go to sleep without a tv in here". A few more iterations of the back and forth, and I finally had him convinced one could indeed go to sleep without a TV, and we did. |
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| Topic: Fall is Here |
| Date: 2009-10-18 11:48:42 |
| Message: Pumpkin Patch October is a busy month around our house. Weddings for friends (one the first weekend and one to come the last weekend), pumpkin and apples, trashcan cookouts, mom has parent-teacher conferences, and of course we can't forget HALLOWEEN!  Last weekend we went to get apples and pumpkins at our favorite family run farm in Bellville, IL just down the road from Ekerts, but without all the people and commercialism.  Emmett liked riding on the tractor pulled wagon out to get apples and pumpkins, in fact, we took a couple of extra tractor rides just because. He also really liked playing with the tractor table they had (think train table just the farm version).  He really loved eating the apples he was picking, his favorite was the "little baby apples" that Grumpy peeled. He probably ate 4 apples while we were picking. Those people that have you-pick-your-own farms really should weigh people before and after they send you to the fields. The little stinker did not want to pose for pictures though. Anytime we tried to get him he'd look away.  Trash Can BBQ This weekend we had the annual trashcan cookout at Omi and Grumpy's house. We think this was our 4th one, but we can't remember for sure. Despite the cold we had lots of fun with yummy food and lots of good friends.  For those of you who are wondering the trashcan cookout is an idea we got from a family that Grumpy works with after we went to theirs a while back. Wayne and Marilyn have been helping us ever since we said--hey we want to do that! Lisa G. (soon to be F.) probably described it the best when she said "think clam bake". So that's basically it, a bunch of food stuffed in a huge steel trashcan and steamed for 5 or so hours. Corn on the bottom with cabbages, red potatoes, carrots and onions layered then topped with a variety of sausages and hams. YUMMY! It all stays on top of a camp fire and makes the yard smell so good.  The fire was a very welcome gathering place yesterday with the "ber-chilly" October weather we've been having. We even started a 2nd fire to have enough warm space for everyone. Emmett loved playing outside all day and was sure to warn everyone to be careful around the fires.  Thanks everyone who came to join us! We're ready for next year already! Make sure you're available--its not to be missed!  |
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| Topic: Train Heaven |
| Date: 2009-09-27 10:58:31 |
| Message: Somewhere Chris had heard about a train shop in Valley Park called the Whittle Shortline Railroad. It is near the railroad tracks across from the caboose which is home to the geocache we just can't find (a story for another time). Anyway, last Saturday before bed, Chris told Emmett we would go to visit a "Thomas" store in the morning--the child was up with the sun staring in my face Sunday morning telling me, "Mommy, the sun's up, time to go to the train store." To help you understand the excitement of a trip to the train store I should back up a few weeks and explain how we came to be such Thomas enthusiasts. Grandma Kathy had bought a Thomas and Friends DVD that came with one of the little wooden trains for Emmett about a month ago, because she knew he fell in love with movies this summer. Well, he loved the train (who is really Mike--we'd never heard of him) that he called James because the movie was about James.  Emmett wanted more trains! We saw this as an opportunity to help us with the potty training issues we'd been encountering concerning Emmett's long time troubles. So, Chris told him if he'd start going on the potty everyday, we could get more trains like the ones Grandma Kathy had gotten him. Finally, Emmett went on LaborDay at Omi and Grumpy's after dinner when mommy and daddy were tired and not in the mood to drive all the way to Target, we were able to find a Thomas sounds book to reward him. Hey, you might call it a bribe, we call it the answer to a build up of toxins that need to be eliminated to make us all feel better. Grumpy found some sets of Thomas-like trains at Toys R US to use as rewards. Emmett seemed to have enjoyed the rewards because we no longer have problems with not going. Anyway, back to the Whittle Shortline, upon entering the store Emmett was in heaven. He walked right through the doors up to a train table set up with tons of track and every train piece imaginable for kids to just play with. An hour quickly passed, and while mommmy and daddy watched Emmett play we talked about how easily, and much cheaper, Chris could build a table that would be bigger and better than any of the train tables we have seen in stores. Daddy spent a couple of days looking at different plans to build tables, measuring various scrap pieces of plywood and 2X4s we had laying around here from all the fix-it up projects and then after a trip to "homer your depot" the boys had all the stuff they needed. They got to work right away, and Friday night Emmett didn't even want to go to let Holly and Ginger (he's dog sitting for the OJ and Miss Chris while they went to visit Lizard) because he and daddy needed to go home to finish his train table. While they were working on finishing up the table yesterday painting and adding the trim Emmett told Chris, "daddy we don't have to go to the train store anymore, I have my own table now." And he does, behold the nearly 48 square feet of train wonderment that is taking up an entire corner of the nearly finished basement!  |
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| Topic: Online Poll |
| Date: 2009-09-14 21:06:25 |
| Message: We're officially half way though the pregnancy, and we've had two Ultrasound sessions, and have not yet found out if it's a boy or a girl baby.  We have one more scheduled Ultrasound session...should we find out if it's a boy or a girl, or leave it up to be a surprise? Tell us what you think by filling out the online poll! |
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