Sammy and Freddie with Kennedy and Gage

Sammy and Freddie with Kennedy and Gage, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Holly, Jesse, Kennedy and Gage stopped by for a quick visit last week after a fun weekend of renovating their Apple Valley townhouse (anyone looking for a rental?).

Sammy and KP played at the wading pool while Freddie napped and Jesse tried to take a nap with baby Gage. Here are all the kids on our steps right before KP and fam headed back to Wisconsin. Gage is looking concerned because moments before a crazy Sammy bopped him on the head with the remote control.

We were glad to see you guys! We hope you move back soon!

Overheard at the Bear Cave

"Please hurry up. You go your way, I'll go mine. We've all got our own plans." Sammy to another kid, trying to hurry out to make the start of Sonic's 2pm Happy Hour. Overheard by his father.

Dominique being escorted down the aisle.

DSCN0525, originally uploaded by dancgbear4757.

Also snagged from Mom. Click on the picture to see it full size, and to check out the huge grin on James.

Dominique, you were truly glowing! We are so happy for you.

Me and the hubs at Dominique's wedding.

DSCN0551, originally uploaded by dancgbear4757.

LIfted this from my mom's photostream. Thanks, Mom!

Target's Circo Booster Seat Recall!

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: Target Recalls Circo Booster Seats Due to Fall Hazard

This seat:
click for larger image, or follow link below.

Here's more info about the recall if you have this booster: LINK w/info and picture

Texas State Capitol grounds

On the Capitol grounds, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

One last picture of our trip for the blog. Check out Flickr for the full onslaught. Thanks for looking. :)

Carousel merriment at Incredible Pizza

carousel merriment, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Happiness is indoor fun to be had at Incredible Pizza on a 104 degree day with over 90 percent humidity!

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Grandma's Birthday Party, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

On Tuesday night we had a birthday party for Grandma since we were all together. The party hats were a big hit, see picture. :) Grandma's actual birthday was this past Monday, Aug 3rd. Glad we were able to celebrate with you, Grandma!

Cute kids at Port Lavaca Beach

Cute kids at Port Aransas Beach, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Wednesday morning of last week we took the kids to the beach at Port Aransas. It was Wendy's idea as William had never been to a beach. Our kids have, but they've never seen waves (well, Sammy's been to this beach before so he doesn't remember the waves). The beach was a big hit with all the kids, and we were lucky to get a semi-overcast morning so we could enjoy it a little longer.

Texas trip - July 2009

Since the entire family was already in Texas for Dominique's wedding, we decided to head down to Jacob's parents' place for the week. We were lucky to be in Texas for a recording-breaking July heat wave (hottest July on record!) and drought. We Minneapolis people thankfully did not melt away, even though we thought we might a few times... ! Thanks to Grandma and Papa for a fun week!

Pictures IN FULL HERE! CLICKY CLICKY

Dominique and Moises' wedding!

cutting the cake, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

I've finally posted pictures from the wedding!

My stepsister Dominique married Moises Gonzales on Saturday, July 25, 2009 in Plano, Texas. Jacob and I attended sans kids (thanks again Grandma and Papa!!!). My stepdad James walked her down the aisle (as did her bio-dad, Martin). My mom, Aunt Diana, aunt's man Felix, Cousin Sahvanna, and Sahvanna's friend Sadi were also there. Sadi is now an honorary member of the family, as she put up with my ceaseless jokes about her being part of the wedding party. Congrats, Dominique and Moises!Congratulations to Dominque and Moises!

Find the Flickr set HERE!

Congrats to Aunt Nikki and Moises on their wedding!

We are back from Texas!

Here's a web scrapbook my mom put together of Dominique's wedding: click here to see!

I'll upload pictures from our Texas trip soon!

Jacob gets paid to work on this stuff.

Click here and watch.

The Cherry Returns!

The Cherry Returns!, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

From a sad dry Minnehaha Falls pictures to the lovely iconic Minneapolis Cherry Spoon -- complete with the cherry this time!

We took Bonnie to the Sculpture Gardens and then lunch at General Mills World Headquarters on Wednesday. It was a beautiful day! Then, Bonnnie and I returned to MOA for some shopping and to ride some grown-up rides at Nickelodeon Universe.

Slideshow HERE!!!! :)

The Falls... sort-of

The Falls... sort-of, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Here's a picture because it kind of unreal. No water at the falls! We are in a major drought.

Bikes with Bonnie!

Bikes with Bonnie!, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

We are having a fun time hosting Jacob's cousin, Bonnie, at our house. The first morning she was here we took her out to Minnehaha Falls (dry) and rented a Surrey. It was a lot of fun - and super funny when attempting to go up-hill -- that 90 lbs of kid weight in the front basket make it very challenging! More photos on Flickr, and more to be uploaded soon!

Free car seat safety checks!

Did you know that three out of four child safety seats in Minnesota are used incorrectly?

On Thursday, July 16th, the Walser Automotive Group is hosting a free car seat safety check (by appointment only) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Walser Mazda, 14720 Buck Hill Road in Burnsville, MN.

This car seat clinic is a benefit for Walser Rewards Members and is also open to the public. This event will give parents the opportunity to learn how to properly install a child seat, and check if their safety seats are properly installed and fit their children correctly. Walser is partnering with the Safe Kids Minnesota Coalition to perform these checks.

Appointments are limited. To make a reservation please call Andrea at 952-345-4019. Each appointment is 30 minutes long and a separate appointment is needed for each child in a car seat. Guests with an appointment will also receive a free car wash (weather permitting) from Walser Mazda.

If you have any doubts about your seats, go. Cars are the number one killer of children under the age of 15! ( Remember the kid who was in the booster too young? And almost always preventable!

Recent conversations with Freddie.

F: "I need band-aid."
me: "Why do you need a band-aid, Freddie?"
F: "Because..." (drawn out to about four syllables) "I need band-aid."


At lunch recently:
me: "Sammy, you asked for a hot dog and didn't eat it."
Freddie: "Put Sammy's hot dog right here, Mommy," while tapping to a spot on his plate.


Freddie also likes to sing. The theme song from Playhouse Disney's Imagination Movers is a favorite. He sings - with force, "Imag aton movers. You got think 'bout it!" It's precious.

He leaves out little bits of his words here and there (the first or middle syllable/word is a favorite for dropping), and blurs parts of others - the word "broken" is "be-oken" for example. I can hear him saying, "Oh no, it be-oken, Maaaaamaaaaaaaa."

He's super feisty and stubborn, and still plenty quick on his feet, but really has his darling moments. Not to mention he's uber smart and cute, too. And I say that from a completely unbiased point of view. Obviously. :)

campfire scene

campfire scene, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

A cute picture of the boys at a campfire area on top of one of the hills. They hiked up and found this and willingly posed for a quick picture :)

Yes, it's a barge!

Thanks for all the responses everyone :)

Here's comes a giant boat., originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

We saw a tugboat pushing this ginormous boat down the Mississippi River this morning and I cannot figure out what the correct name of this type of boat is. Any guesses?

Mississippi River off-leash dog park outing

, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Leah, her boys and their dog Tootie; Lisa, her girls and their dog Jack; and Sammy, Freddie and I and our dog Emma met up at the MInnehaha Falls off-leash dog park this morning. This park is awesome. It starts with a mini hike that's easy for kids, but has adventure options and climbing if you're into that, and ends on the sandy banks of the Mississippi River.

The kids and dogs (and grown-ups!) had a blast. Almost all of the kids went swimming (some in their underwear, lol) in the River (little Kaia chose to observe from the sidelines), the dogs were chasing after rocks and frisbees (Tootie is way better at this than Emma), and we even got to watch a tugboat push a huge boat (I'm still working on the name of this type of boat) down the river. The children and dogs were filthy, and Leah was a little wet after running through the water to save Isaac's little booty one time :) It was a really fun morning!

I took a bunch of pictures. Just head on over to my Flickr photostream (they can also be found in the Minneapolis: Out and About set.

PS These kids are so lucky!

strawberry sampling

strawberry sampling, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Look at that sky! We went berry picking on a perfectly beautiful morning!

picking strawberries

picking strawberries, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Freddie kind of enjoyed this. He would pick one, take a bite, throw it down and them march over the crops to find another. I'm sure the berry farmers love having all these little kids trample their crops!

The strawberries were delicious, warm and juicy!

Berry picking.

picking strawberries, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Jacob and I took the boys to a Berry Farm (way far north of Minneapolis!) on Friday morning to pick strawberries. We only had $3 when we arrived and since we were way out in the boonies decided to only pick the berries we could afford. The boys liked it okay, but it was a little chaotic for us and Freddie didn't quite get the concept. Maybe next year. Maybe. It was reeeeally far north, and Sammy kept asking, "Is this our exit?"

Funny speech updates.

I've been listening very closely! And I'm putting these up here in case any of you missed it in the earlier entry.

Sammy says:
"lemon-lemms" for M&Ms
"hometell" for hotel
"milkbutter" for buttermilk
"vinoculars" for binoculars
"bownix" for bonus
"Movie-gascar" for Madagascar; coincidentally he also calls Cars "Movie Cars"
"Chuck E Cheeses" for "Chuck E Cheese"
"lemonlade" for "lemonade"
"President Ovama" :)

And Freddie says "Y's" in place of "L's" -- for example he says, "I yove it!" "I sit mommy's yap (lap)." and "I don't yike it!"

I'm sure there are more for both kids, but you get the idea.

Also, both of our kids have the annoying (endearing?) habit of abbreviating their words like Jacob and I do. The classic "sando" for sandwich is an example.

Funday.

Fun at the park, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

It's always Funday for Freddie. :) He makes me smile even when he makes me chase him 500 times a day.

Picnic lunch on summer day in Minneapolis!

A summer morning in Minneapolis, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Temperatures are more fall-like really, which I don't mind all that much. Unless I've planned a fun morning at the beach instead.... ;) Thanks to all the moms and kids who joined us Monday morning - we are so blessed to have such a terrific group of friends!

My apologies to Cal, because I know Blogger will cut you out of this picture. Please head to Flickr (link beneath photo) to see the entire pic!

And that's one adorable face, Ruby!

The Big Bunny of Minnehaha Parkway

The Big Bunny of Minnehaha Parkway, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

The boys and I biked down the Parkway to "Save the Big Bunny" (think the Wonder Pets, lol) on Monday afternoon. It was a great ride for me -- good exercise, perfect weather and the boys did not fight in the Burley - at all!

Happy Birthday, Will!

Happy Birthday, Will!, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Our family really enjoyed celebrating Will's fifth birthday at his party yesterday, and at the beach on his actual birthday. Here's to an awesome fifth year, kiddo! :)

More pictures of the party can be found on Flickr A few better pictures (I'm sure!) can be found on my friend Sonja's blog: Team Krasean Sonja I really like your lens that makes the background blurry. My next camera will have removable lenses! "I yove it!"

Sammy going after the ball!

Sammy going after the ball!, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

I couldn't watch most of Sammy's game because I was chasing Freddie around, but Jacob said Sammy went after (and caught) a bunch of balls.

Summer T-Ball

Sammy at bat!, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Sammy started summer T-Ball last week and he's really enjoying it! Sunday afternoon we went to the park across the street to work on batting and running (hilarious!) and he was pumped to start playing on Monday. He's asked nearly everyday if it's a T-Ball day, or if we can go play ball at the park.

"Firsty"

"Firsty", originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

I kind of like the small bits of speech that Sammy still has trouble with. Like the "th" sound. To me it means he's still little :) (I'm just glad he doesn't replace his "Rs" with "Ws" - like Ming-Ming in the Wonder Pets, that drives me NUTS!)

He also says "a-none-no" for another. I'll pay close attention to him tomorrow and listen for any additional still-a-little-kiddo cuteness.

Peace? Or exhaustion?

Samonation, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Last Monday was Sammy's first day of summer camp. Leah and I are trading days, so even after summer camp is done, Sammy and Cal have at least another hour of playing together. Monday after camp they went swimming and played at a park, then played for a bit at Leah's while I collected Freddie.

After all of that excitement, we had a work deal to attend - a family picnic event for Jacob's division. They had lots of lawn games for the kids to play, and a fancy hot dog and burger dinner. The kids' loved the ice cream man-type desserts -- ice cream sandos, creamsicles, fudgesicles, and those ice cream cone desserts that I'm totally blanking the name on. eta: DRUMSTICKS! :D Anyway, it was cool, but the boy was exhausted! This pic is from the way home.

Sammy climbing in the tube.

Sammy climbing in the tube., originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Hi down there!

Hi down there!, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

A cool picture from the park. It was a beautiful afternoon!

Brotherly accord.

Brotherly accord., originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

I quick took a picture because they were playing with the same toy without arguing/fighting/hitting/screaming. While I was making dinner, no less. Only by the Grace of God I am sure.

(Please head to Flickr for the entire picture, blogger crops it and I really don't want to resize or mess with the blog template ATM. There are some other pictures up over there if you need extra incentive.)

Pictures of my 5-point harnessed cuties.

FJR, 2 y/o, 35ish lbs, 40ish inches and angry because he can't have the camera:

Britax Marathon.

SLR, 4.5 y/o, 50ish lbs and very tall, I have to measure him.

Britax Regent.

And one more thing. If you are going to the trouble of 5-pt harnessing your LO, snug it up ("snug as a hug") and make sure the clip is at armpit level.

Updates to the MN Booster Law

From KELOLAND.COM:

Starting July 1, Minnesota state law will require every child seven years old and under to be in a car seat or booster seat. The only exception is if they're 4'9" or taller. Under current law, they're only required for kids three and under. Advocates hope the change will help get an important message to parents.

Full Article here.

I was reminded of this when I saw an article about Texas changing it's Booster Law (yay!). For my Texas friends and family, your new law goes into effect September 1, 2009. It's about the same as MNs.

Here is a state-by-state break down of the current laws. Child Restraint Laws

Hopefully soon we will have tougher laws for Extended Rear Facing. Another PSA on this, but if your child has not yet met the maximum weight allowance of your car seat (for rear-facing, usually 30 lbs!) keep him/her backwards! It's way safer. Unless you prefer risking internal decapitation.

Chex Mex Casserole

I can't hold out on the Momtourage any more. Here is the recipe for the Chex Mex Casserole that I talk about all the time. It's a simple recipe and terrific way to finishing using a big ol' box of Chex after making a batch of Muddy Buddies. Tastes just like nachos, too. :)

Here's the link: Chex Mex Casserole

And a picture to tantalize you:


I think I'll be making some Buttery Trail Mix for summer days at the park, too!

Jacob's Well Band Review

Or, the part of the review (weekly email Nate - our worship leader - sends out to the band following their Sunday performance) that mentions Freddie taking the stage mid-set.

Here's what Nate wrote:

Freddie joining us on stage was one of the funniest experiences that I've had with the band. It's a hilarious story from start to finish, and I hope I never forget it. Marc, I heard you got a picture of him while he was up there, so can you send it out? Thanks for having such amazing kids, Jacob! Seriously. Having Sammy order us all root beer at lunch was pretty special, too:)

And here's the picture.

The show must go on.

Today during church, Jacob was in the band and I was in the Pond (aka the nursery for the 0-2 set). A couple of moms with older kids came by to collect their babies earlier than the rest, and while I was attending to an unhappy child, Freddie snuck out with one of the families. Soon thereafter, someone popped their head in to tell me that my son was heading down the hall on his own. By the time I got to the Commons, I saw Freddie had decided to go be with his Daddy. On stage. There he stood and rocked until the song was over, once trying to give his blankie to Jacob so that he could play air drums and air bass. Remarkably, Freddie showed no signs of stage fright and actually clapped for himself when it was all over. We wish we had a picture of the whole deal because it was quite a sight.

The World's Meanest Kid

Today the fam went to Morris Park for a fun afternoon outside. Sadly, we encountered The World's Meanest Kid, who greeted Freddie with a pinch, then took several swings at him - completely unprovoked! For a second we thought Freddie was going to toss TWMK down the stairs. Thankfully he did not. We attempted to avoid TWMK by heading to the other side, but he followed us carrying a full-sized Coke can. We went back to the other side, TWMK followed again. He took another swing at Freddie, missed with the right hook, and then proceeded to pour his Coke (which he was then drinking out of a Styrofoam cup) on Freddie's shoes. Then, Sammy went over to protect his brother and TWMK hit Sammy over the back of the head! Sammy looked like he was about to throttle him, but the mom swooped in a dragged TWMK off by the arm. Needless to say, Sammy's feelings were hurt by the encounter. Freddie was unphased, but was happy to tell someone "No, back!" and nearly come to blows. TWMK was probably about two-years-old and half the size of Freddie. Sorry, words do not do this story justice. It was one of the most shocking things we've seen at a park.

You go left, I'll go right.

You go left, I'll go right., originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

One more 'cause I can't get enough of these two. <3 Even though at the moment this picture was taken I know they were telepathically communicating, "You go left, I'll go right! Keep her on her toes!" I'm speaking from experience here. They have pretty much perfected the above plan. Punks.

Sammy and Ike

Sammy and Ike, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Sammy totally ditched Cal and their road construction (which mostly involved mass quantities of mud) to have a turn riding on top of the car. Sammy really likes Ike, he just tries to play it cool since Ike's still such a little kid and all.

Isaac and Freddie

Isaac and Freddie, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Round two is finally starting to really play together! Hoooooray! Here they are being super cute and silly over the weekend. What's even better is that they played like this for a while, long enough for me to grab my camera and snap a picture. Way to go, toddlers!

Typical.

Typical., originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Boys! Look at ME next time. Just once. At the same time. Dude.

More pictures of our Memorial Day Weekend fun up at Flickr. Except strangely none from Monday, which was also a great day. Thanks to Emily E. for inviting us to her house for a fun, super family-friendly BBQ. We all had a fantastic time! :)

My rockstars on screen.

on screen, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

This part of the museum is always a hit. The kids love "playing" along to the songs and seeing themselves on TV. I love seeing them, I just wish MCM would get some new songs already! (Or at least ditch some of the really sucky ones, like Wheels on the Bus and the French -?- one we can't sing along to.)

En route to the Minnesota Children's Museum.

, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

We kicked off the holiday weekend with a trip to MCM.

Sammy's Shirts

Sammy's Shirts, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Or, how to tell if your child favors one color above all others. Thankfully I have managed to sneak a few other colors into the line-up, otherwise Freddie would probably notice his wardrobe becoming monotonous in a couple years.

Sammy's shoes

Sammy's shoes, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Well, shoot. I still need to change this blog layout to one that is horizontal-picture friendly. Click on the Flick link if you're interested in seeing the complete Croc pair.

Mr. Super Cutes

Mr. Super Cutes, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Lounging after a long hot day playing outside. Look at those gorgeous blue blue eyes! More pictures from the week up on Flickr! :)

Just add ketchup.

Just add ketchup., originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Freddie applied his own condiments. He squeezed on about a half cup of ketchup to his mac-and-cheese. Why not? It is a vegetable afterall. You can't see the Smart Dogs (2) because he already ate them. This boy loves his Smart Dogs.

The red on his shirt is from homemade snow cones (thanks, Grandma!!!) they kids had for snacks that afternoon.

97 degrees

97 degrees, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

This week it hit 97 degrees in Minneapolis. We celebrated with kiddie pools, dirt and popsicles. And a Kong for Emma the Dog.

As tall as a tower.

As tall as a tower., originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Can you see how much Sammy has grown this year?! I can actually hear him getting bigger. :)

Two Monkeys / Preschool Graduation

Two Monkeys, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

From their Lamb class graduation Creation program. Aren't they adorable?! More pictures of the Creation Musical on Flickr!

And the winner is...

Jess felt I needed to blog about what is quickly becoming one of my favorite pastimes...the quest for the best Juicy Lucy in the Twin Cities. Now for those of you who aren't residents of South Minneapolis and/or haven't seen any of the Food Network specials that have been done about Minneapolis, the Juicy Lucy is a hamburger claimed to have originated in South Minneapolis off Cedar Avenue. You can "wiki" them if you like but a Juicy Lucy is essentially two 1/3lb patties cooked together with cheese in the middle. Cooking the two hallow patties with cheese turns the cheese into molten lava which smells and tastes wonderful.

Well after trying the two places that claim to have originated the Juicy Lucy, Matt's and the 5-8 Club, both off Cedar in South Minneapolis, I started leaning towards the 5-8 Club. Having said that, I tried a tie-breaker, the Nook in St. Paul, and let me tell you, the verdict was in. The Nook is my favorite hands down though I guarantee I will frequent all 3 establishments again and again. Next time any of you visit the Twin Cities, let's plan on a visit to one of these places:

If you like your burger well done, we'll go to Matt's.
If you like your burger medium rare like I do, we'll go to the Nook.
If you like your burger medium well, we'll go to the 5-8 Club.

Jacob

watching a show

watching a show, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Freddie loves his shows. And the nice thing is that he is still when he watches them. Too bad they only hold his attention for, like, five minutes. :p

Monkey

Monkey, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Sammy model the costume I made for his school musical. He's a monkey, and he's holding a banana in case you couldn't tell. They are singing a song about Creation. The complete ensemble will include a brown shirt and pants with a tail taped on his booty. :)

The good life.

The good life., originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Leah was really sitting like this and it was hilarious. The model face was thrown in for the picture.

Too funny not to blog. Leah, I love you! :D

Bouncy House Bliss - A 2nd Birthday Party!

Freddie, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Celebrating Freddie's second birthday with an outdoor family friends party this weekend! It was great fun!

Birthday party photos to be found here: Flickr: Freddie's 2nd Birthday