The Daughenbaughs Experience Iowa-updated

We had a great time with Jason, Katie, Reder and Ruby when they came to visit us last week. The boys were undescribably excited to see each other. Wally was also very excited to see Baby Ruby. The kid is obsessed with babies.

The first full day they were here, we rode the "school bus" to Wally's school to meet Wally's friends. Reder thought it was pretty neat to ride a bus. Wally thought it was pretty neat to have everyone ride the bus with him to school.

After playing at school for a little while, we went across the street to the Ped Mall and played in the fountain and on the playground. This was just one of the times where the boys' different personalities came out. Reder quickly decided he didn't want to get wet, so he went to the playground. Wally was soon using his hat as a bucket to catch water, was trying to drink it, and figuring out how to get as wet as possible. Joel met us there after working the morning at the lab. I tried to get Wally to give Joel a big hug, but Joel noticed that he was a little wet before the hug. Shucks! We got Wally into dry clothes and went to lunch.

After nap time, we had a little birthday party for all of the kids, since we weren't together for Reder and Ruby's birthdays and won't be for Wally's either. Ruby got real presents and the boys got junk from the Dollar Store. They didn't care though. We followed the presents with cake. Wally and Ruby sure liked the cake. I'm not sure what has happened to Reder, but he just doesn't like cake. I think Ruby is going to turn out more like Wally than Reder!

The following day we took Reder and Ruby to the mall to experience a carousel for the first time. It was a big hit.

After the carousel, we ventured to the otherside of the mall to the play area. Once again, all 3 had a great time. Baby Ruby sure loves to slide!

We've taught Wally that if he wants to jump off of something high, he needs to hold hands. I guess we forgot to mention that it should be an adult's hand. Shortly after this picture, holding Reder's hand, Wally jumped. Luckily, I was able to catch Reder (he was unaware of the jump coming) and Wally landed without breaking any bones.

The last full day we had them, we took them out to Lake MacBride to show them the great Iowa outdoors. It was raining, but in Iowa, it doesn't mean it is cold, so we had a nice time anyway. Ruby thought Uncle Joel was pretty neat.

The boys had a great time throwing sticks into the water. Pretty sure we found poison ivy right where they were standing after the picture was taken. No rashes appeared though!

Reder was trying to show me his collection of sticks he was going to throw into the water, when I picked a big leaf and told him it was a hat. Pretty sure he thinks I'm crazy!It just happened to be our 6th anniversary that day, so we got a family picture. A lot has changed in 6 years!Though the morning was rainy, the sun came out after nap time, so we were able to play in the pool.Wally really wanted to give Ruby a kiss, but she had other ideas!

Ruby decided that maybe if she splashed, Wally would stop trying to kiss her. Guess she didn't see Wally in the fountain earlier!

Wally got a little wet, so he decided to shake like a dog!

Wally's friend Sander also came over for some water fun. Wally finished the slide in classic Wally style. Oops, I forgot that I can't rotate the videos. Don't hurt your necks watching this one!

All in all, we had a great time with the Daughenbaughs and hope they can come visit again. We miss you guys!

Baby Ruby Photo Shoot

Baby Ruby is awfully cute. Katie says that Ruby looks like me. I'll claim her!

Apple Pictures

Joel had to work on his grant on Memorial Day, but we did meet Daddy for a "Picnic Park." It was kinda chilly, but Wally had a great time watching the baby ducks, throwing rocks into the pond and playing on the playground. Wally's highlight was seeing the water park. He really REALLY wanted to go down all of the slides and play in the water. The only problem is that it doesn't open until next week. He wanted in so bad he started to climb the fence. I guess we will be going there sometime this summer.

During lunch Wally saw my apple and really wanted it. So, I let him have it. He quickly decided that he was making pictures on the apple with his bites. Here is a video of him explaining who is in the pictures. You will hear "MooseDasiy" (pretty much one word), "Mommy, Daddy," and the characters from Mickey Mouse. It was quite a detailed picture!

Wally still really likes to help me cook. He knows which bowls to get out, how to hold the bowl when I crack eggs (I let him try the egg cracking once, and well, we didn't use that egg for cooking), and how to stir and keep most of it in the bowl. He is really good at eating the "special treats" we make.

Wally was at a birthday party recently and was given a ladybug tattoo. He found it the other day and really wanted it on his had. I was leary to put it on because he doesn't really like stickers on himself (he rather stick it to others) and sometimes panics if he can't get them off. I tried to explain to him that it wouldn't come off, even if we washed his hand (how do you explain a tattoo to a 2 1/2 year old?). He insisted, so I put it on him. He obviously thought it was pretty cool. However, after less than 5 minutes, he was wanting it off. Then he was saying it was "Owey." Then he was screaming frantically and trying to scrape it off. If you ever are in this situation, isopropanol or nail polish remover takes tattoos off quickly. He was happy again once it was gone.

Wally and Daisy have become really good buddies in the last few days. Daisy has always been good with Wally, but they now play together. They love to chase eachother. Wally is constantly giving Daisy (and Moose) hugs and kisses. His big thing these days is to list everyone that he loves. Sometimes the list gets quite long, but Moose and Daisy are always listed first (Mom usually makes the cut towards the end of the list).Friday morning Wally and Daisy were playing again on the porch before we went to school. I heard a thump and then crying. All Wally says about what happend is, "Thump Daisy head." I'm pretty sure that he ended up tripping over Daisy and scraping his head on the porch wall (painted plywood). Needless to say, Wally is back to looking like Wally again with scrapes and bruises on his head. Don't worry, hasn't slowed down and he still plays with Daisy.

This was not the best picture, but it shows his "one, two owies" on his forehead and nose. It also shows his typical breakfast...milk, bagel with cream cheese and sometimes cereal. He has been a great eater lately...which means a great pooper too!

Also noteworthy, is that he is getting much better about listening to Mommy, especially if we are out and about (though this entry will probably mean the last of that!). I have been trying to point out that it makes him happy when Moose and Daisy listen to him and that it makes me happy when he listens to me. Is he old enough to understand that? It seems like he does. Wally and I went with Stacy and Sander to the mall on Friday night and we actually enjoyed our dinner because the boys actually stayed close (for the most part) and ate well. I consider it a successful night because Wally only hit his head twice and neither time left a mark! Maybe he is growing again!

I'll try to post again soon, but I have finally started editing and the Montana Daughenbaughs are coming for a visit (we are super SUPER excited).

Funny story as I was writing the above sentence...Wally was watching videos and eating his breakfast while I was blogging. As I was getting ready to sign-off, he came running into the office with no clothes or diaper on, turns around and say, "Look, poopoo butt!" His backside was covered in poopoo. Luckily he managed to get his PJs off, and his diaper off without poopoo getting everywhere. We then ran upstairs where I proceeded to use nearly an entire box of wipes trying to get him cleaned up. Maybe I should have just gotten the garden hose, but I figured it was still too early and cold for that. Cheers!

Memorial Day Weekend

After church this morning (we were United Methodist today), we decided to go on an adventure. Joel had learned of a marsh land to the south of us that was supposed to be a great birding area. We decided to pack a picnic and head out.

The first thing I noticed was the flowers. I love wild iris no matter how many times I see them. I also liked this shot because of the ladybugs at the top. I didn't notice them when I took the picture.

The first thing Wally noticed was the water:

The first thing Joel noticed were the bugs!

I should mention that the second thing I noticed were all the birds singing. The third, and sadly most memorable, thing I noticed were all of the water snakes! I hate snakes. I tried really hard to be brave, but I just hate them! I managed to enjoy our picnic while constantly checking to make sure a snake wasn't about to crawl up my shorts. After the picnic, we walked a bit deeper into the marsh lands. Wally loved playing get the bugs.

We also saw dragonflies, frogs and a snail shell. But, one of the highlights for Wally was finding all of the goose poopoos and playing, "Jump the goose poopoo!" (Will he ever out grow that game?)

We took a different way home and drove through a cute little town. On the outskirts was an amazing cemetary all decked out for Memorial Day. I'm not sure I have ever seen so many flags. Thanks to all who have given their lives or have lost love ones in the line of duty!

Summer Fun in May (Already!)

Summer has certainly arrived in Iowa. Is May too early to turn on the AC? Wally and I are loving all the time we get to spend outside. The dogs are loving it too. Joel is jealous, but someone needs to make some $$$! (Thanks Honey!)

Wally is all about catching bugs. If he can't find any bugs (which is very rare) he catches rocks and keeps them in his bug cage.

The other day I was hot and decided to use Wally as an excuse to buy a little wading pool to soak my feet in. It just so happens that he loves it! I can barely keep him out of it.

While Wally was swimming, I decided to transplant some hostas from the middle of our new grass to flower beds. This left some nice muddy holes. I initially told Wally he had to stay out of the mud, but then came to realize that you are only 2 once. He had a great time splashing in the mud!

Previous owners left us some "prizes" in our attic. Amongst the winners were 4 cases of canning jars (anyone interested?) and a dirty, ugly, little Christmas tree. Wally and I hosed it off so he can use it next year. He apparently likes it:But then logically, if you have a Christmas tree, you need a sled!Joel was able to come home early on Friday, so we took the dogs swimming at Lake MacBride. Moose still loves to swim for no reason, Daisy still needs her feet to touch bottom. Wally only needs rocks.After the swim, we took the dogs for a short hike to "dry off." I put "dry off" in quotes because in Iowa, things don't really dry. In Montana, the dogs would have been dried off by the middle of the hike. In Iowa, the dogs still smell like wet dogs at bed time. Lovely!

There are some wild flowers, but not as many as I had expected. Maybe they are still to come.

What better way to end a fun day and to celebrate the start of summer than with corn on the cob (it came from Florida though!).

An insane number of pictures...

It has obviously been a while since I last blogged. We have done a lot since my last blog... visits from Grandparent's, mountains, biggest cottenwood in Colorado, zoo, museum, wedding (aka: Wally's Big Ring Bearer Debut), and a whole lot more. Since I would never get everything uploaded and written about, I am going to upload the pictures to Picasa and you can check them out there. Hopefully, this link will take you to all of the new photo albums (there are a lot!) http://picasaweb.google.com/jillgraff

I'll try to upload some videos and put some captions on the pictures soon, but this is pretty good for me! Enjoy!