More about Gunnar

Just thought I'd show off some of Gunnar's latest activities...and antics.

He helped Dad mow the lawn:

Since Gunnar has learned to climb out of his crib, he doesn't sleep in quite as late. Our biggest worry when we hear him get up in the morning is that he'll go into his sisters' room, turn on the light, and climb up to top bunk to see Adah. (She hates that--the bright light waking her up, not her brother.) One morning Damon found him on the kitchen counter with a picture of Adah and Maggie in his hands:

The next photo is also related to Gunnar climbing out of his crib. At bedtime, he used to stay in his bed and quietly go to sleep. Now he climbs out, turns on the light, plays, and then frequently falls asleep on the floor. One night when we went to check on him before we went to bed, we couldn't get the door open. Gunnar had fallen asleep right by the door, with his head next to it, of course. When Damon finally nudged and squeezed his way inside, he found Gunnar sleeping facedown on the floor, but with this bee hat on backwards--so it smiled up at us! Too funny.

The Birthday Boy

Much to the bewilderment of our many friends and neighbors who swear he was just born yesterday, Gunnar is two! His birthday was on Saturday. He enjoyed the day, even though I don't think he really knew what all the fuss was about.

Gunnar opened his presents first thing, with the solicitious help of his two sisters. He got a plane (identical, except in color, to a plane Adah received on her 2nd birthday), a front-end loader, and a small stuffed dog from Mom & Dad.

Nana & Gumpin (my parents) gave him the new Disney Earth DVD--very cool nature movie. Grandma & Grandpa (Damon's parents) gave him a very cool The Very Hungry Caterpillar pop-up book and a train bank.

Much of the day was spent indoors watching the semi-annual General Conference of our church or outdoors helping Damon re-seed our patchy, recovering lawn. Lucky for us, Gunnar is young enough that he doesn't know about parties, balloons, or other exciting birthday things.

For this year's cake, we opted for a farm theme since Gunnar is very much into animals lately. (And I couldn't make a cake shaped like a ball, book, airplane, or any of his other interests.) The animals were a hit and the cake, with my mom's killer chocolate frosting, was delicious!

Happy Birthday to you, Gunnar!!

Greening Up

Having shown you the sad state of our lawn earlier this summer, I am now pleased to report that the grass is green again!!

We got rain all Labor Day weekend and the grass perked up. After that weekend, whether related or not, the city decided to let us water again and we've been pouring it on (responsibly, of course). It's still pretty patchy in places from the summer trauma, but we plan to do some reseeding in the coming weeks. It is so nice to be able to play in the yard again, and the house's facelift now seems complete.

And here's a bonus shot of Gunnar in darling red boots by the tall corn:

What does a bear say?

Taking a cue from darling cousin Soren, Gunnar made his own video to show off his animal sounds and signs. (This is actually take two, and he kept looking back at the computer because he wanted to watch the first video of himself again.)

Do I go today, Mommy?

Maggie and Adah each began a new class this week. Maggie is taking Creative Dance (a combination of ballet, jazz, and tumbling) and Adah is taking Beginning Gymnastics (which will mostly just be tumbling). I was delighted to find a local teacher (meaning I don't have to cross the river) and they are just plain delighted.

Although they don't quite look it in these photos (Maggie was saying "ballet," and I think Adah was just trying to look the part of a powerful gymnast), they were so excited and happy with their new leotards and the whole idea of learning new steps and tricks.

Ever since Maggie has had her first class, she asks at least twice a day if today she is going back to ballet. It's just once a week. The poor girl is going crazy waiting for next Tuesday, but she'll soon have her schedule figured out.

First Day of Preschool

After walking Adah to school every day for nearly 3 weeks, Maggie finally got to have her first day of school today. She's been counting down the days for most of that 3 weeks and was delighted to have her photo taken on the front step this morning, just like Adah.

Maggie is attending the same preschool as Adah did, with the same fantastic teachers. Kathy and Diane are great women with such enthusiasm for what they do and a real understanding of kids (and their rookie parents). I am so happy to be returning to the same delightful building and classroom two years later. It has also provided a familiarity that has been comforting to Maggie as she begins the school year.

Maggie got right down to business in the classroom, cutting out a zebra. They are starting with the letter A, of course, and will be talking about animals this week.

Where's Waldo, er..Gunnar?

For a couple of weeks now Gunnar has been climbing out of his crib at bedtime and playing in his room before falling asleep on the floor. Last night when I opened the door to check on him, I found myself presented with my own little game of "I Spy." I couldn't find Gunnar. Can you see him in the photo below?

Here's a little zoom-in on his hiding, well sleeping, spot. See him now?

How cute is he? He even had his favorite blanket tucked back there with him.