Rub a Dub, Dub, Three Kids in a Tub

A laundry tub that is, I am not sure the last time my kids set foot in the bathtub. However, they have been swimming everyday at school, and I think I may have hosed them off in the shower or sink occasionally after meals.

Sounds Great!

Ava's new favorite phase is, "That sound good, mom?" No matter how reasonable or absurd the request or statement is, she will end it with that question.

"I eat lunch and go to sleep, then go swimming. That sound good, mom?"

or this morning

"Mom, I get dressed for airplane, and have bubble gum. Sound good?"

Much to her chagrin, she ended up with yogurt and a banana for breakfast and then I dropped her off at school. She may get bubble gum later today, but we don't have any airline travel planned for awhile.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Reflecting back on growing up in San Antonio, Ryan says he remembers a lot of rain during the the month of May. This year was no exception. T-ball was plagued this season with soggy fields, canceled practices, and shorten games all due to rain. Plus, we had to contend with the swine flu. Still, Elizabeth managed to rise above it all and come out with a perfect batting average and zero errors. She is very proud of her t-ball trophy. She is taking it for show-n-tell on Friday. In addition, her new favorite color is orange. That may change, we start practice with the summer team this week and she will get a new jersey. At least, she still tells me that she loves T-ball and wants to play every day. In between rainy days, we spend a lot of time in the backyard. The girls love jumping on their trampoline, digging in the sandbox, and playing in their tree house.When we do have to stay in, the kids like to read books, play dress up, and color.

Fiesta Farm

About a month ago, I worked for BearingPoint, they went bankrupt and sold part of their business to Deloitte Consulting. Now I am still doing the same job just with a different company. Before I made the switch from Bearing Point, I took my remaining vacation time to have a fun day with the kids and my friend Cara while she and her son were still in town. I figured time to play with the kids was worth more, and then couple of bucks I would get for my vacation time. We met up with Cara and her sister at Fiesta Farm, which is a local petting zoo with ponies, llamas, goats, chickens, ducks, etc. Elizabeth got into feeding bunnies, goats and ponies. She also thought the tractor ride was a blast. Ava didn't want anything to do with the animal and even found her 2nd pony ride mundane. She enjoyed playing in the sandbox, and pushing Cara's stroller all over the farm. I forgot Casey's shoes, so he spent most the trip in the backpack. I am not irrational about dirt or germs, but there was way too much poop on the ground for me to let him walk around. He did still get to enjoy pony and tractor rides. Plus, he had a close encounter with a chicken that tried to take his PB&J sandwich.

Weekend Warrior Part II

Another weekend that Ryan was working and we were left to our own devices. At least we had T-ball. Elizabeth’s team won of course! Actually, every kid gets to bat, there are no outs, and every kid get to run around the bases, so keeping score is pointless. We only had half a team since parents were keeping their kids away for fear of catching the dreaded swine flu. Oh well, that meant more snacks and juice for Ava after the game. I think that is the only reason she likes to go to Elizabeth’s T-ball events. On Sunday, I met up with my girlfriend Cara and her son, Frankie, who were in town visiting family. We took the kids to an awesome playground with swings, slides, see-saws, merry-go-rounds, and other equipment that I had never seen before on a playground.

After awhile it got just to hot and we wandered over a Pet Expo. This expo had nothing but designer dogs, and their accessories (clothes, bags, beds, toys) for sale. Ava fell in love with a pink and black pet purse. Elizabeth opted for a little black Cockapoo. She kept saying that it would be okay with Dad because Sammy needed a friend. Somehow, I didn’t think Ryan was talking about a $400, eight pound, fuzzy puppy when he was tossing around the idea of getting a second dog. I decided it was best to leave with just my three kids and no puppy.

And what weekend isn't complete without a little face painting in the backyard. Casey opted out and I think he is cute just the way he is.

Weekend Warriors

Two weeks ago T-Ball was canceled and Dad was working, so the rest of us headed off to create our own adventures during the weekend. First up was riding ponies. We headed down to Fort Sam Houston's stables to snag a ride. Little did I know that after paying my $5 per kid, they handed me a horse and helmet and just said say in sight of the barn, which turned out great because I was able to give each girl a 20 minute ride before another kid showed up. This was Ava's first time to ride a pony, and this pony was almost as big as a horse. She was a little intimidated at first but decided she really like it. She definitely preferred that mode of transportation better than walking beside me while I led Elizabeth around.

(Casey was in the backpack.)

On Sunday, we climbed a mountain! It was grueling challenge mixed with paved trails and deer paths, but we finally made it to the top of the 4th highest peak in Bexar County. It was quite a rewarding experience to look down from the top of the mountain and see the highway, train tracks, and an IHOP. We celebrated our accomplishment with water and gummies.Actually, the girls did really great. I tried taking them into the wilderness about 18 months ago and it was a total and complete disaster, but I guess that is what happens to your kids when they grow up in a concrete jungle. Hopefully, the fresh air and wides spaces of TX will be good for them.

(Casey was in the backpack.)

Fiesta Week

Fiesta week in San Antonio began as a way to honor the memory of the heroes of the Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto. That commemoration still takes place. But over the past century and more, Fiesta has grown into a celebration of San Antonio's rich and diverse cultures. 2009 marks Fiesta's 118th anniversary. Okay, that is the history behind Fiesta Week. The real story is that kids get a couple of days off school, there are a bunch of parades, a lot of drinking, and a ton of activities happening in downtown San Antonio. Of course, we didn't get to participate in any of it this year because I was traveling on business and then Ryan left for his NASCAR weekend with buddies. However, at least the kids still got to participate in fun activities at school including a parade and a party. This was also my first opportunity to have to work with the girls to complete projects for school. Elizabeth was tasked with making a shoebox float for the parade, and Ava needed clown pants. Luckily the school helped Ava and Casey make t-shirts for Fiesta, so that only left me with a couple of things to complete over the weekend before flying out for the week. Elizabeth and I made a jungle float out of Popsicle stick animals, some old plastic flowers, and shoe box. We strapped it to a wheel base from a Lego set and tied a string to the front and off she went with her float. She had a great time cutting and pasting.Ava's project was much simpler. I cut out some fabric squares and glued them to an old pair of pants....Presto Clown Pants! Next year, we hope to go see some of the parades and partake in a Night in Old San Antonio.

Some Bunny's One!

Casey got double the fun with his birthday falling on the Saturday right before Easter. The girls enjoyed the week of activities as well including four Easter egg hunts. I am sure they rank Easter right behind Christmas. I have taught them the religious significance of Easter, but they were much more impressed with the amount of candy that came along with this holiday. Easter Sunday was overload. The morning started with an egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa Friesenhahn's house with all of the extended family: cousins, aunts, and uncles. This being only their second year of egg hunting, the girls were not to sure what to do. But thanks to the help of some of the older girls, they walked away with a full basket of real and plastic eggs, bubbles, and other goodies. Even Casey got a couple of eggs that were promplty snatched away by Ava.

The morning was good practice, because in the afternoon most of the party headed over to Gram's house for additional Easter activities. This time the girls were on top of their game, and really got into running around the back yard scouring for eggs. The Easter Bunny has gotten much more generous in the 21st century, and the girls not only got an Easter basket full of candies, but they also got some bigger toys as well.Ryan had to work during the day, but was able to join the rest of us in the evening to help celebrate Casey's birthday. By this time, poor little C.J. was exhausted and the girls were hyped up on suger after eating nothing but candy all day. Nothing like cake to round out your daily caloric intake. Sometimes, you just have make exceptions as a parent.Happy Birthday Baby Boy! Bouncing like bunnies.

Major Milestones

• In mid-December he started crawling.
• In late February he started pulling himself up.
• By mid-March he was cruising.
• At the end of March he could stand on his own.
• Now he is walking (and shopping).
• Still no hair.

The last year has flown by. Casey is now testing the water with walking, which has lead to a bunch of bumps and bruises. I got to sign 3 accident reports at school this week. He is eating a variety of table food. He still hates green veggies. He is transitioning to whole milk and s sippy cup. Soon he will switch to just one nap a day and move to the Tiny Tot's room at school which means sleeping on a cot instead of a crib. Our Baby Casey is quickly becoming Little CJ, as Ava now like to refer to him.

Sick Days

Courtesy of cousin Milo and his germs that he picked up some some little kid on the airplane, I got a call last week to pick up Casey from school because of a fever. Milo was really sick (fever, very cranky, and not sleeping) for about a week, so I was fearing the worse. Luckily, Casey's virus was much more mild, and after a fun day at home with mom he was able to return to school.

He really is the happiest baby I know.

Helping me, while I worked from home. Look, he is standing on his own.

Then at the beginning of this week I got a call to pick up Elizabeth at school because of fever. Unfortunately, Elizabeth caught a much nastier virus that brought a high fever and hacking cough, which led her to spend two days at home watching cartoons. She was shooting for a third but I told her that there was no one to stay home with her other than Sam the dog. I do have to thank the makers of Tylenol and Motrin. I will proclaim them as wonder drugs. They worked wonderfully for Elizabeth's fever, and she was jammin' by evening number 2.

However, now I am getting a headache from listening to the same songs over and over again since Christmas. Thanks Beau and Alli, don't be surpise when this guitar show up in your mailbox.

Batter Up!

Before Christmas: Elizabeth asked to play T-ball, so we signed her up with a youth team and got her the necessary gear. She was pumped about playing, only for the season to be canceled due to lack of interest.That brings us to the spring: Now there seamed to be no lack of interest and the league was able to put together eight 3-4 year old teams. However, Elizabeth's interest had seemed to wane and she was telling us that she wanted to play soccer instead. Being the great parents that we are (and having already invested money for the registration fee, ball, bat, and glove), we told her she had to play anyway. That of course brought on may rounds of tears, and I was anxious for her behavior at the first practice.Side bar: For those of you who don't know. Elizabeth started gymnastics back in August and loved it. Around January she was starting to say that she didn't like gymnastics any more, and by February the mere mention of gymnastics brought tears, passive aggressive behavior, and her even faking a stomach ache to get out of going to gymnastics. This was especially frustrating to me because I had Ava dying to get into a gymnastics class but can't because she isn't three, and Elizabeth wanting to get out of class. Bottom line, she is finishing out the semester which runs until the beginning of June. She has two of her good friends in class with her, and always comes out smiling and happy at the end of class, and we don't want to endorse quitter behavior. If she wants to take the summer off that is fine. We need to do swimming lessons anyway, and we will re-address gymnastics in the fall when Ava is old enough to take class. Back to T-ball: First practice went well, and the game went even better. (She wore her outfit for two days straight.) Elizabeth loves T-ball, and informed me she doesn't want to go to gymnastics anymore and wants to play T-ball every day. Hopefully, her enthusiasm lasts until the end of the season. I would like to thank her cousin, Chance, for teaching her the fundamentals, she is actually quite good. She is probably the third best kid on her team, an the other two are better only because they will be 5 next month and have bit more speed, power, and coordination. I will tell you it quite funny to watch these kids play. The can't catch, their throwing isn't much better, and some even run the wrong way after hitting the ball two feet, but it is a really good non competitive atmosphere and the kids love it.

Time Out!

"You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit. "

That is our mantra around our house, unfortunately when the girls can't follow this one simple rule it leads to time out. I found this scene somewhat comical as they stood in their respective corners screaming at the top of their lungs, while a concerned Casey crawled between the two of them to inquire what all the fuss was about. Maybe, I should have taken a video instead of just pictures.

There is Nothing Like Weddings and Funerals to Bring People Together

Unfortunately, it was the latter that brought all of our family together...

Elizabeth and I were in the DC area for business at the end of February and made our rounds through Pennsylvania to visit with family. Little did we know that we would be back two weeks later for my grandmother's funeral. It was a sad reason to have to make the trip, but it was truly wonderful to be able to take all the kids with me to meet aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, extended family and friends that we don't get to see as often as we would like. (I also have to mention that is possible to fly solo with 3 kids and car seats. ) I feel especially fortunate to get to see my sister, her husband and two boys again, as they just found out they will be packing up in the next two months and moving to Germany for the next 3 years. Lizzy really enjoys playing with her 3 year old cousin Sam, and says that when she has a baby she is going to name him Baby Cole. We were able to get all of the cousins to sit together for 3.4 seconds and snap a couple of group photos. Grammy of course was happy to have all her grand babies all in one place, but I am also sure she was equally glad when we all left and she had some piece and quiet again.

Casey staring at my mom's crazy dogs in the back yard.

Ryan's father passed as soon as we returned from Pennsylvania, which then brought together the other side of the family. Elizabeth, Ava, and Casey were once again reunited with their other cousins Reina and Milo. New baby Liam was not in attendance, being only 6 days old. With the weather being much warmer in TX than in PA, we were able to take some of the chaos that five children bring outside.It was wonderful to see so much family in such a short time span. Now without all the travel and company, life seems kind of boring. We are back to the daily grind of work, school, eating, and sleeping.

P.S. Somewhere in that month of chaos, I celebrated my birthday. Now, I can really say that I am in my 30's.