Everyday Silliness

My children are getting so big so fast and they just crack me up on a daily basis so I figured I'd share some silliness so we can all laugh at them together! 


The other day Jared got up from his chair, where he was watching ESPN or something of that nature, to get something out of the garage.  When Mia noticed this she ran to me and said after a deep intake of breath, "Mom we have to hurry, Daddy's gone, we have to turn on Mickey Mouse before he gets back!"  Of course, I thought this was hilarious and RAN into the room to get her all set-up before he can back.  She immediately jumped in his chair and started her show.  Jared did some exaggerated huffing and puffing for her benefit but I thought it was pretty good!


Last night I got the kids ready for bed and had Hunter in his jammies.  I had to find both cars for his ramp way so they didn't have to fight over them and all was good.  About 5 minutes later Hunter came up to me obviously upset and he kept grabbing the collar of his jammies like they were bothering him.  My first thought was, I know he wore them the night before but I didn't think they were that dirty! So I, like any good mother, kept letting him fuss.  I rubbed my finger over his collar to see if anything felt weird...nothing.  He was rambling about cars and still fussing and I thought, ok I'll just put new jammies on him.  When I unzipped him I found one of his cars in his jammies down by his foot!  Don't put cars in your jammies if you can't get them back out!!! Come on dude!


Last night, while watching Mickey Mouse, definitely a family favorite, Hunter surprised me yet again by calling for tootles! He covered his ears and everything! According to Mia, I was not doing it right because you have to put your hands on your face when you call for Tootles and I was only cupping them around my mouth...what was I thinking!


This morning Mia woke up and was telling me what a big girl she was.  We had to make the coffee and get her milk ready and then she was ready to go potty.  Of course now that she had been up for awhile she said Mommy we better hurry before I pee on the floor! Don't worry, we made it in time.  She was excited because she had another successful night with a dry pull-up! Then as she was on the potty relieving herself she exclaims "Mommy, my pee is talking to me! It's saying whee whee (this said in a whispery voice).  Oh Mia, you are too cute!!

There are plenty more, but I'll have to be quicker at documenting if I'm going to remember them all for you!

Potty Time!

YAY! Mia is actually wearing panties now!!!!  We are officially on week 3 of panties and we are doing AWESOME! Mia is even telling us when she needs to go potty or goes by herself without us even asking or telling.  What a big girl.  If I realized how easy this was going to be I might have started it sooner, but maybe this was just good timing for our little BIG girl! I think in the past week she has only had one small accident but no one was around when she needed to go pee so I think it's great.  I lifted her up as a praise at exercise last night so everyone can tell how proud we are! Now we just got to get Hunter...

Circus! Circus!

So, Jared and I decided that it would be fun to try to take the kids to the circus this year since we had a little Christmas money left!  Of course, as any good parent would do, we used it as a bribe with Mia's potty training and basic obedience all week! :) You know, the usual..."only big girls that wear panties can go to the circus" or "if you don't pick up your toys we won't be able to go to the circus this Saturday." Lucky for us we were able to go and we had a great time. 

We went a little early to see the animals in the exhibition center. This was NOT what we were expecting.  Way too much money after paying for tickets, luckily are kids haven't learned to beg for things yet so we were able to escape without any issues! Before we went into the arena we were able to meet a few clowns.  The kids were both skeptical at first but then when Hunter gave one a fist bump they thought they were cool! We had wonderful seats and were close enough that the kids could actually see what was going on.  They each got their own light up toy and loved the popcorn! The cotton candy did not go over as well, I'm assuming because of the texture.  I think Mia's favorite part was the horses, she had completely lost interest by the time the elephants came out.  Jared and I actually enjoyed the show and were able to see most everything although it didn't compare to what Jared remembered from growing up of course nothing ever does!

It was a little long for our two little tykes and Mia was definitely ready to go since she only asked to go home after each act! Then when she found out we were going to go to Grandma & Grandpa's house afterwards she REALLY wanted to leave!

Waiting for the circus to start

Cheese!

Trying to take a picture while we wait for Daddy to come back with goodies!

Here Mia, play with this light while I eat all the popcorn!

Tigers!

Daddy & Mia

Mommy & Hunter

Elephants!!

Wow! It sure has been awhile.  I'm not sure if I'll ever get good at keeping this thing up to date but I suppose I could do a quick catch-up on our life!

Since my last post we have celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's! Crazy.  Overall, we had everything spaced out nicely this year so we didn't have to attend more than one event on any given day, which I must add is amazing!!! 

Sanders Thanksgiving
We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Sanders family the Saturday before Thanksgiving and everyone was there all day! Even though Erin, Dad, and I came up with a menu we ended up having way more sides than necessary and not enough appetizer/snack items.  The good thing is we'll know better for next year! We had a smoked turkey and a deep-fried turkey this year and both were delicious! Erin and I also introduced a martini bar to our festivities this year.  I will just say YUMMY to that one! After lunch we played games and hung out all day.  It was definitely a good day!

Santa Lighting

Our next event was the Santa Lighting downtown. We had to walk quite a ways and weren't thinking real well when we decided to not take the stroller with us! FYI our kids are HEAVY!!! We had to wait for a bit before the Santa lit up but we did get to sing some Christmas carols beforehand which Mia enjoyed. Finally when Santa was brightly lit Mia thought it was beautiful. :) We caught up with the other Kurtzs/Ohlsons after the wreath was lit and then headed back to the clubhouse to eat pizza and set up for our Thanksgiving feast. It was a little crazy with the amount of people downtown but we still had fun!

Kurtz Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving day we had our annual lunch at the Clubhouse (Mia thought we were going to see Mickey Mouse when I told her we were going to the clubhouse!) We had a lot of really good food and a wonderful time hanging out with family.  Jared and Brian went out and played football with their other boy cousins who had a blast.  I can't wait until Hunter is old enough to tag along! Mia went on a walk with the Hemsoths and fell and got a little dirty! (Nice job Holly!) Mia then preceded to show off her vocals by singing "You are My Sunshine" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" while standing on the table!! She definitely thought she was hot stuff and LOVED being the center of attention.  She even made sure that everyone clapped for her.  All in all, a great day!

Christmas Time

After Thanksgiving it was time to gear up for Christmas! I got the house all decorated and Mia was fascinated with all the Christmas trees this year.  She thought they were all beautiful and liked to point out each one she could see.  She and Hunter also liked all the pretty lights, they especially liked to point them out on the way to daycare each morning. (Too bad Daddy never got the up on our house! :( Oh well, maybe next year!) On Saint Nicholas day they got the book "The Night Before Christmas" and the Ice Age Christmas movie.  They were much more interested in the book and Mia could pretty much recite it by Christmas!

Chritmas Treats

This year was the start of hopefully a new tradition! Erin, Leah, Mackenzie, the kids and I all got together the weekend before our Christmas party and made all sorts of wonderful treats.  The kids helped us make cookies and unwrapped kisses for another treat we made. They also ran around and watched movies.  We had a lot of fun but decided that we started a little late (we were working until 11pm) and were too tired to watch a Christmas movie when we were finished.  However, we were not too tired to drinkl a few glasses of wine! Everyone spent the night and we had a lot of fun! Eventually we will take turns hosting it at different houses but we decided my house works the best for now! Hopefully Mom, Liz, and Jordan will be able to join us in the future and we may eventually ban all boys!!!

Simerman Christmas

Our first Christmas party was at Kurt and Pam's house on Saturday, the week before Christmas.  Suzi and I had the kids exchange names so they could each get something fun and they opened them as soon as we walked in the door! Hayden just couldn't wait for Hunter to open his awesome new gift! Hunter got a mini racetrack with Chuck cars and Mia got a glow doodle.  I must say, there have been several fights involving both of these gifts so I would say it was a success.  Mia also had a wonderful time trying to pick up the cat and hiding in the "cave". 

Sanders Christmas

Our next event was Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's house the Sunday before Christmas.  We started in the morning with breakfast and started digging into presents not long after everyone got there.  We had a wonderful time and everyone got lots of wonderful new presents. This was the first year that we decided to do an exchange between the cousins Mia got her first doll house and Hunter got a big race track!  They also got a lot of other fun stuff.  Mia even got her first sleeping bag! I can hardly imagine her on overnights but I know it's coming!! My big gift this year was my T-shirt blanket with all my Manchester running shirts.  It is amazing and HUGE!

Beatty Christmas

We have now made it to Christmas weekend! The Beatty Christmas started everything off on Friday night after work.  Renee and the girls watched the kiddos all day before hand (I'm pretty sure everyone had a great time!) and then we were off for the party at Karen's.  Mia had to make sure that everyone was going to be at the party before we left Renee's house and had to repeatedly ask each person.  She also had to bring one of Audrey's babies with us.  Hunter and Lauren had a little thing going on too and I think Lauren would have liked to keep him as her own little brother! We had a good time at Karen's house with lots of good food and fun.  The kids each got some fun presents and I think Hunter really likes Mia's new puppy purse. (He carries it around at home making this crazy noise which I guess is the sound a doggy makes although it sounds more like a yip or something to me!)

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve we all went to Nonny's house for a wonderful prime rib dinner and fun.  We forgot that we usually like to sit at tables to eat and had to make do with some patio furniture since the card tables were left at Mike & Laura's from Thanksgiving. (Oops!) It all worked out though, and besides, what fun is a family event without a little chaos and improvisation! The kids all had a great time.  Mia got a new tent and a new Baby Alive! Hunter got a train set and a remote control Thomas the Train.  All wonderful presents!!! Thanks everyone.  We then set off for home so we could make sure that Santa would come!

 

Christmas Day

Christmas morning Mia woke up at around 5 and climbed into bed with Jared and I.  (Way to early to talk about Santa coming but too special of a day to send her back to her own bed.) We all went back to sleep and then when Mia woke up again around 7:15 Jared started talking about Santa coming the night before.  Mia got really excited and wanted to know if he was still downstairs! Ha! We let Mia go in and get Hunter up before we headed downstairs and then the real fun began! We opened lots of wonderful things from Santa and then had to get a little organized before Nana, Pops, Uncle B and Kayci arrived (with truckloads I might add!) Hunter started to get tired of opening and he just wanted to play with what he already had so Mia "helped" him open the rest :)   

Once the rest of the gang all got here we reloaded the gifts under the tree and prepared for round 2.  Luckily, we had breakfast casserole and ham and cheese croissants to help keep us fueled and ready to go! It was really nice to stay home this year and not have to pack up as soon as we finished opening from Santa.  It was also fun because we got to open and play with all the new toys as soon as they got them.  Hunter had to take a break and grab a nap before he could finish opening.  Three days in a row was a lot for that little guy! He was zoning out while sitting on my lap and we all felt so bad for him.  Mia repeatedly tried to open the rest of his presents while he was sleeping and then when he did get up she did end up "helping" him once again.  I think one of the favorite presents of the day was the football tent from Uncle B! They each spent most of the day in there with the rest of their new toys, pillow pets and bean bag chairs.  Everyone went home around 3 and the kids took a little nap.  We ended the day with a picnic dinner, watching our new movie, Toy Story.  It really was a fabulous season!!

I feel that I must mention one of the funniest moments...Mia and Hunter each got new toy guinea pig/hamsters and when Nana asked what its name was Mia said "Aunt Krissy".  It shows that a 2 year old's mind forgets nothing.   When we were at Kurt & Pam's, Kris and Mia were looking at the hamsters and Kris told Mia that she needed one.  She also told Mia that when she gets one she needs to name it Aunt Krissy and sure enough! We now have an Aunt Krissy! Thankfully it is just a toy!

So Monday morning Mia wakes up and asks if we are getting more presents today.  SO CUTE but kind of hard to explain that Christmas is over! SO now we are waiting for her birthday so we can have cake and more presents!!!!

Hunter 18 Month

I found my post-it in my purse so I figured I'd better document Hunter's 18 month stats because Lord knows if I will ever be able to find them again if I don't!!

Height: 34 in. (90th percentile)
Weight: 28 lbs. (80th percentile)
Head: 51cm (the nurse just said "yes, that's big!")

All in all, he is measuring great and is still considered a big kid for his age (I'm not sure this will ever change!) Although I thought he might be lacking in vocabulary the doc said he's right on track for a boy! It's just hard to believe since I think Mia was talking in sentences already!

He is definitely a fun kid to be around with tons of personality! He picks on his sister relentlessly and gets away with way too much; I think it's for his lack of talking we treat him like he is younger than he is! It's about time he starts owning up to his constant mischief! We'll see how that goes.  That lip starts a quivering anytime we "almost" scold him you almost have to take it back for how pitiful he looks...oh does he have it all figured out! I think he is much smarter than we give him credit for!  I still think that one of these days he's just going to come out and tell us that he's been playing us all along!

Here are a few of the thinks he can say....

Mommy
Daddy
Miiii (It's like 3 syllables but definitely means Mia!)
Peees = please
Cheeeeeese (probably because I take so many pictures!)
Brady (I don't know how to spell how he says it)
Dog
Ball (He likes to point to the cheese balls and scream "ball" until he gets some)
Juice (encompasses all drinks)
Nana (works for both Nana and banana)
Socks (his favorite article clothing)
Shoes
Eyes
Mouth
Mama (Grandma)
Night, Night
Bye, Bye
Hi
Hot
And of course every animal growls!!! :)

Not too shabby if I do say so myself!