Prost Gonzales

A Good Weekend

2012-02-06T13:02:00.000-06:00

We had a great weekend - good weather (sorry Omaha I heard you got dumped on with snow) and we decided to venture out and try another museum here in Cleveland. Cleveland's Natural History Museum and it was great! We went ahead and bought a membership we enjoyed it so much. We didn't even get through everything before daddy needed food. :) It had animals and dinosaurs and plenty of hands-on activities for Heidi. I think Heidi enjoyed the "Discovery Kid's Room" which was filled with numerous kids specific activities - from puzzles to coloring to digging for fossils. She could be in there for hours! They had plenty of benches and seats for the parents - so we didn't mind either. It had outdoor animals and a planetarium and just all around a lot of stuff to see.

Heidi showing us where to go next on the map. :)

Read the sign - Chris thought he was sooooo cool.

Maybe we will go back when Grandpa Jeff comes in town to visit in a few weeks. Heidi was ALL about posing and modeling for pictures this weekend. A nice change from me usually convincing her i'm taking a picture of something else besides her. First she wanted to model a hat.

Then she wanted to model her new toy shelves that she help Chris put together. We are just trying to get more organized!

Now onto these Disney princess costumes she received for Christmas awhile ago. And yes - she did dress daddy too...

She chose all the poses herself - I'm quite impressed - my favorite is the football stance as Snow White - we might have been watching the Super Bowl. Speaking of the Super Bowl - it ran late here on the East Coast - and we let Heidi stay up to watch it - but she didn't make it and ended up crashing for the last quarter. :)

Funny Heidi....oh and pics of Ooo-Fah

2012-02-01T12:14:00.003-06:00

I thought I would post my ultrasound pictures of Ooo-Fah the bean. I have been lucky enough to already have had two quick ultra sounds. Its always nice to be able to check in on the progress. The first one is right at 7 weeks. Its hard to tell what you are looking at - but Ooo-Fah is in the lower right side in the big black circle - basically left of the apple looking graphic.If you look closely, there are two small white cross bars one at the head and one at the feet.

This is Ooo-Fah at around 10 weeks. Man this baby was flipping and rolling and waving its hands - a very active little thing. I think its a little easier to see it in this picture and I think that's an arm slightly above the bean. I have another ultrasound next week and I hope I get another picture again!

On to our goofy Heidi - I love to see what she will put together on the weekends for her clothes, shoes and accessories. This outfit she chose to wear when we told her we were going to Chucky Cheese for the day. She is quite the model. :)

No, I did not take any pictures at Chucky Cheese - I was too busy winning tickets - DUH! I did happen to capture Sunday morning - Heidi helped make breakfast and then snatched a piece of Bacon and laid down on the couch to watch some TV. She loves her bacon...

This is a random picture from Chris' phone...

And finish off with two videos - taken the same night as the Ooo-Fah video below. Heidi singing her ABCs and showing off her favorite dance move - Shake Your Booty!

Ooo-Fah

2012-01-27T19:31:00.000-06:00

We are happy to announce that Ooo-Fah will be joining our family August 14, 2012. What's Ooo-Fah? Oh that's just what Heidi calls the baby in my belly. :)

Heidi in Video

2012-01-24T08:04:00.000-06:00

Here are two little videos that Chris captured on his phone last night. The first one is Heidi joins in with us and exercises. We are doing the Insanity workouts - and let's just say they are insane but here is Heidi getting all involved! Ha! I think Heidi is doing jumping jacks. :)

The second video is Heidi in a nutshell. I just told her that she could watch one more episode of Phineas and Ferb on the Disney Channel before going to bed. This is her explaining what the rules are to daddy.

A Blog About Nothing

2012-01-23T09:08:00.001-06:00

You want a blog about nothing - well here you go... :) Nothing too exciting happened this weekend - but Heidi did discover she can slide down the stairs on her bum. And here goes round 1...

So much fun - let's do it again...Round 2

Yep. Blog about nothing. Why were we entertained on the steps? Well daddy was busy working on our taxes! Yep - by the mess in our office area - it's tax time!

A Snowy Weekend

2012-01-16T11:58:00.000-06:00

Let it snow! Well our nice little extended nice weather is gone - we got dumped on by snow... But luckily we have snow gear and decided to go outside for some fun!

It was too funny - Chris was snow blowing and Heidi was taking shovels of snow and dumping it right back on the driveway. Loved it!

Chris has been on the kick of making things from scratch - hey more power to him. What I love is Heidi LOVES to be his little helper and its very cute!

For the record - she is hiding bacon behind her back - couldn't wait for breakfast - has to have one right now!

And yes it snowed more over the weekend.

Chris' homemade from scratch pancakes.

Omaha Children's Museum

2012-01-12T11:22:00.001-06:00

The Omaha Children's Museum updated their website and invited a variety of kids to come and participate in the photo shoot. Heidi was lucky enough to be invited - don't know how much she actually participated BUT looks like they were able to find a cute picture of Heidi and Kendall together.

Check out their website - i'ts a great place and I am very jealous that we don't have a children's museum anywhere as cool as the Omaha one. I heard the PR Director is a pretty sweet gal too. :)

http://ocm.org/exhibits/permanent/playground/

Also if you scan through the pictures - you might see another one of Heidi's buddies - a little miss Ayla and her mom - but they cheated - they are professional models :)

Fun fun!

Winter Program

2012-01-10T09:16:00.000-06:00

We had Heidi's winter program last night. It was very cute! Here is Heidi ready to go...

Real quick - Chris needed head shots for work - but I had to snap this picture of Heidi posing below. Ha!

Heidi waiting to go on stage - she wasn't so sure about the whole thing as you can tell...

But once she was on stage - she was all about it! She sang all the words - did all the actions and was great! She might have been one of the few who actually participated.

Overall - I was really proud of Heidi! It was a cute evening and I think we're going to like her new school a lot!

2012

2012-01-09T10:57:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the hiatus! I have been really bad about taking pictures lately...like for instance...Grandpa and Nana came in town for a visit - we had a blast and um - I didn't take any pictures except for a couple on the last night. Yep - I'm awesome. Here are Heidi and Grandpa making Grandpa's delicious twice baked potatoes!

It was really great to have them in town! We miss them already!

Now we didn't get as nice as weather as Omaha got - as I have been hearing and trying not to be jealous - but it was STILL nice for Ohio. We were able to head to the zoo this weekend. A big difference between the Omaha zoo and Cleveland zoo - the lack of indoor attractions. There are a couple, but the Omaha zoo you can truly visit year round and still have plenty to see. Cleveland...um not so much... But at least we were able to see some animals.

The Cleveland zoo elephant exhibit is really nice - heck the elephant way on the end is from Omaha. :) It was nice to see all the elephants all in a row and you can get rather close to them too. Heidi loves it.

If you look closely - its actually a mama and baby koala!

I was just happy to be able to be outdoors and not freeze! Let's hope the snow holds off a little longer. I have already had to shovel once and once is enough for me! :)

We decided to hang out at home on Sunday and make some cookies! Heidi helped the whole way - she poured in the flour mixture, tasted the dough (no worries - no eggs in these cookies) and help cover them in powdered sugar. I don't know the exact name of the cookies - the recipe called them snow balls - works for me. As you can tell - Heidi was very excited to bake!

My goal is to take more pictures through out the week - but we will see how it goes :) Until next time...

Christmas Galore!

2011-12-27T10:55:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas!!! What a whirlwind for us - between Omaha and traveling and back home... I finally was able to download my pictures and they are all Christmas related!

Heidi with the lovely Santa at Jordan Creek Mall in Des Moines

I love this picture of her sitting on her feet - waiting for something at Grandma Babs

Bath time at Grandpa Jeff and Nanas

First up was Christmas at Grandpa Jeff and Nanas...

SANTA!!! Santa always makes a personal visit to my dad's house for Christmas and the kids just eat it up. They love it! We did have to explain why Santa left in a Camry and not with his reindeer but besides that - its perfect!

Onto Christmas at Grandma Babs and Grandpa Darrells

I couldn't find the dogs and they were tucked in the corner of the kitchen - no idea why...

Moving right along... after a very nice visit in Omaha - it was time to head back to Cleveland. Since I was driving by myself - my mom and Darrell caravan-ed with me and we made a stop in DeWitt Iowa to visit the Stuedemann family. Its always great to see them!

My mom and I shared a hotel room and she offered to either sleep with the dogs or Heidi... well she got both for awhile...

Onto Christmas in Cleveland... Chris reading the night before Christmas to Heidi

The treats laid out for Santa and the reindeer - we ran out of carrots - so we thought goldfish crackers would do.

This was THE present - the dog with the pink leash and the white fur. She was VERY excited to receive it!

We were all lucky enough to have Monday off - so we spent our time at the science museum. A good time!

We are ready for our next visitors and bring on the New Year!!!

Family Photos by Christina Kahler

2011-12-08T09:22:00.001-06:00

Customize your own photo slideshow

Thanksgiving Fest 2011

2011-12-03T14:34:00.001-06:00

Sorry for the delay - I'm recovering from gallbladder surgery and thought while I lay here - it would be a perfect time to update the blog with some Thanksgiving pictures! Completely random - enjoy!

Macey, Taco and Brewski all waiting patiently to share an animal cookie with grandpa Darrell...

Doesn't this look soooo good! My mom is a rockstar at her pecan rolls... They were awesome!!!

It was SO nice on Thanksgiving - we even played football in the backyard in t-shirts!

Heidi enjoying Daddy's home-brewed root beer

Cousin Dance Fest!!!

Joni was kind enough to bring a fun project for everyone to do - Turkey hats! Uncle Mike, Joni and Heidi wore them the whole day!

Look at that turkey!!!

Uncle Mike rockin' his turkey hat!

Nice Bob.

Holiday cheer...

Too much holiday cheer...

Heidi was so proud of her bag she received at Sunday school.

Macey!

Cookie making at the Gonzales'

We gave up at the end...They all tasted the same.

We had a great time over Thanksgiving with everyone!

And yes - for those of you who don't know - I had to have my gallbladder removed on Friday December 2nd - after enjoying all the wonderful Thanksgiving food - I had a gallstone attack - ended up in urgent care and found out - I needed to part ways with my gallbladder. Luckily I'm home in Omaha and being well cared for by my family and should be back to normal very soon!

Photos

2011-11-27T19:30:00.000-06:00

I am not a photographer - I sometimes happen to fall onto some great pictures - but that is very rare and this is NOT one of those occasions. I have always rested on the talented Christina Kahler for photos of Heidi - well being away from Omaha - can't really do that as much as I would like.

I thought of a brilliant plan to take Heidi in the woods by our house and try to get some shots. Well...it didn't go so well. First mistake - the sun was blazing and causing all sorts of shadows and light issues. Hench why most of the picture below the face is shaded or sun is coming across half her face. Mistake number 2 - I actually thought I would be able to wing it - one of the best things about Christina taking pictures - it isn't me - so Heidi will listen...

I think through some photo editing from Rockbrook Camera - I managed to salvage a couple to give the grandparents for Christmas. I thought I would go ahead and share them (unedited)- it just shows - we did have a good time out there. Heidi loved running through the leaves and playing with sticks.

PS - and yes she is totally sitting on a beer box...just keeping it classy. :)

Heidi's First Haircut!

2011-11-12T20:30:00.001-06:00

Before we talk about the big milestone in Heidi's life - her first haircut - let's back track with some goofy photos from this weekend.

Heidi has this little headlamp that she LOVES - she puts it on and runs around.

Yes - she totally is throwing that car at me. Not cool.

The headband fell off - she wasn't too happy about it.

It's on again and she is off...

Heidi was ready this morning for the Husker game - I asked her to stand in the corner so I could take a picture of her - she decided to pick her nose. My little princess...

Having fun after playing in the leaves and on our way to get our haircut...

Okay - onto the hair... I didn't do a great job with before and after shots - but here are a couple from right before - notice how long her ponytail is. When her hair is down - its a couple inches past her top of her butt. I always said we would finally cut it once it reached her butt and it would tangled too much. Check and check. Also - I normally could braid it and keep it out of the way no problem - well - her braid started to tuck in her waistband ever so often... time for a cut!

Before...

During...she was a good in the chair - very cautious...

You can see the haircut down here...

Her new ponytail!

We had a good laugh - they gave us a baby's first cut card and some of the hair - ha! I think most kids have a haircut prior to being well past the age of 3.

And its official - we cut off well over 7 inches!!! Crazy!

We did have a brief moment after it was done that Heidi was on the brink of crying because she didn't have long hair anymore. But we assured her it was still long - longer than mommy's and daddy's and she was just fine with that! :)

Someone is feeling better...

2011-11-09T11:33:00.001-06:00

No fever today!!! I think we are all ready to get back to normal! I'm just happy she is her old goofy self today! After 7 days of fever - we are so over being sick!

Down with the sickness...

2011-11-07T08:19:00.000-06:00

Well this weekend was less than desirable. Heidi got a fever on Thursday that topped at 106.2 - her high fevers drive me nuts! It was diagnosed by an urgent care doctor as a double ear infection - amoxicillin later and its now Monday and she still has a fever, she is extremely congested and I'm heading back to the doctor at 2:00pm. Unfortunately this was also the weekend that Chris' best bud Curtis was in town to have a fun boys weekend. They got to escape in the evenings and go play - but he had to witness cranky, sick, vomiting Heidi. Sorry Curtis!!! I'm hoping to get relief from this illness soon. This has been the worst illness for Heidi ever - definitively the longest!

One funny note - well not funny - but its kind of funny... So Heidi has slept in our bed the past few days - and last night I woke up to her peeing in the bed and in turn peeing on me. Nice warm, fever fueled pee. Isn't that what being a mom is all about - getting peed on and catching puke in your hand? Check and Check.

Halloween!

2011-10-31T19:31:00.001-05:00

Halloween!!! Yes - I just got in from handing out candy and trick or treating with Heidi - I'm dethawing and thought it would be nice to write a blog!

First some randoms... It turns out - Heidi has something in common with me - our love for BACON!!! Don't worry - it is at least reduced sodium bacon - but its delicious and Heidi enjoys it too...

Second - Heidi dresses herself on most days now - I'm always curious to see what she picks out. This Saturday - it was old green and white checkered capris, a blue flowered top, snow boats and her purple purse. She may not be a princess - but she sure knows fashion! :)

Onto Halloween!!!! We had pumpkin decorating fun on Sunday. Heidi wanted to paint her pumpkin and Chris had his own plan up his sleeve for his pumpkin.

The boys in their Halloween costumes - they kept them on all night and hung out in the driveway just fine.

Onto our little monster - Heidi!!! She was so excited to go trick or treating that she sat and played in the wagon for a good 30 minutes! Then finally she could get her costume on and YES the nose honks!

Heidi was really fun to trick or treat with. She was quite a character. We had a good time and are ready to enjoy the candy! Our neighborhood was crazy! Sorry we didn't get more pictures - I was busy walking Heidi around and Chris was handing out candy! But I like how they run Halloween around here - it is from 6:00pm to 7:30pm sharp - a cop is dedicated to each neighborhood and drives through every 10 minutes or so and at 7:30 - if you are still out - especially older kids - they make sure they go home and not let them walk around anymore. Plus everyone was out in their driveways having a good time. Its a nice mini festival around here! The old man handing out "adult" cider wasn't bad either. :)

Happy Halloween Everyone!!!

Halloween Sneak Peek, Random and the Worst Pumpkin Patch Ever...

2011-10-24T12:39:00.001-05:00

AWWWW - It's the claw!!!!

No no? Not funny - whatever - moving on... I finished up Heidi's Halloween costume this weekend and we were trying to figure out what to use to make the yellow nose. Let me back up. I have been asking Heidi for awhile what she wanted to be for Halloween - I expected a princess - well no - I really didn't expect that - she wants to be a princess as much as I do... but I expected- Minnie Mouse or Pluto or something along those lines... one morning we are watching a Sesame Street video and this video segment comes on - Honk Around the Clock - and she is like: "Mommy - I want to be the green monster with the blue hair and the yellow honking nose for Halloween" Me: "What?" So I watch the video and am amazed - she not only picks some random monster to be - but is VERY specific on which one.

I think I found the video on YouTube - check it out if you get a chance: http://youtu.be/VNLBke_jvYg

So my challenge begins - lets make her a monster. I did find an old caterpillar costume at a kid's consignment event - I removed a bunch of items, fixed parts of the body suit, took a bicycle horn - made it yellow (with a balloon) - used oil funnels as horns, made some eyes and used a blue boa to make the hair and well this is as close as I can get to the monsters in the video. I think I will have fun taking pictures of Heidi in the costume in a week!

Nothing better than Husker Saturday! I love this picture of Heidi eating chili watching the football game and Taco and Brewski are watching her VERY carefully. Ha!

Chris took the plunge and he tried his Christmas Ale or it has now been dubbed LBH - for Little Bit of Heidi. Yes - this was the batch of beer that was lucky enough to have not only a pair of jeans thrown in the batch but also some very not-so-clean socks. Results - I even thought it tasted pretty good - but its STRONG. Chris says it tested at 8% alcohol content or whatever - yikes! So who of our family members will be brave enough to drink this over Thanksgiving? We will see...

Sunday was pumpkin patch Sunday! I googled several local pumpkin patches and after many horrible website reviews - I decided we would try the Rockin R Ranch pumpkin patch. It seemed decent on their website and it was only about 10 miles away.

First - I had to convince Heidi it was okay to wear her snow boots as she was going to get muddy. Well she became very excited to wear them and was hamming it up for the pictures. Also - she wanted me to do her hair in a fun bun as she would call it. I braided it a few times and then she kept handing me little colored rubber bands to add to it. Hey - I give her credit - her hair didn't budge and stayed all day.

Time for the pumpkin patch. Heidi wanted me to take pictures of her in each head - funny!

This place at least had plenty of animals to pet and check out - Heidi loves her animals and was very happy petting things from goats to rabbits to horses and sheep.

This place had a show every half hour for the kids. I saw it a couple of times while being there and I still don't get it. Basically this guy is a bad guy - of course slips away before being caught and after he runs away - a chicken and a cow come do some less-than-enthusiastic dance number. I think Heidi's expression while watching the show sums it up. If a 3 year old can't get into it - sorry - you need to revamp your show...

After watching the very confusing show - we moved on to explore the other attractions.

The one and only attraction I thought was cute and fun - was you purchased a bag of sand and then you take it over to this water fall thingy and you can sift through the sand and find items - like the old miners did for gold. Heidi of course skipped over the bag with jewels and instead went for the bag of bugs.

Funny story - we are sifting through our sand and this lady comes up with her daughter and is like: "Oh - there are bugs in the sand?" I'm like - "Oh, no, you can choose different ones." She is like: "Oh, no - you got bugs." Turns to her daughter, "We better make sure we don't get the bugs one" She turns back to us with this look of like I'm sorry and goes on to play. I'm like - um -we wanted the bug one... ha.

Heidi checking herself out in the fun house mirror... little did we know after half way through - the fun house - turned into a scary house with clowns popping up and everything. Oops - Heidi use to like clowns - looks like we just messed that one up for her...

And on to the pumpkin patch - we take a tracker ride to go get pumpkins - we come around the corner and well see the most pathetic patch we have ever seen. It maybe had 40 pumpkins - seriously - it was so bad. Chris and I are like - WTF? The wide shot picture of all the pumpkins - is seriously it - I'm at one end of the field and Heidi is at the other...So much for going in a field and picking a pumpkin!

Well after a disappointing trip to the pumpkin patch - we ended on a high note and with a pony ride. Heidi loved it!

Next year we won't be visiting this place again - lesson learned! It makes me really miss a place like Pooleys right now! Halloween is almost here!!!

Disney World 2011 - Part 1

2011-10-20T08:53:00.018-05:00

Disney World is finally here!!!!!

A couple of notes, after much debating, I decided to only bring our small camera - even though it was easy to carry - it just wasn't fast enough. We have a lot of blurry shots and frankly - I missed some moments. Please excuse my crappy photography - but hopefully you get the picture!

Anyways on to the trip!

We were up bright and early for our flight - I think I was moving at 3:15 am - yikes! Heidi popped out of bed and was like: "We're going to Disney World today?" So fun!

She had to take off one last ring before we left!

Heidi playing during our layover - Southwest has these great kid tables that worked out perfect for a 2 hour break!Chris was pouting because Heidi stole his breakfast sandwich - she was hungry!

Heidi was such a good little traveler - her only complaint was the seat belt was too heavy. She was content with watching her DVD player or playing with stickers or whatever. I thought she would be scared or nervous for take off and landing - but instead - she would shout "Wheeeeeee" - ha. Heidi waiting in the bus line to go to our hotel. Disney is so smart - why not entertain kids by having TVs everywhere showing parts of their shows...Heidi zonked out on the bus ride to the hotel... Checking in took a little bit - one - we had to work our magic to get connected rooms for my brother and I - as well as they explained the dining plan and how everything works. One note - I would totally do the dining plan again - it worked out well - yeah - we got sick of the quick service food - but it was nice to have paid for items already. Finally in our room - it wasn't a big room - but we weren't in there that often - so we didn't mind! A quick photo session before heading to Epcot!One lesson learned - even though it was great to head to the park after we got checked in - it might have been too much for everyone. I think next time - plan for a pool day and get to bed early type of deal. In the evening we were all battling tired kids and adults!

Another lesson - poor Heidi was all excited for Disney World - and so far all she sees are buses and people. We got to Epcot and we were on a mission to find food. Which is rather boring for a kiddo. We knew we should have gone on a ride or something first when she was like - "When are we going to get to Disney World" oops... Luckily Epcot has this great character spot where they have 5 of the main characters - right in a row - you can meet them all at once. We got in line and once Heidi saw Mickey - she was VERY excited - as you can tell by the blurry pictures...And THEN we learned that she LOVED Pluto the best - who knew? She saw Pluto and lit up! Of course Mickey was first - doesn't she look so happy???
And Pluto came... Heidi doing the happy dance while he signed her book!

After meeting the characters - she perked up and started to understand Disney World. We also were able to meet up with Matt, Christina, Blake and Kendall at this time! Then the fun began!

Epcot had a cute Nemo ride and outside the ride were the seagulls saying "Mine" (if you have seen the movie - you will get it) Very entertaining... Heidi's first ride - wasn't so sure about it - but enjoyed it... Playing in the aquarium - of course the kids found it to be more fun to slide down the edge instead...Waiting for the interactive Crush the Turtle show - very cute - and cool how Disney has the character interact with the audience!How cute is this?Friday - time for Magic Kingdom!

First here is a random shot of our hotel - of course in Disney style - over sized stuff everywhere. Yeah - not the nicest one out there - but it worked - maybe when the kids are older - we will stay in a nicer one - when it matters more to them - Heidi could care less how nice the hotel was.Pre-Magic Kingdom excitement!And here we go - rides rides rides!Nice shirt Matt.Ice cream break for Heidi and Kendall...sugar helped keep the kids motivated through the lines :) Tea Cups!After a few more rides together - Matt's family headed back for naps and we decided to try to hack it. We went next to the Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor - which was fun. During this interactive show - they choose people from the audience to put on the screens as characters. They joked they needed a cute girl from the audience to be Boo and well then the camera came on Heidi. Hehe - thanks I think she is cute too :) It was actually a very entertaining show!

We continued around the park - did a few different rides and even played on the Tom Sawyer's island. Heidi was very entertained playing in the dirt and leaves - travel all the way to Disney World and she is excited for leaves. We didn't mind - it was a nice shaded place for us to sit and take a break.After the island - we had about 30 minutes before meeting Matt and Christina for dinner - so why not take your 3 year old through the haunted mansion - yep - we were THOSE parents. She actually was just fine and feel asleep about two seconds in. Which was good since the ride broke on us twice. The second time - we got stuck with the floating head that was VERY annoying. Heidi didn't wake up a bit.

She slept for a little longer and we had to wake her right before dinner - lesson learned - Heidi takes a good 20 to 30 minutes to wake up - which meant for a crabby dinner. But after a bit she got back in the swing of things. The dinner was a character dinner and the whole Winnie the Pooh gang rotated around to the tables. Since Heidi was being a booger - I thought I would take a picture with Pooh bear - dude - the character grabbed my hand and tried to put it...down there... no lie - awkward moment at Disney - check. I think Matt caught it on video and Christina on her camera - so I have evidence! Right after dinner - it was time for the parade and shows. I thought it was a good time to get Heidi a nice Pluto - I think she likes it :)

I had to split up the posts on Disney World - check out Part 2 after this one. You might have to click on older posts to view it!

Disney World 2011 - Part 2

2011-10-19T15:01:00.024-05:00

Disney World - Part 2

Sorry - all my crappy pictures couldn't fit on one blog and blogger is hating me right now...or I'm hating it - ANYWAYS!

Saturday - Matt and I parted ways - they took a lovely trip to the beach and then they hit Magic Kingdom again and we went to Hollywood Studios and Epcot. Overall Hollywood Studios, it was meh, okay - wasn't a whole lot to do there and what was there had horrible wait times. We really only did a couple of things and was headed to Epcot by lunch time.

We had a blast at Epcot - First had an awesome lunch at the Mexico area there - very delicious and then Heidi slept for over two hours in the stroller - which meant - well - let's drink!

When she woke - she was happy as a clam and wanted to play with her new Monster's Inc toys - fine by us - we will enjoy some beers while you play...
Heidi as the photographer...
I had to take at least ONE bathroom picture as we did SO MANY bathroom breaks - so many...
Heidi took this picture - no really she did - ha!

I use to LOVE these when I lived in Germany - total fat kid moment - Heidi had like 3 of them too - heheOne funny story - after consuming a few adult beverages - we all headed to the Spaceship Earth ride in the Epcot globe - we get in and Heidi starts touching the screen on the ride and before Chris and I can stop her - she officially selects German as our language for the tour. The guy loading was laughing at us and I'm like - eh - it will be fun. I translated for Chris - well I paraphrased for Chris and may have thrown a couple of - then aliens will turn us into burritos - to see if he was paying attention. Maybe that is why they serve booze at Epcot - or else all their rides would be too boring...

Sunday the group got back together and we hit Animal Kingdom. I seriously think this was one of my favorite parks - if not my favorite. The rides were good - most areas were shaded - we were able to get on rides quickly etc etc. Us on the jeep safari ride - very fun!
Play time moment - others kids - going down the slides and running around - Heidi gets excited she can play with her toys. No worries - we did the slides too - um - not very fast - but very long - I seriously have bruises from them...

Yes we went all the way to Disney World for Heidi to pet goats... but these were Disney goats...Sunday night we headed to Downtown Disney - what a cool place. Next time I would like to spend more time there. I am also kicking myself as I didn't take a single picture from the cool T-Rex place we ate for dinner. After dinner - we headed to the Lego store and Heidi was in heaven - she concentrated for a very long time lining up all the Lego's...Monday was our last day at the parks and boy did we make it count - we were there for over 14 hours straight! YES!

Once again - one of Heidi's favorite things was the Disney ambassadors who blew bubbles - we come all the way to Disney and she is entertained by bubbles.
We had a very special activity of getting to eat breakfast in the actual castle and meet a bunch of princesses. The girls enjoyed it - I personally had a crap-tastic time - mainly - for those of you who don't know - I am a picky eater - things I don't like - scrambled eggs, thick breakfast sausage, potato hash, soggy bacon and orange juice - guess what was for breakfast - I had a $42 cup of coffee and the SOB didn't even give me a refill. But enough whining from my part - I tried my best to be a good sport - but I give myself a F. Let's hope Matt didn't catch me being a baby on camera...How cute is little Kendall! She loved all the Princesses. Heidi didn't know who they were - but still had fun!Then we go to get the picture with Cinderella and we were told we wouldn't have to wait - just go on down - well they let like 6 families before us and then a random group of people who said Cinderella's actual mother lives next to their dog's sister's cousin - I can't make this stuff up - so by the time the family picture came around - we weren't super excited...

Well after my belly was full of coffee - Heidi wanted to go do her favorite rides - so we did.
One thing that is great about Disney - the random performances and parades - you start walking somewhere and you may run into something - mind you - I know there is a schedule of events - but that takes too much planning :) We ran into a dance party while waiting for our fastpasses for Winnie the Pooh ride - it was fun!After a few more of Heidi's rides - we headed over to The Jungle Cruise and that side of Disney.Heidi playing in the camel spit! As we were wondering in Frontierland - we noticed people lining up for a parade - they put up ropes etc - well we needed some down time so why no wait for the parade - um - sorry - I didn't realize the parade wasn't going to be to us for another hour or so - oops - but Heidi sat and entertained herself by people watching and taking pictures with the camera. I thought the shoe one was cute!We learned early on that Pluto was Heidi's favorite character - Chris was going to kill me during this wait for the parade - but luckily - Pluto was in the parade! Heidi watching the parade before she sees Pluto...And afterwards...Then to our luck - Pluto comes to our side of the street - is giving high fives - but actually bends down and hugs Heidi!!! Heidi was in heaven! And thank you Pluto for making the wait worth while! Chris couldn't be mad at me for waiting anymore. :)After the parade - we took the first option to get into some AC and it was the Bear Country singing - reminds me a Show Biz Pizza thing. Two seconds in and Heidi was out for a quick nap.After the nap - we headed to get some food and happened to pick the quick service place that had windows over looking the "It's a Small World" ride - one of Heidi's favorites. She had a blast eating and waving to people but it meant - what ride did we have to go on again and again and again... I lost count...Do you think Heidi is excited for It's a Small World?
I think this was Chris' favorite ride too - don't you think?Another one of Heidi's favorites was the tea cups and she liked going SUPER fast!

There is something so wrong about Chris on that horse - I don't know how it worked - but was very funny...The last day was spent packing and sleeping in a bit - the kids had a blast running and jumping in the hotel room.
One last bus ride...

And one last picture with a princess...
We had a blast in Disney World - but I need a vacation from vacation. We learned things that worked and things that didn't and overall - very fun. I can't wait to go again!!!

Cake Pops, The End of Soccer and Trees

2011-10-10T09:08:00.008-05:00

CAKE POPS! Sorry - I'm pretty proud of these - one - I can't bake - I really can't - so for me to have a sweet treat actually turn out - its a pretty big deal. And yes - I'm a dork and took pictures along the way while I made these pops - I had to document it! I may not be able to pull them off again! Basically we were invited to watch the Ohio State/Nebraska game at a co worker's house and I wanted to make something over-the-top Husker to bring. Along with a mystery subscription to Better Homes and Gardens (by the way - no one has fessed up - who signed me up - really?) well the magazine happened to have a recipe for cake pops and I thought - why not Husker pops.

One note - I have never made red velvet cake before - holy poo - that stuff is red! I was like - is this right?

As you can see - not a pretty cake - but luckily - you crumble it and it doesn't matter what it "did" look like!

Yes - yes - if you look closely - I did print off a picture of Bo yelling... I thought it was a nice touch...

I made mini baskets for the neighbors too :)

Today was the last game of Soccer - there is one next weekend - but we won't be here due to Disney World. Soccer started off just fine - Heidi was running around kicking and even playing with our neighbor girl across the street.

Then the more daddy tried to get her to do the drills the coach was asking - the more she shut down... As you can see...

And it didn't take long until - MMMMEEEELLLLTTTT DDDDDOOOOWWWWNNN. And our soccer career has come to a close. I don't think Heidi will be the soccer champ as daddy has dreamed - but there is always next year. :)

But don't worry - daddy and Heidi made up - I wish this picture wasn't blurry - I think its super cute!

As we were driving to Chris' co worker's house for the football game - yes yes - don't worry - we represented the Huskers amongst a group of Ohio State fans. The trees are just so pretty - I had to try to take pictures and well my pictures do not do the trees justice - sorry - I'm not known for my photography - but I hope you kind of get the picture. Fall truly is a beautiful time of year here - the kind where you want to roll around in leaves and drink beer... :)

And it's finally time! Time for Disney World!!! Just a few days away and I will be dancing with Minnie. We are super excited to go and hope to take a lot of pictures!

I pulled this old picture from my files - I think we started with 152 rings! Wow that went fast! Maybe now I actually have to hang up decorations. :)

We will be back after Disney World!!!

Fall

2011-10-03T10:36:00.005-05:00

It was time for Fall school pictures for Heidi. I decided before we went she should practice her smile - and this is what I got... I can't wait to see the actual school pictures - I hope they turn out!

Lazy Sunday - it takes us awhile to get going on a Sunday - Heidi, I think secretly loves to be just in her PJs all day. She was busy lining things up like she does and being a goofball... I tried to catch her playing - but she decided to ham it up instead...

Sunday was also one of those beautiful fall days - about 55 degrees - not too much wind - overcast and just nice. I can see why everyone loves the fall in Ohio - it is really pretty. As more of the trees change - maybe I will try to capture some pictures. It was a perfect day to play outside and Heidi wanted to golf - could she be following in my foot steps??? Ha we will see.

Going after a plastic ball that I might have hit with my real golf club - um mental note - they can still go pretty far and fast - I thought it would react more like a whiffle ball - oops...

Weekend Randomness

2011-09-26T10:29:00.006-05:00

Dance class take 3 and Heidi gets an A!!!!

Heidi was all about dance! She went right in, did everything she was asked and had a ball. She must have been paying attention while she was just sitting last week because she knew how to do things the first time they were asked - the teacher even afterwards was like - she has a great memory and she was surprised she could do the moves.

The ONLY problem was now Heidi is almost TOO comfortable - she figured out she could lay on her belly and on the slick floor scoot backwards and thought it was super cool. Well then everyone was doing it.

We will need to remind Heidi to put her listening ears on for the next class :) I am just super happy she actually likes it and wants to do it!

Heidi and our neighbor kid Brynn - they are little buddies - its cute!

We finally went to the dentist - I say finally as it has been a very VERY long time for me and a pretty long time for Chris - so might as well go as a family. Heidi did great - actually really good - BUT she has two cavities - I could not believe it! I feel so bad for her. We have an appointment on Wednesday with a pediatric dentist to see what we can do. As for me, I have four cavities - yes four - but honestly - for the length I haven't been to the dentist - I'm surprised it isn't 20. That being said... this morning I went in to have two of them filled and not so successful...

Yes it is part mental and but also physical - the dentist asked if I felt numb and she was describing where I should feel numb and to be 100% honest - I was not numb where she said I should feel numb. Well she thought it was OK and proceeded anyways - she started to drill - a pain shot up my cheek and I was done. Done. I go back Friday to try again - and to be perfectly honest - my mouth didn't feel numb for another 20 minutes later - no lie. I remember why I hate the dentist - they are all mean and I think like to make you hurt. We will see how Friday goes...

Soccer was cancelled for the weekend due to the amount of rain we had the night before - so we played outside for a little bit. I wanted to take more pictures but Heidi didn't let me...

Heidi yelling at me to stop taking pictures...

So - we were all decked out - ready to represent the Huskers - and decided to take some pictures...

Heidi being cute and showing some dance moves...

I gave Heidi one little miniature chocolate bar... I think she enjoyed it...

And now a funny story from the weekend... Chris made LBC 5 - I think we're up to 5 - which was going to be his Christmas or Holiday Ale. He has been hunting down a beer making kit for awhile now - like stores sell out within 5 minutes. He finally finds one and we are ready to go. Well he cooks it like he normally does and there is always a step with letting it cool down (no ice or anything). He always puts the pot of beer in our wash tub/utility sink in the laundry room. Well... we forget that is also the place Heidi puts her dirty laundry...

Chris goes to check the temperature of the beer and sure enough Heidi's jeans are in the beer! Chris starts to laugh - I mean - you can't get mad when your child puts something where they are suppose to put something instead of throwing it on the ground.

So Heidi comes in and goes "Sorry daddy, I didn't know your beer was in there" Too cute.

Chris pulls her jeans out, we are all laughing and I'm like - aww - its adding to the flavor... but THEN... Heidi goes "I put my socks in there too, daddy can you get those out?" The socks were no where to be seen - they weren't found until the beer was strained.

Let's just say - Chris IS going to proceed with the beer - but this one may not be one for the general public or family... :)

Busy Busy Busy

2011-09-19T09:16:00.008-05:00

We kept busy over the last week and weekend - which means - prepare yourself for a random post!

First up - we have mentioned a few times that Heidi likes to line things up - well she does it ALL THE TIME!. She was so proud of herself for lining up her cars and trains...

Next she lined up all her little figurines from Toy Story...

She is so proud...

Daddy had a sweet tooth and decided to run by a Dairy Queen and pick up a few items. Besides a good ole Dilly Bar - I'm unfamiliar with these novelty treats from DQ - one being a cherry star bar or star kiss or something like that - I took one lick of the star bar and thought I licked the inside of a frosting container - not my cup of tea - but Heidi loved it!

Next -we're being attacked by aliens from outer space!!! No? I'm a dork - whatever - anyways - we were being attacked by Yellow Jackets - aka - small wasps that are aggressive! I knew we have some bees or whatever - but then one day when I went out for my walk - I had some follow me for two houses - hmm - then I'm sure Brew got stung and then on the front of the house - I kept hearing noises that I thought was bugs hitting the window - then I realized it was wasps - going into a hole in the wood and hitting the inside of our wall - so not cool. Time to call the exterminator - I couldn't help but take pictures as the poor guy had to put on a whole bee suit - and he needed it - he even said it was a pretty big nest by our tree! They even sprayed down our whole house - I was AMAZED at the number of dead spiders and bugs around our house - SO GROSS!

Moving on... for school Heidi had to decorate a poster with her favorite things - from family to friends to toys. I helped of course - but she picked out every picture and told me where to glue it and she added all the sparkles! One side note - yes - some family members did not make the poster - it isn't that she doesn't love you - but as I encouraged her to have everyone - she told me there wasn't going to be enough room for Thomas the Train and Bob the Builder.

Dance take 2! Pre-class really excited to go!

Ready and...

JUMP!

Last week she got a F - this week a C... First half of the class - she sat in a chair with the assistant - didn't want to participate - had one quick crying session - but calmed down - but at least she was IN the room... Then they pulled out the mats to do tumbling and stretching and Heidi pops out of the chair and wants to go! YEAH! She participated through the rest of the class! So there is hope! I was able to get two shots - sorry - we were looking through a one way mirror and couldn't use the flash - but you get the point.

So just when Heidi was getting use to an activity - why not throw another one on top of that - ha... well we did... soccer! Right after dance - we did a quick change and she was ready to go. At least this time - daddy was there with her almost the entire time to help. She did pretty good and actually participated.

She actually kicked the ball during the scrimmage... a future soccer star...

Sunday was such a beautiful day - 70 degrees, sunny, slight breeze - we had to take advantage and go to the zoo. Before we went, I asked Heidi to smile for the camera... a good one...

And what I typically get... I don't know what she is doing...

Onto the zoo... watching the elephants cross, flamingos, monkeys, polar bears and more...

Quick photo break...

And one last goofy story from the weekend and sorry no pictures from it (probably a good thing) - Heidi pooped and of course had us come look at it and her poop broke up into three chunks, a big one, medium one and a small one and Heidi goes: "Look... a daddy poop, a mommy poop, and a baby poop." Ha.

Dance, Huskers and Pretty Pretty Daddy

2011-09-12T08:44:00.005-05:00

Saturday was our first DANCE class for Heidi... It started out rough in the morning as Heidi did NOT want to wear tights - but after much coaching and well... forcing her - she put the dance outfit on - calmed down and was good. As the morning progressed - she got more and more excited for dance.
Awkward smile - OK

Already to go!

So how did the class go - oh - right - how about - horrible. Not good at all. I had hope at first - we get there and Heidi walks right in to the teacher and goes - "Hi, I'm Heidi and I'm ready to dance" - I'm like - alright - this should be good.

So the teacher explains we have to wait for her classmates and then we will dance. I should have taken pictures - but Heidi was looking out the window and whenever anyone came she is like - "Is she going to do dance too?" Total the class has about seven 3 to 4 year olds in it. They all arrive - and the teacher is like - OK time for class. Heidi goes: "Come on mommy its time to dance" I'm like - OK go ahead and go in there - I will be right out here.

Problem 1: She thought was I going to dance too. Uh oh.

But she goes in and chooses a dot to stand on while everyone gets settled and the class begins. Everyone else kicks their leg or lifts their arms and Heidi is just standing there. Well she isn't participating. Then the class starts marching around in a circle kicking and the teacher takes her hand and tries to encourage her - she walks along but refuses to kick. They move to the next thing and the teachers tries to get her to do it and boom - TEARS. She gets escorted out of the room to me and I calm her down.

I let her watch through the window but she does not want to go back in. Our neighbor and her older daughter were out in the viewing area with me and even the 6 year old girl said she would go in with her and help her and nope - Heidi wanted nothing to do with it. 40 minutes of trying to get her to go - you can go and sit on the bench - Minnie Mouse likes to dance - etc etc - every mom trying to help too. Nothing.

Then the assistant teacher comes out and asks Heidi is she wants to sit on her lap as the class does somersaults and stretches and she is like OK. Win!

Heidi sits on the assistant teacher's lap - and was giggling and laughing. They asked if she wants to try and she pops up - and goes yes - well when the teacher tried to get her to do a somersault - we started to have melt down #2. So they stopped that - had her sit down with the assistant teacher and moved on. She at least stayed in the room for the last 15 minutes of class. Didn't do anything but sit and watch. At the end - they got one toe point out of her. One.

At the end - they gave everyone a sucker and a sticker and Heidi came out of the class as happy as a lamb. I - had completely pitted out my shirt and was sweating tremendously. Did not prepare myself for that amount of stress for 9am in the morning on a Saturday.

We went home and Heidi said she was all ready for dance next week and she said she was going to try. We went through some of the things the class learned at home (hoping they won't be as scary next time) and well... who knows. We will see this weekend how it goes...I will remember to wear more deodorant :)

Moving on - This was our first Husker game in Ohio - so we had to get all Huskered out to watch the game at the local sports bar and grill. Dress made by the cool Jessica. http://www.etsy.com/shop/pinkdreamsofmine

And Heidi wanted to show me how high she could jump...

Lazy Sunday morning - Heidi wanted to do daddy's pretty hair - and it was too entertaining. Chris is a good sport. In the end daddy was covered in detangling spray! ha!

Next weekend - Dance take 2 and she starts soccer - let's hope for a better result!

Omaha Whirlwind

2011-09-06T09:52:00.008-05:00

Wow - that went fast! Did we just go to Omaha for over a week and return? Yep - it went fast, saw a lot of people...as far as taking pictures - not so much. I posted what I could - but it is slim pickins on the pics!

Here is Heidi all ready for the road trip!

We had a nice dog bed all set up in the front seat for Taco and his bum leg - but nope - he wanted MY pillow and to take the room next to me. So I did not have a pillow for the trip - its OK - but the dog farts I could have done without.

Taken with my cell phone - both sound asleep - Brew was asleep up front - but I didn't get a picture.

Now this is where the pictures get random... With Grandpa Jeff and Nana - had to run some errands at Target.

Then we stopped at the Gonzales household and wouldn't you guess - Brett and Chris are dressed like twins...

Grandma Gonzales

Heidi enjoying her new drink cup.

Sunday night after a nice day of golfing - side note - I had the brilliant idea to walk and carry my clubs - let's just say I was one pooped lady - then I remembered - hey the last time I walked and carried my bag for 18 holes was when I WAS 18... So sad... Anyways, Matt and Christina gave Chris the best birthday present ever - a Mexican themed mickey mouse hat and a Disney World fanny pack!!! I can't wait to go and see Chris rock the fanny pack the whole time!!!

For Grandpa Jeff's birthday - we got crafty and made some shirts - my favorite - an iron-on of a 5th grade picture of Chris. Chris tried to recreate the moment...

One of the nights there we were able to have a reunion with our neighbors and the three girls who are all born weeks apart. Its always fun to see them change!

Kendall holding our neighbor's baby girl - Kendall was in HEAVEN! I think she really likes babies!

My mom is going to kill me for this one - sorry Grandma Babs - BUT it is the ONLY picture I have of her and its her yelling at me for TAKING a picture. I thought it was fitting. Thanks to Grandma Babs and Grandpa Darrell for hosting us once again. Sorry my dog's smell, sorry Taco puked on your couch, Sorry Chris' farts stink and sorry for kidnapping your basement for over a week!

Moving on... Uncle Bob reading a story to Heidi.

Heidi in her first Husker dress - I say first because while in Omaha - daddy ran and got a new dress that she wore the rest of the day - plus - I didn't want her to get anything on this dress yet...

I don't think modeling is in her future...

Grandpa Darrell and Heidi - watching a movie in the car while Chris and I ran in the house to get some stuff before our next stop on the visit tour...

We were lucky enough to watch the Husker game at Anne and Dean's house - Ayla and Heidi get a long great and they had a blast together. They completely entertained each other the whole time. I wish I would have snapped some more pictures - but come on - the game was on and Dean made wingy!

And just like that, we are back in Cleveland. We miss everyone greatly and I think Heidi misses the playmates most of all. I should have counted how many times she said - will you come play with me yesterday! Here is Heidi looking out the back - I think she was imitating me. Nice.

Next up... Heidi starts DANCE!

Goofball Heidi and Gimpy Taco

2011-08-22T09:17:00.005-05:00

"Hey Heidi, say CHEESE!" And this is what you get...

We had a fun-filled weekend once again - filled with Heidi being a goofball...

BTW - on Sundays - Heidi can dress herself - I always love to see what she puts together.

Heidi busy playing with her trains and cars... she put together the track herself - I'm impressed.

I love this picture - sums her up.

I came home Wednesday from dropping off Heidi - greeted by Brewski and then Taco slowly comes hopping around the corner - dragging his right back leg... crap. We made a vet appointment for the next day and watched him throughout the day - hoping he would start using the leg again - nope. We went to the vet and did some tests and some xrays and his hip was completely out of whack. I'm horrible with medical stuff - but your leg and hip are like a ball and socket - well his leg ball thingy was completely out of the socket and nothing to hold it there anymore. That meant - SURGERY - awesome. The vet went in and cut off/shaved off whatever the term the ball part of the leg. It will take Taco 2 months to heal and he has one nasty wound and incision. But even though Taco is Mr. hop-along gimpy - he is WAY happier. I think it was pretty painful for him.

************************************

Now WARNING - these next two pictures aren't for the faint of heart - this stuff normally doesn't bug me and I have a hard time looking at the incision - gross.

I warned you...

This is cute - Brewski was very worried about Taco. Taco was gone Thursday through Saturday and Brew couldn't have been MORE crazy. Randomly crying - going door to door etc. When Taco finally got home, we had to put Taco in the kennel for his own safety - so Brew wouldn't jump all over him. Brew hung out around the kennel for a long time and when things calmed down, they could be reunited.

Sorry about the gross Taco leg picture again - I can't even look at it - blah! There will be a break in blogs as we are traveling back to Omaha for a week! I won't do a blog until probably after Labor Day!!! BUT - I should have tons of pictures to share! Until then...

OH - I almost forgot - we had a BIG accomplishment - Heidi slept overnight in panties! No accidents! She has been waking up dry for about a month now - but finally last night we took the plunge. This morning - she goes - "Mom, it's easier to go potty with panties on then a diaper at night" OK - that does it - panties it is. I'm so proud she gets up and goes potty if she needs to in the middle the night! Keep your fingers crossed and this continues and we can officially be rid of any diapers!

2 Festivals...

2011-08-15T15:59:00.008-05:00

We had a great busy busy weekend - we went to not one but TWO festivals - both somewhat similar and somewhat extremely different. First - back up for a moment - We recently purchased a new portable DVD player - our old one - well let's just say I'm surprised it didn't have a crank to use it. There was a sale and we bought it - it really won't be used until the flight to Disney World (59 days and counting) but Heidi was being a good girl and we wanted to try it out - so she got to watch a movie on it. The headphones are perfect and she LOVED it! Now why is she basically naked - that I don't remember...

I love taking pictures of Heidi running - she is super goofy and if I can catch it - you get super happy pictures - I love her outfit too - I picked the dress - she picked the sunglasses, leggings and shoes and we agreed on the hair. :)

First festival - the North Ridgeville Corn Festival - aka Millard Days with corn. It was ran very nicely - free parking - good movement of traffic - tons of booths - old cars to looks at and a very well laid out carnival area with a majority of the rides being towards the preschool - younger kids. Heidi has never really been on rides before - minus carousels of course - so we thought it would be a good test to see how she did - she LOVED the rides! She wanted to go again and again and wasn't scared at ALL! She was even buddy buddy with the Carnies (you know the I-don't-know-if-you-showered-this-week-you-just-finished-a-cigarette-why-are-you-starting-a-new-one-where-are-your-teeth workers)

Man - I'm sorry but some of those rides just are sketchy. Heidi and Chris admiring the cotton candy - we got a bag and I think she took one bite. Lesson learned.

On to the 2nd festival - the Little Italy - Feast of Assumption or something??? I have no idea - but there was gambling, carnival rides, TONS and TONS of food and lots of people drinking. We left at 5pm and I have a feeling it turned into quite the party.

More rides for Heidi.

Oh - we put her in this elephant thingy - started going in a circle and then lifted her way in the air - Daddy and Mommy were a wee bit nervous - Heidi - had a blast!

Gelato break...

Heidi going down a steep slide - once again - we thought it was a little high - didn't even phase Heidi.

Moving on - we reorganized our family room - morning room area on Sunday and made a new play area for Heidi (better than the middle of the family room). She went straight to playing in her new area...(That's baby Macey hanging out of the doll house)

I asked Heidi to pick up all her shoes and this is what she did...at least they are organized...

*****SPOILER ALERT*****

If you have a birthday in the month of August and you are a grandparent - well you are going to know what you're getting if you scroll down... :)

Heidi working on a new "art" project...

LBC 4 & Dance Party!

2011-08-08T08:56:00.007-05:00

Beer anyone? LBC 4 is ready! I believe it is a summer ale - and my one little sip tells me its spicy and not my kind of beer. :) Chris enjoyed it, which is good and he plans to share his creation when we travel back to Omaha for a visit in the next couple of weeks. LBC 3 is still cooking/fermenting but according to Brewer Chris - it should be really in a week or so... Friday was International Beer day or something like that - it was only fitting that we cracked one of his beers. He said this summer ale has like lemon and bitter orange in it or something - which is two strikes against me - most people know how much I hate lemons - don't you dare put one in my water and oranges better not come within 10 feet of me - so it was destined to not be my beer. I have faith in LBC 3 as it is more of a German Lager...

Drive by mooning - actually - she does this whenever she poops on the potty - we are going on 8 weeks of NO ACCIDENTS!!! Next step - no overnight diapers - they are always dry in the morning - so should be soon!!!

Dance Party USA - Heidi loves when we play our iTunes through the computer and likes to dance just the same. And yes - no pants - once again - we're home - her pants go missing...

Heidi controlling the volume...

Look at Brewski at the bottom of the picture - he was just laying there the whole time while she bounced around - didn't budge once... I say he is pretty use to being bumped into - it doesn't even phase him... :)

And why not end the dance party with a basket on your head - it's how I always did it in College (j/k - I think...)

New Shoes

2011-08-01T08:53:00.006-05:00

Another typical weekend at the Gonzales household - actually not really. I was sick all week with Bronchitis and have been put on the bench for any activity to let my lungs rest. I'm done with my medicine as of today - but I still randomly cough now and then. I felt better Saturday - but whenever I tried to do something - oh like lean over and pick up toys - I was reminded that I was sick and should actually be lazy and sit on the couch. I finally felt normal on Sunday and decided to go on a shopping trip with Heidi - we will get to that in a moment.

First - woke up to Heidi Saturday morning - just playing Trivial Pursuit by herself - you know - something typical for a 3 year old. I'm not sure if she won or not - but at least she is getting a head start...

Heidi busy coloring with my office highlighters - no wonder I can never find one when I need it.

On to the shopping trip. We needed to run to Target and then the grocery store - for people who shop at Target - you will understand - I went in there for 5 things - FIVE things and an hour later spent over $130. Target is the black hole for shopping - yes - everything I bought was needed - well - maybe an asterisk on that - I did buy Heidi 3 new pairs of shoes and two new videos - was that really needed...hmmm.... So Heidi and I were wandering through the store and we passed by the shoes for her. I have been on the hunt for some boots or something for her that she can wear with her Husker dress this fall. Heidi lit up when she saw the shoes and the trying every pair on started...

First - we saw her pink cowboy boots from last year - but they didn't have her size - but she decided she like these purple suede ones instead. Then she saw the sparkle red Dorthy from Wizard of OZ shoes - which Heidi herself said would be perfect for her Husker dress and then we happen to fall upon discounted flip flops - which she doesn't have any that fit and need some for the neighborhood pool. There you go - 3 pairs of shoes.

I told Heidi to pose next to her new shoes - this is what I got...I don't get it...

She was more than willing to try on each pair of new shoes and pose for the camera. First - her new boots.

Side note - I got a little fancy with her braid on Sunday - we call this her princess tangled hair...

Now to the flip flops... she did all the posing...

Is Heidi Planking?

And lastly - her new Husker shoes...

Heidi is a goofball to say the least. Heidi playing on the couch and maybe Daddy was tickling too. :)

So - Heidi is happy-go-lucky - overall a very good child about 99.9% of the time - give or take a few points... Wanna see her mad? This was this morning (she dressed herself by the way) after I told her no - she can't have M&Ms for breakfast... Teenage years should be fun.

What happens when a 3 year old has free-for-all Sunday afternoon and two parents are too tired to pick anything up? Well - you get a family room that looks like this... yikes. Looks like we will be playing the pick up game tonight.

The 5 Second Photo Shoot

2011-07-25T08:35:00.004-05:00

Sunday night - 8pm and oh poo - I haven't taken a single picture this weekend. It's not like we didn't do anything - Friday was out with Chris' coworkers which was a blast, Saturday running around and being home, Sunday the zoo and yet - here we are - almost bedtime and no pictures... So - I introduce the 5 second photo shoot.

First - you will notice the ever creepy painting of a clown in the background of this next picture. This painting was given to my mom as a baby gift for Matt, my brother - I think. So my mom proceeded to decorate his room with clowns and circus type items - up through high school - I can't make this stuff up. I think this has to explain a lot why Matt is the way he is. Could you imagine going to sleep every night with this picture starring at you? yikes. Why do I have it - well you don't just get rid of a gem like that - I found out my boss doesn't quite care for clowns - so I add fuel to the fire and make sure its in the background if we need to video chat. :)

Next - have I mentioned Heidi doesn't like pants? She is like an 50 year old man coming home from work and immediately taking off their pants and sitting on the couch. It doesn't matter if Chris or I ask her - "Heidi - where are your pants?" Her answer: "Are we going somewhere?" Us: "No" Heidi: "Then, I'm okay."

We were waiting to Skype - so I continued with my 5 second photo shoot. Chris has taught Heidi to say: "Stop Paparazzi" when ever I try to take too many pictures of her as well as she knows how the camera works - so this time - I let her take some pictures of me. I know - I know - you have never seen a more beautiful person - but keep in mind - it's after spending a hot and humid day at the zoo - no makeup and grease - you get this super model!

Heidi self portrait.

Onto Skype! Best invention ever - the kids love it - even though a majority of the time is spent making funny faces. Please excuse the messy desk - It was a busy work at week and didn't have time to clean up. Oh and you can't tell too much in the pictures - but I'm pretty sure my dad is channeling Grizzly Adams as a style mentor...Bev is away with her sisters - so it's bachelor time at Grandpa's house...

Also congrats to my dad for winning the Member - Member this year! (That's golf for those who don't know what the hell I'm talking about) Maybe the beard was the secret weapon!

Yet another random post - enjoy!

Stuff

2011-07-18T08:30:00.005-05:00

There is no theme to this blog - just random pictures I took and trying to make them fit together... so here we go...

We FINALLY used our neighborhood pool - I know - took until July - but its VERY nice - has a zero entry side - great for young kids - no steps or ladders to mess with. At first Heidi wasn't so sure - she wanted to sit on the pool's edge instead of be in the pool. Second hour - I convinced her to sit in the water towards the end and she eventually kept going deeper and deeper and then was walking around and then LOVED it. She asks to go every day and it helps that it is a block away. Prior to her pool experience - I asked her if she wanted swim lessons in the big pool and she goes "Oh, no thank you mommy, I like little pools". ha. Maybe I should ask her again...

This is Heidi modeling her swimsuit - well if you call this modeling - its more asking her to sit still for two seconds so I can get a shot. BTW - I just love the ruffle butt! Ha!

Moving onto beer - LBC 3 that is - Chris was disappointed that I didn't post an update on his beer. So here I go. LBC 3 - moved into the next step - no idea what it is - I call it that "siphon the beer into another container and leave all the vomit looking crap behind so you don't have chunky beer" stage. I think it has to cook for another 4 weeks before bottling and then who knows. I think his goal is to be able to bring it back when we go to Omaha in August. Lucky people in Omaha - I guess...

Heidi had a sick day last week - just a minor fever - it was gone in less than 24 hours and she was back. Chris stayed home to help wrangle and Heidi thought it was super cool to be home with us. I guess Heidi found her new favorite spot to watch TV.

OCD is back - Heidi has always liked lining things up - or placing things on something and in a row. She was busy playing and we realized she was at it again...this time with my office stationary. Funny.

Heidi was just being Heidi... (she looks tan - huh? Her Mexican is coming out! ) :)

Just when I think Chris is occupied with LBC 3 - he decided - why not start LBC 4 - yep another batch. He said he wanted to make a summer ale or some crap like that. I don't care what it is - it smells awful.

Tool. j/k

Chris taking in the aroma of the beer - I'm serious - it smells like old rotten vomit to me... that must appeal to Chris :)
Brewski watching Chris brew beer. Notice the new collar - for those of you who don't know - yes we got an invisible fence. I'm cruel and mean - but we had to do it. No one has fences around this place and everyone has an invisible fence. So far - I'm not a huge fan - but each day it is getting better. Poor Brew just likes to poop in the neighbor's yard and in the middle of him trying to find a perfect pooping spot - he gets shocked... We had a couple days of him not pooping - but he seemed to figure it out this weekend... I'm hoping it continues to get better and my dogs stop hating me :)

This weekend was a big weekend to us - it was time for the last Harry Potter movie. Since we do not have a babysitter and Chris didn't want to ask a co worker to watch Heidi so he could go see Harry Potter - we each went to the movie separate. Don't worry - I'm not going to spoil anything if you haven't seen it - I just suggest - go see it. It's amazing. Anyways - Heidi and I went shopping to pass the time while Chris was taking his turn at the movies. Went into H&M - which is turning out to be one of my favorite stores - stylish and inexpensive AND they have kids clothes now. What did I come across - why not a jersey knit sparkly Minnie Mouse dress - why yes - and how about fun Minnie Mouse leggings - why not? I think I just found Heidi's outfit to travel to Disney World. I'm usually not one to buy clothes with huge characters on them - but I thought this one was done nicely. Let's see - I think the count down is 87 days until Disney World??? We're getting excited!!!

I told you if would be a random post... :)

A Photo Shoot...

2011-07-09T20:47:00.010-05:00

Don't get me wrong - I already know I miss my family and friends like crazy - but even more - do I miss the talented Christina Kahler when I need some awesome shots of Heidi - I was so spoiled in the past - oh what Christina - you have your camera and already snapped 20 good shots on the way to the bathroom - oh sweet - thanks! So without the talented Christina - I'm left with myself and a whole bunch of me jumping around in the yard - hoping for a good shot.

(And yes the neighbors already made fun of me) :)

I realized I have not done Heidi's thank yous for her birthday - oops - my bad - so it was time for a shoot. First - I have to thank Jessica Christie (That's Val's older sister and the maker of the super cute dress worn by Heidi) you can check out her other stuff at www.etsy.com/shop/pinkdreamsofmine

(Thanks to Val too for the gift)

By the way - I'm SUPER excited for the awesome Husker dress made by Jessica and I have it ready and primed in Heidi's closet - come on football season!

Here are the results of my efforts - I managed to pull some cute ones - enough to create some cards - and we had some fun just the same...

The BEST Weekend EVER!

2011-07-05T08:58:00.006-05:00

Why was it the best weekend ever? Well - my wonderful husband earned brownie points and secretly flew Val out to Cleveland to see me!!! He told me he had a surprise for me for the weekend and that was it. I thought we were going to go to Niagara Falls or something - so he came home Friday night and said part of your surprise is in the trunk of my car. I'm like - it better not be something stupid like a tandem bike - I'm not riding around on one of those things. He is like - just go check it out.

So I sllloooowwwwlllyyy get up - wait for Heidi to put on her shoes - I slowly walk to the car and I'm like - what is this? He is like - well just wait to see. So I get there - he pops the trunk - I lift it up and VAL IS HIDING IN THE TRUNK! She goes - "Surprise" and I jump back and make this really awkward scream - ha!

They totally got me! I was super excited and we just had a fantastic weekend - we went shopping - made some awesome meals and ate some great food - Val got to experience the bad customer service at our local grocery store - we saw the Lady Gaga meat dress at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - we played games - including scrabble - which for the record - I won (and I'm faster at bed making too) and we played badminton in the backyard and no one got hurt this time - it was just an awesome weekend. It went by WAY too fast and I didn't take a single picture - NONE!

I miss Val already and wish she could just move in - hehe. Since we were playing games - best thing about Val is I think she may like games more than me :) - Heidi was all excited to see these games. Well - Heidi wanted to play Operation and honestly - she wasn't half bad - she would carefully get the piece out and when she got a piece out - she would take some of the money and put it in her purse - too cute. I snapped these quick photos - just to have SOMETHING for the weekend!

Once again - best weekend ever. Thank you for my BFF Val and Chris for pulling one over me and giving me the best surprise EVER!!!

Random Weekend and LBC 3

2011-06-27T10:13:00.005-05:00

Random pictures alert! First - have I mentioned - when it rains it - it pours - like EVERY TIME it rains - it pours - I tried to capture it... can you see it???

WARNING - The next picture show POOP!!!!

I've warned you...

We had a BIG moment with potty training - Heidi actually went poop on the potty - doesn't sound that cool eh? Well we have been struggling with pooping - usually - I catch her making the face or the stance and I grab her to get to the potty - I have cleaned up WAY too many poopy panties...

Well this weekend it clicked - it just clicked. She actually went to the bathroom - sat on the potty and waited and pooped. (We weren't even around!) She did it SEVERAL times this weekend! We only had one accident. We are so proud. Chris thought I was crazy for taking a picture of her poop - but hey - its awesome.

Okay okay - enough about poop...

Another random Sunday - Heidi dressed herself - or really wanted to remain in her PJs - fine by me. Funny story and no pictures to show - we played in the sprinkler Sunday afternoon and afterwards - Heidi wanted to wear new panties and her bath robe - well then she got too hot for her robe and was running around in her panties. I told her - well let's put some clothes on and she goes - why? are we going somewhere? and I'm like no and she is like - then I'm okay in my panties...too shay.

Taco saying hi...

LBC 3 - what is LBC? - well that's Little Bit of Chris - Chris' home-brewed beer - its time for batch number 3... why Little Bit of Chris? Well some of you may recall - Chris' first batch - didn't go so well - was it the rain drops while it was brewing or Chris' sweat dripping in there or was it him reaching his arm in the batch to fish out the thermometer - what ever it may be - that beer contained a little bit of Chris and it didn't work out... So the name stuck - batch 2 went well and now its time for batch 3.

The first step is what I call - "the neighbors are going to think we're making meth in our backyard" - or what Chris would call - making the wart or something strange like that. Either way - it smells like ass and I'm glad when he is done doing whatever and its fermenting in a closed container.

I will keep you posted on LBC 3...

A Visit, Father's Day & Chris' Birthday

2011-06-23T08:56:00.005-05:00

We had Chris' side of the family come visit for a week - unfortunately not a lot of the pictures turned out - but I managed to salvage a couple of them. We had a good time and miss them already.

Heidi is into tickling people right now and Grandpa was the first victim.

Heidi's new train set for her birthday from them - she LOVES it!

Now - I didn't take a single picture on Father's Day - yep - I'm that awesome. So I tried to make up for it on his birthday - which was two days later.

Our birthday boy - Chris.

This picture makes me giggle - they are seeing Mars from above if you were flying over??? (Science Museum) I had to finally tell Chris to get off - so the next kids could get on it.

Chris was worried I wouldn't have enough sweets for his birthday - so I went overboard.

This is Heidi telling me how big of a piece she wants of the blue cake.

Hehe - I may have had some part in this... :)

SUGAR HIGH!!!

Happy Birthday Chris!

Water and Sand

2011-06-13T16:03:00.004-05:00

Heidi doing the excited dance?

Why? Well we finally got around to putting together her birthday gift from Grandpa and Nana - its good to spread out the gifts right? They got her a nice water and sand table... I think she likes it. :)

By the way - Heidi dresses herself on Sundays :)