Hello! When I made the last blog entry, including January through March happenings, I didn't include a couple of fun/important events!

On March 17, Flora Enz turned 3. I was present at her home birth, and even took some pics and a video for Kristy and Tom of their experience and their new little one. We can't believe she's 3!!! For her birthday, Flora had a "Princess Tea Party." Of course we had to get all fancied up!
A big kiss from my "prince" before we left for the party...

The kids had a great time, as always at the Enz's. Here you can see Princess Flora, her little brother Frog Prince Leo, and Fischer enjoying some fresh fruit in the playroom.

Flora's 3!

1-year-old Leo certainly looks smootch-able!

Doesn't Fischer look so handsome!? Like he's ready for a job interview or something! :)

A few days before Flora turned 3, our friend Collin's mom Holly (my "work wife") gave birth to their new little guy, Quinn. Fischer and I visited the Cormiers a couple of times while Holly was on maternity leave. The "big boys" played very nicely while we visited!

Fischer has been getting more and more physically coordinated. He runs everywhere he goes, he recently learned to hop, getting both feet off the ground (late May, 2010), and enjoys tickle torture, giving "raspberries" (as seen below), and wrestling.

Easter morning (April 4, 2010), Fischer wasn't as excited to wake up to his basket as I thought he'd be...

Turning on PBS and finding a little Curious George perked him up!

Fischer got the movies Snow White and The Fox & the Hound, some sidewalk chalk, a flashlight, and some flashcards. His favorite item that day turned out to be the flashlight :)

By the time we went through his whole basket, things were looking up, and Fischer was back to his usual chipper, smiley self.

Every morning and evening, Fischer uses a stepstool to brush his teeth at the bathroom sink. He doesn't have spitting mastered, yet, but he goes through the motions. When he's had enough, he says "help you" and hands me his toothbrush, so that I can help him get one more thorough sweep of his teeth and tongue.

The following weekend (April 10, 2010), it was such beautiful weather that Papa suggested we go to the Wildlife Sanctuary to feed the ducks and geese. Whenever Joe had Fischer take a handful of corn from the bag, he asked him to throw it out for the geese...there's a video on the Fisch Finder of Fischer feeding the geese. Instead of throwing it to the geese each time, he'd throw it down onto the ground ;) You may notice he has a slight wardrobe change--we brought both his winter and spring jackets because the weather was so back-and-forth...

When we had had enough of the geese and ducks (or maybe they'd had enough of us...), we went for a long walk. When Joe and I needed a rest, we took a seat on a parkbench near the path and asked Fischer to "stay close." He did a great job and got to explore to his little boy heart's content--here he is running with some sticks!

The following weekend (April 17, 2010), we went to Scarborough (a favorite fishing hole of Joe and his brother Charlie) to hunt for wild asparagus.

We didn't find any, as the fields had recently been cleared and burned to get rid of old growth...but we got some cute pics and had a nice walk!

I believe I shared some details in my last entry about my journey to improved health and weightloss...As of today (5/25/10), I am 6 lbs. away from my final weightloss goal. Being inside the last 10 lbs. is, in a lot of ways, tougher than any other part of this journey! I'm continuing to chart the foods I eat, the exercise I sweat through, and my weight--there's an app for my phone I can do all this with!!!! I promise, I will post my lovely before pics when I have awesome AFTER pics to contrast.

In the meanwhile, I'll have my camera out more and will be better able to keep up on the blog as I'm taking summer off of school. In fall I'll start again and will take my final class next spring--then I'll have my Wisconsin Child Care Administrator's Credential. One more way to make myself feel special and important! Oh yeah, and it's required by the state for all center directors...

Fischer's second birthday is right around the corner! He'll be 2 on 6/3/08. We're having a party for him with a chef theme on Sunday, June 6th from 4:30pm to 6:30pm. Little kids will make their own pizzas and decorate their own cupcakes (and they'll each get to take a kid-sized apron home), and Big kids will build their own sandwiches and enjoy potluck items brought by guests. Let me know, please, if you'll be attending so I can have enough food. If you need sizes and stuff for Fischer or any other ideas if you're interested in giving a gift, please call, text, facebook, or e-mail me!

Catching Up: January-Beginning of April, 2010

Please note the posting date above is when I BEGAN writing this...it was actually put online April 12, 2010!

Hello, everyone! It has been much much too long since I last updated the blog--just waaaaay busy these days. I'll explain later...Here's what we've been up to!

Just after Christmas, we got a Wii game system. I'd been wanting to get into shape, and looked forward to using the Wii games as a fun way of getting some physical activity. Below, you can see Fischer enjoys watching us use it just as much as we enjoy playing it!

The first weekend of the new year, we celebrated Christmas with Grandpa Ken, Grace, Uncle Nate, Frances and Josiah at Grace's house in Tomahawk. Among a few other things, Fischer got his very own laptop!

Kristy and I have been doing our Wednesday coffee nights kid-free--the kids get time with their dads, and us girls get time to "cluck" instead of chasing rascally toddlers and taking princesses potty! Every once in awhile, we do get the kids together for a playdate so they get to see each other, too. That was the case with one coffee week we spent in Green Bay. Fischer and I had Kristy, Flora and Leo over to play.

They had a ball together and played so nice!

Fischer's getting so big! His speech has taken off even more, and sometimes his attitude is pretty big, too!

We've begun putting Fischer on the potty here and there. He sits best when it's in the livingroom. He either watches one of his favorite PBS shows, a movie, or we read books together.

Here, we're celebrating one of his successful potties! Woo hoo!

Joe and I took Fischer sledding for the first time on January 16th. We went to Fireman's Hill in Green Bay. He was reluctant to get his snow gear on, but quickly perked up when we got to the hill. He took turns going down the hill with me on the tube, with Joe on the tube, and with either of us pulling him on his little red sled.

Fischer had a blast, and we all got some good exercise!

On January 21st, Uncle Nate came to visit with Frances and Josiah and Josiah's cousin Joshua. The boys enjoyed watching a movie while the grown-ups talked and made dinner.

It was a fun visit, and Fischer did a great job sharing his toys.

At the end of January, Fischer had his 18 month checkup (although he was closer to 20 months old--he had a cold at 18 months and had to reschedule). He was at or above the 50th percentile for height, weight and head circumference.

I haven't had my camera out as much as I should, so there aren't any February pics. There was, however, some *unwanted* excitement in February...After a fun night playing fantastically with other kids at the Enz's for Kristy's birthday potluck, Fischer spiked a temp and ended up having another febrile seizure. It lasted one scary minute, and we rode in the ambulance at about midnight that night to the E.R. He was fine, but Joe and I were sure scared! Turned out to be his first ear infection. Now there are special instructions posted for Fischer in his classroom at daycare. If he has a temp of 100, they must strip him down to his diaper, apply cool cloths to help get him cooled off, and immeidately adminsiter Ibuprofen or Tylenol.

Hopefully he never has a seizure again, but just in case, Joe and I are not going to hesitate to strip him down and give him meds if he begins to get a temperature--no more "wait and see!"

We had a laid-back Valentine's Day weekend. Fischer helped Joe make me a card (using my stamping stuff!) and they gave me a pretty charm bracelet.

The week of Feb. 22nd, Joe and Fischer began swimming lessons together at the YMCA. Something just for Papa and Fischer to enjoy together. When I ask Joe how it went each week, it's hard to tell who enjoys it more!!!

March is gone, and now it's April. Fischer's already 22 months old! Every day he gets closer to 2, the more he gives us a glimpse of his budding attitude. He definitely takes after me, there! Stubborn and a quick temper/tears. He amazes us daily with his smarts--Joe says he wakes up smarter every day :) Fischer's repeating most anything we say (can't let anything "slip"...), he's a whiz with shapes and identifying animals and their sounds, and he can identify the letters in his name and then some (Thanks, Fridge Phonics!). He absolutely LOVES books and being read to, and he also enjoys the educational shows on PBS like Curious George, SuperWhy!, and Sid the Science Kid.

Even though Fischer is such a smarty pants, we still experience plenty of frustration in the times he can't express himself to be understood, as well as the times his wishes go against our rules. He's not a big fan of anyone telling him he can't do something, or to stop doing something!

I'll post another entry soon. We've been getting outdoors more, and so has the camera :) I'm extra busy these days with school, Holly off on maternity leave, full-time work, and just life in general!

Fischer's 1 1/2! Leading Up to Christmas, 2009

Ahhhh....now that the busy holiday time is at an end, maybe I can get a little blogging caught up! This entry is a summing up of December happenings. Look for a new video of Fischer playing with some packaging paper on the Fisch Finder. Our neighbor, Chris, took the pic below on December 8th, a few days after Fischer turned 1 1/2. We were watching a TV show together.
Fischer's been showing interest in cartoons--especially those with familiar characters (like Elmo...whom I do not care for...grrr!). Neighbor Chris took some time on December 11th to show Fischer a little something on the computer.

The evening of December 12th, a bunch of us got together to go to the Green Bay Botanical Gardens for their annual Garden of Lights. It was the way we kind of celebrated my birthday this year. Uncle Nate was with us, as well as Frances and Josiah. Neighbors Chris and Taylor came, too! We began with a long wait in the NWTC parking lot to ride on a school bus to the gardens. Fischer was good about being all bundled up, and we had our snowpants and all on, too, so the cold wasn't much of a concern. After we let him run around as much as we could, and it seemed as though the bus would never come, it turned into a sing-along as we sang Christmas carols and "The Wheels on the Bus" to keep him (and the rest of our line of waiting people) entertained! Finally, the bus arrived.

The whole bus ride (on my lap), Fischer exclaimed "Bus! Bus!" It must've been a thrill, too to see the sights while not strapped into a carseat! When we arrived at the entrance to the gardens, we met up with Frances, Josiah and Nate. There, we had to wait about 15 minutes more to get our tickets and get out on the other side to see the lights. Boy were there lots of people!

Below, you can see how excited (and bundled up) the boys were!

I played papparazzi and made Taylor get her picture taken with me. Doesn't she look thrilled?

It was hard to capture the pretty sights with or without a flash, so I just picked some of the photos that turned out the best. Here, a gazebo is decked out.

In this picture, a dragon is lit up on the top of a hill.

Check out this lovely archway (Nate and Chris on the far left). How pretty!

His expression doesn't show it here, but Fischer was excited to see all the "pretty" lights..."wow!" Here we are with Uncle Nate.

Didn't you think of spiders and their webs as Christmas decor? Me either...but they were cool!

Finally, enough of the running ahead and trying to get the best shot. We had someone take this group pic of us in front of this tall "tree"--it had over 3,000 lights! From left to right: front row Josiah (age 2 1/2), Fischer (age 1 1/2), back row: Chris and Taylor Casperson, Val, Nate & Frances.

On Thursday, December 17th, we had our annual Holiday Open House at Bright Beginnings with a visit from Santa. We were unsure how Fischer'd do with the man in red, because he's been slow to warm up to others. If you think about it, we teach children to stay away from strangers, but encourage them to sit on Santa's lap...who is almost always a stranger, and in a suit and big beard!!!

You can see Frances on the left as one of Santa's "elves". Fischer's near Santa while the other children are taking turns on his lap. He got brave enough, while Santa was distracted, to reach out and touch the bells on Santa's knee...

Then Santa saw him--look at that face!

When the other little girl got down, Fischer surprised us all by walking up to Santa with his arms up and saying "Up?" Santa hoisted him right up and I got two quick shots before the moment was over.

Next time I'm on the blog, I'll be sure to update with our Christmas stories and more pics. Hope everyone had fun and safe holidays! I'm glad the season of tempting food is over! Since November 30th, I've been completely and drastically changing my eating habits. It's not a "diet," it's a lifestyle change. I've lost 10 lbs. already, and I feel terrific! I no longer attend Curves--my body has "outgrown" the program...it's not challenged enough anymore. So, today was my first day working out at the Y. It kicked my butt! I guess that's the way to get in shape is to notice that you're out of shape :) Take care!