Whoa, we have a blog

So this is my first entry into our blog. I figure I'd give this a try since I've been wasting my time putting stuff up on Myspace and only one person I know uses it. Facebook is a leeeetle confusing for me, and I'd like to think I'm ok with new websites and whatnot, but I somehow always end up installing some random digipet application or something that doesn't make any sense which in turn covers up/moves down/eliminates the thing I came in to do in the first place which is look at my stupid pictures; and now the site laughs at me after I log in. It's not really the mwhahahah laugh that you'd expect. It's more of a laugh that wants you to help it get out of its cage, but can't stop mocking you at the same time. Whatever, facebook, we're through. Anyway, I hope to be putting some more stuff on this site (it's got a nice little 'new entry' button that doesn't require me to take care of any more digipets) that'll probably just make my wife roll her eyes(like right now) and taint the timbre the Vigesaa blog, but hopefully it'll mildly entertain you or just flush 2 1/2 minutes of your life down the crapper. Anyway, it's a leeetle late, so I'll blog you soon! Bloggy blog!

Adventures in raking

Well, fall is upon us and that means piles and piles of leaves. Eventually I think we'll just switch to fake trees in our yard, because the real ones that we don't kill are too much work. At any rate, we have had two afternoons of raking (the same section of lawn) and there will be another round as soon as a big wind comes through. we had fun though - we'd make a big pile and Josiah would drive his bike into it, or we would roll through them or bury someone in them, etc. We also discovered that it is impossible to find a child's sized rake. Josiah was a riot and fully armed and dangerous with a full-size rake. Here are some funny photos from the efforts.

Getting lost in the maze...

We have now made 2 trips to a local pumpkin patch - they call it a pumpkin patch but it 6 different "areas" to visit that are each chalk full of a zillion things to do. For those of you that are familiar with the preschool-age crowd, you know that they would never last for the full monty. So, fortunately, you buy a ticket and you can use it for however many days it takes to get through each area.. Sweet. So we took two trips there along with friends of ours and we had a blast. We tried the kids maze (the easiest of the 3), and with 4 adults and 3 young children, we got stuck. No joke. It was laughable. Very disappointing though - because it was then determined that it was not a good idea to try the real thing. (This wasn't even a corn maze!) So, that was a bummer. But it was a ton of fun. Josiah and his little girlfriend Lily enjoyed all of the games, crazy climbing structures, sandboxes and pumpkins. There were also about 100 of those pictures with the faces cut out that you stick your head through - it took us several tries before the kiddos figured that out! Here are some fun photos from the adventures out there. (I'll fill in July - September later!!)

Interesting dilema - the bikes are too big for Josiah, and too small for Daddy. They later got on one bike and I think that was even worse.

These two are the best of friends, and pretty much betrothed to be married....I think this would make a nice invite.

This was the "its been an exhausting day and I'm sick of pictures and I need to eat and take a nap" point in our day.

The wagon ride to the pumpkin patch - they were thrilled by the tractor pulling us...

This was the best one, seriously. With preschoolers, you'll find that it is much more common to get good pictures of the back of their heads rather than the face - its because you are in a constant state of chasing them around.

I'm going to the zoon Mommy!

For Father's Day, we drove up to the Minnesota Zoo with good friends Heather and Adam. Josiah loved the "zoon". He was equally (sometimes more) excited about the constant airplanes overhead and the "BIG TRAIN!" (aka the zoo's tram). Here are a few fun pictures from the "zoon".

Josiah had no fear of feeding the baby goats. Notice that he had to open his mouth extremely wide - either trying to get the goat to mimic him, or in total nerves. Note to mommy: Remember lots of change next time.
The new exhibit "Russia's grizzly coast" makes the entire trip worth it. Not that the rest of the zoo isn't fun, but the zoos in MN aren't all that exciting once you've been to a great zoo. This exhibit actually shows an effort to catch up and make this a competitor. We were mesmorized - child and 4 adults alike. No, perhaps the adults more than the child. First you get to sit in a small cave stadium and watch the otters swim and play. The glass puts you inches from the otters - and goes from above ground to the bottom of their pool - so you have a total view of everything. So cool.
Note that the empty seat next to my boys represents pass #2 through the exhibit. Do not visit the zoo on a holiday, nor on any weekend day. We waited in line to get into the exhibit, and then waited our turn for a seat in the little stadiums. Well worth the wait - but keep in mind that everyone wants to spend their whole day in the lull of watching the animals swim.
Yes - next it is the bears. A much bigger area, and a much bigger glass wall. This is my kid about to do a high-five with the bear. (Thanks, Heather, for actually snapping a shot seconds later when the high-five happened). This was amazing. The bears were swimming and playing in the water or chasing the fish for the duration of our two visits to see them. They are amused by the dropped jaw folk staring at them and come right up to your face and give you a show. Once again, inches from the animals. SO cool.

At any rate, we took a ton of pictures and had a wonderful afternoon at the zoon. I can't get him to drop the "N". Two bummers - Josiah is going through a phase where he is afraid of loud noises. In the aquatic area, there is a water feature (where you can touch the starfish) that drops a zillion gallons of water every couple of minutes. He cried and clutched me so hard I had bruises. Secondly, the arena for the dolphin show is incredibly small. You had to wait for more than an hour to get a spot - and they don't have enough shows for everyone to get a chance. So no dolphin show. A bigger bummer is that there is no way to view the dolphins other than the show - so that was unfortunate.

We learned a few lessons for next time, but will definitely be back. On a random Tuesday morning with a bag of ice water packed.

Catching up a tiny bit...

Life has been a tiny bit hectic lately. We have put our first house up for sale- it is heartbreaking because of the work we have done and the fact that we love this house - aside from the fact that it was our first house, etc.. But at any rate, its going to be good and its keeping us very busy. Here are a few pictures from the past month or so.. i'll get more on here, I promise!

This is Steve and Josiah pretending to be frogs. We have moved on from kitty now - and are more concerned with frogs and tigers. Some days he wakes up and instead of "good morning mama" or "i want toast" all we get is a "ROAR!". The best part about Josiah's frog impression is that he does it in a monster-type voice - a growling scratchy thing like the scariest frog you ever saw. He won't do it when the camera is on though.

Another "ribbit"
This is Josiah sharing the wonderful pink cake that I made to celebrate AudrieAnne's first birthday. It was a great cake - and quickly devoured by all of the kiddos. Grandma was thrilled to have these "sticky hands!" in her lap. The house sure fills up with all of the kids and all of the running, and oh, the running. It is exhausting to keep up with them all!!
Josiah talked about going fishing with papa all weekend long. He was so excited to catch a big shark. He did NOT want to catch a fish - "NO mommy. I catch a big SHARK!". Then we go home for opening fishing weekend and guess what - Fergus Falls was still having winter! So here he is, turning his fingers into popsicles catching the fake fish because it wasn't even worth putting bait on. He was thrilled though and totally enjoyed catching the red fish over and over again until we had to drag him in because it was too cold. Then it snowed. Meanwhile back in Rochester it was a balmy 65 degrees!

We are keeping so busy with this little man. He is an amazing kid and makes us stare in wonder at least once a day. We are keeping a journal for him of all the random things he does - adding notes here and there when things jump out at us. Its comical to read through it and imagine him getting this earful when he grows up. Today I wrote three pages about him THROWING UP ON ME AT TARGET - and how this is not appropriate behavior.

He love to play, loves the parks, loves animals and worms. Find him a worm and he will carry it around for an hour (until it is completely torn to shreds and he needs you find him a replacement). He LOVES helicoptors - which we get to see a lot of here by the hospital. He shreaks with glee. He loves toast and would eat it for every meal.

Last week he got to be the chef at preschool. Steve and I got to go to have lunch with him - he had picked the meal and helped make it. Meatloaf - what?? We don't really have that at home, but the kid gobbles it down. It was adorable to see how excited he was to do this for us and his friends. I'll get those pictures up soon.

He has a whole dictionary in him. Today he told me he bounced on the teeter totter. He loved to say "o-noxious" when I told him that the book we read a million times a day (a look and find) is obnoxious. He likes to way "watch this" and do a trick of some kind. He is very tricky and will be the king of pranks from an early age. He reminds us at least 20 times each day that he is a big boy. You cannot call him anything else.

He has totally taken over.

I know, I know

We haven't been keeping up, I know. Life is chaotic and sometimes, something has to be sacrificed - clearly in our case, this often ends up being internet time. Which I can't really complain about I suppose. We decided when Josiah was born that if he is awake, the tv and computer are going to be off - helps us keep our priorities in check :) (And also allows you to treasure that tiny bit of down time after he goes to sleep!)

At any rate, Josiah and I made brownies over the weekend - and I decided this was a good excuse to take a picture to post everywhere. So here is brownie face, clearly thrilled about this treat right before nap time.

Josiah continues to impress. He can count to 12! He has learned phrases to books now - most painfully Green Eggs and Ham - and it no longer works to skip a page. He also knows verses to his songs. So no singing them out of order!!

Last week I taught Josiah that there is a heart in his chest. Then I told him that Jesus lives in there. His response? "Jesus in there? Jesus in 'Siah's heart?" I said yes, that Jesus lives in Josiah's heart. He then said "David too!" "'Ke-us (Zacheus) too!". Try explaining to the child that no, not everyone lives in there - its only for Jesus (and mommy). So we got down to just the one occupant. That evening, I was showing off this new knowledge to Steve and after shouting that Jesus was in there, Josiah proudly stated "Moses in there too!". Oh brother.

Here is a quick peek...

A couple random shots of our basement project - which is finally nearing completion! Don't get scared of the green shade- the photos are deceiving. There is a dark green in the main space and then a lighter green by around the corner.
This big hole now has a new tv in it...
The view from the corner that now holds Josiah's climber and our treadmill. Not sure what to do with this corner yet.
This is the view from that same unknown corner facing the stairs.

The view from the stairs - Except we have rearranged the furniture so that the chair is right against the wall now - leaving a big huge open corner back there. We are looking for a fun chair to add to the mix. Oh - and the big plastic wrapped thing is the tv that is now in the hole.

Privacy, please

So we've discovered that Josiah likes to visit the coat closet to do his "business". It was funny the first time, with his diaper on went he went in there to poop. The second time, however, he was in his little undies and peed all over my slipper. Still hilarious, but gross this time. At any rate, no more hiding in the closet during diaper-free time. Anyways - a random tidbit from our recent adventures.

Here are a couple of pictures of our new basement - or better yet, Josiah and Daddy's train room. Luckily they have their own space for this and it doesn't take over the whole place! It is something they both are obsessed with right now. Josiah likes to reconfigure the train cars and Steve messes with the layouts. Oh boy.

The big event...

So the big event came and went. We had a grand old time as you can see by the attached photos. I think we may streak his hair permanently - its a good look for him.

A fun visit in overdrive...

This past weekend we drove up to the cities to the Kube residence where the Stumbo clan had also trekked. We had a lot of fun - we hadn't seen little Miss Ava for a long time - my how big she has gotten! It took a lot of coaching for Josiah to call her Ava - he thought she was Ben and that Ben was Ava. We debated this for quite some time. Then we tried to add "Jen" to the mix, but that was too much. We got there at bedtime, so Josiah enjoyed two hours of hyperdrive before we finally put him down. Boy was he a crazy man! He also enjoyed seeing baby "Buckle" (aka Brooklyn) and trying to show her way too much love and affection! All these girls around already! Things could get interesting :)


We got Ava a vacuum for her birthday. (We missed the party due to the pink eye infestation of 2007). They sat mesmerized and drooling with anticipation while Ben tried to fight the twistie ties and get the thing out of the box.

Josiah was so excited to see "ER-CA" and Josh again - he talks about them all the time (and is very proud to know their names).
Steve and I hogged baby Buckle a bit - he cashed in on the fact that I have a bum arm - so he got her way more! She is growing like a weed- these kids sure have that growing thing figured out!

Hey! It's out of the box! Then Ava had to run away, dragging the vacuum around the island while Josiah yelled vacuum and tried to steal it. We love learning how to share!

I don't have any pictures of the big event - the traditional Pictionary game. It's always a bloodbath, down to the wire. LOVE to play these games! And there were some amazing drawings - like the "zit face road" (dirt road) and the "valentine" (meow). Game time is serious stuff. We discussed the possibility of a wooden spoon collection for our next gathering - spoons is a great game except for pregnant people. When you are pregnant, you seem to the a big target for spoons. (thanks erik)

I cannot believe its gone.

Invitations have been sent out and supplies have been delivered. It appears as though year number two has come and gone and we are about to celebrate its passing. It is the most difficult thing to be a parent facing the years passing and a child growing. It has got to be the biggest struggle where emotions are pulling you fiercely in two directions and there is no middle ground. On one end, I am thrilled. Josiah knows his letters, his numbers, his colors and most shapes. He talks in sentences, he tells us about his day, his teacher brags about him, he behaves well for others, he plays on his own (sometimes), he can play with big kid toys (sometimes). He amazes me every day, his memory, his imagination, his sense of humor, his trickery. On the other hand, already (he's only 2!!) the list of things he needs help with has dwindled drastically. He can do it by himself and he lets you know thats the way it will be. He doesn't beg to jump in your lap and have you read to him - he tells you to sit down by him (while patting the floor) and he reads it to you (his own version of course). The cuddling days are gone. It happens so fast! You want to be excited for them to grow up and experience new things - but you want to hang on to your baby forever.

At any rate - in observance of the unsettled excited-nostalgic thing going on with my heartstrings - here are a couple of photos to show you how far we've come... and I am so excited to see what becomes of cake number 2!

Wow, what a day

So what a funny story. The evening was going so well. We all got home early, played with trains (what else), we played play-doh for a very long time, ate a well-balanced meal and then went down to play more trains. We came upstairs because Josiah was doing theatrics while attempting to poop. (Sorry, but parents talk about this kind of thing.) We got him undressed only to discover this was a huge fake (and I mean huge - he had put on quite a show). So we figured we might as well give him a bath since he was now nearly naked. We put him in the tub, we're all playing VanGogh with his tub crayons and covering the tub with amazing works of art. And then come the bubbles. I said "Steve, watch his butt, he's blowing bubbles". Steve says "its just bubbles". And suddenly, the tub was full of poop. No joke. All varieties. Steve freezes and screams "gross!" and looks at me wondering what he should possibly do. I tell him he might want to think about lifting Josiah out of the tub. So he does. Then he leaves him standing there while looking at the murky water wondering out loud what he is to do with that. I suggest first getting Josiah a towel?? Like why did your brain go on vacation just because someone poops? Wow. Steve and I laughed for quite some time after this - I mean come on, once you get over how gross it is and the fact that someone (Steve) has to clean it up, all you have left is to laugh. It was bound to happen sometime, I suppose. The rest of the night was business as usual. We looked at his 'look and find' book, ran through the alphabet, and read a train story (what else) before he calmly climbed into bed. And then Steve began to scrub the tub.