Has it really been that long?

Regrettably, yes it has.

So many things have happened since I last wrote.

Owen and I had a nice visit to Grandpa and Nana's over the Martin Luther King holiday. Owen and Grandpa had fun playing (see below) and I had a wonderful visit with Mom. Since that visit she's become more adventurous in her getting out on the town and three months after her "all clear" diagnosis from the doctor remains on her healing path.

A week later, I managed to not kill Garrison Keillor as I drove him back and forth between Bloomington and Peoria despite Winter Weather Advisory conditions. The 15 cars in the ditch gave us lots to talk about on one trip. On the way back, he put the final tweaks on this article which was due the next morning.

The next couple of weeks are a blur. Needless to say, the kids have been wonderful. Maya is talking and talking and is full of pizzaz.

She's all about sentences now. Each day is a discovery of new words put together in perfect ways she's never put them together before. Favorite topics, though, include, "Owen, Mommy, Daddy are nice," and "He's naked!" when talking about a Michelangelo's David bookmark we have.

She's also discovered makeup, as you can see below, and has her first set of perfectly painted toes.


Owen, meanwhile, tried out a new face painting option, a lizard, at a Family Series event at the BCPA in January. He's always gone for tigers before.

He looked great!

... and perhaps it was foreshadowing for the dragon parade he participated in at his school last week. All the kids decorated boxes and the class went on a march around the building with Chinese music playing.

Happy Year of the (wait for it) Tiger!

And he continues to amaze us with all he remembers. The other day I checked out a book about the man who walked on a tightrope between the Twin Towers. We'd read the book about a year before, about the same time I saw the "Man On Wire" move on DVD. Picking books one night I asked Owen what he would like to read. "The book about Philippe," he said. I was confused, but when he pointed out exactly which book I immediately remembered and knew he was right.

Philippe Petit.

Owen, if I'm ever on "Millionaire," my lifeline is you.

We also had a great time celebrating Nana's birthday two weeks ago. I drove up to see her for a couple of hours on the 9th. The weather was crummy and Amy was sick at home, but the opportunity to spend time with Mom on her special day, especially with Daniel visiting from Massachusetts, was just too good to pass up. Happy birthday, Mom! We're all very proud of you.

Jungle Jack Hanna

Owen was tired, but still had a wonderful time with his mom, Auntie Pam, and me at the Jack Hanna show at the BCPA last night. So many amazing animals on stage, including a cheetah, penguin, owl, two-toed sloth, and this cute civet cat Joel got to meet before the show.

Jack was a wonderful guy. He stayed around almost an hour and a half after the show to sign autographs for all who were waiting.

Maya stayed at home with some sitting help from our good friends the Merrills across the street. Amazingly she fought going down until we got home. Owen went straight to sleep when he and Amy returned at 9:30, and Amy was just finishing with Maya when I returned an hour later.

They are both still sound asleep at 8:30 this morning, a rare feat for our house.

Gotta Dance!

A LEGO creation update ...

This has been the big doings around here this week.

From this police LEGO set ...

Has emerged this LEGO Police Space Shuttle ...

(And, yes, the cargo bay door opens.)

Merry Christmas, Part 2

We extended the holidays through the entire week this year, getting together with Nana and Grandpa Aalberts to celebrate Christmas over the New Year's weekend. Aunt Lorie and Jason, who at 18 is now the tallest cousin of us all, joined us. It was a fun visit that included some presents, stomping through the snow, and sledding, despite the seemingly sub-zero temperatures. The visit also gave us a nice time to share some special time with Mom and Dad as Mom continues to recover from her surgery, treatments, and a persistent virus that has her still feeling worse than we would all wish for her ...


The presents were fun. Maya enjoyed many more books and some more babies to add to her brood. She's a great caretaker of all her little ones, cuddling them and always making sure they have what they need in the way of blankets, pacifiers, and clothes.





Owen's Christmas was all about LEGO's. He got several new sets which (see below) we made quick work at assembling.

And of course there was lots of time for hugs and play ...

We were all very thankful for a wonderful Christmas and the family that made it possible.

Just as we were thankful for whatever moments of peace could be found on the car trip home ...

Merry Christmas, Part 1

It's the last day of the year, and the holiday fun just keeps coming.

We had a wonderful start to the Christmas break at Grampie and Grammie Ives' house on Christmas. The kids prepped for the visit with a shared bath ...


... which included back washing ...

...sudsing...

...and distinctive risning techniques.

We drove into Iowa City on the 23rd and enjoyed a full day to putz around and relax with family on Christmas Eve.

We opened a couple of presents before tucking the kids to bed on Thursday night. They both slept with the reminder Santa wouldn't come if they were awake ...

On Christmas morning we got Maya all dressed up in a pretty green Christmas dress and white stockings.

But, as Santa himself knows when he's sweating like a fool dressed in his red snowsuit as he makes his Christmas night swing through the desert southwest, sometimes the outfit looks right for the occasion but may not be practical for the activities planned.

Maya didn't care what she was wearing. All she wanted to do was to check out the space where Grammie and Grampie's dog Winnie had slept the night before. So she did. And her self-incarceration lasted most of the way through breakfast.

Later, Maya thanked Winnie for letting her share his space. She got up while we were opening presents and brought Winnie a gift to make sure he didn't feel left out.

It was hot cocoa mix.

Meanwhile, Owen was busy as our elf. He distributed presents and threw himself into his work (and into the tree) to make sure all of the presents were rescued from the back.

After presents, our energy turned to Christmas dinner. Maya helped set the table, placing napkins at everyone's space.

Merry Christmas!

We drove back home on the 26th. The weather was changing, turning colder, with more snow and ice expected into the weekend. We took our time on the trip back, aware of the 19 cars we saw in the ditch and focused on just getting home safely. We stopped at a mall in Peoria en route to stretch our legs and take a break. There was a Christmas train ride there Owen really enjoyed.

The kids are off from school this week, so I've been enjoying some one-on-two time with them. On Monday, we all went swimming. Tuesday was a bit crazier. A plumber came on Tuesday morning and replaced a toilet that had needed repair for way more than a year. We then had to go to my work for a little bit to finish up a grant that was due. We stopped by City Hall to pick up the signed paperwork I needed, meeting the City Manager, City Clerk, and several other staff members along the way.

After a quick stop at the library, we drove to my office and got the forms in the mail.

It was quite the adventure.

Back to the library, quick. A fun story to share. We were in the line to check out. It was a long line and the kids went walking away together out of my sight behind a stand of DVDs. I could hear them, but as the line moved Owen must've thought it was time to get back into my eyesight. Next thing I know, here he comes carrying Maya by wrapping his arms under her pits and across her chest. He had a big grin on his face that said "Can you believe I'm doing this?!" She had a big grin on hers, too. But her's communicated one word only.

"Seriously?!"

I laughed out loud. He's been picking her up a lot ever since.

Yesterday was a little more back to vacation plan. We went to the Children's Discovery Museum in the morning. Owen and I played games while Maya was napping. And we all went to the pool in the afternoon.

Needless to say, they were both asleep by 7:30.

A few pictures from the Discovery Museum follow. They had a great time on the slide together. And Maya absolutely blew me away with her bravery in the climbing gym.

It took a lot of work for that little girl to climb so high ...

Christmas wonders

Christmas is coming and our house seems full of miracles.

Last night, Owen read us a book -- from start to finish. The book was an easy reader about Thomas the Train he'd picked out at the library just the day before. At first it seemed like he was just reciting what he remembered from our reading the day before, but it was very clear once we got past the first few pages that he was seeing the words and reading them on his own. For Amy and me, the moment was akin to walking on a tightrope, feeling absolutely spellbound at what this little boy was doing ...

This wonderful accomplishment comes hot on the heels of a weekend trip to the pool where Owen is all of a sudden very ready to start putting his head under water. This had always been very scary to him, and he is very proud of his new skill. It was the first thing he talked about the next morning with us, his teacher at school, and, I'm sure, anyone else who would stop to listen.

Maya, meanwhile, seems to be in almost full command of language. She's got lots of words and phrases, her favorite being "No way!" She helps us count, saying "six" the other day after Amy had counted from one to five. And this morning she was sure she saw Santa out the window. The red light at the top of a nearby tower did like Rudolph , but it's a good sign our little girl is looking forward to Christmas.

By the way, Owen (photo above) is looking at the tree through some 3-D glasses a friend gave us that make each light look like a little star. All he could say was "Wow!"