blogging with the bundys

Halloween with Family

2009-11-07T09:55:00.005-06:00

We had a great Halloween weekend last week, as the kids' uncles, aunties and cousins came to visit and trick-or-treat with us. Too bad the weather was so cold . . . but we carved another great set of pumpkins, and the girls had fun with their fairy costumes!

The kids didn't collect a ton of candy (never a bad thing) since the weather was so chilly, but it was fun watching them call out "Trick-or-Treat" together. Dominik was a hoot--he kept wanting to get into everyone's house. And Josie kept running so fast her shoes fell off. Jimmy tried to get the little ones involved by asking them to do the doorbell, but of course the doorbell was always too high for them. You can't ask for sweeter, cuter or more-fun-to-watch kids than that!

Hmmm . . . I'ts Been A While. Must Be in School!

2009-10-18T22:12:00.002-05:00

Last weekend we went to the Des Plaines Valley Rendezvouz, a kind of re-enactment of life along the river centuries ago, when people would come by boat to camp and trade for goods. It was really cool. We got to see a teepee fully furnished, and along the river people in costume basically had their camps set up--and they'd tell you about their site and so on.

Jimmy really liked the "skirmish"--where some fighting broke out between some soldiers and the Indians.

We were only there a little while, but plan to go back next year when we can spend more time!

At the Beach

2009-07-27T23:10:00.004-05:00

We went to Mount Baldy today. Years ago we used to climb the huge sand dune, then find everyone at the summit, leaping off into the deep sand. Nowadays you have to take a different trail to get to the beach, and you can't jump off the summit so much; the dune is eroding. Even so, kids had saucers they were using to glide down, and Jimmy and Josie had fun running down the slope. They both loved the beach; they're at a great age now where they simply occupy themselves with the waves and sand. We were there from about ten in the morning until after five--the kids should sleep well tonight!

Jimmy's 7th Birthday

2009-06-23T20:49:00.011-05:00

Last weekend we celebrated Jimmy's birthday up at Auntie Jeannie's house, where Jimmy got a chance to go fishing with Dad and Grammy. He ended up catching his first bass--a good-sized one! Dad caught one too, but it had swallowed the hook and got pretty bloody. Uncle Danny cleaned the fish, and we didn't think there'd be much to eat, but in fact once I battered them up (as Gram used to do), we had enough for our family of four.

Jimmy enjoyed his cake, too. He'd wanted a violin one, and the best I could do was come up with something that had one on it (versus one that was shaped like a violin). I tried doing a rolled fondant cake, which I'd never done--but the fondant wasn't as good-tasting as regular icing. Jimmy still liked it, though!

On his actual birthday we did a "normal" cake, which we all enjoyed a lot, and Jimmy got a cool toy from Gram Crackers and Pop that allows him to build models of factories that feature all kinds of water pumps and valves. The one he made today was called a Vinegar Distilling Factory, and once he turned it on, he had fun changing the different valves to see what would happen. Just wish he could keep his cool when parts don't fit together, or things don't work immediately . . .

Josie's Wish List

2009-06-12T09:26:00.001-05:00

I updated Josie's list for her birthday, too . . . which will come up so fast. I can't believe it's almost Jimmy's birthday! Just another week and a half, and he'll be seven!

Birthday Boy

2009-06-01T22:03:00.003-05:00

I asked Jimmy this weekend what he'd like for his birthday--his wish list is updated with the things he told me . . .

Weekend at Navy Pier

2009-06-01T21:48:00.003-05:00

A weekend ago we took the kids to Navy Pier, where we all enjoyed strolling around on a sunny day. Josie went on the carousel, then we all went on the big ferris wheel. Josie thought the ride was really cool, and Jimmy thought he was high as the clouds.

Mom's Day

2009-06-01T21:33:00.003-05:00

We took Mom to Ann Sather's downtown for breakfast this Mother's Day, and then went to a park with the kids. Later on we met Dan, Anuta and Dominik at Lake Katherine, where the kids enjoyed walking on the trails!

Spring at Lake Katherine

2009-05-03T11:13:00.007-05:00

We took the kids, Gram Crackers and Pop to Lake Katherine Nature Preserve yesterday, where the kids saw a ton of animals and enjoyed the flowering trees and the waterfall. The kids had fun sending dandelion heads through the "rapids" and throwing rocks in the lake. It was a beautiful day!

Waterfall Glen

2009-04-21T14:53:00.007-05:00

We went hiking last Saturday at Waterfall Glen up near Jim's work. We spent a little while by the waterfall and had a snack, then all of us spent a lot of time throwing rocks in the creek. We skipped rocks, tossed rocks and made "rock songs" by throwing in several in different sequences. Josie, of course, liked finding sticks.

Easter Fun

2009-04-14T20:59:00.006-05:00

We spent a nice Easter up at Auntie Jeannie's this year. The kids had fun and spent a lot of time outside playing and later, hunting for eggs. The lamb cake--with Gram's recipes--turned out well and disappeared quickly!

Hiking at Swallow Cliff

2009-04-14T14:40:00.009-05:00

A few weeks ago the weather was warmer and we took a ride over to Swallow Cliff for a hike. Jimmy and Josie had fun climbing the steps up the cliff, and wandering the paths.

Of course, they each have their own way of doing things. Note who's on the wrong side of the "Closed" sign here, for instance.

C'mon Bug!

2009-03-01T23:02:00.006-06:00

Josie saw a bug on the stairs the other day, and ran screaming to find me. We later went looking for it, and I filmed the hunt because it was so cute. In the vid Josie first waves her stick and yells, "C'mon, bug!" a few times. Then she wants to know if I'm going to take a picture of her bug, or a picture of her and her stick. You can always count on Jos to come up with something to do on an otherwise boring day. Millie, this vid is totally for you--enjoy! ;-)

Jimmy's Expo

2009-03-01T22:47:00.006-06:00

Jimmy wrapped up another class at Northwestern this weekend. It was about plants and how they adapt to their environments, and Jimmy had fun showing off what he and the other kids had been working on over the last seven weeks.

Josie wanted to do whatever Jimmy did--even stand in front of a poster she didn't make about photosynthesis ;-)

The vid below is Jimmy explaining his journal. I tried to cut him off, but then he insisted on filming a "Part II" and "Part III," which I did--but I'm only including "Part I."

Not Much Going On

2009-02-08T20:44:00.003-06:00

We haven't been up to much lately--sorry I haven't posted more pics. I will soon!

LEGO Heaven

2009-01-05T10:20:00.006-06:00

This is a little old--I'd had trouble loading it before. Over break I'd taken Jimmy to the LEGO Discovery Center in Schaumburg lso he could check it out. It's pricey, but the Heims thankfully helped us find some ways to get discounts on the tickets. Jimmy had a lot of fun seeing the LEGO version of Chicago and a big jungle scene (with a LEGO hippo Josie would've loved). They had some play areas where kids were building and testing cars, or putting skyscrapers over a plate that moved to simulate earthquakes. Of course Jimmy didn't want anything he built to get knocked down :-)

Brookfield Lights

2009-01-03T22:25:00.007-06:00

We went to Brookfield Zoo to see the holiday lights for the first time this year. The kids really liked it. They got to see some animals and enjoyed the great light display; the weather was good that night, too--not too cold, but still pretty chilly by the time we left!

Josie went ape over the animal cutouts. Jim, Josie and Jimmy kept poking in and out, trying on different creatures.

Belated X-mas

2009-01-03T22:00:00.011-06:00

Here are a few photos from our various Christmas parties. From Carol Stream to Tinley to Woodridge, we were all over the area celebrating with friends and family.

Christmas itself was enjoyable, with good food and company throughout. The kids had fun--and Anuta finally got herself the coveted pickle gift!

Happy Turkey Day!

2008-11-27T22:12:00.008-06:00

We had a fun Thanksgiving today. We started off this morning at the parade downtown, where we met up with Dan, Anuta and Dominik. The kids seemed to like all the marching bands, horses, and big balloons (although Josie seemed a little scared of the balloons, even though she saw some characters she really loves, like Super Grover and Elmo).

Later we had our meal at Mom's, then played a find-the-turkey game. We hid a little turkey doll in the house, then someone had to find it based off our clues. Instead of telling that person they were "hot" or "cold" we had to say "gobble, gobble" softly or loudly. It's pretty silly, as the vid shows, but a lot of fun.

Jos the Builder

2008-11-27T21:47:00.004-06:00

Josie has been getting really interested in building things lately. She loves stacking blocks to make towers, and one morning we found Josie building a whole town on the playroom slide. the video shows Josie and Jimmy playing with marble runs. The video is hilarious--watch Josie and Jimmy do a dance that shows their excitement as they watch the marbles go down the chutes. It's really cute.

A Few Halloween Pics . . . More to Come

2008-11-01T15:02:00.018-05:00

Here are a few of our pics from yesterday . . . just to get them out there! I'll add more, and tell more, later. We had a very busy day, and by the end of the night we were all exhausted. We had a ton of fun, though . . .

Some explanation may be needed for Jim's costume, for those of you who don't have a toddler. Jim's DJ Lance Rock costume was by far the hottest. A driver pulled over at some point to ask excitedly if that's who Jim was, and many of the dads stopped Jim (one to say that Jim had stolen his costume idea). And little tykes along our route continually did a double take, then asked, "Yo Gabba?"

Pumpkin Update

2008-10-30T23:26:00.001-05:00

Here is a link to several photos from Jimmy's school, including pix of him with the other kids who won prizes for their pumpkin designs. That's right: Jimmy got first place for his grade for his cupcake pumpkin! He was really excited . . .

Is It Wishlist Time Already?

2008-10-28T23:18:00.003-05:00

Our gang's wishlists (links on the right) have been updated for the holiday season. You'll see mostly little things on the kids' lists . . . cheap little things! Josie just likes playing with her kitchen, but she'll be asking for a dollhouse from Santa that has inexpensive accessory items. Jimmy always wants a wooden Metra engine (the new version), but nobody makes it. Oh, well. Times are tough, of course--they'd be happy with a box of markers :-)

Carving Frenzy

2008-10-28T21:06:00.014-05:00

We got our pumpkins done tonight. Jimmy had fun carving his own with really no help from us--he was done in a flash! Jim, of course, drew out a plan before carving as he always does, and his cool sunglass-wearing pumpkin has an "LK" carved into the back for Larry. I think my pumpkin was the best I've ever done, and I thank a book I saw at the store over the weekend, which had a picture for a "cannibal pumpkin" that Jimmy and I thought was really cool. So I gave it a try, and it turned out wonderful. Josie wasn't too thrilled to see the pumpkins, but she liked Jimmy's happy one . . .

Jimmy's Pumpkin for School

2008-10-28T21:00:00.005-05:00

Jimmy came up with a list of ideas for his pumpkin contest at school, and decided he wanted to make the world's biggest cupcake. So here's his pumpkin. He rolled most of the clay, glued on the sprinkles, and helped crease the cupcake liner. I had to use the glue gun to attach the liner for him.

Ghouly Concert

2008-10-26T21:03:00.007-05:00

Jimmy got his first chance to wear his Halloween costume yesterday at his music school's concert at Barnes and Noble. His ghost costume was so much easier to make than last year's Tin Man! Jimmy thought having spooky makeup on was pretty cool, and he had fun seeing the other kids from his group class all dressed up. They played a bunch of songs together, including "Go Tell Aunt Rhody."

Pickin' Punkins

2008-10-26T20:55:00.006-05:00

We took the kids to The Farm this morning to pick our pumpkins for Halloween. Josie enjoyed the tractor ride (her first) and went crazy once she saw all the horses behind the barn. Jimmy had fun picking out our pumpkins--although we had to leave some of them behind so as not to break the Bundy bank.

Grand Rapids Marathon

2008-10-26T20:38:00.007-05:00

Jim ran the marathon last weekend in Grand Rapids. Grammy came with us, and we all really enjoyed the fall color display on the car ride there. We stayed in a nice suite that gave the kids lots of room to play. The kids did great during the race, too, since Grammy and I were both there with them; they had fun looking for Dad and playing with sticks and leaves.

First Fall Concert

2008-10-13T21:02:00.005-05:00

Jimmy had the first of two Fall concerts this past weekend. He played "Long, Long Ago." A couple of the kids from his group class were there, too, including Mikey. Jimmy was excited to get a picture with him.

Josie was a good girl during the concert. She sat quietly through many songs. She was excited to hear Jimmy--listen for her in the middle of Jimmy's solo!

Pumpkin Fun

2008-10-13T20:50:00.008-05:00

This weekend we joined Dan, Anuta and Dominik West of St. Charles for the Kuiper Farms Scarecrow Fest. Jos had fun at the petting zoo, while the rest of the gang picked apples. Later Jim and Jimmy went into the corn maze, and completed it about 30 minutes later.

Fall Shenanigans

2008-10-13T20:30:00.010-05:00

You know I'm back at work when the blog goes ignored . . . Here I am to get you all caught up with some of the hijinks going on with the T.P. Bundys. Josie's been interested in trying to roller skate, as you can see. Jimmy lost his first tooth, and big Jim nearly lost it one day when his GPS running watch went missing. Just like Pop, Jim has trouble locating things. He was nearly in tears and full of anger at himself, but some hours later found his watch--tucked into one of his shoes. D'oh!

Our Wet Weekend

2008-09-15T18:34:00.007-05:00

As you may have heard, we got record rainfall this weekend. Here are some photos of our little lake--the retention lake near our home.

Jimmy's Science Experiment

2008-09-15T18:09:00.004-05:00

Last Saturday Jimmy wanted to do some experiments, so he picked this one on surface tension. It's pretty cool. He had fun doing another one where we poured oil into a glass of water, then added a little soap to cause the oil and water to mix temporarily . . . Just try to ignore Josie screaming in the background--Jimmy definitely wasn't fazed!

Back to School

2008-08-27T09:03:00.007-05:00

Jimmy started 1st grade today, and he was so excited! We went to the open house last night, where he got to see his room all set up for today. He was happy to see that he recognized some of the kids who would be in his class.

Of course taking him this morning was chaotic, mostly because of Josie. Strongheaded as she is, she of course didn't want to walk up to the school--she wanted to go to the park instead. She settled for the smaller play area near the playground, and I decided to leave her there while I helped Jimmy find his line. Even though I kept checking for her (and she, rarely, for me), she managed to take off from that spot and head for the park. I had to go grab her just so we could have enough time to say goodbye to Jimmy. Then I stuffed her back in the car only to hear her wailing after she realized we weren't going home, but to Miss Jan's instead. Looks like it will take her a while to get used to our new routines!

Concert at Pritzker Pavillion

2008-08-27T08:50:00.005-05:00

Last Friday we took Jimmy downtown to see a concert at Pritzker Pavillion. They Sinfonietta was doing Holst's "The Planets," which Jimmy had been learning about recently, so we thought he'd like that. He'd also never seen a symphony (and I think, neither had I), so we knew he'd be interested in that, too. As you can see in the photo of Jimmy they had a big screen above the musicians. (The other photo is from the Millennium Mark website.) While they played each of the pieces (Holst did a piece for each planet to capture its personality), they had images of the planets and so on. It was very cool, and Jimmy loved watching the violinists play in sync. He was excited that there were about 20 violinists there!

The Last Birthday Party for Josie

2008-08-18T21:52:00.012-05:00

Because of our summer traveling, our kids end up celebrating birthdays over and over . . . and over. We had Josie's birthday party with Grammy, Uncle Danny, Auntie Anuta and Dominik this weekend, and it was a wonderful time. The kids played in the water and had fun with Grammy and Uncle Danny making big bubbles. Later we had a burger buffet--yum! Josie got a hippo cake, which she was thrilled about, and then she got some nice gifts from her relatives--a pizza set like Millie's, pots and pans and dishes, and finally, her new kitchen from Mommy, Daddy and Jimmy. She was in heaven. Then we went for a walk to the park, where all three kids had fun on the slides and swings (and Dominik and Josie rode in the wagon after Josie asked her cousin to join her: "Domik, pease!").

When she got up the next day she remembered the new kitchen and food and said "kitchen!" before she could even eat breakfast. She made a beeline for the playroom and started cooking.

Director-in-the-Making

2008-08-03T22:38:00.003-05:00

This video is so hilarious. This was Jimmy's first attempt to make his very own movie. What's cute about it is how he films it--and you'll see how it occurs to him to change the camera angle, and so on, which I think is just so interesting because you see a kind of thought process there, and a kind of thinking about how an audience might experience the image. You have to watch the whole thing! Anyway, here it is:

Weekend at the Lake

2008-08-03T22:03:00.015-05:00

We spent another weekend at the lake, and the kids had lots of fun. On Saturday Jimmy and I went out to the middle of the lake for a swim with Auntie Jeannie, Mark, Dee and Lauren. Jimmy loved jumping off the boat and swimming in the deep water. Later Dee got Josie to play in the water, ride in a float with Jimmy and even climb up onto the raft. Josie was beaming.

The next day our friends Jim and Erika and their girls Anna and Caroline came for a visit, where we did more swimming. The kids really spent a lot of time playing in the sand; they were busy building, pouring and protecting their creations!

Trains Until You're Sick of Them

2008-08-03T21:42:00.014-05:00

I took Jimmy out last week for a dream-filled day of trains. We took the Metra to LaSalle Street Station, then walked over to Union Station, where Jimmy "finally!" got to see some Amtrak trains. I was surprised that we could walk so close up to the terminal, but we saw plenty. We also saw the Great Hall, something I'd always wanted to see anyway.

Then we walked back across the river to the Sears Tower and its sky deck, where Jimmy spent a lot of time sitting next to the windows, looking of course for trains. He spotted the Amtraks heading into Union Station, the Metras making their way to LaSalle Street station, and plenty of El trains. Oh, yeah--freight trains too. Then we headed back to LaSalle Street station, where we walked along the terminals to see the striped engines. I told Jimmy that I was sick of trains after that. "Forever?" he wondered. "No," I said. "Not forever. But definitely for today."

Fuff Madness

2008-07-30T23:43:00.009-05:00

Josie and her fuffs. We couldn't find any one day so we pulled the crib away from the wall, and Josie went on a recon mission back there. This is what she discovered:

Then she grabbed them and took off running down the hall.

Landscaping

2008-07-30T23:31:00.006-05:00

Here are a few pics from our landscaping project, which we finally got around to doing. Thankfully, we didn't "do" any of it ourselves. Watching the landscapers build the retaining wall made it clear to us that we never could have done it--it was unbelievable how complicated it was. Keep in mind that it took us a year just to seal the deck. . . Thank goodness the landscaping is done so we can enjoy it!

Jimmy's Busy Summer

2008-07-30T23:06:00.011-05:00

And here is a backlog of pics from our July. Jimmy took two classes at the Center for Talent Development at NWU, one on pyramids and another on polygons. He really had so much fun. The video is Jimmy on the last day of the pyramids class, where there was an expo featuring all the stuff the kids did. Jimmy is describing how the pyramid he built is one of the smaller structures in front of the three pyramids at Giza.

The downside is that his interest in Ancient Egypt prompted me to reinstall an old PC game called Pharoah, which is a SimCity building game where you build a town (and eventually, pyramids). I'd be embarrassed to admit how many hours Jim and I spent playing this game back in the late 90's . . . Anyway, Jimmy is now obsessed with it too--in particular with finding ways to make the huts he builds for the people turn into fancier homes. So he builds chickpea farms and juggling schools and temples to Osiris. And he checks to see what his unemployment rate is. And he talks about building enough granarys to store the harvest, and enough bazaars to distribute the food . . . It's just insane, but he's having a blast.

We'll Miss You, Grampy!

2008-07-30T22:56:00.002-05:00

I've got to get caught up with posting pics of the kids, but I've been avoiding it because I knew I'd have to post about Larry passing away. We'll miss him dearly. I was just talking to Mom tonight about the little things he did, like teach me how to change a light fixture (I've been remodeling our downstairs bathroom). But it was really the time he spent with the kids (Jimmy more than Jos) that meant so much. I remember how I'd bring baby Jimmy over on Larry's day off--he'd watch him while I graded papers. He always had time for them. Jimmy sure seems to have lots of great memories of the time they spent together!

4th of July Weekend

2008-07-06T22:27:00.015-05:00

Here are pix from the weekend--we spent a couple of days up in Wisconsin. The weather was perfect. The traffic, horrible! We got stuck in Fox Lake, and had to pull over at another point because one of our tires was leaking. The pit stops drew out our trip way too long. Regardless, the kids had fun playing in the water, where Josie sat and poured water into buckets, and Jimmy rode some pretty good-sized waves on a little raft.

Josie found playmates in both Lily and Auntie Jeannie. Lily brought out all kinds of dolls and stuffed animals for Jos, and Auntie Jeannie gave both Jimmy and Josie golf cart rides up and down the hill.

Somehow we found the time to go to Burlington, where the kids played in the park (well, Josie mostly complained) and we had our first Adrian's of the year!

More Vacation Pix: Just the Parents

2008-07-03T20:39:00.011-05:00

Here are some pix from our cruise to Bermuda. We left New York on a Sunday, were at sea two days, then arrived at Bermuda. Our stay on the island was three days, then we headed back to New York, and arrived early Sunday. We'd never cruised before, but really enjoyed it on the Norweigian Dawn. We had a great room with our own balcony, and so enjoyed the sights and sounds of the waves along the side of the ship.

There was plenty for us to do on the boat, and it was relaxing to travel that way. We hung out by the pool, and even took in a little chess and a Wii tennis tournament, where I finally beat Jim . . . The restaurants on the ship were great, and we liked that we could eat wherever we wanted to at whatever time worked for us. We did some running at the gym, and went to one of the big shows on the ship--how ironic that we finally got to see The Second City perform, out on the ocean instead of back at home. They were a riot. Most importantly, we got to sleep in!

The island was great, too. The sand really is pink at the beach, and after spending one say at Horseshoe Bay, I've become a beach snob. I've never really gotten much from going to the beach. The water is always way too cold to enjoy. But the pink sand was like powder--there were no ground up rocks, no shells. The water around the island was a beautiful greenish color, and was crystal clear. And warm. So Jim body surfed and I rode the waves too.

We did a bunch of other stuff too, and enjoyed some riduculously expensive meals (everything in Bermuda is expensive). But it was a memorable place, to be sure. The island was dotted with colorful homes, all with white clay roofs. When we explained later to Jimmy, he thought it was neat that you could paint a home pink, orange, or his favorite color, teal.

Of course, the ride back home with the kids made it feel as if we never went on vacation at all, or that we did go . . . some time way, way back when :-)

Some of Our Vacation Picks: Kid Parts

2008-07-03T15:10:00.011-05:00

A collection of photos of the kids here: a picture of Dad and Jimmy at a little farm we went to with the whole gang before the cruise, Jimmy's birthday at Gram Cracker's and Pop's, and our day at Sesame Place with Jimmy and Josie after getting back from the cruise, where we each got our now-a-tradition Elmo cupcakes. Jimmy was big enough to go on all the slides now, which he enjoyed, while Jos had fun trying a water slide for the first time with Daddy, and then a carnival-type ride with Mommy (she went on the Elmo fish ride, where she had to get some practice in waiting in line)! She was quiet as a mouse when she saw Ernie and Bert--arguably her two favorite characters from Sesame Street. She was in awe, but didn't want to get to close :-)

While we went on our cruise to Bermuda (pix to follow), the kids did great with their grandparents, Auntie Susan and Millie, and Auntie Sarah and Uncle Matt. They went to the Philadelphia Zoo, Sesame Place, and to a place with a very cool train layout (I think the largest in the country). Anything trains pleases both kids, so they had a blast!

Birthday Lists

2008-05-28T21:27:00.003-05:00

With my presession class running at a breakneck pace and the cruise coming up, it seems like Jimmy's birthday--6!--will be here in no time. There aren't too many things he's into these days (he's happy to spend hours playing with a calculator, lay out 600+ rocks in a pattern on the driveway, or create his own word search puzzle from magnetic fridge letters--his latest thing), so please check out our wish list for him. We found a few things that he will likely love, most featuring either LEGOs or chess. There's a little scooter there too, which we think would help him better learn to balance on his bike (and it's just a cool thing, anyway).

Of course if you were able to find a wooden replica of the newer-model Metra engines, he'd go crazy. As far as we know, they don't make them! But he's got a spot saved in his LEGO town for it, just in case . . .

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-28T21:08:00.015-05:00

Last weekend we spent some time at the Little Red Schoolhouse in Palos. We'd never really taken Jimmy out hiking much in all these years, at least not like this, so he really enjoyed it. He thought it was cool to be in the middle of the woods--with nothing around us but trees, and he liked hiking along the little lake there. He also learned how to tell if a tree was a White Oak, so he kept pointing them out along the path.

We spied a few creatures here and there, most noticeably a ridiculously large frog. But we also saw a bunch of beehives and some turtles. Inside the schoolhouse they had a crow, which scared Josie a little when he cawed so loudly. Josie fell asleep once she got in her stroller, but before that definitely liked walking the path while holding Mom's and Jimmy's hands.

Jimmy's Solo Concert

2008-05-05T21:35:00.011-05:00

Jimmy finally had his solo concert this past weekend. He was so excited! He played the theme for "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."

At home when we do pretend concerts, we always throw make-believe flowers and teddy bears at him, so for this real concert he got a chocolate rose and a SpongeBob (which has since become his new sleeping buddy, along with Dear Old Lamby).

Jimmy also got a trophy for practicing consistently. He was SO surprised about that. It was his first trophy for anything, and he was so proud--so was his teacher, Miss Anna!

The Wheels Come Off

2008-05-05T21:26:00.005-05:00

A couple of weeks ago we went by Mom and Lar's to visit and try to get Jimmy to ride his bike without the training wheels. It's hard to figure out how to do this! I remember as a kid Dad just shoving me off and that was that. Jimmy keeps leaning waaaay over to one side. But you can see the exact moment (like, a second) he was on his own:

Soccer Saturday

2008-04-19T22:29:00.014-05:00

Today Jimmy started soccer--it's only on Saturday mornings for a couple of hours from now until the week we head to the East Coast. He was excited that his team color was blue--one of his favorite colors--and that his number was 24: "That's one of my favorite numbers! And 25, and 11! Those are my lucky numbers!"

He had a good time though. He scored a goal, which got him off to a good start. Josie was surprisingly good the whole time. She wandered around a little with me, where we found a pinecone and acorns and a red-winged blackbird. Then she sat in her lawn chair before wandering off with Dad--they jumped across the creek to get to a playground. We'll see how she does in weeks to come.

Jimmy's First Concert

2008-04-14T21:38:00.007-05:00

Jimmy had his first group violin concert this past Saturday. He was really excited. His group class hasn't met that many times, so they didn't get too much practice playing all at once, but if you look closely in the vid you can see Jimmy keeping up. They played "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." At the end of the concert they had all the music students on stage to play a song together; Jimmy's group plucked a few notes for their part in that production--he was really excited about that. After the concert they had a reception; Jimmy was happy to munch on a pile of cookies.

He's been going well with violin overall, and really loves it. He's learned to play about 4 songs so far. He has another concert coming up in early May--a solo concert--where he'll play the main theme for "Twinkle."

Moon Sand

2008-04-14T21:22:00.004-05:00

Jimmy got some Moon Sand a while ago and finally got around to building a castle with it. It's really weird--you can let it sit out and it doesn't dry out. It feels like sand but when you squish it it sticks together well enough to build with. Josie wants to see it, but we're not letting her play with this stuff yet . . .

Easter Treats

2008-03-23T16:02:00.012-05:00

This year we went to Dee's for Easter--and we went on Saturday for a change. We had a great time--in spite of the snow we'd all received the night before (at least a foot up by the Vyhanek's).

Josie finally got to wear her birthday gift from her cousin Jenna--we'd been saving the dress just for Easter, and it fit perfectly. Josie's been going through a rather cute bashful stage, though, so she stayed close to Mama all day, at one point even clinging to Mama's pants as Mama tried to walk across the kitchen. So when it came time for a picture of the younger generation, you can see that between Josie, Dominick, and Jimmy we had to just click the shutter and hope for the best!

Easter morning was fun here; the kids found that the Easter Bunny took all our decorated eggs and hid them. He also left six eggs filled with candy and real coins in the playroom, along with little baskets for the kids. We survived church with Josie, who only goes once a month now because she's so ill-behaved. She spent most of the mass in the back foyer area, where she of course slipped after trying to get away from Dad, thus banging her head on something and throwing a fit. Jimmy, meanwhile, was crouched down on the floor in front of our pew like it was a tornado drill so he wouldn't get "baptised again" by the Holy Water sprinkled our way. Needless to say, we left early and headed by Mom and Lar's so we could say hi for a little while. Grampy was happy to see the kids, and we were all happy to see him. It's been a relaxing and relatively low-key Easter. Hope it's been the same for others and God Bless!

Opening Night

2008-03-16T16:11:00.003-05:00

One of my crafty projects this week was finally making a puppet theatre for the kids. Now I just need to make the puppets that were supposed to go with it (along with the sock puppets I never finished from a couple of years ago). In the meantime, here is Jimmy trying to put on his first show--emphasis on trying.

Get on the Bus

2008-03-16T16:01:00.002-05:00

Josie and Jimmy had fun recently playing with their bus (a Christmas gift for Jos from Auntie Dawn). They both LOVE this thing.

The Differences between Josie & Jimmy

2008-03-13T08:45:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I took the kids to a park after school--everyone was outside since it was one of the first warm days we've had this year. Josie was going crazy of course, having just realized recently that the whole world outside the house was her playground.

The trouble with Jos is that she doesn't listen--somehow Jimmy always just did. Anyway, Josie found some hole in the pavement near the park with some rocks in it, and was busy digging them out with her finger (another way she's different from Jimmy, who never liked to touch things like that and get dirty). I said, "Let's grab some rocks and then we'll go." So Jimmy grabbed some just to show her, and then we started walking away. "Bye, Josie," we said. She had her back to us, of course. She was too busy to even look in our direction.

So we kept walking. We got all the way to the car, at which point she casually looked up at us, then kept digging. So I start the car. I beep the horn. I get into the car and slam the door. Finally, she looked up, and started to walk toward us. So I got out of the car; seeing me, she turned back to her rocks and headed for them! So I got in the car again, and she came running (not crying at all). I had to wait until she got really close to the car so I could nab her!

Jim tells me all the time that Jimmy will live across the street from us someday, but that Josie will be gone the first chance she gets. After today, I believe him.

Snow Day

2008-03-01T16:00:00.005-06:00

Even though we've had record snow here, it was finally warm enough yesterday for Josie to venture outside to play. She loved putting on her snow pants (Jimmy's old ones) and picking up mounds of snow to throw in a pile. We made some mini-snowmen and built a snow wall for Jimmy, but everything was melted by the time he got home from school.

Latest Marble Run

2008-02-25T17:20:00.005-06:00

Jimmy's been interested in making marble runs again. We noticed recently that our last marble run video had something like 20,000 views (that couldn't have been by us alone!), so he's been wanting to make a bigger run. Here it is!

Welcome to LEGO Town

2008-02-25T17:10:00.004-06:00

Here's Jimmy explaining his LEGO town. The big SpongeBob he got from Auntie Dawn doesn't fit in the town, but Jimmy keeps him on his dresser.

First Field Museum Trip

2008-01-05T10:08:00.000-06:00

We took the kids to the Field Museum for the first time yesterday, and they had a blast. Jimmy was so interested in the dinosaurs and learning about Ancient Egypt. The new hands-on play space for kids was fun for both of them. They had a little pueblo exhibit there, where kids picked corn then brought it inside to store it for the winter or grind it into meal. They had lots of fossils to touch, too, which Jimmy was interested in--he particularly loved the plants fossilized in rock. He thought that was really cool.

Belated Xmas

2008-01-05T10:01:00.000-06:00

As I begin cleaning up after last year's Christmas, I thought I'd finally post a few picks. Things are hectic around here, as usual--Josie and Jimmy keep us so busy. The kids had a lot of fun, though, and Santa was kind enough to leave a gift for the whole family--a Wii system, which we've all been enjoying (even Grammy and Grampy). In fact that's how we passed the time on New Year's Eve, with bowling tournaments and marble running, and some quick quizzes on the Big Brain Academy game.

As always, we miss those we couldn't spend the holidays with, and we hope you enjoyed the day. Now it's on to a new year . . . with new goals. Just wish I had some time to write them down!

LEGO Layout Heaven

2007-12-02T21:00:00.000-06:00

We made Jimmy's day today at Cantigny Estate in Wheaton, where they had a special LEGO train layout. His favorite part by far was the replica of a Metra train, but he also loved looking at the SpongeBob section (Josie's hands down favorite) and the replica of the Milenneum Falcon.

They even had a Harry Potter section, where they'd recreated major scenes from the films with LEGOs.

Turkey Day Treats

2007-12-02T20:43:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving was a small this year, but the meal wasn't! Mom made the turkey, stuffing and other sides (including some rolls that came out as raw balls of dough). I contributed two pies--one pumpkin, one apple crumb. The homemade crusts and special recipes earned A's from the crowd (even Jim), so we'll keep the recipes for next time!

Finally--Some Sound!

2007-11-11T23:28:00.000-06:00

Jimmy finally got to make some music with his violin last week. We knew nothing about string instruments, and so didn't know that you had to rub rosin on the bow's horsehair. That creates the friction that allows it to work. This vid is of Jimmy this evening, practicing his Pep-per-on-i Piz-za!

Little Pianists

2007-11-11T23:22:00.000-06:00

Josie and Dominik had fun playing Grammy's piano today--of course it helped that Papa/Uncle Danny was impersonating a turkey nearby.

Grand Rapids Marathon

2007-11-11T23:04:00.000-06:00

Since this year's Chicago Marathon was a bust for Jim, we made a spontaneous decision to go to Grand Rapids for the marathon there a couple of weeknds ago. Jim got his best time in years--3:23--and Jimmy got his dream come true. He got to sleep in the big bed with Mom and Dad. Jimmy still talks about that hotel room, which he thought was "so beautiful." Josie liked looking out the window to see downtown Grand Rapids, but she slept through a good part of the marathon.

As a speacial treat, Jimmy got to visit the I Love Toy Trains official store in New Buffalo, Michigan. He was excited to see their layouts and their collection of model trains.

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T12:37:00.000-05:00

I've got to get caught up here with my photos. I've been sick for the last month--now I've got a sinus infection. But there's lots to report: I ran my first 5K over a month ago, Jim ran the marathon in Grand Rapids this past weekend, and there's always plenty to tell about the kids. So this weekend, I hope . . .

In the meantime here are pics of Jim and Josie from Halloween. These costumes have been the bane of my existence the last month. I was up until 2:00 a.m. one night this week trying to get the tin man costume done. It's worth it, though--they look cute and Jimmy was so happy. At his school party today all the kids had drawings up of what they were going to be today, and Jimmy's drawing of the tin man was so cute, with the funnel hat and heart getting the most emphasis. I'll post a scan of that when he brings it home! And Josie was a hit with her costume, although her shoes keep falling off and she's grumpy today.

Walworth County Fair

2007-09-22T19:55:00.000-05:00

This was back over Labor Day weekend. We took the kids to the fair, to see the usual animals (and eat the usual fried cheese!). Dan, Anuta and Dominik went too. Jimmy went on his first-ever ferris wheel, which he loved!

Last Pool Day

2007-09-09T22:47:00.000-05:00

We spent Labor Day at the pool, since we knew it would be our last chance to go ther until next year. We spent a good deal of time at the pool this year, at least until we had those crazy August rains!

Josie's Birthday

2007-09-09T22:40:00.000-05:00

Well, I guess her birthday was almost a month ago now. Poor second child. She had a nice party up by Auntie Jeannie's though . . . with a cat cake and candy (not that she cared), and swimming in the lake.

Jimmy's First Visit to the Art Institute

2007-09-09T22:31:00.000-05:00

Finally, some new posts . . . but Jimmy and I went to the Art Institute ages ago now, back in August, right before school began. He really wanted to see some Van Gogh's, but when we got there we found they'd removed most of them while they work on renovations. Oh well. He got to see this painting by Seurat, though, who did influence Van Gogh a bit. He also made a little art of his own in the kids' section by selecting from a box of objects and placing them on the wall.

Motor Boat Fun

2007-08-04T10:25:00.000-05:00

Jimmy got a cool radio-controlled motor boat from Uncle Dave, and we finally got a chance to try it out at Auntie Jeannie's the other weekend. Dad, Jimmy and Uncle Danny had fun testing it out. Check out the wake on the boat, which goes pretty fast!

Domino Run

2007-08-04T10:05:00.000-05:00

Jimmy got a domino run from Gram Crackers and Pop for his birthday. He'd been creating small ones with dad with some Diego dominoes, but now he's got a load of dominoes and other pieces to combine them with. Here's a domino run he built, and a movie of how it worked!

Zoo Day

2007-07-25T19:48:00.001-05:00

Caribbean Block Party

2007-07-25T19:32:00.000-05:00

Well, we finally made it to the Tinley Park Caribbean Block Party. Usually it's 90+ degrees and very humid, so we skip it. It was still pretty hot, but Jimmy had fun getting a new tattoo and seeing a guy in a band play the bass. There were all kinds of games and whatnot along Oak Park Avenue. Jimmy got to see his first dunk tank, which was pretty funny (he read about one in an old Curious George book). The guy in the tank got dunked twice while we watched.

Dominik Turns 1!

2007-07-21T20:59:00.000-05:00

We had fun at Dominik's birthday party on the 14th. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and we had cake and played outside! Josie got dressed up in her early-birthday present from Sara.

Last Leg Slide Show

2007-07-16T02:09:00.000-05:00

Here's the slideshow for the rest of the trip, which I put on YouTube (so the picture quality really stinks). Time to cough up the cash for the Photodex software Dave uses ;-)

Summer Curcuit--NC Edition

2007-07-16T01:43:00.000-05:00

Here's a slideshow Dave made from photos and videos we pooled during our day at Carowinds amusement park. We had a great time! And here's to the mega-corporation! Carowinds is owned by Nickelodeon, which was good for Jimmy . . .

Jupiter and Moons

2007-07-13T22:06:00.000-05:00

We got a good glimpse of Jupiter and its moons tonight with Jim's telescope. We didn't take this image, but this is similar to what we saw, in size and to some extent in detail (in our image you could faintly see one of the "stripes" you see on the planet here). Now if only Jimmy could stay up late enough to see too! Jupiter looks like a very bright star in our Southern sky right now--you can see it easily once it's dark.

Jimmy's Island Party

2007-06-27T22:54:00.000-05:00

Jimmy's 5th birthday was a lot of fun--he wanted an island party theme so we pretty much drew upon a mish mosh of different island cultures. We had Caribbean food (here's the Caribbean rice recipe everyone was asking about), listened to Hawaiian and Calypso music, and featured palm trees wherever we could. We even had an island cake--hopefully Mommy won't have to put icing bathing suits on Teddy Grahams again any time soon . . . Jimmy also made an island picture as part of the decorations!

Jimmy had his friends Anna, Caroline and Aidan over, and they had fun in the kiddie pools and Mount Tiki Soki sprinker. They also did their first (I think) limbo. Of course Grammy, Grampy, Uncle Danny, Auntie Anuta and Dominik came to join in the fun, and even Josie went for a little dip in the pool.

Meeting Ben

2007-06-18T22:28:00.001-05:00

We recently got to meet the newest member of the Heim family--little Ben! He's a real cutie, and we could tell already that Bradley was going to make a great big brother. Brad helped out by retrieving Ben's bottle from the fridge (along with some mini M&M's).

Summer Festival in Carol Stream

2007-06-18T22:11:00.000-05:00

We went to visit Uncle Danny, Auntie Anuta and Dominik. We went to a nice festival in Carol Stream, where Jimmy got to go on some rides and eat ice cream, and Josie got to nap--even though it was pretty hot and humid!

The rides were fun for Jimmy. He's finally old enough now (and brave enough) to try some neat things on his own, like the big slide (he was really scared and held up the line a bit--but did it!) and the swings.

Last Day at St. George

2007-06-18T22:07:00.000-05:00

Jimmy's last day of school included another program. The kids sang about seven songs, and Jimmy was sad that the year was over!

Kite Flying at Bettenhausen

2007-05-08T21:59:00.000-05:00

We went to a little kite flying event a couple of weekends ago with our friends Mike and Chris--and their son Aiden. Jimmy and Aiden had fun flying kites, blowing bubbles and eating Sno Cones! Dad had to hike across the creek a couple of times to retreive Jimmy's SpongeBob kite, which at one point got its line severed by another kite. THAT kite got its comeuppance, as it got stuck later in the tree, where it remains to this day . . .

Jimmy's First Sporting Event

2007-05-08T21:51:00.000-05:00

Jimmy started a little intramural soccer at St. George. For four-year-olds, that mostly means the kids run around and chase the ball for forty minutes (as you'll see in the vid).

National Bingo Day

2007-05-08T21:39:00.000-05:00

Jimmy visited his friend Ethan in Indiana recently, where they were prepping for the upcoming National Bingo Night. Josie had fun playing with her toys.

Jimmy's First Birthday Party

2007-04-22T12:03:00.000-05:00

Jimmy got to attend his first birthday party--a kid at St. George invited his whole class to a place called My Gym, which is a little fitness center for kids. And Mom was initiated into the rather surreal world of 21st-century kid parties. Jimmy enjoyed going to this place, though, and wants to go back sometime!

At first the kids were to say their name and race around the circle. Of course Jimmy was excited watching the other kids, but here you'll see it's his turn and he's wrapped up in his thoughts as usual. Watch how the kids from his class (on his left) start shouting at him to say his name, and how long it takes him to figure out what's going on!

Jimmy on the zip line:

Jimmy throwing balls at the girls:

Fun Play Date

2007-04-22T11:55:00.000-05:00

Jimmy had his friend Anna over on Friday, and for the first time ever he played with another kid by actually interacting with her. I know that sounds silly, but it's a big deal for Jimmy, who is usually wrapped up in his own little world. They were down in the playroom pretending to be a knight and princess, and they were racing across the deck with eggs and spoons--all while the moms sat inside with the little ones. We're sure that someday Josie and Anna's sister Caroline will become such nice play pals too!

Pool Duck

2007-04-22T11:53:00.000-05:00

Okay, so now the neighbor's pool is becoming either a health hazard or a budding wildlife habitat. The ladder is still up, by the way . . . Stick with the film, as I pan around the pool near the end of it!

Another Easter Pic

2007-04-22T11:48:00.000-05:00

Here's the gang at Easter . . .

Hoppy Easter!

2007-04-10T19:27:00.000-05:00

Jimmy really got into egg decorating this year--he was finally able to do the eggs entirely by himself. Of course, he started with his favorite colors: blue and green!

Jim's Birthday

2007-04-10T19:21:00.000-05:00

Dada turned 36, and got a new PS2 game from Mama, Jimmy and Josie. As with almost all the relatives, Jimmy helped spit on the cake.

Bowling Day

2007-04-10T19:14:00.000-05:00

We recently took the kids bowling. Jimmy had a lot of fun, although he wanted to know why he couldn't bowl a strike like Mom and Dad right away. Josie sat quietly and drank a bottle--big
surprise.

Bathtime Antics

2007-03-12T22:10:00.000-05:00

This video is another odd movie taken by Dad. Here we see Josie taking her bath, and now sitting up in her little tub. The odd part is whatever Jimmy was doing in the background . . . That's Jimmy when he knows he's not the center of attention!

First Nice Day This Year!

2007-03-12T22:00:00.000-05:00

Finally, a nice day! Last Friday we dusted off Jimmy's bike and Josie's stroller. Jimmy had a blast driving around the neighborhood, and Josie was so content--I don't think she remembered what it was like to go for stroller rides last fall! Looking forward to many days like this . . .

Go, Diego, Go!

2007-02-24T18:36:00.000-06:00

Jimmy got to go to the live "Go, Diego, Go" show today with Mom--Jimmy's friend Ethan (and his Mommy) went too. Luckily the winter storm cooperated--traveling was easy. The kids played at a PlayPlace first, then we hit the road.

The show was really good--it was just a good story with actors playing the characters from the show. Lots of nice set designs, and many animal puppets made the show pretty memorable. Good songs, too--the kids were often asked to participate and dance, which Jimmy did readily.

I'm glad we went--the show really sparked his imagination! The kids were cute, too--Jimmy and Ethan gabbed away in the backseat all the way there, and spent most of the time finding trains to watch (we saw some good ones). On the way back, the kids were quiet as mice and the mommies got their turn to gab . . . I just wish we hadn't forget our cameras!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2007-02-16T09:36:00.000-06:00

We spent our Valentine's Day recovering from the snow storm. Jimmy didn't have school, so he had a chance to go outside and play while I cleared the entrance to the house for our mail carrier! Josie looked cute dressed in hearts!

Mom Turns 60

2007-02-11T19:51:00.000-06:00

I know these are old, but I'm trying to get back to posting again since going back to work! We got Mom a black pearl ring for her 60th birthday.

At Least We Got the Cookie

2007-02-11T19:44:00.001-06:00

Oh well. So much for the Bears. At least we kept our usual tradition of getting big Jim a giant, decorated cookie, and at least--for the first time since we've been doing this--the cookie had the Bears on it!