Finger Painting Gone Wrong

I feel bad for the Pear sometimes because Taylor and I typically save our fun, crafty type activities for when he's napping. The mess, the screaming, the tears. Yeah, I'm just not ready for it. On Sunday, I decided to try something they both might enjoy - finger painting.

Taylor hated finger painting when she was Michael's age. She's never been a big fan of getting her hands dirty and she never got the concept that she was supposed to intentionally make herself messy. It's kind of fun for her now that she's older, but she's still very careful to keep the paint on her hands and the paper only. She went through about 10 paper towels in 20 minutes of painting tonight.

Taylor and her controlled finger painting. Never mind the shirt. It's a size 3T (she wears a 5). Of course, she didn't get any paint on it anyhow.

Michael had absolutely nooooo problem getting messy. I squirted a little bit of paint on his paper and he went to town, squealing, smearing the paint and reaching for more. He'd fill up one paper and I'd remove it and put down another sheet. It was going well until I stepped away to get Taylor a paper towel. I turned back around to see this:

Ack! No, he's not bleeding.

Michael decided he'd rub the paint into his hair. I stopped him, and he went back to the paper, but that didn't last long.

"Where should I put these messy hands?"

"This is a great spot!"

"Oh man, this is fun!!!"

The finished artwork. The bottom four are Taylor's. The top one is Michael's. He made several, but they all pretty much look like this.

Michael, of course, got an immediate bath. Taylor just had to wash her hands off, haha.

Here are a few more pictures from the past couple days. Enjoy!

Taylor playing with the Littlest Pet Shop stuff handed down from her cousin Gracie. Yes, Michael was sleeping.

Michael up to no good.

Hanging out with his buddy.

The Pear is "petting" Champ with his feet. I love his little legs!

I need to get some sleep now. Have a great start to the week!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Real Live Bunnies!

I was going to skip out on buying any spring photos of the kids because I just purchased a big package at Christmas and still have lots of Taylor's school pictures left from the fall. I barely even glanced at the photo sign up form she brought home a few weeks ago. Well, when Taylor found out that the kids could pose with "real, live bunnies!" she begged me to let her get her picture taken with them. All I heard about for a few days were the "real, live bunnies!".

Finally, I broke down and signed up for the smallest package. It was only $25 and I could even bring Michael in to be in the picture. Okay, we'd try it, but I had my doubts based on Michael's tears during the Christmas shoot.

We got them back yesterday. Here's the result:

It's a little grainy because it's scanned, but I think it turned out sooo cute! They did great! (For the record, Michael's bunny is not real. He was not thrilled with the real one, so they gave him the stuffed version.)

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Pear's 15-Month Stats

I forgot to put in these in my last post!

The Pear facts at 15 months:

* 24 lbs., 10 oz. (50th percentile)

* 33" (95th percentile)

* Head is still huge.

* 12 teeth - soon to be 16 teeth (yikes, I just looked back at the 1-year-old post and the kid has gotten 5 teeth in 3 months! And, he will probably have gotten 9 teeth in 3 1/2 months!)

* Clothes - 24 months for shirts and 18 months for pants

* Latest tricks - blowing kisses; saying "Go, go" as he runs and "whoa" when he stumbles; says "Hines" and points to pictures of Hines Ward (or any football player); says "tree" and "bush"; uses "mama" skillfully now; can almost same "more" (or is it "milk?") when he's thirsty; smells his socks or shoes and says "Ooooo" (we say "Ooo, pooey when we do it); shoots hoops and cheers for himself (Mike built him a sweet hoop in the basement); throws the ball really far with either had; hits the ball off the tee with daddy's help

* Latest not-so-good trick - He's been smacking lately, mostly Taylor and I. Ugh, we're working on that one.

BUZZZZZZZZZZ!

Mike has often joked that as soon as the Pear got hair, he was going to buzz it off. On Saturday, he got his chance. Of course, I didn't let him shave it, but Michael did need a trim. The sides are growing so slow, but the top and back were getting kind of stringy and I'm in total fear of baby mullet. Mike tried the eight blade first, but it didn't really get anything, so he went with the six blade, which did the trick nicely. We're probably the only ones that can even tell it's been cut, but I think it looks cute!


The Pear, giving his golden locks one last comb.

Let the buzzing begin! You can see how uneven the top was.

Handsome new 'do!

We're always out walking or playing when the weather is nice, so we pretty much know every neighbor on our street. It's been nice seeing some of their faces again now that cold weather is leaving!

The Worm, the Pear and our neighbor Allison.

Taylor with her buddy, Caden. He turns 3 today!

I bought Taylor a pink recorder this weekend, probably my most regretful purchase to date. Oh my, that shrill noise is enough to make anyone go insane. It even makes Champ howl!

Hope you all have a great week!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Great Season 'Cane!

I guess all good things do come to an end. Mike's team lost to Thurgood Marshall in the regional semifinal game last night. They were down by nine at one point in the fourth quarter, but came back to tie it with four minutes left. It came right down to the end and while they never led in the second half, they were only down one with 30 seconds left. So close! I am so proud of what Mike, his assistants and the players have done this season - 21 wins, conference, county and districts championships and huge wins over big-time teams like Centerville, Elder and Dayton Dunbar. We'll miss the three seniors and have great aspirations for next year's team. (Yes, coaches and even coaches' wives are already thinking about next season.)

The support from the community, family and friends throughout the season has been incredible. I bet Wilmington had 4,000 fans at the game last night. Mike's mom, dad and step-dad were there, as well as my dad. (My mom would have totally been there, but she had hip surgery on Monday. She's doing well!) I also spotted some old friends from the Post, Mike's friend Barry and a former player from Wabash, Chris Keefer. It's been a long time since Mike coached Chris, but he still uses the Chris Keefer standard. If he says someone is a "Keefer", I know he means that the kid is smart, never complains and pretty much does everything right. He had a "Keefer" on his team this year and we'll miss him next year!

Hopefully the weather stays nice and Mike is able to rest and keep his mind off basketball as much as possible. Basketball season is hectic and time-consuming for our entire family, but we all hate to see it come to an end. Taylor got me all choked up after the game last night. She started crying when she realized that we lost and "Kirby would never play for Wilmington again".

The good news is that vacation is now only two weeks and two days away! Basketball helped time fly by these last few months.

Have a good weekend!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Warmer Weather - Eggsellent

It's been warm enough here for nightly walks again and I'm so happy! The other night we passed the neighbors' house who had decorated a tree in their front yard with Easter eggs. Taylor spotted them right away - "I wish WE could have an Easter egg tree." Tacky? - probably. Something to make a 4-year-old really happy? - absolutely. Alright, I'm sold.

We bought the big plastic eggs Saturday night and I used fishing line to string them up Sunday. I was going to just hang a couple in one of the little trees in front of our house, but Taylor insisted that they needed to be everywhere. Each bush HAD to have one. I can't decide if the finished product looks cute and festive or really bad. Oh well, the boss is happy, so I'm happy. It was fun decorating with her.

That's a lot of eggs.

The Worm stringing up the eggs.

Proudly posing with the finished product.

She insisted that I pose for a picture, too. Her photography skills are getting pretty good!

The Pear slept as we decorated, but was excited to play outside when he awoke. He points to his tummy now when you ask, "Michael, where's your belly?" Soooo cute.

Michael didn't quite seem like himself yesterday afternoon and I'm starting to suspect that his ear infection might be back. He was a little warm and crabby, but he's also getting teeth #s 13, 14, 15 and 16, so it's hard to know what's up. He has his 15-month checkup Tuesday and I'm hoping we can hang in there until then.

A small request - My mom has her hip replacement surgery in the morning. Keep her in your prayers!

Here are a couple more pictures from the week. Excuse the blur on the pictures. I have no idea how my camera lens would get a smudge on it. A grimy little hand maybe...

A good color for my blue-eyed cutie.

What a cutie! I just want to pinch those little cheeks.

The Pear's other side. He wanted his sister's Leapster. Oh, the temper...

Until next time,


Mommy Kel

I'll See Your Sectional Championship & Raise You a District Championship

That's right, for the first time in 80 years, the Hurricane are district champions! Congrats to Mike, his assistants and the boys on a big win over Shawnee in the district championship game Wednesday night. Thank God for modern technology because I had to listen to the game on the computer. We had planned on going, but Taylor got sick as soon as we got home from Susan's. I'll spare you the details, but let's just say it wasn't pretty. She's doing okay now and sleeping soundly, but she had a rough go at it for a few hours. I'm just waiting for Mike to get home now so I can share a celebratory beer with him.


I hate posting without adding pictures, so I'll throw on a couple of shots from our beautiful day yesterday. It was sunny and 70 degrees so we spent the whole day outside. Yay for spring!


Taylor loves coloring with sidewalk chalk.

Michael wanted to try his hand at it, too. Heck, I was just happy he didn't try to eat it.

Yikes, he looks like a 2-year-old here!

My lefty at work...

...and my righty at work. Pear is going to need a haircut soon!

After chalking, we headed to the park to feed the ducks. Taylor is fine with the ducks, but she's still a little aprehensive about the geese. I can't say I blame her! They get a little too close for comfort when they want bread! Michael was completely unfazed. He just kept throwing bread AT them.

"Here goosie, goosie." Look at Taylor jumping back, haha.

Michael had a blast on the playsets. He did take a little spill on this bridge, but popped right back up. Check out that goose-egg on his noggin!

I thought this was a cool picture of Taylor. It was soooo windy!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Sectional Champs!

Woo-hoo and congrats to Mike and the Hurricane on their sectional championship win over Dunbar today! It was a great game and Mike's boys showed they are more than a score-on-transition, uptempo type team. Dunbar also plays that style so we dominated in the half court. That hubby of mine is a mastermind, I tell ya'. In all seriousness, I'm very proud of him. Next up is Shawnee Wednesday night at 9 p.m. at Dayton Arena. Who schedules a game at 9 p.m. on a school night?? Oh well, looks like it will be a late one for the Worm, Pear and I.

Lots of our old friends and family made it in for the game, including Grandma and Grandpa T, Grandma N and Zaeti, Nuckols, Lee, the Carvers, Tonsoni and Fritz. All of these folks had to drive at least an hour and Fritz came all of the way from Chicago. Seeing everyone made the day that much more fun.

Fritz and Mike.

Brian T.

Matt and Laura.

Marilyn and Rich.

Dinosaur Taylor, on the way home from the game/lunch. She looks real mean with her poofy pink hair things and numerous accessories.

Happy Michael. The kids and I had so much fun coming home from the game. I thought that they'd be grumpy after being dragged around all day, but not at all!

The Pear is feeling MUCH better by the way! So much, in fact, that we were able to make it to Taylor's much anticipated play date at Chuck E Cheese's Thursday. Some of the other moms and I ended up taking the kids there after school (five kids total). She and Michael both had a blast!

Taylor with some of her little friends. Look how short she looks! She's actually pretty tall for her age, but is one of the youngest in her class.

Michael, all rosy-cheeked and having fun.

Taylor and the big rat.

Alright, I'm going to enjoy a little down time now. Mike is back at it again, already scouting his next opponent tonight...

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

The Crud

The title and Michael's snarl tell the story - The Crud has invaded our home. Both kids were coughing Friday when I picked them up from Susan's. Mike had to scout (as Gomer Pyle would say, "Surprise, surprise, surprise!") so after a picked-over dinner, I set up blankies, pillows and animals in the living room and we relaxed by watching movies and eating popcorn. I thought the low-key night would work it's healing wonder and we'd all wake up revived Saturday morning. Wrong.

Watching movies!

While Taylor's cold seemed to be a little better, Michael's was worse. By Monday morning, he sounded horrible so I made an appointment. It took 35 minutes to get through to the office! One of the nurses told me that they have three lines, so a busy signal means that all three lines are full. Yikes! I'd say something is going around.

Taylor, trying to keep a happy face on.

Michael, getting some TLC from Mommy. I had to console him after the trauma of snot sucking.

Turns out the Pear has an ear infection and bronchitis. The doctor said it was so bad in one lung that it is "almost" pneumonia. Poor guy! He really has been a trooper. That's one of the reasons I thought he was fine at first. He's still been playing and seems generally cheery. He got a breathing treatment at the office and I'm pretty sure everyone in a 2-mile radius knew he didn't care for it much. One of the nurses commented on how loud he was (not in a witchy way, in a "whoa" way). I told her she should hear him with two good lungs. I'm hoping the antibiotic works its wonders the next few days. If not, we go back in on Thursday. Say a little prayer for my guy!

Mike's team FINALLY starts sectional action tomorrow night. I feel like it's been forever since they've played! I'm guessing that the Noszka clan will have to skip, unless Michael is doing much better. We'll be with them in spirit. Go Cane!

Hope your week is going well!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel