The Algeras

David is now a champion speed roller! He thinks it's a lot of fun, too. Lots of giggles and squeals when he gets moving. He rolled from the couch to the kitchen table this morning when I was upstairs getting Sara moving. But the funniest thing was when he got himself stuck under the couch while I was getting Sara on the potty. There he sat, chatting away on his tummy and chewing his thumb with his whole body except for his head under the couch. I got a big dimply grin when I came to save him.

We went to the library today so Ben and I could get a break from Ping Pong Pig and Gladys Goes Out to Lunch. We replaced them with Big Al and Cock a Doodle Quack Quack. Sara loves the library because she can do puzzles and say hi to the turtles. She likes to carry her own books and hand them over to be checked out herself. While I was picking through the new book shelf she sat in the chairs and read her books to herself in a whisper after I told her she had to be quiet in the library. I can't believe how well behaved she is when we go out to do errands. Now that I've written that she'll probably hit her two year old stride, but I'm just so proud of her.

Sara got her hair cut today and thinks she is a very beautiful girlie. She was so solemn sitting in the chair that she looked like a whole different girl than my little chatterbox. But she gave a grin at the end when we told her what a pretty girl she was. She chattered away about her most beautiful bangs in the car. "What you think David? I pretty?"

Right now I'm hearing singing from upstairs. I thought I had two sleeping children, but apparently not. Ben went up to listen at her door. She's in bed but the lights are on. Ben couldn't tell what she was singing but she sounded happy so we're ignoring her for the moment. It's hard, she's so cute! I bought a night light shaped like a little lampshade for her and she thinks it's the best part of her room. "Thank you Mommy, it is my own little light for bedtime! It will make it nice!"

David did well with his first night and full day in his helmet. He really does seem to be forgetting about it and going about his business. His teeth seem to be bugging him the most. Drool and chew, drool and chew. But all with a smile!

Ben and I are watching The Biggest Loser and getting a little nighttime clean up done. I suppose I should go check on Sara since I don't hear anymore chattering. It was a busy but very fun day!

10:44 update: I checked on Sara; she turned her lights off and tucked herself back into bed. Her books were off the shelf and stacked at the foot of the bed and she had her junk mail catalogs in bed with her. I think she just wasn't quite ready to sleep when we put her to bed!

So here's a picture of sad little Dude. He did not have such a good therapy appointment today. All he wanted to do was hug Mommy and suck his thumb but Mommy and his therapist wanted him to roll and bounce. He did OK for a bit and then melted into a sobbing heap. He gets the biggest tears rolling down his little fat cheeks. We cuddled a bit and then headed to Ellen's house where he slept all morning except for one eating break. When he woke up he was much happier and played all afternoon. He's learned how to roll to get wherever he wants and rolled all the way across Sara's room so he could play in the pile of laundry. Ben said he probably would have headed down the hall but he stopped him because he was afraid he'd go down the stairs.

Sara had a fun day playing with Andrew. They both love to play catch, color and read books. They both get the giggles when you read The Pigeon Has Feelings Too! You're looking at one happy bird! Happy, happy happy!! She has also been singing the Butterfly Song. It involves the word butterfly, lots of garbled singing and arm waving. She wanted Ben to sing it with her but he was mystified by the lyrics.

Sara funny of the day: While enjoying her chicken and broccoli, she stopped suddenly and said "Excuse me!" We asked why. She grinned and let out a very loud burp. "That's why! I'm excused!" It seems some more manners education may be necessary.

Sara was so excited today: we went back to see the butterflies! And Grandma and Grandpa came along! How could it get any better? When we pulled into the Gardens she started laughing and pointing "we are at the butterflies! How super fun! To the butterflies!" She grabbed Grandma's hand and headed for the door while we slow people got David out of the car and bundled into his stroller. She got her own guidebook and walked through the conservatory saying "I will find that one in my book now" and then pointing to a completely random picture. She lasted a little over an hour before she wanted to run and have a snack.

I love this picture of David and Sara. David looked around and giggled when a few butterflies came over by him. There were a lot more out than there were two weeks ago. He was content to take it in while being held by whoever's arms were the least tired. He's getting big!

In other David news, he has figured out how to go from sitting to tummy so that he can scoot over to toys. Today the favorite target was his Jack in the box. The giggles he gives when he succeeds are so cute! He did well with his helmet training today - 2 hours on then 1 hour off. He didn't seem to mind the on/off process as much as yesterday.

This afternoon turned into a beautiful spring day. David and I took a nap while Ben and Sara worked in the yard. Sara is so glad to be able to be outside. We took a walk after dinner and she wanted out of the stroller to "run fast myself!" She probably ran half a mile and we were walking pretty fast to keep up with her. It's so fun to watch her toddler run ahead of us, waving her arms, yelling and giggling. She fell once and immediatly announced "I'm OK! I'll keep running!" David rode in the stroller looking at all the barking dogs and chewing at his teething toy. Poor guy. He really seems to relax in the stroller so I'm glad we can get out more often now. I bet that he will love the beach as much as Sara does! We don't dare say the word beach to her unless we really are going out there.

After the walk we did baths and bedtime. Both kids went to sleep right at their bedtimes, all worn out. We're hoping for a good night from the teething one!

March has been a busy busy month so far. These are my favorite shots of David with his big and sometimes naughty grin. Last week I got that Dutch costume for Tulip Time - isn't he the cutest little Dutchman? I think the hat is the best part.

We had a short stretch of really warm weather and the kids lived outside for a couple of days. It makes for good sleep at night, or it would if David was not teething. Sara loves running around and playing catch. She tried to teach David but "Davey is not a very good catcher."

David also started his helmet therapy for the flat spot on the back of his head. We got it fitted today and he is on a getting used to it schedule. By Tuesday he will be wearing it 23 hours per day and will wear it for 4-6 months. Hopefully that will round him out nicely. He is also getting some physical therapy mainly for his neck, shoulder and arm muscles. He is doing very well with that and started rolling over and scooting for toys this afternoon! Way to go Dave! The therapy wears him out so he has been eating ravenously and sleeping as well as his teeth will let him. We'll do this for 6 weeks and I think he'll be up to speed by then. Having mastered rolling, we are now working on getting up on his hands and knees. Soon he'll be running with Sara! He's such a good little dude about the whole process.

Ben made supper tonight by going to Village Inn. Mmmmmm, pepperoni and green pepper hand tossed crust pizza. Sara loves it as much as we do. Dave grabbed for it but was denied. I do let him eat soft table foods like potato, applesauce, yogurt or Cheerios. Every now and then I catch Sara trying to feed him her lunch. I should let him try chewing some toast or crackers and see how he does with it. I remember being so nervous when Mom fed Sara a graham cracker at 8 months old. Now I just let Sara hand him one to see what he would do. Mostly, he just made a big drooly mess but he seemed to like it!

Both kids went to bed with no protest tonight and I think I'm going to follow their lead and curl up with a book. Ben got a sailing adventure story from the library (can't think of the title at the moment) and I've gotten into it. A quiet house is a nice change from the way things usually are.

Sorry these pictures are a little late. We took the kids to "Night of the Butterflies" at the Meijer Gardens last Thursday. We all had a great time! Sara loved the butterflies that "come on my nose!" One flew in her face and her night was made. She had her own flashlight and ran around "finding just another one, Mommy!" There were snacks and a drum band that let the kids play on the drums. Sara got her picture taken with "fluttery bugs" and got a ladybug tattoo. David rode in the stroller giggling and babbling. We finished off the night with a tram ride highlighted by David's major stinky diaper. We were glad it was warm enough to have the windows open our our fellow passengers might have tossed us off the train!

That's what Sara asked me today - "Is it warm time yet, Mom? I have my sunhat, we need to go to beach and swim. I will get Mommy's sunhat too!" So here we are, wearing our sun hats and ready for the beach. Except that it is 20 degrees outside, definitly not warm time yet. My hat is the one I wore paddling the Upper Delaware River and hiking through the Grand Canyon and I get the urge to wander adventurously whenever I put it on.


We had a good Saturday even though David is still coughing and sneezing. Sara has learned how to wipe his nose with a Kleenex. "You sneezy, Davey, I clean your nose!" He prefers my gentle wipe to Sara's face scrubbing. We had to ask her to just wipe her dolly's nose for now.

Dave officially has a tooth now! It is just poking out on his bottom gum. He doesn't really like people sticking their fingers in there to check it out, but he doesn't have enough teeth to bite back yet! It's time for me to start buying Tylenol in bulk again. I'll try to get a picture sometime soon when he's in a better mood. He still looks pretty miserable and just needed to cuddle today. However, he did sleep ALL NIGHT LONG!!! last night! I woke up at 6:30 feeling far to rested. I'm 95% sure he slept all night, I have a nagging feeling that I did get up and just don't remember. Ben thinks I'm losing it, but I have perfected the art of feeding David without really becoming concious. It is a little scary now that I think about it. But how else can you survive the sleepless baby days?

Both kids went to bed early tonight and Ben is out playing broomball. I'm sitting in an unnaturally quiet house sipping my hot chocolate and blogging. What a nice break. Just typing that sentence made me feel relaxed. I'm internet planning some wishful thinking vacations - Grand Canyon hikes, canoe trips, tropical locations... I can dream! This may be related to the hat coming out of the closet today! Hopefully the kids will be good outdoors loving troopers and we can haul them all over the National Parks. Ben will promise to read the maps correctly and I will promise not to spill the food. It will be fun!

David was a sick toot today. Look at that drooly, snotty, teary face! He tried hard to play and be happy but really just wanted to be held and cuddled. He's also cutting his first tooth and not to happy about it. After lots of love and Tylenol he's finally sleeping. Of course, its thundering so hard that the windows are shaking so that may not last so long. I'm just waiting to hear "Mommy, Mommy!" or "wah wah wah!"

We had a laid back day since neither Ben or I had to work. I got the grocery shopping done and Ben and Sara got to Menards. Sara loves riding with Daddy in his truck to do errands. And when she got back she yelled "Mommy, I'm home!" I quoted some Princess Bride to her the other day and now she likes to say "Have fun storming the castle!" when ever Ben or I leave. Oops!

We're really proud of Sara tonight, though! She went on the potty again and got a toy ice cream cone for telling me she had to go! Way to go Sara!

Sara had a "super fun!" day today! Ben is home for his week of "vacation" so we decided to do something fun this morning. We got off to a leisurely start and then headed out to the Grand Rapids Public Museum. I was afraid Sara might be a little too young to appreciate it but she had a great time exploring the place. Her favorite thing was the big whale skeleton, or "big fish bones." It brought back memories for me of the old museam on Jefferson! They even kept some of the "Michigan habitat" dioramas - remember those from school field trip days? Sara loved driving the little tractor, trying to lift the big rock, seeing the old GR street and riding the bicycle and the streetcar. She got a bookmark from the print shop and cards from the furniture exhibit. David rode in the stroller and was happy for over two hours, so he must have enjoyed it too. He giggled and looked around. Both kids loved their carousel ride and were ready for a nap by the time we left.

We had a relaxing afternoon and Ben did laundry for me! It was necessary because of the huge blowout David achieved while sitting on my lap. Ben heard it from across the room. Sara giggled "David tooted out loud!" And I got to clean up the smears of poop and the diaper full of poop in a blast pattern. Ben was so proud of his little man.

We went to 8th St Grille to round out this red letter day. We decided to make this the fun day since I'm working much of the rest of the week. Sara enjoyed her grilled cheese and sneaking sips of my iced tea. "Mommy's juice" was so much better than her water!

Nate and Ellen and the kids came over to return Ben's bike tonight. Sara jumped up and down on the couch when she saw Allison and Andrew getting out of the truck. The kids enjoyed ripping around and then having a cookie snack. It was good to see you all! You can go visit Ellen's new blog by clicking on the link for "The Pastoors" Maybe my advertising here will get her to start posting!

The kids are sleeping now and Ben is getting ready to watch 24. I'm enjoying my clean kitchen and messing around on the computer. It's been fun! I hope you enjoy my slideshow that I set up ALL BY MYSELF. No Ben instructions needed. I feel like a big girl now :)

Yes, reason 462 to have kids -the excuse to play Nerf football in the living room. Sara needs to gain a little weight before she'll be an effective blocker. But she knows how to do a touchdown dance!

Do you still recognize these cuties? It's been so long since I last posted. We've been pretty busy and worn out from lack of sleep. Fortunatly we have all been healthy and happy and just hanging out through the cold and gray days of late January and early February. Maybe I'm feeling more communicative because the last few days have been sunny and warmer. As Sara said "The sun came out to make me happy!"

This picture of Sara is her spring dress and shoes. Ellen found it for her last year, and guessed the size about right. She calls it her dancing dress and pretty shoes. She is such a girl! Even at two she likes shoes, dresses, hair bows and makeup. She got to watch Grandma and Mom try out Mary Kay makeup last week. She sat in her chair for 45 minutes with her own brushes making herself beautiful. She's still talking about it. Ben just shakes his head and is glad that David is a boy.

David has been a happy drooler. He soaks his clothes and bibs! When is that tooth going to show? His newest favorite trick is grabbing at faces and giving hugs. If he's hungry he'll chew at my chin. And of course, this is all accompanied by huge belly laughs. He loves sitting on Sara's bed listening to her read books and loves when she pats his back and tickles his tummy. I've given him some bath books to chew on and he flips the pages like he really knows what he's doing.

I took Sara to the library on Saturday. She was so excited to see the turtles and fish that live on the children's floor. But when she got up there she saw all the books and the turtles were forgotton. "So many books! Whose books?" When I told her she could pick two books to borrow she headed right for the shelf and started choosing. I'm already sick of reading "Stuck in the Mud". She already has it memorized! I hope she will understand that these books have to go back.

Sara has been feeding us such delicious dishes such as pancakes with special butter, pizza with "all the fixings", alphabet soup (David's favorite according to her) and happy birthday cake with peanut butter frosting. That kitchen was the best gift for her! What an imagination she has!

I'm sure I'm missing a bunch of small happenings. I'll try to stay a little more caught up!

We're having a fun weekend in frigid Traverse City! Ben ran the Bigfoot Boogie snowshoe race this morning in below zero windchills. I decided to keep my sleepy, sneezy and teething children inside instead of being a spectator. He finished in 1:13:57, fourth place in the 30-35 age group and good enough to win an official Bigfoot Boogie coffee mug! To all our running friends - who wants to join in next year?

We had a very nice drive up here while the kids napped. It got a little snowy and we had an interesting spin down the driveway of the grocery store. Sara had a hard time settling down to sleep at night and David woke up with a fever at 2 AM, so we are feeling a little worn out, but I'm glad we decided to come up with the whole family.

Ben had a great race, as I mentioned. He was pretty cold when it was all over! I'll have to get the picture of the grand prize off his camera -a Bigfoot trophy!

Sara's favorite part of the trip was the hotel pool. "I swim in the sea, Mommy! I brought my bathing suit!" She stayed in until her teeth were chattering but "I not cold, no! Stay in longer!" Later, while watching her Letter Factory DVD in our room, she said "I like hotels, Mommy." Probably because the rules were relaxed a little on vacation!

In the afternoon we took a drive up Old Mission Peninsula where Ben took some pictures of the lighthouse and the bay. It was cold but sunny and he got some good shots. The kids napped in the car and we enjoyed some grown up conversation while enjoying a beautiful drive.

The kids are probably so sick of being in the car! It's going to be a little rough getting back into the routine, but it's nice to get away and explore a little every now and then. Ben and I would really love to come back some time without the kids and just drive and hike around. We realized that our tenth anniversary is only 18 months away, so maybe that will be a good excuse! Who wants to babysit?

Look at David sitting with his truck! Tonight he sat without his Boppy and giggled at his favorite toy. He's getting so big!
He grabs for toys and belly laughs when anyone plays with him.

We had a good day, got going slowly until I got called into work. I worked a few hours and then came home to napped up kids. Sara and I made chicken enchiladas for dinner. Ben was very happy with that.

We watched some inauguration celebrations. "See Mommy, it's Barack Obama!" Sara did not want to go to bed, but finally the promise of reading Imogene while cuddling Daddy was too much to resist. Both kids are snoozing now and we are watching Biggest Loser.

For your daily funny: Sara's new favorite game. I invented "hibernating bears "when I wasn't feeling well with some inspiration from Mom. We hide in the blanket cave and do bear things. "Let's be hinerbating bears, Mommy! We eat nuts and berries, carrots and 'matoes! And salmon! Davey is a skeeky skirrel outside the cave!"

Sara and David really are learning to play together. Unfortunatly for David, this often means Sara hugs him and then takes his toys. She likes to read to him and show him the right way to play with his things. What a silly big sister. She loves to give hugs, too.

It's been snowy and freezing cold here. It's finally warm enough for me to let Sara out to play in the snow. It's difficult to explain below zero windchills to a kid who wants out on her sled!

David had his six month check up on Wednesday. He's healthy, weighs 16 lbs and 4 ounces and is 26.5 inches tall. He's getting so big!

This weekend I actually worked a whole shift. I've been getting called off alot, so it was really good to be at work. Sara and David had a Daddy day. They had a good time and the house was good and trashed when I got home!

Today was a very snowy day. It took Ben an hour to shovel the driveway! Oh well, that means that Sara will have plenty of fun tomorrow. She loves her sled and making snowballs. Hopefully it gets warm enough to make a good snowman. Maybe we'll teach her snow angels tomorrow. Ben will be home for MLK day, so we have an extended weekend! Yeah!

And now the funnies...you knew they were coming. I can't help it, I have such amusing kids! I made David cereal for lunch today and walked away to get his bib. When I got back to the high chair he had pulled the bowl over, stuck his hand in and was happily licking at his fist. Cereal is a finger food, who knew?

Sara had fun taking David to the doctor. But when the nurse walked in with his immunizations, she got wide eyed, ran to the corner and said "Not me!"

Sara loves riding in Ben's truck. Ben was going to pick up some pizza on Friday and Sara did not want to go until Ben said he was taking the truck. Then she picked herself up off the floor and said "Daddy's big red truck? Let's go! I like truck."

My favorite Sara quote: "I would like a glass of milk." (big grin) "And milk goes with cookies!"

The kids started the day playing so nicely together while Mom slept in! David looks skeptical of Daddy and the camera, though. Sara will cheese for any camera any time.

It was a cold and very snowy Saturday. Sara was so excited to help Ben shovel! Bundling a toddler up is quite the process, but very necessary since Sara will stay outside as long as we will let her. She shoveled with her present from Uncle Rich and just ran around and got covered with snow until her little cheeks were glowing red. David had fun looking out the windows at the snow and squealing at it. He also likes the birds by the feeder next door.

Sara did not want to come inside, but once she was in and unbundled she said "I tired, Mommy. Snuggle with big blanket?" She loves the fleece blanket Ben's mom gave me for Christmas. So I tucked her in on the couch and she was soon sound asleep.

She ate another huge dinner tonight - snow play must work up an appetite. Then she helped with David's bath and raced to "my bath, my turn, lets go!" After a small dose of Veggie Tales she was ready for a bedtime story and sleep. David just settled in, too so Ben and I are trying to get some speed housework done.
Oh yes, Sara's prize count is now two toys. She added a teacup to her collection! She's so proud; I'm so hopeful!

Yes, I'm 31 today, and what a great birthday it was! Sara sang to me to start things off. What could be better than a 2 year old version of Happy Birthday to You?

In the morning we loaded everyone up and went to the New York Aquarium in Brooklyn. Sara had a great time and will probably be talking about this trip for weeks. She got a kiss from a sea lion! She saw real penguins, a walrus or "big monster!", otters and seals. She loved watching schools of fish. "Those fishies have a problem" she said as small fish swam around a bigger one. She liked the seahorses and jellyfish too. We may have a future marine biologist on our hands!

Tonight Ben and I went out for dinner while Grandma and Grandpa watched Sara and David. What a birthday treat! Sara got her bath in Grandma's tub and now both of them are snoozing away. Sara has claimed her bed here - we caught her jumping up and down on it this afternoon. David sleeps in his pack and play in the hallway. He had a very rough night last night, so hopefully he'll sleep better tonight. I was so tired this morning I poured my juice until the cup poured over and Ben asked me what I was doing!