Spring - 2012.

1 year ago

There will be grass!  (This is last year.)

The Chimichanga Challenge. (or What Trav did with his one day off.)

 Chula Vista in Winona has deal that if you can eat 3 (BIG) chimichangas (1 beef, 1 chicken, 1 spicy) AND a huge plate of rice, you get it for free. You get one hour, and you can't get up from the table.

I honestly thought Trav could polish it off, no problem. It didn't really look THAT impressive. I've seen him eat before; normally I have to feed him. He did pretty good, though. He finished the chimichangas off fairly easily, and within the first 20 or so minutes; but that's when he started to feel full. And it turned out to be a LOT of rice. He still had 15 minutes or so left, but decided that since it wasn't going to happen, he might as well stop while he wasn't feeling too awful. The waiter said that the four people that have actually accomplished this challenge (in about the last 3 years), usually start out by cutting everything up and mixing it all together, so the rice is mixed up with the chimichangas, and the spicy taco is mellowed out. Plus they eat it all within the first 25 minutes. He said if you save the rice for last, there's no way, and it expands in your stomach. He said Trav made it farther then he's seen anyone do for a while, though. Trav decided that he has met his match (I guess that's why I thought this would be no problem, I've never actually seen him be too full before! Perhaps its age? A couple of years ago, or at least when he was a teenager, he totally could have done this.)

And brewing beer with Charlie. Charlie loves to help, but it can be challenging to keep him from touching things after I've sanitized them. He's also gotten really bossy lately, and I'm sort of at a loss on how to deal with that. Must be an oldest child thing :)

~Becky

Charlie.

He loves those Carhartt bibs, but they are major high-waters at this point. Still, so cute. Charlie loves to be outside.

(Stupid picture orientation!)

~Becky

Clarence & his Da-da.

Little boys.

Say Cheese!

I think Charlie was rubbing Clarence's back in this one. It reminded me of when Liz used to brush my hair. I should have liked it, but it ticked me off. Now I would let her brush my hair or rub my back.

Charlie the builder- they put an "engine" together. Later, while Trav was at work, Charlie took it back apart. I guarantee he'll be begging for help to put it back together again tomorrow, and Trav will sit there explaining how to change the direction on his cordless drill.

I love little boys, and little boy's bibs!

~Becky

Vermont Sharp.

Hoffman's Sharp Vermont Cheddar Cheese. I felt I should note we have still been eating new cheeses, I just have a difficult time thinking of things to say about it. This one tasted like... sharp cheddar. Everyone ate it in a variety of fashions (loved it with apples, but we're sadly out of apples again, and tomato soup, and we're almost out of that, too! plus plain and on sandwiches). One block really lasted for quite a while.

Baby Goats

Polly before she gave birth.

Here is Polly after she gave birth with triples. Two females and one male. Charlie is trying to get them all rounded up for the picture.

Celebrating TaTa's coming home.

We had to do a little dance to celebrate that Katie is coming home and she will be staying for the summer and fencing. We can't wait to see her.

First Steps

Clarence's first steps.

On the phone.

I was trying to be somewhat conspicuous, but here's a view from my side while Charlie is on the phone. He only talks when he is in the mood, and he likes to go hands free, which results in a lot of dropped calls. The phone is also regularly upside down. He has this new thing where he likes to talk to YaYa for an hour on the phone while she reads him books and he sings her songs (it all started out one day when he talked to her while sitting in the dryer, with the door open of course, while drinking some chocolate milk; now they're phone buddies. It's exclusive, I don't know what they are talking about, but apparently its some kind of inside joke because I hear a lot of giggling sometimes). To the oblivion of whomever he is on the phone with, he usually takes them on a tour around the house, sometimes to his room to look at toys, and other times trying to find Meow (so be careful what you ask him/whom you ask him about). Sometimes he also puts the phone up to each of his Pooh bears, and sometimes his centipede, so they must also like to say 'hello'. If the conversation gets long (and sometimes when it doesn't) he puts the phone on the floor and lies down next to it. And that's Charlie on the phone.

~Becky

Baby Lingen #2 (again)

I didn't get very many good pictures or any 4-D/3-D pictures today, but that wasn't the point. Still fun to see and the baby looks good! Its about a pound and a half already, so its growing like its supposed to, another whopping Lingen baby for sure. She or he had his or her hand/s by her or his face the whole time. Look at those pudgy cheeks!

~Becky

TaTa on the start of her new adventure

 

This is Katie at 3am on January 31 in Rochester at the Kahler Grand Hotel.

She is waiting for her bus to take her to the airport in Minneapolis.

Let her adventure begin!


Choo Choo Charlie's new magazine.

 

 

You couldn't be here when Charlie first received his Thomas the Train magazine subscription, so here's a little play by play... (sorry the pictures are a little crazy)

First he got really excited and jumped around. Then he stood by the couch to look at it, until he got too tired and had to sit down. With great concentration he studied many pages, until he wanted Mommy to read to him ("Mama, please, Mama, please, Mama, please"). We found a physical activity page with a few train yoga poses on and decided to get busy. One involved dragging himself under my legs pretending he was a train going under a bridge, while another involved chuffing along, and still another was hopping on one foot, pretending to be Thomas going around a corner too fast (if you've watched Thomas the train, then you know what I mean, "Slow down Thomas!"). Then Charlie decided to paint (as the book suggested coloring in a paint job, and he wanted to do the real thing). And finally we called Papa Steve (from the dryer) to say Thank you for a busy day.

Oh, and we had Salmon Creole for lunch (recipe from Bringing up Bebe). It was pretty tasty and a great way to use stewed tomatoes. I'm really enjoying the food philosophy for toddlers, and also really enjoying food lately (so hang on Lizzie, you'll feel like this soon). Also, Charlie has been eating meals like a champ since he hasn't been allowed to snack as frequently; it makes meal time much more enjoyable.

~Becky

Charlie and his big boy bed.

Now that I know Katie has seen Liz's big announcement post, I can put up pictures of Charlie's new bed. His Grandpa and YaYa delivered it today. Grandpa Steve made it to match the toy box he made for Charlie about a year and a half ago, and it has storage galore. Charlie is so far in love with it. I'm only a little worried because its kind of tall, but he's probably big enough to handle it at this point. It was funny to tuck him in with a top sheet tonight and blankets tucked in the the mattress; and in that way he had outgrown his crib-sized bed. I feel like he is as snug as a little bug in there tonight (tucked in with Pooh, Pooh #2, the frog, Geoffrey the Giraffe and Shake-A-Bear, and with room to spare; but no more friends in bed, that's the limit).

And of course I had to put up a new picture of Charlie and his Kali. She delivered Charlie's Ikea mattress on Saturday, and we loved having her stay with us. Charlie wouldn't even let me enter the room sometimes, he thought maybe I would ruin his fun (and I didn't even mind).

~Becky

13 weeks.

Sorry, Becky & Katie, I couldn't wait to tell you in person!  We've been laying in the weeds for 3 months now.  Baby Tostenson #2 is due to make his/her arrival August 24.  Wheew!  (For those of you who know me best - this must be the L..O..N..G..E..S..T secret I've ever kept.) 
Interesting fact:  there is a baby due every month from a member of our congregation starting in March and ending in August.  We may meet or beat last year's record-setting number of baptisms!  There were 8, but we've already had at least one this year, so it's going to be close.  If boisterous toddlers and babbling babies is something you enjoy about attending church, Black Hammer is the place for you.
Good luck and take care all my glowing & growing sister-members, especially Becky;)