Fall is in the air

We had a very nice weekend, for the most part. My niece Andrea, and her boyfriend and their friends were down in the Cities from Grand Forks to see the Vikings game. We had them over to the house on Saturday night for a bbq. I have no idea what got into Libby, but she was wacky, silly, over the top crazy. I swear she took a swig of someone's beer! She was very funny, and thankfully, they all took it in stride.

Sunday morning, we headed to the MN Zoo for the morning. We took the long way around to the farm. All of us love the goats and had fun feeding them. I would love my very own goat (legal to have one in the city), but someone is against my brilliant idea. Note Libby is wearing her "Ranger tux" for our farm visit.

Would have been a perfect weekend if I had not come down with the stomach flu on Sunday night. Eric had to stay home from work to watch Libby on Monday. At the end of the day, I asked him how it went. "It's so hard getting anything done with her around. She just keeps interrupting and wants all the attention". Really? I had never noticed :)

We had a full bed last night as Merfi as decided to come in in the evening and sleep with us. She still has claws, and liked to stretch out on me...ouch!

My cleaning schedule seems to be working out well. The house will never be perfect, but I am feeling less stressed and things seem to be getting done.

Transitions

I realize transitions are going on all the time with all of us, but sometimes they are so acute, they are breathtaking. We started ECFE again this past Wednesday night. I think back to the little girl a year ago, who cried and did not want us to leave the room. By the end of the year she was fine. It was a great thing to be involved in before starting pre-school as she now smiles from ear to ear when we get to the school, gives me a quick hug and kiss, and runs into the classroom to play. OK, it would be nice if she would at least look back! :) This summer was witness to some major changes, both with Libby and many of her little friends. They now converse with each other, which is beyond cute. The other day Tenzing was over, and Libby asked him if he wanted a Popsicle. When he said yes, she grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the back door, saying "come in, then, come in and I will get you one". Our neighbors on both sides have been smiling a lot this summer as they heard some very funny and sweet conversations. Not only has her vocabulary grown, but her self-confidence has also seen a leap. I really think our tumbling class with Miss Amy was a help in that department.

Aaaah, and then there is pre-school. I have to say she has taken to it like a duck to water. She is so happy to go there each day, and today wanted to stay. Youch! I was worried because she is the youngest in her class, but she does not seem to notice or mind a bit.

Trying to note every few months favorite things that Libby enjoys. Right now, her favorite books are "Brown Bear, Brown Bear", and thinks it's so funny to say "I see a pizza looking at me". She also loves "Motherbridge of Love". Her favorite song is still "ABC", which cracks us up. If she could wear jeans and her monkey shirt every day, she would. Aside from the usual childhood favorite foods, she also loves salmon, steak, and potstickers. Her favorite song to sing with Dada is "Mockingbird". Eric says "Mock" and Libby says "Yea" Eric, "ing" Libby, "yea", Eric "bird" Libby, "yea". However, she now wants to do the Mockingbird part, and not be back up singer. I joined in the other day, and she laughed and laughed. I am sure it was because she was happy, not because she was laughing at my singing...

Our other big transition, has been the transition out of napping. Libby has stated very firmly that she does not like falling asleep-too scary, and will no longer be napping. She has actually held pretty firmly to this. She did not nap once last week, but finally on Saturday, had to give in. When she makes up her mind about something, it is pretty much a done deal.

As for me, I am busy meeting with contractors. Hopefully, we will make a decision either way very soon as to whether we remodel or move. I have also decided to go back in time, and resurrect the old "wash on Monday" routine, tweaking it for a today's time, mostly because there is no chance I will be ironing on Tuesdays! I kind of randomly, willy nilly get things done around the house, and now I want to do better than that.

The weather here has been gorgeous and we are going to spend much of our coming weekend outdoors with friends.

MN State Fair Part 2

Eric had thought that he was going to work both Sunday and Monday, but they found the parking situation was under control, and even a bit slow, so he decided to join us for the day. We were to meet Leeanne and Ellie there, and were sad that colds prevented them from coming. The day was another gorgeous one, the fair was comfortable, Libby was in a great mood, and a grand time was had by all. We went to check out the "kidway" to see how much rides cost and if she would even be able to do any. Decided to try a little motorized boat on water. When I went to get the tickets, a nice lady gave me a coupon for $6.00 off one of the packages. Libby loved the boat ride. We walked around some more and she pointed to the ferris wheel and said she wanted to go on that. Tried to interest her in something else, but no deal. She loved it! In fact, when they got down, Eric said only one of them was afraid when they were up there and it was not her. She also did the swings and the small roller coaster. On every ride, she was grinning from ear to ear. We eat, but not quite as much as some people. We did enjoy breakfast at one of the many halls that have been serving diners for decades. We liked the name: Order of the Eastern Star.



Today we popped into the doctor's office to have them look at a bump that Miss Lib Lib got a few weeks ago. It had not gone down as much as we had expected and she would sometimes point and say it hurt. The doctor said that it was fine and that it could take months to heal because of the location on her eyebrow. While there, went ahead and got her first flu vaccination. She was all smiley until the shot and then began to cry and gave the nurse and I a very hurt look. She recovered quickly. I have to steel myself for the next one in a month.

Great Minnesota Get Together

It is a fact, autumn is now upon us. The fair ends to day, and with it goes our summer. The last two weeks have given us beautiful weather. We had Libby's three year pics taken a week ago. They turned out very lovely. It does help that she photographs beautifully and has such a big natural smile.

We went to the State Fair last Thursday with our friend Heather and her son, Libby's boyfriend, Tenzing. I get worn out just thinking back. They had a fabulous time and minimum fights, for them. At one point Eric, rather exasperated, said they would argue over a rock. Heather and I just laughed, because, yes, they do it all the time. They sat on just about every John Deere tractor in Machine Alley. We also walked through just about every camper. They had a blast. We hit every animal barn, and they loved the sheep especially. The fair did not feel as crowded as past years, although they say attendance is good. Nice to be able to park at Eric's work and just walk over.

Saturday was our second annual Ulympics. It is a sporting event our friend Patrick has organized. All games are played underhanded, hence, "U"lympics. We invited Rena and Terry, along with daughter Lexa, and Ron and Leeanne, and daughter Ellie, to be on Team China. We had gorgeous weather and a great place for the games. It was a very fun afternoon, and Team China took home the gold in Ladderball Toss, thanks to Rena and Ron. Below is Terry on the left and Rena on the right.



Libby and Lexa had their first Chinese dance class on Saturday. Parents are not only in the class, but should participate-yikes. I guess this will make up for never having dance class when I was a kid :) I was going to sign Libby up for swim class with Eric. My friend Rena asked if I had done so, and I said I was waiting for registration to open on September 2nd. She looked at me and smiled and said, "Janice, it's September 4th". That about sums up the summer. :)