Pic of the Week: Funny Story

Ok, so it may not be funny to you, but it was hilarious to us. So I am going to share it with you anyway. And you will like it. Or not.

One day last week, I picked Mia up from daycare, brought her home and needed to start dinner. So I set her on our bed, turned the TV on to Sesame Street and left her to enjoy Elmo and Abby.

I know. It is not the greatest parenting tactic, but hey, it's the way we roll when the need arises.

Anyway, when I put her there, the bed was made with the pillows neatly tucked in under the sheets.

As I began dinner, I could hear her rolling around, mumbling to herself, squealing at the tv, your know the whole thing. Then silence.

And we parents know, silence can be bad.

So I peeked in to find this:
Now, are you thinking what I am thinking?
Could she be advanced enough to know to pull out a pillow, fold it in half, and lean back for a comfortable view of the TV? Or, could it be a total accident that she took advantage of?

We will never know.

Hilarious.

BFFs

When we go to Denver, one of our favorite things to do is spend time with our good friends and fellow parents, Greg and Shawna. Their son, Gavin, is 15 months older than Mia so it is a great to get together with them so our kids can socialize. Mia has always played well with other kids, but since she has been in daycare her social skills have been better than ever.
So it was no surprise that she and Gavin were immediate buddies. In fact, they played so well, that for most of the night we adults were able to socialize without too much fussing from the kids. It was fabulous.

They did puzzles...

Played with cars...

Colored...
And then there was this...
If this keeps up, we might have a Schnelle/Kunz wedding someday!

For more great pics of bathtime fun, see Shawna's post here.


P.S. Mia will certainly have fun with this cutie soon! Gavin's lil' sis, Sloan.

Mission Impossible

Last weekend, the three of us loaded up in the minivan with two of our dogs and headed West.

Destination: Colorful Colorado

Our Mission (and we chose to accept it): To attend the wedding of my baby brother in which our daughter was to be a flower girl. One of three. Thank goodness.

Mission Accomplished? Not really, but close.

The Debrief:
It is Thursday, the day of the rehearsal. The wedding party and family converge upon the Beottcher Mansion to rehearse the next day's nuptials.

The Mothers at the Rehearsal

None of us know what to expect from an 18 month old. Everything hinges on her mood. Nevertheless, I was anxious to see how she would do in practice.

Mia at the Rehearsal

When the time finally came to practice the procession, we spent 10 seconds on the flower girls, and it was all over. I am a little worried now. But, I don't dwell and just head down to the rehearsal dinner.

Fast forward to the Wedding Day.
We arrive an hour and a half before the wedding and get Mia dressed. We had to force her into the dress kicking and screaming. Not a good sign. The next hour would be spent in a feeble attempt to keep her happy. It was a long hour. She was not too cooperative for wedding pictures. Another sign.
Ten minutes to start time, Gabe takes Mia outside to ease her boredom. Five minutes to start time, I send Cindy, our friend and savior, out to tell Gabe that I will be in the audience waiting for her to come out in the procession. The hope was that she would see me and walk up the isle without too much trouble.
Start time.
Out comes the Groom and Best man.
Next, the Bridesmaids
Then Flower girl 1...
Flower girl 2...
...............
...............
And the Bride...
No Mia. Flower girl 3.
Crap.

Turns out, due to a communication error, Gabe didn't realize it was go time.
We completely missed it.
I cannot begin to tell you the despair and self-punishment that man went through (and still is going through).
At the end of the day, despite our disappointment, it was a small hiccup and a beautiful wedding!

My Handsome Bro

What a beautiful bride!

I try not to think of it as a waste of time, money, preparation and effort by the bride and ourselves. It just wasn't meant to be.

Besides, it was worth it just to see her dressed for the part.


So we chose to forget our woes for the night and celebrate! Cindy took Mia home for us so we could relax and enjoy the evening. Thank you Cindy!

The Groom's Family Table

Congrats Phil and Gretchen! What a great party! We Love You!!!

I am still trying to figure out what is on his nose????

The wedding was the focus of our week but only one of seven fun filled days we spent in Denver. More to come!

Mile High Weekend

I don't know what is wrong with me lately. I just seem to be in a horrible writer's block rut. I have all these ideas in my head, but cannot seem to get them down in actual words that make sense and don't bore the reader to death. But, since I am VERY behind in blogging, you will just have to endure my terrible writing. My disclaimer.

Here we go...

So, my brother is getting married. I can't believe it. I mean, he is still a kid right? 30 is still considered a kid, right?

Maybe not. Boy, do I feel old.

But, he is getting married. And his fiancee is fabulous. I think we all knew she was the one before he did. She completes him.

Originally, I was planning on a quick weekend trip by myself to Denver for her bridal shower, but after our long Alaska trip, I couldn't bear to leave Mia again and I decided to take her with me. Which meant my first flying experience with a toddler. Alone.

Eeek.

And, since Mia sits in her own seat, in her car seat, I had to figure out how to manage Mia, a stroller, a 150 thousand pound car seat and our bags on my own.

Double eeek.

But thanks to this nifty contraption that allowed me to carry the car seat like a back pack, I was able to pull it off. It is very cool and very helpful when traveling with a car seat. I won't talk about how my back felt afterwords, or how the Frontier flight attendants were so NOT helpful. Let's just say I won't try that again alone as long as the car seat has to come with us.

Aside from the travel, the trip was great! I was so glad that Mia came along and was able to spend quality time with my family.

















She really took to Uncle Phil...


















And Grandpa John...



























And Auntie Gretchen...
























It was a great trip, but we were happy to get home to Daddy.




And I think Daddy missed us too...
























Next up....the big wedding! The three of us are heading out this weekend to Denver again (driving this time) for the big day. Mia is a flower girl. Can't wait to see how that turns out!

Pic of the week: Uncle Phil

Mia's hero...

Mia and I went to Denver last week...stay tuned for a recap and more photos.