A Visit With Curious George

Jim, Drew, and I spent an hour at Barnes and Noble this morning seeing Curious George! We got there early, so Drew played with the Thomas trains while we waited for the story time to begin.

A lady came out and read two Curious George books to the children.

Drew was very squirmy on my lap, so I finally decided to try letting him get down on the platform with the other children. He didn't want to sit, but he was excited to be down.

He stood to listen for a while.

Then, he started working his way closer to the stage.

He sat on the edge of the stage.

He was kicking his feet and blabbing away on the stage.

He kept scooting closer and closer to the lady who was reading.

He was being quite a ham!

Drew ended up right next to the lady who was reading.

After the stories were done, George came out to see the children. Drew was very excited!

Drew wasn't afraid of George at all. He gave him high fives and was just beaming the whole time.

Drew even tried to give George a kiss, but he couldn't reach him with his lips.

Drew had such a fun time meeting George!

Terrible

Well, Drew has only been two for a few days, but the terribleness has already begun. On Monday, Drew went to work with Jim while I taught at school for the morning. One of Drew's favorite things to do at work is hit golf balls with little clubs that they keep there. Jim was speaking to a customer, and she suddenly cried out in pain. Drew had hit her ankle with his club! Jim was so embarrassed and had to apologize again and again to the lady (thankfully, it was the mother of one of Jim's employees, and she was very nice about the whole situation), but Jim felt horrible about it.
Drew loves balls, and he throws them all over the place. We have been working with him about throwing ONLY balls and not other things - blocks, books, . . . Last night while I was putting groceries away, Drew kept grabbing cans and throwing them down on the kitchen floor. We told him "No!" I turned away from him to put some things away and heard the sound of breaking glass. Drew had gotten a spaghetti sauce jar from the table and thrown it down on the floor. This is what I saw when I turned around. Notice that a Curious George book was a victim of the mess.
We managed to get things cleaned up, but not without Drew's being punished, my cutting my hand on a piece of glass, and our family's being late for church.
On a more positive note, I want to share some of Drew's current favorites. This hat has hardly left Drew's head during the waking hours of the last few days. He has wanted to wear it constantly. I have to take it off his head immediately before naps and bedtime, and he cries for it as soon as he wakes up. He is definitely his father's boy in this regard!

These pictures also show Drew's favorite meal - chicken nuggets and cooked carrots, with a little Ranch dressing for dipping. I think he would eat this combination three times a day if I would allow him to!

Drew's Birthday

For the past three years, Drew's birthday has always seemed to bring on the beginning of Spring-like weather here in Michigan. I remember going into the hospital in my winter coat, and coming out five days later to much nicer, warmer weather the year Drew was born.
Drew and I went outside for about an hour yesterday to play. He has been wanting to ride in his truck all winter. When we go out to the garage to get in the car, he often goes over to his truck and says "truck." I keep telling him that he can ride it soon, but it has been so cold for so long. He got to ride it yesterday, and he was so happy! George, of course, rode in the back.
We also took a long walk through the neighborhood with the wagon.

We had to wait to open Drew's gifts until last night since Jim and I both worked yesterday morning, and I left very early that morning, before Drew was even up, to take my car in for repairs. My parents sent Drew a package of presents, so he opened those last night.

He got a flashlight,

a new George with pajamas,

a George ball,

some Patch the Pirate cds from Uncle Mark and Aunt Katie,

a Corduroy bear and book,

an Elmo book,

and a box of Teddy Grahams.

Both grandmas and Grandpa also gave money toward the new bookcase that Jim and I wanted to get for Drew. We got it this weekend, and Jim put it together last night. Once we are done with the changing table, we will bring the bookcase into Drew's room.

Drew had a very nice birthday, and we can hardly believe that he has been part of our family for two whole years!

Two!

Drew turns two today, and we celebrated his birthday on Saturday with Jim's side of the family. Jim's niece's son, Brandon turns 12 tomorrow, and another family friend has a birthday later this week, so we decided to have one big party to celebrate all three birthdays together.
This is Jim's sister, Sharon and her husband Larry, with Drew at the party. This is us with Drew. He ate lots of sweets that night. This is one of Jim's niece Jennifer's famous chocolate chip cookies. She brings them to every family event.

Here Drew is eating a piece of the birthday cake.

Drew did not want to blow out the candles. He kept making this funny face when Jim tried to get him to blow them out.

We were singing "Happy Birthday."

This is the birthday cake I made for the three birthday people. It is a Chocolate Midnight cake from the Chocolate Cake Doctor book. I love to bake, but cake decorating isn't really my thing.

Drew didn't really get real involved in opening his own gifts, but he decided to help Brandon open his.

Jim helped Drew open his presents. He got some books, a sand and water table, a DVD, a dog that blows bubbles,a Target gift card, and a Chevy Silverado motorized truck. He is so spoiled!

Jim's niece has a couple of dogs, and Drew chased them through the house all evening. He kept trying to put his hat on them.

Here are the birthday boys - 10 years apart.

It was a very nice party, and we are so thankful for Jim's family and their generosity and love for Drew and us. We have gifts to open this evening from my side of the family, so I'll try to post pictures from that later this week.

Little Valentine

Well, I was finally able to get my camera working and take some pictures of Drew with his Valentine's Day sucker. He was so excited to eat his sucker (he rarely gets to eat candy), and of course, he had to share it with George! He held the sucker up to George's mouth and said, "George bite." We hope that he will share as sweetly with the other children in his class at church as he does with George.

Happy Belated Valentine's Day from Jim, Megan, Drew (and George)!

The Cat in the Hat

Drew and I met some friends at Pottery Barn Kids on Monday morning to see the Cat in the Hat. We waited in a long line to meet him.

Drew wasn't scared of him at all. He petted him and wanted to grab the cat's tie.

Drew's little friend Joseph was a little scared of the cat.

We were glad we went, but it was a little crazy with all those parents and children. I don't know that we would go again unless it was a character that Drew really loves.

My camera has been acting up, so I imported these pictures from Facebook. They were taken by Delena Ollila.

We are spending a day at home today. It is cold and snowy outside again, so we have decided to just stay in.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Calzones

I am sharing this recipe in honor of my mother's recent blog posts about uses for pizza dough. This calzone recipe is one that Jim found on a blog several months ago.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Calzones
Dough:
2 tsp. yeast
1 cup water
2 T olive oil
3 cups bread flour
1 1/4 tsp. salt

Filling:
Mix these first three ingredients together-
2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
3 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/4 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
parsley, salt, and pepper to taste

I like to make my dough with a dough hook in my Kitchen Aid mixer, but you could also mix and then knead the dough by hand. Cover with a towel and let rest for 10 minutes.
Cut the dough into 4 equal parts , and roll each dough ball into a circle. Fill half of each with chicken, bacon, and ranch mix, a little parsley, and some cheese. Fill half of each with chicken, bacon, and ranch mix, a little parsley, and some cheese. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.

This is the finished calzone. You can serve them with a little extra Ranch dressing for dipping, if you wish.

This is what Drew was up to while I was working on the calzones. This is often what he does while I am working in the kitchen. We have to wash the pots ALL the time.