"Cheese!"
First time bowling!
The Hagen boys
Taking after Uncle Jeff and Uncle Jacob on the drums!
Tyler said "One more" every time he saw one of these carts. He loved riding on them!
Monday, October 1, 2012
More of the Dells
These are just a few more pictures of Tyler enjoying his time in the Dells. He could totally handle living at The Wilderness hotel. :-)
Friday, September 28, 2012
Feeding the Deer
I'm a little behind here (again) and I blame it on a week full of house showings and another week with company. It's been a fun, but busy couple of weeks!
Two weeks ago we went to the Dells for another fun weekend, this time with Carl's brother Matt, his wife Janelle, and some of thier cousins. For Tyler it was another action packed weekend and he loved every minute of it. We got there earlier than most of them on Friday so Matt and Janelle (or Na and Nina, as Tyler calls them) suggested going to a deer park. I had seen it from the road before - it doesn't actually look all that exciting when you're driving by, but we knew Tyler would love any sort of petting zoo. Turns out it's awesome. Tyler had one of the best afternoons of his life, I'm pretty sure. There are just deer everywhere! Wandering all over the place. We bought food at the beginning. Matt and Janelle had been there before so they knew to stock up on the food! The does and fawns were just walking around and we could pet and feed them easily. We could still feed the bucks, but they were fenced in.
Tyler loves animals, but I thought he might be at least a little nervous. Nope. I was quite wrong. He was completely, 100% fearless. Unlike me. If you've seen me around dogs then you can imagine how I would respond to deer sticking their faces up to me looking for food. I did not touch or feed a single one. I just handed Tyler more food and let him do it for me.
That night Tyler woke up and had a hard time falling back asleep. After he finally closed his eyes and I thought he was asleep, I jokingly (and very quietly) told Carl he was probably dreaming about hundreds of deer chasing him down for food. Tyler immediately sat straight up in bed and said, "Cracker!" And then he was wide awake ready to talk about the deer!
It's been two weeks and we can still ask him what he fed the deer and he tells us and everytime he sees pictures of deer or anything that might look even a little like a deer he starts talking about crackers. He. Loved. That. Day.
Two weeks ago we went to the Dells for another fun weekend, this time with Carl's brother Matt, his wife Janelle, and some of thier cousins. For Tyler it was another action packed weekend and he loved every minute of it. We got there earlier than most of them on Friday so Matt and Janelle (or Na and Nina, as Tyler calls them) suggested going to a deer park. I had seen it from the road before - it doesn't actually look all that exciting when you're driving by, but we knew Tyler would love any sort of petting zoo. Turns out it's awesome. Tyler had one of the best afternoons of his life, I'm pretty sure. There are just deer everywhere! Wandering all over the place. We bought food at the beginning. Matt and Janelle had been there before so they knew to stock up on the food! The does and fawns were just walking around and we could pet and feed them easily. We could still feed the bucks, but they were fenced in.
Tyler loves animals, but I thought he might be at least a little nervous. Nope. I was quite wrong. He was completely, 100% fearless. Unlike me. If you've seen me around dogs then you can imagine how I would respond to deer sticking their faces up to me looking for food. I did not touch or feed a single one. I just handed Tyler more food and let him do it for me.
For some reason, this white deer loved Tyler. Tyler did not love it back. It kept following him around and Tyler would look at it and say, "NO!" and then go give the food to a different one everytime. He was actually very selective about who he wanted to feed.
Tyler called the deer food crackers. And if a deer came up to him while he was empty handed he would always look over at us and ask for a cracker right away. It was pretty cute.
He only tried to eat the deer food a couple times. I'm sure he thought they looked like graham crackers. But he learned quickly that it was a lot more fun to feed the deer than eat it himself.
They were getting a little greedy towards the end!
That night Tyler woke up and had a hard time falling back asleep. After he finally closed his eyes and I thought he was asleep, I jokingly (and very quietly) told Carl he was probably dreaming about hundreds of deer chasing him down for food. Tyler immediately sat straight up in bed and said, "Cracker!" And then he was wide awake ready to talk about the deer!
It's been two weeks and we can still ask him what he fed the deer and he tells us and everytime he sees pictures of deer or anything that might look even a little like a deer he starts talking about crackers. He. Loved. That. Day.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
My Mini Master Chef
The hardest part of Tyler's day has almost always been when I'm making dinner. He knows it's almost time to eat, he can see the food and he's waiting for Daddy to get home after a long day. Tough stuff.
But suddenly, it's become his favorite time of day. And mine too! I. Love. This. Age.
It started a couple weeks ago when I was cutting a watermelon when he woke up from his nap and he wanted to be near me. So we pulled a chair up to the island and he helped. And by helped I mean he ate it as fast as I could cut it.
Since that day everytime I start cooking, he comes running, pushes a chair up to the island and climbs up to help. He loves every part of it. From washing his hands, to helping pour things in, to stirring, and especially eating. He has snatched carrots, onions, basil, parsley, chocolate chips, and raw corn on the cob to chew on while I work.
Since he's been loving this so much I decided we needed to have a baking day on Monday. I found this amazing looking recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownie Sandwhiches and I was in love. But I've heard a lot lately that it's as bad to eat raw flour as it is to eat raw eggs. And as it turns out, I'm SUPER paranoid about making my family sick. Which is really annoying because I love cookie dough. So anyway, I spent way too much of Tyler's nap trying to find out if there was any way I could cook flour enough to make it safe in cookie dough. And I found nothing. So I decided to just make the brownie cookie part. Until I realized it called for SO MUCH cocoa powder that my over half full container wasn't enough.
So we made up our own recipe. And it was fantastic.
But suddenly, it's become his favorite time of day. And mine too! I. Love. This. Age.
It started a couple weeks ago when I was cutting a watermelon when he woke up from his nap and he wanted to be near me. So we pulled a chair up to the island and he helped. And by helped I mean he ate it as fast as I could cut it.
Since that day everytime I start cooking, he comes running, pushes a chair up to the island and climbs up to help. He loves every part of it. From washing his hands, to helping pour things in, to stirring, and especially eating. He has snatched carrots, onions, basil, parsley, chocolate chips, and raw corn on the cob to chew on while I work.
He worked really hard to husk that corn. And he was so proud.
Since he's been loving this so much I decided we needed to have a baking day on Monday. I found this amazing looking recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownie Sandwhiches and I was in love. But I've heard a lot lately that it's as bad to eat raw flour as it is to eat raw eggs. And as it turns out, I'm SUPER paranoid about making my family sick. Which is really annoying because I love cookie dough. So anyway, I spent way too much of Tyler's nap trying to find out if there was any way I could cook flour enough to make it safe in cookie dough. And I found nothing. So I decided to just make the brownie cookie part. Until I realized it called for SO MUCH cocoa powder that my over half full container wasn't enough.
So we made up our own recipe. And it was fantastic.
So excited to get started!
"What is this stuff and why won't you let me eat it?!"
"Yummy!"
Right? Isn't this how we all feel about mini chocolate chips? Bliss.
And this is what we call a good day.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Fire Day!
Today Carl was going fishing with some friends from work. After all the extra time he's had to put in at work lately, it was nice that he could get a relaxing day away. But that meant Tyler and I had a free Saturday and no plans.
Then I remembered that I had seen a sign for the fire department house. Yay!
So we headed over there. Tyler got to sit in two firetrucks and a helicopter and spray a fire hose! And we got free lunch. He had lots of fun! Although I had a really hard time getting good pictures. He was loving it, but a little apprehensive about doing things by himself. So everytime I tried to step back to take a picture the smiles stopped.
These are the best I have.
Carl is a little jealous that he missed this awesome day.
Afterwards we came home for a quick nap before a house showing. Carl got done just as we were leaving the house for the showing, so he met us at Caribou. Tyler has never played here before, but he loved it! We were there for an hour, but I think he would have stayed much longer.
Now I'm just wondering why he never plays in one place this long at our house!
Then I remembered that I had seen a sign for the fire department house. Yay!
So we headed over there. Tyler got to sit in two firetrucks and a helicopter and spray a fire hose! And we got free lunch. He had lots of fun! Although I had a really hard time getting good pictures. He was loving it, but a little apprehensive about doing things by himself. So everytime I tried to step back to take a picture the smiles stopped.
These are the best I have.
He really did help spray the cute little house. But he was done as soon as I got the camera out. He said "Daddy" over and over again while he was spraying it because he always helps Carl water the plants outside our house. Everytime we've talked about the big fire hose today he says "Ssssss." Like the water spraying. :-)
Driving a fire truck!
Cute little firefighter
First time in a helicopter!
This was after the elastic on his fire hat snapped his chin. He was a little done with pictures after that. I just love the look on his face in this picture! He looks like he's disgusted with me. But I think it's with pictures. Or at least that's what I keep telling myself. :-)
Loving his chips!
Carl is a little jealous that he missed this awesome day.
Afterwards we came home for a quick nap before a house showing. Carl got done just as we were leaving the house for the showing, so he met us at Caribou. Tyler has never played here before, but he loved it! We were there for an hour, but I think he would have stayed much longer.
Now I'm just wondering why he never plays in one place this long at our house!
State Fair
We've been going to the State Fair for at least four years. I can't really remember. But we always look forward to it now. We can't wait for the day each summer when we can pay money to go to the Fair and pay more money for ridiculously expensive and greasy, but equally delicious food. But this year was the first time that Carl took off work and we went on a Tuesday instead of a Saturday. Best. Idea. Ever. I can't believe we haven't done that before. We went with some great friends right away in the morning so that our kids could still get home for naps in the afternoon. Instead of a hot afternoon, it was nice and cool. Instead of constantly trying to maneuver through huge crowds of sweaty people, there were no crowds. And instead of waiting in huge lines for fried food, we could just walk right up and get it. It was amazing.
Last year Tyler was much too little to appreciate it. But this year he loved every minute.
Tyler also got to see horses and cows and lots of baby animals. He saw the carousel and started pointing at it and getting excited. Is it possible that he remembered riding on one in Colorado in June? But we managed to get by it. We knew he would be distracted by the delicious corn. Maybe next year, Tyler. :-)
Last year Tyler was much too little to appreciate it. But this year he loved every minute.
First fried cheese curd! He was a fan.
The boys + Brooke
The girls + Tyler
If we hadn't had to pay for this I think Tyler would have done it all day. He kept saying "Weeeeee" and pointing at it and actually started to cry when we walked away.
There's nothing like State Fair corn on the cob. It's a good thing we got Tyler his own. He ate almost the whole thing!
Tyler also got to see horses and cows and lots of baby animals. He saw the carousel and started pointing at it and getting excited. Is it possible that he remembered riding on one in Colorado in June? But we managed to get by it. We knew he would be distracted by the delicious corn. Maybe next year, Tyler. :-)
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
"Beep Beep Beep"
About a week and a half ago I made a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake for our small group BBQ. I hadn't made a cheesecake in awhile and I forgot that it tends to drip out of the springform pan while it's baking. So I didn't put a cookie sheet under it. Big mistake.
Part way through the baking our house filled with smoke. Completely. Thankfully, the cheesecake didn't start on fire (which did happen once in college). It was just fine. But when Carl (who had to work late that night) came home, instead of being greeted with a nice, "Hi, how was your day?" he walked into a house full of smoke, with smoke alarms going off all around and me yelling "Quick, help me before Tyler wakes up!" Thankfully our heavy little sleeper did not wake up, even with the smoke alarm blaring right outside his door. He may not look like me, but he certainly sleeps like me!
After clearing the smoke out with fans and opened windows, you would think we were done with that, right? Wrong. I guess none of the meals I made in the next few days required the oven and I completely forgot that there was black charred stuff all over the bottom of it. Until I used it again. And part way through cooking, smoke filled the air and smoke alarms started going off in every room upstairs! This time Tyler was awake and the one in his room went off too. And Carl came home from work to a house full of smoke, smoke alarmss beeping, and me running all over the place tring to stop them! And once again he came to my rescue and helped clear out all the smoke. Then we ate dinner and when the oven was cooled down, we forgot about it.
Until a couple days later, when I was making dinner. And guess what? The house filled up with smoke and the smoke alarms started beeping again!
Poor Tyler. For the last few days he's been randomly picking up books and waving them in the air saying, "Beep, beep, beep." He's gotten quite used to the beeping, and has become an expert at helping fan the smoke detectors with his books!
Finally, yesterday when the oven was actually cool, I thought to scrape everything out and set the self clean. Also, not my best idea. I did it just a few hours before a house showing, and then regretted it the rest of the day as our house was suddenly about a bajillion degrees and smelled like oven! Oops. I managed to get the place mostly cooled down, but it definitely still smelled a little funny when we left for the showing.
Moral of the story? Always put a cookie sheet under your cheesecake when baking.
Part way through the baking our house filled with smoke. Completely. Thankfully, the cheesecake didn't start on fire (which did happen once in college). It was just fine. But when Carl (who had to work late that night) came home, instead of being greeted with a nice, "Hi, how was your day?" he walked into a house full of smoke, with smoke alarms going off all around and me yelling "Quick, help me before Tyler wakes up!" Thankfully our heavy little sleeper did not wake up, even with the smoke alarm blaring right outside his door. He may not look like me, but he certainly sleeps like me!
After clearing the smoke out with fans and opened windows, you would think we were done with that, right? Wrong. I guess none of the meals I made in the next few days required the oven and I completely forgot that there was black charred stuff all over the bottom of it. Until I used it again. And part way through cooking, smoke filled the air and smoke alarms started going off in every room upstairs! This time Tyler was awake and the one in his room went off too. And Carl came home from work to a house full of smoke, smoke alarmss beeping, and me running all over the place tring to stop them! And once again he came to my rescue and helped clear out all the smoke. Then we ate dinner and when the oven was cooled down, we forgot about it.
Until a couple days later, when I was making dinner. And guess what? The house filled up with smoke and the smoke alarms started beeping again!
Poor Tyler. For the last few days he's been randomly picking up books and waving them in the air saying, "Beep, beep, beep." He's gotten quite used to the beeping, and has become an expert at helping fan the smoke detectors with his books!
Finally, yesterday when the oven was actually cool, I thought to scrape everything out and set the self clean. Also, not my best idea. I did it just a few hours before a house showing, and then regretted it the rest of the day as our house was suddenly about a bajillion degrees and smelled like oven! Oops. I managed to get the place mostly cooled down, but it definitely still smelled a little funny when we left for the showing.
Moral of the story? Always put a cookie sheet under your cheesecake when baking.
Monday, September 3, 2012
Well...It's Happening
When I found out I was pregnant with Tyler I was thrilled. And when I found out he was a boy I was also thrilled. So excited! But I'm not going to lie, I had one teeny tiny fear about raising a boy. I knew that someday he would like bugs and frogs. And I do not like bugs and frogs! Ridiculous fear, I know. But seriously, the thought of my sweet little boy holding bugs and frogs is not a pleasant one!
And that day has come. A couple weeks ago we took Tyler to the pool and while he was playing in it he noticed an ant. So he left the very fun, exciting pool and slide that was closing for the summer that very day, to chase the ant around the edge.
And since then, he has been completely fascinated by ants. It takes about 3 times as long to walk to the park because he chases every ant he sees. But the really great thing that I hadn't thought about before, was that he also steps on them!
Let me tell you why that's so great. When I see a bug or a spider at our house, I stand and yell at the top of my lungs for Carl to come and take care of it. And if I'm being perfectly honest, when he's not home to rescue me when I see one, I just shut the door and leave the room. I do not like bugs. But now I just might have my own personal bug squasher who is with me all day long!
However, he can't just go around stepping on frogs for me, so hopefully he doesn't discover those for a long time. If I had to decide, I think I'm more afraid of frogs than bugs. A few years ago we went camping and the whole campground was filled with spiders and frogs. We tried to go hiking and actually turned around because we were walking into spider webs every few feet. And there were live frogs and dead ones all over the roads. And while we were walking to the bathroom one jumped and landed on my foot!! It was the worst camping trip of my entire life and we will never go there again.
All that to say, Tyler is fascinated by my enemies the bugs. But it just might be a good thing. :-)
And that day has come. A couple weeks ago we took Tyler to the pool and while he was playing in it he noticed an ant. So he left the very fun, exciting pool and slide that was closing for the summer that very day, to chase the ant around the edge.
And since then, he has been completely fascinated by ants. It takes about 3 times as long to walk to the park because he chases every ant he sees. But the really great thing that I hadn't thought about before, was that he also steps on them!
Let me tell you why that's so great. When I see a bug or a spider at our house, I stand and yell at the top of my lungs for Carl to come and take care of it. And if I'm being perfectly honest, when he's not home to rescue me when I see one, I just shut the door and leave the room. I do not like bugs. But now I just might have my own personal bug squasher who is with me all day long!
However, he can't just go around stepping on frogs for me, so hopefully he doesn't discover those for a long time. If I had to decide, I think I'm more afraid of frogs than bugs. A few years ago we went camping and the whole campground was filled with spiders and frogs. We tried to go hiking and actually turned around because we were walking into spider webs every few feet. And there were live frogs and dead ones all over the roads. And while we were walking to the bathroom one jumped and landed on my foot!! It was the worst camping trip of my entire life and we will never go there again.
All that to say, Tyler is fascinated by my enemies the bugs. But it just might be a good thing. :-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)