We're back. . . Again!

I realize it has been a long time since I've posted. The usual stuff has "blogged" me down-sicknesses, the holidays it doesn't take much. It was nice to hear from those of you who I heard from that you missed us. I appreciate that and also realize we have many more viewers than posters. Feel free to create dialogue, it's good for us. Oh! By the way--it isn't that I forgot you on our Christmas card list, I just haven't sent any.
O.K. Come back tomorrow we took a trip to Portland at the beginning of December. I promise to post the highlights. Yippee.
It feels good to back, up late writing to myself on the computer.

Amelia and Nana Visit!

We had such a great time visiting and playing with Aunt Mia and Nana. We were so grateful they'd spend Christmas with us. Nana brought home some tres chic reading glasses from a shopping trip. She let Elsa and Ansel try them out. Amelia we didn't get any pictures of you! If you have any or Nana has any picture from this trip please send me some.

Snow People

Snow isn't a big novelty out here in Chicago. However, snow packing snowball/snowman making snow is! Fortunately Greg is still on Christmas vacation and got to go out and help the kids build these giant snowmen! Ansel watched mostly from the upstairs window, but was able to join them for a little while.

Henry the Rocker!

I swear we've never let him watch MTV, yet he plays the part of rock star quite proficiently. I'm sure he doesn't even know what the word rock star means. Henry has definitely got groove.

Hair Cut

Like good Solomon, I have found strength in growing my hair long. Let me explain: Having a baby is a glorious thing and takes a lot of time. Many of you have heard me tell how after two I thought I'd sacrificed all my time and energy so three would just have to be more of the same. Wrong. There was still my hygiene to give. Growing my hair made it easy to just put it up and go.
Ansel is now 14 months old and I'm ready to reclaim my hygiene.
I'm sure all those around me will be glad.
Greg made me take before and after pictures. The new cut isn't anything new-I've had this style a gajillion times!


I made these small because they are of me and I look like Allyson Janey from the West Wing-which really doesn't make me happy. Who cares anyway it is just hair.

The Mania Continues

Every day is something new for a mother. That sounds so trite-I'm pontificating about things obvious to those who have experienced it and probably annoying again to those who haven't. Anyway, this morning I was down stairs reading with Henry and Greg was in the shower and Ansel was standing in the toilet and Elsa was apparantly taking care of him. She managed to lift him out both of them pretty wet from the event. I'm pretty bummed I didn't get up there quickly enough to see him standing there, but very grateful he was just wet.
His toilet passion is annoying and almost as exciting to him as the garbage cans. We've managed to "successfully" keep them out of his reach for about a week. rah rah rah. So after the climbing in incident I thought I better buy those toilet locks. When I was out running errands I spaced it. I remembered right after Elsa, Ansel and I had just finished a little tea party in her room. I walked away to go get something-maybe a drink for Ansel-I can't really remember. When I heard splashing I knew I was in trouble. Ansel decided he was going to get his own drink. Remember, I said he was independent? The toilet bowl was of course where he was filling up that tea cup. Even worse the last child to go didn't flush. How disgusting. He was as thrilled as could be and looked refreshed.

Not walking. . . but climbing.

In true Christensen fashion, we've got another climber! To our surprise Ansel hasn't started walking yet (Henry and Elsa were both walking before their first birthday). He is well on his way and accepting no help from anyone. If you even suggest you help him, he just sits down. Does that say anything about his personality?





The other day I left the bathroom to get Henry and Elsa in the tub. When I returned I found Ansel in the tub with his pajamas on, he had scaled the tub! Yikes.

Ansel is 1!

I can't believe it. An entire year has already past. We sure do love our little guy. It usually takes a while to acquire some nick names. Ansel has a few:

1. The Champ (Daddy)
   
2. Bugaboo (Mommy)
   
3. Baby Cakes (Mommy)
   
4. Baby Goo (Michelle)
   
5. Chubbers (Grandpa)
6. Sweet Cheeks (Mommy)

He had a great birthday. We gave him lots of kisses and sang many anthems.

Ballerina Girl

Elsa loves loves loves ballet. I'm not quite sure why. I always thought it was kind of boring. Maybe it is because it is her first dance experience. Whatever. She loves it. I've noticed she is always the first one ready to get to class when their teacher, Miss Ashley, comes to gather the chicks.

Henry, Ansel and I got to watch their class yesterday. Elsa enjoyed showing off her passion for ballet. We were impressed.

The Dangerous House

Typically our children haven't seemed very accident prone. We don't go through band-aids very quickly and just don't see much first-aid action. . . until last weekend. Friday afternoon Ansel cut his pinky on a can that fell out of the recycling bin. It doesn't look too terrible, but it took a good ten minutes to stop the bleeding. We ended up taking him to the Dr. on Saturday because it just kept reopening and bleeding. It's pretty difficult to keep a band-aid on a little one. It was a good move. The Dr. glued it shut and diagnosed him with bronchitis. I love those two for one visits! Sunday Elsa fell off the chair and pulled a huge iron bowl on top of her. Yikes! Warning this picture looks like we're taking the picture in a fun house mirror, but we didn't. She is however, obviously still terrorized from the fall.

Elsa's Many Faces

"Elsa, what should I say about this picture?"
"NOTHING!"

Nana visits!

Nana came to visit a couple of weekends ago! Thanks for coming Nana. We got to spend a night in Chicago (everyone) while she was here. It was a lot of fun. The art museum in particular was a surprising delight. They have recently become quite family friendly. We were escorted into the museum by "Arty the Lion." I guess not very many families have heard of the change so when they saw us--they were very excited. We ended up staying over an hour longer than we had planned, because the kids were having such a nice time.


The fun house photo is taken in "the bean" or really "the cloud gate." That is a newer sculpture at Millenium Park that has become quite a tourist spot.


Henry's zen pose is a tribute to Aunt Milla who spends many a waking hour like that. Great souls think alike!

new house

Our house got a bit of an update. . . new roof and siding. Improvement? We hope so. Everyone thought black shutters would be awful. I think they're alright.

Apple Picking

A couple of weekends ago we took a great Saturday drive to Michigan for apple and peach picking. Henry and Elsa had a wonderful time picking and eating the fruit.

Henry doing a silly pose with his produce . . . or so we originally thought!


In addition to peaches and apples we also picked up some fresh corn. Henry and Elsa husked it when we got home. Here's Elsa with her corn umbrella.


Ansel just thinks glass is so great! I just think Ansel is great!


Side note: The t-shirts? Well they are courtesy of some editing house that Greg hasn't worked, but graciously sent his way. Thanks. They're a huge hit with the kids. I'd comment more, but my taste has already been put to question on this blog!

Our Daughter, Ansel

This is Greg, guest-posting with a cautionary tale. With Suzy's permission, of course.

Sometimes Suzy and I have different opinions on what is gender-appropriate clothing for our children to wear. Exhibit A:



This is Ansel. Despite his attire, he is our son. A male child. Suzy thinks this outfit is appropriate. Maybe you agree. But I doubt your husbands will. And I guarantee, by the time he's in junior high, neither will Ansel.

A week ago, this is what Ansel wore to church. Because Suzy conducts the music in children's primary, I took Ansel to priesthood meeting with me. There was one other infant in the group. Ansel sat calmly on my lap, while the other boy played restlessly and noisily on the floor.

As we loaded our car in the church parking lot that afternoon, one of the older men who sat next to me made the comment, "What a quite baby! Not like that other one!"

I smiled appreciatively. Then he added, "Well, I guess girls are different than boys."

I rest my case.

Art

Apparantly Henry loves school, because he remembers which days he has which classes: P.E. on Tuesday, music on Wednesday, library on Thursday and art on Friday. He was really looking forward to art Friday morning and we discussed what he might be doing all the way to school. When I picked him up he was still very enthusiastic about his art class experience. I was also thrilled and amazed when I saw his first art project. The crease in the paper was unintentional-an accident from the folder it was placed in.

Kindergarten!

Henry started Kindergarten this week. He goes in the morning from 9:00 AM until 11:50 AM, and his teacher's name is Ms. Louis. The first week went off without a hitch. He brought home homework 2X! Rumor is that Ms. Louis is very disciplined. Great! I haven't met a child that doesn't like her. She had the children set goals for the year. Henry's goal is: "I will work." Sounds great. He has made the schedule adjustment really well and gets himself, his bag, and water bottle (the grade schools aren't air-conditioned) ready every morning. So what did he think about school? "It's really really boring." He hasn't gotten use to sitting in a chair yet, but he really has enjoyed it.

Home again, home again!

So we've been home for a month. It has taken us that long to recover! I was happy to return to live flowers. We've had a lot of rain in Chicago this summer. The grass is green and the flowers alive, which is terrific, because I have no time to water. This was Ansel out enjoying the grass before suspecting that he's allergic. Yikes!

Elsa loves to help in the garden. I love to ask her to go pick some basil and see if there are any ripe tomatoes for our dinner. We love the summer.

Henry had a couple more baseball games left when we got home. He really enjoyed his first season. It was a great experience. We also had a lot of fun riding our bikes to the park for the practices and games.

The List

As I'm putting this together, I realize that I just am not that good a taking pictures. I have very few pictures to document this trip. On our drive out we made a list of some of the things we wanted to do while visiting Salt Lake.
1. Visit the Alpine slide in Park City:


2. Ride horses:
Funny story--Henry panicked when we got home and Paul was outside riding horses. All of his jeans were in the washer. A cowboy has to ride a horse with jeans on. Fortunately it was really hot outside; Henry had mustered up the courage (the most positive way of looking at the situation) and came outside with totally wet jeans on. He met up with Paul and said, "It's a good thing I have wet jeans on to keep me and the horse cool."
3. Go camping with Grandpa Bob and Co.

4. Visit the castle park:

5. Drive big machinery with Uncle John:

6. Swim at Nana's every day: We did and we have no pictures! Elsa had her first experience almost drowning. It was very traumatic for her and me. She still tells everyone she sees or meets since the trip the story. It goes something like this. "I went underwater at my Nana's house and almost drowned. Kaylie my friend saved me and pulled me out (Kaylie is three too)! My mom said Kaylie is a hero." She is! Thanks Kaylie!
We had such a great time in Salt Lake. We saw all our family and friends and just had a wonderful time. Thanks to all of you who made it so special for my children. Too much time will pass before we see you all again.

Driving

Like I mentioned in the previous blog, the kids did a tremendous job entertaining themselves in the car. We told stories of "Fitz" the giant, did a lot of drawing and reading and watched a movie or two. Henry and Elsa commandeered the back with numerous treasures from the pit stops at McDonalds. Wow.
Ansel entertained himself and us by humming with his paci in his mouth backwards.

Elsa mastered the seat belt, which has earned her a permanent place in back with Henry.

The Road Trip

So we se had a most fabulous road trip. I had been apprehensive about so many hours in the car, but why? No one imploded, and I think the kids actually enjoyed some real chill time. I did. Greg did all of the driving.
The first day we drove about eleven hours to Merino, Colorado to visit my Granny and Grandpa Glenn. My parents had already planned a trip to visit-so we got a bonus-Grandma and Grandpa Mueller.
Merino was a great way to start our vacation. It was very relaxing. We spent a lot of time chatting and playing baseball with Henry.


Elsa, Me, Granny and Mom.


Grandpa and "The Chubbers"

We're back!

Summer's over! Henry will begin Kindergarten on Monday! What a change! Elsa starts pre-school sometime after Labor Day--I have to figure out when. It will be good to have some real structure again. The kids are looking forward to school and soccer. So what did we do during our time off? We took many friends to our favorite spot--the Morton Arboretum and Henry played baseball and we visited water parks and made a three-week road trip to Colorado and Utah. We had lot's of fun being together. I'm going to miss those little banshees while they're at school.


Elsa, Ansel and Henry at Great-Granny Ann's house in Colorado.

A Sunday Stroll

Last Sunday we drove to Morton Arboretum to have a picnic and experience the Cidadas. For those who are not familiar with these bugs--they bury themselves deep in the ground shortly after birth and don't come back up for seventeen years! This year is their year. They are quite ugly, make a ton of noise and completely harmless. Such an interesting phenomenon. We haven't had any around our neighborhood because it is mostly new development, but neighborhoods with old trees are abuzz.

Henry and Elsa love a good picnic. . .or at least the punch. I think that is all they ate.

I added this picture for you Kimberly. Plus--Ansel just doesn't get enough on screen time.

Henry's Birthday

Henry just celebrated his fifth birthday! Last Saturday he had a cowboy themed birthday party. He loved dressing up as a bandit and celebrating with twenty of his closest friends! Unfortunately the only pictures are on my friend's camera and Greg's video. I made him the vest and chaps and Nana sent him the fabulous cowboy hat and belt buckle. He felt cool.
On his birthday he opened presents from family and chose what he wanted to eat for the day: Krispy Kreme donuts for breakfast and salmon for dinner. He's such a good boy and good example for his brother and sister. We can't believe he's five and will go to Kindergarten in the fall!

Road Trip

It has been seven months without flight benefits. Of course we miss them. We recently took our first road trip. Or as I like to refer to it: "Fulfilling the measure of our mini-van." We had a great experience.
Our first stop was in Asheville, NC. We stayed the night and the next day we visited the Biltmore estate-which was beautiful. That afternoon we drove about three hours to Columbia, SC. Elizabeth, Greg's youngest sister was graduating from the University of South Carolina with her Masters in Social Work. Way to go Elizabeth.
After the graduation we drove another two hours to Charleston where we stayed on the Isle of Palm with Greg's Mom, Haley's family and Elizabeth and Mark. We had so much fun playing with cousins, swimming and playing on the beach. It was a great time!
Greg, Ansel and I took a little excursion to Savannah, GA one day. We love that quirky little Southern town. While there we had to visit Paula Dean's restaurant, "The Lady and Sons." Greg ordered the pulled pork sandwich. It was so good it gave him chills. Seriously. Paula's son Jamie was at the restaurant while we were there. I couldn't resist--I made him hold Ansel so I could get a picture. He was very gracious to oblige.
We took a long way home so that we could visit Travis and his family in Fairfax, VA. Elsa and Henry had a great time playing with Natalie and Calvin. Henry took quite an interest in Calvin's cars. He spent most of his time there digging in their backyard with Calvin's trucks.
Travis wanted to see a baseball game for his birthday-and luckily we got to celebrate with him. We caught a game of the Nationals vs. the Orioles. Both kids loved it. Henry has been requesting to watch baseball games on TV since we've been home. Funny enough he was assigned to be on the Orioles for his first season of T-ball. He'll probably be the only one on the team who knows who the Orioles are and has actually seen them play!
Before leaving the DC area we visited our friends the Sorensons. It was fun to see Henry get reacquainted with his "old friend," Caleb. We sure miss that family!
the next day we drove home-about thirteen hours with stops. It was a great trip, The kids were fabulous in the car. We're already looking forward to our next road trip--SLC in two weeks!