Team Gravholt

Team Gravholt has moved!

2010-02-18T23:00:00.002-06:00

Team Gravholt now lives at:
teamgravholt.com

Jasper's 3rd Birthday Party

2010-02-10T21:46:00.002-06:00

Jasper had a superhero party. All the kids got these double sided capes that we got on Etsy with Batman on one side and Superman on the other. Molly put up streamers and Leif and Lucy came with me to pick up balloons on the way to the party. Molly made this amazing blue cake with green jello kryptonite around it. The kids had a great time. We have had so much snow that we decided to forgo the superhero certification camp idea that we had and just went out to play in the snow. We filled the slide up with snow and they all took turns going down. It went over really well, until the end (which I captured perfectly in the final picture below- amazingly) where Jasper plowed face first into the snow at the bottom of the slide as Lucy is behind him- on the sled- no hands... completely oblivious. Typical Jasper- it really didn't phase him in the slightest.

Thanks to Leif, Eddie, Grady and Lucy for making Jasper's 3rd birthday such a fun time.

Jasper's 3rd Birthday

2010-02-03T22:47:00.004-06:00

In the morning, Jasper opened most of his presents.

This evening, Grandma Cindy and Grandpa Chuck came over for pizza and cake. Jasper wanted to watch Star Wars and play Wii.

Jasper's talking

2010-01-27T23:07:00.003-06:00

Jasper has put all his energy into the physical, and not so much the verbal. At this point obviously he is a little late at some of his language skills at this point. We have been trying hard for the past month or so to get him to pronounce some of the things that he typically avoids like J and G. A little boy at daycare was talking to Jasper the other day and said, "Jasper, you sound so different!" Jasper responded with, "Me no muh mo memuh!" Translation: "I don't sound so different!" Sadly the boy understood, Miki understood, we would understand and Lucy too. Thus is the crux of the problem.

Matching boys 2

2010-01-27T22:32:00.004-06:00

Molly thought that as long as they will allow it- why not match the boys, so here we go again:

Lucy the SEW-er

2010-01-26T21:11:00.005-06:00

Lucy's new sweater has a pocket in the front. Something happened to it at school yesterday because it was ripped off on one whole side. She knows how to sew, because it is one of the many activities as her school. So on the day that the pocket ripped, she apparently-unprovoked- found a needle and yarn and sewed the pocket back on with yellow yarn. When she got in the car she told Molly that while she had fixed it, it was really ripped and needed to be fixed more. I just can't believe how confident and self-reliant she is.

Go Vikes!

2010-01-24T17:52:00.003-06:00

The cradle was rocked.

2010-01-24T16:33:00.002-06:00

We gave Rock the Cradle (the kids rock festival at the MIA) another chance this year. While it was fun and nice to get out, the kids grew pretty sick of it pretty fast. We met Jon and the girls there too. The kids weren't really into dancing by themselves this year... and with Oliver strapped on my back napping- I didn't really bust-a-move a ton either. The kids ground their own Peace Coffee, got tattoos, danced... the instrument petting zoo had really long lines again. Last year the only thing that Lucy wanted to try was the drums, and now, since we have Rock Band, that wasn't quite so imperative. So while it was something to do, it might not be on our list next year.

This served as our Friday Family Fun Night because Lucy had her first sleepover birthday party at Leah's house. Apparently Lucy and Yaya talked on the phone for an hour about the sleepover, so it must have been pretty awesome. We weren't sure if Lucy was going to make it, since she got sick Tuesday night... but she was fine by Wednesday and back to school on Thursday, so luckily she made it!

Jasper says his and our names

2010-01-20T22:13:00.000-06:00

On the toilet (where else), Jasper is coaxed into actually pronouncing our names... including his own- which has bested him until now. He has made a lot of improvement over the past month because we have been trying not to respond until he takes the time to pronounce things. He is getting there...

Choo Choo Bob's n' stuff

2010-01-15T16:18:00.002-06:00

Friday Family Fun Night was all about Choo Choo Bob's. The kids played with the trains and had a good time. Apparently there is a train called Molly. It is yellow and part of the Thomas the Tank Engine gang. Who knew? If you can refrain from buying anything it was a really fun free evening. The do birthday parties there, so Jasper might be having one there some day.

Jasper has been really into superheros lately- and since his b-day is a little over a week away, I think we have that covered. Molly found this lady on Etsy who does superhero capes. She got one for each of the boys coming over (Leif, Eddie and Grady) and Lucy got one two, but it pink and purple. They are reversible- batman on one side and superman on the other. I will post pictures later of them at the part.

Our plan was to go to Groveland Tap afterward for dinner, but it turns out it is a bar (the reason why I wanted to go... lots of great beer selection). Since neither of us had actually been there before we didn't know it would be packed... with bar folks, so not a family dinner place. Anywho, we decided to drive and see what we found. We went past Snuffy's and decided to do it. We had good 50's junk food and paid the price later. I am not sure it was worth it, but now we can cross that place off the list! Done and done.

Lucy's story "A Girl and a Dog"

2010-01-11T22:05:00.000-06:00

Lucy has been working on her scissor skills as school... as well as writing. The is quite possibly the shortest, but most awesome story yet. The first page is the front cover with her name: Lucy GrAfoLD. The second is "girL AnD A Dog" and done... "The End". I really like the showgirl that he picked out. Typically we get a lot of men cut out with the word "Bear Grils" written underneath, because she has a little crush on him. Both Lucy and Jasper go through spurts of wanting to watch Man Vs. Wild. I guess it is better than having a crush on a Jonas brother...

Matching boys

2010-01-10T22:04:00.000-06:00

The boys got matching superhero t-shirts for X-mas from Lucy.

Friday Family Fun Night

2010-01-08T21:52:00.000-06:00

2010 is the start of the Gravholt's Friday Family Fun Night. This is a chance for us to do something as a family, preferably out in the city and free. For the first one, we went to Dinner with the Dinosaurs at the Children's Museum. We met Kaia, Brenda and Scott there as well. The kids had pizza and then ran through several of the exhibits including, obviously, the special Dinosaur exhibit. They had tons of fun.

Dinner with the Dinosaurs

Swimming lessons

2010-01-06T21:40:00.000-06:00

Lucy and Jasper got swimming lessons from us for Christmas. They started this week at Foss. It had been a couple months off for Lucy and quite a while for Jasper, who took a class over a year ago. Jasper got some new goggles which he modeled for us.

Lucy thinks her teacher is really funny. "He is sooooo funny Daddy. I gave him a high five and it knocked him back into the water!"

Jasper just says that we splashes and sticks his face in the water... that is about all I can get out of him.

Good times. Foss is really close to Chuck's, so he is typically there to manage Oliver while Molly herds two of them through the shower and into pjs for the ride home. I make dinner so that they can eat and hit bed right away. Molly and I remember well- there isn't much that makes you more tired and hungry that swimming lessons. Of course, we used to have 6 lessons back to back... still. They are wiped. Thankfully it is only one day a week.

Xmas and New Years Eve recap

2010-01-05T21:26:00.003-06:00

We spent Christmas Eve through early the next week at home due to a huge blizzard. We were able to dig out in time to meet Megan and Ben up and the lake cabin, but not before the Gravholts headed down to AZ. This Christmas was all about the Wii. We have dozens of games- including Rock Band and Beatles Rock Band along with guitar, drums and mic. We spent quite a bit of time playing this over the holiday. For being dead set that we would never own a video game device to our current setup... well... never say never, I guess.

The kids- and the rest of us- spent a ton of time sledding. The hill next to Mattern's goes all the way from the top of the bluff down to the lake, so we fashioned a luge so that we didn't hit docks or trees. So we could go all the way from the top, over the hump at the shore and down onto the frozen lake. Several of us has bruised tailbones to prove it. Lucy and Jasper got new sleds from Santa, so they were all set to go. Lucy tended to go down laughing and just resting on top of the sled- no hands- most of the time. The big kids (us) were really into it too. Molly and I, Megan and Ben, YaYa did a lot of sledding during the week. Abby and JoJo joined us for New Years, so we went out (all of us sans the little ones) at midnight to sled. It was a lot of fun. Ben had the idea to write out 2010 in the snow on the lake, so we did that. You could see it pretty well from the porch, so pictures are included in another post.

Megan fashioned a very elaborate treasure hunt for Abby, Lucy and Jasper with clues that sent them all around the house to find their prizes. I bet it took Megan the majority of a day to prep for it- if not longer. New Years Eve we also played lots of games... including one where Abby's foot was smashed into a egg and another where Ben had to change clothes the half the people there at one point in time... priceless.

Xmas and New Years Eve photos

2010-01-04T08:55:00.001-06:00

Xmas and New Years Eve 2009

Sunday party prep with fam

2009-12-20T21:41:00.005-06:00

Megan and Ben flew in last night late and then Yaya and Papa, JoJo and Abby (and Dora) came down to attend and help out with Lucy's B-day party. We couldn't have done it without them. Here are some photos from our day before the party- Lucy's presents- two outfits and a new piggybank that several of us were obliged to make donations to... also, she asked her friends to bring hats and mittens for St. Joseph Home for Children, so she got quite a haul for that cause.

Lucy's 6th B-day Party at Edenborough Park

2009-12-20T21:03:00.004-06:00

Lucy had a great time at birthday at Edenborough Park this afternoon. Here are some pictures.

Lucy's 6th B-day Party

KId's night

2009-12-19T21:23:00.000-06:00

We had lots of kids here tonight. Eddie and Grady from next door and then Olive and Luda too... so 7 kids under our roof for the evening. Yeowsa. Fun, but exhausting. The older kids played Wii, Olive and Grady serenaded us with piano music, Luda helped Molly cut radicchio for a salad and then bake cookie. Jasper followed the big boys around and played sword fighting... pretty typical. Fun all around.

Kid's night

Oliver "DaDa"

2009-12-18T22:33:00.000-06:00

Lucy Birthday recap

2009-12-17T22:31:00.003-06:00

Molly went to Lucy's school today with Oliver and Jasper and made Glarch (glue, starch and food coloring). Molly said the whole experience was very "dear"... Sinead asked the kids about the form of matter that went into the mixture (liquid) and the final form (solid). Then they started talking about adjectives that would describe the substance (squishy, slimy, gooey). Apparently the kids are really into dissecting sentences lately- finding nouns, verbs and adjectives, so they did a lot of that during the experiments.

Molly bought some "off brand" glue... and it didn't really seem to work. The kids, who were really into it- sort of lost interest at that point(round one), but fortunately Sinead had lots of Elmer's glue on hand. Round two with the "good" glue went off with a bang and the kids really got into it and had a good time.

Lucy specifically asked for dinner at the "place with the video games" which is the Highland Park Chatterbox. Both she and Jasper were introduced to the classics (Super Mario Brothers).

Lucy got a new coat and snow pants from Gramma and Grampa and Grandpa Chuck- shown below. Gotta love Hannah Anderson- this coat and snow pants will probably last like her old pair- FOREVER- AND you can see her from space.

Lucy is 6 years OLD!

2009-12-17T08:29:00.002-06:00

This is what a six year old Lucy looks like- in her new outfit from her brothers- which she opened this morning. She also opened books from Elissa and Tim- Black Beauty and The Secret Garden. "I'm so excited to read another big book with no pictures! AFTER Little House on the Prairie I want to read Black Beauty, cuz I love horses!"

Lucy's winter dance recital

2009-12-16T22:11:00.005-06:00

Lucy and her BFF Kaia.

typical Tuesday

2009-12-15T22:27:00.003-06:00

Lucy made a "laptop" in school yesterday. She wrote out all the letters and numbers... and attached a mouse too. She informed me that while I have an Apple, she has a Diamond (as you can see- there is a diamond on the front. It is pretty fancy.

We have been doing some main room shifting around. We have always thought that the buffet in the dining room was terrible waste of space, so we moved the piano into the dining room nook, the leather chair in the piano's old place and we bought nesting side tables (Pottery Barn- iron and glass) and a much smaller buffet/cabinet/whatever for the dining room (Crate and Barrel- reddish lacquer) which is tucked on the bedroom side of the dining room.

We also picked out a new painting from Barbara Rogers (the woman that I worked for as her artist's assistant and teaching assistant while I was in Tucson). I redesigned her website a while back (over a year now) and we are getting another painting. This is what we picked out. It is going to be shipped after the first of the year.

Improvisation #4
2008, oil and encaustic on canvas, 36 x 48 inches
Barbara Rogers Studio

Xmas pageant

2009-12-13T21:43:00.004-06:00

Mayflower's children's service was this morning. Lucy picked an angel for her costume. I spend an hour yesterday making two broken wings into "functional" angel wings. She wore her dressup wedding dress and her new white Xmas sweater, the wings and a halo that I made from some wired garland... so, simply angelic. She also sang with the Cherub Choir this morning. This evening was the "Acoustic Christmas" concert where she sang several songs (the big show). We had a late night at Molly and Kevin's party last night, so all the kids were pretty wiped after Grandpa put them to bed when THEY asked to go to bed... because of this- we decided to take off early - a little after Lucy's portion was done... and headed home to get some much needed catchup sleep.

pictures of the boys

2009-12-12T21:37:00.000-06:00

Oliver really needed another haircut, so we took him in (and Jasper and I also got cuts) so that we are all freshly shorn. I specifically asked for Oliver to get a big boy haircut so he really looks older now- with all the teeth and the close cropped hair.

X-mas tree

2009-12-08T21:28:00.002-06:00

We did some thinking about what we should do regarding a tree and decided to get an artificial tinsel tree. Lucy decided that she would make all the decorations... so she made lots of hand tracings, little reindeer and snowmen that she drew and "snow flags" which is what she calls the snow flakes- even after we have told her that they are flakes probably 100 times.

Jasper's packin' heat

2009-12-05T21:17:00.003-06:00

Jasper decided to "regulate" so he rode up on his horse and with his sword and a gun stuffed in his pants. It wasn't the quickest form of vengeance, since he had to completely drop his drawers to get his gun out.

Yonkers Farm

2009-11-26T21:14:00.002-06:00

We went up to Yaya and Papa's for Thanksgiving. We made a daytrip to Fargo to visit Yonker's Farm.

Lucy's letter to Santa

2009-11-19T21:10:00.002-06:00

Lucy decided that she wanted a new camera (since her Dora camera is broken). She wrote him a letter on her etch-a-sketch. She sounded this out herself.

Lucy's love of maps

2009-11-19T21:05:00.002-06:00

Lucy has recently moved on to the US map with her map obsession. Last year it was Australia, this year she has done South America dozens of times... this US map is probably the coolest map yet! She made it from cut and pasted construction paper.

Trip to Yankton

2009-11-14T21:02:00.001-06:00

Yankton Visit

a day at Seal Beach

2009-11-02T12:52:00.004-06:00

Seal Beach

We went out for a great seafood lunch (at Crab Pot by the Seal Beach marina) and had a huge amount of crab, mussels, clams and shrimp- and bloody mary. Then we spent the afternoon on Seal Beach. Jasper spent quite a bit of time getting hit by the waves- which he was "fighting" with. Then we was content doing some sort of commando move rolling down the sand dunes. By the end of the afternoon he had sand in every crevice. Lucy spent the time collecting shells and making an elaborate castle. When Oliver wasn't smiling and cooing, he was sleeping. Seriously, he is the most chill baby ever. When we had had enough sea water- we walked up and down the pier. There is an 50s restaurant at the end of the pier, so we had shakes. There were tons of seals surfacing, playing and breaching, so we spent quite a while watching them. Around suppertime we headed back to Las Vegas.

Halloween is Disneyland 2009 Videos and Recap

2009-11-01T10:00:00.004-06:00

We started out the morning at about 8:30. We went right in and down mainstreet, then both kids hit these rides- flying Dumbo, Snow White's castle, Mad Tea Party teacups, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Lucy got a little scared, but Jasper was bent on driving his Momma out of the scary situation(s)! Thank goodness for Megan and Ben, because we just wouldn't have been able to all the rides with the kids- so we sort of rotated through staying with the baby. We then went all the way down to Toontown and ran around. We then popped over to stand for pictures with the princesses. Lucy was super sweet and the princesses were amazing with Lucy. She got photos with Aurora, Snow and Cinderella. Lucy had to stand in line for a little over an hour, so she was pretty surly by the end. Really this was the only rough patch. She got her face painted at this point too. On the way back it was time for a parade, so we hung out and watched that. The kids went out in the street and did the twist and a conga line. They were truly impressed by the people on stilts and all the dancers and characters running around. That was certainly a high point.

We hit the road for New Orleans Square for Pirates of the Caribbean. By this time Jasper was out (he was asleep for a good 3.5 hours). Pretty sure at this point we decided to head over to California Adventures (via a corn dog stand- the best ever). The corndog really really revived Lucy- as it did the rest of us. California adventures closed early for Trick or Treating, so we were there for only maybe 1.5 hours. Lucy consented to go on the Tower of Terror... it was pretty scary for her. We walked around a ton and eventually Jasper woke up. The kids went on the Monsters Inc. ride, then we walked out to the pier to scope things out, but it was about 6 by this time, so time to leave.

We went back over to Disneyland, got fast pass tickets for Indian Jones and then went over to Tomorrowland. Lucy went on the Star Wars ride while Jasper went on the rocket ships. Back to Indiana Jones- which Lucy said was SUPER scary- even scarier than the Tower of Terror? We were pretty hungry (nothing but a churro during the parade, a couple apples, grapes and a corndog) so we sat down at Rancho del Zocalo for supper, then over to the fireworks at 9:30. Lucy had finally fallen asleep briefly at about 8:30, so when she woke up right before fireworks started she told us she really had to pee. Megan sprinted with her to the bathroom and so they really only missed about the first 1/3 or maybe 1/2. Lesson learned.

We had grand plans mid day to come back for a second day, but because we were able to have fairly content kids for the whole day and were able to cover a ton we decided to stop on the way out and have the kids pick out some toys and call it a day. Lucy got a doll that sort of flips upside down and one way is Briar Rose and the other way is Sleeping Beauty- and a pick jewel Micky keychain. Jasper got a Buzz Lightyear ray gun and a Toy Story alien keychain. We also stopped to get the kids their (First Time Visitors) buttons.

Halloween is Disneyland 2009

2009-11-01T01:00:00.001-06:00

Halloween Disneyland 2009

a little catchup

2009-10-29T14:14:00.002-06:00

Well, I realized that it has been several weeks since I have posted anything. Work has just been super crazy, so now that we are on vacation- I thought I could catch up a bit.

Jasper has been slowly potty training, so above is a picture of him in his underwear- that he decided to wear backwards and do some posing for Molly.

Oliver has been started on solid food and recently got his fifth tooth.

Jasper shaving

2009-10-16T15:12:00.001-06:00

teeth

2009-09-13T20:57:00.003-06:00

Oliver has his fourth tooth that has broken through- so now he has four teeth.

Lucy lost her first tooth last night. It has been quite an ordeal and her front bottom teeth have already come in behind the baby teeth... so the tooth fairy brought Lucy her first Barbie (a dolphin trainer with scuba gear and two dophins).

Lucy's 1st Day of Kindergarden

2009-09-08T12:20:00.002-06:00

In front of the school...

farmers market and Midtown Global Market

2009-09-06T21:13:00.003-06:00

Saturday morning we tried a new farmers market and then lunch at Midtown Global Market (we had the best falafel in the universe at Holy Land Deli) and the kids got a Viking helmet.

E & T's Visit

2009-09-03T20:17:00.001-06:00

Keeler Visit 9/1/09 2:58 PM

& E & T's gallery

the kids

2009-08-29T21:40:00.001-06:00

Lucy got here school haircut.

farmers market

2009-08-22T21:56:00.003-06:00

Household catchup

2009-08-17T22:24:00.003-06:00

It has been awhile, so here are some good stories from the kids.

Lucy has made up a game called "Smell the Water" where she places bowls of water around the house- sometimes with items of plastic food in them, but not always... the goal is to find the water. Molly was told today that it is a game for "company", but if she wanted to play she could.

Jasper has moved to pull ups. He is sort of ready to start training... it has been trained for #2 for a while, but #1- not so much. He has a hand symbol for poop which is his hand out flat, but his index finger crooked... the index finger is the poop coming out... he usually points to it with the other hand and says, "poop!" Yup... awesome.

Oliver has his two bottom teeth- has had them for a while, but has been teething- so- like the other kids- the top two are apparently soon on their way out. He started his full day at Miki's house on Thursdays two weeks ago- which means that I have been able to give him several bottles, which is nice. He is a good eater.

The kitchen got painted last weekend. We must have tried 12 different paint samples before we narrowed it down to a light terra cotta color called "honeymoon." I painted the trim this past weekend and stripped the door, so hopefully that will get hung this weekend and the cats will be able to sleep downstairs again.

The two new APMS gerbils have been staying with us for a couple weeks. Lucy has named them Ping Ping and Texas. I hope the names stick. Jasper decided that they should be named Texas and Ping Ping (yes, the same, but assigned to the "other" gerbil...).

Lucy played with her neighbor Ty today. They were playing tag... and Ty was saying that the yellow swing was base "so you can't tag me if I am touching base"... and then on to say that everything that was yellow was off limits. Lucy had on yellow shorts, so she was explaining to him that he can't tag her on her yellow shorts... and that she had on pink shorts, but they got dirty and her mom said she had to change... all the time Ty looking at her, like... what? and then he seized the opportunity of Lucy's monologue to tag her and run. Another perfect example of Lucy living in her own world. Hilarious.

Jasper has been wearing his construction goggles and rain boots everywhere. We like to let the kids wear what they want... but it really seems to push the limit... He called them his swimming goggles. "hWIM!" then he puffs up his cheeks, closes his eyes and paddles his arms. Some other excellent Jasper-isms: "Lawnsh" and "Orawnsh" (quite French in pronunciation... for Lunch and Orange). Of course there is "WEEs, Mamma" (usually schooling Lucy to say, "Please, Momma.")

pictures from Megan

2009-08-17T22:22:00.001-06:00

Megan shared a few pictures of the kids from the past month. Gems.

More kiddee pool

2009-08-12T20:38:00.002-06:00

Jasper, Lucy, and her friends Kaia and Celeste.

Insights from the basement

2009-08-10T20:27:00.000-06:00

This weekend was really super hot. The warm front caused the sirens to go off on Saturday night that had me and kids in the basement. My best attempts to keep the kids calm worked pretty well. Even still, Lucy was really upset at one point because she didn't want "all the stuff in my room to burn up". "Why would it all burn up?" "BECAUSE of the LAVA!" So, first it had to be: "if something bad happens the stuff in your room... it is just stuff and we will have each other"... and then, the biggee, "it is a TORNADO warning, not VOLCANO warning."

Swimming at the kiddie pool

2009-08-06T18:31:00.002-06:00

Weekend at the lake

2009-07-25T23:05:00.002-06:00

Lakes Weekend Album

We had out last weekend with Megan and Ben up in MN, so we spent it at the lakes playing. Lots of jetskiing, tubing, dominos...

Stacy and Eric's birthday party

2009-07-18T23:04:00.002-06:00

Stacy and Eric's Birthday Party Album

This album doesn't seem to have much else other than the trampoline... which fits, since that seemed top be all we did... lots of jumping, eating, drinking. Duluth was nice to see again. Megan and Ben and our family went to Fitger's. Great beers.

Oliver's baptism weekend

2009-07-11T23:02:00.002-06:00

Oliver's Baptism Weekend

Saturday we went swimming at the Gravholt's hotel, then a quick trip the MOA. That evening we had a family and neighborhood BBQ. Sunday was the baptism at Mayflower Church. Sarah talked about being compassionate as well as courageous when standing up for what we believe in. It really hit home and was truly inspirational. We truly love it there. Then brunch... and then home.

lakes vacation

2009-07-08T10:07:00.003-06:00

Jasper has spent a lot of time "fishing" off of the dock.
Ben found Lucy a shell.
She loves it.
Lucy has been swimming a ton. She is quite a fish.
In the afternoon several days this week, Lucy pulls a tired Jasper on his "boat" while she collects rocks.

Pontoon ride: captains in training.

Connie's 80th B-day/4th of July

2009-07-08T10:00:00.003-06:00

Weekend at the lakes! We celebrated Connie's 80th with a big family picnic and played "Grandma Bingo".

Connie's 80th/4th of July

Lucy bakes cookies

2009-06-24T17:37:00.004-06:00

Lucy has been wanting to bake, so today Molly and Lucy make Chocolate Raspberry cookies.

She even did the dishes.

Fun? day at home

2009-06-24T17:33:00.003-06:00

Lucy is coaching Jasper through a big poop... yeah... then got bored, so decided to entertain him instead. The next time we will see this picture is Lucy's graduation, then wedding day... actually, I am thinking this might have a long history :)

Front of the house

2009-06-24T17:28:00.003-06:00

This is Lucy and Jasper playing mama bird-baby bird.

We have a robin that has built a nest in the dwarf lilac tree in front of our house. There are a couple little chicks... Molly is completely obsessed. It is pretty cool, since they are right at eye level. The window boxes are also going crazy as well- really lush.

Oliver and Yaya

2009-06-23T17:17:00.000-06:00

Yaya got lots of quality time with Oliver this weekend.

Lucy's Dance Recital

2009-06-22T17:10:00.001-06:00

Lucy had her first real dance recital today (Saturday night). Joyce came down on Thursday night and the girls went to the Friday performance (which didn't feature Lucy). The boys stayed home. Lucy was enthralled. She really realized, I think, what is in store for her in the coming years... and she liked it! Saturday night was her night. She performed tap routine to "Teddy Bear's Picnic" in the first five minutes and then 3 hours later was in the finale (doing the "hippy hippy flip"). She had tons to do backstage, so wasn't bored at all, but still. I have to say that this was really entertaining. The pace went really quick and there was a lot of familiar music. The quality of dancing was also really impressive. Lucy was completely decked out in a big red dress. Video will come later... for now we only have photos.

Yard Sale

2009-06-21T17:19:00.000-06:00

Thursday, Friday and then Saturday until noon we did a garage sale. Sunday we spent out proceeds on teak patio furniture from Kingsley Bate. We also ordered cushions. Chairs and coffee table will arrive first, then cushions... then the bench. SO, by mid- July we might have everything. I am sure at that point it will make all the work to have the sale worth it... if having a uncluttered house wasn't enough.

Sunday in the backyard

2009-06-16T21:54:00.004-06:00

We had already cleaned out the upstairs side room and bookshelves., then this weekend we spent Saturday cleaning out the basement and the kids rooms- all of this for our garage sale. SO, Sunday was all play. We uncovered Lucy's tropical dresses from YaYa and PaPa, so she wore her hibiscus dress. Lucy also got a lot of costume jewelry for dress up that we found in the basement, so Jasper wanted something... we found an old necklace for him in one of the many, many mounds of old junk (in a serious pile of keychains, jewelry, and assorted crap) so he spent the day channeling his inner Billy Idol. The good news is that the basement is even more empty that after our last garage sale, since we cracked into boxes that we ignored last time. As of now, there are only a few boxes of grad school things and all my slides that I just am ignoring- since it isn't sellable. It still needs to be cleaned and organized, but the sheer quantity of stuff that was just sitting there collecting dust was mind-boggling. The garage is about 1/2 maybe 2/3 full... somehow... and it isn't complete crap, like our last garage sale. We are Craig's List-ing what we can this week. Regardless, we will be glad when it is over to have a nice (well, nicer and a little less scary) basement again.

Then, sprinkler and POOL. Lucy got a hold of Molly's old lifeguard whistle (her beloved Fox 40 Classic), so Lucy played "the lifeguard" for most of the day.

Oliver also got a chance to wear his swim duds for the first time this summer, though it was a little too cold for him in the water- even though it was over 80 here.

Children's Museum with Grandpa Chuck

2009-06-14T17:03:00.002-06:00

Apparently they got locked in their lockers after they painted their faces like new wave punks... sounds about right.

Jasper's JuJu Impression

2009-06-09T18:10:00.001-06:00

Well, I have described it, but this is worth 1000 words:

Jasper Haircut

2009-06-09T18:08:00.002-06:00

Jasper went to Sports Cuts in Bloomington at the Southtown Shopping Mall.

Oliver awake.

2009-06-08T18:05:00.000-06:00

Bubbles

2009-06-04T21:46:00.002-06:00

Lucy's haircut

2009-06-04T21:44:00.001-06:00

Videos

2009-06-02T22:16:00.002-06:00

no...words...

2009-06-02T21:05:00.001-06:00

Kitchen update

2009-06-02T20:57:00.003-06:00

Half of the kitchen is about 95% done. The other half is about 70% done. A couple more weekends and I think I will have it!

Here is the almost done- sink side or northwest side. All it needs now paint above the cabinets and ceiling and wall tile grouted and sealed on the southeast side... tile in the back entryway and stairs... and I think that is about it...

Oliver is smiling

2009-06-02T20:53:00.002-06:00

Oliver started smiling and cooing at us when we talk to him. It is pretty sweet.

His hair has a definite red tint in the sunlight especially and several people have called him a red head without being prompted or knowing Lucy... so I think he will always be a little red at this point. His eyes have lightened a bit, but I think they are going to be much darker that Lucy and Jasper (who have the exact same blue eyes).

For the love of bear-tigers

2009-06-01T21:35:00.005-06:00

Lucy watched Flicka this afternoon while Jasper napped and Molly cooked. At one point shy told Molly, "Mommy, I'm gunna cry soon." Molly: "Is there something sad coming up?" Lucy: "I'm gonna cry soon, cuz Flicka is gunna die soon. She's gunna get bitten in the neck by a bear-tiger." A bear-tiger is apparently Lucy's term for a mountain lion.

We were all outside today watering and playing in the backyard. Jasper was "making nice" with JuJu who was hiding in the bushes. Lucy went up and tried to pet her- a little too fast and JuJu took a swing at her. Lucy backed away but Jasper went right up to JuJu and he gives her a big thumbs up (a very common occurrence) and then does his cat sound, which isn't "meow" but rather something that sounds like he is clearing his throat- or hacking something up- like a cat hiss.

Karate play date

2009-06-01T11:14:00.005-06:00

Some of Lucy's friends came over for a rotating play date. Lucy asked Molly to move the table and chairs out of the dining room so that Kaia, Jasper, Lucy, Leah, and Ethan could do... yoga and karate, of course. Heaven help us. Lucy is quite the boss-sue, so she somehow fell into some sort of instructor role. This is the "karate tree pose" she would instruct and then does the tree pose in yoga... then all the kids asked her what kind of tree they should be?... why? who knows... so she is responded with, "you can be a parrot tree, you can be a puppy tree, etc..." Not sure where that comes from. She did watch yet another karate movie yesterday. She is absolutely obsessed with karate, yoga, tai-chi... she has been for a while. Kung Fu Panda was another high point. We need to get that kid into real karate and/or yoga classes... so at least she will be a good instructor next time. :) There is a karate studio 3 blocks away that does family class- Lucy needed to be 5, so we are looking into karate for her this summer or fall. Jasper is the one who really needs karate- so that we can channel his aggression into something else (other than his tendency to deliver his judgment swiftly using foam samurai sword). eeeeeeYAAAAAA!

They played outside and Nora, our new neighbor girl, came over as well. Jasper never leaves Lucy's side. He really idolizes her. They are in Lucy's room now eating lunch and swaying to the music of Jasper's Cars CD. When Molly stands in the doorway- they all stop swaying and just look at her. I guess it is a private dance party.

a-scusting and peets

2009-05-30T22:53:00.006-06:00

Both kids like to push limits... we wouldn't have it any other way. At least we know they will grow up to be independent thinkers... that parenting philosophy does lead to some "gems" and some really sassy talk. The latest jewel was the other day while I was playing the piano. Lucy, who has a really serious TV/movie addiction that we are trying to break was sitting, drawing, while I was playing. I told her that we needed to turn off the TV because I wanted to play for a while. She went about her drawing and I started to play... not too long after this I heard, "that's a-scusting... stop!" Assuming it was something else, not me... probably Jasper doing something that Lucy deemed "disgusting". I just kept on playing... I TRY to let them work these things out without interfering. This is something that Molly is excellent at and I am fair at, but I managed just to ignore it... for a bit. Then, I heard it again, "Stop, Dad, that's a-scusting, it hurts my ears! Let's turn on a movie." Of course, I realized at this point that it was my piano playing that she deemed "a-scusting"... because she wanted the TV on.

Other Lucisms:
A-scusting=discusting
A-tacuz=because (she doesn't do this too much anymore)
C-da-Ds=CDs
peets=breasts

I mention this last one because she has been obsessed with "peets" lately (again) which also happened when Jasper was breast feeding. She was talking about how Molly and her have the largest peets in the family- this week. Molly told her that while Lucy hasn't started growing hers yet- when she does, that chances are that they aren't going to be huge- the genes just aren't there. Then Lucy got on the ground and curled up into a little ball and said, "Can you imagine a peet this big?" Molly's response, "No. No, I can't imagine that. I won't imagine that."

New dining room table

2009-05-30T22:23:00.002-06:00

With one of the three leaves in:

We got a new table. It was a pretty awesome find on Craig's List. Molly is very diligent... it has been every night for months. Excellent condition- solid cherry. Seats 4-10 adults. It also has three leaves -so that it is 42 inches round- big enough for at least the four of us to eat normally now without the a leaf... a probably when all 5 of us will be sitting at the table as well0 until the kids get bigger anyway. It expands to 102 inch oval (with the 3 leaves- each 20 inches). It is vastly more sturdy than the pedestal tables that we have had (I think we are table 3 now). It also looks nice with the chairs and buffet, so we aren't in a rush to replace those... until the kids get bigger.

We now can officially have more than one guest over... and not have to do shifts at the table! Amazing!

Day trip to Rochester

2009-05-30T21:57:00.006-06:00

Molly has been scouring Craig's List for a new dining room table. This morning we hit the jackpot, but the table was in Rochester. We decided to make a day of it and all go together. We met the woman who sold us the table- a really nice family- and Jasper and Lucy became fast friends with their 3 kids. We have quite a bit in common, so we made plans to have another play date at the zoo in the next few weeks. We ate at Erbert's and Gerbert's downtown (a blast from the past- we haven't been there since we lived in Fargo). We got the suggestion from Knelly (the mom) to go to Soldier's Field, so we spent the afternoon there on the playground.

Oliver... 6 weeks old

2009-05-28T21:46:00.000-06:00

Camping at Lake Zumbra, Carver State Park

2009-05-24T13:47:00.001-06:00

APMS Spring camping trip was this weekend (we stayed Friday through Sunday) at Lake Zumbra in Zumbra group camping spot 3:

http://www.threeriversparkdistrict.org/parks/maps/CarverPark_ConstructionMap.pdf

We went swimming at Lake Zumbra and to the Nature Center to play on the "habitat" playground- like we did last year. Here is an album of the trip. There are lots of shots of all the kids in the "boat"- the bed of a pickup- being attacked by the "shark" (Sinead).

APMS May Camping Trip

Here is another gallery from Althea

Oliver sleeps.

2009-05-21T20:38:00.000-06:00

Spring

2009-05-17T23:02:00.005-06:00

Lots of new things to share. We got a couple new chests to replace the large antique chest that we had (which we moved back to the foot of our bed). There were sharp metal things on it and not very child safe with the big lid. The ones that we got from blessed Craig's list are practically brand new from Pottery Barn. We also got a new side table- glass and wrought iron- to replace the wobbly antique table that we had there before. Not sure where that will go.

Window boxes are planted with petunias in white, light purple and dark purple and two types of coleus.
Pretty sure that I never got any pictures up of the landscaping that went in last fall. There is lots peeking through with all the warm weather.

I also put up some lattice by the alley which we are planning on planting some wintercreeper vines.

The garden is also all planted. We were able to use our own compost too this year, for the most part- with my Mom and Dad's help- we sifted it and added a ton in. Our plans are to try and eat everything that we grow- not waste anything- like we sort of did last year because we just planted too much weird random things and a bunch that didn't really work out. We did a bunch of tomatoes (san marzano, green zebra, brandywine and yellow pear), several red cabbage, peppers, eggplant, peas, beans, romaine (plants and seeds for later), tons of basil and other herbs (parsley, cilantro, catnip, mint plus the chives and oregano that came back this year). Tons of onions and leeks too. We also planted strawberries for next year by the rhubarb and last fall we planted 3 dropmore scarlet honeysuckle by the new trellis on the garage.

Twins vs. Tigers

2009-05-17T22:50:00.002-06:00

It has been too long since we went to a game, so we decided to get tickets to a Twins versus Tigers game. It made for a great excuse to Gramma and Grampa to come and visit Oliver.

Twins caps

2009-05-17T22:47:00.002-06:00

Oliver

2009-05-11T22:48:00.000-06:00

Yeowsa, Lucy

2009-05-09T22:43:00.001-06:00

Picture day for Lucy's dance recital.

Also, we were at the MOA for a b-day party yesterday, so we all got Twins caps for the game. Lucy tried on some really excellent glasses as well.

The boys

2009-05-01T22:42:00.000-06:00

Both have a deep, deep love of their mother. Here is an Oliver sandwich.

Abby's visit

2009-04-29T22:34:00.001-06:00

During Abby's stay with us for a couple days this week, the fam visited the Children's Museum.

Banana onesie

2009-04-28T21:11:00.000-06:00

Perfect for a monkey:

Oliver gets bath. AJ visits.

2009-04-26T21:00:00.000-06:00

Oliver's belly button fell off today, so he got his first real bath. He smells super good.

This afternoon AJ came over to visit.

Post-AJ- Jasper was wiped.

More Oliver

2009-04-25T20:57:00.000-06:00

Haircuts and tattoos

2009-04-25T19:35:00.002-06:00

Lucy wanted to do some tattoos when we got home this afternoon... we went a little overboard, perhaps? It started with a firetruck from Leif's b-day, then a princess crown, dolphins in a circle, and then a huge dragon on her chest... yeowsa. She also has facepaint on both cheeks from the party, so she is fully adorned today.

Jasper also wanted to be marked as the dragon warrior that he is... so he has a huge dragon on his back and a dinosaur on his hand. He also got his hair cut today at Dick's Sports Barbers in Edina. He had to put his Twins cap back on right afterward... so I didn't get to see it until post tattoos many hours after it was cut. They really know boys cuts there, obviously. This is his best haircut yet. We also cut Oliver's hair at home a few days ago, since he was born with hair going down his neck and over his ears... we just did it ourselves.

Firefighters Hall & Museum

2009-04-25T19:21:00.004-06:00

Jasper and Lucy went to Leif's b-day party today at the Minneapolis Firefighters Hall and Museum. The pumped water through a hose, went down a fire pole, learned about fire safety (stop, drop and roll, etc.) and saw tons of firetrucks and equipment. The cherry on top was a ride in a firetruck. Lucy and Jasper both went on two rides. Jasper was thrilled the entire time. "weeeoooooowweeeeeeeooooooo (Jasper's fire siren noise and the word he uses for firetruck) FUN! FUN! weeeeeeeoooooooowweeeeeeeeeooooo FUN! FUNNNN!" Lucy also had an awesome time. A firefighter visited APMS yesterday to teach her schoolmates and her about fire safety, so she was pretty geared up and excited about the party, but anyone who knows Jasper knows that this party was made for him- absolutely right up his alley.

Here is a gallery of some shots from the party, just click on Jasper's face :)

Leif's B-day at Minneapolis Firefighters Hall & Museum

Oliver's hat

2009-04-25T19:19:00.001-06:00

Lisa knit Oliver a hat with a "G" on it. It was one of the first gifts that we got- even before he was born... he had it on in the hospital, but I didn't get a picture. It is just so fitting. We will all have to get matching Team Gravholt t-shirts.

Bedtime again

2009-04-23T22:28:00.003-06:00

Today was Oliver's first doctors appointment. He is fine, a little congested, but that is normal. He kind of sounds like a little piglet sometimes- it is adorable.

Ready for bed

2009-04-23T22:26:00.001-06:00

Jasper's pit pass

2009-04-21T22:21:00.001-06:00

Jasper got a watch from Oliver for being his big brother and Lucy got a gold heart necklace. Jasper has been so hilarious about his watch. He has his shirt sleeve, just the one, pushed up at all times to show it off and walks around like he is protecting his entire arm. Today he insisted that he wear it above his elbow all day...

Of course, he also wanted a necklace as well. YaYa knew this... and his deep love of Lightning McQueen (Jasper answers "Weeen" for McQueen if you ask him what his name is... he has a serious love of cars, firetrucks, intense love). Anywho, YaYa found this Cars neckband and sent it to the house this week. Jasper is in love.

a gorgeous weekend for biking

2009-04-20T22:16:00.000-06:00

We had great weather this weekend, so we spent most of it out riding bikes up and down the block.

Lucy is finding her inner peace?

At home.

2009-04-17T19:58:00.003-06:00

Oliver is settled at home- he is sleeping upstairs with us in a little co-sleeper crib. He is so big that he has been sleeping really well- for at least 3 hours at a time. It has been pretty nice. He is a good eater, so he gets a nice full tummy- which helps. These are from yesterday:

After his first bath at home- this afternoon.
Just now- with dry fluffy hair. It is a little lighter now after the latest bath. His red newborn rash is getting much better. There is just a little patch on his chest.

Ready to go home.

2009-04-15T20:01:00.002-06:00

Molly is all done with her checks and Oliver checks out- so we went home early afternoon on Tax Day. Joyce has been staying with the kids who did big chalk drawings on the sidewalks to welcome us home.

Oliver update.

2009-04-14T15:14:00.005-06:00

Oliver is awake for feedings every couple hours, but otherwise is pretty sleepy.

This morning Chuck came for a visit and this afternoon YaYa brought Lucy and Jasper to meet Oliver. Jasper claimed him as his own- MINE!

Jasper pointed out the dimple in the babies chin, his chin, Lucy's chin and my chin... strong chin dimple genes, I guess. We are not really sure about Oliver's hair color either... it looks exactly like Jasper when he was born.

Oliver arrives!

2009-04-14T05:57:00.002-06:00

Oliver Holden arrived 13 days late at 4:50 this morning. He weighs in at a whopping (but not-surprising) 10 pounds 11 ounces, 23.4 inches long and head at 15.1 inches. Both mom and baby are doing fine. Oliver is eating and happy to be here. All the tests are looking good. He has what we think is wet strawberry blonde or red hair. He is Jasper's twin.

Molly and I woke up at 2 with her broken water- made it to triage about 3:30... by the time we were walking to the delivery room at 4:15 Molly was on the verge of pushing. She pushed for about 25 minutes.

We can go home tomorrow mid-day.

More updates at teamgravholt.blogspot.com when the internet in the room works...

Oliver Holden

2009-04-14T04:23:00.002-06:00

Dark red hair. 10 lbs 11 ozs All OK