Don't Be A Stranger!

A random update from the Lenninger's... 

Both our children live a somewhat unscheduled life and I'm thinking that it may have to change soon. I never know when they will wake up, making it hard to workout, ride in the car without Collin screaming, etc. Anyway, when Kate gets up early (never on the days we need to) she now wants to climb into bed with us/me. One morning, us girls were lounging in bed as Dave was leaving for work, he gave us kisses, said goodbye, to which Kate yelled back, "Don't be a stranger!" I love those moments when your child genuinely surprises you:)  In a good way...:)

We have hung up some bird feeders off our sunroom and Dave and Kate are becoming quite the little birdwatchers:) Feel free to buy them a book on identifying birds or one of those bird watching hats for their birthdays:) I have enjoyed it more than I thought, actually, until I watched certain critters display astonishing acrobatics to steal the precious seeds! In related news...the other night Kate told me that she needed a pink princess gun to help Daddy shoot the squirrels.

Collin is getting really good at reaching for toys/things, is flipping himself over onto his side and unless he stalls out awhile, may be rolling over soon! Last time, I couldn't wait for Kate to hit each milestone, this time I just keep telling him to slow down! The other day, he didn't want to lay on the floor as much, preferred to be "standing" on my lap or on the floor. I pulled out the Summer Seat (bumbo-like thing) and had him in that awhile. I think he is tired of looking at the ceiling! It was kind of surreal crawling into the crawlspace and retrieving Kate's "old" things for him:) And for the record, he totally plays with pink toys and blankets:)

He is quite vocal and I just love when he is "telling" us things. He also always makes this cute yawn noise, that is a mini-version of Dave - fun to see. I mean hear. He is doing much better in the carseat and I love that when I pick up Kate from school, I can just set him down and he'll smile at the teachers or kids that come over to say hi. 

Oh - we went to a movie at the church the other night. Dave was on call and was in the hospital, so it was a nice outing for just me and the kids. The day had gone well and I accomplished a lot at the house (how?!) and then I decided to go to the city-wide garage sales in New Lisbon...why do I take a good thing and push it until disaster? Collin screamed, couldn't get him happy, even nursing didn't work. I did a million things, then almost drove away with the back door thing open on my van (yes, I'm that awesome.) stopped at the park to get some fresh air and try and calm him (he still screamed, we all got bug bites and I parked by a giant mudhole that Kate proceeded to jump in with her new sandals)...you can see how this is going. Finally, he calmed down, Kate had a blast at the park - success! Okay, kiddos now lets walk to some sales...we hit the sidewalk and after one block he was fussing and the bugs were still getting us. Fine - stop. It was now that I was cursing Dave's job and the possibility that he wouldn't be home at all for the whole day/night (was true that day). We got back in the car and we hit the road, Collin crying again, Kate and I starving. Collin fell asleep (hallelujah!) and I didn't want to cook/didn't have time so we went to the local BP/campground/restaurant:) It was empty, we ordered greasy food and it killed just the right amount of time. We raced back to the house, repacked the diaper bag, changed into jammies and headed back toward the church for the movie. Ugh. 



We saw Horton Hears a Who (hadn't seen it and I loved it!) Kate cuddled up in some blankets, had snacks, saw some friends. Collin and I hung out in the fellowship hall, we could still see and hear what was going on, but he could play on the floor, eat more easily. After blowing out of his diaper and then peeing all over me and everything around me, he was sleepy and I got to cuddle with him in a rocker and finish watching the movie. By the time it was done, it was bedtime and we headed home. The day was awesome! (except for that middle part:)

Oh - I have to tell you, one morning Kate noticed a reflection on the wall that was moving around, I think it was Dave's watch or phone. Anyway, without missing a beat, Dave said it was Tinkerbell! Well, this 3 year old is kind of obsessed with that little fairy and she was thrilled, she started chasing it and talking to Tinkerbell. Dave and I were barely containing our amusement (about 40% of parenting is just torturing your kids for your own pleasure). She was really so happy until Tinkerbell went away. We heard, "Tinkerbell! Come back and I want to keep playing with you!" for the rest of the day. That was a number of weeks ago and just yesterday we were in the kitchen and she spotted Tinkerbell again! I'm thinking this could go for awhile, but how fun! 

In other news - we have made HUGE headway with our mountain of wood in the yard and we got a playset for Kate! I finally got some flowers planted - progress, how fun! Sadly, we have hardly been on the boat (I've gone once, Dave and Kate just twice) and I still don't have a vegetable garden or herbs planted! Well, what would I do with myself if everything was checked off my list, right?

We are gearing up for the busier part of our summer, starting this weekend, we are "booked" and traveling or hosting people here until mid-July. All of it is exciting stuff, Dave and I love it, though it can get crazy. We would just be so sad if we didn't see the people that are so important to us and since we don't yet all live together (wouldn't that be fun?!!), we have to do it this way:) Late July and August are not super busy for us yet, though I don't know Dave's schedule, it should be getting better. We would love to see you, so in the words of our daughter - don't be a stranger!!