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Farmers Markets in St. Louis

2010-04-30T08:19:00.004-05:00

The following is a list of some of our favorite local farmers markets! A new market will open this summer in Webster Groves, can't wait!!

Webster Groves Farmers Market — South Old Orchard Avenue near Gazebo Park, 314-566-6011, webstergroves.org/farmersmarket When it's open — 3-7 p.m. Thursdays, June 3-Oct. 14Details — 25 to 30 vendors from Missouri and Illinois selling local produce, cheese, eggs, poultry, baked goods, flowers and art. Live music and a children's tent; weekly specials from nearby merchants on market day.

Clayton Farmers Market — 8282 Forsyth Boulevard (west parking lot of Straub's), 314-315-5001, claytonfarmersmarket.comWhen it's open — 8:30 a.m.-noon Saturdays, May 22-Oct. 30
Details — 25 to 30 vendors featuring food and food-themed products from Missouri and Illinois. Emphasis on the homegrown, homemade and handcrafted. Tenth season, with a celebration on opening day. Planned activities for the rest of the season include a seed swap and corn-shucking contest.

Ellisville Farmers Market — Bluebird Park, 225 Kiefer Creek Road, Ellisville, 314-435-9445, ellisville.mo.usWhen it's open — 4-7 p.m. Thursdays, May 13-mid-OctoberDetails — About 15 vendors selling local produce, honey and prepared vegan and vegetarian foods. Hands-on children's market sponsored by the St. Louis chapter of Slow Food.

Kirkwood Farmers Market — 150 East Argonne Drive, 314-822-0084, kirkwoodjunction.comWhen it's open — 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays, through Sept. 25. Harvest Market 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays in October. Pumpkin Patch 9 a.m.-8 p.m. daily in October. Christmas Market 9 a.m.-9 p.m. daily, November-December.Details — Local and broker-supplied produce, plants, flowers, jams and other retail goods. Food stands, including Cafe Manila and Tropical Moose Shaved Ice. Peach Festival, July 17; Dog parade and dog merchandise, Sept. 25.

Maplewood Farmers Market — 7260 Southwest Avenue (Schlafly Bottleworks parking lot), 314-241-2337, schlafly.com/market.shtml When it's open — 4-7 p.m. Wednesdays through Oct. 27 Details — 15 to 20 vendors featuring fresh produce, local meat, cheese and honey. Live music in Schlafly's outdoor beer garden.

Market in the Loop (University City) — 6655 Delmar Boulevard, University City, 314-863-2418 When it's open — 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday year-round Details — Local and brokered produce.

Farmers Market of Wildwood — 221 Plaza Drive, Wildwood Town Center, Manchester and Taylor roads, 636-458-0136, wildwoodfarmersmarket.com When it's open — 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Saturdays, May 15-Oct. 9 Details — About 20 vendors selling locally grown produce, baked goods, seafood and arts and crafts. Live music.

ST. LOUIS CITY
Soulard Farmers Market — 730 Carroll Street (at Seventh Street), St. Louis, 314-622-4180, stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/soulardmarket When it's open — 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and 6 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, year-round Details — St. Louis' oldest farmers market. Local and broker-supplied produce; butcher, sausage and seafood stands; baked goods; plants and flowers; a spice and specialty shop; and several flea-market-style fashion and apparel stands. Cooking demonstrations by Soulard's restaurant some Saturdays through October.

Tower Grove Farmers Market and Bazaar — In Tower Grove Park, west of the pool pavilion, 314-772-3899, tgmarket.org When it's open — 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturdays, May 8-Oct. 23 (until 2:30 p.m. opening and closing days)Details — Up to 50 vendors selling local produce, meat, eggs and cheese, baked goods, fresh pasta, coffee, crafts and more. Free yoga classes.

Washington University Farmers Market — medical campus, in front of Barnes & Noble about one block south of Euclid and Forest Park avenuesWhen it's open — 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Thursdays through mid-October (some vendors arrive earlier or stay later) Details — 6 or 7 vendors selling locally grown fruits and vegetables and honey. Open to the public. ST.

Planted a garden

2010-04-30T07:40:00.003-05:00

Ok, so we planted a garden! Tomatos, peppers, chives, cucumbers, zuccini, cabbage. We also have 3 blueberry bushes and 3 raspberry bushes. the kids had loads of fun picking out the vegetables and planting them. James loves to dig in the dirt and play with worms (I try really hard not to freak out). Keira will play in the dirt but hasn't warmed up to the worms yet. We will keep you posted as to if anything actually grows! Poo Poo, this garden is for you too, we can't wait for you to come over and pick wth us!

It's been a while, but we're back!

2010-04-22T06:20:00.003-05:00

Here are some pics of Miss Keira in her Easter dress. Typically she's a little tomboyish, but today she has made an exception. Enjoy!

San Diego

2010-02-18T09:37:00.002-06:00

So, we tagged along with Ben to San Diego last week. We had lots of fun, nice weather, and lots of sand and ocean!

And Dance!

2009-11-09T06:38:00.005-06:00

He may look like his dad, but he gets his dance skills from his mama! James just started doing this dance sequence during our animal search at Lone Elk. Disclaimer: it's hard to search for animals all tied down in carseat. Both kids were out of their seats, searching for buffalo, elk, and turkeys. We were going about 5mph and were one of the only cars on the trail........

ABC

2009-10-30T06:38:00.003-06:00

So, James has been singing his ABC's forever but he will never let me film him doing it. Finally, he allowed me to tape him! I love how James uses the pan as a microphone and does his little dance on the chair. Enjoy!!

Spooky Spooky Spooky!

2009-10-28T05:59:00.008-06:00

The kids love dressing up in their skeleton costumes and running around saying "Mr. Bones"! Keira says " Ahh Eeee Booo". We have had lots of fun this fall season apple picking, pumpkin picking and spooking people with these cute little skeletons. Every year the St. louis Zoo is haunted at night. Everyone is welcome to visit in their costumes and enjoy the spooky jack o lanterns, ghosts, gobblins and scary lights and sounds.

Keira

James

Check out the video!

Bison, Elk and Dodo Birds....Oh my!!

2009-10-21T06:57:00.007-05:00

A perfect day for the kids always includes a drive through Lone Elk Park and a visit to the Wild Bird Sanctuary. Lately, we have been going almost daily! The kids will wake up and say "look for animals, buffalo..and deer...and what else.....bird house....and water and trees and ....what else.....mama coffee"!

Look, a little cage for the kids when they are naughty! They like it!

Here are some cranes. There are all sorts of birds here including vultures, bald headed eagles and owls. All of the birds at the sanctuary have been injured and are being rehabbed.

Look, a lone elk!

Bison!!

Check out this video. It was bison mating season and the animals were getting a little too close for comfort....

Baby for Hire

2009-10-08T06:29:00.002-05:00

Will play at weddings, funerals, other special events. Will work for snacks.

NO, that's James's coffee!

2009-10-04T07:03:00.009-05:00

Ahh, a nice long walk in our favorite park on a cool morning. I was helping Keira feed our favorite horse, Tommy-Oh, when I turned and discovered that James was enjoying my cuppa joe! Watch the video at bottom.

Be sure to watch this video for a laugh!

Catching up.....Fun in Florida!

2009-09-26T06:32:00.004-05:00

We took a little road trip to Destin, Florida last week. The kids were great during the 12 hour drive! They watched movies, read books, and snacks.

The kids played for hours in the sand and surf. It was the perfect family vacation with little ones!

Ben dug a giant hole in the sand, threw in some toys and the kids had tons of fun. We called it our "Trap n Play". It was....perfect!

Here we are at Beachside, Fl. This is the small town where The Truman Show was filmed.

James and Keira have decided to be buddies this evening. Here they are on our balcony overlooking the ocean.

Sand, ocean, tons of fun!

Mmmmm, Nan!

2009-08-27T06:37:00.007-05:00

This is our favorite Indian restaurant. We usually go here for the lunch buffet on the weekend. The kids love the food and music, see for yourself in the 2 videos below! In the first video Keira is loving her nan and dipping her nan (this usually ends in quite a mess). In the second video, the kids are dancing to the Indian music playing in the background (you can't really hear it in the video). Doesn't James look like one of those cute little kids in Slumdog Millionaire? Enjoy!

Swing, Swing Swing

2009-08-20T07:12:00.007-05:00

The kids love the swing at Grammy's house! They will swing in it all day if you let them. Be sure to check out the video at the end!

Chillin at Grammy's house....now where is my latte?

Swimsuit is on, let's go to the pool and eat pizza and swim!

This is Tina, my grammy's lesbian dog. Seriously....

Keira is about to plant a big kiss on James, how sweet!

Gotta love this video....

A Day at the Farm

2009-08-13T07:12:00.005-05:00

"What are you looking at?"

We have discovered a new favorite place to spend a day in St Louie.....the farm! The kids love this farm, which is actually a county park. There are several barns and pastures, a very nice playground, walking trails and a lake with fish! So much to see, do and smell! Animals include horses, cows, pigs, sheep, chickens, turkeys, rabbits, goats, ducks, and more!

The kids just ran free on the farm, going from barn to barn checking out the sounds and smells of the farm!

This sheep's wool was so thick!

The pigs were stinky and made loud oinking noises!

"Baa, Baa!

Horses Gone Wild!

2009-08-11T06:34:00.006-05:00

Our favorite park...Longview! We love feeding the horses, taking long walks and playing on the playground.

Check out this video.....Horses Gone Wild!

Fun with Sprinklers!

2009-08-05T20:09:00.012-05:00

Summer fun. The kids love running through this wave sprinkler. We have the fancy Elmo and octopus kid sprinklers, but to be honest, the kids really do prefer the old fashion kind!

Keira always gets hit in the face by the wave! James will say "watch out Kiki", but she still gets it!

"Watch out kiki!!"

Goats Gone Wild

2009-08-01T07:04:00.006-05:00

Gotta love Grants Farm! Here we are having adventures with goats. It is tons of fun feeding and petting the goats, with the exception of the occasional nibble....or bite!

James loved petting the goats at the farm.

Umm, this is Ben's finger after the goat bit it!

Ouch, the goat finally let go of Ben's finger!

Here is the goat munching on Ben's finger. It wouldn't let go! Ben kept saying ouch!! There wasn't much I could do to persuade the goat to let go, so I decided to take some pics!

Ugg, the things you catch on tape. Keira is so cute petting the goat. Goat wanders, sniffs another goats butt, then proceeds to nibble on our camera strap. Gross!

Blackberries and Peaches

2009-07-26T19:47:00.005-05:00

We recently enjoyed a morning at Eckerts picking blackberries and peaches. It was fun, the weather was cool and cloudy...perfect! We had fun riding the wagon and picking the fruits! Can't wait till apple and pumpkin season!

MMM, blackberry! Keira just kept stuffing the berries into her mouth...as fast as we picked, she ate!

James was very good at only picking the balck ones!

I love this pic of James and Ben. James also loves eating the peaches. Wow these kids were a stained, sticky mess, but it was so worth it! Also, they were in crappy clothes so who cares!

Keira argued back and forth with us the entire time we were picking peaches. She insisted that the peaches were "apples". If we said they are peaches she would say "no, apples".

"Tractor". The kids loved riding the tractor into the orchards.

Surf and Turf

2009-07-18T06:18:00.006-05:00

This week we experienced much surf and turf (sprinklers and parks...not lobster and steak). I do like this combo, the kids love water! We discovered two new parks this week. We met Grammy and her doggie, Tina for a walk at a really nice park in Town and Country (not sure of the name). We loved it! There were great trails that were shaded, a stream with turtles on rocks, and a pasture with horses! These animals were....spoiled!! Also, there was a nice playground geared for the under 5 group. We also discovered Kirkwood park, which we loved! Umm, there was sand, sprinklers, concessions, playgrounds....you name it!

Bring on the surf!

Chillin at Grammy's house!

Next time we bring carrots and apples....

Keira is "all done" with her walk....

James and Alex enjoying some water fun!

Fun at Gymboree!

2009-07-10T10:43:00.003-05:00

We recently joined this gym and learning center for kids called Gymboree. We are lucky, Gymboree is very close to our house, a stroller ride away! Anyway, the kids love it here, it is so engaging! There are a ton of things to play on, and there are classes also! We currently take the family music class and are also eager to try the gym class as well as the family art class.

Citygarden

2009-07-05T16:27:00.004-05:00

So, once again James is a "celebrity". He was on news channnel 5 (NBC) sitting and playing in the fountains. So cute! It was like a 5 sec clip focused on him! We went to St. louis's newest downtown attraction, Citygarden. It is a 35 mil sculpture park, complete with hundreds of light up water fountains, pools, waterfalls, beautiful landscaping, and more! Here are a few pics....

If you could turn this still shot into a live action clip, you would basically see what was on the news!

Awesome waterfall and pool

Umm, a giant head. What is cool is that there is a steady flowing wall of water surrounding the head. The kids loved playing in it.

Keira loves Mr. Birdman

This is an old time firetruck that has been turned into a snack store. Yum!

My Baby Dolls

2009-06-14T20:28:00.006-05:00

James and Kiki love this old baby doll I found at my parent's house. They snuggle it and take it for stroller rides.

Grammy, this is my babay doll, don't let James take it away!

Kiki, give the baby a hug...

Let's go!

Wait, which one is the doll?

Big Cedar Lodge

2009-06-08T05:58:00.005-05:00

We went to Big Cedar lodge located 10 miles outside of Branson, MO for a few days last week. We had a great time with the family. What did we do? We woke up (early), ate a yummy breakfast buffet overlooking the lake, fed turtles, paddle boats, played with James's (Ben's) new radio controlled boat, went swimming in some really nice zero entry pools, played putt putt, chilled on the lazy river, napped, walked on nature trails, pet the horses at the stables, and played games at the arcade to name a few. There was a ton to do and we had fun. The car ride was fine on the way there, not so awesome on the way back.....

Umm, near fatal incident? How did I get this awesome pic? I am super quick!

Mmmmm, Kiki loves dill pickles!

Nice horsie! The horses were so friendly. When we approached the stables, about two or three horses would always come over to see us.

James managed to draw attention from several girls while on vacation. We were even offered a timeshare in exchange for James. We declined, but I think Ben was jealous of all the female attention James was recieving. Umm, Uncle Blake, do you wanna borrow him for a day?

The kids loved the arcade!

Check out this adoraable video!

Kiki's swimsuit and new obsession

2009-05-25T09:30:00.003-05:00

Keira is obsessed with flowers! Whenever she sees a flower she says "flower, flower" and points and smells and smiles! Oh, this is one of Kiki's many swimsuits, I just love babies in suits!

Keira's First Steps!

2009-05-21T20:40:00.002-05:00

Kiki's first steps! Enjoy!

Monster Machines and Roses

2009-05-17T19:39:00.003-05:00

This weekend we went to Des Peres park and the kids got to see monster machines! It was lots of fun and now James talks about it all of the time. The kids got to see, touch and sit inside an ambulence, firetruck, digger, dump truck, bobcat, and others.

Here we are inside an ambulence. The man was very nice and gave us a sticker and said he hopes to never see us in here in real life!

I am the fire chief! Keira and James each got a fire hat and a construction hat. They love to wear the hats at home and play pretend!

This is just like the backhoe digger in my favorite library book "I'm Dirty" James was so excited to sit in this, he just kept squeeling and laughing and smiling and pressing the buttons and turning the wheel...

Sweet tractor!

My roses, need mulch....still pretty!

Fun times!

2009-05-13T06:27:00.003-05:00

Well, let's wrap up the past week. The weather was nice, so we loved being outside last week. Well, we did a ton so I will be as brief as possible.

We went on lots of stroller rides to the park, Starbucks, the farmers' market and the bookstore! We really love our neighborhood!

We got this really cool sand and water table. Good for hours of building, digging and exploration. We also like to get really wet so mom bought us each 2 swimsuits so we can play!

James's favorite hangout....the Museum of Transportation! Coolest place around for kids (big and little) who love trains.

We did plenty of eating outside. Our goal was to eat near the tracks so we could see a train pass by. We went to Dr. Jazz- no train....We went to Route 66 and as we were eating outside on the patio we heard choo choo. A train passed by and Ben walked across the street with James and the boys were maybe 5 feet from the train!

The Magic house is always fun. We especially like the new outside exhibits!

A Messy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T19:44:00.007-05:00

We sure did have fun making this painting! The kids were covered from head to toe in paint and the floor was so slippery that everyone was sliding all over the place. Now I have a wonderful painting, done on Mother's Day, that I can display and always remember this time together.

James cracks himself (and Sammy) up!

2009-04-30T20:23:00.003-05:00

James and Sammy are good buds as anyone can tell. James has learned that making this nasty noise really cracks people up!

Sock monkey and a morning at the park

2009-04-23T12:58:00.003-05:00

Alex and I had fun swinging at this cool park in Fenton. We met our friends Brooke, Nash and Margot also.

Do you like my new do? Piggytails!!

Don't let these sweet piggytails fool you. I am about to dump this milk all over the floor, then smear it with my hands.....

"Cheese!!!"

This sock monkey is my new buddy. He is now wearing a diaper and I like to put a bib on him when he "eats"

Crawfish Boil!!

2009-04-18T21:24:00.007-05:00

We went to a crawfish boil today at Brooke and Rays. There were a bunch of people there and a ton of kids. We had a blast! Check out the videos.

"Look Nash, crawfish!"

Kiki isn't quite sure if she should eat this...

James found a new friend....

for dada to eat!!!

Thanks for mom for making this shirt. It was a hit!

And now the videos!!

Brooke is brave....

"You suck!!!!!"

Kiki walks with chair

2009-04-11T08:50:00.003-05:00

Kiki loves to use her chair as a walker. She goes all over the room, sometimes James will join in on the fun and race her or walk side by side. See for yourself, so cute!

Soccer player

2009-04-11T08:27:00.002-05:00

Future soccer player, perhaps? James and Ben love to kick the ball back and forth and play soccer. Her is James practicing before the big game, unfortunately he was a bit distracted be "Charlie", the neighbor's dog....

Popo tells a joke....

2009-04-01T16:30:00.006-06:00

Silly kids

2009-04-01T16:30:00.004-06:00

Peek a boo!

Wow, a picture of Kiki and me....thanks Grandma!

Moo, Baa, LaLaLa!

2009-04-01T16:30:00.002-06:00

Sorry for the sideway video.....Enjoy!

It's Kiki's Birthday!!

2009-03-24T10:59:00.005-06:00

See, I am cruising this couch! These are my walking shoes.

I am one today! Happy Birthday to me!!

Wow, Keira is 1!! Well, it's time to toot our horn!

Kiki is big, beautiful and amazing! She loves her family and although she is not a huge snuggle bug like her big brother, she has her ways of being affectionate. Keira will blow kisses, hug, kiss with her lips (so sweet) and high five. She will, on her terms, snuggle with us.

Her favorite words include mama, dadda, daddy, Jay (James), Kiki, baba, yessss, this (she points and says thissss), no, more, snack, cow, moo, baa, lalala (yes she loves that book and will fill in the blanks as I read it to her).

She can pull herself up to stand and is starting to cruise.

She is really starting to get the hang of eating big girl food. Yesterday, she ate an entire hotdog! Umm, favorite food includes sweet potatoes, oatmeal, steamed veggies, and blueberries. She still loves her baba, and that's ok with me....for now.

She loves to play tag with James (they chase each other around the table), play peek-a-boo, and she loves to sit down and read books (she has done this for an entire hour, by herself), she also loves to be read to(either by me, Ben or James!) When she is super happy she will sing "ga ga gaaa, ga ga gaaaa....." James does the same thing (remember the dancing Yoda), it is their happy song.

OK, enough tooting our horn!

Happy Birthday Keira!! Don't grow up too fast :)

Our little man and our little princess

2009-03-21T14:33:00.003-06:00

James was a big help raking and gathering leaves the other day!

Keira is a lady and refuses to work. This is her new favorite eating position and this is her throne for mealtime...how rude. She is still a baby, though and we wouldn't want to upset our little princess!

Yeah, that's right I'm a princess and this is my throne when we go bye bye!

Cowboys, cowgirls, butterflies and roaches....

2009-03-05T11:18:00.004-06:00

Gross, roaches! This is Ben's scared face.

Oooh, a butterfly! Why is this butterfly not flying away from James? Well, it is kinda dead or dying...

"I'm a cowgirl , baby!"

Mama, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys. Especially ones in red sequin hats....

Happy Birthday James!

2009-02-23T12:03:00.004-06:00

James is 2!! We spent the entire weekend celebrating with family and friends. James has learned so much so quickly, like his colors and shapes. He loves puzzles, shapesorters and books. He is really into art- painting and coloring. He loves music and is working really hard on his speech (he is a bit difficult to understand but the skilled listener can often hear him speak in sentences like "I want to read Goodnight Moon" and "I am two" and "Lets go in the car", etc. Enjoy the pics and movies!!

Cupcake face!!

James blows out his candle all by himself! He is a big boy...

The kids loved playing parachute games! I hope that we can all do this again soon!

Fun Times

2009-02-10T06:17:00.004-06:00

We love Dewey's Pizza! I am such a silly baby, I love to make people laugh and often try to do so. If what they say is true about babies with a good sense of humor, then I am a little SMARTIE pants!

We are really enjoying playing together at the Magic House. We could chase each other in this awesome "worm hole" all day.

Hellz ya, we love Legos!

I was a little apprehensive about James playing in this Mc
Donalds playland (it is pretty big ), but after I crawled around and decided it was safe, I let James loose! He loved it! He played in it with other kids and Kiki and I enjoyed breakfast and watching James play and have fun!

Wow, my fro is a glow!! The fro, the fro, the fro is on fire! I love car rides because James and I goof off the entire time. I (Kiki, not mom),will stick out my tongue and make that spit noise, and James will copy over and over and we will laugh and laugh. Also, I will shake my head and look at James and then he will shake his head and we will copy each other over and over and then we will laugh and laugh! Oh ya, we will also squeal and screach back and forth really loud (mom does NOT like this one) but we do!!

We certainly did have fun last week with dad being home and all. We went to the Magic House a few times, McDonalds playland a couple times, the zoo (we saw the baby giraffe up close), watching artists do ice sculptures and had various other fun times!

Superbowl Fun

2009-02-02T19:36:00.003-06:00

Silly girls with camera...

We are cute, I think we need a girls night out soon!

Wait! If you have a girls night out soon, are we invited? What should we wear?

Can I join, I am super cool in my shades. Why are they pink? What does it matter, I am secure in my manhood :)

Nash, are you tanked or hammered? I can't remember which cup is mine!

An afternoon at the art museum

2009-01-27T13:33:00.002-06:00

We had a great time the other day at the St. Louis art museum. This museum is free, really nice and will soon be expanding! Anyway, there is so much open space for James to explore and there is a nice little cafe for coffee and treats. James loved looking at all of the art, especially the sculptures and weapons. Keira looked around also but seemed to enjoy the stroller ride and people watching the best. Anyway, we look forward to going again soon!

Good Night

2009-01-25T08:06:00.002-06:00

We definately have a bedtime routine here at home. After getting their jammies on, it's story time! Ben really enjoys reading to the kids, and they love it too.

The bow is staying in my fro!!

2009-01-15T18:20:00.002-06:00

Keira is a big, beautiful, healthy girl!

2009-01-09T21:28:00.006-06:00

Hmm, what's this crunchy stuff? I like to squish and pull it!

Wow, that was fun, is this what mom means by "trashing the place"?

No, I am not naked! My fat is covering my diaper :)

So Keira had her 9 month check up today. She is doing great! She's 87% in height and 77% in weight and 61% head circ. Keira trashed the place and James barricaded Dr. Putnam out of the examining room and then he barricaded the nurse out of the room. Dr. Putnam was impressed with James's resourcefulness and said he has never had a kid his age do that. Hmm, anyway hope you enjoy the pics!

More Art!

2009-01-06T20:55:00.003-06:00

James thought it was funny when I pasted googly eyes on the center monkey. He kept laughing and pointing and saying "eyes"

This is a baby wipe that James used to wipe his tray and hands after his creative session.

Sorry if this bores you but I love creating art with James. It is more the quality, focused 1 on 1 time with James that I enjoy. The kick ass art is just a plus!! We spent about 2 hours drawing and painting while Keira was getting her beauty sleep this afternoon. James loves it, after every piece he will say "more"! I could have posted several more pieces, but I thought this was enough.....for now.

Keira loves this box, and James loves to build

2009-01-04T20:38:00.003-06:00

Kiki loves to sit in this box, and James will push her around (or at least try). I figure that maybe he will build a few muscles and Kiki will have fun. Oh ya, James also likes to build very large towers, and knock them down!

Keira is Teething- again...

2009-01-03T06:43:00.003-06:00

Poor Kiki is teething again. She has had her 2 bottom teeth for a while and now there are 2 teeth on top breaking through! She is a little grumpy and you can tell that her gums hurt. Poor baby.... Well she sure is cute biting her teething ring!

Two Babies in a Box

2008-12-28T19:07:00.006-06:00

"I am sorry for punching you,Kiki". James will pet Keira on the head and give her a kiss when he is sorry.

Fight!!!

"We love each other and we love playing together in this box"!

James and Keira love playing in this old box. They sit in it and I pull/push/spin them around. Every once in a while a fight will break out....but for the most part it is GOOD TIMES!

Happy Birthday Dada!

2008-12-14T09:59:00.004-06:00

There is something about kid's art that I just love (always have). Try as you might, an adult just can't create art that look's like a child did it (fine motor, hand eye, proprioception, tactile sense, etc., just too developed as an adult). So, I had James and Keira do some scribblings for Ben as a birthday gift. Of course, the stamps were done hand over hand (mine over James). Ben loved it!

Tag, you're it!

2008-12-10T21:47:00.003-06:00

James and Keira love chasing each other around the coffee table. It is a favorite game of theirs. Check it out.

Did I ever say that Keira is trouble?

2008-12-10T21:05:00.003-06:00

"Daddy, if you won't get off the phone and get me my toy, then I will just get it myself". Never underestimate this kid!

Miss Commando

2008-12-07T22:02:00.003-06:00

Yes, Keira is crawling- army girl style. She goes everywhere and is getting faster and more skilled everyday. Watch the video- enjoy!

Keira does the Chicken Dance!

2008-12-04T21:56:00.003-06:00

Watch the video and enjoy!

Fight!

2008-12-02T18:52:00.003-06:00

Ok, so it was Thanksgiving and we were at my parents house. Brea (my sister) has been forbidden to drink soda (she drinks way too much and has little self control). After discovering that Brea drank my half empty can of soda that I hid from her, I decided to teach her a lesson. NEVER drink from an open can of anything- you never know what is in it... So I planted an open can of soda mixed with cooking oil on the kitchen counter. We all had Thanksgiving dinner and after dinner Brea took the open can of soda/oil and drank it! The video you are about to watch is footage taken after Brea and I had already duked it out for like 5-10min. It is sort of the aftermath of our fight that Ben recorded. I was rather tired at this point. I think James enjoyed it!

Keira's new tricks

2008-11-27T07:33:00.005-06:00

Keira learned a couple of new tricks yesterday. Watch the videos to enjoy.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-23T07:31:00.003-06:00

Hi, just a quick shout out to all of the friends and family. Have a great Thanksgiving and safe travels to all. We just had our Thanksgiving (Ben and I and the kids). We had a big fat turkey, dressing, gravy, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoe casserole, mashed pototoes with smoked gouda, green bean casserole & rolls. Yummy!

Airplane!

2008-11-19T11:11:00.003-06:00

Keira is playing airplane. Wee!

Big and Beautiful

2008-11-13T10:23:00.005-06:00

So I bought some new dresses for Keira since she has outgrown all of her summer clothes and cold weather is here. My mom, who is a pretty good photographer, snapped this pic of Keira rolling around while I was trying to dress her in the various outfits to see what fits and what needs to be exchanged... There is something about this chubby baby that I just love :)

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

2008-11-08T19:40:00.003-06:00

The moment that I saw this picture of James and Keira it made me think about how Ben and I would play in the woods when we were first dating. I am sure we never would have predicted that we would have a duplicate picture with our own children 5 years later!

Fall Leaves

2008-11-03T08:25:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, we enjoyed a day at the park playing in all of the leaves. Keira kept eating the leaves and James loved tossing the leaves into the air and running around the park. Love this fall weather :)

Surf and Turf

2008-11-02T11:03:00.003-06:00

Keira and Maya celebrating after an evening of trick or treating.

Dancing Baby Video

2008-10-26T19:13:00.003-06:00

The babies love music, especially Jack Johnson. James and Keira's favorites include but are not limited to Mozart, Beethoven, Bob Marley & Coldplay's new alblum Viva la Vida. Check it out.

"UH OH"

2008-10-23T20:16:00.003-05:00

We Love Disney World!

2008-10-23T06:54:00.002-05:00

Stay tuned for more!

Food and Talk

2008-10-16T12:44:00.004-05:00

Keira is eating her baby food! She recently enjoyed a full jar of applesauce and a jar of sweet potatoes after refusing to eat solids for 1 month. She just wasn't ready. Yea, she is on a roll now. While Keira's taste for food is just developing, James's tastes are becoming more complex. He is no longer thrilled with a hotdog, diced ham, cubed cheese, etc. He is really starting to want more adult type food. His current favorites are coconut dahl and mushroom risotto. Hmm, just an excuse for me to refine my cooking skills. Now if I only had more time...

On another note, our little James is on a roll with his language development. He tries to copy much of what we say. Keira is really starting to babble away. She says mamama, bababa, yaaaaaa! James will copy her and they will have baby conversations back and forth.

Grants Farm is Haunted!

2008-10-11T21:32:00.004-05:00

We went to Grants Farm Halloween tonight and it was so much fun! There were lights, monsters, bonfires, a DJ, dancing and free beer! Kids and adults alike came dressed in costume and everyone was having a blast. James and Keira loved it and were so good. It was so well done, Anheuser- Bush did not skimp at all. WOW! We are going back for sure except next time in costume. The event is Thur, Fri, Sat through Halloween weekend. Enjoy this video of James enjoying the party.

Keira's new hat

2008-10-09T12:27:00.002-05:00

I don't know what it is but my kids don't mind wearing hats, which gives me the green light to buy and make lots of hats for them. This is Keira in her newest hat.

Dancing Yoda

2008-10-07T19:25:00.007-05:00

I am not sure what James is drinking (just milk, honest) but he loves to wear his Yoda ears and dance! He's such a happy little boy, enjoy! Oh, I like the part of the video where he get mad at the garbage can.

Halloween fun

2008-10-06T20:55:00.003-05:00

Enjoy these pics of James, Keira and our friend Maya in their Halloween gear.

Yo -da -man!

2008-10-05T19:47:00.003-05:00

I had a little Halloween party at my house this evening. It was fun, we had lots of yummy food and the kids had fun playing. Ben and I filled the playroom with black and orange balloons- it was cool and we all had good times. Marji, I have adopted the phrase "good times" from you, hope you don't mind- I like to say it :)

Help, I can't decide!

2008-09-28T10:40:00.005-05:00

I can't decide on a Halloween costume for Keira. I know we will be going to quite a few events, many being outside. You can never predict the weather in St, Louis in October. One week it may be 40 degrees and windy, the next week it could be 95 degrees and miserable. I am thinking I may not use either costume and look for something light that I can do layers underneath if needed. Curse this weather... At least I have these cute pics to share. The doggie is to scratchy and hot and the cow is just too hot. Boo. By the way the cute little skunk is James from last year, I remember he was often too hot.

Cousins play ball!

2008-09-25T21:21:00.002-05:00

James and Keira

2008-09-21T21:37:00.005-05:00

Here are some pics of the babies enjoying some play time. Keira and James are really starting to interact with each other. So cute :)

Cousins, cousins, cousins...

2008-09-17T14:10:00.004-05:00

We miss you guys. Here are some pics of James and Keira's cousins.

Ocean Shores

2008-09-15T07:03:00.003-05:00

Grandma and Grandpa enjoyed the little ones for a few days while Ben and I had some fun of our own.

The Garden of "EATen"

2008-09-11T11:13:00.004-05:00

Yes, Grandma and Grandpa have an amazing garden in their yard. James loved having free reign in the garden of EATen and eat he did!! James enjoyed picking and eating blueberries and pears. Keira was more drawn to the herbs and flowers.

Paris's new boyfriend

2008-09-10T10:13:00.003-05:00

So we made it to Seattle. Here are some pics of James and Keira at the Hilton. More to come soon...

Hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend!

2008-08-30T12:05:00.003-05:00

My mom tells me that I am a wild one. I really like to watch James play and I have my eyes glued on him all day. When I am on my belly I try to scoot to reach him but he runs, I can't imagine why. Also, I love to grab his toys and put them in my mouth. This has an opposite effect on James- he will come to me (instead of running away) and take the toy- sometimes he will give me a different toy to eat. Hmmm...

James is growing!

2008-08-27T07:06:00.003-05:00

James had his 18 month check up this morning. He is healthy and on track for development. He went from 6th percentile in height to 16th percentile. He grew 2 inches in 3 months. His head is getting big also it went from 19th to 42 percentile. Wow, it must hurt to grow like that. His weight is still 3rd percentile, but has been like that since he was 9 months old. He is a skinny little dude. The doc. is not concerned. He passed his autism screen (given to all 18 month olds). It was cute, the doctor asked James questions like where is Keira, and James would go to her and lay his head on her. The neatest thing is that during the screen, Keira was crying and James went over to her, took the pacifier out of his mouth and put it in Keira's mouth! I couldn't believe it. The doc said he has never seen such a display of empathy in his career from a 18 month old. No autism here. Oh, the doc expects that his speech will blossom and around 2 or 3 he may have a serious growth spurt. Yea!

Poop Princess

2008-08-25T20:04:00.006-05:00

Keira has been a little poop machine these past couple of days. We are exhausted from changing her diaper like every hour or so. Ben is a bit anal when she poops. He washes her bottom under running water, blows her bottom dry with a blow dryer set on cool, puts ointment on her, and finally the diaper goes on. All of this and she poops like a few minutes after and the routine begins again. Her little bottom is sore and we are trying to get it to heal. Ben has forbidden us from touching the red area on her bottom. The doc. says it is the new foods she is eating, we think it may be a little tummy bug. Who knows. I must admit that it is hard to be upset with this cute little angel.

Olympics

2008-08-22T14:28:00.005-05:00

James is happy that he just won the silver in the baby olympics swim competition. Who won the gold? Keira! She lapped James and even had time for a baba before meeting the press. If you couldn't guess, we are having a good time watching the Olympics in the evenings. Oh, when I say "we" I really mean me (mom). The babies are sleeping and Ben is basically awol nowadays... Oh well, still good times.

James-wooly hat

2008-08-20T17:11:00.003-05:00

James is reluctant to show off his wooly skull cap that I made him, but here it is. James has 2 new games he loves to play. He will hide behind the curtain and play peek a boo with Keira (she is near the curtain in her bumbo). Also, he is starting to play hide and seek with Ben and I which is very fun...

Keira started eating. She loves her rice cereal and I am hoping to try bananas tonight!

I'm too sexy for this hat

2008-08-18T08:51:00.002-05:00

Mom made me a hat, what you think about that. Actually, it is a skull cap which is way cooler than a hat. Oh, by the way, I love to read, a lot. This is a monkey! Oh, I also love the lion chair that I am sitting on, ROAR!! Oh, be prepared for more hat pics, I have a wooly hat that I refuse to model at the moment and mom seems to be knitting Keira something...

"I'm too sexy for my pants"

2008-08-03T21:05:00.002-05:00

I'm a big girl!

2008-08-01T06:30:00.004-05:00

Keira had her 4 month check up yesterday. Dr. Putt Putt says she is healthy and doing great! I don't think Dr. Putt Putt expected her to be such a rolly polly because everytime he took his hand off of her on the examining table she rolled over and a couple of times she nearly rolled off the table. I was on the other side of the room holding James (he was a bit under the weather)and would scream to Dr. Putt Putt "Grab her"!! It was a bit scary at times. He kept saying "Yikes I forget she rolls so much". Scary. Anyway, she weighed in around 15.5 lbs and 24.5 inches long, making her a pretty big girl. Her is a picture of her at 4 months with Ebee. Ebee has been quite the popular guy/gal lately. Ebee is gender and race neutral-perhaps the perfect little critter in this wild world.

Leaning Tower with Peacock

2008-07-29T21:17:00.001-05:00

Yet another work of art by James.

This piece is titled "Leaning Tower with Peacock"

This work started as just "Tower", but James thought the addition of the Peacock complimented the greens, blues and yellows already present in the tower.

Yes, the tower is leaning a bit, simply to demonstrate that balance can be boring and off balance can still be balanced as long as the tower remains upright and in the end is more visually intriguing and not so boring.

Some often wonder, who built the Leaning Tower of Pisa? Was it Gerardo, Galileo, or Palanca? You decide.

A bedtime story

2008-07-23T08:16:00.003-05:00

James has been loving books lately! I guess all of the early reading that I did (when James had no clue and paid no attention to the book) has paid off. Now Keira is the clueless one, but not for long. As they say, read to your children and someday your children will read to you !

Is KiKi a LEGO freak in the making?

2008-07-23T08:11:00.003-05:00

Our day with Dad

2008-07-22T15:58:00.007-05:00

So, Ben is post call and home :) We decided to go to Tillis Park and play. This is an awesome park. James loves the fountain area and the music area. The top picture is of James turning on the water fountains. Ben and I did not show James how to do this, but somehow he figured it out. Every so ofter the water fountains stop and someone must push the button to start them again. When this happens, the other kids usually sort of look around like duh, wonder why the water stopped and usually a big kid or an adult will push the button so the water turns back on. Well, James saw that the water was off and ran to the statue, pressed the button and turned the fountains on. Go James!! The 2nd picture is of James in the music area. He loves banging on the various instruments and making music. I love all of the shade in this park. After the park, we were all hot and tired but still managed to go to Costco (yipee). We went home and napped- everyone was pooped! Later that evening we went to the gym to work out. James and Keira played in the daycare/playroom and Ben and I had a couple hours to ourself to workout/study. Ben managed to burn almost 400 calories and study at the same time. Go Ben!!It was great!! I think we will try to do this more often...

James the architect

2008-07-18T15:46:00.010-05:00

So, James is a LEGO freak. He will build all day if you let him. Apperently his dad was the same way when he was young. I will update often with various works that probably are not worthy of the Pritzker Prize, but are pretty darn cool for a 1 year old.

The above work is titled:

"Bridge With Two Flags" by James Palanca

James was given over 100 LEGO pieces to choose from during the creation of "Bridge With Flags" but he chose only 3 pieces, a bridge and two flags to create this masterpiece. Please note the fabulous choice of color and amazing demonstration of symmetry.

More works to follow...

I am a messy eater

2008-07-07T21:22:00.003-05:00

James enjoys a full sensory experience at meal time. Here are before and after pics of James eating Indian food last night. Oh, just a side note: James is back to sporting the "do" (cute guy hair) -thanks to mom, a razer, and a wiggly boy.

Keira loves her feet!

2008-07-04T14:19:00.001-05:00

Keira is loving her feet lately. She keeps grabbing them and playing with them. So cute :)

4th of July morning- parade

2008-07-04T14:05:00.005-05:00

We walked to Webster Groves Parade this morning. The weather was beautiful and there were a lot of people out. James was in awe during the parade with all of the bands, horses, bubbles, clowns, sirens, etc. Keira even enjoyed looking aroung at everything. We got a ton of free stuff (free gymboree classes!), candy (great), and James ended up littered with politition stickers. Now everyone is sleeping. I think we will blow up James's new pool, take a swim and later walk to the bridge (like 1 minute from my house) and watch the fireworks! Will update soon....

Keira loves her Bumbo!

2008-07-03T21:18:00.002-05:00

Keira love her Bumbo. We put toys on the tray and she will pick them up and hold them. She is also getting so close to rolling, belly to back and back to belly (strange). Anyway, James swam in a little pool at my parents today and his diapers sort of blew up. It was cool.

Block Party

2008-06-29T08:14:00.003-05:00

So, I organized a block party which we had last night. It was fun and a really great way to get to know "the people in your neighborhood". Although James was entertained by various neighbors, his favorite activities included pulling out ice cubes from the beer bucket and giving them to people, digging for treasure in the neighbors sand/dirt box (he found a really cool, really old silver spoon), and eating chocolate brownies (like 3 or 4). Keira loved to smile and coo at people-she was in her sling the whole time! I think we may have another block party around Halloween time (bonfire, movie projected onto garage door, spooky activities and food, food, food). Anyway, as soon as Ben gets home (last day in pain -oh, I mean ON pain services) we may go to the lake with the babies....

June 26, 2008

2008-06-26T21:18:00.002-05:00

We joined friends Sonya, Jen, Nicki, Brea, Marji and kids for a play group at Sonya's home. We enjoyed, it was nice seeing friends. James took a nice nap (he was pooped) and then it was off to Jen's to watch So You Think You Can Dance. Well 2 or 3 hours later (after several phone calls, running after James, poop, feeds, poop, spider catching, and running after James), the show was not done and the babies were upset so we went home. Somehow, it was still somewhat enjoyable. We will have better luck next time. James is teething and drooling like mad this week. Not so much fun....

June 23, 2008

2008-06-23T06:56:00.000-05:00

Wow, another week gone and I have failed to blog. We had a busy week with work and play. We went to the Botanical Gardens twice, Forest Park twice (once for the babies to play and Ben and I to get some exercise, and again for a graduation dinner), the St. Louis Club once for a chief resident dinner, and had a night of sushi making with Ben (yummy spicey salmon rolls). Keira is cooing a lot this week and scooting all over (on her back), and James is mastering the art of walking! This weeks mishaps include a nasty little bird poop incident at the Botanical Gardens (Jen and Hailey would agree that it was not pleasant), Keira soiling our couch during a diaper change last night (note- try to use changing station more often), Keira soiling her bath water last night (no note on that), and me not putting the lid on James's sippy cup tightly (quite a mess, will not do that again).

2008-06-15T21:11:00.000-05:00