Stratton's Dog

I was going to do a post about decorating our Christmas tree, but none of the pictures I took while we were decorating turned out blurry. Probably too much chaos! Everyone was blurred from moving all over the place. So instead, I thought that I would write a short ode to a stuffed animal who has been a part of our lives for over 3 years. Stratton has been inseperable from this little stuffed dog since he was only 8 or 9 weeks old. He always sleeps with it and used to take it everywhere with him. And yes,it really is as gross as it looks. Runs through the laundry hardly seem to make a difference anymore.

For almost three years, we have only known Stratton's faithful companion as "Dog". Short, simple and to the point. It seemed to be all the name he needed. But Stratton is getting older and now feels the need to give Dog a new name. Now, instead of Dog, he is always looking for "Booger Dog" or sometime just "Booger". I hope Dog doesn't feel that his dignity and signifigance in Stratton's life are diminished by his new title. If anything, he should be honored. I think that for a 3 year old boy to call something "Booger" is a true sign of love. And thank goodness that the only things they get to name are stuffed animals!

The Fine Art of the 3 Year Old Insult

This summer Stratton picked up a few things from his cousins. One of these tricks was to turn around statements on us. Like if we say, "You're being silly", he says, "No, YOU'RE being silly." He thinks he's pretty slick, but I don't think he's perfected the fine art of the insult quite yet. The other weekend we were driving somewhere past a smelly factory and Brigg asked what the smell was and I commented that it smelled industrial. From the back seat, Stratton piped up. " No, YOU'RE industrial." I'm not sure what he means by that. He has continued to say it all week. Maybe when he says "Mom, you're industrial" he's trying to tell me that I'm industrial strength. Sometimes I feel like I have to be to keep up with these boys.

Neibaurs, Y'All

We have had a wonderful week, and I am sad to seeing it coming to a close and the beginning of the next stretch of busy weeks! Last Friday, Brigg took off from his clinic duties, and we left on what will probably be our last road trip from Cleveland. I had decided that I wanted to see one more place out here, since chances are it will be a long time before we are back East again. We drove to Columbus and spent the night so that we would both have a chance to go to the temple. The next day, we went to the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus where they were having a special Dale Chihuly exhibit where he had come and incorporated his glasswork into the botanical displays. It was amazing. I loved the colors. They also had a glass-blowing demonstration going on that was fascinating. If I wasn't 100% certain that I would seriously burn myself, I would be very tempted to take a class and give it a try. It is certainly unlike anything else I've ever seen.

Late that afternoon, we finished our drive to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. I have been wanting to visit ever since I read an article about the cave last year, and we thought it would be a good fit for our boys who are not always the most conscientious cultural participants. History just doesn't hold the same appeal for them. The next morning, Brigg left on a six and half hour tour through the cave off any of the lighted or developed paths with a small group and guide. The cave is over 367 miles long, so he clearly didn't see all of it, but he had a great time climbing through the dirt and tiny passages with his helmet and headlamp. I took both boys on a shorter tour of the area of the cave with the most formations, including the Frozen Niagara. It was beautiful, but Stratton was in a state of borderline panic for most of it, and when they turned off all the lights to illustrate how dark a cave really is, I thought he might make a break for it. Of course, once we walked out, he kept talking about what a big kid he was and how he was going to go back in with Daddy. I had to a make a run to the grocery store with the boys to restock our on the road snacks and food for Dashell, as well as get Stratton a little $1.00 flashlight that would give him the courage to go back to the cave. I think that little trip to the store was almost as much fun as the other things we did on our trip. Kentucky was my first time in any remotely Southern state. I have always been one to take regional stereotypes skeptically, but rural Kentucky holds true. I have never seen so much camo, or so many mullets and cut off t-shirts. Even at dinner, in a relatively nice restaurant, there was no shortage of all three redneck hallmarks. I should have know when we crossed the border and the first Kentucky water tower said "Florence, Y'all" on the side. Classy. I did love the drawl, and the people were very friendly. Just a different style than most places I've been. Brigg finally came out of the cave, dusty and tired and we had a fun evening together. The next day, we all went on a tour of some of the more historical areas of the cave. I thought it was fascinating, and the boys really did well. I don't think we'll ever see anywhere else quite like Mammoth Caves.

That afternoon, we drove up to Cincinnati, and the next day we went to the Newport Aquarium there. We were so pleasantly surprised by Cincinnati. The more we have been through Columbus, the more we have felt like it is almost exactly like Cleveland. But we really liked Cincinnati. It was beautiful with all the bridges crossing the river and the steep hills through town. I thought that it seemed like a great city.

We really enjoyed the aquarium. Stratton was so excited to touch a shark and walk through the tubes that the sharks could swim over and around him, and he loved the jellyfish exhibit where he could make the jellyfish change colors by turning a dial that controlled the light on the tank. We were not ready to come home to reality and responsibility, but that's what being a grown up is about, right? We had a lovely Thanksgiving with my sister and her family, and today we went up and took a nice long, chilly walk around the Holden Arboretum. I think that now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, winter has decided it is time to get started on Cleveland. Brigg's comment when the first real gust of wind hit us this morning was, " Now I remember why I don't like winter here." That wind is freezing! But it can hardly be the beginning of the Christmas season without a bite to the air!

Tonight we had the missionaries for dinner, and Stratton was in fine silly form. When the missionaries asked him who the scriptures were about, he told them "People." A true enough statement, but I don't think it was the answer they were looking for. He is also looking forward to getting a Christmas tree. I had mentioned that I thought we would just do a small one this year, and he keeps saying, " I need a big, big BIG Christmas tree because I am sooo big now." Not the best rationale I've ever heard, but I'm hoping that 4 or 5 feet seems big to him. I'm not quite sure he has the best grasp on 'big' and 'little' anyways. He always tells me that he and Daddy are big, but Dashell and Mommy are small. As much as I would love for that adjective to apply to me, I don't think I am small in comparison to Stratton by any stretch of the imagination. Oh, and Dash is officially eleven months old and has 3 teeth- one on the bottom and two on the top. It is quite the lopsided smile. He learns how to get into more and more trouble every day and loves to tease his brother. Today I finally gained hope that he will give in and go down stairs backwards. He made it down three steps the 'right' way. Up until now, he has attempted to rely on the brute strength of his arms to go down headfirst. He wasn't very motivated to turn around, because he was strong enough to make it down most larger steps using his chubby little arms. But he may have finally given in to convention. Let's hope. We are getting tired of the obstacle course in our house to get from downstairs to upstairs. Hope you all had wonderful Thanksgivings and are looking forward to this Christmas season as much as we are.

Just a peek....

In September, we had Sarah take our family pictures and they turned out so beautifully! I could put all of them on my walls, but that would look a little vain. Sarah is so talented and even though our boys were a bit of a wrestle, you couldn't even tell in the shots. Sarah's pictures of us are way that I like to pretend we could be...silent, smiling and still, even though we are loud, screaming and running in 5 different directions most of the time! I guess that's what you get with a house full of boys and brothers who always want to be together, even if it means fighting over every toy. I didn't think that would start so early, but I was wrong! Maybe I'll just sit and look at my lovely family pictures for a few more minutes before I go back in to battle...

Sweatpants!

This is an update for any of you that have been following Stratton's recent love of sweatpants. Yesterday we reached a new high...or maybe low, depending on how you look at it. First thing in the morning when he woke me up, he told me, "Mom, last night I slept with my dogs AND my sweatpants." He has been inseparable from his stuffed dog since he was 6 months old, so this is really saying something. Then, we were trying to decide what he should take to preschool for show and tell. Yes, his sweatpants. I can only imagine what he said. I did slide in an octopus for the letter 'O', but I'm not sure it made it out of the bag. But the kicker was when he came yelling up the stairs..."I'm a sweatpants superman! I'm a sweatpants superman!" with his sweatpants tied around his neck. I might be worried if I didn't think it was so funny!

Halloween at our House

Some of us like the fall more than others...Dashell is not as enthusiastic about playing in the leaves as his brother and dog, but he puts up with it. Maybe it's the leaves in the diaper that make him a little hesitant to get right in to it with Stratt. Piper loves it, even putting up with being buried repeatedly by Stratton. She is a great sport about it!

Actually, Piper and the boys have been getting along great the last little bit. Stratton is just coming out of a phase of being a bit rough with her, but I'm hoping that is behind us now. And she is mellowing a bit as her 2nd birthday approaches. She's still a long ways from being a sleep-all-day-in-the-sun kind of a dog, but she isn't constantly whining to go running anymore, either. At least not most days.

Halloween was really fun this year. Stratton was a robot and Dash was a dinosaur. I love his pouty face in this picture. He always lets us know just how he feels about things, and wearing a costume is not at the top of his list. Stratt has begged me to be a robot since the end of August and I tried to talk him out of it for over a month, but he was determined. So, I made a robot costume for him that he was super excited about. Then, last night as we were getting ready to go our trick-or-treating, he announced that he didn't want to be a robot- he wanted to be a lion like last year. Lovely. But, if you can't tell from the pictures, I convinced him to wear the robot costume...there was no way that can of silver spray paint was going to be used in vain. We also had a very scary pumpkin this year- Curious George, or our very own "monkey pumpkin" as Stratton calls it.

Dashell was in a better mood after trick or treating...if enough people tell you that you're cute, you tend to stop pouting, I guess. Stratton loved going to all of our neighbors, but had a tricky time with the stairs...he couldn't see his feet, and even better, he couldn't reach around the front of his costume, so he couldn't put any candy into his bag without help. It was pretty funny to watch him try, though! We have really loved this neighborhood, and I am sure we will miss it next year when fall and Halloween roll around. Now it is on to our last Cleveland winter!

Fall is Beautiful!

Fall is Falling

This week has been one of those weeks that I could make sound fantastic....Dashell got his first tooth! I made grape juice for the first time! Apple cake, apple pie, apple sauce! Stratton is crazy for bristle blocks! But really, it has been hard. Honestly, the last two months have been long and challenging. My goal is to have a point in time in the not so distant future when no one in the house is on antibiotics....but I still have at least a week and a half before that is even possible. At least one of us, and most of the time more, have been sick since July, and it is getting old!

But, I do have some lovely recent pictures! The boys are growing up quickly, with all the bad and good that comes with that. Dashell is really coming into his own and is very sweet and loving..and a little temperamental. That means lots of time with Mom holding him.I have been wanting to tone up my arms, he must just being doing his share. Stratton has figured out that with being potty trained, going to preschool, and everything else that he doesn't need Mom anymore. That means he needs me every 2 seconds to acknowledge what he did all by himself, like a big boy. And that he now does things that are against the rules because he is "big like Daddy". Whenever we tell him 'no' his standard response is "But I WANT to." Repeated indefinitely... As a side note, I think they call it quiet time to make parents feel better about the end of napping...there is nothing quiet about it.

We have enjoyed the fall as always here with apple pick

ing, playing at the park and hiking in Cuyahoga Valley. But during the week, Stratton is on a one man mission to ask why to everything...even things that don't have a why, Dashell is attempting to spend less than 10% of the day without me, and no one is sleeping!

This is Stratton being big and independent by feeding Dash his lunch....this is a pretty shot. It got ugly about 2 minutes later. I am grateful to have 2 little boys who love each other and love to play together. Even on long weeks, I wouldn't trade them...just take a break from them occasionally! Here's to the next few weeks looking brighter.

Which one.....

This has to be one of my favorite pictures from the whole summer. My only question is, which one is guilty?

The End of Summer

The end of summer is here, and so my excuse has run out! It is time to give an update on our family adventures of the past couple months. Summer flew by this year. It feels like we just keep running out of time! But we had a wonderful summer with lots of changes. We went to the beach, swimming, almost every park in a 10 mile radius, the zoo, hiking...anything that was outside, we did it. Especially if there was lots of space for running. Stratton became a big, big boy with his 3rd birthday, just check out his muscles!

Dashell is trying as hard as he can to keep up with his high speed brother. He started crawling at right about the 6 month mark in June, and has been picking up speed ever since. He can climb stair, pulls up to stand on everything, tries walking behind his push wagon and shows off a definite feisty side. We have started to call him Mr. Furious. He is either completely laid back and happy, or completely out of control angry. I have never seen such a temper in such a small package. Lucky for us he is happy most of the time. Here is a picture of him showing off how he feels about the dog spraying dirt in his face. You never have to guess how he is feeling- he lets you know loud and clear.

We also went to Idaho to visit the Neibaurs for a couple weeks at the end of July. We had a great time going to the zoo, water skiing, climbing on tractors, looking for huckleberries, and playing outside. Stratton was in heaven. He loved the farm and all the tractors even more this time than last year.

Lucky me, while we were there, I got a nasty case of giardia from water skiing. Unfortunately, I kept thinking I would get better and put off going to the doctor for over a month. On the other hand, giardia can really speed up losing baby weight! But I just finished my antibiotics yesterday and should be in the clear now. How I can have grown up playing in Alaskan lakes every day each summer and not get giardia until now from one water skiing day in Idaho, I can't explain. But it has made the last 6 weeks interesting to say the least. I am looking forward to feeling good again and having enough energy to keep up with the boys!

The boys are already trouble when they are together. Stratton tells me all the time how much he loves his brother. I thought 8 months was a little young to start wrestling, but apparently not. Nothing makes Dash laugh harder than Stratton steam rolling him. After their naps most days, Stratton and Dashell will play in Stratton's room and Stratton will tell me that it is "boy time" so I'm not allowed. I do count my blessings that they get along and love each other, but I can only imagine what chaos they will create together as they get older. They do pretty well individually, so a combined effort should be incredible! Anyways, that is just a quick summary of our last couple of months. Now we are back to life at full speed. We only wish for more hours in the day.

It' Summertime!

 

So I have decided to take a brief hiatus from updating our blog. It's summer, and who wants to spend sunny summer days inside on the computer? Not my boys, that's for sure. Besides, I figure that a picture of all four of us together is such a rare event, it ought to hold for a good while yet. See you on the next rainy day!

Brigg the Wildlife Photographer

Brigg took this shot while we were in Montana. He went out for a walk one evening, and literally almost tripped on this brand new fawn. Isn't is beautiful?

Mountain Man Reunion

We just got back from a Wappett family reunion in Montana. Stratton really got into the spirit of the mountain man theme. He was ready to follow Lewis and Clark! We had a wonderful time seeing everyone and being together for the first time in 2 1/2 years! It is so fun to see all of my nephews and nieces growing up. It seems like the oldest of the bunch should still be toddlers, not 9 years old already! Stratton loved having so many cousins to play with. There are 4 cousins within a year of his birthday, so there was a lot of negotiating turns and sharing, but they loved playing together. Dashell loved being held all the time and being the center of attention. My niece Meridian took especially good care of him. She can come stay with us whenever she wants- she would hold Dashell all day if she could.

This is Stratton taking turns fishing with two of his cousins, Wells and Hannah, in the little creek by the house. I think they could have fished all day. They were always ready to take another turn with the little red fishing pole. Sometimes I wish I could be as unfazed as they were at not catching anything. Although I'm not sure there were very high expectations of catching anything, seeing as the end of the line was a magnet, not a hook. Maybe they could have caught a steelhead.(Bad joke)

Brigg loved being out in the west in the mountains again. Here he is with Dashell showing off how he is still a tough guy. I think he felt like he was proving that he is still a mountain man himself after my sister told him he looked like a dad while we were traveling. Two kids can do that to a person. Good thing he's married to someone who looks like a mom.

Here is Stratton showing off his apple in front of a gorgeous view of the Bitterroot Mountains. It really wasa beautiful part of the country. We loved having the chance to explore, ride horses and spend time with everyone. It is a pity we are all so spread out across the country. Although we seem to be slowly gravitating back to the west, one at a time as we finish school.
Here is Stratton enjoying one of his favorite parts- the horses! The kids got to ride every afternoon, and Stratton did great! He is a natural. When the older kids started trotting while I was leading him on his horse he said, " Mama, my horse is too slow. I need to go faster!" Luckily, a fast walk was enough for now. Maybe in a year or two he can try for a little more speed. Maybe when his legs are long enough to reach the stirrups.

Things I Will Miss

It's that time of year when people start moving on. Brigg is now officially in his final year of dental school, with all that goes with it...you know, yelling "Seniors rule!" and stuffing first years in their lockers. Anyways, realizing that it will be our turn to move on next May, we have started to think about everything we want to enjoy about Cleveland before we go. Wait, enjoy about Cleveland? Cleveland? Really? Actually, we have really enjoyed our time here, and even though we will be excited to move on to the west and more space again, there are a lot of things about living here that we will miss. So in the spirit of really appreciating our remaining time, we have started to make a list of things that we will miss about Cleveland and city living, especially since this will in all likelihood be our last year in a city of any size as well. As for the number of food items that make the list, well, it's clear where my priorities are.
- Maple Syrup- the real stuff. One of our indulgences.
- Tart cherries
- Fresh peaches
- You pick farms for berries of all kinds...there is nothing as therapeutic as a day spent out berry picking.
-Apple picking with Stratton...he has a future in this field, I'm sure of it.
- The Farmer's Market- especially Gray House Pies...that man is a genius.
-Playhouse Square- we've only been able to go a couple of times, but talk about a great date!
- Kirtland, of course
- The zoo, science center, children's museum, etc.... I'm beginning to realize that living in a small town is going to take a lot more creative parenting on my part to keep both boys busy!
- My nurse midwife- she was great for both boys. And who ever wants to find a new ob/gyn?
- Our pediatrician- she has been wonderful
- Horseshoe Lake Park, of course
- Green, green, green and flowering trees. I love the spring here and all the green and flowers.
- Fall colors. It's like driving through a postcard
-Cuyahoga Valley National Park. We've had many happy weekends hiking here.
- Revive- my favorite hole in the wall to browse and encourage my inner hippie
- The Library- this is a big one. I am addicted to the library here. All the books, movies and music I could ask for. Our budget is not big enough to support my reading habit! I will feel so lost without the option of getting whatever I want from the library 1/2 mile from my house.
- Stratton's music class- his teacher and friends have really helped him learn to talk in public...well, at least a little bit if you listen closely!
- Geauga County Fair- if you've been and you've got a little redneck in you, I don't need to explain
- Silk Painting Classes- I've only been able to take a couple short ones, but they have been so much fun and have given me hope for my artistic side
- Anatolia Cafe, mostly for teaching us that we like Turkish food. We would never have known what Turkish food even tasted like without it.
- Outdoor pools- let's be honest with ourselves. Planning to move to Alaska doesn't leave the possibility for too much outdoor swimming in the future.
- On The Rise Bakery- the sweet rolls and chocolate croissants have a special place in my heart, especially when I'm pregnant.
There are lots more, but that's a good start for now. I'll try and add them as I think of them. Cleveland has been good to us, and I think our last year will be the best of all. We are planning to pack each month full!

Kissy Kissy

Today I went in to get Stratton after his nap and went to give him a kiss. He pushed away my lips and said "No kisses Mama. I push away da kisses." If only he is still saying that at 16!

Life with a 2 year old

Stratton has been growing up so fast and has so much personality, for better or worse. He definitely adds some humor to our house. And like he says, he's "2 in every way". His favorite story at the moment is the Gingerbread Man and he runs around saying "Running, running as fast as I can...you can't catch me!" He has also learned to negotiate. If you say no, he says "maybe yes?" or has figured that if he modifies his request to just a "little" of whatever it is, maybe it will change the answer. I thought these pictures might give a good snapshot of what he is like. This first picture is his current smile. Nice, huh? I call this his bathing Before shot.

Here is the After shot. Apparently, chewing up a whole bathtub crayon doesn't taste so good. Brigg had turned around to grab a towel, and Stratton munched the whole thing. I came in and saw his mouth totally full and was a little concerned...the bath isn't full of too many edibles. About the same time, he decided he didn't really like the crayon anyways, so this was the result.

The other morning Brigg let me sleep a little longer with Dashell, and went downstairs with Stratton. Brigg was letting the dog out, and Stratton said " I get a knife and cut a cookie, okay Dad?" Talk about initiative.And a healthy breakfast.

And here is Stratton 'playing' with Piper. Don't feel bad for her...she gives as good as she gets. Maybe this is why we are thinking about a Great Dane for our next dog.

Camping!

This past weekend we decided to take advantage of Brigg's day off from the clinic and make our first attempt at camping with two little boys. We had a wonderful time and learned alot. First, there is nothing graceful about getting in and out of tent with a baby. Second, Dashell is the sweetest baby around until he is been in his car seat for over two hours. Then his sweetness runs out. Third, when sleeping in a tent, little boys must stay in constant contact with their mom at all costs. So I shared half the tent with Stratton and Dashell, and Brigg enjoyed as much space as he wanted on the other side. And in case you think I'm exaggerating, at 2 am one night, I tried to roll over and Stratton woke up and said, "No mama, look at Stratton!" Just what I wanted to hear! Actually, both boys did great and Stratton kept telling me that he likes camping...a good thing to hear, because he's going to be doing a lot more of it!

Stratton learned that you can throw rocks in pretty places just as well as in ugly ones. And he likes bridges. Alot. We drove down to Hocking Hills and loved it. Because it was still April, there were hardly and people there, and because April weather is unpredictable here, it was 85 degrees! Piper loved all the time she got to run around in the woods off her leash and was probably the most disappointed to come home.

We also found out that the filmakers for Lord of the Rings could have saved a whole lot of money...they didn't have to go to New Zealand! Just Ohio. Slightly less exotic, perhaps but definitely more cost effective. And this bridge was already there! We had a great time and were pleasantly surprised by the boys resilience. I think we ae going to try again, but we may have to wait until the fall. The summers here are too hot for small boys!

Stratton wins the Lottery!

Yes, that is my front yard looking out our front door. Stratton and Piper were in heaven! Stratton pulled his step stool up to the door and sat with his dog, a cup of milk and snacks and watched for hours....literally. The men you can see doing such a fine job were from the gas company and thought there was a leak in the section of line in front of our house. And while Stratton thought he'd won the lottery, I wasn't so sure myself. Another accesible mud hole is hardly what a house with a little boy and dog needs! Having them dig up your front lawn adds such an element of unpredictability to your day. What fun!