A Day at Science City

A long, dreary, rainy Saturday loomed before us starting at 7:00am. (I, myself, didn't drag out of bed until a little after 8:ooam). David decided that we should make a trip to Science City at Union Station. Often times, I end up shooting down David's "good intention" ideas for outings by bringing him back to reality.

For instance, David may be envisioning a relaxing family trip to the zoo, leisurely gazing at the animals and sipping limeades. While, I, on the other hand, look at the clock, see the unpacked diaper bag, 2 girls who are still in their pajamas, 1 hungry baby boy who is scheduled to eat within the next 5 minutes and needs a diaper change, and realize we only have T - 60 minutes until Drue's naptime, which translates to only about 45 minutes of actual outing time before she has a complete meltdown due to fatigue. Once all my observations are voiced out loud....no zoo for us.

Today, however, I pushed aside any little reasons that would keep us from going, took one look at the drizzle sliding down our windowpanes, and decided to go for it. So, there we were...10:00am sharp, at Union Station. We got a great parking spot (not too many people are out and about in Kansas City at 10a on a Saturday).

The girls had a great time at Science City. We took our double stroller, and once inside, we "unleashed the beast"...that's code for "letting Drue out of the stroller". They ran from one exhibit to the next with David in the lead, trying his best to get them interested in the scientific explanation for each. Periodic tables, inertia, blah, blah, blah....they just wanted to putter around with the golfball.

"We're going to be done seeing all the exhibits in like 10 minutes," David said. Which he energetically followed with, "Hey, girls, come on...cool...here's a tunnel we can go explore." And he wonders why we are going to get through so quickly? (How many children did I come with exactly???)

Anyway, to add a photojournalistic aspect, here's our day....





p.s. We even braved it, and went to a Planetarium show at noon. The girls thought it was pretty neat....but I think Tate enjoyed it the most. He sat in my lap the whole time, looking up at the stars and lights during the show. I doubt he'll remember much about it tomorrow though. Good thing his ticket was free...

Snapshots of the Munchkins

What a dapper young fellow....

Our little Reese's Pieces....

A classic Druebie face....

Reese's Words to Live by Today

Reese has turned into a great little helper around the house. This morning after she helped me put a load of clothes in the washer, she wanted to help me fold the ones fresh out of the dryer. She likes to fold towels, burpcloths, things like that.

So there we were, folding away, when out of the blue she says,

"I'm not going to have an attitude today...I'm going to be happy. And if Druebie wants my favorite toy, I'll still be happy."

What a sweet little thought. Now, if we could just teach that to billions of other people, peace on Earth may not be as far out of our grasp as we think....

Letters From Reese

Reese likes to write long, heartfelt letters to David and I. Nevermind that she can't write any actual letters of the alphabet yet...let alone spell...or read. That doesn't deter her from turning any old piece of scratch paper she can get her hands on into a beautiful literary work of art in her eyes. Sometimes she sneaks it over to us and runs away, but hides nearby where she can be sure to hear us "read" it out loud. Which, obviously, requires some imagination on our end as we try and make up our own letter on the spur of the moment.

Mine usually go something like this:

"Dear Mommy--Thank you for being such a great Mommy. I love playing games with you and snuggling on the couch with you. You are fun. Love, Reese"

Awww....wasn't that sweet of her to write such nice things about me?

This morning Drue got hold of a picture that Reese made on the computer and printed out. It was a picture for Halloween. (To Reese, Halloween and her birthday are always "just around the corner". She started back in January talking about what she wanted to be for Halloween this year and what kind of birthday party she wanted when she turns 4--quite the little planner I'd say.)

Anyway, as you can imagine, Drue wasn't just content to gaze at the picture admiring her sisters' artwork. She took one look at it, and crumpled it up between her two little fists. Of course, Reese went all Drama Queen about it and acted as though Drue just crushed her best friend. Tears welled up in her eyes and she flew upstairs to have a "moment".

I sent Drue up to apologize, which didn't go over too well, so she came back down and went about her business tending to her babies. Reese came down looking dejected. She really has this look down pat...she hunches her tiny shoulders and casts her eyes down to the ground. She found a piece of paper and started scribbling her heart out on it.

Then, she told Drue to follow her and they both settled down in the corner behind the recliner. Reese read Drue her letter and this is how it went:

"Dear Drue: I didn't want you to mess up my Halloween picture. I love you but it makes me sad when you act naughty. It actually made me cry. Love, Reese"

I asked Drue if she and sissy made up and she said, "Yep". They hugged and all is well with their world again. That is, for at least another 20 minutes or so.....

"Jesus Loves Me" by Reese

Drue's Alphabet

Same Tune....New Lyrics

There will probably be quite a few posts like this one....Reese LOVES to sing. So much so, that she has turned our fireplace into a Broadway Stage. She climbs up there and sings her little heart out. Oh, pardon me, FIRST she is adamant that she be introduced. So, about 14 times a day, I belt out, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Girls and Boys, Introoooduuuuucing....REESE!". (She is starting to get technical now, and during the day, while David is at work she argues, "But Mommy...there is only ONE boy here....Tate.")

It really is the sweetest thing to hear her sing. Around Christmastime, I'll try and remember to post her singing "Away in a Manger". She starts out really softly and tenderly, even closes her eyes for effect, and sings sweetly about little baby Jesus....that is, until Drue tries to climb up there with her, and her innocent accolades turn to...."DRUE, NO, I WAS SINGING FIRST!! GET DOWN!". Once Drue has been removed from the situation, Reese goes right back to her loving lyrics.

As is often the case with children, she tends to substitute her own words, thinking they are the correct ones. (Oh, wait, I do the same thing still when I'm singing in the car.) When I was small, we'd sing the Hymn, "Let Others See Jesus In You"....but I would sing, "I'd rather see Jesus than you...". (Well, that's probably a true statement).

We recently bought the Veggie Tales Sing the 70s CD, and on it, is the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". Yesterday we were in the van and heard Reese singing, ''In the jungle, the quiet jungle, the lion says 'Good Night'." And a few weeks ago, while I was busy with Tate, I heard her singing something to the tune of "Onward Christian Soliers", only she had turned them into "Kitchen Soldiers". Maybe there is a career in music in her future, I don't know, but we sure do get a kick out of her improvised lyrics....