take your child to work day

The day started bright and early as we left the house at 7:05. It was raining a little as we got in the car and as we boarded the bus to Kansas City. By the time we got off the bus for our 1/3 mile walk to work, the rain was pouring. Will was a trooper, and after a minute, I figured out that best way to walk was to pick Will up while carrying my computer and our lunches while holding up the umbrella. I felt like a Dad...a Dad with tired arms because Carrie and I worked out at the gym the day before. We still got pretty wet.

My co-workers went above and beyond preparing for this day. Will had a picture ID badge and bag of goodies waiting with his name on it. Will had been looking forward to this day for weeks, and I think his expectations were surpassed.

After breakfast, Will was sworn in for the day as a public servant and put in charge of the IRS. I kid. He swore to uphold the constitution...and have lots of fun.

My workplace has had an explosion of kids. Take your kids to work day used to get 2 or 3 kids. This picture does not capture all the really young children who visited that day as well. It is fantastic to work with people who value work and having families. I thought Will was going to be the youngest kid there, but he was not as many newer parents shared their kids with the rest of us.

We visited various offices within our federal complex. This picture was taken when we visited the Army Corps of Engineers emergency room. They had the largest HD screen I have ever seen and they showed off with Sesame Street clips. They let the kids speak into the microphones, which kicked off a repetitive conversation where the kids took turns saying "Well, this is so weird." Modern kids are so much more measured in their talk. I am sure kids from my generation would have said "poop" or something at that level.

The kids got restless as some our time was spent waiting, sitting, listening or having a tour. Here the kids got out some of their extra energy pretending a yellow circular couch was a jungle gym.

Here will is driving the Homeland Security's police SUV. He liked the lights but did not enjoy the sirens. The police officers were fantastic with the kids.

Here they allowed us to put the kids in the "jail" cell in their office. they informed us that they never use it, as there is a large county jail across the street. Will seemed a little too pleased to be in jail.

I was so proud when I told him to bust out a "mean face" for his mug shot and he reached back and found this face. Future method actor, Will John.

Will had been preparing for this moment for months since he acquired a ninja sword at his friend Ethan's ninja birthday party. Will came away from his time with the police quite convinced that it was his calling in life: shooting guns in a virtual reality room, pretending to lock yourself in jail, and beating the tar out of dummies.

At lunchtime, mom and LoJo arrived to up the fun. Lauren managed to be there for less than two hours and throw a memorable tantrum. Both kids devoured their ice cream, but still seem to misunderstand the point of the ice cream cone (it is edible).

You can see the chocolate ice cream on Will's nose on our bus ride home. That is what happens when you strain to stick your tongue as deep as you can into the ice cream cone and refuse to bite it. The bus rides were definitely highlights of the day for Will. He asked me many, many questions about what we were passing on the side of the road. He brilliantly asked if the bus was driving near "Lauren's hospital (Children's Mercy downtown), and it was. He easily identified the "Circle Building" (Sprint Center) where we saw the Cougar boys basketball team. He is specific about the "boys" because we traveled to Lincoln, NE to see the Cougar girls. The kid has a brain like a trap. He's probably thinking:  "Dad's job was great. But I am going to be a NASA scientist/engineer."

All in all the day at work was great. It was a special day that will be talked about in the John household for years because Will memorized the details of the day.

2014 :: week 17

April 20

Lauren got an Easter egg from her nursery teacher and kept stuffing it down her shirt to keep it safe. At one point she had two eggs in there and got a few quizzical stares from members of the single's ward.

April 21

Monday I worked for several hours cleaning our kitchen window. Will got jealous of all the fun I was having and insisted on cleaning the windows in the TV room. 

April 22

We celebrated Earth Day by having a picnic at the Overland Park Arboretum. It was our first visit this year and it did not disappoint. The kids love to "feed the fish" in the big pond. 

April 23

I've been having Will spend an hour in his room every afternoon. The quiet time is good for us both. He doesn't have to sleep, though I do hope he will. The one rule is he has to be quiet. Lately he has enjoyed making pictures with his pattern blocks. He has moved past using the patterns that came with his set and enjoys freestyling. On Wednesday he made a dragon. In this picture he is also making a dragon face.

April 24

Lauren and I spent about two hours at TJ's work on "take your child to work day." Those two hours included lunch at the cafeteria and ice cream in the conference room, so basically the best part of the day. Lauren really enjoyed the ice cream. She threw a terrible fit when we took her soggy cone away from her.

April 25

Last week we planted a few seeds with the kids. It has been fun checking them each day to see if what changes might have occurred overnight. Will has been really good about remembering to water them each day. Four of them have actually sprouted! Now we need to transfer them to larger pots and see if our good fortune can continue.

April 26

Saturday evening we went to Shawnee Mission Park. On our way out we stopped by the tower and took this picture. The kids loved climbing up, but getting down was a different story. It's amazing how much windier it was up there. It was a gorgeous spring night and it was fun to look out over the park.

painting the kitchen

If money was no object, there are several things I'd like to change about our kitchen. Unfortunately, it is, so we're forced to prioritize and be patient as we slowly make changes to match our personal preferences. The kitchen is totally functional and we enjoy the time we spend in it together. That being said, there are some changes we'd like to make. My main beef with the kitchen is how dark it feels. It gets great natural light, but that a lot of that is washed out by the dark wood. Painting the kitchen was the second "project" we started, after we painted our tv room and added a small built-in entertainment center. It has been a long process, but we've finally completed the painting.

BEFORE:

The best "before" picture I could find is this picture from December 2011 when Anthony's parents and brother were visiting over New Year's.

In August of 2012 we began phase one of the kitchen update (painting) by painting the wood paneling, trim and windows white.

Next up I painted the walls Behr Mineral while TJ was traveling in June 2013. It's a nice "greige" (mix of gray and beige) that further brightened up the room. The original color was more of a peachy tan.

FINALLY, this past weekend I painted our last window. We taped it back when we painted the rest of the trim, but kept putting it off because we struggled to remove the blinds. They are attached with what appears to be an indestructible force. We painted around it and you can only tell if you lean way over the sink and look up. It's not perfect, but it looks so much better! Because we left tape up on the windows for over a year and a half(!) it took a lot of goo gone, elbow grease and a razor to get it clean.

 Clean windows for the first time since 2012.

AFTER:

I am only posting pictures of the half of the kitchen we've changed. There are still a lot of things we'd like to do, but in the meantime it feels so much brighter.

lauren at 2.5

It's been awhile since I've blogged specifically about Lauren. In honor of her half birthday yesterday I'm dedicating this post to her.

Lauren at 2.5 is the sweetest little girl you could ever imagine...

...as well as the most stubborn girl on the face of the earth. Basically life with her is the best of times and the worst of times. Thankfully the good times far outnumber the bad.

Lauren is really blossoming. She talks a mile a minute. She is busy, busy, busy. She loves her babies. She is always "hungwy" and if I leave the cupboard unlocked she will help herself to whatever strikes her fancy. Her favorite food is a "hogdog" from Costco. Seriously. She wants to do everything Will does and doesn't let her shorter limbs and less-developed skills stop her. Anthony and I joke that she has a Stockholm Syndrome-type relationship with Will because he is often doing something to intentionally make her life more difficult but there is no one she would rather play with than him. She loves to climb and swing, but is more cautious when it comes to sliding. She is incredibly gracious and says thank you for everything, but only says please when forced. She likes to give directions. If something happened to me, she would keep things running. Lauren is a songbird. When she isn't telling us what to do she is singing. She's a soloist and does not like it when other people try to sing with her. We regularly hear her singing in bed for over an hour after bedtime. Speaking of sleep, she still naps. She loves her bed and her pacifier.  I am a little embarrassed that we still let her use it, but I love the fact that she sleeps so well and takes a regular nap so clearly I'm not that embarrassed. She is incredibly friendly and considers everyone her friend. She gives great hugs and there is no one I would rather be around when I am feeling sad than her. She is so sweet and nurturing and I am excited to see the person she is (hopefully) growing up to be. This winter was a bit rough for me, but I can honestly say that Lauren has been one of the most constant sources of sunshine in our house.

A few pictures of Lauren being Lauren:

 Telling me to go away when I caught her sneaking popcorn.

Feeding Baby Addy a bottle on one of our walks.

Showing me the "powers" she has in her hands.

Riding Will's tricycle while his back is turned.

Enjoying a carousel ride at the mall with Mom.

Putting on a brother/sister music show at Memaw's house.

Saying hi to the cow at Wonderscope.

Eating her most requested food.

Dressing up.

She's a pretty great girl. I'm so glad she's ours.

easter easter easter

The Easter season of 2014 was a good one. The weather got prettier each day as Easter approached. Maybe it's just me, but a beautiful spring day for Easter is just as important as a white Christmas.

Nana and Papa started the weekend off right by sending the kids cute bunnies filled with chocolates. Thanks Nana & Papa!

Saturday morning we went to the Mission Eggstravaganza for the 3rd time.  In keeping with the "egg" theme for the day, Will had to eat scrambled eggs for breakfast.

I wanted to get one picture of the kids with the Easter Bunny to add to our collection. Neither one was very excited at the prospect, nor was Anthony for that matter. But I convinced Will to go for it by showing him the lollipops in the Easter Bunny's basket.

Lauren was trembling in fear just being in the same room as the Bunny, and insisted on being held by TJ. That is, until she saw Will get a lollipop. Then she was willing to face her fears.

The things these kids are willing to do for candy...

We had some time to kill before the egg hunts, so we checked out the fire truck, paddy wagon and police motorcycle.

Both kids moved up an age bracket this year in the egg hunts, putting them at a slight disadvantage. Lauren was in the 2-3 year old group (as opposed to the 18 month and under group last year), and Will was hunting with the 4-6 year old kids. We tried to talk strategy with them, however they both seem to lack a "killer instinct." 

Lauren's group was first. She was happy to find about 7 eggs and a few pieces of loose candy.

The fifteen minutes between the end of Lauren's hunt and the start of Will's were the s l o w e s t minutes of the day. 

Instead of sticking in one area and grabbing as many eggs as possible (as was suggested to him by his parents) Will opted to run from place to place and ended up with fewer eggs than Lauren. Four- to six-year-olds kids gather eggs fast. He was a little upset by this, but Lauren shared some smarties with him and that cheered him back up.

Sunday morning the kids checked out what the Easter Bunny dropped off overnight.

 Lauren got some toy cookies.

Will got The Jungle Book and some Swedish Fish.

A few shots before church:

And a few after:

 

We ended the day sharing a delicious meal with friends and look forward to one last Easter egg hunt with Memaw and Pepaw when they get back in town next week (I told the kid the Bunny left eggs at their place).

Last year I felt frustrated with myself for the lack of Christ in our Easter observance. This year we read My First Story of the First Easter with the kids twice in the weeks leading up to Easter. We typically read one page a night. The second time through we acted out the scenes and the kids, especially Will, really got into that. They are still acting out rolling the stone away from the tomb. They still don't have a perfect understanding of Easter, but I feel a lot better about their very basic understanding of the holiday. My mother-in-law shared the book God So Loved the World with us which goes through the final week of the Savior's life. I've enjoyed reading it, though I haven't quite finished it yet. Anyone have some great, non-bunny Easter traditions that help them feel the spirit during the Easter season?