Giraffes Can't Dance

Sam exited his preschool room today wearing this hat that he made in class. They had read a book called "Giraffes Can't Dance." Sam proudly wore his giraffe hat to show dad and the ladies at the Bank, and then wore it to the Life Care Center to show Mrs. Bowlby (our 98 year old friend). Near as we can tell, he seems to be liking preschool. He reports that his favorite part of preschool is the playground. Today his responsibility was the lights, so every time they left the room (to go to chapel or the playground) he was in charge of being sure the lights were off. Maybe we need to have a "helper chart" at home. Would that make chores more exciting???

Ben's First Steps

Tonight at the park we brought Ben's walker thinking he might like to try it out in a wide open area. I think he was more interested in playing google eyes with the ladies on the park bench. But he did manage a few steps.

An Evening at the Park

Knowing that it will not be a possibility in the near future, we're trying to spend as much time outdoors when it is nice. Tonight we went to the park next to the Police Academy near our house. Sam said he wanted to bring his bicycle AND helmet. We were excited because he doesn't seem to want to try to ride it anymore. However, once we got there, it was a no go. Even with lots of other kids riding their bikes, Sam didn't ever get on his bike, or put on his helmet. Maybe he'll just wait until he is in the 3rd grade to learn how to ride a bike, since that is when his mom learned how to ride a bike. We were thinking the big parking lot by the park would be better to ride on since he would just be able to concentrate on working the pedals instead of working the pedals AND steering. Maybe next time.

Sam and Ben played "General Store" and Ben did a bit of swinging.

Mr Music Please

Seeing the piano as something else that he can stand up to, Ben has been "serenading" us with music the last couple of days. We just have to be sure that once Ben decides he has had enough standing up, that the piano doesn't fall down with him.

Kansas State Fair 2007

If you were to look up "totally unprepared" in the dictionary you would find a picture of the Shaffer family. We had been planning to go to the Fair on Monday for a few days because it was Dollar day. And if anyone has a family, you know it is always best to spend the fewest dollars on gate admission in case someone is not having a good time - you don't feel so guilty about leaving after 30 minutes or so. However, Monday was the only day where rain was in the forecast. Doug was a bit more leery than I was, but we left Wichita about 2:00 and the weather was nice. We did throw in another umbrella, a jacket for Sam, and shoes for Ben. Other than that we were all wearing short sleeve shirts and shorts. Apparently the only part of the forecast I paid attention to was the rain. It started raining about 15 miles outside of Hutchinson, but the skies looked less gray up ahead. I was still feeling optimistic. It wasn't pouring rain when we got there, just kind of a mist. But the big misjudgment came from not realizing that it was going to be in the mid 50's when we got there. Luckily we had a blanket in the trunk that we could wrap around Ben, and Sam had a jacket. Doug and I just suffered. We tried to stay inside buildings as much as possible (you would be so proud of me, I only came away with 2 pens from all of the free giveaway booths!) After about the first hour, the rain stopped and it was just downright cold. We ended up staying about 4 hours, and had lots of fun.

Sam, Tin man, and the Lion.

Sam got to bottle feed a newborn calf. He also pet some baby chicks, and piglets. He used my favorite phrase, "Hello there little fella."

Farmer Sam and Mother

Sam driving the combine.

As we were talking about going to the fair, Sam repeatedly said that he wanted to show Ben the butter sculpture. Once we hit the fairgrounds, Sam kept saying, "Let's go to the building with the butter sculpture." Once he realized that the building we were in did not hold the butter sculpture, he was ready to leave. I'm not sure Ben was as impressed as Sam would have liked him to be. It's really funny the things Sam remembers, obviously the butter sculpture stuck in his memory, and he felt it necessary to show it to Ben.

We took the train ride around the fairgrounds. It will be a nice family tradition, but next year we'll hope it's not so breezy.

Notice all of the white rain ponchos. Apparently they ran out before we were able to obtain some.

The rescue heroes play croquet

Sam decided that he wanted to play croquet the other morning, while Ben was taking his morning nap. It really was a beautiful morning. After we got the "course" set up, Sam decided that the rescue heroes characters really needed to play. Each one was assigned the corresponding color - Cliff Hanger was orange, Rocky Canyon was green, and Jack Hammer was yellow. Sam actually held each character to the mallet, and repeated what I had instructed him to do with his hands when we were playing, "One hand on each side of the mallet."

After an exhausting morning of croquet, Sam decided to take a little rest in his sandbox. Needless to say, the next event of the morning was a bath.

Shake and Rattle Winnie the Pooh

Sam received this toy from his Uncle Kevin. The premise of the toy is that when you shake the rattle, Pooh sings or talks. Pooh actually responds to any noise - Sam most often make Pooh talk by loud crying or screaming! I'm not sure that Ben actually understands the cause and effect of it, but he is much better at shaking the rattle.

How old do I have to be to mow the lawn like dad?

Ben has been pulling up to most anything these days, so I dug out Sam's walking shoes to see if they would help Ben not slid so much on the tile floor. He had a great time watching Doug mow the backyard, and especially when Doug made faces at him. I'm not sure who was having more fun.

Wichita Train Museum

Last Saturday, Sam and dad went to the Wichita Train Museum. They brought in a special diesel locamotive built in 1944. It was the last Union Pacific Diesel built. The yellow train cars below are rebuilt Union Pacific cars that travel along with the steam engine. The porta-potties below are not part of the exhibit.

First Day of Preschool

We got back in Wichita around 7:00 on Monday night, and Tuesday afternoon at 1:00 Sam started preschool. He is required to bring a backpack to school. He also wanted to bring the chainsaw, but luckily we convinced him that you can only bring toys for show and tell days. On his first day, he was the line leader, and he reported that he played McDonalds on the playground with his teacher, Ms. Ladonna. He had popcorn and cheese for snack, and he spilt some water on his napkin, but the teacher just tore the corner off. When asked (after only 2 days of school - he goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays) what his favorite part of preschool is, he answered, "recess."

He is going to Asbury Preschool which is very close to our house. And both Doug and I (as well as Uncle Kevin) started our education there and we all seemed to turn out OK.

Labor Day 2007 Albuquerque, NM via Amtrak

We made the 2nd annual trek to Albuquerque on the Amtrak train. We began our Friday morning at 1:55 am, we were all in the car with all of our stuff and on the road to Drubers Donuts in Newton for the preboarding snack.

Sam was not as scared this year of the train as he was last year. But he still needed to be carried onto the train, and was a little nervous. We quickly found our seats, and after an hour or so we all fell back asleep until we hit Dodge City about 6:30am. For some sleeping was a bit easier than it was for others. Ben did a great job of sleeping, and even took his regularly scheduled naps, just as if he was at home.
We spent just a few minutes in the observation deck. Across the aisle from us was an Amish family that had been on the train for 2 days. They had boarded in Pennsylvania. Yikes - no thanks. Even more impressive, they had an 18 month old son. I'm guessing they didn't have the electronic Leap Pad and the portable DVD player like we had to pass the time.Here we are on one of the "break" stops (aka smoke stops) where you can get off the train for a few minutes for some fresh air (if you can get far enough away from the smokers.) The nice conductor that led us to our seats casually mentioned that they were having a problem with the bathroom on our train and not to worry if we encountered a foul odor on occasion, it would soon pass. He said it so nonchalantly that it took a few minutes for us to understand the ramifications of his message. Needless to say, we lived with a "foul odor" on and off for most of our trip. I likened it to the smell of Chicken and Broccoli baby food. If you want to walk a mile (or 13 hours) in our shoes, feel free to visit your local grocery store and pick yourself up a jar of the baby food, open it up and sniff it. Then leave it sitting open on your kitchen counter so that every time you walk by, you are reintroduced to the inviting smell. Well, you get the idea.

Once we arrived in Albuquerque, we were met by Doug's parents and we drove in their van to Aunt Doris' house. We got reacquainted with all of our cousins, and they all met Ben. We spent Saturday at the Zoo, Aquarium, and the Botanical Gardens. We were all pooped when it was over. Ben got the royal treatment at the zoo. Doug's cousin, Janell's daughter - Katie, and her friend Jasmine carried Ben all over the zoo. And most evenings you could find Katie or her sister Melissa playing with Ben, or rocking him to sleep. We both wished that we could sneak them home with us. They were tons of help, and freed us to hang out with the other cousins, as well as Doug's sister, Lori and our niece, Brooke who we hadn't seen in several months.

Sam and Ben on the ant at the Botanical Gardens.

Sam reading "Today I Will Fly" for Katie and several others. If you have heard him read this book, you know that he reads with lots of inflection in his voice. It is truly funny to hear him read out loud.

Cousin Brooke pats Cousin Ben's head (after he has been rocked to sleep by either Katie or Melissa).

Sam and Brooke play in the front "yard." Sam was making rock goldfish.

8 Months Old

Baby Ben is now 8 months old. He has mastered crawling, and is all over the house. His favorite hideouts are his brothers room, and the bathroom, and trying to get back behind the computer table to see how many cords he can stuff in his mouth. He is pulling up on anything and everything, especially his brother's bed and the bathtub. We are still awaiting the arrival of the first tooth, but there is no rush for that to happen. He loves eating, and lets you know if you are too slow in your delivery of the next bite. Long gone are those days of endless crying, now there are smiles all around. (Well, except for when he falls over when he is trying to sit down from a standing position).

Sedgwick County Zoo

During the summer months, our zoo stays open until 8:30 on Tuesday nights. We celebrated the last late evening with a visit to the children's farm. We don't always visit this part of the zoo, but they have made some recent upgrades so the animals are kept in the pens, and you can go inside the gate and see them, instead of the way it was were humans and animals all mixed together, and there was no escaping a goat or sheep that thought you were holding back on the food pellets you can purchase out of gumball machines. (Was that sentence too long?) ANYWAY, Sam decided that he wanted to feed the goats, and for the most part they behaved until one or two became impatient, and then the "bucking" with the horns began. We then all realized why we never visit this exhibit very often!

Ben enjoyed the view from the safety of his stroller, and from behind the fence. There were a couple of goats who thought Ben might have some food on his tray and got a little too close for my comfort.
Inside the barn are a couple of wooden horses. I couldn't believe we got both boys looking at the camera and smiling!