About Us

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We are the Lein Family. Kyle is the Daddy, Jean is the Mama, Asher is our big boy, and Livie is our sweet baby girl. We love friends, family, food, and the playground. And of course, we love our minivan.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Just Wait 5 Minutes

Have you ever heard the old saying if you don't like the weather in Wisconsin, wait 5 minutes, it will change? Well, if you don't like your two year old's behavior, wait 5 minutes, it will change.

Inspired by my friend Katie who took her 6 week old and 17 month old to the grocery store by herself, I decided to give it a try with my two kiddos, age 6 months and almost 2 and a half. This was a daunting task but we have a busy week ahead of us, so I decided to risk it in order to have more time with the hubby later this evening.

Leaving the house was a bit crazy. We got going late and I knew I was on borrowed time as far as Liv's eating schedule was concerned. I thought of Elaine from Seinfeld, speeding off in her flannel nightgown and bedhead, to get her annoying ex-fling to the airport. She knew she was crazy for even trying, but she just had to get him out of her house. I was calling myself crazy, thinking this could only end in stress and possibly tears. But we needed detergent and batteries, darn it!

Craziness aside, we made it out the door in one piece and from then on the kids were amazing. Liv slept the whole time. Ash was excited about sitting in the big boy cart. (Think large cart plus red bench that can hold two kids....this thing is massive. It might've been easier to drive an 18 wheeler through the isles of Woodman's, but I digress.) He got a little stir-crazy toward the end so I let him get off the bench. He was an angel. Stayed by the cart. Walked when I said let's go, stopped when I said stop. In the checkout line, he quietly looked over the candy bars, held them one at a time, then gently put them back. He never even asked for one. It really couldn't have gone better. I got into the van with a big sigh of relief. Thank you Lord!

Home at last, I plop Ash in front of a movie and Liv in front of the boppy to play with her activity mat so I can bring in the groceries. I race to get them inside. Check on the kids. Both happy as clams just where I left them. I think to myself, "Wow, great kids. Best in the world. So good." I then scramble to put the groceries away.

This is when I notice it's gotten quiet. Too quiet. The kind of quiet a mom recognizes as bad news. I peer into the living room ..... where is Liv? I forget for a moment where I put her. Wasn't she on the activity mat? Wait a second, where is the activity mat? I don't see it. All I see is Asher laying on top of his comforter in the exact spot where Livie should be. I panic! I freak out! I race to save my smoothered princess! I grab Ash and move him aside. Fearfully I pull back the comforter and there is Liv smiling like this is the best game she's ever played! She doesn't care that he knocked her over, crashing her mat on top of her, then smothered her with a blanket and jumped on top. She just loves being part of the game!

So where did my sweet, rule-following boy go? I do not know. He's upset that I didn't like his game and proceeds to cry on the floor for a good 5 minutes. Finally he's over it but I think the morning is shot. Do I dare try for lunch or just send him straight to bed? A meltdown could ensue at any moment.

Spurred on by the successful shopping trip, I opt for lunch in front of the tv. He agrees. I get him set up, make my own lunch, and sit on the floor next to the coffee table to enjoy my hummus and veggie wrap. This is when sweetheart boy makes his comeback. He looks over at me on the floor and says, "Muma, ju like a chair?" "Why, sure!" I reply and he brings me one from his little table. We sit around the coffee table and enjoy our lunch together, while Liv bounces safely in the jumperoo.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Six Month Old Liv

Sweet Livie went for her 6 month checkup today and all is well. She is 17lbs 4oz which puts her at the 75 percentile. She is 28 inches long which puts her at 98%. Wow! Not sure where that came from....maybe Great Grandma Barb? Liv got one little poke and cried for about 2.5 seconds. She is such a good girl. It was almost harder on Mom than her. Glad that's over with for another month. Six month pictures on Friday! Good times!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Request and Dedication

Grandma sweetly suggested that I add a video to the blog of Asher saying his ABC's. I don't think she said please but I'll still oblige on account of being a proud mama. Of course when taking the video, Asher did not do as well as he usually does. Normally he only misses three letters, E, H, and R but this time he was a little excited about the camera. The ending is hard to make out, it needs a mama's translation: "Next time Asher sing with me". Enjoy!

Asher has had a funny day. When he was eating lunch he kept finding a mama hair on his finger. This happens a lot, as my hair is still falling out in post-pregnancy rebellion. Ash has termed them big, big hairs. So today he was trying to eat his jelly bagel and this hair would not leave him alone. At one point he thought he'd finally tossed it on the floor but it came back again. From the living room I heard him say, "go outside big, big hair!"

This evening he pretended to be eating candy. This doesn't sound like much, but it's the first time he's pretended without props. He came over to me and said, "Mama, I got sumpin for you". He held out his hand and said, "candy". I pretended to eat it and Ash said, "Asher eat candy too......it's delish!" I'm watching him play right now and he's doing several things he hasn't done before. It's like a switch flipped during his nap and suddenly he's older. Fun to watch but bittersweet as my sweet baby boy turns into a big kid.

Miss Liv is six months now and working on those same two teeth. They are clearly visible but still giving her rosy cheeks and a bit of pain. She is rolling everywhere and can sit on her own. She's also started moving in the walker.

Sunday we dedicated her to the Lord. It was a special day shared by the family and celebrated with much love and bbq sauce at Famous Dave's.

Asher wins the Funny Quote of the Day once again with: "Go outside big, big hair!"

Monday, November 1, 2010

Halloween


Babies in costumes are adorable! But let's face it, once you dress them up there's not much to do with them besides snap some photos. So this year we decided to invite friends over who's children were too young to do any serious trick-or-treating. We planned a potluck and nothing else and the party just sort of evolved into a 4 hour fun fest.

There were six families including us. This made for 8 children; the oldest was 4 and the rest were 2 or younger. Everyone gathered at our house, wolfed down a hot dog or brat, donned their costumes, and prepared for trick-or-treating. But before we left, we had to take some pictures of all the kids together. What ensued was a paparazzi-esque photo shoot that left all stunned and one sobbing (Ash).

Trick-or-treating was awesome! So many little ones grabbing for candy and traipsing through leaf piles. Just when I thought Ash had the whole "trick or treat....thank you" down, he forgot and started saying "candy!" when the people came to the door. We basically hit one block and a cul-de-sac before it got chilly. Then we headed back home for more treats and a Veggietales movie.

In the end I think a great time was had by all. I know I had more fun than I expected and that's always a great way for a party to turn out.