This and That

I haven't posted in a few days but I have so much to say! First of all HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to us! We just celebrated six years on Sunday. We went out on Saturday night because we knew Sunday was filled up! We went and ate dinner downtown and then (after a not so great dinner) decided to go somewhere else for dessert. We ended up at Fedora on the square. We had fondue (chocolate with bananas, strawberries, graham crackers, marshmallows and lady fingers!) and it was wonderful! Brian gave me one of the sweetest gifts ever! He got me a certificate to Spa Valencia and told me it was for a warm algae wrap as well as a massage. Of course I was excited but the tears started flowing when he told me that my appointment was Monday at 3:30 and he was coming home early so I didn't have to worry about finding someone to keep the kiddos. I went and it was WONDERFUL! I was hoping that when she unwrapped me I would have beautiful butterfly wings....but no such luck. I'm pretty sure I floated out of there like a butterfly even though I didn't have the wings! He is the best husband ever! I on the other hand was feeling like a "suckatoid" wife. (Thanks Amber for the descriptive!) I got him nothing in the way of material gifts, so we headed to best buy to pick something out. Romantic I know...but I don't know too many men who would complain! He picked out some new headphones for his XBox. Now he can hear the soothing sounds of machine guns and hand grenades and no one else has to!

Kiddo update:
Cohen is talking more and more everyday. I keep waiting for him to learn words that are actually useful. I'm sure they will be the last words he learns! I mean seriously, he can point to the picture in his book and say (in Cohen speak) passenger jet...but he can't tell me what he wants off the shelf. He can identify a glide, hot rod, race car, coupe, hummer and jeep but he won't tell me why he is upset! Oh the joys of toddler hood! But ya know, it's all worth it when he grabs "melmo and his cakey" (elmo and blankie) and cuddles up with me in the rocking chair each night. I love this kid. His new trick is to jump in the pool whenever he pleases. We have to keep floaties on him at ALL times because we never know when he will just jump in! We also do a fun trick in the pool where he stands in my hands and I hold him straight over my head then he balances as long as he can. (Claire calls it "cheerleader" but Cohen calls it "n tall" because I say stand straight and tall!) It's pretty cute because the whole time he is up there is says "whoooaaaaaaahhhh!" I will post pics as soon as we get one!

Claire is now a swimmer! She just doggy paddles but she can swim from one end of the pool to the other! It is so exciting and she is so proud of herself! (Not near as proud as her momma though!) She can also swim underwater and do a flip under the water. She likes to go down and touch the bottom of the pool and come back up. She is quite the little fish.

Claire and I had quite the conversation the other day about peanut butter and jelly. I fixed her a sandwich with my cut and seal sandwich maker from Pampered Chef. She looked at it and said, "Mom, did you get this from the freezer?" (I love the Smuckers PB&J that are in the frozen section because they are just so stinkin' easy so that it what she is used to!) I said, "Nope! I made it all by myself." She was really amazed and said, "Wow, you must be magic!" That's me. A regular David Copperfield. It doesn't take much to impress a child!

Brian and I are hopefully going on a much needed vacation in November and I can't wait to share more details! But for now we are busy with Jarad and Ashley's wedding and will be taking a few little weekend trips. One to Osage Beach for the Missouri Grocers Association Convention (with my parents) and another to Chicago for a wedding.

We are waiting to hear back from the insurance agent with a dollar amount on the damage to our house but he did tell us we would need to replace the following
1. All the gutters
2. The trim around the garage
3. The light fixture on the garage
4. One side of the roof
5. The siding on the north side of our house
6. 2 sides of the shed, the whole roof and the window
7. the fence and the playhouse will need to be refinished (by the way the wind moved this playhouse about 8 inches) **Grammy, click on the word "this"
Thank goodness we were gone in my truck and Brian's car was in the garage! It isn't everyday that they garage is clean enough to fit both cars so Brian's is often in the driveway! I am finding it really pays to be organized!

I also want to brag a little on my husband! God has blessed him with an amazing gift as well as an amazing job. We are discovering almost weekly another perk of being a part of the Johnson & Johnson team. He is working so hard and is doing so great. I am just really proud of him! He also looks really cute when he comes home in scrubs after sitting in on cases that day! He's awesome even if he does only leave me with 4 chicken nuggets! (long story!)