Keepsake Boxes

**Disclaimer: I will be talking about a dead baby in this post, if that bothers you, stop reading now.

Awhile ago I bought some small plastic tubs to put keepsakes in for each of the kids. I finally got to that project this weekend. I drew their names on the lids and put flowers on Amelia's. I have had a stack of stuff in each of their closets of stuff that I think they will want someday, baby books, birthday cards, stuff from when they were born, etc. I went through all of it and put it in a tub for each of them. It became apparent very quickly that I should have bought bigger containers. I want to try and be better about keeping track of how they are growing and learning, and have a place to keep little things for them. I when through each of their baby books and tried to add in new stuff, but I am already so behind. Hopefully this blog will help me to remember when things happen.

When I bought the tubs, I bought a third smaller one for our first baby's things. I don't know how else to refer to him other than our first baby. He has a name, but I prefer not to say, since we didn't officially name him. When I picked out a container for him, I actually thought to myself, "I should get one for his stuff too, he'll want it someday." But he won't want it, the contents of that rubbermaid tub are just for me. His is smaller, and I don't have to worry about getting one that is too small, I won't be adding anything more to his.

Catching Up

I haven't been as diligent posting the last 2 weeks as I want to be. So, now I will try and catch up. Last Sunday we and the petty fam and mom went to Hoxie for the day. We had pizza baked in their new outdoor oven and the kids ran around and played outside all afternoon. The big kids loved to see all of the animals at Jane's house.

Alana, Bo and new baby Cole were at moms yesterday afternoon. Ashley and her 4 came up too. It was good to see her and watch the big kids play together.

This week was busy with work, meetings, art class, the usual.

Truman now has his two top teeth coming in. He is eating all kinds of foods and is starting to have small pieces of fruits and veggies. He loves crackers and cheerios. He isn't crawling on all fours, but can get around army crawling and is trying to pull up on things.He has been fussing and night and waking up in the night. I think he just wants held. We are trying the crying it out method as I type this...I think the crying may have stopped for now.

Amelia's becoming more of a personality all the time and her vocabulary is expanding. She is also starting to pretend play. Here are some of the funny/cute things she is doing:
-she plays mommy to her bear. Bear gets her diaper changed, amelia says yucky, she puts her on the toilet says potty, then flushes. She wraps bear in a blanket and rocks and pats her. And tonight bear was in the timeout chair and amelia was telling her no, no, no. Trav and I asked what the bear did wrong but she didn't say.
-when I go in the other room she says where are you? I think she got that from the scooby doo theme song.
-she gets several bags, the diaper bag, and/or my purse, comes and says kiss, hug, goes to the door, says work, love you, bye bye.
-on the way to daycare she lists off names of kids there. Addy, cohan, greyson, tausha, etc. Then when I pick her up and we are heading home its daddy, marley.
-the other morning as I was getting ready, she figured out the zipper on her sleeper and took it and her diaper off. I found her naked on the couch watching tv and drinking her milk.

Trips

This has been a great week of trips and adventures. I got home wednesday night late from the TIAK conference. It was good to be home and see the kids (and Travis :). The conference was really good, Haley and I got alot of great ideas. I have a long to do list of things to accomplish now, it seems to always happen after these things. It was kind of like a vacation, we went shopping, ate out, and visited friends at the LAC.

My next adventure for the week came Thursday morning. I went over to the Big Well construction site to see the progress they had made while I was gone. They had removed the top viewing canopy, cement cap, and all but one section of stairs. I was watching them take out the last set of stairs and taking pictures when the head guy from the demo company came over and asked if I wanted to go down in the well. I said really? for real? He said yes, so I got harnessed up and they lowered me and him with the crane in a basket. It was amazing! I feel special, I think I am the only person who has gotten to do that.

Today we went to Hoxie for pizza in Uncle Tony and Aunt Loretta's new wood fired outdoor oven. It was awesome. Mom rode up with Clint and Ashley and the kids. Dad left very early this morning to go to Florida for a speaking engagement. We each got to put our own topping on our pizzas then Tony cooked them. The big kids had a good time running around outside, chasing Thomas the cat, feeding and riding the donkeys. We went over to Jane's to see the chickens, goats, and big footed cats.

TIAK Conference

I am in Lawrence through Wednesday for the state tourism conference with Haley. I miss Lawrence, its so great being back here. We had the opening presentation at the Dole Institute of Politics and the evening and dinner at Van Go Mobile Arts. Get to see hollie and michael tomorrow for dinner, can't wait!

Homecoming

just pics

Puddles

It rained Saturday and Sunday off and on, it was wonderful! We've got the windows open and its so cool outside. Gotta love fall. I just hate knowing that winter is on its way. I hate the cold. Pat watched amelia today and sent me this pic of her playing in a puddle. Yesterday we had a work day at the arts center. We couldn't do any of the outside things because of the rain, but got a lot done inside.

I made a pretty delicious dinner tonight. Salmon, pecan crusted warm goat cheese on salad with beets. It was very good. I would serve it in our dream restaurant.

We had to put the baby cage back across the stairs tonight. Truman army crawled into the bathroom from the living room while I was giving amelia a bath.

Finally Friday (and Saturday)

Yesterday I finished the self portrait tile mural at the school. Luke and Darin helped to hang it, I am so glad they were there and that Darin is so particular. It looks great, I am really proud of how it turned out.

Last night Clint and Ashley and the kids came up for as mom calls it "Finally Friday." Which usually entails homemade pizza and adult beverages. I called Ashley earlier in the day to tell her to call mom and invite themselves over. Ray and Pay were there too. It's so much fun to watch Jett, Judd and Amelia play together. They are so funny.

Today the next artists showing in the arts center came to set up their work. It's called Mix Masters, they are tin cans with electronic sensors hooked up to records that triggers small mallets to hit the cans. They are really fun, more about them to come.

There was a tour group in town of architects and I talked about the Big Well project at City Hall. They seemed really interested in the design of the building and the well itself. The architect said the well is our Eifel Tower. I haven't ever thought of it like that, but its so true. It is our iconic piece of architecture.

Travis has downloaded 2 seasons of Scooby Doo onto the computer and has watched some of it with Amelia. So, tonight she brings me the remote and says, "ooby do, ooby do." I said Scooby Doo? ANd she just said yep and stood watching it for along time. Tonight I put Amelia to bed. We have such a bedtime routine that she is used to. Bath, get dressed, brush hair and teeth, say night night to everyone, go into her room, put on her music, turn off the light, close the door partially and go to bed. Well, tonight I turned off the light then sat on the bed with her for some quiet time and she got up, went to the door, held the door in one hand, and pointed with the other telling me to "get out." She didnt say anything, just looked at me and pointed out the door. I just said ok, ok I get it, said goodnight and walked out laughing. So much for cuddling :)

Truman took several good naps today. He has started eating puffs and is starting to get better at the pincher grip and picking them up. He also had some graham cracker and loved it.

Got word from Tanner and Jill that another Dixson is on the way in May. I saw Dad shortly after Tanner sent all of us a text, and he just held up 8 fingers and smiled then shook his head.

Another class...

I had an adult ceramics class tonight and had 13 ladies. It was nice to have such a big group. I finished gluing all of the tiles to the panels for the mural and hope to get it hung at the school tomorrow afternoon. We had a meeting today about the 100th birthday of the girl scouts. The Kansas Heartland chapter is hosting their celebration here at the end of april and they said today that they expect 1000 to 5000 people. I can't wrap my brain around having that many people here! That's way more people than what live here.

We are trying to get our lawn reseeded and get more dirt to fill in a few spots. I want to do more landscaping along the south of the house. Sounds like starting tomorrow we have a good chance at finally getting some rain. It would be great to get a few inches, and send some to south Comanche county too.

Tru was laying on our bed the other morning and Amelia got up on the bed with him, laid down beside him on the pillow, put the blanket over them and said 'night, night!' We might be getting closer to potty training. She will say potty, but I think its always after she's already gone in her diaper. Oh well, baby steps.

Works In Progress

I am finally getting the school students self portrait tile mural all put together. I am nearing the finish line gluing the tiles to panels then I'll get it installed at the school. This has been a fun project and I can't wait to see it up and to see the kids reactions to it.

The Big Well Museum project begins week 3 of construction this week. They are continuing the demo of the site and have started digging out the parking lot.

Wine, apples, pizza

Saturday was our 3rd annual wine tasting at the arts center. Hard to believe its been 3 years. It went pretty well, a smaller crowd than I'd hoped for, but everyone had fun and it went smoothly. Jim and joyce were dancing, so if that's any indication, it was fun. We had an extra bottle of each of the wines, so I started auctioning them off at the end. I hate playing auctioneer. Luckily peter k. Jumped in and took over. It was hilarious! Everyone was laughing so hard and he helped us get some good money.

Dad left for Qatar yesterday. He'll be back in a few days. He was invited to speak at a sustainablilty conference there. I can't wait to hear about this trip.

Went to church today and had a bit of a headache from my wine consumption. It was a good morning. We were actually to church early. We went to daves for lunch with the porters. We spent the rest of the day at home, except I went to the school to set up for art class tomorrow. We are doing clay this time, K-5 tomorrow. I made homemade applesauce and the kiddos really liked it. Amelia had 2 bowls.

I think trav and I are gonna start getting up early to exercise. We'll see how that goes.

Thinking of hollie and michael. His mom just had a lung transplant yesterday and they are in Dallas.