Rainy Day Fun

We have had a rainy week in the Kansas City area. Our outdoor plans for Tuesday had to be cancelled, so we took a trip to Walmart instead. We found these kits to make puppets on clearance. So we went home and made puppets! The boys had a blast putting them together and playing with them! Surprisingly enough after a couple of days they are mostly intact, minus a lion's tail and bird feather.

Wednesday was rainy as well, but that didn't change our plans to see our first movie in the theater. We met our friends at the mall, played a little, ate some lunch and then went to see Charlotte's Web. The boys were pretty good during the movie. We got kind of restless in the middle. The theater offers movies for kids during the summer for super cheap, so the theater was full of kids. Which makes it nice for those restless moments. I believe we are going to see the bee movie next week.

I woke up to some sunshine this morning, hopefully it sticks around!

Bubbles

We were outside playing with chalk and bubbles last night. Thomas was trying to put a wand into a bottle of bubbles. As you might expect when a 3 year old does bubbles, the bottle was tipped and bubbles were being spilled on the ground. While doing this he says "The bubbles are peeing mom!"

Today we went to the ENT to check and see how our tubes were doing. I believe 3 of the 4 tubes are still in, but we have fluid on all four ears. That means we get to put ear drops in! After you see the doctor you get a snack and a sticker. The boys were super excited to eat their snack in the car on the way home. The boys were both so tired that practically fell asleep eating their snack. They were going for another cracker, but fell asleep in the mean time. I successfully transferred them to their beds when we got home and am enjoying a little quiet time!

Quote of the day!

Today's quote of the day is. "I gotta get my feet on" said by Thomas!

Deanna Rose

The boys have gotten to go to Deanna Rose Farmstead twice this summer and have loved it. They get so excited to go to the farm. They love looking at all the animals, feeding the goats. More pictures can be seen at this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=83894&id=598762182&l=5ad07798d3

Shoo Fly

The entire conversation at dinner one last week revolved around the fly in the kitchen. The boys were very concerned about the fly. They wondered where he was going to land next, if he would eat their food. We also started shooing the fly away when it landed near us. It is a good thing the fly finally left the kitchen, otherwise I'm not sure we would have been able to eat dinner that night.

Roller Skates

I was out and about checking out some garage sales, when I found at two different sales, two pairs of roller skates for the exact same price. I was going to put them away for bit, until the boys got a little big older. I washed them up before putting away and the boys found them before I got them put away. There was no putting these away now. The boys continued to ask us to skate. You can see a picture of them enjoying their skates. It was pretty fun having mom and dad push them around the house. I know they will enjoy many more skating adventures.

Buzz Cuts

So we go to Grandpa Brian's and Grandma Suzie's for Easter and we come back with buzz cuts. We get up Saturday morning eat breakfast and get asked if we want a hair cut. We comply because we know there is usually some kind of treat involved, used by the parents to get us to cooperate. Michael decides to go first. He gets a little impatient while Grandpa Brain buzzes off all of his hair. By this time, I'm not sure if I want to go through with the hair cut, but because Michael did it, I don't think I have much of a choice. Plus I want to see what kinds of goods I can get out of the deal. So I go ahead and take my place on the chair and now we both look the same. Neither of us liked it at first, but it is growing on us. We very much enjoyed the candy we got as our special treat for being good boys during our hair cuts.

You can check out some more pictures mom took of us at the following links: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=75806&id=598762182&l=b202999b9a

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=71969&id=598762182&l=ba91a5f009

Too much Sonic???

Last night was a busy night and I didn't have anything out for supper, so the boys and I swung by sonic on our way back to Edgerton. I pull into the parking stall and roll down my window. As I am doing this, I hear a little voice from behind me say "Push the red button". Apparently Michael knows the Sonic drill. We really don't eat at Sonic all that often, so I was really surprised.


More pictures of the boys can be seen at the following link: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1633394&l=f38aef19d3&id=598762182

Silly Faces

These pictures are just a taste of what dinner is like at our house each evening (Thomas has his tongue out). The boys have become little funny men lately. The other thing they have been working on is potty training. They are still hit and miss, but enjoy going potty on potty like a big boy.



Otherwise their favorite thing to do right now, is play NASCAR, they love lining up there cars for a race. You can usually here them cheering on Jimmy Johnson and an occasional Jeff Gordon.

We took a trip to St. Louis over spring break and visited my family. It was good to see everyone.

I will try to post more pictures soon.

Sticker Wall

Check out the boy's sticker walls! When the boys try to go potty they get a sticker to put on their sticker wall. We are really good about sitting on the potty, but haven't much luck going potty. More pictures of the boys can be seen at the following link. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=67721&id=598762182&l=af13f

Toilets, continued

David decided that he would try the do it yourself route before calling the plumber. So he borrowed a snake from a friend and tried to get it unclogged that way, but no luck. So he determined the next step would be to take the toilet off the wall and attack it from the back side. We jumped to conclusions when we blamed the boys for putting something in the toilet. We will just say that the last person to use the toilet (David) is to blame and we won't say anymore! David was successfully able to clear the toilet of the clog and put the toilet back in place.

Toilets

I was enjoying a peaceful nights sleep when I was suddenly awoken by the sound of profanity and running water. I get up and go out into the hallway to see what is going on. I find David disparately try to plunge the toilet in the boy's bathroom, but not having any luck and water was spilling over onto the floor. While cleaning up the water on the floor and trying to determine what may have happened. The best explanation we can come up with is that a 2 1/2 year old that lives in our house, must have flushed something. We will find out soon enough when we call a plumber, luckily we know one. We are taking guesses as to which twin it was, Michael or Thomas, and what may have been flushed down the toilet. If you guess right, you won't get anything other than knowing that your brain works like the brain of a 2 1/2 year old! After a visit the plumber we will update you to let you know if it was something artificial flushed down the toilet, or if it was David's fault as he caused the flooding!

Bug houses

On a recent trip to Walmart we found bug houses, to keep bugs we catch in. No I don't planning on catching many bugs with in February, but at the end of last summer, we were unable to find a bug house. So we bought the first ones we saw.

Right around the same time we bought the bug houses, the bears that they slept with disappeared. (I wonder how that happened?!) The boys had a tendency to chew on the arms of their bears and I decided that this probably wasn't very good for their teeth. The last time I washed all of their sheets and bedding, the bears never returned.

After that random tangent, back to the bug houses. Since the bears disappeared the boys have been playing musical bedtime animals. Each night they were picking out different animals to sleep with. One night Michael decided that he needed to sleep with his bug house. If Michael has to do something, then Thomas has to follow, either by choice or by Michael making sure he does the same thing. One would think this would not be very comfortable to cuddle up with. Nevertheless, they both slept with the bug houses in their beds. If they are happy and going to sleep without any problems, I won't complain.

Brotherly Love

The boys have made the transition to their big boy beds very well. The only problem we seem to have is that Thomas wants to spend a little extra quality time with his brother. More than one time, after being laid down for naps, we have heard Michael getting upset about something. When going to check it out, we find that he is upset because Thomas is trying to take a nap in his bed as well. Last Sunday the boys were taking naps and had been asleep for awhile, but not long enough in my opinion, when Michael started crying. I decided to go and check out what was happening. It turns out that Thomas was curled up sleeping on Michael's bed, I think he was even on top of Michael's legs. Michael wanted nothing to do with this. I thought the easiest solution, was to put Michael in Thomas' bed, so as not to have both boys awake by moving Thomas. All is fine until Michael realizes that he is not in his own bed. So David goes in and puts both boys back into their own beds and all is well.

Life Lesson Number 2

Apparently we aren't a very fish friendly family, as the boys, had to close the lid, say goodbye and flush their second goldfish. One of the joys of being two and a half, is that now that all the fish tanks have been removed, they don't ask about them.

Life Lesson

We are sad to say, that now we are down to only one fish. The boys said good-bye to the fish, before closing the lid on the toilet and flushing it. They didn't quite understand why the second fish couldn't join the first fish. The joy of being 2 years old. They quickly moved on to feeding the living fish. We are hopeful the second fish will live for longer than a few days.

Goldfish!

The boys got their first pet this past weekend. We got the boys goldfish. They love the fish. They are so excited to help feed the fish, talk to the fish and watch the fish. The fish are still unnamed, since we haven't thought of any good names yet. The boys haven't given us any good ideas. Imagine that!

Picking your team

Tonight in the Dillner household will be a divided night. KU is playing the Huskers in Lincoln. I have no problems cheer for the Jayhawks, unless they are playing the Huskers. All week David and I have been gearing the boys up for the big game. Each of us chanting our team's cheer, hoping the boys will agree with us. Michael was the one who would cheer with me. Thomas usually stuck with the Jayhawks. This morning it was time to break out the collegiate team apparel. Michael got to wear the Husker clothes and Thomas the Jayhawk sweatshirt. Although Thomas did fight putting on the Jayhawk sweatshirt. It will be fun tonight to see who the boys cheer with!

Up and Running Again

After some delay and technical difficulties, the Dillner's blog is up and running again. Here are pictures of the boy's new big boy beds that they have moved to around the 1st of the year. Look for more updates and pictures!

Two Today!

It is hard to believe, but Thomas and Michael have turned 2 today. It is hard to believe how fast two years flies by. We had a nice day. We went swimming with some friends this afternoon and opened presents from mom and dad. The real fun come on Sunday when we have their party. I promise to post more pictures after their party.

T-Bones Game

Last night we ventured to a T-Bones game with the boys. We sat on the hill in the outfield and enjoyed a baseball game. John and Jilinda were in town this weekend, so we met them at the game. The boys love baseball and they enjoyed the game. I was surprised that we managed to make it through the entire ball game. There were fireworks planned for after the game, but we decided it was time to head home and get to bed. The boys were asleep in the car before we got back on the interstate.

We have plans to go swimming this week, but we don't know if the weather is going to cooperate, hopefully it does.

For more pictures check out this link. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28056&l=eb52d&id=598762182

Trying to do better

I know that recently I haven't done a very good job of making posts and putting pictures of the boys on here. Now that I am on summer break, I will try to do a better job. You can check out more pictures of the boys by visiting this link. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=26610&l=69dc1&id=598762182 Enjoy!

feeding baby goats.

Here are a couple more picture from our trip to Deanna Rose yesterday. You can find more pictures by going to this link. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=27109&l=7f00c&id=598762182

A good day

The joy of summer break, allows for fun outings. Today the boys and I, along with our friend Jackie and her twin boys, Ashton and Isaiah went to the Deanna Rose Farmstead. Before going to check out the animals, Jackie and I had to stop by a church garage sale, we picked up a few good bargains. By the time we made it to the park it was lunchtime. So we enjoyed a picnic. All of the boys were too interested in what was going on around us to eat too much. We all had a great time walking around, looking at the animals. All of the boys got a chance to feed baby goats from a bottle. We all had a great day. I will post more pictures soon, but have to go as the boys are waking up from their naps.

Ready for summer

We are all ready for summer. The picture of the boys, shows how ready for summer they are. I have been enjoying summer break all this week. I am enjoying not having to wake up to an alarm clock. Although the boys don't sleep super late, it is later than getting up for school.

Outdoor Fun

Here are few pictures of the boys enjoying the outdoors. We love playing outside or doing anything that relates to the outdoor. In the picture with both boys they are trying to catch bubbles. Michael is trying to climb up the slide, as well as just getting up from going down the slide. Thomas is trying to get into the sandbox.

Differences

This weekend we were at the mall and came across a play area. David took the boys in there to play for a bit while I ran to one last store. David said that when they got into the play area Thomas took off right away and began playing, while Michael kind of stood there for a bit looked around taking it all in and making sure it was okay to venture in. By the time I got back to the play area, they were both have having a great time and did not want to leave.

A little later we stopped at a sandwhich shop for lunch. David decided he wanted jalapeno chips with his lunch and that he wanted to shar with the boys. They boy eagerly tried them. Thomas did not flinch at all. In fact he kept eating them all during lunch. Michael kind of make a face, but at a couple. After finishing his sandwhich Michael decided to try another chip and then decided that jalapeno chips are not for him.

As the boys are getting older it is becoming easier to see which is going to be more like his father and which is going to be more like me. Can you tell? Enjoy a few pictures of the boys enjoying Easter egg hunting.

New Respect

I have a new respect for single parents. Yesterday morning David got up very early and left for the airport, to go a short trip to Chicago. He will be returning tonight. It has been a rough couple of days, being the single parent to take care of the boys. I am sure that it doesn't help that last week, I was home on spring break, so we have to get back into our weekday routine. We will be glad to have daddy back home late tonight.

We hope you all had a Blessed Easter. We were able to spend the weekend with David's family. It was so much fun to see Dominic playing with the boys. The boys enjoyed hunting for Easter eggs and digging into their Easter baskets.

My little thugs (see pictures, Thomas has the jacket on) are also enjoying riding forward in the car. At first they seemed a little scared, but it didn't take them long to realize how much better life is when you face forward in the car.

Finally

After a visit to the doctor this morning, the boys have finally surpassed the 20 pound mark and can ride in the car facing forward!

In the pictures above. The boys are in the high chair after dad gave them a hair cut. I think he got a little carried away with Michael's bangs. Michael and Thomas have discovered the wonderful world inside of one of mom's cabinets. They are having a good time on the counter at grandma's. I also put more pictures on face book. Check them out at this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=16788&l=5ceda&id=598762182

7th Annual Naismith Championship

It's March Madness again and that can only mean one thing:
the Naismith Championship!

The Dillners would like to invite you to participate in the
7th Annual Naismith Championship! To accept this invitation
and join the group, click the link below (or cut and paste
the link into your browser's address field). You'll be asked
to enter the password before you can join. The group
password is included in this e-mail, but if it's not for
some reason, it is "ku".

As in years past, David Dillner, the Championship Chair has
elected to host this year's Naismith Championship on the CBS
Sportsline web site.

This year we want to once again encourage everyone to invite
at least one other person to play in the championship. The
more the merrier!

According to tradition, the winner will receive the coveted
Naismith Basketball Trophy. (Yes, the winner does receive a
REAL TROPHY!)

Congratulations to two-time champion Kevin McKinney on his
2007 Naismith Championship victory!

2007 Top Five Scores:
1. Kevin McKinney - 118
2. Nikki Spencer - 114
3. Festus Hagan - 107
4. Mark McKinney - 104
5. Megan Laha (Skinner) - 99

Previous Naismith Champions:
2007 - Kevin McKinney
2006 - Amanda Highland
2005 - Kevin McKinney
2004 - Mike Weber
2003 - Gary Havercamp
2002 - Rex Lowe

Good Luck and as always, Go Jayhawks!


http://dillner.mayhem.sportsline.com/e

Our Group password is: ku

It's official

I think we can officially say that the boys are walkers. We rarely see them crawling anymore. They have gotten to the point where it is just as fast to walk than crawl. It won't be long and they will be running.

Busy at the Dillner's

I have to apologize for the lack of posts lately. The Dillner household has been busy lately. The past 3 weekends in a row we have had company. It was wonderful to see all the family that came for a visit. We are looking forward to a quiet weekend.

The boys have made a great adjustment to daycare. They love going to play with their new friends. They are getting to be better walkers everyday and are learning more and more new words. David is trying to get them to say JayHawk, while I am trying to get them to say Huskers. We will see which they can say first. David has also tried to get them to say negative things about K-State.

I am enjoying my new job. I love being able to talk to other adults during the day. Everyone at the school really likes me too. I has been a good decision for me to go back to work. David is keeping busy at City Hall. He is gearing up for the March Madness and the beginning of racing season.

In the pictures above, Thomas appears to be in jail, while Michael is taking it easy in his new ride. You can check out this link for more pictures of the boys. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=16788&l=5ceda&id=598762182

More pictures

Check out this link for more pictures of the boys. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=16788&l=5ceda&id=598762182

Double Trouble

Some pictures of both the boys. They are helping daddy put something together. They are with their friends Ashton and Isaiah, who are also twins, after a playdate.

Michael

Some pictures of Michael. He is realizing that he can stand by himself. Michael is helping mommy clean out her towel drawer.

Thomas

Here are some pictures of Thomas. Thomas is helping mom with the laundary, sitting on Great-Grandpa Andy's lap, trying to stand up on his own and upset about something.

Back to work

Life has changed at the Dillner household. Last Thursday I went back to work full time. I am really enjoying my job. I'm at a great school with wonderful kids. I am working with 5th and 6th graders. I definitely enjoy working with them more than I did the 8th graders I worked with in VA. The boys are adjusting well. They like going to daycare. They have a great time playing with their new friends all day long. I think they are starting to really miss mom, but it will take time for them to get adjusted. Just since Thursday Thomas has really started saying a lot more words. I think he hears his friends talking and he is trying to do the same. One of his newest words is 'no'. Michael is talking less, but it won't be long and he will have the 'no' word down. The boys are also taking a few steps between mom and dad. I am hoping that seeing other kids at daycare walking, will speed up the walking process. Well I have a few things I need to finish up before tomorrow, so this is all for now. I will try to put current pictures up soon!

Happy New Year!

We hope all of you had a Merry Christmas. Our Christmas seemed a little crazy and is not yet finished. Last weekend we took a shortened trip, due to sickness and weather, to Beloit for Christmas with the Dillners. We had a quiet Christmas at home with the boys and are heading to Omaha for Christmas with the Krehers this weekend. Besides all the traveling the boys are working on getting over a bout with croup. They are both feeling much better. They are also enjoying playing with all their new toys. Well I suppose I should go and finish packing. I just wanted to post a couple of pictures from Christmas morning. Michael is wearing the yellow and Thomas the blue. We hope you all have a safe and happy New Year!

Changes

There will be some big changes in the Dillner household in the near future. I will be returning to work full time after the new year. Sorry to disappoint all of those who thought I was going to say I was pregnant. I know lots of you were thinking that, but not at this time. Starting January 3rd I will be teaching 5th and 6th grade Special Education at Wheatridge Middle School is Gardner. The local school district does not offer contracts in the middle of the year, so I will be working as a long term sub. I have an understanding with the Special Education Administration that if they like me and I like them, then I will be offered a contract for next school year. I am excited to begin working again. I am saddened at not being able to spend the days with my boys, but I am thankful for the time I was able to spend at home with them. I will be working to find daycare for the boys between now and Jan. 3rd. We have met with one person and I have a couple more interviews lined up.

The boys got tubes in their ears on Thursday. By Friday they were back to normal. We got the boys' picture taken with Santa on Friday night. This picture was taken a few seconds before Thomas started crying.