Aunt Debbi - You missed "Girls Morning Out"!

Dear Aunt Debbi, I think you need a break from all that "boy-stuff". You should come with us sometime. This morning Mommy went to get her nails done. The lady in the shop asked me if I wanted my nails done too. Of course I said "Yes". I picked Lavender Sparkle polish. She even did beautiful flowers on my thumbs with magenta rhinestones. Then we went to lunch at Wendy's. Mommy let me get a kid's meal with Diet Coke!

Maybe we can sneak away for a girls evening while we are in Florida together! We could shop, get manicures, look at shoes and purses, and eat chinese food! I love you. I can't wait to see you!
Love, Brooke

PS. I lost ANOTHER tooth! That makes three now. Unfortunately, Mommy says my two new permanent teeth are taking up the entire space of my three lost baby teeth.

Talent Show and Education Fair

Last night was the boys' "Education Fair and Talent Show" at school. Trent blew the crowd away as he sang "It's Possible" from "Suessical the Musical". For those of you not familiar with the show, Suessical is a musical mix of Dr. Suess' best-loved books. "It's Possible" is based on the book, McElligot's Pool. In the show, a precocious boy named Jojo imagines that his bathtub is actually Mr. McElligot's pool which he believes to be connected to miles and miles of underground rivers holding all kinds of fantastical fish. Now, I think Trent stole the entire show, but hey, I have a right to be biased!

"An underground river that starts here and flows right under the bathtub and then who knows! It's possible! Anything's possible!" Oh yeah - Alex designed, sketched and painted the tub himself. He studied Dr. Suess illustrations to get it to look like it popped out of a Suess book.

Here is Grant showing off his Ocean Project outside his first grade classroom. He researched the "Flatfish". A very unique fish that undergoes metamorphis when one eye actually migrates to the other side of its head before it settles to the bottom of the ocean and camouflages itself in the sand and rock. Grant sculpted and painted his fish and Alex got this cool plastic fish-bowl container from the VBS department at work. Grant also wrote a four paragraph report on his fish. His reading has taken flight and he is now reading chapter books independently. I am so proud of him. A whole new world has opened.

Both boys had to run to a game after the Ed. Fair last night. Grant got a solid line-drive every time he batted. He is really showing improvement. He also got to pitch again last night. Trent's team tied. Trent got 2 great hits to the back of the the infield.

The third grade studied Illinois history. Trent's project was on the Sears Tower. He did it all by himself while at school. He researched at the library and internet, made note cards, wrote the report, drew the sketch and designed the poster.

My little men are growing up. Some mothers constantly mourn the loss of the their "little baby". But I celebrate each milestone and step of independence. Even though I miss their babyhood, it is so fun and rewarding to see their growth. Love you BOYS!

Catching Up - Part 1

Hi Everyone! I did not fall off the face of the earth! I have been working feverishly toward my writing deadline for RBP and finished it up a week ago. Then last week I just had to catch up on all the daily demands that I had pushed to the back burner: mountains of laundry, forms to fill out, insurance claims to sort through, and general household cleaning. So...here is what we have been up to: In late April we rode the Metra train down to Chicago and saw Mary Poppins. Trent had earned his ticket free through his Christian Youth Theater organization. Then the rest of us were able to buy in for a very low cost. The theater was gracious enough to even make accomodations for Brooke. She and I got to sit in the second row! Alex and the boys had to sit in the nose-bleed section (that's why our tickets were "low cost"). It was a beautiful show - come on, it's MARY POPPINS! "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" was fantastic and our favorite was the "Step in Time" where "Bert" tapdanced on the ceiling! Of course, Trent and I loved it because we knew it was all done by fly-wires - something we have experienced first-hand!

I left the post up of Trent pitching for so long, I figured it was time to give Grant his due:

Too adorable - ready to go knock one out of the park!

Now look who's pitching! I was so proud of him! He got to pitch for one inning and he did great! I think he has learned quite a bit from listening to Alex coach Trent on his pitching. Grant has such a teachable spirit and he always tries his best. In fact - he did such a great job...

His coach gave him the game-ball!!! Oh, Grant was on cloud 9!

Scroll on down to the next post: Catching Up - Part 2....

Catching Up - Part 2

Spring at the Bauman home: To update you on my "tulip saga": These are in front of the house and the animals leave them alone because the motion-detector porch light comes on and scares them away. But, my side tulips DID survive the rabbit invasion. They were a little later to bloom but they were fine...untill - the deer got them. Alex had covered them with chicken wire, but they grew so high that he had to take the cover off. A few days later I discovered all the heads eaten off half the bed. Lesson learned: taller fence next year.

I love tulips, but these three crab-apple trees are the favorite part of our yard every spring. I just wish they lasted longer. Now look closely and you can see the two "visitors" that also enjoyed the crab-apple trees...

They were on a "date". The male was going through his courting dance for days! No, we do not live on a wildlife preserve, but with the menagerie that passes through our yard, you would think so.

Mother's Day - Brooke and I sang "Cherish the Moment". It was a sweet tear-jerker. I have learned to cry and sing at the same time.

And lastly - here is my "ground's crew" hard at work. Grant LOVES to work in the yard with Daddy.

Now - I think I have covered at least 2 1/2 weeks of events. Trent participates in his school Talent Show this Thursday, so that will probably be the next post. Bye for now.

Throwing the Heat! (well, almost)

Last night Trent had his very first chance on the pitcher's mound. (My favorite part of this picture is his look of concentration and his dimple showing all at the same time.) He has practiced throughout the winter by throwing a t-ball at a target which he drew on the inside of the garage wall with sidewalk chalk. He determinded that he really wanted to pitch this year. Alex has helped him some and as long as he keeps his eye on the catcher's mitt, he delivers fairly well. He struck a guy out last night and that made him pretty proud. The coach even gave him the "game ball". This is a really big accomplishment for Trent. Wow, I'm tearing up. I would have paid a million dollars to see this picture 9 years ago when we sat by his bed in the NICU wondering what kind of future this fragile little baby could have. But, as always, God's grace was sufficient. He didn't make show me a picture, He just gave me His hand as we walked through the trial together.
Okay -enough seriousness, now for some silliness....
Before dinner tonight, I sent Brooke and Grant upstairs to play so Trent could finish a book report at the table without distractions. They were so good and so quiet. Finally, I realized that they had been up there a long time. When I went to check on them this is what I found...

I believe this is the first Q-tip and beauty product sculpture I have ever seen. Would someone please explain to me why we buy TOYS for our children? Grant informed me that it was an "ant house" complete with TV antenna. I didn't post the picture, but after the sculpture was finished, Grant went on to spell out his and Brooke's name in Q-tips across the bathroom floor. Perhaps someday they will get paid for their creativity!

Prima Ballerina! (well, almost anyway)

Sunday was Brooke's dance recital. It is fun to just go through the process of becoming the "ballerina". And this costume was by far her favorite. She has imporved in her control and she has really started learning more of the french terminology and positions. This is her finishing pose from her tap routine "Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch". Very adorable.

And here she is in her end pose for her ballet routine, "Do You Love Me?" Yes, baby, we love you, very much.

Look Who Lost Her First TOOTH!

Brooke has set the new record in our home for being the youngest when loosing the first tooth. Now, mind you, Grant was not quite 5 when he lost his first one. But Brooke is 4 years and 8 months old! I knew it was going to happen. It was slightly loose last month. Then two weeks ago she had dental x-rays and the dentist said it wouldn't be long at all. He said it is early but not unheard of for a child this young to loose the first tooth. Anyway - she was eatting a whole apple and, of course, you know the rest of the story! I was working at the library and Brooke called me to give me the exciting news. She is soooooooo proud of it! Now, the funny part: I played "Tooth-Fairy" last night and replaced the tooth with four shiny quarters (I usually do gold dollars, but didn't have any this time.) This morning, just before 7:00, Brooke got up bawling her eyes out because "My tooth is gone! I want my tooth!" She couldn't care less about those quarters, she wants that tooth for show-and-tell today!

Okay - now my next problem. You are looking at what is left of 2/3 of my tulips. RABBITS! I am livid! I feel so bad for Alex who planted dozens of them last fall. The tulips were not budding yet, in fact the stem wasn't even up yet, just the leaves. They were up about 6-8 inches and those pests chewed them down to the ground!

My question for all of you is: Will they survive? Is there any chance of them blooming this year?

I am so angry - I want a shotgun. They ate across the bed, then got full and stopped. So my bed is gone on 2/3 and still okay on the other 1/3 and looks completely lop-sided. Last evening, Alex installed a galvanized chicken wire covering (completely over the top and sides and he put down blood meal. They survived the night. Oh, how I wish I had known rabbits could do this much damage. We would have installed the fence at the beginning of the year. They also ate my Easter lillies that we planted a few years ago - they are completely gone as well. Kill the wabbit!