Practice Santa

Well, things aren't looking too good for the Santa picture this year. We were at the mall in Topeka today and walked by the place to take pictures with Santa. I told Tom we should at least stop and say hi and wave to him so Kinley will think its fun later to take a picture. This was not a good idea. She wouldn't even look at Santa at first. He wasn't busy, so he came closer to us and tried to talk to Kinley. She apparently took this as a threat. She immediately leaned back into me and wouldn't look him in the eye. He even tried to give her a little candy cane and Tom had to go get it and give it to her. We were walking away and she still wouldn't look at him or say bye to him. I guess maybe this year instead of a Santa picture we'll have a Christmas tree picture of something. We'll see.

The Bee Movie

We decided to take Kinley to go see Bee Movie. She loves bees and likes popcorn, so I thought now would be a good time to try a movie. We went to a 12:30 show. I packed up her lunch and juice, grabbed the blanket and the binky, and off we went. We got our tickets, a coke and popcorn and went into the theater. Luckily there were seats on the end of the first row (this row has extra leg room because there is only a railing in front of it instead of seats). Once we got settled in, the previews had started. I stared giving Kinley her lunch and she was great. She sat on my lap covered in her blanket and ate like a big girl. I thought this was going to be great. Once she finished eating, I gave her the binky and snuggled her on my lap. Probably a minute before the actual movie started, Karol asked if she was sleeping. I looked down (she was being really still) and there she was sacked out before the opeing credits started! I guess I should have figured out the timing would be this way, but I thought with lunch and bees, she would be too hyped to sleep. I was wrong! She was out for at least 45 minutes and then woke up amazed at the screen. She liked the bees, but was more interested in looking at all the kids in the theater.
I guess you could say this was a successful first movie. I didn't have to take her out because she was crying; she didn't talk and make noise, and we all enjoyed the movie. Maybe next time she'll see more than the last 30 minutes of the show - who knows!

Halloween Videos

Here are a couple of videos from the zoo and trick-or-treating. Hope they make you smile!

This is Kinley and Chloe on Halloween night trick-or-treating


This is Kinley at the zoo in Manhattan brushing a goat in the petting area

Again?!

Well, yesterday I had to make another trip down to the emergency room. Once again I was finished running on the treadmill and noticed my hands itching a little bit. I tried to talk myself out of the real cause, but after Kinley and I got to the indoor track and noticed my face swelling and my entire body was lobster red, I had to go in. Luckily this time was not as bad a reaction as last time, but I still got a shot of Benadryl and some steroid. They watched me for an hour to make sure nothing else happened and then sent me home with a Prednisone prescription and a pat on the back.
The only things in common with this time and last time is 1) I was on the treadmill in the workout room and 2) it was the same time of the month (10/8 vs 11/6). I know they cleaned the treadmills on Monday, but I need to find out what they cleaned with and when they did it last month. That's the only thing I can think of since I've been in the workout room a lot in the last month.
I was really worn out last night and a little tired today, but the strange thing is that my forearms feel like they are dehydrated, if that's possible. I guess that's all for now. I'll keep y'all updated as to what I can figure out.

Magic Eraser

Yesterday we had our first opportunity to see the wonders of the Magic Eraser. Kinley was peacefully coloring in a color book when I heard a strange sound. I followed it to a corner in our living room where Kinley was so graciously adding some artwork to the walls. Unfortunately, she wasn't hanging anything, but drawing on the two walls that meet at the corner. I have to admit, the coloring was great! Nice lines and symmetry, but not quite how I want to display Kinley's talents. After telling Kinley - again - that we only color on paper, I grabbed the Magic Eraser and wiped the walls clean. I'm glad I had one on hand, and also glad the walls are painted with a semi-gloss paint. Well, I'm sure I will get much more practice using the Magic Eraser, but hopefully it won't be for a long while - and not on the walls!

Happy Halloween!

We went over to Cliff and Karol's for the Halloween festivities. Kinley got to trick-or-treat around the cul-de-sac with Chloe. They looked so cute walking around like big girls - they only needed a little help getting down the steps.



After we ate dinner, some of the K-State athletes came over with their costumes on. I think we laughed the most at Thomieda - she's dressed as Marion Jones complete with bottles of pills!



Later in the night Kinley had a blue Blow-Pop. Can you tell?



We had a great time! Just enough trick-or-treating and lots of fun! I couldn't resist putting this picture up. Earlier in the day Kinley was playing around with her carrot bag and decided it fit perfectly as a hat. I think she looks like a little orange elf.