The Catterfeld Family Blog

I'm happy to report that we seem to be on the mend. (wait, where's the wood so I can knock on it?!?) Fevers are a thing of the not-so-distant past, and my boys are feeling peppy. Maybe peppy is the wrong word....how about super. Yep. That'll do. Ethan and Logan decided that they were super heroes yesterday. They begged me to pin their blankets to their shirts, and they ran around the house (shhh...don't tell that to Derek!) like crazy fools. I had them strike their best super hero poses, and this is what I got. I still giggle when I see this.












And not to be outdone in awesomeness, Wesley is locomoting by leaps and bounds himself. (haha- pardon the pun!) He has managed to pull himself up to any surface and cruise. I particularly like this pic because his hand looks like it's going to reach out and give you a little touch. As for the slaughtering of the watermelon in the other picture....well, that's Wesley's new favorite trick. Look at that sucker bleed!

Yep. We've been sick. If it wasn't a weird virus or ear infections, it was another weird virus and more ear infections. Derek and I are totally over it. Completely, totally. I'm not sure what the culprit is for the earlier-in-the-month stuff, but this latest round (last week and this week), well...the Y gets that blame. I dropped healthy kids off last Tuesday in the kids' area of the Y and 4 days later: sick. So we're going to be taking a little break from the Y until....well, until everyone is healthy.

In the meantime, here are some pictures that I've had ready to post, but not the time. It's basically our June in review!



Ethan resisting the eye drops for his pink eye. Poor kid hated it, but eventually got the hang of it.










And here's Wessy-bear, napping on Derek. Ear infection, this one.











One thing that's been great during this month though- it's given me the opportunity to work with Ethan on his reading and math. He's headed into Kindergarten next year and is already reading books to Derek and me. When he gets to a word he doesn't know, he sounds it out. He also got some addition and subtraction flash cards for his birthday, and Ethan's really taken to those too. I probably need to invest in some blocks to help him out, but for now- fingers and toes do the job!

Oh, and the strawberries....Mr.-holllow-leg-I'm-still-hungry-Ethan is eating us out of house and home. He asked if he could get some strawberries out of the fridge one night before bed, and this is what he pulled out for himself. This kid is unreal!











Here's my Logan being a goof-ball. In these pictures, he's feeling better and being silly, attempting a flip. I much prefer that to crazy high temps and dozing on the couch! And yes, the picture is upside down. It's meant to be that way.











And finally, Mr. Wesley. Guess what this one's been up to this month? Yup- crawling! For a while there, he was doing the inch worm thing....tush up, slide the front along the floor and repeat. One day, he just got the hang of it and has been pitter-patting around ever since. Although I have to say, I'm impressed with his persistence and determination. Two days after figuring out how to crawl, he was already pulling himself up to stand and cruising along furniture. This one's a speed demon, let me tell you!

It has been a long, long week and a half for us. Right after Papa and Yaya left, Ethan and Logan started with low grade fevers. Ethan held steady at a low grade (around 101), but Logan spiked up to 104.9 and scared the ever-living poop out of Derek and me. Turns out that on top of his virus, Logan also had a raging ear infection. In addition to Logan's crazy high fever, Ethan's virus presented in his eye (viral conjunctivitis), became infected, and he also had weird hives. Strange thing, this virus! Anyway, about the time they started to recover, Wesley and Derek started with low grade fevers too. It's been never ending, I tell ya! So far I'm the only one left standing. All 3 boys are feeling better; Derek is still on the mend, sleeping it off as I write this. In the meantime, I do have some pictures to share- just a hodge podge of things, but some good ones.

See Wesley's expression in the tub picture? I'm not sure what it means, but it's his new favorite thing to do- pinch his mouth in. And he's clearly taken me down in our wrestling match!













Ellie in the one little patch of sunshine in our kitchen. Such a goofy cat. And the boys just bein' boys!

Yaya and Papa were able to score some incredibly cheapo flights from near their house into MCO, so they came down for a quick 4 day weekend....and were dragged along to Disney, as well as forced to go at our family's warp speed. Ok, not really, but I did spy naps being taken, and it wasn't all by my kiddos!

Anyway, in no real order, here are some Papa and Yaya pictures from their visit....













Ah, yes. Papa's been taken hostage! Actually, couldn't we photo shop this one and add antlers, a red nose, and a sleigh behind him and make this into a Christmas card???!!! And this is Ethan helping me make a blueberry pie. Yumo!

As I mentioned in another post, we decided that it was time to attempt Disney. Don't get me wrong, we'd always planned to go.....but living so close makes it easy to put off. Since Ethan turned 5 this year and has a realization of our proximity, Derek and I took him for his birthday. Conveniently, Hollywood Studios was having a Star Wars weekend, celebrating the 30th anniversary of 'The Empire Strikes Back'- Ethan (ahem, and Derek's) favorite Star Wars movie.

Having officially 'done' a Disney park with 3 kids, one husband, and 2 grandparents, here's what I can tell you:

1) No matter how stinkin' hot it is, the kids will have a blast.
2) It isn't fun to attempt to push a stroller through a throng of other irritated, hot people.
3) Seeing a real life Buzz Lightyear makes Logan's and Ethan's eyes light up, especially when they get to touch him.
4) We should bring our own food. It tastes way better than their stuff.
5) There are lots of other parents out there who berate their tired grumpy kids for not 'appreciating' being at Disney. What do you expect, parents? Those poor kids are tired and grumpy- they need a nap! You can't force a square peg into a round hole, so stop yelling at your kids and try moving at their pace. Face it, you're just not going to get your "money's" worth out of a Disney park with small children!
6) Seeing the Star Wars actors, costumed people, and paraphernalia was really cool. I don't think Ethan's going to forget it anytime soon.
7) We will be going back when it's cooler.....ya know, like 30 degrees cooler.


Oh, and I mentioned grandparents, right? Papa and Yaya found a good flight deal to come down and visit. Yep- I'll put pics of them up later. For now, here's Disney, take 1:


There were Storm Troopers everywhere. They were on the roof of the gatehouse, greeting (and harassing) people coming into the park. We were fortunate enough to grab them and get Ethan and Logan's picture taken.












There were lots of picture opportunities- the characters were at 'stations' and people lined up to take a picture with them....or you could do what we did: just highjack a picture between people instead of waiting in line.













You can tell it's oh-so-hot. I think we topped out around 92-93 degrees that day. Wesley hung in there like a champ. He took his naps in the stroller.













They also had a big parade with all the Star Wars characters and some of the actors from "The Empire Strikes Back". Ethan, Derek and Yaya ducked out of lunch to see it. Papa, Wesley, Logan and I enjoyed the air conditioning and food.













We did go to a few shows too- the Muppet 3D show and the Playhouse Disney show. It was refreshing to be in the air conditioning!











And while some of our character pictures were hijacked, Derek, Ethan, Logan and Yaya did wait in line to see Buzz Lightyear. I can't tell you how over-the-moon Logan was to see him. (Toy Story is his fav movie these days)

I can't believe our Ethan is already 5 years old. It's been such a quick 5 years....wasn't it only a little time ago that I was pregnant with him, struggling to walk the halls at work? Anyway, this year we decided to have a small birthday party with only his closest friends, and a bigger family event afterward. Can you guess what that family event was? Uh-huh....Disney. Ethan had clued into the fact that "Mickey Mouse lives just down the street" a few months ago. And conveniently, Hollywood Studios was having their Star Wars Weekend, celebrating the 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back. Since that's Ethan's fav Star Wars movie, that's where we took him. But more on that in the next post.

As usual, we had our traditional birthday breakfast of cupcakes. Derek got a little happy at the cupcake counter and bought 2 lemon filled with white chocolate shavings and 1 red velvet filled with chocolate and iced in cream cheese frosting. Yikes-o-rama. But they were de-lish! (and yes, I know the irony of all that cake with a measly banana sitting next to it....)












Every year, I also try to make whatever cake the birthday boys each request. This year, Ethan wanted chocolate mint. So the cake is chocolate, frosting is chocolate mint, and there are Andes mints and York peppermint patty pieces around the outside. It was a rich, insane and awesome cake. But most importantly, Ethan loved it.










See that picture of Logan vacuuming. Ah, yes- more child labor. I am a fan! And Mr. Wesley chewing on the pirates hook (or as Logan calls it, his "hooker"!!!). Someone has more teeth coming in. Oh, wait.....I haven't posted about that have I? Darn it all....give me a chance to get the camera into his mouth so I can show off those 2 new bottom teeth. Sheesh....I am a slacker!














And here are a few pictures of the get together with friends. Ethan had a wonderful time celebrating on his birthday! Disney pictures to come soon.....promise!

I've been a slacker in the posting department. I have the pictures, but not the time to upload them and post them. So there'll probably be quite a few posts in a short amount of time this week. C'est la vie.

As you can see from the pic, Wesley is big enough to sit in his '4 wheeler'. Yessiree, he's one big boy. In addition to his milestone of locomoting in the walker, he's also eating his first taste of fresh banana. Honestly, I haven't come across anything Wesley doesn't like yet. Look at those legs; can you tell!?!?












This was Ethan's last year of preschool; he's headed to Kindergarten next fall. As a parting gift to his teachers from his class, I volunteered to paint flower pots....and Logan helped me out. He's never painted before, but did a perfect job!










And finally (for this post, anyway....), Ethan's soccer season wrapped up. It was just in time for the arrival of the summertime heat too. He had a really great season. Something clicked with him, and he was all over that soccer ball!

I'm actually referring to Logan: he's my cool cat. As we push through the 2s and he communicates more and more with us, we're starting to see his wonderful personality shining through. He knows what he wants and doesn't want, without a doubt. And it's fun to see what the desire of the second is....like in this picture. We were headed out the door to pick Ethan up from school. Logan announces that he has to have his sunglasses on before we leave. Since he has no 'official' pair of sunglasses, I figured he meant the pair from the dress up bin. Sure enough- popped those suckers on him, and he was one happy camper. I couldn't pass up the photo op!











And my other cool cat of the day is Piper. Let me rephrase that....she's my weird cat. I have no idea what gets into her little head sometimes, but lately she's taken to doing really strange things, like chewing on plastic bags and scratching/stretching up the side of the cabinet doors. (never fear: we keep her claws clipped and correct her when she does the stretching thing. There's no harm done the the cabinet) Anyway, in this picture, she did the stretchy thing and got stuck! Literally, her paw is stuck in the door, and she can't get free. So, like the wonderful human owners we are, we take a picture of her misery before freeing her!

It's official: we have cucumbers tomatoes, green beans and peppers growing in our garden! I can't even believe it. Already this week, we've picked and eaten at least 4-5 cucumbers. The rest are going to take a few more weeks to ripen and mature. Even still, we're all so excited about our first attempt at gardening.....and let's face it, saving money at the grocery store too.

Cucumbers, tomatoes, and the pepper plant flowering:













Green beans, all my big boys (not Wesley....he's still my baby boy) washing the car, and our new Snoopy flag:

Huge congratulations to Uncle Joey for the major milestones in his life these last few weeks. Uncle Joey, divorce is tough and yucky, but you pulled through and are on the other side. Congratulations also on the sale of your house and the purchase of your brand spankin' new 2010 red Mini Cooper. I know that's been a looooooong time comin'!! Ethan, Logan and Wesley are itching to rub their little finger prints all over it!

In the meantime, we wish you the best of luck as you begin a new chapter. May it be about the journey, not the destination.....

The fabulous thing about living in Florida is the ability to go to the beach nearly year round. We don't have to wait for Memorial Day to officially kick off our summer. So after soccer last Saturday, Derek and the boys decided that I needed to go to the beach for Mother's Day. (pretty good gift too- I can't decide which I like better: going on a great run or sitting on an awesome beach soakin' up the rays!) We stayed out there for about 3 hours before heading home. Ah, yes. Another great thing about Florida- the beach is only about a 30 minute drive away.

Logan's coming to an age where Wesley is more than just something to be...well, ignored. I've noticed in the last few weeks that Logan will talk to Wesley when he's upset or entertain him when he's happy. It's so nice to see them interacting!

Derek raced last weekend in Daytona. It will be his last chance to race there this year; they are re-paving the track and all other SCCA events are canceled. Bummer- it is so close! Anyway, the great, fantastic, wonderful news is that the CV boots on Derek's car held out. He had no major issues after this race weekend! (this is huge, given that it's taken a year or so of trouble shooting to get here....)

Ethan, Logan, Wesley, and I went out to see Derek race, and we were joined by some of our friends, Sveta and Skyler. The timing was perfect: we left after Ethan's soccer game, arrived in the middle of lunch, and Derek's group raced second after the break! We're so proud of Daddy!!!

Last week was definitely one of milestones for Wesley. When he decides to go full steam ahead, he goes full force. In the span of one week, Wesley started to sit up on his own with little assistance, say Da-da and Ma-ma, and he's eating lots of solids. He babbles like crazy, interspersed with raspberries and spitting. It's really funny.

Wesley also turned 6 months last Friday. His pediatrician says that he is doing very well and right on track for where he needs to be. Although Wesley is still a hunka chunka, his growth has slowed down a little. He's at least on the chart now.

Weight: 19 pounds, 14 ounces (95% for a 6 month old)
Length: 28 1/4 inches (90% for a 6 month old)
Head: 17 3/4 inches (90% for a 6 month old)

Oh, and check out Wessy-bear's cool hair- he's got the same mohawk action that his brother's had!

Last Saturday, the boys and I put on our super fast socks and laced up our super fast shoes and ran races. My race was the Run for the Trees, a 5K held in Winter Park, in honor of Arbor Day. I ran the race with a friend who's relatively new to running, Erica. Our husbands also work together. Erica and I lined up, ran the 3.1 miles at a relaxed pace, and picked up our commemorative trees....what I think is the coolest part about the race. Southern Magnolias for both of us.












Then we headed over to the track for Ethan and Logan's races. They pinned on their bibs, #1 for both of them, and we waited for the official start. Each age group ran a different distance; Ethan- a half lap, and Logan- a 50 yard dash. Race finishers earned a ribbon. The boys were all over the place- up and down and running everywhere. I tell you what, I thought for sure they were going to wear themselves out before their races.













But then the organizers divided the kids up, and started the races. Ethan went first, starting on the other side of the track. And he was amazing! He took off, sprinting down the straight and around the track, coming in first by miles. Ethan can fly!!!












Then it was Logan's turn. Um, yeah. Hello, attack of the 2 year olds! Come to find out later, Logan was actually hungry and not using his words. When it was time to line up, he dug in and refused to go. I tried everything I could think of to cajole and convince him to run because I knew he'd want that ribbon later. I was able to get him to the start line, but once they told the kids to go, he absolutely refused. So I did what Mommys do best. I picked him up like a sack of potatoes and jogged him to the finish line. And yes, he did get his ribbon...which he (like we knew he would) adored.