Alli and Lilli - Twins??

Can you guess which one is Alli and which one is Lilli?

Thank you Aunt Sara!!

I would like to thank Sara for a great Birthday Present for Alli. She has played with these craft items morning and night. Matthew has joined in on the fun! Thanks Sara!!!

Upstanding Citizen Feature

Your's truly was "featured" (for lack of a better term) on John Durant's Hunter-Gatherer blog for my standing desk at the office. Some of you Stephen Colbert fans may recognize him from his modern caveman interview a year or two ago. My buddy and co-worker Drew both stand at our desks during the work day so we submitted some pic's and John apparently liked them and decided to show his audience our set-up. The feature is can be found here. Also, the photo's were our beta set up. We have since significantly upgraded our desks with black metal chairs with the backs removed.

Alli's New Big Girl Bed

Alli has added a new Big Girl Bed to her "Karleskint" Collection. Papa Karleskint has built Alli a dresser, desk (adjustable height) and now a bed! We were able to bring it home this weekend and Alli loves it!! Thank you Papa Karleskint...we love you!!

The Chart

I am currently reading Superfreakonomics whose basic theme is that people respond to incentives. Kati and I have our own little case study in this theory right in our own home. Thanks to Amanda, our daycare provider who is an absolute blessing, Alli is making steady progress in her potty training. After each successful "session" Alli is awarded a piece of candy and gets to place a sticker on her chart. Kati and I have been trying to train the little one for months but it has been an exercise of relative futility. We weren't above bribery either (candy, high fives, cheers, you name it), but something about the chart (available in home and travel models) has helped Alli's potty training really take off.

1st Snow Fall in Ames

I have been dreading the winter months here in Ames, IA. I know it is suppose to be cold and snowy but I was still praying it will be a calm winter. We received our first snowfall yesterday and Alli was so excited. She begged to go outside and build a snowman. We went to Mass and she was crying we hadn't played outside yet. We went to lunch and cried again but once we returned home she was relentless. We decided to grant her wish and go play outside. We weren't able to make a snowman but decided to make snow angels.

Halloween 2010

PBS added the cartoon series Cat in the Hat to their morning lineup and Alli fell in LOVE! Alli was a black cat last year so it made sense to add a few more accessories and create the Cat in the Hat! Amanda (Alli's daycare provider) mentioned Alli could wear her costume while at daycare. We assumed the kids would wear them to Amanda's so Matthew dressed her in the morning before leaving. Once they arrived at Amanda's they quickly noticed no one was dressed. Alli didn't care...she wore her costume proudly. Needless to say the kids wanted their costumes on right away. That evening we visited 2 houses in the neighborhood and had a great Halloween!!