The Sachs Family: January 2010

Good Morning, New York!

Dave has been in New York since yesterday, and this morning the girls wanted to make him pictures so he could see them while he was gone.

We Love You, Daddy! Have a good day in New York!

By the time he gets home around dinner time tonight, he'll only have been gone for a little more than 36 hours, but Alyssa's first response was that she needed to tell him that she missed him. Rebekah claimed that artwork as her own :-)

Love you, Love you!!

Always the task driven one, she hopes Dad gets his work done.
I had a horrific conversation with him last night in which he told me that as he was walking along the sidewalk, he stepped off the curb and onto a RAT! It squealed and squeaked as it ran away, but I guess it was fine. He was laughing as he told me the story, needless to say, that would not have been my reaction!!
Despite you having stepped on a rat, we can't wait to see you tonight! Have a great day! Just leave your shoes outside when you get home.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Tiny Penguins and Good Old Books

Rebekah and I were reading the book, Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter when she looked at the picture below and asked the sweetest question. I had just finished reading that old Mrs. Rabbit was going shopping, when Kamele pointed to the high heal on her back foot and she asked with confusion, "Does she know a penguin is following her?...(thoughtful pause)...but the penguin is facing the wrong way?!?" I took a closer look at the illustration, and could see what she was seeing :-)

This book is one of my Little Golden Books, back from when I was a little kid and collected these books with every trip to the grocery store. My girls now LOVE these books, and I'm always struck with how different children's books are today. While there are several newer books that we like equally well, they just don't write them like they used to! Check out some of the writing from this book, written by Beatrix Potter, circa 1902:
But round the end of a cucumber frame, whom should he meet but Mr. McGregor! Mr. McGregor was on his hands and knees planting out young cabbages, but he jumped up and ran after Peter, waving a rake and calling out, "Stop, thief!" Peter was most dreadfully frightened. He rushed all over the garden, for he had forgotten the way back to the gate.
He lost one shoe among the cabbages, and another shoe amongst the potatoes. After losing them he ran on four legs and went faster, so that he might have gotten away altogether if...he had not unfortunately run into a gooseberry net, and got caught by the large buttons on his jacket. It was a blue jacket with brass buttons, quite new.
Peter gave himself up for lost, and shed big tears. But his sobs were overheard by some friendly sparrows, who flew to him in great excitement, and implored him to exert himself.
Is it just me, or do we not usually talk to kids like this anymore? I often find older books that just assume a greater level of intelligence from their readers, and wonder why this was abandoned long ago?

Unrelated to the "penguin" in Peter Rabbit we made these cute little penguins out of legos at the Legoland Discovery Centre. I'll post pictures from there later. We went to a workshop where they showed the kids how to make these, and after building them, the kids were asked to return the legos. Well, Emma broke down in tears, weeping, as if we were asking her to part with a beloved family member. {One she had made only moments earlier, please keep in mind} For $4.99 we were able to buy our penguins, so crisis averted, I guess. Thank you, Grandma for a fun day at Legoland!

Monday, January 18, 2010

Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King Jr.

In June of 2008, we visited Atlanta Georgia and we had the chance to go to Martin Luther King Jr.'s memorial and the home where he was born and raised. Today, we read a great book about him in honor of his birthday that just passed and after reading it, the girls wanted to look at some of the photos from our vacation. So I thought I would share...

From the national historic site where there is a museum spanning the accomplishments and struggles of his life, you actually have to walk through the neighborhood where he grew up to see his home and memorial. It was very evident with a short walk how much the street he grew up on influenced his life and his eventual fight for equality. His experience was mostly middle class, modest, but comfortable. Just steps across the street from his home, in the rows of "shot gun houses" most of his friends had a very different life. Even as a young child he was aware of this, and thought it was unfair that this cycle of poverty continued with no real opportunity for people to create a better life for themselves. This was his motivation to make a difference.

I'm not sure if we've ever to been to a historic site where the the impact of the events that occurred there (both good and bad) is quite so palpable. It was both an inspiring and really sad place to visit.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Don't Get Mad...Get Glad!

I don't have any pictures today, sorry. Just a funny little story about kids paying attention to things you might never think would catch their interest.

Rebekah and I were getting ready to pick the girls up from school the other afternoon and she was struggling to get her feet into her boots. They're cutesy little leather boots that zip up the inside near her ankle and she couldn't quite get it. My hands were full and I had to put a bunch of stuff down before I could offer any help. I turned to set it on the counter and she's still making frustrated noises as she says, "Don't get mad! Get Glad!" We laughed a little, and I helped her, remembering back to my own childhood when my parents used to tease me that my favorite part of watching tv was all the commercials. I was a walking, talking slogan machine, always loving the latest advertising catch phrases of companies who had just begun to realize how valuable it could be to market their products to an increasingly aware child consumer.

Later that night, Alyssa heard me telling the boot story to Dave and she offers a very elaborate commercial summary: Yeah, these kids have their own commercial, and they are showing all these bags. You can get small bags, medium bags, and large bags. You can throw them over your shoulder and guess what? There's not even any stink! And when you put in lots of paper plates, you know a heavy load?...The bag DOES NOT EVEN RIP!!! because there are adjustable straps. Cool huh?...

Oh no, the advertising giants have got my children...and now they want "name-brand" garbage bags :-)

Saturday, January 9, 2010

we were wondering when we would see you again

Over the weekend, the girls wanted to play in the snow while I cooked dinner. I looked out the back door and saw Kamele burying Kahiwa in the snow. I went out to get a few pictures, and also to figure out why Kahiwa was cooperating with this game, and when I looked up this is what we saw...

We saw these same three deer back in early December, and have since seen their hoof prints on our driveway, so we know they spend a lot of time close by, but it was still startling to see them right in front of us.

The deer seemed a little frightened by us, but did not make any immediate move to leave, so we just stood and watched them for a couple minutes.

Aren't they sweet?

Finally, it was either my constant picture taking, or the girls getting more comfortable playing and being loud in their presence that had them prancing off between the yards. The girls watched them leave from a distance. We were happy to see them again!

A Little Woo Girl?

Our local library had a New Year's Dance Party for pre-schoolers the other day. Rebekah enjoyed it a lot.

Parachute games.

Scarf peek a boo.

Her favorite thing was all the balloons the librarians brought out for the kids. They were trying to organize a game of volley balloon, but it just turned into a free for all with the little ones running every which direction. A second after I took this picture, she threw the balloon at my face.

Rebekah kept squatting down really far like this, then doing a "toyota jump" as she hit the balloon into the air. Each time she hit the balloon, her tiny little voice belted out, "WOO!" It made me think of the "Woo Girls" episode of How I Met Your Mother.

She found it equally hilarious each time she did it, and because I was laughing, her woos became more and more enthusiastic.

Dave and I were just talking the other day about how funny and really distinct her personality is from Alyssa's and Emma's. Of course they are each alike in so many ways too, but all three of them have little characteristics that are truly their own. We think Rebekah will probably be the most unpredictable one :-)
One thing I know for sure though:
my little Duckie is most definitely not a "Woo Girl!"

Happy Birthday to Daddy

Little Kamele singing "Happy Birthday" to her daddy.

The girls helping him blow out his candles. It was a yummy strawberry shortcake ice cream cake.

Happy, Happy Birthday!!!
We love you!

Happy New Year

I'm a little late in posting this, but Happy New Year!

We rang in 2010 in Chicago at a wedding. Congrats Matt and Stacia! It was a wonderful reason to go out on New Year's Eve, something I haven't done that much in the last few years.

Such a beautiful city, it had been a while since I had the chance to leisurely walk around there. It was freezing, but we went to Millenium Park and the Chicago Cultural Center. A highlight ~ we had Hawaiian BBQ!!! It was great.

Barry, Mike, Dave, and Andy.

The start of a new decade...
Happy New Year!

Lake County Discovery Museum

Over Christmas vacation, we took the girls to a really fun Children's Museum in Wauconda, Illinois. They have the largest display of postcards in any museum nationwide. Which may sound not all that cool, but many of them actually were!

Like this one, who was made by an artist from the same town I grew up, Naperville. And it was interesting to learn the history of postcards, and what a novelty they used to be. There are some postcards worth over $35,000.
Who knew?

In the Animal Architects exhibit, they learned how animals instinctively know how and where to build the best homes.

Discovering a beaver dam.

Peeking out of a ground hog's burrow.

Little froggie face.

Birdies in a nest.

We had just about the entire museum to ourselves, so when this dramatic playroom was found empty, the girls immediately staged a performance.

Running, skipping, dancing...

Sorry so blurry, they were moving around too quickly.

Animal puppets.

I'm not exactly sure why, but I fell in love with this photo.

The picture Kamele is taking above.

By the pyramids.

She was so proud of all these puzzles she put together.

Alyssa posing with Paul Bunyan. When the girls turned the corner and this huge guy was standing there, Emma shouted, "Whoa, it's Big Jim!" Not sure who she was confusing him with, but it was cute.

Once we started talking about Babe, his blue ox, she seemed to remember Paul better.

The girls loved this little museum, Emma kept saying it was her favorite museum, and we've been to lots of good ones! This sign was up in their "history of Wauconda, Illinois section. I wasn't sure what it was an advertisement for it, but it was a little funny.

Friday, January 29, 2010