Ankeny, as well as every other school in Iowa, called off school today. We have 3-6 foot drifts outside our door and the wind is continuing to howl. We got word early this afternoon that we have no school again tomorrow, so I get to spend another day at home with my family. I baked pumpkin bars and banana bread today, organized the basement, did laundry, read books and played with Clara, and watched a movie while she napped. After a bath with my baby girl (while Daddy was outside carving out a path in the snow) I put Clara to bed. While I stood holding her before laying her down, I burped and said ‘excuse me’. She fake-burped back at me and giggled. That set off a 5 minute giggle fit between the two of us. I had tears in my eyes and my nose was running I was laughing so hard. She was giggling so hard she got the hiccups. As she began to drift off to sleep in my arms, still giggling, I set her down in her crib and she hasn’t made a peep. What a great way to end a perfect snow day!

I have to make this brief, as it’s not easy to find time to blog with a 17 month old! At the moment we are watching the 10 inches of snow continue to fall out the window. School let out at 1:15 and I spent the afternoon wrapping presents for Beans. I set them under the tree and she already ripped one open and screamed “Memo” (Elmo)! So I had to bandage the package and hide it further under the tree.
Thanksgiving weekend was a good time spent with family. Although most of mine went out of town, so Mom and Dad joined the Johnson family dinner. Clara tested all the yummy foods and had a great time playing with all her cousins. We even visited the Festival of Trees and took a carriage ride uptown. When we returned to Des Moines we went as a family to cut down a Christmas tree. After Clara saw the lights plugged in, she says “pretty!” over and over.

Yesterday before this ginormous storm hit, a few inches fell and Clara got to try out her new toddler sled. Her smile and “weeeeee!” was all we needed to prove a happy time. Tonight I stopped at Target to pick up wrapping paper and brought home a froggy potty chair. She seems to be very curious about what happens on the toilet, so we thought we’d introduce it to her. She’s acquiring such a language variety, trying to repeat everything we say. The latest: bra, potty, pada (pasta), roar-ro (robe), money, Boo (Blue), nack (snack), and bata (bathtub).

We had a wonderful weekend full of pumpkins, mud, and sugar. Saturday we took Clara to her first pumpkin patch near Adel. It was a bit breezy and cool, and after all the rain we’ve had it was super muddy. So on went her sweet pink girly-girl outfit, and to top that off: brown work boots. They had a fire pit for roasting marshmallows, so Clara got her first taste of burnt goodness. She got to jump around in a blow-up playhouse, which she thought was great. We all enjoyed the straw maze, which was meant for little kids we figured out a little too late as we had to cram ourselves into some of the tight fits to follow our curious toddler. The day was topped off with a petting zoo and a hay-rack ride to pick out the perfect carving pumpkins.

Sunday we ventured out to Blank Park Zoo’s “Night Eyes”. Clara enjoyed walking around looking at all the kids dressed up in costume. She donned a sweet bunny costume and got lots of compliments on how cute she looked. One glance at a child dressed as Elmo and she went nuts, screaming “Memo” as we carried her away. Her favorite part of the day was the corn-box, which is like a giant sandbox filled with field corn. We laughed at her trying to walk through the quick-sand, finally giving up and crawling around in it.

Clara is starting to repeat a lot of words, which makes us more aware of what we cannot say in front of her. Her vocabulary consists of mama, dada, papa, ramma, glenna, butt, bat, baby, boobies (thanks, daddy), tractor, turtle, and please (“PEEEE”). She knows many of the sounds that animals make like a cow, sheep, horse, pig, dog, cat, chicken, lion/tiger, and elephant. She wants to take a bath ten times a day by signing a rubbing motion on her chest. Unless she’s napping, she always gets to sit in the shower with daddy when he’s getting ready for work.

This past week Leon and I spent a few days in Chicago without Clara Beans. She went back to Lake City and split time between both sets of grandparents. While we missed her like crazy (so much that we spent too much time in children’s stores), we enjoyed our freedom and lack of responsibility. We visited the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, Navy Pier, IKEA, shopping in Andersonville and Michigan Avenue, and had a very special night out at Blackbird restaurant. Tonight I met my parents halfway to exchange Blue and Clara, Leon got home early from work, and the three of us spent the night on the floor playing, tickling, giggling, and reading books. It’s good to have my family back together!

Today was the Iowa vs ISU football game, and knowing we couldn’t get the game at home we had to find another venue. So a group of us met up at AK’s for brunch and the game. There was quite a crowd, and several children there, so we didn’t feel like horrible parents taking our baby to a bar. We figured she’d handle the first half of the game and we’d have to leave at halftime. But she fell asleep on me for about half an hour and woke up very happy, so we stayed the entire game. I stopped after school on Friday to pick her up a Hawkeye t-shirt and she supported our team proudly.

Two weeks ago was our annual Dickkut family reunion held in Marshalltown. Since Leon works every Friday and Saturday nights, Clara and I made the trip Friday night alone to meet the fam for Zeno’s Pizza. Saturday morning Mom stayed at the hotel with Clara while Leon drove up to golf with the rest of us. After one golf lesson and a few times out golfing, Leon has improved greatly since he started 2 years ago. Saturday night we held our family dinner at a cabin in a campground. The kids had a great time playing on the playground equipment, and Dad brought his dartboard to set up after dinner. A dart competition is now held annually in honor of my brother, and Mom won last year. I took the win this year and had my name engraved on the traveling trophy.

Today is my last day at home before my school year begins. We spent the day at Reiman Gardens in Ames with Leon’s family to tour the dinosaur exhibit in the gardens. What a beautiful way to spend my last day! The butterfly room was my favorite. I’ve never seen so many beautiful butterflies in one location. It was a pretty warm day, so we snuck a dip in one of the waterfall areas, allowing us to cool off for a moment. As I prepared her for bed tonight, I let her play in the bathtub just a little bit longer. And I held her just a little bit longer before laying her down in her crib. I told her how much I loved being at home with her and daddy this summer and how much I’m going to miss seeing her all day every day. My time with her will be confined to evenings and weekends now, but we’re lucky that Leon has plans to stay home again.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, but that isn’t because nothing has been happening. In fact, the opposite is true: Clara, Leon and I are having a busy and fun summer together. Aside from taking classes, the rest of the summer has been spent at Ashby Park wading pool with the babe. It’s a free park with little splash fountains and water that only goes up to her thighs, so it’s super toddler-friendly. Last month we packed up and drove to South Dakota and spent 5 days “camping” (cushy camping in a fully-equipped cabin) with Leon’s entire family. The weather was fantastic and Clara enjoyed every minute of being outside. We stayed at Spokane Creek campground near Custer State Park. During our stay we toured Jewel Cave, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, and the Badlands. Clara made it all the way to the top of Bear Butte on a hike, hitching a ride on dad’s back via the Kelti pack. She fell asleep on the hike down–guess it’s hard work riding in a pack! Leon and I and his parents hiked the 6 mile trail at Harney Peak and it was not easy. My niece, Hayley, came along with us on vacation and was our little nanny for the week. It was wonderful! Clara’s souvenir from the trip: a buffalo hat that she loves!

Clara celebrated her birthday again with a party at Grandma Jane’s and Papa Nick’s house back home. The weather wasn’t the greatest, with an overcast sky, light mist, and cool temps, but it could have been a lot worse. Leon roasted a whole pig and everybody gorged themselves on food and cake. Grandma Jane made a beautiful sheet cake decorated with Smurfette for the guests, and Clara got her very own little butterfly cake. At first she just stared at it, then tried the frosting and decided it was yummy, and dug in with both hands. She got some great new outfits, books, and toys. Her favorite toy seems to be the plastic mower from the Batz’s. We set off fireworks as soon as the sun went down. Clara was so tired that I laid her down in the pack-n-play in the middle of the fireworks display and she didn’t make a sound. She is sound asleep early tonight, exhausted from all the fun.

I picked up my nieces last night to take advantage of the only free day we would all have together. We spent the entire day, 11:30-6:30, at Adventureland. Everyone was really excited, talking about which rides they would for-sure go on. The girls are a lot more tolerant of g-forces and spinning than Leon or I are. Clara rode on her first amusement park rides: the Chuck Wagon and the kiddy-train. This year Kokomo Kove, a splash park, opened up inside Adventureland, and was full of fun for Miss Clara. After an hour-long nap in the stroller, we whisked her off to the baby splash area. She absolutely loved it, walking around shaking her arms and babbling in excitement. Getting sprayed in the face doesn’t phase her a bit. Besides smelling a bit funky from the water, we all had a great time. 

Tonight Leon and I are preparing for another trip back home this weekend for Clara’s big family birthday party. So much to be done and my head is spinning. I will be glad to be back in Des Moines relaxing Sunday night with no planning to worry about for a while.