Redundant post about about the mild winter

The winter that isn't continues.  And we are loving it.  Today was in the low 50's.  Tomorrow will be 65 and sunny.

Practicing his soccer kicks

practicing being handsome

Spring soccer coming up in a couple months

Handsome 3 year old

Handsome 5 year old

bike ride at the park

Dirt piles at the park.  Score!  They were in heaven.

and very dirty

So a little background here.  Elliot has always been cautious about steep slides or slides in tunnels.  He just won't do them.  Today we were playing at this park that is one of our regular haunts, and Elliot just announces so matter of factly, "I can go down the big green slide now, because I'm three years old".  I told him that yes, he could.  And by golly, he just marched over there, climbed up and went down it like it was nothing.  Took him three years to get the courage and he must have gone a dozen times in a row today.  Yay for the sudden bravery that comes with being three!

BIG MILESTONE FOR BRAVE ELLIOT!  

Tough boys that are hard core and BA get bloody injuries from time to time.  It's all cool.

5:00pm on a January Sunday night as the sun starts to set to the West of us.  Nice.

Garage Band

Riding in the car the other night, Noah was asking me to switch around stations until it landed on a song that he liked.  His preferred genre, according to him, is rock and roll.  Mind you, he lumps pop into the same category.  And hip hop for that matter.  But, this song was rock.  He particularly likes the electric guitar.  His friend, Finn, has a drum set.  So I mentioned maybe they could have a band.

Me:  "Finn could play drums, you could play electric guitar, but who would be the singer?"
Elliot: "ME!!  I want to be the singer!"
Noah:  "You can't even sing yet, Elliot!"
Elliot:  "I can too!  I can  sing the ABC's!"

Oh yeah, this will be some hard core rock.

Notes from Noah

I was laying down in bed with Elliot yesterday to put him down for a nap. Noah knows he has to play quietly downstairs when I do this. Elliot always likes me to lay with him, but will put himself to sleep for anyone else. I was up there probably about 10 minutes and when I walked out I saw this sign taped to the door. Noah needed something, but knew not to disturb me. I absolutely LOVE getting these adorable notes from him. I am so amazed at him doing this in PreK. I didn't learn to read and write until first grade. He takes after his daddy, who was also reading at this age.

Translation:  "Mom can you open my play-doh"

Me & my baby

This is what he does when you tell him to "smile"

Lego Art

Noah and I had some fun making words with Legos the other day. I made him a little love note, and he took it upon himself to make Elliot a sign out of his duplos. I loved the Elliot so much, I put it on a shelf in E's room. Today I made a small sign that said "YUM" on a little baseplate and put it in his lunchbox. I amuse myself :)

Funny Faces

Hanging at the church with Elliot

I love mild winter days.  Elliot and I went for a walk today, but the walk ended as it often does, at the end of the block.  The church just draws the kids to run and play and according to neighbors with older kids, always has.  Paul recently shared about the trouble with this vacant church.  BUT, great news for the church - it was recently purchased!  The new church has several locations and this is going to be it's newest right here in Brookside.  It doesn't reopen until Summer so they can do necessary repairs and maintenance.  We are so happy this beautiful church is being taken care of in our neighborhood, and staying true to it's purpose.

Three years new

We had a party last night for Elliot's birthday, and he's been in rare form this morning - both funny and touchy.


I was in the kitchen when I hear Noah yelling at Elliot.  "Get away, Elliot!  GET! AWAY!"  A minute later, I hear Elliot coming towards me, and speaking in a whining voice: 


E:  "Daddy, Noah's not being my brother friend any more!  Hmph! (that's a little funny sound he makes to emphasize whatever emotion he's feeling)  "He is getting mad at me and he doesn't forgive me and he's not being my brother friend any more.  He said I kept knocking over his marble thing."  
Me:  "Did you?"  
E:  "Yes"
Me:  "Was it an accident, or did you do on purpose?"
E:  "On purpose, but he's supposed to forgive me."

A few minutes later, I hear, "Daddy!!  I opened this door without a lock!" and I see him in one of our usually child-locked cabinets.  I asked, "How did you do that?"  He proudly responded, "I don't know, I just pulled and pulled and pulled, and I did it!!!"

I asked him to close it, and he slammed it shut.  I said, "Elliot please don't slam doors."  A minute later he walks over to me with his sad/mad face.  "Daddy, when you yelled at me to closed the door, it made me MAD! Now I'm MAD!!!! "

"Why are you mad?  I asked you in a nice voice."  "I'm just MAD!!  Hmph!

Then a few seconds later, he sweetly asks "Daddy, am I still three?"

As I'm typing this, all I can hear is "Daddy, can I press the "E" button, daddy, because my name starts with E?  Can I daddy, can I? Can I? Can I? Can I, daddy?  Can I?"  So here you go.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Savoring

Mandy and I got home about the same time - me from work, her from her mom's.

Me:  *looking at a little ziplock baggie* Noah, what do you have there?
Noah:  Cookies. Mint cookies we got from Grandma.  I have some left because I savored mine.
Me:  How about you Elliot?
Elliot: I didn't savor mine. I ate mine.  My cookies are now in my belly.  Can I have some cookies, Noah?
Noah:  No, Elliot, that's why you savor them.
Elliot:  But I don't like to savor cookies.  I like to eat them.

Leaking like a sieve

Our little corner of Brookside has either sprung a leak, or we live on an undiscovered aquifer.   Kansas City water quality has repeatedly ranked as one of the top in the country, but unfortunately they practically give it away through such a poor quality water system.

At one end our block, to west of our house, the city only recently completed repairs to a leak that has been there for at least two years.  One attempt to fix it failed, and rather than revisit it right away, they went on to other projects.  Finally a company contracted by the water department finally showed up and stopped it in a few days.  We're waiting for them to finish fixing the street, but due to the cold, we get to enjoy a cul-de-sac a little while longer.

Tonight, as we came home near 7:00 PM, we saw them staging equipment to tackle the leak on the street outside our front door.  This one's only been there since May or June, and despite repeated pleas to come visit and fix it, they didn't even respond.  Instead, they waited for our record-breaking mild winter weather to pass and started work at night in freezing temperatures.

And rather than start first thing in the morning, they waited until right about the time we put the kids to bed before they fired up the thing that breaks up the concrete and asphalt, then engaged the backhoe (with the convenient little beeper that beeps every time it's on the move).  And in case they thought no one noticed they were there, they fired up the flashing emergency lights that strobe the night sky.  It's now 9:00 and they're still going strong.  They've been known to work all night, and sleep on the job all day.

The construction is one thing, but don't expect the courtesy of a warning on water service either.  We're out of water as I type, without any notice, and no idea when it will resume.

Fixed, but not complete.  At least it's not the usual icy strip.

Outside the front door.

Digging deep.

Beeeep. Beeeep.  Beeeep. 

Taking after momma

One of the cornerstones of raising children is modeling.  Kids repeat what they see and hear, and what is familiar.  Like many parents, we sometimes yell from far away, recognizing the sounds of fighting, pain or some other catastrophe, and hoping mere words will put an end to it before we have to leave what we're doing, and actually expend some effort.

Mandy and I were downstairs this morning, when she took a big drink of my coffee, thinking it was her tea.  My little rose made a loud retching noise to voice her displeasure, when we heard Elliot yell from the top of the stairs, "HEY MOM!!!  WHAT'S GOING ON DOWN THERE?!?!"

Daddy fixing cracks

Due to our old house settling we have some cracks in our walls.  Paul was doing some spackling, sanding, touching up painting this past weekend.  He used that blue painters tap on the baseboards.

Fast forward to this week walking in the parking lot at St. E's after dropping off Noah.  Elliot pointed out all the cracks and said "Daddy needs to fix these cracks with his blue tape, right mom?"  

If only it was that easy.

Grandma Anita's raccoon encounter

Last month driving home from my sister, Sam's college graduation in Springfield, my mom hit a raccoon going about 70 mph on the highway.  It was very loud and woke Rick up,  who thought she'd hit a deer.  It was only when she got home she realized said raccoon took out half her bumper.  The next day she showed Elliot and told him about it.  Ohhhh boy.  For days, no weeks, Elliot asked me several times a day why Grandma hit the raccoon.  He's moved beyond it now.  He doesn't ask me about why anymore.  He seems to finally have accepted it's because the raccoon came out of the woods and she was going too fast to stop.  But, he does tell strangers it happened and his Grandma's car is broken.

Monday driving home from dropping off Noah at school Elliot pointed out a flashing light alerting us to the reduced speed school zone.  He said "Mom, that light tells us to watch out, right?".  I said "Yes, also it tells us to slow down."  His reply was "Yeah, so we don't get in a wreck like Grandma."  So funny!  I guess he thinks Grandma must have been recklessly speeding when she hit that raccoon.

Here's a video I took on my phone.  One day driving home he became so insistent on wanting to know "why" Grandma hit the raccoon I had to actually pull over and turn around to address him.

Winter has arrived

Winter came in with a bang.  Yesterday started out in the 40's and sunny, but windy.  By mid afternoon it was getting colder.  It was in the 20's by night time and really windy.  We got a dusting of snow overnight and wind chills this morning were in the single digits.  Brrr!  The kids adjusted much quicker than me.  Elliot could not WAIT to play in the backyard after we dropped off Noah at school.  He would play for quite awhile before coming in to have hot chocolate and warm up.  Then he went again.  We've gone through a few pairs of mittens already today. He loves it.  And I am surprised to say he actually ate lunch with all that hot chocolate and marshmallows he had this morning.

As much as the mild weather was nice (and I do prefer it), it's fun watching Elliot enjoy the snow.  I am excited for the first big snow to go sledding.  I think this year he'll really get into it and keep up with Noah.

Just another January day in the park

We have not taken for granted one mild day this winter. Winter finally hit last night, but I can't complain. We made it a long time! This is Elliot with Nona Grace and one of her friends from school, Ski. Elliot missed the cutoff to start in Miss Diane's class this year by 20 days, so he's not in school with them, but they'll be in the same class and will all be in preschool together next year. It was fun to watch Elliot join right in with the girls running around and playing.

Elliot's day was officially made

Kansas City is notorious for ignoring water main breaks for months. Usually until they are bursting up in the air spraying water everywhere. We finally got some people coming to repair one of them near our house. It's actually been pretty nice having the road closed there as it's cut off traffic except to 4 driveways. It's like living on a cul-de-sac. On Tuesday Elliot wanted to watch from our driveway. When one of the men saw Elliot watching he came up and showed him his remote control he was using to operate the machinery. Then he let Elliot push the buttons to make it go. What a great way to take a couple minutes out of your work day to make the day of a young boy.  Especially Elliot who loves trucks and tractors.

Park in January

It has been an incredibly mild and wonderful winter thus far. Today is supposed to be the last mild day in the 50's before it starts feeling more like January in Missouri. We have not taken any of the nice days for granted. Here is a sweet picture of Nona Grace and Elliot swinging together on the baby swing the other day at the park. Lately they have become such good buddies and play together so nicely. Elliot says "Nona Grace is my best friend" all the time and it's so sweet. They are going to have so much fun on the beach vacationing together over Spring Break. What a lucky couple of kids.

Back to school

We had a fun Christmas vacation.  But, by the time January 5th rolled around, we were ready to get back to school.  And by "we" I mean me.  Lots of family, lots of celebrating, lots of running around, and then lots of lazy days in pj's playing legos.  It was time to get back to routine.

A day with a high of 67 in January made for a great first day back to school.  I promised Noah we could play on the playground.  We stayed for about an hour after school let out.  He and his friends had a great time just playing in the dirt.

This is him with Madeline & Scarlett building something with dirt.

Colin & Delaney got in on the action, too.  They were so cute.  And filthy!

Urban Tour

Take a stroll two miles north of our house, and you'll find yourself wandering around the Spanish architecture of the Country Club Plaza, with its array of high-end stores, restaurants and bars, its fountains and and statues, and the occasional art fair.  Along the way, you can enjoy the distinctive neighborhoods and numerous parks, and see young families, old couples and joggers and bikers of all ages out amongst the streets.

Walk two miles east or northeast, and you'll find yourself in the midst of the killing fields of the most murderous neighborhoods in Kansas City, the 11th most violent city in the country.  It was here I decided to visit today.

I had a couple hours of nothing to do.  The weather was unseasonably warm for the first week of January, so I decided to get out on my motorcycle and go for a ride.  With no plans, but not enough time to go for a nice trip out into the rural areas, I went on a sightseeing tour instead.  I hit most of these areas along the way, taking in the contradiction between some of the most fascinating and beautiful architecture in the city, sitting amongst the evidence of hard lives lived, and being lived.

I didn't have any intention of taking pictures when I left, so I had nothing more than my cell phone camera with me, and I mostly just soaked it all in rather than try to document it.  I traveled the length of The Paseo, Troost and Prospect, and many of the random side streets, from Brookside to Independence Avenue.   I was impressed at some of the architecture that exists in some of the poorest neighborhoods in the city, and simultaneously saddened by the amount of houses and buildings that were literally boarded up, bombed out or inhabited but falling down.

Plenty of commentary has already been made about the political, social and economic causes and effects of this, and there's no enlightenment I can add, I was simply struck by what the city was once, what it could have been, and what it was now.

Holy Name Church, 23d and Benton.  It was built in 1925 for $175,000.

Just south of the Jazz District a few blocks.  From a June 1897 issue of the Kansas City Times:  "Out at Twentieth and Vine streets there is, being erected a castle-like stone building which is unlike everything else that Kansas City possesses. As the walls go up inch by inch passers-by regard the structure with increasing interest and in some instances considerable wonderment.

The building is, in plain, prosy truth, intended for Kansas City’s work-house. Here the vagrant and the petty criminal will be sent to work out their sentences. From this feudal-looking place the prisoner will be led to the rock pile twice a day in a most unromantic manner to demolish the limestone owned by the city. It will be Kansas City’s bastile. In it will be continued the “King of the Patch” or the “King of Little Italy,” and their subjects when they become unruly or conspire “against the peace and dignity” of the community.

Why should a work-house be built to resemble a feudal castle? There appears to be no reason for the style of architecture employed except that the building will certainly be substantial, constructed in that fashion, and that it might as well look like a feudal castle as an ordinary jail, if it costs no more. The suggestion was made by Major Alf Brant, work-house superintendent and the designs, drawn by City Architect Hogg, conform to Major Brant’s idea."

 

Same area.  I started to walk around it, when I saw a bunch of people hanging out nearby giving me odd looks.  In the grass, I found a penny dated 1955.  

Western Baptist Bible College building at 21st & Tracy - first occupied by the college circa 1930.

Downtown KC from West Paseo and 25th St.

Elmwood Cemetery at Van Brundt and Truman Rd.

Do not touch da bus

Noah worked hard building, tweaking, rebuilding and perfecting his lego bus earlier this week.  He was very serious about this project.  When he perfected it, he was literally carrying it from room to room so he could keep an eye on it.  And well, if you were getting any ideas about touching this bus, forget about it.

The bus

Your warning.  You best be taking it seriously, too.  He isn't joking.

Day with the 3 littlest Johnson cousins

Paul's sister Lisa and her husband Steve's anniversary falls after Christmas.  With 10 kids (8 at home, 2 in college), they don't get much alone time, so while visiting for Christmas they took advantage of family and went out to celebrate their anniversary.  This year we had just the three littles for the day.  I know I'm biased, but they are such great kids.  I had the luxury of having Claire in town to help out, too, so it was just a fun day.  We have had a very mild winter.  Temps were in the upper 50's or low 60's that morning.  They got here at 11am and we headed straight for the park until the kids were hungry for lunch.  After lunch I was able to get the Finn, Elliot and Luci down for naps at the same time.

After naptime it got chilly and cloudy with light spotty rain, so we stayed in, but the kids were great and had a lot of fun.  They all took baths and bedtime went really smooth, too.  Luci and Greta went to sleep on the air mattress in Noah's room and Finn slept in a pack and play in our room.  Steve and Lisa came and picked them up late that night.  I felt bad I was unable to keep my eyes open to wait up and chat with them when they came home.  I was exhausted.  But, a good exhausted.   

Here are a few pics taken on my phone.

Greta & Noah

Greta monkeying around

Finn loved the trucks

Greta

Luci

Noah

Elliot

Luci napped like a champ

Noah & Greta built this fort

art time

his body was his canvas

Elliot, Luci & Finn

Aren't they so cute?