Sibling love

Peter's first black eye

Last Monday I got a message from the school.
(I didn't get it right away as the call came while I was in the dentist chair)
The message (and my thoughts) went a little something like this:

"Angela, this is [so-and-so] from Regina..." (uh-oh)
"Peter had an accident..." (bathroom or serious accident?)
"He fell from the monkey bars..." (OH NO! WHICH HOSPITAL?!?)
"He hit near his eye, but is ok. He seems pretty upset..." (my poor baby!)
"If you could call us back,..." (I'm right across the street & on my way)
"Peter would feel better if he could just hear your voice." (OMGOODNESS, I'm coming baby!)

On my way to the playground to find him, I bumped into him with our friend Lily (holding hands, very cute) in the hallway. He had an ice pack to return to the office. He ran right into my arms and was telling me all about his fall. He grabbed my hand and started to lead me to the playground to show me exactly which monkey bar he hit. At this point, I knew he was ok.

Apparently, his hands slipped on a wet bar which left him falling down and hitting his head on the step bar below. From the looks of how tall the monkey bars are, it was quite the fall. He recovered well enough to show me what he was trying to do.

Another milestone: Peter can make it all the way across the monkey bars by himself!

Here's Peter showing his playground badge of honor:

Side note: First black eye...just in time for school pictures two days later!

Angelina's Ballerinas

Hold onto your tutus because the girly invasion has come to the Burer house! Natalie has become more and more into the pink and Elaine, well, naturally has been attracted to the pink. Now, we're in stereo!

Grandparents day with the Brinkleys

Day two of the grandparents' visit turned out also to be Grandparents Day. We celebrated by going to the Iowa River Power Restaurant for brunch followed by a walk along the bridge over the Iowa River. It was another beautiful day to enjoy.

Elaine still has a fear walking over bridges, especially when she can see between the planks. Thankfully, Grandma was there to hold her hand.



Next we headed out to Wilson's Orchard to pick apples and grab some apple turnovers. Most of the honeycrisp apples had been picked, but Peter was happy that his "favorite" apple was ripe to eat: the Senshu apple. He tried one and gave it a thumbs up!

He really enjoyed that apple!

Natalie got up close and personal in picking the perfect gala apple.

Of course, Elaine wanted to do the same!

Nothing is better than apples freshly picked from the trees.

Beauty tip about make-up

The beauty tip #121 of make-up is that it has multiple purposes in our house.
As Elaine demonstrates, mascara is a great alternative to lip (and chin) gloss.

Brought to you by my little make-up artist.

Fishing with Grandma and Grandpa Brinkley

Grandparents Brinkley drove up to Iowa for a visit the weekend of September 11th. It was a short weekend, but we managed to do a lot. First day, they took the kids fishing for their first time at Kent Park. Rather quickly, we caught a small fish (blue gills?). The kids were very excited and wanted to touch it. Peter was all for it, but Natalie and Elaine were a bit more timid.

Peter got his first feel for the fishing pole.

Elaine had some sweet Daddy time along the lake.

Everyone wanted to be on Grandma's lap!

Natalie really wasn't sure about this flippery fish that hung in front of her.

The girls and Grandma took a nice stroll along an old bridge.



Elaine was enjoying the time and getting dirty.

Natalie stopping to pick the tiny flowers.

Peter having a peaceful (Forrest Gump) moment.

All in all, it was a BEAUTIFUL day, and the kids had a great time and will have lasting memories of their grandparents and fishing.

Peter's Soccer league kick-off

This season Peter joined the Iowa City Kickers, the community soccer league. It's a little more serious than the recreational tot soccer or tee ball. There's uniforms, shin guards, and soccer shoes. We've entered a new level of sports!

Peter loves...really loves...soccer. He's excited about practice and games, something he wasn't as excited with tee ball. I think it's the fact that soccer is more of a contact sport, specifically with the ball! Here's Peter practicing his kicking before his first game last Saturday (the 11th).

Coach Brian is great. He also has a great group in his team. Peter has a couple of classmates as well as new friends on his team. His first game was against another team made up of some of his preschool classmates and friends. It was confusing at first, but then it was all fun after that.

Towards the end of the game, Peter got possession of the ball and made a goal! Unfortunately, I didn't catch the goal...bad time for the camera battery to die! But Peter remembers it fondly!

Yes, this officially makes me a soccer mom.
(No bumper stickers for the van, please!)