Jazz On The Green

Jazz On The Green is one of our favorite events to go to in the summertime. I have been meaning to post about it so here it goes.

We go with my parents who have a really fun group of friends that they meet up with. They, meaning Bob and Carl, start getting ready by putting up a tent and setting tables up for the feast of food that will be brought. Each week there is a theme for the types of food that should be brought. Some past examples are: Carnival Food, Comfort Food, Mexican, Cajun, Hawaiian and so on. Let me say there is never a shortage of good food!

Tatum really likes this tradition so far. We pack up her tambourine and jingle bell shakers so she can play along. Some of this years highlights have been: Going up to the front to get beads, sitting up on Mommy's sholders, eating peaches from Grandma and Grandpa Sherman, getting flower leis from Oriental Trading Company (or favorite company around), playing in a puddle of water and getting licked in the face by a Great Dane.

All American 4th!

Well the 4th of July was a great day for us in the Krelle household. We started of the day just waking up whenever, which was nice. We took the morning kind of easy. Eric had some getting ready to do for the Ralston Parade. His group was participating in it this year, which has become somewhat of a tradition.


My Mom, Tatum and I went to watch. We walked into the area with our friend Rich and his son Gregory, who is a boyscout. It was nice to be able to chat with them before they took their places in the line up. We then headed to a great little spot for us three to watch out for Eric. It was so much fun to take Tatum to see all fun patriotic folly! As you can see in the pictures she really enjoyed herself. I am impressed that she did not get scared of any of the clowns or the noise. She also took the heat pretty well. We left just short of the end of the parade, as I wanted to get Tatum home to make sure she got in her nap. We had a big day ahead of us still.

After her nap ended we, Eric, Tatum and I headed over to my parents house. My Dad cooked up a nice smoked brisket, corn on the cob, cole slaw, garlic bread and beans. Man was it good. Eric commented that he is glad to be part of the Sherman family, because you know the food is going to be good. Especially when Jack Sherman cooks it! We played some lawn darts. I won the first round and then Eric won the next.

We then headed over to the Truitt's next door. Tiffani, Nick and the kids were out in the backyard playing. Tatum had a good time playing on a climbing wall, sliding and swinging. It is so much fun to see her with other kids. It was especially surreal for me to see my daughter playing in the same backyard that I did as a kid, with one of my best girlfriends kids. We didn't have the camera, but it was a picture perfect moment.

We headed back to my parents house and watched the other neighbors do some fireworks before packing up for the big firework finale of the night. Unfortunately my Dad was not feeling well and decided not to come. That made me a little sad as it is just a family tradition of ours and him not being there was sad. Half the fun of it all is my Dad and his driving us there and back...woah!

We got downtown and decided to head to a different spot than usual. We went to Bancroft Elementary School. I think that it was a great call. We found the walk to be so short and the atmosphere was so family friendly. We got some ice cream from the ding-ding man. Tatum really got into eating hers as you can see. I enjoyed it as it was the first time I have ever had anything from the ding-ding man.




We kept Tatum entertained with some glow bracelets, which she loved. She also got a kick out of seeing some the fireworks that people nearby were lighting off. The hour and a half wait was not as bad as I thought it would be. When the fireworks were about to start up we told Tatum and she was so excited. And with a countdown from 10 to 1 the fireworks began.



As we were laying in bed recounting the day Eric told me he felt like it was the most All American 4th of July...and it was.

Look Who's Two-Two

Look who's Two-Two! On July 2nd Tatum turned two, and I must say it was so much fun. The theme for her party was Tatum is turning Two-Two! I want to give credit to my friend Kelley who threw this theme party for her two year old and I just thought it was so cute and I used the idea as well. Much "Props" to you Kelley!

I had such a fun time getting ready for the big day. From finding invitations, picking out a cute little outfit for Tatum to making the cake it was lots of fun.




We had both Eric's family and my family over for grilling and fun. It was fun for Tatum to have both sets of Grandparents, Aunt Jill, Aunt Alisa, Aunt Beth and Alisa's boyfriend Brian over to celebrate her big day. This gave her plenty of people to show off in front of. She likes to have all the attention on her. (She is starved for attention otherwise don't you know?)

Eric was on the grill. He enjoyed cooking for all the family. We both thought that was the most he has ever grilled at one time on the grill.



When it came time for the cake Tatum really was ready to blow out the candles. Eric held her up and she was able to blow them out all by herself.




While getting ready for the party I was talking with my friend Lynette. We were talking about how when you are a parent that you just want to make everything so special for you child. That you just want them to experience the best of the best so to speak. The next day while driving I was thinking about that statement, and how it is kind of how God is with His children. He wants us to experience "the best of the best" which is walking with Him and seeing things with wonderment like a child. And that is just how Tatum experienced her Birthday. Eyes wide open with wonderment.

O what a weekend!

Well the weekend was fun. Friday night I worked while Eric watched Tatum. They went on a fun walk around the neighborhood. On Saturday Eric did some lawn work. Tatum and I went to do some errands. When we came home we decided it was time to pull out the sprinkler that we had bought her. This sprinkler is part of her Birthday present from Eric and I, but we decided it needed to be brought out a little early.

She had such a good time running around and splashing in the water. I thought is was funny how she tried to eat the water by sticking out her tongue. As you can see for your self she was having a great time.

Saturday night Eric and I went down to the Taste of Omaha. It was fun to hang out in the Old Market. This is something that we did often before we had Tatum. We ran into our friends Ian and Suzanne with their daughter Sky...and it made us wish we had Tatum with us. It was fun to go to the event with out a little one, but you do end up missing them from time to time. We ended the night by getting a light shower of rain on us. I found it to be a romantic ending to the night.

Saturday night we went to bed pretty late and had no idea about the weather that was heading our way. We woke up to my Mom calling us around 2am or so? The tornado sirens were going off and I really did not hear them. It was a little scary and confusing at first. We got Tatum and headed to the basement. We started to empty out the storage closet under the stairs. Eric watched on the TV for updates. I then gathered up the pets. We are very thankful to say that we had no damage to our house or our property.

The storage room is now open for business, as I have now cleaned and gotten rid of some stuff that was keeping it full. It was not fun to not be able to just get in there when we needed to. But we are now ready should we need to get in there in a hurry.

Today we went to a Birthday Party for Mina and Marley and it was a bunch of fun. Tatum really liked hitting the Pinata and playing pin the nose on the clown. My friend Beth really knows how to keep the kids happy with fun games, goody bags and lots of sweets. Tatum did not take her nap today....thanks Beth if you are reading this :)

Strategic Air & Space Museum Armed Forces Day

Well what a fun time we had today. Every year for Armed Forces Day the Strategic Air & Space Museum opens it's doors and puts on a great day of fun for all. This year was by far my favorite. We were greeted by a Black Hawk Helicopter parked on the front lawn. Upon entering the building Tatum was amazed by the SR 71 Black Bird staring her right down her face. We made our way into the hanger where the 2nd Infantry Division had their display set up. Boy that little girl ran right into her Daddy's arms.





Tatum thoroughly enjoyed herself. She ran around the hanger kissing and hugging the airplanes. She even got to sit up on an airplane wing. Boy did she think she was special. We watched the 2nd ID guys finish up a demonstration before heading over to the main bay area. It is in the main bay area that Tatum formed a strong bond to this little craft (pictured above). She just could have sat in it all day long. When I thought it was time to move on and plucked her out...boy she quickly climbed right back in. That little girl had found her spot!






We listened to a brass band play some great music. Tatum even sat down to listen. I think it was fun for her to see the instruments up close and all. When we were almost ready to leave we heard an announcement over the loud speaker letting us know that in 10 minutes the Black Hawk would be making it's departure. Boy what a treat. We went outside where the crowd was beginning to gather, picked out our spot and waited.




The engines started up with a rumble, and the propellers began to whirl around. The noise was not as loud as I thought it would be, but it still vibrated in your chest a bit. Tatum looked up with such excitement. When making it's ascent into the sky we could see one of the crew waving down at us as it flew right over our heads. And off into the sky it went. We watched it start to disappear and much to our delight is came back for a second fly over!

Zoo Day

The weather was beautiful here on Sunday. After church we headed to the Zoo. Tatum has a really great time there. Water seems to be a big draw for her as you can see here in some of the pictures. She learned how to smell flowers today. It was so cute watching her. She liked petting the goats in the petting zoo area, and walking around on her own.



Much to my dismay Tatum did not want to have anything to do with the Merry-Go-Round...what am I going to do if she doesn't like rides??? I was going to take her on despite the crying and fuss, but I thought that in the long run it might make things worse. I guess I will just have to be patient with it and see what the coming years brings for her and rides. I personally love roller coasters and thrill rides, but I know they aren't for everybody.




Tatum picked a Dandy Lion and was bringing it to me in this picture. To most people a Dandy Lion is nothing more than a weed, But when it is your daughter walking toward you with it, it is the most beautiful flower in the whole world!





Here are my two Loves! Waving bye-bye to the zoo :)

Randomness

O man where do I start? So much to say always so little time. I will start with..."Let it rain", because we have a new roof. Just before we got into winter our roof got a leak in it. A very small slow leak, that stayed small and slow and really was a non issue in the winter. This spring has brought on the rain, and we were ready to go ahead with putting on a new roof. The next time any of you come to our house please compliment us on the new roof. You see if we had put that money into our kitchen for example you would all come in and say "wow the kitchen looks great!"...it just isn't the same with a roof :) God was so faithful to us and really provided the funds for us to be able to do the roof down the the penny almost.

Let me share a bit about Tatum. She is just getting so close to being a two year old. Some of her new funnies, accomplishments and so on are:

-She loves to tell Normandy "no" or to go to her kennel

-When she doesn't want her glasses on I tell her it's time to go into the corner and when she is ready to put her glasses on she can come out. She then goes to the corner and then comes right over to put them on. If only it could stay that easy forever. Because of this Tatum enjoys pointing out and saying "there's a corner, and there's a corner too!" when she sees corners.

-She knows a little over half of the alphabet by sight. We play with foam letters a lot. She now has started to point out letters randomly in books when we read.

-she has a set of WWII airplanes thanks to Daddy. We can ask her to bring them to us by name and knows the difference between the War Hawk, Mustang, Liberator, Lightning and the Fortress.

-She enjoys "swimming" in the bathtub.

-I often say "honey" after things like "here you go honey" and now Tatum will call me honey some times.

-Tatum is trying to teach her baby Stella to use the potty chair.

-There are some days that Tatum will ask for pony tails in her hair, or to wear certain clothes or pick out her own shoes and hair bows.

-Every so often Tatum will say "Mommy's pretty ring, earrings or necklace". She has good taste I must say :)

-The other day Eric was changing shirts and she pointed to his chest and said "button". Eric then corrected her and told her it was a nipple. She then proudly stated "That's Daddy's nipple!"

-When we pray before eating Tatum likes to sing the prayer that we sing at church for snack time.

-Tatum knows what her name looks like written out, but if we use a lower case t she calls it a cross.

And last but not least...

-The Dancing With the Stars dancers have nothing up on Tatum...she knows how to
boogie!