Daddy's little helper

Well for starters, I think it's time for a larger house... preferably one with a workshop for Aaron to work in. (and by "workshop" I do not mean our living room floor) :) In the past few weeks, our house has been torn apart and put back together again several times over. Actually, we're still working on the "putting back together" part. After 4 years of working and waiting, we finally have new cabinet doors in the kitchen! When I bought our house, Aaron said he could make new doors for the kitchen cabinets and 4 years later... they're beautiful! I have to cut him some slack on the length of time it took him to finish them for 2 reasons. One ~ we don't have a house with a workshop where Aaron can do his woodworking projects, so any projects are generally started and done up at his parents' house in Upper Michigan. And two ~ he can be a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to his woodworking projects, so in all reality, it could have been a lot longer! ;) The bottom line is, they're now hanging in our kitchen and what an improvement!

The "before" ~

The "during" ~

The "after" ~

As I mentioned before, we do not have a workshop at our house, and unfortunately our garage has been overrun by baby toys, tools, and a bunch of other stuff that makes the possibility of using that as a workshop nearly impossible. He did do some of the finishing out there... staining and sanding, mostly (thank goodness!), but brought the doors inside to put the hinges and hardware on. We definitely have a little boy on our hands! Micah was VERY interested in what daddy was working on, and had to be at the center of all that action. I know I should have jumped in and pulled him away so Aaron could do what he needed to, but it was so cute to see him "helping" that I had to get the camera out first! :)

Helping Daddy with the cabinet doors

King of the cabinet door mountain!

"I bet I can figure this thing out..."

"...or maybe I'll just help you take it apart..."

The last couple of pictures are from another project Aaron was working on... figuring out setting up his router table. I know it looks like some kind of table saw, but there are no blades anywhere on the apparatus, so I wasn't worried about Micah "helping". :)



I think it's safe to say that we've got a good little helper in the making. Life is so much fun with a little one! Busier, and a bit more chaotic, but definitely a lot of fun! What will Micah find to "help" with next? :)

for Great Uncle Paul... and the Bottle Band

My wonderfully creative uncle has been making music using nothing but empty bottles for 30-some years now. He and my grandma were the co-founders of the St. Luke's Bottle Band, and since the band was formed, it has become widely known... even making appearances on the David Letterman show and Wild Chicago! Basically, the group plays songs, arranged by my uncle, on bottles that have been filled with various levels of water to make different pitches. Quite honestly, it's amazing! Not only do they blow on the bottles, they pluck them by snapping a finger out of the top of the bottle, and play them similar to a xylophone... or as Uncle Paul has named it, the "bottle-o-phone". If you want to see some songs the Bottle Band has done, just go to Youtube, and search "St. Luke's Bottle Band". You'll LOVE it!
I've grown up going to bottle band concerts, and having a wonderful time laughing and enjoying the unique way they make music. Micah, on the other hand, has only been to one concert... and that was a very mini-version of the actual show. (Some of the family did a brief performance at my cousin's wedding this summer.) However, despite his lack of experience with the bottle band, he seems to come by the various methods of playing the bottle quite naturally. During a rehearsal at my parents house back in June, Micah got a chance to participate... he didn't actually make any sounds, but he probably changed the pitches in the bottles from his drool! :)




And then yesterday, I was sitting at the computer while Micah was playing with his toys and all of a sudden I heard this tiny popping sound. I turned around, curious as to what was making that sound and saw Micah, sitting in a pile of toys, plucking his finger out of the smokestack on his Thomas train! I can't even do that and I've been trying for EVER! My fingers are just too small! And here's my son... not even 10 months old, plucking like a pro!

So, there you have it. I guess it's just a matter of time before Micah is dressing up in goofy costumes, marching into the gym at St. Luke's church along with the other members of the bottle band. I guess it's true, what my uncle says at each concert... "it's never too early to start your kids out in music, and for the cost of a six-pack, you can get him started in bottle music today!" :)

Fall fun and shenanigans!

I'm sorry I've been so delinquent in updating our blog lately. I have no idea how many of you out there check this on a regular basis, but to those of you that do, I apologize for not being better at keeping this up to date. And after fighting a cold and ear infection, Micah is back to his normal, "into-everything faster than I can keep up with him" self, so we'll see how long this post takes to complete! :)
Since the last entry, we've been having a lot of fun enjoying the beautiful fall. We've been to a few pumpkin farms and apple orchards... both of which make for some great pictures! ... Micah has mastered the art of climbing the stairs, discovered the kitchen cabinets are full of treasures to be discovered, and really become "mommy's little helper"! (and by "helper" I mean makes everything I'm working on take twice as long because as fast as I'm folding clothes or loading the dishwasher, Micah is right there, unfolding the clothes or pulling the silverware out of the dishwasher.) :) What's that saying? "Cleaning and scrubbing can wait to tomorrow..." :) I'm loving every second of being a mom and even loving doing everything twice because my little guy is "helping". :)
One thing I'm learning, as Micah is getting more and more mobile, is that I really can't take my eyes off of him for a second! A few days ago, I was doing something on the computer and turned around to see Micah surrounded by his wipes. He had pulled the top off of the container we make them in and had been having a ball pulling them out. What can you do at that point but laugh and get out the camera? :)


What a stinker! :) Well, without further adieu, here are a few pictures from our fall fun and shenanigans so far this season. Enjoy!

At the end of September, we went with our friends, Katie and Billy, to an apple orchard up in Wisconsin. It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun! Hats off to Katie who was our official photographer for the day. :)





On another beautiful fall day, my friend Val and I took our boys to Goebbert's pumpkin farm in Barrington.

At Goebbert's pumpkin farm with buddy, Logan

The giant chair at Goebberts ~

Well, at least they're both looking in the same direction! :)

Swinging with daddy ~


Kisses? or biting daddy's nose? You be the judge! :)


Playing in the leaves ~


How big is Micah? SO big!

We decided to get Micah an authentic Radio Flyer wagon for Christmas... which we did... but then decided we wouldn't get much use out of it in the middle of winter, so we thought we'd give it a test run.

I think it's a hit! :)

Aaron's parents were in town for the weekend, so we took another trip to a pumpkin farm near Kenosha. Nothing beats pictures at a pumpkin farm in the fall, in my opinion. :)

Coming soon to a theater near you... "Micah, Grandpa, and the Seven Dwarfs" ;)

Klingenmaier family picture in the pumpkins ~

Our little family ~

More fun in the leaves ~

And what is fall fun without carving some pumpkins? My main motivation is to get the seeds out for cooking and eating, but there are those who can really get into their carvings! :)

Yikes! Watch where you're pointing that thing! :)

A pumpkin carving "master" hard at work!

The finished products ~

I realize halloween is still a few weeks away, but Tracy wanted to get a few pictures of Micah and Emma in their costumes. :)



Aren't they adorable? :)

Well, to bring this post to a close, I have to include a few pictures of the "shenanigans". :)

Micah loves to pull himself up on our legs. Maybe someday he'll be able to give me a shoulder ride, but not today. :)

Helping with the laundry ~

The lid on those puffs is NOT childproof! :)

What treasures can I find in here? :)

Caught in the act!

Mastering going up the stairs ~

And stopping to play with daddy on the way

And one video to round things out... our little guy will be walking before we know it! :)

Well, it's almost 4:30, and I think I started this post sometime around 1, so 3 1/2 hours to finish a post isn't too bad. :) It could be worse, and at least our blog has been updated, FINALLY. :)