A Superhero, a princess, and a giant

Gus and Nora had Superhero and Princess Day at school this week so they loved the chance to dress up.  That very same day also happened to be Parents-Eat-Breakfast-With-The-Kids day.

And the only thing better than seeing your kiddos dressed up in costume at school is seeing their 6'7" dad sitting at the pre-schooler's breakfast table.  I loved it!

Soccer

We decided to sign Gus up for spring soccer this year.  He loves his uniform, shin guards, and new soccer ball.  He loved warming up for his first game.  His team name is the Gorillas. 

 

 

 His friend, Ava, is also in the league.  She plays for the Monkeys.

Gus' other best buddy, Caleb, is on the Terriers.  

The coaches huddled them up right before kick off. 

 

They had a plan.  Stay back on defense!

His first game he felt some jitters and had to sit out for a few minutes.

 

  But after he scored his first goal, he was cured and wanted to play the rest of the game.

Go Gorillas!

Our Nora

She recently agreed to participate in an impromptu photo shoot which I loved because she is not afraid to tell you "No" nowadays if she's not interested in what you're offering.

She's our gal!

Deep thoughts by Gus Pankratz

We wanted to share a few notable quotes from Gus, who is now 4 1/2 years old. Time flies!

About a week ago, Ross and Gus were driving and they had the following conversation:

G: "Dad, Grandpa Steve is stronger than you."
R: "He is?"
G: "Yep, because he has a bigger tummy."

Saturday they were again driving.

G: "Dad, the library is only for local people."
R: "Oh it is?"
G: "Yep"

Earlier, Ross had heard a commercial on the radio where local libraries were discussed. He was curious if Gus knew what "local" meant so he asked him.

R: "Gus, do you know what 'local' means?"
G: "No Dad, not local, loco."
R: "Oh really, it's a loco library? It's only for crazy people?"
G: "Yep" he confidently replied.

The other evening, Gus and I were making crazy faces or joking around about something and in the middle of a laugh he said:

G: "Mom, you have a lot of lines on your forehead when you open your eyes wide like that."
Me: "Oh really Gus?" (to which I'm immediately offended), "you mean wrinkles?"
He responded,
G: "No, I mean lines."
Then he proceeded to try and raise his eyebrows as hard as he could for a solid minute (it was hilarious), but no matter how hard he tried he could not produce the same forehead wrinkles that I have. So he cried. I mean bawled, for a good 5 minutes. Until I told him he really didn't want lines on his forehead because that means you are old. And then he stopped crying.

Recently we made BLT's for lunch. We fed the kids something else, but Gus asked for a sandwich like his Mom and Dad. We made a piece of toast for him and I asked:

A: "Do you want mayo on it?"
G: "Yes."
A: "Do you even know what mayo is?"
G: "Yep, it's what's delivered to the mailbox outside."

Happy Easter

We had a relaxing Easter holiday this year at home in windy Fargo. We kicked off the weekend with the annual egg hunt at Yunker Farm. Gus liked it. Nora did too, but was not super impressed with this photo opp.

On Sunday morning, we went to church and when we got home the Easter Bunny had dropped off a few goodies. Nora dug right in and did not care that a steady stream of choco-drool was running down her dress.



It was tough for her to get every little piece of foil off the chocolate eggs. That stuff is tricky! And tastes gross, too.




Happy Easter, everyone!

Thanks, kids!

Gus and Nora left a little surprise for me on the bottom of my bag this weekend, incase I got hungry. I should have called this post 'peeps on a purse'.

I walked around the mall for about 15 minutes with this baby stuck to the bottom of my bag. It took until I set it down on a counter to pay before I noticed anything.


Yum! And is that a Lucky Charm I see stuck to the Peep? Bonus.

A little MN

Mike, Michelle, and Gabby came to Fargo for a nice little weekend visit. It's always good to have a little MN back in our lives, if only for a weekend. The first night of our gatherings always end up with Gus and Gabs going bonkers and acting like maniacs.


They were a little more reserved on Saturday morning on our way out for some shopping.

(Yes, that is Nora in the foreground playing with a medicine syringe. Don't worry, it was empty. She likes to chew on them.)

It's typically Gus and Gabby who do all the playing, but now that Nora is getting old enough to get into the big kid's business, she's really interested in Gabby and wants to be just like her. Hence the matching outfits and headbands.

We loved the visit! Thank you for making the trip.