The Wilsons

Thought I would add a quick update on baby Izzabelle.  She is doing great.  I took her to her second lung center appointment on Wednesday.  She weighs 7lbs 4oz and is 20 inches long.  She is gaining weight rapidly because of the formula she is on.

The nurse downloaded the memory off the heart/lung monitor.  She called me yesterday to tell me that Izzy has not had any more true episodes and that she could be taken off the monitor completely.  They will come pick up the monitor sometime in the next to weeks.  Until then we are still using it for peace of mind when she is sleeping in her crib.  She likes to sleep on her tummy and with the monitor I don’t have to worry about SIDS.  I will have to get her sleeping on her back once they come take the monitor.

So, that is that. We now have a regular baby in our house. :o)

We had a family first today…we took the kids bowling! Lonni and I had not bowled together since before we were married, so it was definitely a family first.

I had to go to the alley to talk to my buddy Butch.  I don’t think I have written about Butch yet.  We have a bowling alley named, “Wimbledon” practically next door to our apartment complex.  I went there last week to get a new ball.  My old ball was over 10 years old and apparently things have changed some since then. LOL.

Anyway, the pro shop at this bowling alley is owned by this little old man named Butch.  He is a granddad of 8, he was just inducted into the baseball hall of fame (he was a pitcher), and he will be inducted into the bowling hall of fame next year.

Butch is a real lady’s man.

He told me all I ever needed to know about my ball and how to use it.  He drilled it to perfection and put my name on it.

I am now taking bowling lessons from him.  I am still working on the pointers from my first lesson on Monday.  I am having a blast and have become a regular “rink rat” (don’t know the term for a bowling alley). They know me when I walk in and I have even made friends with two senior ladies who practice on Thursdays.

So, I had to go in today to get Butch to re-drill my old ball so I could use it as a “spare” ball.  My new ball is supposedly a “strike” ball (three strikes to date. LOL).  Obviously, if I now use two balls to bowl with I needed a new bowling bag that carries two balls too. (Hehehe) I am definitely going to “look” like a professional even if I don’t bowl like one yet. New ball, new shoes, new bag…I am on a roll.  Now if I could only bowl in the 200’s I would be happy.

I digress…So, we took the kids with us because Lonni wanted to talk to Butch about a new ball and some shoes. We ended up with the shoes, no ball yet for Lonni, next paycheck.  (Lonni and I would like to get into a league together and we found out there is a couples league at this bowling alley every other Saturday night.  We will look into getting in that and finding a baby sitter for those nights.) Ok, back to the kids…We had a great time.

The alley was pretty empty.  There were only 3 other bowlers there.  We had the two lanes furthest away from everyone so the kids were able to run around and enjoy themselves.

They don’t make shoes small enough to fit either of the kids.  On top of that, the lightest ball they make is a 6lb ball.  Wil could manage the ball just fine but it was too heavy for McKinley.  We had to carry it for her and help her push it down the lane.  Wil could pick it up from the ball return, carry it over to the lane, set it down, and send it on its way all on his own. He was truly bowling by himself, which really helped him really enjoy himself.  And with the “bumpers” down, it didn’t matter how straight or crooked he rolled the ball, there were no gutter balls.

McKinley didn’t truly bowl a whole game on her own.  She was content to run around, roll around, climb into the video game car (complete with racing seat and steering wheel), and generally attempt to get into Mami and Papi’s way.  So she probably bowled half a game.

Wil bowled about a game and a half. All we’d have to do was say, “Wil, it’s your turn again” and he’d come running from playing (i.e., chasing McKinley around or sitting in the video game car). Little pro bowler in training. His first game… an 81.  Not bad.

By contrast, my first game was a 72 (that does not help push me closer to my PRO status). I picked it up in the second game, 115, had to try to protect my average.

Lonni hadn’t bowled in 5 years.  In fact, the last time he bowled was when he and I drove to Kansas City (during our dating years? days? minutes? -lol- ok, so we were only dating for 3 weeks before getting engaged, but in those three weeks, we took a trip to KC and on it, we bowled). Hi first game was a 102, and his second, a 143.  He actually had a good run going, no open frames, a few strikes, until the 6th frame.  Still, not too shabby.

And the cost of all this family fun? $9.  The games at this alley only cost $2 (and Lonni and I each bowled 2, so $8 for us).  We think they gave us a break on the kid’s games and only charged us 50 cents for each kid’s game.  A blast for only $9?  You can’t get it much better than that.  In fact, we had so much fun we plan to work this into our weekly schedule–Family Bowling Day (FBD)– Family Bowling Initiative (FBI) — Bowling for Family Fun (BFF) — ok, I’ll stop with the punny acronyms.

Just a quick post and snapshot of Wil and McKinley eating breakfast (cereal) this morning. They’re so cute, just eating at their table and watching a cartoon on the tv.

Meanwhile, Izzabelle and Mami were sleeping in.  Today was Papi’s day to get up early, and, as always, Wil and McKinley were up between 630 and 730 - their standard wakeup time.