We Are Outnumbered!

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T08:44:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day. Pink, heart shaped pancakes were a perfect way to start the day!

Brag on John

2010-02-05T15:34:00.001-08:00

Just have to brag on my baby for a minute. John scored 100% on his kindergarten screening today, and was the first kid this year to do so! Go John!

The dreaded Parent Teacher conference

2010-02-01T12:35:00.000-08:00

No new pictures. I don't think I have even gotten my camera out in weeks. We need this cold to go away so we can do something fun.

The kids had their parent teacher conferences last week, and everyone got a good report. John's teachers said he is all set for kindergarten. The only issue he has is with sitting still and listening during story time. She said if it is one on one he will sit and listen to stories all day, but when they're in a group his attention wanders.

When I went to Natalie and Rebecca's conference I asked how they do in class together. There is only one class per age level at their school so I haven't had to deal with making the decision of keeping them together or splitting them up for school. The teacher said they each have their own friends and don't play together all that often. Natalie hangs with the girls and Rebecca plays with the boys. This is no surprise to me. Rebecca is all about the boys anywhere we go. We will walk into places and she will immediately start pointing out all the men and boys. If this is starting at age 2, I am not looking forward to age 13! Rebecca's teacher did have one concern. She does not know her colors (which isn't a big deal at this age) but she was having trouble matching colors. If the teacher held up a red ball and showed Becca how to pick another red ball, Rebecca would pick a green one. She said there was a possibility of her being color blind. So I called the doctor to see if they could do some sort of screening at her next check up, but they said she is too young. But now, just a week later, she knows almost all of her colors. It just suddenly clicked. It is funny how these little brains work.

John has his kindergarten screening this Friday. We had a friend that went last week, so she gave us a heads up on all the things he is supposed to know. I think he has them all down except his address. He knows the house number and he knows the street, he just doesn't put them together. Oh well, I can't imagine that will keep him out of school. :)

I miss summer

2010-01-10T20:50:00.000-08:00

Oh how I hate the winter. Cold and I do not get along. We had our 1st real snow of the season this past week. The kids were so excited. I got them all bundled up, which took close to an hour. John really wanted to build a snowman, but the snow was not sticky enough. We basically took one walk through the yard and they were all wanting to go back inside. All that work for 5 minutes (if that) of standing in the cold. Where the heck is this global warming? Right now I think that sounds great!

Goodbye 2009

2010-01-10T20:35:00.000-08:00

New Year's Eve just isn't the same after kids. This year we went over to a friends house for a wild night of board games and sparkling grape juice. The girls played for a bit and then went to bed, but John and his friend actually stayed up to greet the new year. I was surprised! While the little boys were off playing, the adults played Taboo and Balderdash. Julie and I were the champions of Taboo by a mile. Balderdash got interesting as one of our friends, with no kids to drive home, was drinking quite a bit. When you play this game you make up definitions for strange words and try to get people to pick yours as the correct definition. Let's just say his were never picked. That boy has a dirty mind. As 2009 drew to a close we all gathered in front of the tv to watch the ball drop and got our New Year's kisses. Then we bundled up and went outside to let the kids bang pots and pans and watch fireworks. Yes, that is white grape juice...not champagne :)

Christmas 2009

2010-01-10T20:14:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas festivities started off at my Grandma's house for dinner. It was delicious as always. After dinner we opened a present that our Elf on a Shelf left us before he went back to the North Pole. Pajamas for everyone and a movie to watch before heading to church for Christmas Eve service. The movie held the kids attention for about 20 minutes. At church we took the kids to the playroom, but Natalie wasn't having that. She wanted to stay with the grownups. She was so good during the service. Near the end she fell asleep in my arms which NEVER happens. I was loving every minute of it. While people stood up to sing I just stayed seated and held her. I almost had a fit of the giggles when the man behind me started using my head as a book rest for his hymnal while he stood and sang. I don't think he had any idea he was doing it, so I tried to stay as still as possible so I wouldn't jiggle his book. After service we headed home, put 3 super sleepy kids to bed in their new jammies, and got to setting up the living room with a truckload of new toys from Santa.

Christmas morning was awesome. This was the 1st year that all 3 kids really "got it." Each one got the one thing they asked for from Santa. John - a remote controlled rocket Natalie - a baby doll and Rebecca - a baby doll bed. After playing for a little while my mom, grandma, sister, brother, and someday sister in law came over. We had a little to eat and set about opening the piles and piles of gifts. John had fun with the girls jewelry...as did my brother. For lunch we went to my Dad's house. More good food (I ate WAY too much) and more presents. I think my favorite part of the day was when my dad opened my gift to him. On top of his present I had attached a couple lottery tickets. One of them was fake. When he scratched it off it said he won $20,000. He was all nervous and excited. He was a very good sport when he found out he had not actually won. He was just disappointed because he already had it spent in his mind. :)

After lunch at my Dad's we headed to Mike's parents for our final stop of the day. Everyone was in town, so it was a full house but a lot of fun. The kids played with all their cousins and the adults had time to catch up with each other's lives. More presents, more presents. We actually had to leave a few at their house because they wouldn't fit in our overstuffed sleigh, I mean car.

John is 5!!!

2010-01-10T19:52:00.000-08:00

December 19th my little boy turned 5! He is sweet, caring, crazy, and super sassy. One minute he will come up to me out of nowhere and tell me he loves me, and the next he is emptying his glass of milk into the dogs food bowl. For his birthday party this year we had it at his Tae Kwon Do studio. This was the 1st birthday party they had ever done, so we were a little nervous, but it went great. The boys all had so much fun. They started with a warm up which was comical, as most 4-5 year olds have not been through a stretching routine.After everybody was all warmed up they went through some of the regular punching and kicking drills that they do in class. Then they brought out the pads and the big bags which the kids had a ball trying to knock over.The highlight of the day was when each kid got to decorate a board and then break it. John won't be doing this in class for quite a while, so he was pumped to get to do it on his birthday. There was quite a bit of "help" from Master George as he bent the boards a bit as the kids hit them. They were all so proud and they got to take their broken boards home as a souvenir.Instead of a cake, we had a cupcake bar. Each child got a plain, unfrosted cupcake. Then they got to go over to the bar and choose their frosting and toppings. After eating they all ran an obstacle course. I'm not sure why they had to wear a helmet, as none of it was dangerous, but they all did.

Once we came home from the Tae Kwon Do party, we set up preparations for a birthday party at home with the family. Mike braved the cold and barbecued hamburgers and hotdogs and we had present time, cake, and ice cream. I usually love making John a cake with a theme, but this year he asked for a plain circle cake. I reluctantly obliged. I made it the night before, set it in the middle of the kitchen table, and locked the dog out of the kitchen. Unfortunately at some point in the night, Mike went into the kitchen and forgot to lock the gate behind him. Arthur got in and ate the sides out of the cake. A quick trip to the grocery store resulted in a very yummy bakery made cake with pieces of candy bar on the top.

Christmas Card

2009-12-22T13:10:00.000-08:00

Just in case anyone didn't receive our Christmas card...here's yours! :)

Bells will be ringing

2009-12-16T20:45:00.000-08:00

Today John had his Christmas concert at preschool. Before any singing began, Pastor Liz came in to tell the story of Christ's birth. She opened with a question, "Do you know who's birthday we are getting ready to celebrate. It's someone very important." John promptly raised his hand and replied, "MINE!" Yes John, your birthday is coming up, and yes, you are very important. She was looking for Jesus though. :)

After hearing the Christmas story the kids got down to singing. They all had jingle bells to ring throughout every song and there was excitement all around when the bucket of bells was passed to the kids. They all did very well, singing all the Christmas standards. John said his very favorite was Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. After singing the parents left and the kids got down to business with their Christmas Party.

Dear Santa...

2009-12-15T11:16:00.000-08:00

Today the kids and I braved the mall for our trip to see Santa. The whole way there we talked about how nice Santa is and how there is no reason to be scared of him. This was all fine until John saw the jolly old elf. He said Santa looked weird and he refused to sit with him. This is the same Santa we see every year, so I don't know why he thought he looked different this year. Natalie was a little shy, but sat on his lap no problem. Rebecca I had to sit with for a moment and then make the handoff to Santa and bolt out of the picture. I'll have to scan the picture and post it later. Natalie is sitting nicely (with her fingers in her mouth) and Rebecca is wailing. John is nowhere to be found.

After that we went down to Macy's where they have a letter writing area and a mailbox to send a letter to Santa. John wrote "Rocketship" and explained that Santa will know that he means a rocketship with a remote control with no fire coming out of the back. Natalie drew a baby doll and Rebecca drew a baby doll bed. I am hoping Santa can make sense of their scribbles.

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas

2009-12-13T20:29:00.000-08:00

Today was the church's Christmas Pageant. John had the role of the goat. He did a wonderful job of saying his line, "I am the goat. Baaa." :) The parents of the barnyard animals had been told to make ears for the kids, but John was the only one with them on that day. He may have looked a little out of place, but adorable none the less.

After dinner tonight I finally gave in and brought out the gingerbread house to decorate. I took the easy route and bought a pre-baked, pre-assembled house that came with pre-made frosting and candies for decorating. The kids had a great time decorating it, and trying to sneak the candies in their mouth without Mike or I noticing.

Once decorations were complete I decided to do a little decorating of my own.

Arthur helped with the clean-up

After baths to clean all the frosting off the little ones we sat down and watched a bunch of home movies. The kids were so confused asking who all the babies were.

Oh, and John had another belt test in Tae Kwon Do last week and he moved up to a red stripe. I don't have any pictures of him with it though. They are on holiday break until January, so he won't be in his uniform any time soon.

Seriously????

2009-12-10T09:13:00.001-08:00

This is what I found when I got them up from their nap. The window shade was just put up yesterday because the previous one they had torn down and destroyed like wild animals, I mean toddlers.

The suspects - caught Sharpie handed

Conversation with John

2009-12-09T17:59:00.000-08:00

John: I love you.

Me: I love you forever.

John: I love you forever.

Me: I love you forever and always.

John: I love you forever and holidays.

Clever Owl and the Fashionistas

2009-12-06T18:57:00.000-08:00

John had his Native American festival at preschool a few weeks ago. They all had Native American names and John chose "Clever Owl." The kids sang songs showed the parents all the Native American crafts they had made over the past few weeks. Some of the songs they sang I actually remembered from when my brother went to school there almost 20 years ago!

On Thanksgiving this year we had 2 stops to make. We started the day at Uncle Dennis & Aunt Barb's house. The regular crew was all there minus my cousin and her family. Sickness kept them away. We had great food as always and lots of fun with the family. We also got some great news. There will be 2 new additions to Thanksgiving dinner next year. We already knew my cousin Niki was pregnant with a little boy, but we also found out that my cousin Patrick and his wife Megan are pregnant with their second baby!

Rebecca giving hugs to baby Chaney (the big sister to be)

John flying planes with Uncle Dennis on the computer

Natalie and Rebecca enjoying the cupcakes

After lunch there we headed to Maw Maw June and Grandpa Bud's house. We had a full house there and a ton of food, including my favorite coconut cream pie. It may not be a traditional Thanksgiving dessert, but Mike's mom makes the BEST pies and this is always my fave.

The girls are starting to want to pick out their own clothes and it is driving me crazy. I know I should let them express themselves, but sometimes their outfits end up looking like this...luckily we weren't going anywhere

Today John had his Tae Kwon Do Holiday party and performance. The demonstration team had a performance that included some sparring and board breaking. Before they got into all that though the little ones had a small performance of their punching. John did great, but unfortunately I didn't get any pictures because one of the instructors was standing right in front of me. He was so proud when he came back to the table and got all his congratulations and hugs. After a small dinner they had an awards ceremony. John got a participation certificate along with the rest of his classmates. It was pretty impressive listening to the older kids and adults getting their awards.

John recieving his certificate - he has one of the mean mommies that won't let him wear his uniform after performing...white and 4 year old boys do not mix well

When we got home from Tae Kwon Do we set about decorating the Christmas Tree. Natalie was a fabulous supervisor and told the other 2 where to put everything. She was scared of a nutcracker ornament and didn't want to get to close to the tree after spotting it. The offending ornament has since been removed. I may have to go back and rearrange a few things now that they are in bed. 90% of the ornaments are about 3 feet high and under.

Christmas List

2009-12-02T12:23:00.000-08:00

John has decided he wants a gas station for Christmas. If anyone knows of a Shell Station or Circle K for sale let me know. :)

Nature Walk

2009-11-14T13:12:00.000-08:00

It was so beautiful out today I finally took the kids out on the nature walk I had been promising for weeks. We headed out to a nearby park with a couple of trails. I gave each kid a ziploc bag with their name on it to collect their nature treasures in. John was excited to find acorns and pinecones, only to discover that neither were anywhere to be found. He settled for rocks, sticks, and leaves.

There was a lot of running. John kept making starting and finishing lines on the trail and then having the girls race him. He was very excited that he continuously won. Poor girls. Their little legs just couldn't keep up.

About halfway through our walk we came up to a creek that we could climb down to. The kids all had a blast throwing rocks and sand into the water. Natalie kept getting a little too close to the water though. I was just imaging her slipping in and having to walk all the way back to the car with a sopping wet, cold, 2 year old.

After playing by the water for a while we headed back to the trail. I found a tree to put the kids in for cute pictures. We had a talk before we left that everyone would walk the whole way and I was not carrying anyone. They all agreed. Apparently Natalie forgot about 3/4 of the way through though and had a nice screaming fit.

After our walk we went over to the playground to kill some time before lunch. Before I even had the girls jackets off of them John ran over the monkey bars, grabbed on, swung his feet out, and landed flat on his back. He was screaming as I ran over and kept sputtering that he couldn't talk. He had gotten the wind knocked out of him pretty bad. Thank goodness he was already moving by the time I got to him because as soon as I saw him fall I was preparing myself for him to be paralyzed. I think he took a few years off my life. The other mothers at the playground just kind of glared at me. Like I really wanted my kid to get hurt! He's fast, and he's never tried the monkey bars by himself so when he ran to the playground I didn't think I needed to be hovering over him. Plus, I have 2 other little ones to watch. Accidents happen people! Regardless, 2 minutes later he was running around again and all was well.

Continuing Tradition

2009-11-13T21:30:00.001-08:00

When I was a kid my dad had bowling league on Friday nights. While he was out, my mom would set up a picnic dinner for us in the living room. Generally it was pizza, applesauce, and nasty Vienna sausages. The latter was only eaten by my mom and brother. Just the smell of them makes me sick. We would sit on towels on the floor and watch all the TGIF shows, Full House, Family Matters, etc. It was nothing crazy exciting, but it was something we all looked forward to each week.

Tonight, while Mike was gone deer hunting I decided the kids and I would do the same. Since the good old TGIF shows aren't on anymore (and my kids are a little too young for them anyway) we hit up the video store and rented Mary Poppins and then swung by Imo's for pizza and salad. YUM! The kids were so excited to get to eat in the living room. We set out our towels and had our own little picnic. After dinner I made some popcorn, turned out the lights, and we had our own little movie showing complete with chocolate covered raisins, which were a big hit. I don't know if this will be an every week thing as they are still pretty young but it was fun to carry on a tradition.

Woo hoo!!!

2009-11-08T21:20:00.000-08:00

Rebecca peed in the potty! Rebecca peed in the potty!! Just once, but she did it!!!

Rebecca the Arsonist

2009-11-03T19:55:00.000-08:00

Conversation in the car today

John: I want to be a fireman. I'm going to drive one of the big green firetrucks and Natalie is going to ride with me.

Me: That would be a good job. You could help people if their houses catch on fire.

John: Yeah!

Rebecca: I want to catch people's houses on fire.

Happy Halloween!!!

2009-10-31T21:30:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to post pics of the kids costumes, but was trying to wait until Halloween.

The girls had their Halloween party and costume parade at school on Wednesday. They usually parade outside around the school, but because of all the rain they had to parade through the playroom. A little anti-climactic if you ask me. It wasn't even raining that day, but I guess the teachers thought it was too wet outside. G.G. came up and got to see the girls and their friends in their costumes.

John's class parade and party was Friday, and it was also inside. This time it was actually pouring out, so I understood. :) They went up and down the hall and around the playroom. After posing for a few pictures the parents took off and the kids proceeded with their Halloween festivities. After picking John up we got the girls in their costumes and headed off to my mom's work so she could see them and they could trick or treat around her office. My mom thought ahead, and being the wonderful Maw Maw that she is, went around beforehand and gave candy to her coworkers to hand out to the kids.

Saturday we made a trip to Grandma June and Grandpa Bud's house and then over to my Dad's house so all the grandparents could see the costumes. Natalie was being a bit bashful for some reason, but they had a good time and started filling their treat bags before trick or treating even began.

Finally we made it over to our friends house for trick or treating. It has become a yearly tradition to go over there for dinner and then trick or treat around their neighborhood. They have a ton of kids in their neighborhood and everyone participates. Our street is like a ghost town on Halloween. No kids at all. The only trick or treaters we ever get are the neighbors grandkids. For some reason though I still go buy a big bag of candy every year. The kids filled their treat bags and we went back over to Mike & Julie's to hang out, let the kids play, and hand out candy to the rest of the goblins. I love how near the end of the night all the older kids (teenagers) come out to trick or treat. There were 2 guys that cracked me up. One was just wearing jeans and a hoodie. When Julie asked what he was, without even hesitating he said "I'm Nicholas Cage." Another guy was wearing jean and a Michael Jackson t-shirt and said he was a Michael Jackson fan. Awesome costumes guys! :) After the kids downed as much sugar as they could we took 3 overly tired kids home, brushed teeth like crazy, and listened to the silence as they all fell asleep immediately.

Natalie's lip job

2009-10-24T20:16:00.000-07:00

Good news! It seems that Natalie won't be in need of a lip job anytime in the near future! Modern medicine can keep all their injectibles for plumping lips, my daughter found a natural way to get a movie star mouth. Poor baby slipped on a book and smacked her mouth right into her bed. She bit into her lip pretty good. Lots of blood, but all is well. A cold washcloth, a little ice, and lots of snuggles and she was good to go.

Jail is not fun!

2009-10-22T19:56:00.001-07:00

Holy cow. I slacked off here for almost a month. What's been going on...

John has had 2 field trips at preschool already. The first was to a local park with farm animals. We had been there before, so he wasn't quite as excited as some of the other kids. The second was to the fire/police station. That one he loved! He came home with a fire hat and tons of information about calling 911, stopping - dropping - and rolling, and that jail is not fun.

John and his best friend from preschool

Natalie and Rebecca are well into the terrible twos. Rebecca spends a lot of time screaming and Natalie has decided she needs to be carried everywhere. They are both loving preschool and I basically have to beg for a kiss goodbye before they run off to play.

Halloween is coming up way too fast. The kids costumes are pretty much done, but since my sewing machine is messed up I will be going to my mom's house this weekend to finish them up. The are going as Alice in Wonderland characters. John is the Mad Hatter, Rebecca is the Queen of Hearts, and Natalie is Alice. Someday John is going to realize that he can decide what he wants to be for Halloween, but until he does I am loving the themes. :)

Oh, and during my break here I went and turned 30. Blah!

Conversation with John

2009-09-24T15:37:00.000-07:00

We were discussing twins...

Me: Remember when Mommy's tummy was really big?

John: Yeah

Me: Well, Natalie and Rebecca were in there. They were really tiny and then they grew into babies in Mommy's belly. When a mommy has 2 babies in their belly, the babies are twins.

John: (appalled) They walked right in your mouth and went down to your BELLY?!

First Days of School

2009-09-14T11:14:00.000-07:00

It's official. All the kids are now in school. John had his 1st day last Friday where I stayed with him, and his first day by himself was Monday. He is going 3 days a week and loving it. Most of the kids from last year are in his class, as well as a few new friends. He has already been planning his show and tells for the next week. This week he took a tractor one day and a hammer the next. Next week he plans on bringing his tae kwon do belt and maybe one of his trains. I really wish I could be a fly on the wall during show and tell to see what the kids say about the treasures they bring from home.Hugs from Becca

Hugs from Natalie

The girls had their 1st day on Monday, where I stayed with them, and then their first official day by themselves was Wednesday. They did great. They remembered the teachers from John's class, so they were fine being left with them. We got a few new pieces of art to add to our growing collection. I came to pick them up just a few minutes early so I got to peek in while they were singing. It was so cute watching them participate with their class. I can't believe they are getting so big!

Hugs for Rebecca

Hugs for Natalie

the girls and I after their 1st day

Sleeping in beds hasn't been going so well. The first couple of days were alright, but now, I don't think they sleep at all during nap time. They empty the dresser and the toy box. Get in each others beds, and basically just play and make a big mess. Then, when it is time to get up they are exhausted.

After the girls took a nice rest on the living room floor yesterday, we headed outside. All the kids are getting so much more adventurous. John is close to being able to reach the monkey bars which I'm sure means a trip to the ER for a broken arm is in our near future. Natalie has no fear whatsoever. She has learned to climb the rock wall and is now climbing the rope ladder. She falls and gets her legs stuck, but just keeps going back for more. Even Rebecca has started getting into the action. She used to be scared to climb the steps and now she is scaling the bar ladder and working on the rock wall. It's neat to watch them learn how to do all these things, but I have about 15 mini heart attacks every time we play outside.

Natalie on the rope ladder

spinning on the tire swing

Rebecca on the slide

Natalie

Rebecca lounging on the fold up chair they have started taking up the playhouse area

John swinging

These are some strange kids I have. After playing on the swingset, John found the girls old pool floaties and they all decided to wear them on their heads. Natalie

Rebecca

John

Big Kids

2009-09-09T12:01:00.000-07:00

Summer is coming to an end, and we are all ready for school to start. John's 1st day is tomorrow and the girls start on Monday. I'm hoping to get out tonight to pick up a first day of school outfit for John. I also need to find his other tennis shoe which seems to have been missing most of the summer since he has been wearing flip flops.

John made his bi-yearly trip to the dentist and was pleased to find out he has 20 teeth, just like he guessed. I was pleased that there were no cavities. He sat very well and the only issue we had was the dentist put mint toothpaste on the brush without asking what flavor John wanted. He hates mint so he kind of freaked out when it touched his mouth. The dentist even had to get a new toothbrush out because John said he could still taste the mint even after it had been washed off multiple times.

We had a few "big" birthday celebrations in the last few weeks. Mike turned 30 and his sister turned 40 within a week of each other. For Mike's birthday we had a weekend at the Lake sans kids. For Lin's we went to Grandpa Bud and Grandma June's house for dinner. The kids had fun playing with all their cousins. They also loved feeding the fish in the little patio pond.

Last weekend the girls ended their stay in cribs. We had a few climbing out incidents, so out came the toddler beds. They have been doing pretty well in them. Rebecca will stay in hers. Even when she wakes up in the morning she will just sit in bed and wait for someone to come get her. Natalie is needing a little more reminding about staying in bed. So far she has ripped down the window shade, poured sunscreen all over the floor, and emptied out the closet. Ugh.

Good Mail Day

2009-08-13T20:07:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo! Look what came in the mail today. The girls are officially ready for preschool. I love Etsy!

Reception, Music, and Haircuts

2009-08-11T19:17:00.000-07:00

Saturday we headed out to a park for my cousin's wedding reception. They got married in paradise and we couldn't attend, so it was nice to get to celebrate now that they are home. The kids had a great time, especially because there was a huge plate of cookies that they helped themselves to all day long. I brought a ball for the kids to play with, which was promptly lost in the lake. My mom did finally rescue it, and then it was lost again.

Rebecca and Daddy (she looks so BIG here!)

Natalie & Rebecca

Uh oh! Girls Gone Wild!

John, not hiding very well

My sister picked up a guitar for John at a garage sale a few weeks ago and he loves to play it, even though it is missing a few strings. Then today, my grandma gave him a harmonica. He plays both at the same time, and somehow lost the harmonica inside the guitar at one point. Now he says he wants drums. Seriously, could someone please give him a musical instrument that has an "off" switch?

Yesterday I caved and took Natalie to get her hair cut like Becca's. Although I had wanted them to have different haircuts, I think it is adorable.

Green Stripe

2009-08-07T20:34:00.000-07:00

Today was John's promotion test in Tae Kwon Do. He passed and is officially a green stripe!

warm up stretches

Bowing in to the instructors and Master George

fighting stance

handshake from Mr. Tyler after receiving his new belt

group shot of all the kids that got promoted and their instructors

Quick Catch Up

2009-08-07T11:53:00.001-07:00

John had preschool summer camp all this week. He got to go with 2 of his best friends Nicholas and Adam. They had so much fun and came home with tons of projects. I am contemplating redoing the wall in my kitchen with a bunch of frames and filling them with the kids artwork that I can change out as new things come in. I think it would be cute, but we'll see if I actually get around to it.

Tonight John has his next promotion test in Tae Kwon Do. If he passes he will be a green stripe. Good luck baby!!

The girls have most definitely hit the terrible 2's. It is super fun! They have become very independent and don't want help with anything. They don't want to hold hands in the street and definitely don't want to leave anywhere until they are good and ready. It would be a little easier if they had the verbal skills to tell me what they are thinking, and their reasoning for certain behaviors, but instead we just have a lot of high pitched little girl screaming. On a positive note, they are saying "I Love You" a lot, so that pretty much makes up for everything. :)

I haven't taken any pictures in forever. Hopefully I will get some this weekend at my cousin's wedding reception to share.

Neat Blog

2009-07-28T18:06:00.000-07:00

If you have kids, you have to check out this blog.
http://filthwizardry.blogspot.com/
I seriously want this lady to come to my house every day and do "projects"

6 Flags

2009-07-21T15:51:00.000-07:00

Last Friday my grandma took the girls, and John and I headed off to Six Flags. And yes, there really are six flags. We had to count them. John told me next time we don't have to count because he already knows how many there are. After paying $15 to park, we bought tickets for a mere $72. I didn't realize how expensive of a day this was going to be! Luckily, the tickets we got are good for 5 more visits, so hopefully we'll use them and get our moneys worth.

We started off at the Colossus. It is a huge ferris wheel. John was very excited for it while we stood in line.As soon as we got locked in our little cage to ride he freaked out. He had his head burried in my lap the whole time and was just shaking! He kept asking me to tell him when it was over. Not a very good start to the day.After the scary ferris wheel we decided to stick with the kids area. This he loved! The parents can go on all the rides here or the kids can go by themselves. I rode the spinning hot air balloons and after that he was fine on his own. He rode the train a few times and was super excited when he got to sit in the engine and "drive". After wearing himself out on those rides we went over to Hurricane Harbor, the waterpark. The weather was so beautiful and perfect for going on rides and standing in line, but it was a little chilly for swimming. John played around in the kids area for a little bit while I hung out in the sun, or what there was of it. He really wanted to do a waterslide, but was too short for most of them. We found one he could go on. You sit in a big raft that holds 4 or 5 people. Well, I guess there was some issue with weight distribution because John was always on the side heading down, which meant he got drenched at every turn. This would have been fine except he kept turning around to see where we were going and the water would shoot up into his face. At the end of the ride he asked if we could go again, so I guess it didn't bother him too much. After Hurricane Harbor we grabbed a popsicle and headed home. It took about 2 minutes for him to pass out in the car on the way home.

First Haircuts

2009-07-13T10:16:00.000-07:00

Today the girls went to the salon and got their 1st real haircuts. They have had their bangs trimmed before, but this was the real deal. Natalie went first and had hers cut to her shoulders and Rebecca then got a bob at her chin. I kind of wish Rebecca would have gone first so I could have seen how cute the bob was and gotten the same for Natalie. I think when we go back for trims I may have to get Natalie's shorter. What do you think?

Natalie Before

Natalie After

Rebecca Before

Rebecca After

VBS & 4th of July

2009-07-06T18:56:00.000-07:00

I was reprimanded for not keeping up with the blog, but there hasn't been a whole lot going on. We have been going to the pool a lot so far. The girls are much better this year. Now that they are more steady on their feet I think they are more comfortable walking in the water. I definitely need to look into swimming lessons for next summer. I'd like to find an outdoor pool for them, so mommy can get a little sun while waiting for them.

John attended Vacation Bible School at church this year. I asked him if he was learning about Jesus, and he told me, "Jesus wasn't there today, but I think he's coming tomorrow." He got a CD of songs they learned and we have been listening to it a lot. He sits in the back of the car, singing along, and doing all the motions to the songs. Even the girls are starting to. After the 1st day of VBS they had a family bonfire and the kids had their first taste of s'mores..

For the 4th of July we went to a BBQ at our friends house and had a 4th of July / 1st Birthday Party for their son. The kids had a great time playing with all the other little ones there. They even got to stay up super late to watch the fireworks and play in the rain. Natalie was not very impressed by the display. John liked it, but covered his ears the whole time. We'll have to try ear plugs next year. Rebecca loved every minute of it.
I completed my 1st sewing project. I made John a pair of pirate boxers. He loves them, and this pose was all on his own. I made a few mistakes along the way, but I guess practice makes perfect. Next up, nightgowns for the girls.
General Updates:

John is doing well in Tae Kwon Do. He will have another belt test (green stripe) at the end of summer. He has some major issues with impulse control, but in general is very helpful and sweet. He got to go to the circus with Maw Maw and the transportation museum with G.G. recently. He seems to do better on outing when it is just one on one. He has a new favorite show, Make Way for Noddy, and unfortunately has started calling people by one of the characters names....Big Ears. We had a talk today about how people might not like being called that, and he was very confused and kept telling me, "But Big Ears is nice!"

Rebecca is a total girly girl. She has taken over all my chapsticks "chap-chick" and is always carrying a purse, usually mine. Every time I walk into my bedroom, she is right behind me on a mission to get into my jewelry armoire. She still carries her blankey everywhere and even a short car ride without it results in tears and screams for her "kay-key". She has also started copying John. Everything he does, she has to try and she is even repeating phrases, like Big Ears.

Natalie is very into singing lately, mostly the ABC's. They aren't always in the right order, but she has the tune down. She also really likes counting, but it is mainly just a random order of numbers with just a few in order. She is getting much better at sharing, but has also discovered the word no. She will tell me no even as she is doing what I asked. I guess she just likes the way it sounds. She loves having her picture taken and gives the biggest cheesiest smiles, and as soon as she is done she says, "let me see!" What did kids do before digital cameras and their instant gratification?

Our fun weekend

2009-06-09T18:39:00.000-07:00

We have had a busy couple of days, and some super tired kids. I thought summer was supposed to be relaxing! :) Mike left town early Friday morning for a fishing trip to Canada, leaving me to plat single mom for a week. Right now it is Tuesday and I feel like he's been gone for a month. Friday John had his last day of summer camp and one of his friends mom's offered to pick him up for me and take him to her house to play for the rest of the day. Woo hoo! Thank you Shannon. So with John off to Nicholas' house, the girls and I spent the morning at the office and then had a fun filled day of errands. After a quick trip home to let the dog out, we went to pick up John and headed to my mom's house for a going away party for my cousin Liz. She left this weekend for 3 more years in Japan doing missionary work. It was nice having everyone together since all the cousins have gotten pretty spread out across the country (and world). John had a good time playing with my cousin's friend's son Eli, and everyone had fun playing with the bubble machines. I don't think I will ever understand the utter fascination kids have with bubbles, but I won't complain. It certainly is a cheap and easy thing to keep their attention. We ended up staying later than expected and got home and went straight to bed.

The next morning we had a date with Mike's sisters and mom to go to the Zoo. His sister Lori and her family were in town from Kansas City, and unfortunately Mike didn't get to see them due to his trip. We ended up getting to the zoo around 10:00 and went straight to the new stingray exhibit. We missed the feeding, but got to stick our hands in and pet the stingrays. Well, John and I did. The girls were pretty content with just splashing. We checked out the bears and penguins, took a train ride and a carousel ride, and had lunch. By that time the kids were getting a little cranky due to lack of sleep, so the 4 of us took off for home. Even with as tired as they were, they still didn't nap well.

Well, that's all for now. We have a date with some friends at the park tomorrow, but it is supposed to rain, so we may end up at the train store that John loves. Other than that, no real plans...just waiting for Dad to come home.

Natalie, looking a little intimidated by the huge meatball sandwich on her plate.

I seriously cannot believe she ate that whole thing...and she's the little one! That girl must have one heck of a metabolism.

Yellow Stripe

2009-06-01T13:10:00.000-07:00

I forgot I hadn't updated about John's promotion test. He passed! He is offically a yellow stripe and he is SOOO proud! He was called on to count in Korean. He got 1-6 by himself, but need a little help on 7-10. I thought the testing was supposed to be really quick, so I took the girls with me. Unfortunately he was in the 2nd group, so we ended up having to wait over an hour to see him. I was going crazy trying to keep the girls entertained and quiet. Had I know about the wait I would have brought some raisins and coloring books. Instead they passed the time cleaning their dolls with wet wipes and climbing all over me.
Here is John (in the middle) receiving his new belt. He seems to really like his class...as opposed to his hockey lessons. Summer session starts back up next week and he is already talking about everything he needs to learn to earn his green stripe.

Tae Kwon Do

2009-05-25T18:15:00.000-07:00

Friday is John's 1st promotion test in Tae Kwon Do. If he passes he will go from a white belt, to a yellow stripe. At this point, I'm not sure if he will pass or not. He knows all of the required moves, but he also needs to know how to count to 10 in Korean, memorize and repeat a "home rule". We have been practicing, but it doesn't seem to be clicking yet. Here are a few pics of him showing off his skills.

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-24T22:02:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Mike and I took the kids to a friends lake house for the day. It was only about an hour away, so it was a prefect day trip for the kids. We arrived around lunchtime and had a nice picnic lunch outside. After eating, we all took a pontoon boat ride around the lake. It was so nice, and Mike and I were actually talking about getting a place there. Probably just with a camper at first, but eventually a house. During the boat ride we came up to a little playground, so Mike and the kids got off to play while I got to sit and relax in the boat. After playing around for a little while we headed back to the house so the boys could go fishing. John caught one little fish, but unfortunately I was up on the deck and couldn't get a picture before they threw it back in. The girls stayed up with me and had a great time going person to person seeing who they could mooch food off of. John had a fun surprise visitor. Our friend's nephew is one of the assistants in John's Tae Kwon Do class, so he was very excited to see Mr. Tyler outside of class. Surprisingly, the girls actually laid down for a short nap in the afternoon, and Mike and his friends took a few rides on the bar stool carts. To me, these look like an accident waiting to happen, but I guess boys will be boys. John DID NOT ride them, but had fun posing on them for pictures. :) After a long day of fun and sunshine, we headed back home. I really hope we get to go back again this summer, once the lake has warmed up a little so we can go swimming!

singing songs and having fun

2009-05-22T19:13:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was John's last day of preschool this year. They ended the year with a concert for the parents of songs they have learned throughout the year. Here is John singing a few.

Today was the school picnic. They rent out a pavilion in a nearby park and have a potluck lunch. The kids get to run around with their friends and play on the playground, and the parents get to sit in the shade and snack and talk. It is really such a nice enjoyable day for everyone. This year they even had the sprinkler on, so we came home with a soaking wet little boy. Next year I need to remember to bring a swimsuit, or at least a towel.

My gosh, I think he looks so grown up in this picture!

Natalie making cheesy faces for the camera.

We don't have a whole lot planned for the summer yet. Last year John did 5 weeks of camp at the preschool, but it just made those weeks so hectic trying to get everyone ready and out the door everyday, that we only signed him up for one this year. It is Dinosaur camp though, so he should really enjoy it. I'm hoping to get to the lake a time or two, and Mike wants to take John fishing around here more this year. I'm sure we'll find something to occupy our time. :)

Life Lessons

2009-05-21T11:17:00.000-07:00

An important lesson was learned by John today. When sitting down to go potty, if you realize you also have to pee, either stand up, or point your boy business down. We had pee EVERYWHERE!

I scream. You scream.

2009-05-17T08:59:00.000-07:00

We all scream for ice cream! The girls got to tag along to John's 1st field trip at preschool.

Think we can make it to preschool injury free?

2009-05-12T14:04:00.000-07:00

No pictures today, just an update.

John had his adenoids removed on Friday, as well as tubes put in his ears again. This was after another 4 month span of ear infections. He was SO cranky after the surgery. He cried and cried for well over an hour. After getting home and taking a nap he was perfectly fine. He didn't even want any tylenol. I obviously don't know if it has helped with ear infections yet, but it has definitely helped his snoring. I used to be able to sit in the living room, watching tv, and hear him snoring and breathing from his room down the hall. Now he is silent. It actually kind of freaks me out and I have to keep checking that he is breathing because I was so used to the noise.

Rebecca had a spill on Tuesday and hit her forehead on some bricks and ended up having to have the wound glued shut. Both she and Natalie were screaming at the doctor's office before anything even happened. I guess they associate it with getting shots. She is fine though. It is super hard to give a 2 year old a bath without getting her forehead wet though. Her's looks like it healing much better than John's head injury did though, so I don't think she'll have much of a scar if anything. Now Natalie just needs to bust her head so all of my kids can match. I swear CPS is going to come knocking on my door one day if the kids don't learn a little balance soon!

Mike and I had been contemplating sending the girls to preschool next year, but didn't know if we wanted to pay for all 3 to be in school, or just wait until the next year when John would be in elementary school. I had discussed it with the preschool director and she was adamant that she wanted the girls there. :) They come with me to drop of John, so all the teachers have gotten to know them and they are very comfortable there. In fact it is a screaming fit to get them to leave. I told the director about the financial aspect of having all 3 kids there at one time and she told me we would work something out. Well she certainly did! It is supposed to cost $110 per girl next year and she is letting both of them come for $150 total! There is no way I could pass that up, so next year I will have 2 mornings a week all to myself and 1 morning with just the girls (since John will be going 3 days a week). Is it bad that I already have their 1st day of school outfits picked out and hanging up in their closet and this school year hasn't even ended yet? :)

Disney Cruise - Day 4

2009-05-01T14:13:00.001-07:00

On Day 4 John actually slept in, so I stayed with him while Mike went to find himself breakfast. Once John woke up he and I headed to the buffet again to eat. We sat with another mom and her little girl. This was their 7th Disney Cruise and they said they will never go on another cruise line again. We talked a little about all the fun things we had done, and then John and I left to go find Mike. Trying to find someone on a cruise ship is very hard. We finally gave up and headed back to the room to out on swimsuits and wait to see if Mike would come back to the room. Luckily, he had the same idea and was already there when we walked in. We got suited up and headed to the Mickey Pool. John did the slide a few more times while I watched with jealousy. :) We finally got John to go back to the Goofy Pool with us so that we could fully submerge our adult selves. 1 foot of water in the Mickey Pool doesn't go very far in trying to cool off a grown up. After lunch, and a bit of a fit from John because they didn't have peanut butter and jelly (sleep deprivation was starting to kick in) we went back to the cabin for a quick nap. The only nap of the entire trip for him. Amazingly he fell asleep quickly, and we just hung out and watched a little TV. Once he awoke he went to Kids Club again while Mike and I went to the adults only area. We met a few people and were amazed at how many adults go on Disney Cruises without any children. After an hour or so we picked John back up and walked around a little inside taking pictures. We had so many people coming up to us and asking if we'd like them to take a picture with all 3 of us in it, but unfortunately most of them didn't turn out well. There was a performance called Friendship Rocks that was taking place in the theater that all the kids who had participated in Kids Club were going to be in. We took John down, got his t-shirt, and then he threw an absolute hissy fit because he didn't want to do it. Hey, at least he got the free t-shirt right? It was almost time for dinner anyway, so we headed back to the room, got our bags together and out in the hallway for pickup, and went to Animators Palate for dinner. In this restaurant everything is black and white, and as the meal progresses color comes into all the pictures on the walls. The photos don't do it justice at all. It was pretty neat. After dinner we did a little more swimming and John did a little more Kids Club. When we went to get him he didn't want to leave, but bribing him with ice cream and movie on deck worked. This time we were really prepared and got a big blanket from the room to cover up with instead of towels. It gets a little windy up on deck at night. We settled in to watch The Incredibles. I had never seen it before, so even after John fell asleep I just laid there with him to finish it out.

The next morning we had to disembark and unfortunately had the earliest breakfast assignment. 6:30 am!! Our wakeup call came at 5:45, ugh, and we dragged ourselves out of bed, got our carry-on bags together and headed back to Animators Palate for breakfast. After eating we were immediately herded to the shuttle bus to go to the airport. We arrived in Orlando at around 9:00 and our flight back home wasn't until 2:30! So, we spent 6 1/2 hours exploring all the wonders of the Orlando Airport. Thank goodness John was in a good mood. As soon as we got on the plane he passed out and didn't wake up until we landed back home. We quickly got our baggage and headed to my mom's house to pick up the girls. I had imagined us walking in and the girls screaming and running into my arms. Well, that's not how it went. When I walked in, Rebecca yelled, "Chelsey!" Then they both just stared at me and Mike. Natalie got fussy and ran over to my mom. Finally Rebecca came over and gave me a hug. Natalie took about 10 minutes to warm up to me! It was really quite sad and kind of hurt my feelings. All is well now though. They love us again.

Disney Cruise - Day 3

2009-05-01T13:40:00.000-07:00

On Day 3 we woke up and headed to one of the restaurants for breakfast. After breakfast we walked around the boat a little and saw Castaway Cay (Disney's private island) in the distance. It was gorgeous! Once we got to port we disembarked and headed to the family beach. We passed Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean on the way, but John didn't want to go near him to get a pictures. (side note - Missy, he looked just like Johnny Depp, so I highly recommend you go on a Disney Cruise for this fact alone) Once at the beach we slathered on the sunscreen, got a few beverages, and played in the sand. John built quite a few sand castles and did some shell collecting. There was a big play structure in the water, but again, John didn't want to do that so we stuck to the beach. There was a big BBQ for lunch so we retreated to the shade to eat and then John went to Kids Club for a bit. Here, they had Kids Club on the island, so we didn't have to go back to the ship. Mike and I then went over to the adults only beach. It was so nice and calm. I got to spend a little time in a hammock until it just got too hot, so I met Mike down on the beach. We sat there with our feet in the ocean for so long just talking and sunning ourselves. The shells there were much better than those at the family beach so we collected some to take back to John, as well as a tiny crab we found. We had an adult beverage or two and then headed back to pick up John to have some more fun on the family side of the island. They had tubes for rent, but by the time we wanted one most of them had been abandoned on the beach, so we just took one and off we went. John was fine for a minute or two, but I guess relaxing is not really his thing, because he wanted off pretty quickly. We stayed there until we had to be back aboard at 5:00. Then we headed to Triton's for our pirate dinner. We all had eye patches and John had a hook. Some families really got into the pirate theme with complete costumes for the entire family. We were not that prepared. :) After dinner we went up on deck for the Pirates IN the Caribbean Party. There were "good" pirates on stage along with Goofy, Minnie, and all the characters (except Mickey) singing songs and dancing. Then the "bad" pirates came and tried to take over the party, but Mickey saved the day. He came down from the top of one of the stacks on a zip line down to the stage. John was very impressed. He also really like the fireworks they set off. After some more dancing we grabbed a lounge chair, and some more ice cream, and settled in to watch Pirates of the Caribbean on the jumbotron on deck. Again, John lasted until about 11:30 until he passed out. He actually slept through us putting his pajamas on him and putting him to bed.

Disney Cruise - Day 2

2009-05-01T11:44:00.000-07:00

Monday morning we woke up and were in Nassau, Bahamas. We went to the buffet for breakfast and quickly changed into our swimsuits to meet up for our Blackbeards Cay Beach and Stingray Adventure. We disembarked the ship and took a little walk through Nassau to a smaller boat that took us out to Blackbeards Cay. Once there we got our snorkeling equipment and headed to the stingray beach. The water was way to chilly to actually snorkel, although there were a few brave souls that hopped in. We basically just waded in the water as stingrays swam around us. John and I both got to pet one, but none of them ever came close enough to Mike. They were very slimy feeling, and much bigger than I had anticipated. John wasn't very interested in them, so we took him over to the regular beach. He was amazed seeing the ocean for the first time. It was so fun to watch him run in and then scurry away from the waves coming in. He had a few falls, but just got right back up and kept going. At one point he decided to throw sand all over himself, and man, that stuff stuck! It took 2 days to get all the sand off his scalp. Even a shower and rubbing his head with a washcloth didn't help. Luckily he didn't end up with any in his eyes, although I don't know how. There was a small playground that kept him occupied while Mommy and Daddy had a drink at the bar. When he came over to join us the bartender made him a virgin strawberry dacquiri (sp?) that he devoured and refused to share. We just basically spent the day lounging in the sun, playing in the water, and slathering our little albino boy in sunscreen. We had lunch at the island and then headed back to the little boat to take us back to Nassau around 4:30. Once back we didn't spend any time there and just got back on the ship. John played in the Mickey Pool and then decided he wanted to try the Goofy Pool. We walked over and John just stepped right in and sunk to the bottom! He didn't realize it was deeper, so after that scare he was done with the Goofy Pool and refused to go in even with Mike and me. That night Mike and I had reservations at the adults only restaurant, Palo, so we went back to the room to get pretty. As we were leaving the room to take John to get an early dinner the counselors from Kids Club were walking down our hall to take the kids to dinner, so we just sent John with them. It was great timing. Our dinner at Palo was delicious. Definitely the best meal of the trip. After dinner we let John stay in Kids Club for a little bit while we hung out in the adults only area of the ship. That night they were showing Mary Poppins on the big jumbotron over the pool, so we got John, a couple bowls of ice cream, and headed up to grab a lounge chair. John made it until about 11:00 and then was sound asleep in my lap. So that was the end of day 2.

Disney Cruise - Day 1

2009-04-30T20:42:00.000-07:00

Our day Sunday started very early. Our flight left at 6:50 am, which meant we had to get up around 4:30am. Surprisingly John was pretty easy to wake up and load into the car for the drive to the airport. Luckily my mom picked the girls up the night before for their week at Grandma's so we didn't have to worry about getting them ready. Once we got on the plane John got his ear numbing drops and off we went. He was SO good on the plane. He just colored and played with his Leapster (new for the trip) quietly. Much more quietly than the kid behind us who threw a fit the whole time. John's new Mickey Mouse pillow from Maw Maw came in handy as we used it to play peek a boo with the child behind us to keep him quiet for a few minutes at a time. After landing in Orlando we found the Disney counter and they sent us on our way to the cruise shuttle line. Again, I was amazed at how good John was waiting in that long line. After arriving at Port Canaveral we boarded the ship. They took our picture and announced us as we came on while all the crew members stood in a line and applauded. We had packed our swimsuits and sunscreen in our carry-on so we didn't have to wait for our luggage to arrive to start having fun. We went right to our room, got changed, and headed out to the Mickey Pool. There were 3 pools on the boat, the Mickey Pool for kids, the Goofy Pool for families (it's deeper), and an adult only pool. John splashed around with kids while Mike and I relaxed in the sun. There was a big slide John and I wanted to go down so we headed up to wait in line. Once to the top I was told it was only for kids 14 and younger! So John got to have all the fun with that one. After swimming and a quick lunch on deck we headed back to the room and our luggage was magically there! :) We got cleaned up and headed outside for the Sail Away party on the deck. It was a big party with all the characters in their cruise wear. John, as expected, wanted nothing to do with Mickey and all of his friends. After some dancing and singing we heard the horn sound and off we went, waving goodbye to everyone on shore. The horn was pretty neat too. Instead of some load obnoxious horn it plays When You Wish Upon a Star. After the party we went to dinner at the island themed restaurant. Then John headed to Kids Club. You can drop the kids off there to play and they give you a pager that they can reach you on if your child wants to leave. We didn't get that page. :) John loved it. When we dropped John off Mike and I headed to the room and immediately passed out...at 7:30. I woke up in a panic as the room didn't have an alarm clock or a window so I had no idea what time it was. I was thinking it was like 2 in the morning and John had been taken somewhere for kids whose parents forgot them. In all actuality it was 9:00pm and John was fine. I picked him up and took him back to the room for the earliest bedtime we had all week.

I'm loving this weather

2009-04-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

Spring seems to have finally arrived, just in time for us to leave on our Disney Cruise. :) Mike and I leave Sunday with John for our trip, while the girls get to hang out with Maw Maw for the week. I am so excited! Hopefully I won't take too long to post all the pictures I will be taking.

Last week the kids and I went to the botanical gardens with a friend from preschool. We spent most of the day in the children's garden. I thought it was hard last year to keep track of all 3 of the them there, but I was wrong. This year was much harder, especially with my little daredevil Natalie. She will climb anything and will go down any slide she can find....sometimes head first. Rebecca was a little more cautious. Luckily the other mom that was with us was a big help in keeping an eye on the boys while I tracked the girls. Sorry there are not any pics of John. I promise he really was there. He was just too busy to actually stop and smile.

Ugh!

2009-04-15T10:50:00.000-07:00

John has strep throat! This is not fun.

Happy Easter

2009-04-13T10:32:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone. We had a nice Easter (although it could have been a little warmer) and the kids are set with candy for about the next year. :) We started off with an egg hunt and Easter baskets at home. Then headed off to church. It was so crowded we ended up in the last row of the balcony. The kids were super fidgety and barely made it to the children's sermon before heading off to the playroom. After church we went to my dad's house for lunch and an egg hunt, and then to GG's for more egg hunting and dinner. I was stuffed! We never did get around to seeing the Easter bunny at the mall. After the experience with Santa I just didn't see it going well.

Oh, and Rebecca has learned to climb out of her crib. I thought Natalie, the little monkey, would be first, but as of now she is still contained. I guess we'll be setting up a toddler bed this week.

egg hunting at GG's

Rebecca looking adorable in her bunny ears

John not looking very happy about his ears

Natalie with new ears and a toothbrush

egg hunting at Poppy's

At Church

At home

John's gonna be a ninja!

2009-04-09T14:24:00.000-07:00

Last weekend the girls has their birthday party. We got very lucky with nice weather so Mike got to break out the BBQ pit and everyone got to play outside. They got lots of cute new spring clothes as well as a bunch of fun toys to play with outside this summer. Unfortunately I was a bad Mommy and didn't get many pictures.

the cakes

Chelsey taking the kids for a ride in John's Escalade

John started Tae Kwon Do this week. Monday was his 1st class and he was pretty overwhelmed. He just sat with me and watched. Yesterday he went to his second class and went right in. He didn't really participate for the 1st half, but about 30 minutes into it he was kicking away. He is still waiting for his uniform because the one ordered for him was too big. Hopefully it will be in next week and I can get some cute pictures of him in it. Right now he is a white belt. I don't really know all the belt progressions yet, but I know the next one is a yellow stripe. I believe they have belt tests every 8 weeks.

Happy Birthday!

2009-04-02T12:20:00.000-07:00

Happy 2nd Birthday Natalie & Rebecca!

Poor John

2009-03-31T13:24:00.000-07:00

Today John had an appointment with the Ear, Nose, and Throat doc because of his ear infections for the last 3 months. Looks like he is getting tubes again and his adenoids taken out. The doctor wants to do it before our cruise so that means he will probably be having surgery within the next 2 weeks.

Also, if you get a chance, go to www.thebullrocks.com and vote in their Cutest Kid contest. I have a few kids entered. :) They are listed as John B. Natalie B. and Rebecca B. You can only vote for one kid per e-mail address.

Look out Avon lady!

2009-03-30T17:09:00.000-07:00

So tonight I experienced what I think every mom experiences at some point to some degree...you know something is wrong when things are too quiet. I was cleaning up the dinner dishes while the kids were quietly watching a little Sesame Street. Wrong! They had gotten into my bathroom and decided to do makeovers...on themselves and the room. There was nailpolish on the floor and John's face, eyeliner on the walls, Natalie's face and John's hair, and foundation on the door and Rebecca. Fortunately all of it cleaned up quite easily except the nailpolish on John's cheeks. He will be quite the trendsetter at preschool tomorrow.

My Little Circus Performer

2009-03-26T19:25:00.001-07:00

Today GG picked up John and took him to see Cirque Deams Jungle Fantasy. I had seen it last week and knew he would love it. Apparently they had very good seats (8th row) so John was right up in the action. GG said he even sat nicely without being bribed by popcorn and candy! Woo hoo! He talked about the show non-stop until bedtime. He told me he went to the F-O-X. I asked him what that spelled, and he didn't know. He just knew the letters. :) He practiced his contortionist moves for quite awhile. His favorite part of the show was the people dressed as frogs and he taught Natalie and Rebecca how to hop around and say "ribbit, ribbit".

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

2009-03-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

Today the kids and I joined Caden and Ava from preschool at a place in town with tons of trains and other modes of transportation for the kids to explore and climb on. We started out in their Imagination Station room. It had a big boat (that looked like the Ark), craft areas, dress up, and tons and tons of trains, as well as a very strange lady running it. The kids loved it. John played mostly with the pirate dress up clothes and the trains. Rebecca was all over the place. Natalie spent most of her time coloring. The woman in charge kind of bothered me. She first commented on the girls being twins and how much fun that must be, which was fine. Then she kept telling me how Rebecca was her favorite. Over and over again. Then after Natalie came over and handed her a crayon, the lady told me that she changed her mind and that Natalie was her favorite and is so much cuter and must be a very sensitive little girl because she was sharing her crayon. She even asked me which girl was my favorite. It was really quite strange. For the record, I think both girls are freakin adorable and they are both my favorites. :) After leaving crazy lady we went and explored the trains outside. John and his friends climbed inside them and pretended to drive. They also got to go inside a boat. There was an airplane, but by the time we got through with everything else I had to tell John it was closed for the day because we had to get home for naps. I think next time I will try to take John alone. It was hard to keep up with the 4 year olds while still keeping track of Natalie and Rebecca.

Rebecca in a pirate hat

John playing trains in his pirate hat and vest

Natalie cooking "pan-a-cakes" in the kitchen

Rebecca sailing the seven seas, or possibly escaping the Great Flood on the ark.

Natalie coloring a picture for the crazy lady

John on the boat

John and Rebecca (Natalie wanted no part of this photo shoot)

John's latest injury

2009-03-20T06:38:00.001-07:00

I know you are all surprised, but John has yet another injury to his poor little face. Yesterday while making dinner, John was sitting on a stool at the counter with me. He actually was sitting quite nicely and not horsing around. Well, somehow he slipped of the stool backwards and landed on his back on the floor. The stool followed him and the seat of it smashed down on top of his nose. There was a lot of blood, but it didn't cut the outside of it. Now he just has a nice bump. No bruising yet thank goodness. I was imagining 2 big black eyes.

Go Blues!

2009-03-17T12:52:00.000-07:00

Sunday I took John to his 1st hockey game. It was a good game to go to as it was free food day. When we walked in we got 2 coupons for 2 hotdogs, popcorn, and a drink. I thought I might actually get away with not spending any money at a hockey game, but a bag of cotton candy and a super rope later that was not the case. About 5 minutes into the game John said he was ready to go. Agh. I told him just a few more minutes and he was fine for the rest of the game. He did NOT like the horn when the Blues score! The first time it really freaked him out, but he just covered his ears for the rest of them. He was smiling and handing out high fives for every goal. He must be good luck too. We won 5 - 3!

Sweet Natalie

2009-03-13T18:07:00.000-07:00

Tonight I was laying on the couch snuggling with Rebecca while Natalie played. All of the sudden she came over and put her arm around Rebecca. Then she leaned over and gave her a kiss on the nose. She then proceeded to hold Rebecca's hand and sing the ABC's and Jingle Bells. It was the sweetest thing I have ever seen.

Spring...is that you?

2009-03-05T21:24:00.000-08:00

As I am sitting here on my deck typing this, it is currently 82 degrees outside! The kids are sleeping after a long morning at the zoo with John's friend Nicholas from preschool. All is good. :)

This week John's preschool class had a Teddy Bear parade. Tuesday they made "floats" out of shoeboxes, and then had a parade on Thursday for all of the parents.

I could be biased, but this is possibly the cutest picture ever taken.

Here are some pictures of the kids just hanging from this past week.

This is the face John uses to make us smile when he should be getting into trouble.

John practicing his modeling with the girl's My Little Ponies

Natalie and her cheesy smile

and again, with the added bonus of getting to see up her nose

Rebecca's cheesy smile...actually, it's a bit scary isn't it?

funny faces from Becca

When Natalie went down for her nap she had on regular tights with feet. When she woke up one whole leg of the tights was missing, along with the other foot. I have absolutely no idea how she managed this.

Few new pics

2009-02-28T11:31:00.000-08:00

I realized I hadn't posted many pics of the girls lately, so here are a few new ones. Rebecca is in the shite shirt and Natalie is in purple.

And of course our other baby...he is getting so big!

Attention all 4 year olds...

2009-02-25T17:15:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was super fun for John. Saturday he and I went to Playhouse Disney Live. It was a show with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einsteins, Tigger & Pooh, and Handy Manny. Although it left a lot to be desired as an adult, the kids seemed to love it. John had his first taste of Dippin' Dots, which is always good. I am proud to say that we even got out of there without purchasing any overpriced hard plastic weapons...I mean souvenirs. After the show we headed to his first "friends" birthday party. His friend Jack had his 4th birthday party at the same train store that John had his.

We are all signed up for preschool next year, and it looks like the girls will be attending too. I can't believe they will be old enough to be in preschool this fall! Time is passing too quickly.

Today, Parents as Teachers came for the girls quarterly evaluation. They did very well putting together puzzles and naming animals. They seem to be right on track. Rebecca was a little stinker though. She was hoarding the toys and not letting Natalie play with anything, which is very out of character for her. Usually Natalie is the toy theif.

The other day John decided to wear his Power Ranger costume all day...even to Hobby Lobby. While we were there we saw 2 other kids wearing costumes, a princess and a mermaid. I guess there was a memo sent out to the 4 year old community that us parents missed.

I'm ready for Spring

2009-02-04T18:07:00.000-08:00

I was reprimanded for not posting. Here you go Chelsey.

Well, we finally got some snow this winter for John to play in. He ran around, threw snowballs, and made snow angels. He was having a great time until he decided to stick his face in the snow.

For Superbowl we went over to a friend's house with a few other families. The kids had a ton of other children to play with.

Here is Rebecca wearing a Transformer helmet

and Natalie catching up on her US Weekly

Yesterday, the kids and I went to the zoo to check out the Zoomagination Station. It was free and indoors...the perfect combination this time of year. They made crafts, played at the water table and sandbox, and pretended to be vets. I found out that John is terrified of snakes...fake snakes. He would not go near them.

Our new addition

2009-01-20T19:54:00.000-08:00

We have a new addition in our house. Meet Arthur. He is a part dachshund puppy we adopted today. They think he is about 4 months old and he is as cute as can be!

Not much to report

2009-01-11T13:47:00.000-08:00

So, not a whole lot has been going on in our household lately, which can be good and bad. This terribly cold weather has kept us inside with no place for the kids to let off their energy except the living room. We did recently take all the toys out of the living room and redistributed them to the kids bedrooms. The new rule is one toy per person in the living room at a time. So far they have all complied. I have been trying to find things to do indoors that don't cost a ton of money, so this week the kids and I went to the indoor pool at the rec center. Although the water wasn't as warm as I would have preferred, the kids all had fun. Even Natalie, who HATED the pool over the summer. She was very adventurous and preferred to walk around in the water by herself instead of clinging to me as she previously did. I have been wanting to take the kids to the City Museum Aquarium, but it looks like it would cost us almost $50! If anyone knows of any coupons or a way to see the aquarium without having to pay the museum fee, PLEASE let me know. It looks so neat, but I just can't justify spending that much money to look at fish.

John had his 4 year old check up last week and is growing like a weed. We also found out he still has an ear infection, so back to the doctor in 2 weeks to get rechecked. I have a feeling he will be getting tubes again. He also has his speech evaluation next week. I'm really hoping his ear infection is cleared up by then so he can have his hearing tested at the same time.

Here are a few pictures of the kids from the last week or so.

Natalie hanging out in her baby's pack 'n play

When John saw me taking pictures of her he wanted in on the action too. Tight fit.

When one of the girls finishes eating before the other, they always go over to their sister's chair to munch on leftover.

Natalie loves seafood...See? Food!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-26T18:03:00.000-08:00

Christmas has come and gone, and our house looks like Toys r Us exploded in it. Our celebration started on Christmas Eve with dinner at my Grandma's house and Christmas Eve service at church. We had a nice little group for dinner and even had some old friends stop by that we hadn't seen in a while. John was very impressed with his Santa cup GG had set put especially for him. Santa even left an early surprise gift of new jammies and "The Polar Express" DVD. After service we took 3 VERY tired babies home to go to bed and wait for Santa. When I was putting John to bed I told him Santa would be coming tonight, and very concerned he asked, "He's not going to come in my room is he?" I reassured him that Santa would stick to the living room. Christmas morning was a blast. This was the first year that John got REALLY into his gifts. Everything he opened was his favorite. At one point he unwrapped a gift for Natalie, and the shirt box I had used had Christmas print on it. He freaked out and screamed, "Oh my gosh! A Christmas GAME!" Luckily he was not too disappointed when he opened the box and found clothes. We had family over for lunch and more gift giving and then headed to my Dad's for more food and more toys. Phew! I think these kids are set for at least a week or two. :)

trying to get a picture of all the kids in their Christmas outfits

just a funny pic of Rebecca

Rebecca Christmas morning

John Christmas morning

Natalie Christmas morning

John got a whole box of "boy" dress up clothes...here he is posing as a Power Ranger

John in the only moment of silence he had all day. I had to capture it on film

...and CONGRATULATIONS to my baby brother who graduated from Mizzou last week! It will be nice to have you home.

My Baby is 4!

2008-12-19T17:12:00.000-08:00

How did this happen? My little baby turned 4 today! After what seemed like a weeks worth of parties, John's actual birthday was today. Mike took the day off work, we dropped the babies off at GG's house, and had a great birthday day, just the 3 of us. We started off with lunch at Olive Garden because John wanted mac and cheese for lunch. Then we went to the Botanical Gardens to see their holiday train display. John was in love. We could have spent the entire day there and he would never have gotten bored. There were so many scenes to see...my favorite was a little barn area that had a moose being milked! Seriously? Do people milk moose? After the trains we went to the fire station and one of the firemen gave John a tour and showed him the firetruck and helped him slide down the pole. He got to sit in the drivers seat and turn on the lights. Before we left he loaded John up with a fire hat, a badge, and a bag full of pencils, erasers, stickers, and coloring books. John was in heaven getting to meet a REAL fireman!

Dear Santa...

2008-12-17T11:26:00.000-08:00

Today the kids and I went to go see Santa Claus. I got everyone dressed up in their Christmas outfits and off we went. It didn't go well. :) John hid behind the stroller and refused to go anywhere near Santa. The girls sat on his lap for a second and then burst into tears. Rebecca actually did this silent scream face for quite awhile. I have never seen her do that before. After getting their screaming picture with Santa I tried to get a few pics of them standing by a Christmas tree in the mall since they looked so cute, but there was just too much going on for them to concentrate on me and smiling for the camera. On our way out we stopped in Macys so John could mail a letter to Santa. His letter read, "Dear Santa, I want a crane. Just a crane. Love, John."

Party #2

2008-12-14T15:37:00.000-08:00

Today John had his birthday party at home with the family. Luckily we had nice weather so we had BBQ for lunch and John got to play outside while lunch was being put together. Thank you Aunt Lin for entertaining him. :) He got some fun new toys, books, and clothes. He was very impressed by the check box Aunt Peggy got him without even knowing it was filled with coins for his piggy bank. Cake was had, Happy Birthday was sung, and a long nap was taken by all of us.

Injurys, Nature, St. Nicks, and Birthdays...what a post!

2008-12-13T19:53:00.000-08:00

We have a new injury in our house. John lost a fight with his bed frame last night. He was being sent to his room for time out (what a shock) and in his thrashing and fit throwing busted his head against his bed frame. It never did bleed, but was dented in when it first happened. Scary looking. He is fine though. He only cried for a minute, and his injury did get him out of serving his time out. Poor baby. His face is going to be a mess by the time he's 7.

Last week I took the kids to a nature center nearby. I had never been there before, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was very kid oriented. There was an indoor tree house, tons of stuffed animals (real ones, not toys), fish, turtles, and a huge viewing area with tons of birds. The kids loved it. After we left we drove through another nature reserve that is known for having tons of deer, elk, and bison you can see from your car. Unfortunately we only saw one deer. At least he was very near the car so even the girls could see him.

We also recently went to a St. Nick's party at my Aunt's house. She sets up a bunch of games and activities for all the kids and they have such a great time. There is also a lot of food and good company for the adults. John and the girls came home with bags full of candy and prizes.

Rebecca showing Natalie what settings will maximize her workout
John getting his prize from the duck game

This year John was big enough to help with decorating the Christmas tree. He was very excited about having his own ornaments to put up. He wanted to know where every ornament came from, and it was fun for me to reminisce over each ornament we have been given over the years. Thank you to my mom for putting the year on every ornament we received as kids. I am definitely continuing that with my own kids. So, our tree is decorated, with a surplus of ornaments about 2 feet off the ground. We have had a few break (from the girls) but nothing that can't be fixed.

Today John had his first birthday party with friends. We had it at the train store he loves so much. When everyone arrived they did a pinata. The kids loved it, and most of them were completely surprised when candy started to rain down on them. I think they just thought it was fun to beat the thing with a bat. Then after cake and juice everyone headed over the train room to play with the huge train table. He even got to put his handprint on the wall of the store. Most of the parents stayed, so it was a nice chance for Mike and I to get to know a lot of the parents of John's preschool friends.

John + Winter = Crazy Mommy

2008-12-12T12:14:00.001-08:00

I knew I was dreading winter for a reason. This cold weather is keeping us indoors most of the time and John has no place to let off his energy. If I didn't get my hair colored every 6 weeks I would definitely be all grey. He is just driving me insane! Constant running, jumping, screaming, fits...I'm about to lose it. He found the candy for the treat bags for his birthday party and opened them up and i don't have any clue how much he ate. I keep finding wrappers in his bedroom. The other night Mike fell asleep on the couch and woke up around 12:30 am and saw John sneaking into the kitchen. He followed him quietly and found John with 2 handfuls of Starburst! Who eats candy at 12:30 in the morning? How often has he done this while we have been asleep? Agh! The candy is now obviously moved to higher ground. He even got a time out at Preschool which never happens. On top of this he has a double ear infection and pink eye, neither of which seem to be slowing him down. Thank goodness my mom is babysitting tonight so Mike and I can have a date night. Spring...I miss you. Please come soon.

The Holiday Spirit

2008-12-05T11:28:00.000-08:00

I was looking through old Christmas pictures and found my 2 favorites of John. Just thought I would share and send a little Christmas spirit your way.

and into December...

2008-12-03T10:47:00.000-08:00

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone and we are into December, the busiest month of the year. Thanksgiving lunch was at my Aunt and Uncle's house and not only are we outnumbered, but I think the adults in general at lunch were almost outnumbered. There were so many kids running around having a great time, and one little addition that didn't do any running but was content to be held and just observe. I was so glad to finally get to meet and hold my new cousin (2nd cousin?) Tanner. She was an angel. So adorable and I didn't hear her make a peep the entire time. Next year we will have another little one so I can't wait for that. John had a great time with everyone. Rebecca and Natalie took a little time to warm up to the crowd, but after an hour or so they were fine. Rebecca's favorite thing was Tanner's infant car seat. She was mesmerized by the toys hanging on it, and even sat in it for quite a while. The kids were nice and worn out by the time we left, so there was no trouble getting them to bed.

Saturday I had an elementary school reunion in the afternoon, and then my 10 year high school reunion that evening. The girls and I went to the first reunion while Mike and John had some quality "boy" time together. I was a little nervous for my HS reunion, and I still can't believe it's been 10 years, but I had SO MUCH FUN! Mike was one of the few husbands to attend, but he found a few guys to hang out with while the women reminisced.

Today we had our Parents as Teachers educator come over and play with the kids. John learned about forest animals and the girls showed off their cooking skills in a play kitchen. She is still a little concerned, as are Mike and I, about John's speech, so he has a referral for speech evaluation. We won't hear anything for 4-6 weeks, but hopefully if it's needed we can get him into speech therapy before kindergarten.

Our next event is John's 4th birthday. He is having his first party with friends this year. I'm excited for it, but I'm a little nervous that kids won't be able to come because of the proximity to Christmas. Well see though. Invitations just went out yesterday and we already have one RSVP, so he'll have at least one friend to play with. :)

Natalie with her baby doll in Tanner's car seat

Becca in Tanner's car seat

Rebecca and me at my elementary school reunion

Happy Turkey Day

2008-11-26T18:15:00.001-08:00

In case I don't get to post tomorrow, Happy Thanksgiving! Or as the girls say, "Happy Turdy Day."

Update on the kiddos

2008-11-21T20:48:00.000-08:00

Miss Rebecca has become quite the bossy little lady. She is talking up a storm and her new favorite things to say seem to be commands to John and Natalie. "Come here Naa-lee!" "No Jah, No No!" "Get out!" "No! Mine!" She is repeating everything we say and is getting pretty good at "please" and "thank you."

Natalie is my little helper. She loves to help get diapers, wipes, and pjs out, and helps John put away his toys every night (while Rebecca stands to the side supervising). She is also our little bully though. Any toy Rebecca has, Natalie takes. She also will pin Rebecca down and laugh while Becca is screaming. I find this strange since Natalie is a good 3 pounds lighter than Rebecca. She also, unfortunately has started to hit and throw things. Not all the time, and the throwing is usually from excitement and not anger, but still, we don't want that going on.

John is loving preschool. He just got 2 new kids in his class that are boy/girl twins. His teacher was telling me that she was introducing them to the class and asked John to tell the class what twins are since he has twin sisters. I guess we don't call them "the twins" very often because his teacher said he was adamant that twins were Mommy and Daddy. After she told me about it I asked him in the car on the way home about the new twins in his class. When I asked him their names he told me, "Mrs. John and Mrs. Moulder." Those are his teachers...For some reason he insists that twins are adults. :)

Fall Days

2008-11-14T18:55:00.000-08:00

Just a few pics of the kids enjoying one of the last nice days of the year. We are NOT ready for winter!

John taking Rebecca for a ride

Rebecca not looking too happy in her swing

Natalie having a much better time than Becca

Natalie learned to use the tire swing and loves it!

Just a funny picture of Rebecca

Family Pictures

2008-11-14T18:48:00.001-08:00

We got family pictures taken a few weeks ago, and thanks to my new scanner I got for my birthday I can now share them with you. :)

Rebecca

John

Natalie

John's school picture

Little Bit of Magic

2008-11-14T18:24:00.000-08:00

Wednesday I took the kids to the Magic House. I had been wanting to take them there for some time now, but was a little nervous going at it alone. It is a big place with many ups, downs, and places to hide. We pretty much stuck to the toddler area, but even there it was hard to keep my 2 eyes on 3 kids. Rebecca was a little daredevil. She loved going through the plastic and mesh tubes and even went over the balance beam way up in the air. Natalie wasn't as adventurous and was content to carry around a couple pieces of chalk and watch. John was all over the place. He was pretty good about going to play on something and come right back to me to check in before moving on to something else.John heading up to the slide.

Natalie and her chalk

Rebecca loved this little door. When you open it up there is a little mouse family inside. She must have opened and closed that door 20 times, laughing hysterically every time she saw the mice.

Natalie playing the bells

John working in the autoshop

The one area all the kids loved was the water room.

Rebecca on the balance beam

and going through the tunnel

Rebecca taking Natalie for a drive

John worked the gas pump so Natalie could continue on her way

New Pics

2008-11-02T09:28:00.001-08:00

I got a new camera and I am in L-O-V-E! I by no means have figured out all the settings, but I have been playing around and got a few cute ones of the kids. Hopefully I can find the time to read up on it and actually know what I'm doing when I take it off "auto".

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T18:22:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween everyone. We just got back from Trick or Treating, the kids are in bed, and I am exhausted! I have been itching to put the pictures up of the kids costumes, but wanted to wait until it was officially Halloween.Our first Halloween activity was playgroup on Monday. John (the policeman) and Natalie & Rebecca (the jailbirds) had a great time playing with all of their friends.

Thursday was John's preschool Halloween parade. He is in the back row, sans mustache.

Finally, tonight we took the girls out in the "paddy" wagon and got some real trick or treating done! We have WAY too much candy at our house now!

1964

2008-10-27T18:40:00.000-07:00

So, I was bored and playing around on the computer waiting for Mike to get home and found a website where you upload a picture of yourself and it shows you what your yearbook photo would look like from different years. Thank goodness I graduated in 1998 and not 1964!

Fall pics of Rebecca & Natalie

2008-10-24T20:42:00.000-07:00

While John was taking an extened nap, I grabbed the girls and went outside to take some pictures in the yard. I didn't label the pictures, so Natalie is in blue and Rebecca is in red. Oh, and John is finally potty trained overnight. Woo hoo! One less kid to buy diapers for.

Dancing Queen

2008-10-15T13:25:00.000-07:00

Here is a short video I took of Natalie "dancing". Oh, and John is not showing off for the camera. The circles he's wearing in the carpet is his newest dance move.

John's Fun Weekend

2008-10-11T22:04:00.000-07:00

For my birthday GG and the kids took me to the zoo. We had nice fall weather and no crowds. When we first got there, the woman at the front desk told us to make sure to go see the baby kangaroo in the children's zoo. We headed there first thing, and looked all around and didn't see the baby kangaroo. Then we realized it was some kind of tree kangaroo, and the baby was in the mother's pouch. I was a little disappointed. I was imagining a cute little kangaroo jumping all around. Oh well. We also got a great look at the hippos swimming. Usually when we go it is so crowded that we can't get up to the glass to see them, but this day we were basically the only ones at the hippo exhibit. The kids all stood by the glass and the hippos swam laps back and forth in front of them. The girls would laugh every time they came by.John on a frog in the Children's Zoo

Natalie on her frog saying "CHEESE!"

Rebecca riding her frog.

The girls were not very happy about sitting in the hippos mouth with John

Friday, Chelsey and I took John to his first Parkway West football game. We had talked all day about the football game and what to expect when we got there. As we were pulling out of the driveway John asked if he needed his helmet. Confused, I said no. Then he told me that he would get some popcorn after he kicked the football. I realized then that he thought he was going to play in the football game. Luckily, he was fine with learning that we would just be watching. He liked the watch the field goals since that was pretty much the only time he could spot the ball. He also really liked his popcorn and getting his very own bottle of lemonade. He said the instruments (the band's halftime show) were his favorite part.

John, not looking very impressed with the cheerleaders.

John and Aunt Chelsey. Go Longhorns!

Just take the picture!

Saturday, John had another fun day. Julie and I took John and her son Jack to see the Backyardigans at the Fox. We had awesome 5th row seats! The boys were so good. They actually sat through the whole thing. Well, actually, John did get up to dance at one point, but that was fine. After the show we took the boys to the Cupcakery. Mmmm. That was my favorite part of the day.

John and Jack heading to the Fox.

standing outside the Fox

posing with Mommy

waiting for the show to start

The Backyardigans Live!

What a good show.

Oh, and some of you have heard about Mike's strange sleeping habits, and how he can fall asleep anywhere...here's proof. I found him asleep on the hood of his car after coming home from dinner with friends.

A few moments with John

2008-09-26T08:50:00.000-07:00

John's version of "This Little Piggy"
This little piggy goes market
This little piggy goes home
This little piggy goes in the car
This little piggy goes in the TV
This little piggy has a hat
Wee wee wee wee wee

Today at Office Max John learned magic. Well, not really, but he thought he did. I was checking out and John was standing near the doors. He held his hand out and said "Open!" Well, his arm must have been at just the right distance that it activated the sensor and the door opened. Then he pulled his arm back and said "Closed" and the door closed. He must have done this 10 times and every time it worked. The cashier was cracking up. Then when we were out at the car he saw a man coming out and just as John yelled, "Open!" the doors opened for the man to walk through. John looked at me as serious as could be and said, "I make the doors open for that boy." He was so proud of himself.

Yesterday John was driving me bananas banging on his tool bench with his hammer. I asked him to stop and he said, "Oh absolutely. No problem." and went on to play with something else. I wish it was always that easy. :)

Slide Shows

2008-09-23T12:11:00.000-07:00

John's Slide Show

Natalie's Slide Show

Rebecca's Slide Show

Weekend Fun With the Kids

2008-09-14T18:19:00.000-07:00

Friday, the kids and I hit the Science Center. They had a great time in the Discovery Room. It is geared to kids ages 3 and up, but they had plenty for Natalie & Rebecca to do too. Rebecca liked the bells and rang them constantly for 15 minutes or so. Natalie liked the building area and the book corner. John loved everything. He played drums in a teepee, watched fish in the aquarium, played at the water table, worked on "his" computer and even got to pet a big cockroach. Ugh! After the Discovery Room we checked out the dinosaurs, which John actually wasn't scared of this time. We had some lunch and then walked over the bridge that goes over the highway. The bridge has big glass tiles in the floor that you can look through, straight down to the highway. Rebecca did not want to walk on them.

John using the computer

Natalie wants to build a marble track

Rebecca playing bells

John at the water table

petting a cockroach

and playing trains

Rebecca and Natalie are a little confused as to what to do with these balls at the train table

Natalie watching the cars on the highway

Saturday my mom and I took the kids to the Greentree Festival. We spent a little time shopping all the booths, but most of the day was spent on the playground.

John didn't want his picture taken

John on stilts (Maw Maw is actually holding onto them from the top)

Under Water

2008-09-14T16:33:00.000-07:00

We experienced the Great Flood of 2008 this morning, otherwise known as the remnants of Hurricane Ike. Luckily the house didn't flood, but the yard was a mess. Cars couldn't pass in the street and we even got a huge piece of our neighbors wood fence in our yard. Here are a few pics of our side and back yard.

the river, coming from the street, between our house and the neighbors

wanna swing?

luckily we have a boat ready?

water rushing through the fence

First Day of School

2008-09-11T19:12:00.000-07:00

John has started a new year of preschool. This year he is in the Juniors class. He has a lot of kids in his class from last year, plus some new faces. The first day was just an hour and the parents and siblings got to stay and play to get to know the teachers, kids, and other parents. John played with his friend Nicholas (Neck-a-liss as he says it) most of the time. They put together an elaborate rail system and built trains to run on the tracks. It was a little embarrassing that Nicholas' mom and I couldn't figure out how to put the train pieces together and our 3 year olds had to show us how! The girls had a great time with a huge assortment of baby dolls and a play kitchen. They even drew pictures with Mrs. John, one of the teachers.

This picture was actually taken his 2nd day of school. A rainstorm prevented us from getting one the 1st day.

Must have been a busy day at school for John, and a busy day at the office for Rebecca. Natalie was sleeping too, but since her seat is behind me I couldn't get a picture.

The kids came with me on Sunday to check out the progress on the Extreme Makeover Home Edition house being built here. John got to wear Maw Maw's hard hat.

Fun with hats. John put his baseball cap on Rebecca...

and then wore her sunhat. He kept calling it his Jungle Hat for some unknown reason.

Natalie working on the tool bench...

and saying "CHEESE!"

Fun in the Sun

2008-08-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

Playing at home in the pool. Natalie finally got in. She is getting a little more used to the water, just in time for summer to be over. :) Rebecca still loves getting sprayed in the face by the sprinklers, although the picture may not look like she is enjoying it. John likes to take his Little Tykes climber and put by the edge of the pool so he can slide into the water.

The other day, while making dinner, I realized the kids were being a little too quiet so I went to investigate. First I walked into the girls room and saw this...Nice. Thanks girls. Then I went to Johns room and saw this...They had stripped of their clothes, as well as the bedsheet and were having a ball jumping on the bed. I had to get a few pictures before getting them down.Then I found John hiding in his dresser. His response to the whole scene was, "I do nufing Mommy." which seems to be his go-to phrase lately.This past weekend, Mike and I took the kids to the Festival of Nations. It is a celebration in a local park with food, dancing, music, crafts, and demonstrations from all over the world. John liked the African dancing best, but didn't want to participate. The girls seemed to like a calypso sounding band. It was pretty darn hot out, but John was a good sport walking the whole time. Mike did try putting him on his shoulders at one point, but John freaked out. Since Mike is 6'2", John was probably over 7 feet in the air, which I'm sure is scary when you're used to being much closer to the ground. Oh, and we're kind of famous now. :) A group was going around taking pictures of the event, and I found ours on their website. Unfortunately I look a little pregnant in it. Oh well...there goes my modeling contract.The picture that made us famous(with a beautiful port a potty in the background)...doesn't John look happy?

John getting tribal face paint donethe final resultcomplete with a head dress he made (he calls it his dress-head)

Yesterday, GG, MaMaw June, and I took the kids to the Botanical Gardens. We had a beautiful day for it. Thank goodness they both came with me. The girls are so mobile now it was hard keeping them in the same area when they were out of the stroller. It was nice that we could each just take one kid. Their favorite area was the childrens garden. They played in the sprinklers, climbed, ran around, and wore themselves out. So much so that Rebecca fell asleep in GG's arms on the tram ride after lunch. They liked climbing on the Niki Exhibit sculptures, but John was scared of the one that looked like a skull. His favorite was the "agigador" (alligator). Oh, and since I didn't label all the pics, Rebecca is in a cream shirt, and Natalie is in plaid. Hopefully John is easy to identify.

Asleep at last

2008-08-18T16:58:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Mike and I took the kids to Grants Farm with his family. We had the most perfect day for it! The kids had a great time with their aunts, grandma, and cousins. We don't all get together very often, so it was extra special having everyone there. John of course loved the tram we took to get to the park. I think I was more afraid of the goats than he was this time. I just hate when they jump up on you! Natalie had a minor meltdown when I tried to help her feed a bottle to a goat. She wanted it for herself. Oh, and on a sad note, Rebecca lost her blankey somewhere in the park. She seems to have adjusted to its replacement though.John and his cousin "posing" so the mommies could get a cute picture

On Tuesdays, G.G. watches the girls for a few hours in the morning, so John and I can have some quality time together. Last week I took him to Monkey Joes. A place filled with huge inflatables that the kids can climb on. The last time we went he was pretty hesitant to go on anything, and since I had the babies with me, I couldn't climb with him. This time, just the two of us, I was pretty excited to get to go on everything too. Unfortunately, I was greeted at the door with a sign saying adults are no longer allowed on anything. Ugh! John had no problem jumping right in alone though. He loved the big slide and the tunnels, but steered clear of the obstacle course for some reason.

I know some of you have heard the stories of the strange things John sleeps with, or does in his room when he is supposed to be "napping", but here is the proof that my son is a little crazy. :) First off, he went to bed in a red shirt and no socks. But when I went to check on him, he had on this green shirt and 2 different socks on upside down. He also added socks on his hands to his ensemble. Then, if you look closely, he has a toy saw in his pocket. To finish off, he is sleeping with his head on a book like a pillow, on top of the covers, facing the end of the bed. But hey, as long as he's sleeping, I'm a happy mom.

Do you believe in magic?

2008-07-30T20:07:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, while the girls were at GG's house, John and I had a morning at the Magic House. It's fun to watch him become so much more adventurous. The last time we went he didn't really want to leave my side, but this time, he was all on his own. He played with other kids, and worked with them on some of the exhibits. He even went down the big slide. It is a couple stories tall, so he had to wait at the top by himself while I went down the stairs to meet him at the bottom. I expected him to not want to wait alone and refuse to go down it, but he was fine. As soon as he got to the bottom he ran back up the stairs all by himself to do it again. It was neat, but also a little sad watching him be so independent. Here are some pics of his fun day.

The new "Sandcastle Beach" exhibit. We played in the sand for a little while, but it was WAY too hot outside to be out very long.

John working the crane, with his hard hat on backwards.

Digging in the indoor sandbox.

Working with another little boy to make all the bells ring with a tennis ball.

the amazing floating balls - He loved this exhibit

coming down the big slide

waiting patiently to check out in the play grocery store

15 month check up

2008-07-23T12:52:00.001-07:00

Natalie & Rebecca had their 15 month check up today and all is well. They are right on track developmentally. Here are their new stats.

Natalie
length: 30.25 inches (38%)
weight: 21lb 8 oz (25%0

Rebecca
length: 31.5 inches (77%)
weight: 24lb 12 oz (75%)

They both had to get 3 shots, which was traumatic. But they both got a cookie afterwards, so that quickly stopped the tears. We go back when they are 18 months old.

A Day in the Life (a Beatles reference...get it, get it?)

2008-07-17T12:17:00.000-07:00

They got themselves in, but had a hard time trying to get out.

Well we officially have 3 walkers and 3 talkers in our house now. Rebecca decided she was tired of Natalie getting all the fun toys first and took off walking...and climbing. They can both get themselves up on the couch now, which is a little scary. I also had my first experience of trying to keep three kids who want to go in three different directions in one place. A little hard to do by myself. :) Natalie is gaining on Rebecca in words. She says "hi" "bye bye" "baby" and "uh-oh". Rebecca has added "no" and "stop" to her budding vocabulary. I have no idea where she might have heard these words. John is becoming a little Beatles fan. In my quest to find kid appropriate songs that won't drive me insane we put on a Beatles CD. He is addicted. He walks around the house singing, "Sgt. Peppers Loney Harce Tub Ban" and yelling, "Get back Jo Jo!" While the lyrics themselves are free of profanity there are a few references I hope he doesn't ask about..."Mommy, do I get high with a little help from my friends?" Hopefully as a 3 year old he will have a LONG time before I have to explain things like this!

Natalie and Rebecca are starting to really interact with each other, and have started comforting each other. If Natalie is crying Rebecca will come over and stroke her hair. If Rebecca is upset, Natalie will go find her blankie and bring it to Becca. It is adorable to watch them care for each other.

John has been going to preschool summer camp for a few weeks this summer and he loves it. Each week has a different theme. This week it is Seasons/Weather. There are art projects every day...I'm running out of room to display his masterpieces.

Happy 4th!

2008-07-04T22:03:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics from our 4th of July. We usually have a big party, but since the holiday fell on a Friday and a lot of people were out of town we just hung out at home. John wasn't scared of the fireworks this year, and I don't think the girls even knew anything was going on. John loved the snakes (my favorite), tanks, parachute men, and when Daddy shot off Roman candles. I am pretty much terrified of home fireworks, so I was a nervous wreck. Fireworks are legal out here, so I can expect to hear them all night for the rest of the weekend. Oh goody!

Natalie & Rebecca showing off their cute 4th of July dresses

Mommy & the kids

Daddy & the kids

Natalie carrying around the hammer & block she was attached to all day

John and his tank

Miss Rebecca

John getting ready to throw his snap & pops (He looks so grown up here!)

Had to brag on my babies

2008-07-03T19:29:00.000-07:00

I just have to brag on my kids real quick. Today we went out to lunch at First Watch and it was CROWDED! I hesitated waiting for a table because the kids were pretty hungry, but I figured by the time I drove somewhere else we would have been seated already. While we were waiting a lady sitting next to us told me the kids and I were like Jon & Kate Plus 8...minus 5! :) I WISH I were as organized as that woman! Once we got seated the kids were being pretty good. John was talking a little louder than I thought was necessary, and Rebecca had a loud moment or two when she realized she was out of milk, but not too bad. I was amazed at how many people went out of their way to come over and compliment the kids. It was seriously one after another. I think 8 or 9 people came over to say how nice it is to have well behaved children in a restaurant. I was floored! It made me feel so good. One lady even told me she wants me running a Fortune 500 company because of how well I was multi-tasking. OK, so maybe that's a brag on me, but it made me smile. :) So, that's it. I just wanted to brag. It just really made my day. So, if you are out and see a frazzled parent with well behaved kids, please, tell them how good they are being. It can really change a whole day.

playing around

2008-06-28T17:09:00.000-07:00

After naps, we played around a little on the swingset. I tried taking more pics, but my battery died.

Water day

2008-06-28T13:21:00.000-07:00

Today the kids and I headed to the pool with a friend and her kids for a day in the sun...except the sun wasn't really out. John has become much more comfortable in the water since last year. He was running around playing and didn't really need me for anything, except money for lunch. Rebecca was a big girl climbing in and out of the pool herself. She would crawl around the beach entry area, and not realize it was getting deeper until she was going under. I definitely had to keep my eyes on her. Natalie wanted nothing to do with the water. She was content to walk around the pool area, waving at sunbathers and playing with her toys. After about 2 hours she finally let me put her feet in the water, but that was it.

Remember when pools were just a big rectangle filled with water, and if you were really lucky they had a diving board? I'm still amazed at all the "stuff" community pools have now.

I kissed a fish Mommy!

2008-06-26T17:44:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Mike and I headed out of town for our first trip to the Lake with all 3 kids. I wasn't sure what to expect. Thoughts of large bodies of water, 3 kids who can't swim, and a completely unchildproofed house were making me a little nervous. After a long car ride, with two babies who couldn't share, we arrived just in time for dinner. After dinner the kids played inside a little while we unpacked before bed. The girls went to bed just fine in their pack-in-plays, but John was scared to sleep in an unfamiliar bedroom. He kept telling me he wanted to go home to his "monkey bed." (His bed at home has monkeys on the comforter) He ended up sleeping on the couch with cartoons on the TV. I don't think he actually got to sleep until about 2 hours past his normal bedtime, but at least he was quiet so we didn't have all three kids up that late. The next morning he woke us up bright and early, ready for fishing. Mike took him on a little boat ride to go fishing and he had a great time. He is so obsessed with boats, this was the perfect activity for him. He caught a few blue gill and after much prompting touched one...and kissed one which kind of grossed me out. After they got back and everyone was fed, suited up, and sunscreend we headed down to the dock. My Dad had bought the neatest raft. It has seats all along the sides, and the middle area was mesh. It was like 2 couches facing each other with a place for the kids to sit and play in the middle. John and Rebecca loved it, but Natalie wasn't very impressed. She didn't even want her feet touching the water. I was a little worried about John not wanting to wear his life jacket (or water jacket as he called it), but he had no problem with it and even tried to get me to let him sleep in it. After lunch we blew up a little inflatable pool that squirts water for the kids to sit in on the dock. Again, Rebecca and John loved it, but Natalie, not so much. I was surprised because she has no problems with taking baths or playing in the pool. Maybe the water temperature wasn't to her liking. We spent pretty much the whole day outside and made it through without a single sunburn and only one splinter from the dock. That night John slept on the couch again, and was still awake at 10:00 when I was going to bed, so I put him in bed with me. That boy is so hard to sleep with. He kicks and tosses and turns all night long. Then he woke me up, ready for fishing, at 5:30 am. Sunday morning he spent a little more time fishing with Poppy and Daddy while the girls and I packed up and cleaned. We were back on the road after lunch, and luckily the kids slept on the way home. All in all, it was fun. Not the least bit relaxing, but fun. I'm glad we did it though. I get nervous sometimes about trying to do things with all three kids, but once we jump in and do it, it usually turns out all right.

But I NEED all 4 blankets in my lap!

I guess as long as I have my lovey, I'll be all right.

Look! A fish!

The neatest raft ever

Now, let's see if I can get this thing back on...

I think I'll just stay up here on the dock and check out the floaties.

Doesn't anyone want to come play with me?

Yes, this brown water does look pretty nasty, but Daddy dumped it out and got us some fresh water.

Uh! This thing is hitting me right in the face!

and it doesn't taste very good either!

Fathers Day 2008

2008-06-16T13:04:00.000-07:00

Mike had a nice relaxing Father's Day this year. He was on call, but luckily didn't get paged so he got to spend almost the whole day at home with the kids. He has been working so late, this was the first real chunk of time he's gotten to spend with them in about 2 weeks. John painted him a picture frame and the girls put their handprints on a pencil holder, both of which he now has in his new office. He also got a new shirt and 2 new pairs of swim trunks (in the hopes that we will get to the Lake a few times this summer) Chelsey sent me a few pics of the girls she took on Father's Day. Natalie on the climber...and John in time out in the background

Natalie loves to slide

Rebecca and her tongue

Rebecca playing peek a boo

2 new videos

2008-06-13T12:13:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple videos I took the other day.

John had been singing all afternoon, so I offered to tape him. He chose to sing Happy Birthday to the camera. :)

This is the girls getting up from their afternoon nap. Unfortunately I didn't catch them playing peek a boo this time, but they were adorable regardless.

New pics

2008-06-05T17:34:00.001-07:00

I finally took a few pictures today. Enjoy.

Rebecca's "Popeye" smile

"This book is hysterical!"

Natalie wants to take your picture and drool on you.

I love that Natalie looks like she is saying, "What were you thinking?"

All My Children