Hold Yous Bu-fwy!

Kacey, Anna, and I took the kids to the aquarium last week~where we saw 6 little ones making fishie faces and one Buddy looking at everyone like they were crazy.

2 parrots fighting over the end of the stick.

A butterfly with a broken wing (the left one).

And that Martina McBride song was in my head for the next hour.

Sister holding another injured butterfly.

Buddy saying "My turn'd, my turn'd!", finally getting the turn and LOVING it, then screaming because he had to give it back! "Hold yous bu-fwy, hold yous bu-fwy! NOOO Buddy turn'd!"

Sister's reflection in the jellyfish tank.

Five 4 year olds in a shark cage...with 3 mommies wondering where we can purchase one of those!

2 little friends

One more group shot!

And, trying to fit as many in the bubble as possible!

We took a break for a late lunch and decided to head over to Coolidge Park for a little splashing.

This is where Sister decided to give herself an enema.

And buddy needed to clean out his nose.

Luckily they all passed out in the car...well, except Anna's kids. She was probably wishing she had bought the cage afterall.

I have to say, I think I am ready for school to start so that we are on a routine. I know that sounds crazy, but summer has been a little insane with swimming lessons, gymnastics, playtimes, and all the other things that I can't even remember. We really haven't had many days without something going on...I want one of those please.

For the 4th, we took off to the lake for a few days. My brother's family was in town for the weekend and WB was, let's all say it together, ON CALL. (I am really hoping with all the other holidays he's pulled this year that someone else gets Christmas.)

I think this little boy is gonna be my river rat. He LOVES being in the water. When we first started going to the lake, he would say "Mommy, Baaaaffff" (calling the water a bath and saying he wanted in it!) Now he just says "Wader, Wader, Waderrrr!" 

This ones was climbing out of the boat, or trying to. Zackie is a little monkey for sure.

Sister liked the jet skis. The other day she said she wasn't going to ride them anymore because they were too much fun. She did get on the tube again! So proud of her!! See that smile? We never get that on camera!!

We don't get Coco's smile much either.

This is what happens when it takes too long to get the boat out. The 2 little ones decide they need to take matters in their own hands.

We watched a great fireworks show put on by Double Head Resort. Buddy and Coco kept calling out the colors in the sky. I am sure everyone around us enjoyed that!

We went over to the Splash Pad at the Renaissance too. I love this picture.

And this is what an 8 year old thinks is funny!

~up next~the aquarium~

Father's Day, more cousin time, and the most anticipated birthday present

I am about to start out blogging about something that happened last week and end it with something that happened today. Today. I don't think I have ever blogged about something that happened the day I am blogging! It probably will never happen again!

Father's Day was last weekend...and we spent it rushing around like most people do. Church, lunch, home for nap, back to church, over to the inlaws, home for bed. In the middle of all of that I was trying to catch up from VBS the previous week for being out of town the next week. And I have decided that someone comes in when I am not looking and puts their family's laundry in my laundry room.  There is no way all of it is ours. I can't keep my baskets empty for more than 2 hours.

Anyway, this was a very eventful Father's Day because WB and I took our picture together. This never happens because I am usually the one taking all of the pictures. So, kids, this is what your parents looked like on Father's Day 2010...daddy-31 and mommy almost 31. or are we 32? Whatever, you can do the math.

There will be more a longer post on the man in the middle soon...it will be his 60th this September. If I start now, it will take me til September to tell you what a wonderful man he is. If you think your daddy is great, multiply him by 1000 and that's my daddy. He's one in a million!

And, if he will be 60, then I will be 32~also known as too old to remember how old you are.

We stopped by to see PopPa Honey later that afternoon and took a little spin on the golf cart. And, as usual, Buddy had to check out the cows and throw a little Moo their way. They really look forward to him coming around, you know.

See that big bruise on Sister's shoulder? Courtesy of her big cousin, Jay. He only knows how to swing for the fence when playing baseball and she got pegged in the shoulder. She said "But mommy, I was standing next to Papa so I wouldn't get hit and I still got hit!"

On the Monday following Father's Day, I took the kids to Ol' Montgomery (as Sister says) to stay a few days with my brother's family. We had a lot of fun taking the kids to the Y, hanging out and playing, and I even got to ride over to Auburn to see my friend Jamie and her new baby.

(There is a funny story about the Y that will be told at a later date)

CoCo and Buddy

These two have so much fun together! They would sit and line up their cars together for hours and then count them over and over. It was so sweet! You would have thought they were the only 2 there if it weren't for the constant yelling of Sister and Jay. Both of them are the first born, both are stubborn, both like to control all situations, both only like their own ideas. You can imagine.

One other stop we made was to the Bass Pro Shops. Since Christmas, Sister has been asking for a hot pink BB gun. I am not sure how she knew they existed, but she did and couldn't quit talking about them.  I wished I had my camera on her when she saw them at the store. She had the biggest smile on her face!

Here she is kissing the box!

She actually spotted the hot pink 4-wheeler before she saw the gun. But, she informed us that just the gun was ok this time, but next time we could get the 4-wheeler. I hate to inform her that they next motor vehicle purchased will be for me.

She couldn't wait to get home to show her daddy and shoot it. Then it started raining so we had to let her bring it out in the house. Without BBs of course. Bless her heart, she has been asking everyday to go to the shop so she could shoot it. And, we were able to finally go this afternoon. WB is on call, so you can guess what happened. As soon as we got over there he got called in. But, he did let her shoot it 4 times.

And, she hit the green bottle (see it laying down over on the right hand side?) with her first shot.

Oh, please don't think we are careless with our guns and allow Buddy to stand that close when someone else is shooting. Buddy and I were over checking on the watermelons and missed the actual shooting of the BB. So, I made them pretend to be shooting again for documentation.

Which reminds me...I had better go get the gun out of the car before I get pulled over and cuffed for carrying a firearm.

Celebrating 4!

This little giggle monster is 4! And I can't quite believe it. There are so many different ways to celebrate 4~we will be highlighting the 3 different ways we chose. You can choose your favorite. Because, yes we did it 3 times. How lucky is she? How crazy am I?

The first celebration was at the lake! It was a 'kaprize' for Sister to have a party there. Her cousins were in town for the weekend so we headed over to play on the water and have a homemade strawberry cake. Sister said it was Pinkalicious Delicious!

Can you guess who this is?

Here's a closer one when it was over...

Sister with Uncle Bub! We were so proud that she rode the tube! She was smiling so big, but then I could see the expression change in an instant!  They hit a bump and she was done. And she doesn't ever want to do it again. She says she can just yell WooHoo! from the boat. I don't blame her!

The morning of her actual birthday, WB surprised us all and took the WHOLE day off! He wanted to help me by taking sister to breakfast and I told him he could take Buddy too and also pick up a few things while he was being helpful and all.

Because...her friends party was the morning of her birthday. It was HOT, humid, HOT and also really HOT.

And, I am not one to have idle time at a party, especially when it is 105 degrees outside.

My parties last 1 1/2-2 hours max. So we crank it out and get it done!

Which means, as soon as the first kid came through the gate, they came right over to the craft area and started painting a t-shirt.

Sweet friends!

Sister's requests for her party: Capri-Suns (because I only buy them for parties), cheese sticks (she can't have lunch without one), everything to be hot pink and hot blue, and an ice cream cake!

And it was good!

And although they all look like they are about to pass out, no one hit the ground. I did hear that there was a lot of napping going on that afternoon.

She may look like she is channeling her inner pirate but she is just showing her joy that she was able to play with all of her friends and she had cheese sticks at her party. Not to mention the millions of art supplies she got as gifts. Her friends know her so well! The amount of art stuff should last her all summer! (WOW do we go through the art supplies!)

After this party, we cleaned up, the kids got baths and naps, and I washed everyone's clothes for the next party that night with our families. I really didn't get a lot of pictures at this one because I think I was so exhausted from the first party!  

I did sit down long enough to get a picture with the birthday girl!

We grilled out and then had Sister's other request...birthday fruit pizza! WB was a little disappointed that it wasn't real cake or a big cookie. And after voicing this disappointment, he ate 2 pieces.

What a fun day! Sister had a great birthday celebration week! I think we are all still recovering a little!

Poor girl was a little sweaty betty all day, but just kept right on smiling! Did I mention how HOT it was?

We have been having so much fun with all of the paints, glitter, colors, games, envelopes (especially the envelopes), puzzles, glue, scissors, googlie eyes. I think she has more craft supplies than me!

And, Buddy, I think he just loves the options that he has with her new crocs...

Communication is key!

I think I have to say that my favorite time is when my kids have learned to talk. I remember when Buddy was a newborn and Sister was still too young to talk, but on the verge and was in that frustration stage. A million times a day, I would say I wish she could just talk...it would make life so much easier. And my mom would say~you'll think that until she starts talking. But, I can honestly say that I LOVE for my kids to talk. I need communication. I don't like trying to figure things out. Just tell me what you want so we can get right to it.

Buddy has been jabbering for a long time. I think that is what the second child does, especially when he hears his sister talk every second of the day. Now, over the past couple of months, he is starting to say a few small sentences and sing more. It just melts my heart when that baby boy says "Uvee Too Mommie!" with those sweet little eyes!
Some of my other favorite things he says:

• 1,2,3, FORK,5,SICK...
• Reminding us all to say the blessing before dinner by folding his hands together and saying "prayers, fadder" and then signing 'God our Father'
• Always looking through his picture Bible and pointing out "Jesus" (any man with a beard and a robe)
• saying "Mommy, wanna see Jesus" when we go to church.
• Pointing out every Rocket, Dig Dig, Tractor, Mac, Truck, Car, everywhere we go and saying "Dig Dig Mommy Dig Dig, see'em (pronounced SIM)" Rocket Mommy Rocket, sim?
• Hold Yous Mommy
• Han Mommy Han (hold hands)
• Hold Yous Ye-woh fow-rs (when picking dandilions)
• He also knows all of his colors, numbers and letters by recognition...and likes to tell you every single time he sees one, or all, of them. And then waits for you to say Good Job, Buddy!

And, He LOVES to sing! He has been singing since before he turned 2. A little bit of 'Tonights gonna be a nite nite' by the Black Eyed Peas and some 'Uh, Uh, OOH' by Beyonce (ring on it) with some 'Twika Twika little sta' and 'ABCDEFG' mixed in here and there.


Now that he is talking, there are so many new songs to sing! A few new favorites are "Ho-wee ho-wee ho-wee" (Holy, Holy, Holy), Ten Thousand Angels, Rock-a-bye Baby, the Veggie Tales 'Crazy' song and too many others to name. I thought Sister sang a lot~boy was I wrong! Most of the time the both of them are singing some sort of song, but it is never the same one. So, it can get loud in this house.

And, you know, I can handle the loud...because I LOVE their little voices and how they mispronounce words. I love to hear them sing church songs and talk about Jesus. I love that they tell each other 'love you' every night. I love that they say bedtime prayers together. The sound of little voices in our house is almost as sweet as the sound of little feet slapping on the hardwood floors.

Now, the sassiness-that's a whole other ballgame.

Me-according to Sister

This was part of Sister's Mother's Day gift to me-a little bit of how she sees me...

What is your mommy's name?
Mommy

How old is your mommy?
3

What color is her hair?
blondie

What color are her eyes?
red (unfortunately, that's true most of the time)

What is your mommy's job?
to work upstairs (this is where my sewing machines, etc are)

What is your mommy's favorite food to eat?
syrup

What is her favorite thing to do with you?
play on the playground

What a difference 9 months makes!

Sister at the beginning of school

Sister towards the end of school

It is absolutely amazing how much a child can change in 9 months. This little girl has done a complete 180 on me. Starting her in preschool was the best thing I could have ever done for her! I know that she cried for the first 6 weeks, but that is such a vague memory now. She LOVED school every day and always wanted to be dropped off at the door and ride in car pool. She loved chapel, music, motor skills...but I bet you all can guess what her absolute favorite thing was this year-ART CART! what can I say?

She walks by herself to Bible Class at church and will go to Kid's Praise at night, all without me! She only gives me 20 kisses and hugs when I leave for bonco instead of 55 plus a lot of sobbing and screaming. She even started gymnastics today and I was able to sit where the parents are suppose to sit!

It was only 9 months ago that she wouldn't let me out of her sight for a split second without having a breakdown because she thought I might leave her! Seems like such a long time ago!

I am so proud of how my little girl has grown over these past months. But, I am a little sad too. This only means that we are about to fast forward our way through one more year of preschool, where she will be going 4 mornings a week. Which seems like a little much to me for such a little one.

She has already informed me that she knows where her 4-year-old classroom is and she doesn't need me to walk her in the first few weeks.

Then she will be going to BIG school~something that makes me all anxious and sweaty, so I just don't think about it. We passed her school the other day and she said "Mommy, that's where I go to kindergarten and then I go straight to Auburn!" And I am so sure that it will go by that fast!

While this newfound independence is terrific, I must say that I do miss the days when (pre T.O.) she would crawl over to me every 10 minutes or so and just rub my leg or arm and suck her fingers. Or, when she would want me to rock her before bed instead of play "I Spice" or "Gold Fish." 

Growing up is hard on a momma!