Busy/Fun Day

Okay, so this is the second post for the day but I feel like I have had two days in one. After spending a fun morning at the park and enjoying a nice lunch out....as nice as can be with two grimy little ones, It seems like I start my day all over when I pick up Brayden. Today since it was Fri we decided to head to the park. Amazing that after a full day at school they still have the energy to run around. I thought it was cool out but we were all sweltering in the sun, a little more shade would have been nice.


This is what Brayden took home from school today, he was pretty proud of the whole thing. Although what he really remembered was how funny it was that the girls had to be soldiers too. In our house Becca never wants to be a soldiers always a princess.

This is were we all ended late afternoon, hmmmmmm you think slushy's can count as dinner??

A TYPICAL MORNING

This is where they sit after rushing out to bring their big brother to school. They both run back in the house, go and wake up their baby's/bears/animals and then get totally enthralled with Clifford.

MY LITTLE BALLERINA

Seems like I have been doing a lot of things last minute lately. I decided or rather Becca decided that it was going to be Ballet class and not gymnastics for her this year. I had gone back and forth on whether to send her to school this year and when I finally decided to keep her home I thought it might be fun to let her do something special just for her. I am so glad we decided to keep her home this year. We have so much fun during the day, she loves the GIRLS TIME...she calls it Girls Day Out. We don't do anything out of the ordinary but she still thinks it is special and fun. Anyway she was adamant about doing ballet rather than gymnastics...I had other thoughts but decided to let her pick. She had her first class today and WOW, she had such a great time. There was no apprehension and her face just lit up when her teacher came in the room. I watched through a one way mirror and was able to watch her the entire class time. She was so full of smiles and did everything and more, that the teacher did, it was a blast to watch. She is so different from Brayden and fun to see her go out on her own with a big smile on her face.

Becca was so excited to get dressed, she waited all day so patiently.

There is a little tap session during her class, so tap shoes where among her accessories to take.

One last big twirl before getting in the car and leaving....this is her favorite thing to do!

MY WORKER BOYS

Tonight the girls and I ran some errands and the boys stayed at home to work. Ron has been busy trying to get the Total Station and GPS units up and running for his company....always a pain. I came home and saw Brayden and Ron walking on the road all loaded up-very cute.

PARENTING

It has been a little bit since I last posted. Not a whole lot has been going on besides for the typical raising children routine. This past week I was consumed with the overwhelming feeling of hopeless parenting. The kids, mostly the oldest has been portraying characteristic traits/flaws that sadden my heart-how to teach a child sensitivity, selflessness, loving kindness and humility do not seems to be making any headway. BUT, I was reminded today at church of our sinful nature and how it is not in our human nature to have these Godly traits. Anyway, for everyone out there who loves Parenting-GREAT....this was not my week, but we will keep persisting!
We did have wonderful weekend. The weather has cooled and we have enjoyed some wonderful cool nights. The kids had a blast at a friends birthday party, Becca was so happy to come home with a big bag of candy-all her own. Today we were able to get out and enjoy a bike ride along the river. The kids love exploring and with a cooler breeze it was a beautiful night.

Becca did great at home without Brayden this week. She and Andrea spent a lot of time playing babies. Both her and Andrea love listening to Music and on a couple mornings requested to listen to music rather than Sesame Street.

Brayden has been all boy this week-a good and bad thing. Today he discovered a snail complete with shell-there is always something

Okay, they really are looking at something. We discovered some very bright Goldfinches feasting on sunflowers along the river.

Brayden still loves his bike, the faster the better...as long as he wins.

It was actually warm enough for Brayden to get in the water fountain today, the girls decided it was a little too cold. As usual, Becca was the one to take a fall.

Andrea was determined to get undressed and go in the fountain, she shocked me when she actually put her hand in the water before retreating. This weekend she finally sat on the potty. Most of the time when I ask her if she needs to sit on the potty she yells NO. The past two days she did sit for me but no action, we do however need to sing at least three rounds of Jesus Loves Me and This Little Light on Mine. So, I have been spending a lot of time in the bathroom singing.

The deal with Brayden was if he went in the fountain he couldn't complain about being cold after he got out. This was his solution for getting warm-it worked quite well.

It has been a while since we have biking on the bridge, the kids were all excited because the water fountains were working.

Off we go!

ONE TOUPH LITTLE GIRL

You would think that having a boy first we would have been through some big falls/ broken bones/stitches, ect...... but even though Brayden might have lots of energy he does have a very cautious nature. Needless to say we have not had our share of these types of events in our family SO FAR. Becca on the other hand seems to have no fear and is always willing to try something new-works good since Brayden is forever telling Becca "GO FIRST"-or "YOU TRY BECCA".
Today we decided to bike ride to a near by park. Becca rides a two wheel bike with training wheels and usually she rides in the tow behind to this park. Today she was up for the challenge and determined to ride the entire way-about a mile or so. I was not too concerned about her having the energy to get there, I was more concerned about keeping her mind on biking. First task was crossing our busy road, I decided to run/walk across and have her push her bike-no big deal she flew across only to land solidly on her bottom in the muddy ditch. She just giggled, got up and on we went, a huge mud smear on her rear-lovely. The moment happened when we were almost to the park and we came to the very steep but short hill. Brayden has still been known to walk down hills-not Becca, she is all about speed. I am always telling her to use her brakes on the hills in our neighborhood, she just flys down yelling-"Grandpa tells me to go fast" Thanks grandpa. Anyway today was no exception but for some reason she go distracted and decided to ride directly into the fence at full speed. Lets just say I was positive she broke her arm, she flipped along with the bike and landed pinned under the thing. Amazing at how fast something can happen and you can do nothing to stop it-a horrible thing to watch. Well, after dealing with the screaming we surveyed the damage. I don't know what she hit but all she had was some road rash on her arm and thankfully she could move her wrist.
So, you would think this would teach her to be a little more cautious-not my Becca. She was back on her bike later tonight on our bike ride around the neighborhood. Not just riding but flying down the hill at her break neck speed-me yelling at her to brake and her giving me a look like-what mom, this is fun. To top in all off she was singing The Farmer in the Dell at the top of her voice. She is such a goof ball! I am just thankful she is in one piece tonight!

Something Old Something New

With the kids under the weather the other day I decided to be a little productive and clean out/organize one of our many FULL closets. I came across a couple of our old film cameras-the kids found them today and thought they were pretty cool. Brayden was all about setting the girls up and taking their pictures, Becca just liked wearing hers around her neck.

My perennial garden may not be doing as well as I would like but a hummingbird didn't seem to mind. Ron spotted it today and the kids and I had fun filling up the feeder-we will see if it comes back, I need some more blooms!

Brayden may be five but he is still enthralled with the big oak leaves that fall in our yard.

Baseball and Princess's

We finally made it to a baseball game. Brayden has been taking the schedule from every store that carries them as you check out, telling me or Ron that the RED marked days are for fireworks and we need to go at those days. Well, we decided to go this Sat evening and it was a firework night but we didn't quite make it to the fireworks. It was the sixth inning and after about two hours we were all ready for bed. Yeah, sounds pretty pathetic but Ron had biked that morning and after working in the yard and attending a friends birthday party it was a full day. The kids did great and actually love watching and just hanging out-the cotton candy and ice-cream always help (Becca never took her eyes off the cotton candy man when ever he walked by). There was a home run during the first inning and two outs made by the runner getting into a pickle, Brayden was enthralled and had a huge grin on his face. Andrea loved the music and the all loved stomping their feet to MAKE SOME NOISE! It was a fun evening although I kept think Andrea was a little hot, even if it was ninety degree's out there was a little breeze and she felt like she was on fire. I should have known, there is no inbetween with her and it was a full blown fever which made for an interesting night. I might have to buy some more king size sheets as I was not too happy with my frugal self at 4am this morning -Not having a spare set was not a pleasant reality!

I am not sure where we picked up this fever bug seeing as we have spent the majority of our time the past couple of days inside playing....what else, princesses.

This is Becca after I trimmed her hair-she wanted to get all her princess stuff on and look BEAUTIFUL. Andrea decided she wanted to join the fun-such fun little girls when they are not whining.

Silly girl

If you need a little laugh this morning-this was contagious at our house.

THE FIRST DAY

Okay, for everyone who has kids already in school I am sure this is no big deal to you BUT it was a big deal for me today. Brayden was off to school today-true just a P4 program but still everyday all day at a real school-no longer the church run program. Brayden was all ready for the day, no nerves-his comment to Ron this morning was that he was REALLY excited about school because of a marble maze that he could play with. We left the house on time only to realize I didn't have our parking sticker, so after rushing back to the house and then racing to school we thankfully made it there on time and without meeting any police (and as usual Ron was right...we really didn't need it the first day-oh, well). We all got to attend a special first day assembly. All the Elementary teachers were introduced and we were lead in some singing. I think I would have made it through just dropping Brayden off before the tears started but hearing all the children sing the chorus's and seeing all the excitement of the teachers I had a pretty hard time keep the tears at bay. After saying some pledges and receiving some updates and reminders we were all dismissed. Brayden led the way and would have ran to his classroom if he was allowed. He walked right into his class and went right to the rug, no goodbyes-he was all business. Yes, I did smother him a little but it is just such a hard thing to leave your child for most of the day in some one elses care! I love my time with kids-yes all the crying, fighting, yelling-today that was all forgotten.

Well, he had a great day and was actually able to tell me a couple things other than recess that he got to do-an improvement from last year. I missed him a bunch but I know this is only the start of the growing progress of his life.

This pictures still about makes me cry!

My big boy-still my little guy!

Off to the first day Chapel

Waiting for class to begin-no sweat for him and his little buddy Hudson.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY

Yesterday was another birthday in our family-mine. Although most of the day whenever I was told happy birthday Andrea would get a big grin on her face and then yell-MINE. After trying to convince her that it was mommy's birthday and not hers, Becca looked at me and said "just share mommy"
It was a wonderful day, I love my days with the kids-there is never a dull moment. They had such a great time putting together a ice cream cake for me. Ron is a great husband and made a delicious cake, a big production-I think it was a combination of four recipes but is was scrumptious as Brayden would say this week. We went out to Charleston's for dinner a restaurant I really enjoy but don't go to a lot with the kids. Everyone enjoyed their food and after a short walk around the block we all had some fun with birthday cake and presents. Ron had bought some party poppers which were a lot of fun-a little loud for Becca and definitely made everyone jump but lots of fun. Of course we completed the night joking about giving birthday spanks. I won't say how many but when the kids asked how many candles they needed to put on the cake Ron told them too many....the cake would melt. Anyway Brayden was all about giving birthday spanks, Becca on the other hand had huge concerned eyes and told Ron-NO SPANKS only KISSES...thank you sweet Becca!

MY Sweet kids-rambunctious at times but I love my time with them!

Both my boys deep in thought, Brayden's thing is to draw an entire baseball team in the card, Becca just wanted to add a little flower.

The delicious cake, I might need a piece for breakfast!

The party poppers

Doctors Visit

It is hard to believe but after today's visit I am now down to just a yearly check-up for all the kids. It is always a trip with the three kids, actually kind of fun to see how each one reacts. Andrea was such a show-off. Becca was a little mother and informing her what she needed to do even before we got out of the car. Andrea was all into taking off her own shoes and climbing on the scale, all by herself-even standing against the wall to be measured, all the while listening to not just the nurse give instructions but both Brayden and Becca. Once the Doctor showed up she went mute except when the Dr asked if she could see her ears which she promptly yelled NO! Yes she is a two year old and I have gotten many looks from her lovely comments. Anyway, Brayden was the big brother and got a complete check-up as well and once Andrea saw Brayden she was all eyes and ears-just curious not scared. Yes, the tears did come. Becca was trying hard to warn her about the shot and that it would be fast and she would get a band aid, but in the end she just gave up and sat in the corner with her ears covered waiting for the wail to begin. It was fast and as usual Andrea didn't scream too long, stickers are always a great motivation.
Anyway, back to yearly appointments for all the kids-my family is growing and I am getting older. Andrea weighed 25lbs and was 33.5in tall, once again not a big girl but growing none the less.

Just a candid shot, she is terribly stubborn when the camera comes out, but a goof ball with her siblings.

Crazy Kids

With a hot weekend and not a whole lot to do but play outside in the pool the kids decided to get a little creative. So if you plan on visiting...which I don't recommend as it is HOT, HOT don't use our back door. Brayden moved every piece of outdoor "stuff" in front of the door to create his castle. Becca even got in on the action after all the discussion about Queen Easter at church today. It was complete with a flag-the rake and fully armed-cap gun.

I am forever hoping we run out of caps....I think Grandma cleaned out the cap section at Christmas and we ended up with the majority.

A very happy girl-a little different from the screaming child with a splinter in her toe, such drama. I can't tell anymore if her cheeks are rosy from the sun or from the heat.

Andrea is completely into her babies. Tonight she was all about putting her baby to bed, complete with songs-too cute.

SWIMMING- A SUMMER OF PROGRESS

This was the last weekend for some area pools to be open. Always a sad realization that school is starting and routines must start. We headed out to one of the kids favorite pool Sat in attempts to escape the heat, because sad to say even though school might be starting the summer heat is still in full swing. The fun thing to see is the progress that the kids are making. Beginning the summer Becca refused to swim by herself and was great at attaching herself to anyone within grabbing range in a death grip. Andrea is the first of the two kids to actually enjoying floating and can actually keep herself upright with a life jacket. Brayden is a little fish and loves jumping and diving for things. He still was not tall enough to go down the big slides but was actually confident enough to walk to the top in attempts of trying.

Birthday Girl

Yesterday we got to celebrate the birth of Andrea. She had such a fun day, the kids were constantly asking her about her birthday and she would just light up when we would sing Happy Birthday, she even told the checker at the grocery store it was her birthday...and she if FIVE. We tried hard but she is convinced that she is five and has yet to say two.

We had to play some birthday games according to Brayden. He had watched the Bernstein Bears Birthday episode so he was all into setting up games in the back yard for us to play. We ending up with a version of lawn bowling and a ball in the bucket. The kids had a lot of fun, even Andrea was able to get in on the action.

This was one of the big grins Andrea gave through out the day-this one was for successfully knocking down the cups with her ball.

The is the silly bunch waiting to open presents. We tried the chairs-Andrea is the princess with the King and Queen in back. This was a hard birthday for Becca and she wanted so bad to help Andrea and play with all her toys, it was hard to see her struggle with being nice and helpful but wanting so bad to play with the new toys herself.

Andrea opened all her cards-it was so fun to see her expression once she saw what was on each card. Her favorite one was one with kitty's.

Thanks Aunt Sharon, the newest addition to our snap dolls was a hit, as usual Andrea's favorite part was her hat.

This was when Brayden almost lost it. It was a shake-n-go car which Brayden loves. After some tears Brayden went off and found his and was able to have some fun races with Andrea. At this point I think Andrea was so overwhelmed, Becca was talking non stop, Brayden was all in her face, no matter how many times was told them both to back off. So if you wonder why Andrea is so serious it is because her siblings are doing all the talking and reacting.

Cooking a hot dog in her new microwave...lunch doesn't get much better, in her opinion.

Yes, she did end up with another baby. Hard to say no when you go to the store and that is the only thing she wants. Andrea loves back packs and this seemed like the perfect fit. Becca was most excited.

The kids had spent most of the day playing dolls and taking them to their pretend fair/carnival (you should have seen the house). This is Brayden and his doll/puppy having fun at the birthday party.

We ended the evening with cupcakes and ice cream, all the kids loved the frosting. With all the hot weather and being indoors I decided to try something new with the cupcakes and they didn't taste that bad.

The best part of the day with my birthday girl. She may be two but she still loves to snuggle.