Last year Katy and Allen both took swim lessons from the city. Katy and her friend Sage spent a lot of time sitting on the side of the pool. Allen and I had a blast, but he was definitely too young to really learn to swim. This year we opted for private lessons for Katy and splash time for Big Juice. She learned a lot more this time around. She’s not a true swimmer yet, but can go underwater without holding her nose. That’s already better than me, at this point. As a bonus the teacher had a standard poodle who liked to swim with my Bird. Allen liked the fact that we drove around looking at nearby construction sites and the trucks at the fire station. Plus he usually scored a McGriddle…or “baby pancakes” as Mom calls them.

I was brave (or dumb) enough to take all three nuggets to a public pool after one of Katy’s lessons. It was Hannah’s first time in an official swimming pool. She’s dabbled (and dribbled) a bit in our pool at home, but this was a big day for her. She played it cool and acted like it was no big deal. Allen was hesitant of the slide but Katy was in Heaven! Thankfully we safely made it through our swim and headed back to the picnic table for the requisite photo. Allen slid off the bench just as I finished snapping my picture and he bruised up his ribs pretty good. Poor Juice. I guess one out of three kids made it out of the pool without injury, anyway.

Father’s Day 2009 was a complete bust. We didn’t get anything for Peter, my dad or his dad. What can I say? It’s a dismal first for me. Welcome to crazy town. :o) All the dads in my life were good sports about it.

One day for our movie experience we kidnapped two of Katy’s best friends (Lily and Maggie) and took them with us. Lily was a great baby sitter for Allen. Ring pops helped keep everyone happy, too. Mom is our official treat provider and she does a fabulous job. We never have to worry about Hanny Bananny, either. Peter's mom keeps her fat and happy while we munch on popcorn, candy and Coke Coke.

Allen’s first trip to the dentist rolled around this month. He wasn’t sure what to expect but Katy built it up to be a pretty fun thing. Our dentist lets the kids pick a prize when they’re all done. They played Nintendo or something in the waiting room, and put together puzzles. When it was time for us to head back, I wheeled Hannah in her stroller and everyone laughed as our parade stomped by. Katy stood back and let Allen go first in the dental chair, which surprised me. Allen did a great job, which also surprised me. We made it out of there with a great report card for each of them. Oh, and Katy’s baby teeth are a little crowded so she’ll probably need braces. Just grand. Katy chose a beaded pink bracelet (which broke by nightfall) and Allen chose a miniature car (which was lost by nightfall). Either way, I didn’t have to clean them up so I considered it a huge success!

Katy helped Allen get into the chocolate chips. Then she joined him. Partners in crime. They get along the best when they’re doing something illegal together. I wonder if that would make for a good research study? The beneficial cohesive relations formed as a result of shared deviant behavioral experiences….blah…blah…blah? One night within a thirty minute period of time Katy cut some of her hair off under Allen's supervision, they spread lotion all over the house using Allen's big dump truck, and they poured my face powder all over the bedroom floor. As I was working on this blog entry, Allen found a Wal-Mart bag with red nail polish in it. He poured it on the sofa and part of the carpet, and of course, on himself and his dump truck. The irony does not escape me. He also opened a can of hair mousse from the same bag and started spraying it up in the air while Katy watched. I told Peter I really want that garage door opener contraption that the ladies used on their boss in the movie "9 to 5." It's my greatest aspiration at the moment.

One of our young women from church just lives down the street from us and she comes over to play with the kids sometimes. We invited her to join us at the Bounce and picked up Lily and Maggie on the way. Sage and Jade have moved off for the summer and we are sorely missing them. The best part of that play date was letting Shae chase Big Juice while I sat in peace and fed Hanny a bottle. Sweet, sweaty-smelling, kid-yelling peace. Ahhhhh…. Then we had to have some yummy cotton candy to finish off the day.
Nothing says summer like running through the sprinklers with a popsicle chaser.

Hannah is sleeping through the night as of her third month, just like Allen. She is a complete delight! Everyone loves her, everywhere we go. Aunt Sarah is pretty addicted. Peter jokes that if Abby earned the nickname RBW (Raised By Wolves) for her loner behavior, then Hanny will be RBS (Raised By Sarah) because Sarah loves to kidnap her. Everyone fights over her and she absolutely loves it! Nobody can convince Hanny that she is the third baby and that she should be laying around entertaining herself for most of the time. She charms us all into ignoring whatever duties should be done so we can play with her.

I found some notes from a few months ago that listed funny things the kids had been doing or saying:

* Katy was showing off a photo of her new baby sister during circle time at school. She kept saying, “Thank you. Thank you ALL!” in her most dramatic voice, and at various intervals while the teacher asked her questions.
* Yesterday = Lesterday per Katy
* Sometimes when Katy doesn’t feel like praying she says, “I’n sick. I can’t pray because I might get Jesus sick.”
* If Katy sees that I’m cleaning the house or getting dressed she asks me why I’m doing that, and she asks if someone is coming over.
* Allen was pushing Katy around in his over-sized dump truck and she was telling him in a serious voice, “Be caweful of me, Allen. I’m berry old.”
* Katy’s obsession with finding someone to marry has now been satisfied with the often-repeated phrase, “That’s okay. We just haven’t met him yet.” For now that seems to be keeping her happy. Let’s hope she can wait until she’s at least into her 20th year.
* Allen is copying everything Katy does and says. She experimented for a bit with potty talk. Now Allen is heard from any corner of the house as he cheerfully yells, “Katy, you poopy head!” She gets mad but she knows he learned it from her. Justice is finally served.

Honestly? June? I am actually posting this on July 14th. And that’s only because I stayed up all night to process pics and get the blogging done. I feel like Rip Van Winkle who has slept through April, May and June. I am waking up and it’s mid-July and I am in shock.

Well, I guess I was sleep walking because I have photos to prove that we are always on the go. June was a fabulously fun month. We kicked off the summer by purchasing a Cinemark Summer Movie Clubhouse pass for Mom, Katy, Allen and me. Marjean agreed to watch Hannah so every Wednesday morning we have been enjoying a previously-released kid movie. Allen’s first theatre experience was Charlotte’s Web with Dakota Fanning. He loved it! Katy is always up for a trip to the “movie-ater” but Allen’s attention isn’t always long enough. Usually I’m chasing him up and down the ramp on the side of the theatre and his shoes are lighting up and flashing red in the dark.

Katy finally has hair that’s long enough for me to French braid. Oh, happy day!

I can’t remember if we had a good reason for doing it, but Mom and I trooped the kiddos down to Sarah’s new house. I am sure we left some hand prints on the glass and left a trail of cheerios on the floor. Amy met up with us there and we all just hung out. Katy rode her “sarah” bike and Allen pushed his new “sarah” truck. They played in the sprinkler and watched the movie “Bolt” a couple of times. We relaxed and it was lovely!

We also went to the Rain Forest Café for the first time and it was awesome! Huge aquariums filled with tropical fish surrounded our booth. Katy and Allen got the full works: a cup that flashed with colorful lights and a volcanic ice cream fudge brownie sundae. Yum!

Mark and Stephanie drove down with Steven, Lani and Clayson for Jason’s wedding. We met up with them and our usual crowd for a dinner to celebrate Marjean’s birthday. The timing worked out great and Hannah was passed around all night long.

Peter and I celebrated our 12th anniversary on June 12th and I still haven’t officially gotten him a present. He completely surprised me, however. I am still in shock about it. My over-worked, broke hubby managed to replace my wedding ring that was lost almost two years ago. Say what?! Well, Amy contributed her diamond from her old ring, with Paul’s approval. They could have traded it in for something else or mounted it into a necklace or sold it on-line…but no, they GAVE it to me! So Pedro took it into our jeweler and worked out the details to get a new band for me. I am such a happy, sparkling wife these days! Well, aside from fatigue and the smell of dirty diapers...

We hung out with Mark & Stephanie’s family for a bit at Jerry and Kathy’s home. The cousins are fun to watch. Clayson loves to tag along after Allen but doesn’t really want Katy. Katy wants Clayson and not Allen. Steven wants Katy and she finally warmed up to him. Katy wants Lani to teach her more Broadway songs. All in all it was still lots of fun for everyone. Hillary’s class turtle was dropped but survived. And Jake and Hillary took Allen and Katy swimming. She refused to wear her swim suit top because it didn’t cover her tummy. That’s my modest girl. Don’t wear that boutique store bikini that Mommy bought for you. Instead, Katy just swam without the bikini top, and just wore the “bob-lums”, or the bottoms ONLY. It was a private pool.

Jason and Kristin’s wedding was beautiful, of course. I wasn’t the photographer (woohoo!) but I did manage to grab a couple snap shots of the couple. It was hot and the kids were troopers with their red cheeks. There were two receptions and they were beautiful, too. We are SO happy that Jason has found his true love who will help keep him in line…I mean happy! Welcome to the family, Kristin!