Get in, sit down, buckle up, and get ready for a ride…July is a belt-buster! We had a birthday, a national holiday, a mini-vacation and Hannah’s four month mark. And Allen couldn’t be any cuter if he tried! Lots to report and record! Good thing I stayed up all night again last night (August 4th). Seems to be the only way I can get these mega posts done. During the day yesterday I tried working on it but Big Juice was stirring in the potty with the toilet wand and had splashed water ALL over the place. I threw him in the shower and we re-enacted the scene from Silkwood where Meryl Streep was scrubbed down for radioactive materials. Needless to say, it’s easier to stay up all night. The things we do for love.
Summer with three kids has been a new experience for me. We’ve had a great time for the most part, but I think there have been some cabin fever moments where we just had to stroll around Target or drive around. Katy and Allen are having a little too much together time. Especially when Katy is patching, which she still does for three hours each day. When we’re playing and having fun together, I’ve been really trying to enjoy the moment…celebrate the sweetness of my children…recognize that this time will fly by. When they get along, my heart feels like it’s going to burst. And when they don’t…well…that’s for me to know… :o)
OK, kicking off July Katy had a Splash Pad Party to reunite her with her new and old school mates. Not many kids came but Katy and Allen had a total blast! All the other moms had neatly packed lunches. I brought Chick-a-Lay. Allen drank his ketchup. Hannah just hung out and enjoyed the shade with me.
Katy also finished up her swim lessons with her sweet teacher, Amanda. We were sad to see the fun end, but honestly the drive was getting old. Grammy, Papa, Mookie and Peter all came to watch the final lesson. We watched Katy dive under the water and swim with help. She wasn’t afraid to go all the way under, and we were so proud! When I wasn’t hiding in the bushes like a stalker-atzi with my camera, I was helping Allen hold some puppies. Too cute!
Our nation celebrated another birthday on the fourth and most of my family headed over to Mike and Laura’s new home for the fireworks and festivities. The cousins have SO much fun playing together! The adults don’t get much of a chance to visit because of the noise level, but it’s always worth the trouble, anyway. Mike not only worked all the firecrackers for us (Allen is still talking about it) but he also ran through the sprinkler with the kids. We went to their “lake house” and I dragged one of the captain seats out of our van. It was comfy and it even rocked! Katy was scared so she stayed in my lap most of the time but Allen was fearless and he wielded a two-foot sparkler like a sword! Laura and Amy sang patriotic songs. It was a white trash country bumpkin party!
Here is what happens when the kids find that Halloween costume that you bought on clearance from Gymboree for a future year. They pretend it’s a Cookie Monster costume and everyone has to have a turn. Weeks later I’m still making Allen say “COOKIE MONSTA” in his deepest, scratchiest monster voice. He cracks me up!
Summer with three kids has been a new experience for me. We’ve had a great time for the most part, but I think there have been some cabin fever moments where we just had to stroll around Target or drive around. Katy and Allen are having a little too much together time. Especially when Katy is patching, which she still does for three hours each day. When we’re playing and having fun together, I’ve been really trying to enjoy the moment…celebrate the sweetness of my children…recognize that this time will fly by. When they get along, my heart feels like it’s going to burst. And when they don’t…well…that’s for me to know… :o)
OK, kicking off July Katy had a Splash Pad Party to reunite her with her new and old school mates. Not many kids came but Katy and Allen had a total blast! All the other moms had neatly packed lunches. I brought Chick-a-Lay. Allen drank his ketchup. Hannah just hung out and enjoyed the shade with me.
Katy also finished up her swim lessons with her sweet teacher, Amanda. We were sad to see the fun end, but honestly the drive was getting old. Grammy, Papa, Mookie and Peter all came to watch the final lesson. We watched Katy dive under the water and swim with help. She wasn’t afraid to go all the way under, and we were so proud! When I wasn’t hiding in the bushes like a stalker-atzi with my camera, I was helping Allen hold some puppies. Too cute!
Our nation celebrated another birthday on the fourth and most of my family headed over to Mike and Laura’s new home for the fireworks and festivities. The cousins have SO much fun playing together! The adults don’t get much of a chance to visit because of the noise level, but it’s always worth the trouble, anyway. Mike not only worked all the firecrackers for us (Allen is still talking about it) but he also ran through the sprinkler with the kids. We went to their “lake house” and I dragged one of the captain seats out of our van. It was comfy and it even rocked! Katy was scared so she stayed in my lap most of the time but Allen was fearless and he wielded a two-foot sparkler like a sword! Laura and Amy sang patriotic songs. It was a white trash country bumpkin party!Here is what happens when the kids find that Halloween costume that you bought on clearance from Gymboree for a future year. They pretend it’s a Cookie Monster costume and everyone has to have a turn. Weeks later I’m still making Allen say “COOKIE MONSTA” in his deepest, scratchiest monster voice. He cracks me up!
Some random Hannah sweetness...
Here is Allen showing off the blanket that Gramma Grape made for Hannah. It’s just like Katy’s pattern, but in different colors. Allen’s is a monkey blanket and he sleeps with it every night, plus the pillow (pee-wo) that Laura made for him when he was born. He’s a blanket-a-holic and he takes them all away from us, announcing that he’s “coldy” and needs to snuggle. I know Hannah will come to love it someday, too!
These little pork chop feet are Allen’s. Sometimes instead of sleeping in his bottom bunk bed he likes to make a nest in front of his bedroom door. We think he likes to listen to us? Dunno for sure. It’s pretty funny, though.
July seventh marked Katy’s fourth birthday and she was SO excited! The only thing she had requested was a little puppy she found in a book whom she named Puddles. She wanted it to be in a carrying case like her friend Requay’s dog. Of course, my Bird drove me crazy for days in advance so when the big day finally arrived, I let her open Puddles up first thing. Even a month later he’s still getting lots of attention and she even brought him along for her personal birthday photo shoot. We kept her birthday low-key, just like Allen’s. Instead of a big party she had a swim date with Maggie and Lily, followed by a lunch date at Chick-a-Lay. They had ice cream cones, fun in the play land, and each kiddo received a balloon as they left. They gave her a fancy pink Sleeping Beauty dress for a gift. It was pretty much her perfect day. After Peter came home from work we had a small family party. Grammy and Papa came over to watch Katy blow out her candles and open her gifts. Gramps sent over some goodies and Grammy and Papa brought some, too. Katy's present from Marie was a fabulous snail purse to hold lots of treasures. She loves it! Mookie and Uncle John had given Katy and Allen a shared gift earlier…a trampoline for inside the house! We are very spoiled.
Hannah turned four months old on July 12th. She couldn’t be more perfect if she tried! EVERYONE loves Hannah Banana! At her doctor appointment she weighed in at almost 13 pounds, putting her in the 30th percentile. Her height is still only in the 5th percentile. Guess she gets her build from Tara more than Jim. :o) She is on target for all her markers and is healthy as can be. Those thighs are made for squeezing, just like Allen’s.
Katy also went into the doc for her four year check-up. She had to get four nasty shots and it took three of us to hold her down. The nurses were VERY impressed with her strength. I didn’t have the heart to tell her about the flu immunization she’ll be getting this Fall. It reminded me of Emily’s trip to the doc a couple years ago when she was screaming, “Not the four year old!” over and over after the nurse was trying to call her back for shots.
Our family did finally take a mini-vacation together this summer. We still aren’t sure if we’re headed to Utah next month for Hannah’s finalization, or not. The judge might let us off the hook for being there in person. So, in keeping with our budget-friendly summer we hauled ourselves over to Sea World for a couple of fun-filled days. Hannah opted to stay at Aunt Sarah’s house, instead due to her pale “Nicole Kidman” skin. She probably was held every waking moment and no doubt Sarah poured formula down her baby gullet every other hour. That’s just how they roll. Right off the bat we visited the dolphins for feeding time. I was surprised that Katy was too scared to feed them, but Allen dropped fish in there and even the paper boat that held the fish. He would have jumped in to swim with them if we weren’t watching. However, Shamu’s show was definitely the big hit of the trip. Allen called him “Shampoo.” And Aunt Sarah talked me into buying the nuggets each one thing to help them remember Sea World. They both chose a penguin. Katy’s is a cute little baby one. Allen’s is a sassy, leather-beaked gent that he calls “Awen’s pengween.” He rides it around on his stroller and even sleeps with it. It was lots of fun and we even had some friends there the first day who helped us to learn the tricks. We’ll definitely be back!
Hannah saw her first movie at the movie-ator at the ripe old age of four months. Katy and Allen had to wait until they were two! With Grammy in Utah, we lost Hannah’s sitter for our weekly movie trip. So, Hannah joined us for Space Chimps and she loved it! She watched almost every minute of it! Mookie held her almost the entire time – spoiler! And she joined us again today with Spiderwick Chronicles. On a side note, that movie depicted a boy hitting the family car and Allen was cheering him on yelling, “Boy fighting da truck!”
This is a pic of me with curls in my hair in honor of Katybird. I hot-rolled my hair and then it lost most of the curl while I helped her clean her room. Sigh… Finally we sat down and let Peter snap some pics with my hair blending into hers, just for fun. She sure gets lots of compliments on her curls!
I am so spoiled to have family in town. Grammy and Papa keep the kiddos, and Karli kidnaps them for me sometimes. Juan and Kourtney take their turn. Mookie is definitely my work horse, though. Mom picked the kids up and took them to the library, just in time for the toddler hour. They learned all about butterflies and caterpillars, including cute songs, and they made crafts, too! Mom also helped them check out library books but I was too nervous to keep them around for long. I knew I would lose them. Admitting it is the first step.
Here are some pics from Katy’s birthday photo shoot. We actually did it at the end of the month when Kate Z. came to town. She’s my photographer friend and she needed to snap her one-year old kiddo, too. The shoe maker’s kids are always without shoes. The photographer kids are always behind on their birthday photos. We combined forces and dragged those nuggets out into 104 degree heat, plugging their pie holes with ring pops, fruit snacks and Capri Suns. I made all three lay down together but it didn’t net me anything too grand. Katy’s individual shots came out great, though! I didn’t have to do a thing to them – yay!
OK, I think that’s it for my marathon post. I think I’m setting a new record with this one. And just think about how many pics there would be if I didn’t make collages out of all those special occasions? Whew!
We have officially met with Katy’s Pre-K teacher for the Fall and she will be registering for dance class this week. Allen can look forward to some alone time again (except for my sweet Hanny Banany) with September in sight.
Our family did finally take a mini-vacation together this summer. We still aren’t sure if we’re headed to Utah next month for Hannah’s finalization, or not. The judge might let us off the hook for being there in person. So, in keeping with our budget-friendly summer we hauled ourselves over to Sea World for a couple of fun-filled days. Hannah opted to stay at Aunt Sarah’s house, instead due to her pale “Nicole Kidman” skin. She probably was held every waking moment and no doubt Sarah poured formula down her baby gullet every other hour. That’s just how they roll. Right off the bat we visited the dolphins for feeding time. I was surprised that Katy was too scared to feed them, but Allen dropped fish in there and even the paper boat that held the fish. He would have jumped in to swim with them if we weren’t watching. However, Shamu’s show was definitely the big hit of the trip. Allen called him “Shampoo.” And Aunt Sarah talked me into buying the nuggets each one thing to help them remember Sea World. They both chose a penguin. Katy’s is a cute little baby one. Allen’s is a sassy, leather-beaked gent that he calls “Awen’s pengween.” He rides it around on his stroller and even sleeps with it. It was lots of fun and we even had some friends there the first day who helped us to learn the tricks. We’ll definitely be back!
Hannah saw her first movie at the movie-ator at the ripe old age of four months. Katy and Allen had to wait until they were two! With Grammy in Utah, we lost Hannah’s sitter for our weekly movie trip. So, Hannah joined us for Space Chimps and she loved it! She watched almost every minute of it! Mookie held her almost the entire time – spoiler! And she joined us again today with Spiderwick Chronicles. On a side note, that movie depicted a boy hitting the family car and Allen was cheering him on yelling, “Boy fighting da truck!”
This is a pic of me with curls in my hair in honor of Katybird. I hot-rolled my hair and then it lost most of the curl while I helped her clean her room. Sigh… Finally we sat down and let Peter snap some pics with my hair blending into hers, just for fun. She sure gets lots of compliments on her curls!
I am so spoiled to have family in town. Grammy and Papa keep the kiddos, and Karli kidnaps them for me sometimes. Juan and Kourtney take their turn. Mookie is definitely my work horse, though. Mom picked the kids up and took them to the library, just in time for the toddler hour. They learned all about butterflies and caterpillars, including cute songs, and they made crafts, too! Mom also helped them check out library books but I was too nervous to keep them around for long. I knew I would lose them. Admitting it is the first step.
Here are some pics from Katy’s birthday photo shoot. We actually did it at the end of the month when Kate Z. came to town. She’s my photographer friend and she needed to snap her one-year old kiddo, too. The shoe maker’s kids are always without shoes. The photographer kids are always behind on their birthday photos. We combined forces and dragged those nuggets out into 104 degree heat, plugging their pie holes with ring pops, fruit snacks and Capri Suns. I made all three lay down together but it didn’t net me anything too grand. Katy’s individual shots came out great, though! I didn’t have to do a thing to them – yay!
OK, I think that’s it for my marathon post. I think I’m setting a new record with this one. And just think about how many pics there would be if I didn’t make collages out of all those special occasions? Whew!
We have officially met with Katy’s Pre-K teacher for the Fall and she will be registering for dance class this week. Allen can look forward to some alone time again (except for my sweet Hanny Banany) with September in sight.
