Boy Scout

I know she is a girl. I was just referring to her preparedness for any thing. The beanie in case it gets cold. The cute little shirt for summer and going out to dinner. The lack of pants for going to the pool. The sock for any kind of shoes. The boot for when it rains and she has to work outside. You see? She is ready.

"I go ober dere."

Ok. Whatever you say :)

Family Dynamics and the Lonesome Dove

Sunday afternoon we got to spend some quality time together as a family. I don't remember why Kari was sulking, but I do remember she had just gotten up from her nap, and her feelings were a little tender. So, here she is sulking on the end of the couch.

While on the other end of the couch, Kaitlyn and Dylan are hanging out

and enjoying each others company.

There's Kari. Still sulking.

And on the other end of the couch, the rest of the family is still playing. Kaitlyn was making eyes at Daddy, by the way. And, listen in this video to the little cooing noises Dylan makes. Pa says he sounds like a lonesome dove :)

Still Sulking.

This is how it eventually ended up. Kari, still kinda sulking, but coming down to the rest of the family. Seconds after this picture was snapped, Kaitlyn was fighting with Kari's legs about whose turn it was to sit below Dylan.

Family life. Ain't it grand? :)

Learning

I love it when I can see my children learning.

You know, physically see the figurative wheels turning in their heads.

At this point, my little boy is thinking to himself "Will you look at that.

That thing there can clamp down and hold on to things."

"What will they think of next?"

"Bright Light!"

The End.

Oh my gosh!!! This is fabulous!!!

This video is 45 minutes long, so don't start it unless you can finish it. But, my goodness, I love it!!! The music is great, the sarcasm is delicious. You gotta try it!

Lip Smackin' Good

I just cut his nails

I swear... So sad :(

Little Miss Sheep

I find that I feel like I am writing more about Dylan and Kaitlyn than Kari. I think that is because, A) Kari already when through the phases that the other 2 are going through, so I feel like I kinda got my fill of her there, 2) She isn't really in the "cute" phase anymore, and d) her advancements are more on an intellectual level. She is just as wonderful, friendly, and smart as can be. So, this one is just for her. Today she wanted to make a book. She made up the story and illustrated it herself. She let me write the words for her. So, I thought I would share her accomplishment today :)

The author

Title page :)

"Miss Sheep looks at the stars in the sky."

"The sheep didn't go on this path."

"The sheep did not go on this path either."

"The sheep walked along (I had to put along) on this path."

"The sheep found Little Bo Peep and hugged her."

For all you Baldy's out there :)

I think I have mentioned before that I got my haircut. In case I didn't, or you didn't know, I got my hair cut :) Kari mentioned that she wanted to get her hair cut, and I used that opportunity to broach the subject with the hubby. You see, he is a fan of long hair (although I don't know why it matters particularly... he can't run his fingers through my hair...). I have wanted shorter hair for a while (note I said shorter, not short), but I have always been super scared to try it because I wasn't sure what my curly/kinky hair would do. Well, I got kinda tired of it with the 3 kids, and like I said, I am an opportunist. Plus, I was hoping my attempt at being kinda noble (Locks of Love) would win the hubby over. He said "Its your hair, do what you want." I took that as it was my hair, and I could do what I wanted... Thankfully, when I came home, he just clamped his mouth shut. Then he said: "It looks nice." And that is the last I have heard of it. Sometimes, just sometimes, the hubby knows how to behave :)
Well, the place I went to get my hair cut would cut off the requisite 10 inches, but they wouldn't mail it off. That was up to me. I finally got around to doing that today... Almost a month later. Hey, gimme a break, ok?!?! As you can see, they cut off more than 10 inches (oh well... its too late now). Actually, when you stretch it out, it is closer to 14 inches, but hey, who's counting. Well, ME!!! I am not saying all of it would be worth it for a hairpiece, but that is alot of length and weight. When I originally measured the 10 inches at my house, it would leave my hair around my bra line... You can look at the above picture to see that is not where it ended up.

And here is the final product. Packed up and ready to go. Thank goodness I love my haircut :)

Something only a daddy would do :)

Sisterly Love

Sometimes she just likes to lay beside him (which is better than on top of him)...

Who doesn't love a Nakie baby?

Surely not me... I was about to throw Dylan in the shower with his daddy, but sometimes he just looks so soft and cute and cuddly... Ya know? Enjoy :)

Jumpy Jump

Dylan's first time in the Johnny Jump up. You can hear Kaitlyn in the background. I took 4 videos, and this is the only one where she isn't monopolizing the camera... Sisters... ;)

I used to be worried

...that Dylan may not be particularly vocal and therefore would get overlooked in his world of little talkative girls. Now, maybe, I am not so sure :) And yes, Dear Aunt Alyson, that is a Cinderella sleeping bag he is laying on. Its not his, I promise :)

Still working on it

For those of you who are thrilled by the success/failure of Kaitlyn and her potty training, and have been scouring my blog for updates, pictures, and cute anecdotes, wait no longer my fine friends. Today shall be your day!

As you know, Kaitlyn decided to potty train herself because she no longer likes to have a wet or dirty diaper. Fine by me. She has mostly successfully completed the poopy stage. We are going on 3 weeks with no poopy diapers. Only in the potty. Ok, I lied. We had one accident. But in her defence, it was of such a consistency that I don't think she was expecting it. Moving on. This morning she had a dry diaper for 3 hours before we ran errands. It took 5 trips to the potty, but she was dry none the less. This girl drinks a ton. She will go through 6 juice cups a day if I let her. So, I got a little tired of the constant, and always inconvenient, trips to the potty. She has already figured out how to take off her diaper (which has led to more than one morning surprise and laundry load), so I set up the stool in front of the potty and put the little toilet seat insert on the potty so she won't fall into her little elbows :) (That being a funny story for her older sister for another time). Well, she has been awake from her nap for a total of 30 minutes now and has had to go potty 3 times already. So, this last time I just told her to go. This is what I find:

This is the congratulatory hug from her big sister. So far, that is all that has been required. I dressed her in a skirt thinking it would be easier. I am thinking while we are at home tomorrow, maybe no bottoms (except the diaper) are needed.

I don't normally take pictures like that, but how can you not think it is cute. Man, is she gonna kill me when she is older... ;)

Lil' Stinker

I have noticed I tend to post in 3's... One about each kid. Well, this is no different.

I do almost all my bills online. I think I have the same checks from 3 addresses ago because I hardly ever write checks to start with. I bought a separate book to write down all my transactions in and balance stuff because my checkbook register was too small. Anyway, I usually do my bill stuff every Friday. I pay bills, balance "checkbook", check budgets, etc, etc. I was in the room at the computer with Kari holding onto the chair, peeking over my shoulder and being kinda pesky. I am trying to realize she doesn't need a nap anymore, and spend more time with her when she is awake and the other kids aren't, but sometimes it is kinda hard because I gotta have some "me" time. Anyway, I mustered up what patience I had left and asked in a voice oh so sweet "Kari, what are you doing?" The little stinker was quick at thinking on her feet, I'll give her that. She quickly wrapper her arms around my shoulders (where she was just leaning against and being a nuisance) and said "I'm giving you a hug mommy." Little stinker....

Good News, Bad News

Good News: I have successfully integrated chocolate back into my diet!!! Oh yeah, anddairysweetpotatoesbroccolietcetc... But Yay for chocolate!!!!

Bad News: Dylan seems to have added another feeding back into the mix and is eating every 4 hours around the clock again. :/

PS- I had pizza again last night for the first time in over 3 months. It was divine!!!

Oh, the power of the mighty Band-aid

We have been down at Pa's for a week. He says the county is cursed because it hardly ever gets rain. Its true... While all around the areas around received quite a bit of rain this week, he didn't get a drop. You could see it go all around him. I do so love the thunder and lightning we could see. The girls were outside running down the road while it was storming around us and it got a bit closer and louder. Kaitlyn, who has never been particularly fond of storms, apparently got scared of a bit of thunder that was too close for her comfort. She ran screaming, quite terrified for a 2 year old, to me. After I hugged her and helped her feel better, she said in her little Kaitlyn-ese "That was nose-y (noisy :). I need band-aid." Ah... Band-aids fix everything:)

Catch up, Ketsup

My sister had that book growing up. I have never forgotten the monkey on roller skates. Anywho... The title was inspired because these are a few catch up videos.

Kaitlyn made this funny face on her own. I swear I didn't teach it to her. But, I wanted to get it on video. The story follows:

Dylan discovering his hands.

It was supposed to be a video of his new skill: screeching, but it quickly turned into a video of his cute chubby legs :)

Grocery Store

Man do I love going to the grocery store. NOT!!! I dislike it so much, I put it off as much as possible, and then I hate it even more because I have a truck load of stuff to bring inside. I usually have to take the three kids, which makes for an even longer trip. Thankfully, mine are not the "I want" type, or I might just shrivel up and die. I traverse almost every aisle (usually) and dump things into the cart. Only recently have I started planning my meals for the week and doing my grocery list accordingly. It helps :) And, today I even organized my list according to aisle (what I could remember). Then, you have to unload it all at the register. Pay for it *waves goodbye to the money*. Load it back into the cart (where it never seems to fit the same way it did before it was in bags). Push the whole cartload (children included) back out to the car. Unload it into the car. Put away the cart. Drive home. Unload it again in the house (are we sensing a pattern here?). Unload it again into proper cupboards. The whole time you are required to say things like: Sit Down. Don't touch that. And No you may not. Now we get to the part where we are in the hot, humid south. I am hot and sweaty. Sticky. Moist in all my crevices. Its not a pleasant feeling, believe you me. And that whole hair cut thing? Don't get me wrong, I ended up loving it, but don't cut your hair short if you want it off your neck. When it is short, there is no where else for it to go... Needless to say, it takes alot out of me. And the best part? I get to do it all again next week...

A Typical Photo Shoot

The title is a day in the life, right... Well, here is a part of a day in the life. Kari has been playing with her Timber Log thingys quite a bit in the last 2-3 days. Yesterday, she built a pretty impressive house, and I wanted to take a picture of it. Here is how a typical photo shoot goes:

First, lets line up Kari so we can take a picture. Gotta get both Kari and the house in the shot. I took one and deleted it right off because her eyes were closed. For the purpose of this post, I wish I would have kept it. I didn't. Oh well :) But, here is the second try and good picture.

Note the fence, sidewalk, cars, and people... Not bad, huh?

Then Kaitlyn says she wants a picture too. I guess she is becoming less camera shy. Never mind that she has pulled her pigtails out. Never mind that she no longer has pants on (for whatever reason, I am not remembering at this point). So, she poses. Smile for mommy!

Wait. There is something going on over there.

Lets try again. Smile pretty for mommy.

Dang. Still something pretty entertaining happening over there.

One more time. Look at mommy. Pretty smile.

Cheese!

And, of course, we must take a picture of Dylan who is just so cute lying there on the floor :)

And there it is folks. The end.

#301

Did you know that the last post was my 300th post? I have been on here for quite a while (since March 2008) and there have been some major changes/posts on here. In honor of my 301st post, I thought I would treat you all to a bum frog. Yep, you heard me... a bum frog :)

Dylan just waking up.

Before you ask "Why are his fingers always in his mouth?" let me just say,

"Yes, he is teething." Joy...

Happy 300 little glimpses into our lives :)