Cursive

One of the children was given this for either a birthday or Christmas.  I honestly can't remember who, since ownership around here generally doesn't matter until someone is screaming.  There are all kinds of pretty cool features and games on this thing.  Kari discovered the cursive function, and has taught herself how to write.  I think pretty much everybody made it in here.

Won't her first grade teacher be impressed? :)

Potty

He doesn't do much yet.  He just sits. 

But I love this picture, so that totally justifies it.

At my house

On this particular day, I don't really have any idea what he was doing,

or what I was supposed to be doing.  

 I find that happens quite frequently at my house.  Does that ever happen at yours? 

No? Ok. I was just kidding then.

Love the almost wedgie :)

But, I also find that when a cute little boy is running around mostly naked . . .

 . . . I pretty much have to take pictures.  It is some kind of universal constant.  I am pretty sure.

Such a happy, sweet smile.  And, I love whatever his little foot is doing.

 Or maybe it is just a certain part of the universe, contained in these 4 walls, also known as my home.

But what do I know?

Baseball

We bought a T-ball set for the kids on our way down to Pa's last time.  Thankfully, it was pleasant enough to play outside.  That is always a plus, since, down here in H-E-Double Hockey Sticks, it gets hot, and you don't want to go out for fear you will be eaten by giant, bird sized mosquitoes, or that you will melt from condensation of all the humidity.  Take your pick :)

This is Kaitlyn practicing her throwing skills.  She was the catcher.  And yes, she is wearing boots.  No, I don't dress my children.  Why do you ask?

Being that Daddy played ball in high school, there was some serious coaching going on here.

And, she was pretty dang good at it!

Just a game of coach pitch.  You know, like any other Saturday ;)

I love in this picture that Kari has a great ending pose, and that she looks so happy, like she might have just hit a home run.  However, if you look in the back ground the ball looks like Kaitlyn was about to catch it...  Yeah right.

Kari.  Doing her thing.

Daddy.  Doing his thing :)

Dylan, watching from the relative safety of the screened porch.

Of course everybody had a turn.  Dylan had been instructed on the proper procedures, but decided to do it his way.  He still "bats" this way.  I love the victory dance at the end, and the baseball cap :)

With 3 kids, I am well on my way to having my own team.  Wait.  I takes 9?  Nevermind!

Regularly Scheduled Program

We interrupt this regularly semi chronological ordered program for an important announcement: 

I finally finished it!  After approximately 2.5 years, I finally finished stitching and framing Dylan's birth announcement cross stitch.  Yeah.  Its been that long.

 I started it as soon as we found out he was a boy, so we could pick out the appropriate pattern.  Then, I worked feverishly to get enough done, so we would know the handprint and footprint placement.

Then, I ran out of steam, and stitched for, a few strands, and put it down for a month or two, then picked it back up again, then put it back down, then picked it back up. . .  Well you get the jist.  But, as of this morning, it is framed (which was a pain.  I can certainly understand now why it is so expensive) and even hanging in a mostly level position on the wall. . . 

Just in time for him to start thinking its not cool and wanting to decorate his own walls.  Joy.

Tornado Warnings

The semi recent tornadoes that tore through here recently were pretty devastating to some areas.  Thankfully not mine.  We didn't get anything but a couple of branches and some wind.

 But what good is wind unless you use it to fly a kite?

 Even with the wind, we couldn't get it to stay up.  But, Kari enjoyed trying :)

My poor child with no bum, can't keep her pants up.  But, at least the kite got in the air :)

Dish Pan Hands

You have heard of Dish Pan hands right. . . ?

 Well, those are technically sold as dish pans (even though that is not what we used them for).

But, what would you call the things in side of them?  Raisin-ettes? :)

Growing up

Today my baby, well, my oldest baby, "graduated" from kindergarten.

They walked in, procession style, graduation shirts tucked in, with hands by their sides to the song

Let them be Little, by Lonestar.  And I'll be danged if I didn't tear up a bit.

They sang this song to help welcome us to the graduation ceremony.

And this song to entertain us.

Then, they proceeded to get to the good stuff.  This is what we are here for, after all:

Kari's (partial) class.  That is her head peaking out.  Back row, third from the right.

After the ceremony, we adjourned to the class room, where her teacher, the lovely Ms. Flowers, handed out a few last things, and said her good byes. 

As we were leaving, I looked at little sister Kaitlyn, and was struck by how grown up she looked.  Do you ever have those moments?  When you look at your child and think "S/he is so grown up.  When did that happen"?  I had one of those today.  I can see her wearing this same outfit in 10 years, boot cut jeans, peasant style blouse, scuffed up tennis shoes and all.

This was their good bye song.



And this is Kari, with her principal, diploma in hand.

When did this all happen?  When did my children grow up?  This is just unacceptable, and not allowed!  Who do I talk to about this?

PS- I apologize they are all out of order and stuff.  I strongly dislike the new blogger editing system, and I just didn't have the patience to deal with it today.

Pa's

Going to Pa's holds a pretty special place in our hearts.  He lives, well, in the middle of no where, and it is usually a very relaxing and peaceful time to unwind and enjoy.

Kaitlyn loves her sticks...  In her dress...  Sometimes, I just don't understand that child.

 Most of the time we just hang out.  We don't do anything special. 

Can I just say that I love that the cup is practically as big as his head?

 So that is what I take pictures of.  Nothing special.  Just my kids.  Hanging out.  Being kids.

 I took this picture, for instance, because I liked Dylan's new cap.  Very cute.

 And this play set has been at Pa's since hubby was a little boy there. 

 But, it has recently been fixed up.  Painted, swings fixed, etc.

 And the kids love to play on it.

 Did you know I gave birth to a sloth?  Yeah.  I was just informed.

Holy sweet pink cheeks Batman!

She must have been playing hard ;)

Sequence

In Kari's class, they take a series of pictures, and try to put them in the right order.  It helps them understand the flow of things and the "what happens next?" question.

So, lets try a little assignment of our own....

What happens next? :)

Jumping

Sometimes, with big sisters, I forget how big of a milestone something like jumping is.

But, then I see the raw joy on this kids face, and how proud he is of himself. . .

I love that both of his feet are off the bed ;)

. . . And I remember, "Hey!  Jumping is a big deal!"

Doing it in the bed makes for more than a 1/4 inch lift ;)

You cannot deny he looks like he is having fun :)



80s

I grew up in the 80s/early 90s. I know it is all about tie dye, big bangs, side pony tails, and big shirts with spandex leggings underneath.  Of those 4 things, I have seen 3 come back in the last year. 

Heaven help us.

I don't remember why the long face.  But it is kinda cute.

As I sat at dinner the other night looking at my daughter, with her funky headband and side pony tail, I couldn't help but think how comfortable she would have been in the 80s. 

What can I say?  She is the height of fashion :)

9 Years

9 Years ago today, I married my sweetheart.

This is our engagement picture.  We haven't changed at all ;) 

People say they married their best friend.  But, I don't feel like that applies to us.  He is so much more.  He is supporter, confidant, sheet warmer, provider, father, wrastling partner, DIY-er, world traveller, hand holder, cuddler, and general, overall good guy.

 

Who would have thought, 11 years ago when I gave his bum a tap in the hallways of high school (yes, I was forward back then, why do you ask?  Actually, I was just following my friends example.  Blame it on her) that it would have turned into something more?  That when we went on our first date to a beauty pageant of all places, and held hands for the first time, we would still be holding hands more than a decade later?

  Well, I certainly didn't.  But I am glad it did.  Happy Anniversary Honey.  I love you!

Sub floor

We have made it through a whole rainy season dry.  

Not so much as a single drop of water.  Not even a musty smell.

 And, because of that, and because we are getting some leftover material from the job site, and because the kitchen is 95% done, we are working on the subfloor downstairs.

 Sleepers first, to allow a little bit of air flow under the sub floor.

 Then, 1/2 inch pressure treated plywood on top of that.

 This next weekend, we will be putting 3/4 in OSB on top of this.

 2 layers down.  A ton more work to go.  Blah! 

I guess we are going in a general forward direction...