Hiding

I love when little kids hide.  It is so fun to "find" them.

 You can't see me mom!

 Peek a Boo!

 As long as I can't see her, she can't see me....

 At this point, he started moving the water/food bowl, so we had to find a different game to play.

But, his little smile peeking out, and his little bum in the air are pretty cute :)

All by himself

Little dude kinda reveled in the whole, only child thing.  He wasn't exactly sure what to do with himself, or the undivided attention of his parents.  This particular evening, hubby got home early enough to see Dylan before he went to bed, so they played for a while.  I love how he asks if we are ready before each run.  I also love how occasionally the balloon goes over his head.

Stills of playing with the balloon on the table.

 Doah!  Missed!

Such a happy little boy!

Ascot

Like they did last summer, the girls were able to spend about a week in VA with their grandparents and cousins.  I kept Dylan here with me because A) he isn't exactly "understandable" all the time, and B) his schedule isn't as flexible as the girls are.  Lets face it, when he misses a nap, it is all over.  It was nice to only have to make one extra meal, and to be able to sleep in a bit (Little Dude doesn't wake up until 8:30).  It was, however, a bit bittersweet, since I did miss the girls (Dylan missed his playmates also) and in the back of my semi nauseous mind was the knowledge that soon there would be 4 instead of 3. 

Anywho, during the week I took some pictures of things we did (I am still trying to acquire pictures of the girls).  This is a headband that he chose to wear around his neck.

 Sequins and all.

 I took the pictures mostly because it reminds me of this:

Ascots are totally coming back into fashion :)

Basement progress

We have been busy down in the basement.  Since we have finished the floor, it is time to move vertical.  There was less work to do in the main room once the floor was done.  Just re-drywalling the walls. 

If you came to visit, this would most likely be your guest bedroom :)  Hung drywall (it is orange because it is "exterior" drywall...  We used it because it is mold and mildew resistant, in case we do still get water downstairs), carpet, and an air mattress with memory foam (which I am told is quite comfy).

 Down the other side, again with finished drywall and flooring.

 My newly constructed door frame between the den and the newly constructed master suite.  We had to raise it a few inches because we had raised the floor, and it is so thick because it spans a CMU wall.

 Look!!!  We have walls!

 The plumbing!  And a little bit of electrical, mostly run by yours truly....

 Newly installed pocket doors, between the bathroom and the closet.

I ought to see if I can get hubby to draw up just some simple floor plans so you can see the before and after.  But, that will have to wait for another day.  We have been busy after all....

First Grade

We went to Kari's Open House to meet her teacher (and, of course, to go say hi to her old one...  She got pretty attached), and got all kinds of paperwork to fill out and read.  One of the aforementioned papers detailed the things they would learn, and the tests they would take.  TESTS!?!?  Wait!  This stuff counts now?  How crazy is that?!?!  I must admit that I kinda started freaking out.  Hasn't seemed to affect Kari at all, but I didn't read that part to her.  I am sure she will do just fine, but it was definitely a wake up call.  For me.  She has been in school now for almost two weeks, and her first spelling test is this Friday.  I am sure she will do wonderfully, as she can spell all of her words without any issues.

But, as always, the question comes to mind when they leave for school the first day:  When she suddenly grow up?

Diagnosis

Symptoms:

~Nausea and loss of appetite

~Followed by weight gain, most likely ending up in stretch marks

~Fatigue

~Insomnia

~Back pain

~Muscle atrophy

Prognosis:

~Incurable, will last the rest of your life.

~Will get more expensive as it continues.

~Will make you laugh, cry, and will most likely at some point, break your heart.

~Fatigue will probably never go away, but you should eventually be able to sleep through the night again, although that may take 5 yrs or more.

~Weight gain and muscle atrophy are most likely permanent, but a select few are able to reverse those effects through diet and exercise.

~You should be prepared to never have a private bathroom experience again.

Diagnosis:

Sperm Poisoning

EDD: 02-23-2012

Hear Ye, Hear Ye

I'm sorry to say that I will be turning in my computer for some work.  Thank goodness I bought the warranty this time around, and all this should be covered.  Anywho, I suspect it could take up to 2 weeks (or more, depending on how busy they are and if they have to mail it off etc) to get it back, so I won't be able to post until then.  Hopefully, when I come back though, I will have been able to steal some pictures of the fun week the girls had up in VA with their grandparents.  Also, the first day of 1st grade for Kari, which is a week from today, YIKES!  And, I should have several pictures of all the progress going on in the basement.  It is very exciting as we are finally no longer in DEstruction phase, but the CONstruction phase.  We have new walls, electrical, tile colors, etc!  So, I hope it doesn't take that long, but in case it does, never fear.  I am still alive.  Just not connected...

Other cool things

Besides bowling, what other cool things did we do?  Thankfully, this time around we had a few days instead of a few hours.  It was nice to just share the same space again. 

First morning I woke up to this.  Grandpa had gotten up with the kids, and was letting them play on his brand new iPad.  This is pretty brave of Grandpa, but the kids loved it!

 Grandma brought the wood puzzle things. 

You know, you punch them out and put them together into a 3D object... 

This kept the girls (and Grandma) busy for hours!

 Hubby took some time off to spend with my parents while they were here.  However, one of the things he had to do while off was to work on the truck.  My dad was nice enough to spend the entire time out there with him.  What this picture doesn't show is how incredibly dirty hubby's face and back of his shirt are.

 We went out for a "last supper" with Grandma too.  Her first choice was actually Olive Garden, but with 3 kids in tow, a 40 minute wait was out of the question.  So, we went to her second choice of Red Lobster.  They were nice enough there to let the kids PET A LOBSTER...  Kari was the only one brave enough to do it.  I don't blame the others.

 Because they were moving, there are always last minute things that don't make it into boxes or have no room in luggage, but must go anyway.  Mom and dad packed a box, and then ended up taking a suitcase they had let me borrow a couple of years ago...  But, wouldn't you know it that the children thought the box was fun to play in.  Kids!

 And, while we did take some pictures of the activities we did, we didn't get a whole lot of together shots, so we had a little photo shoot before they left.

 Love Grandpa!

 Can't see his face very well (silly Barbie), but it is still a cute picture :)

 Love Grandma!

 There's her face!  And, I love Dylan's face in this one too.  I don't know what he is doing, but it is quite goofy and silly and cute :)

After they left, there were some tears, and cute Dylan wanted to still "Huddle Bumpa" while Kari was going to miss her crafting partner.  However, they have since landed in Chile (obviously) and Grandma is having a fabulous time restocking the entire house (they didn't bring any furniture with them).  It's every woman's dream right?  Dump all the old, and buy all new? :)



Bowling

One of the few things we did with my parents was to go bowling.  I am not sure how many bowling alleys they have in Chile, and I knew it was an American Tradition they couldn't live without for that long ;) 

Inputting names into the "fancy electronic scorer" (as dubbed by Grandpa).  Yes, it has been a while since he bowled last, why do you ask? :)

 They have this cool ramp thing for the kids to use.  It was fun for them, and it helped in that it allowed the ball to actually gather speed before it went down the alley.  They even got some strikes and spares with it!

 Hubby, keeping vigilant watch with Kaitlyn, to celebrate her pin knocking over victory.

 Kari, being the big girl she is, refused to use the ramp. 

And, somewhere around halfway through, Dylan started walking around with his hand behind his back.  It was pretty cute.

 Still with his hands behind his back :)

 Me, holding Kaitlyn back from rolling the ball down.  They would get so excited, and since we had 2 of the exact same balls, sometimes it was hard to wait for the setter thing to clear.

 Kari, being a big girl again.

 Love this picture.  Love Hubby's face while he watches Dylan walk up with his hands behind his back.

 Go Dylan, Go!!!!

 Final score.  Grandma suffered through with the kids, and as you can see, came in second, behind Kaitlyn, and barely in front of Dylan.  I still think she was cheating, since she got to use the bumpers, but....

 This was a dance break :)  Never has it been so obvious to me that my children love music as it is at the bowling alley :)

Forgive me, Sister Dear...

When my parents were out on their layover, my mom did most of the picture taking.  Don't ask me why... Oh yes.  Maybe it was her new fancy schmancy camera :)  Naturally, when the trip was about over, I "borrowed" her camera, and stole all the pictures off of it.  I know these pictures have technically nothing to do with their visit, or my immediate family.  But, dang if this little nephew of mine isn't so cute that I wanted to post these pictures.  He is currently my favorite Thompson nephew :)

Ben and Grandma

Ben and his Mommy and Daddy.  Check out that cute little imp-ish grin :)

Love those faces!

Happy Boy with Uncle Jonomon.

Face cuddles with Aunt Piko.

And last but not least, smiles with Grandpa.

So, dear sister of mine, don't hate me forever.  I wasn't sure if you got these pictures from Grandma, or if you were going to post them.  But, they were too cute to pass up :)  The End.

For you Grandma

My parents stopped by again on a layover on their "moving trip" to Chile.  (In other words, before they were just checking things out, this last time was the real deal).  Even better than before, this time my dad took a day or two off work, and they stayed for a few days!  It was magical, it was awesome, it was too short :(  But it was great to have them for the few days we got them. 

As is always the case when they come to visit, Grandma tends to bring a ton of cool things for them.  One of them on this trip being a cool, custom made pillow for each of them.  She had intended for them to be used when watching TV or something, but the kids took them to their respective beds, and are not willing to part with them, even though they are a bit large, and I am concerned for their necks...  I took this picture of Dylan on his.  I thought it might melt Grandma's heart just a little :)