Rainy Picnic

Eric had a softball game this evening, and we picked up some McD's on the way over. The kids had a great little picnic in the rain!

 Even after the little dude wandered off, the baby just sat in the wet grass and ate all six (SIX) of her chicken nuggets.

Celebratory Dinner?

My grandparents had a celebratory dinner last weekend-- it was great to see the whole family together! We discovered that the baby loves mac'n'cheese. The little dude hates it with a passion (which is absurd, but whatever) so I don't ever make it any more. She demolished a bowl of it for lunch AND another one for dinner on Saturday. Wowza!

The little guy had a long day of candle making and swimming, and this is what he did after eating his sandwich.

What an angel.

Mushrooms for Everyone!

Our yard is full of mushrooms-- all different colors-- sprouting all over the place. It kind of adds another dimension to the general "weed" theme we have going.

Anyway, the kids had a blast playing with mushrooms this evening.

They had a whole mushroom family going!

Colonial Times

We went to an Amish theme park 1830s living history museum over the weekend, and the kids had a blast. There were animals to see and buildings to walk through. The little guy learned how to weave...

... and he also made a set of candles with old-fashioned tools!

The baby ran around and charmed people/told everyone what to do.

Quick Trip

We took a quick trip up to New England this weekend to celebrate my grandparents' 65th wedding anniversary (yowza!). The kids are great little travelers, and we had a nice visit with family.

The baby yelled "AIRPLANE" at the top of her lungs every time she saw a plane at the airport. Her declaration was followed by frantic shushing on our parts and a wave of giggles from the other people waiting.

Once we got to our destination, the kids got to ride an airport shuttle. They LOVED not being in their carseats.

Once we picked up the rental car, though, they were strapped right back in. Poor things. I'll post more photos from the trip later this week.

My Sweatheart

Despite the terrible look on his face, this is a sweet little picture.

A little girl (a bit younger than the little dude) who down the street collects magnolia leaves. Every time we go for a walk, the little guy collects a bunch of leaves and takes them to her house. Isn't that adorable?

#TBT

Here are pictures of the kids from each of their first Julys for a little throwback Thursday action.

Little dude, in July of 2010.

The baby, in July of 2013.

Can you believe how quickly they change!??!

p.s. Happy birthday, Aunt H.!

Mo Money, Mo Problems?

The baby has two awesome push toys (an embarrassment of riches), and she's having a hard time wrangling them both around the house.

I'm sure this is exactly what The Notorious B.I.G. had in mind.

Old Friends

We spent the evening at a local playground with a college friend who I haven't seen in 10 years (how are we this old!??!). All of our kids had a nice time playing, and we had a blast catching up. Fun!

Playing on the Edge

I cleaned up and rearranged the stuff-that-used-to-be-in-the-garage portion of our guest room. Hopefully it doesn't look like an episode of Hoarders in there (in the pictures, at least). Any time you want to find the little guy, just look back there. He'll be playing with Legos and sitting with his tush on the edge of the mattress.

See the blue and yellow thing? It's a flower! It has white roots, a green stem, and blue and yellow petals. Cool, huh!

Job Training?

The baby and I were home alone while the boys went grocery shopping, and the baby did a bit of office work.

 She also gave a short lecture...

Things were very serious around here while they were away.

More Softball

Eric had a softball tournament today-- they played three games in a row! We had a picnic lunch before the third game. The little guy never gets tired of watching his daddy play.

The baby, on the other hand, decided that if I wasn't going to take her nap time seriously, she'd have to do it herself.

Stair Climber

I used to think the little dude was into everything, but he had nothing on his sister. She popped out an outlet cover from her crib today, so now her crib is floating in the middle of the room. Ugh.

Anyway, Eric had a softball game tonight. After the game, the baby insisted on climbing ALL of these stairs by herself. All of them-- past Eric and up to the little dude at the very top.

Hanging Out

We started playing with legos on the guest bed (it's a big flat space that's up off the floor), and now we are spending a lot of time hanging out in the guest bedroom as a family. It's kind of weird, but sort of nice, too. I mean, it's a nice room so it seems as though we should use it, right?

He was playing, but stopped to watch Let It Go on my phone.

She's happy! (Clap along...)

Beau was plumb tuckered after a nice long walk-- it's a gorgeous evening, so we had to take advantage of it and spend some time outside.

What a sad old hound.

Home Again

It was nice to have the kids around today! They were asleep when they got back last night, so I got to have some confused/sleepy/happy kiddos this morning. Hooray!

Miss Them

Eric and the kids have been gone since Friday. They're getting back tonight, and I can't wait! I miss them all.

Tech Support

The little guy stayed home sick the other day (boo). He was trying to type on the computer, but it needed to have some updates installed. I put him in charge of it all-- here he is tracking the amount of time left.

Anything you can do...

... she can do better! Eric was pushing the animal-sound-wheel-button with his foot. The baby thought it was hilarious. See?

Well, guess what she can do all by herself...

 This kid. She's going to run the world one day.

Big Project

Our pastor came over to have dinner and help build a cornice for the living room window... now all we have to do is rehang the blinds, add trim, and paint it white.

The baby spent the evening carrying wood glue around and glaring at everyone (two GREAT activities for a 19-month-old).

The little guy was a wonderful helper while the menfolk (ha) drilled and sawed.

And here's the somewhat-finished product!

Please ignore the multi-patterned couch... stupid incontinent dog.

Make yourself at home...

The baby brought me a book to read to her this evening. All I can say is, with her sitting like this, I'm glad I have this book memorized!

It was pretty uncomfortable. Luckily, she lost interest after I read the book eighteen times.

Little Helper

The baby insisted on feeding Beau three times tonight. He loves her.

Poor Judgment

The baby is such a climber! She's been climbing the step-stool to work in the kitchen like her brother. She fell off it shortly after I took this picture, but she twisted herself around and didn't hit her head.

She wasn't so lucky when she dove off the bed headfirst this weekend. She has a massive goose-egg on her forehead. I was so relieved when she kicked her legs after she landed-- I thought she'd broken her neck!

Photo Bomb!

Here's the baby paging through a book before bedtime. The book she's reading is called Pig Kahuna. It's a pretty awesome book. She likes pigs (she loves oinking) and it's been a real hit. It had to go back to the library today, though.

Nice photobomb, little dude.

Early Birds

The little guy took this amazing video this morning. These are the sounds we wake up to most mornings... at 6:15am. I love that they're getting along so nicely, but it's soooooo early!