Fun Photos

Here are some cute pics of the kids doing kid-things late this summer :0)
Click on a pic to see a full-screen version.

E' sleeps on her back with her arms out wide or thrown over her head. Too funny!
Sometimes she sleeps on her side, but not once she's in a really good sleep. She's our first back sleeper. The others all slept on their sides or tummies.

This was E's first park-swing ride. She was way too little for the swing in this pic (just shy of 4 months old), but it was such a cute photo opp and she smiled so big every time she swung back towards me. :0)

posing

We went to a nature preserve on my mom's birthday in July. It was supposed to be a mild day (around 75-80 early in the morning), but it was sooooo hot! :0) Me and our 4 kiddos, my sister W and her 3 kiddos, and mom/nana. We did have a great time! When we reached the end of the trail and the parking lot was in sight again, the kids cheered! hee hee!
Did I mention it was HOT!!!

J looking too cute, sweaty and all!

Can you see the rabbit! (I know it's sad, but it's a city-surrounded nature preserve... it still counts as wildlife ;0) The kids were impressed!

This pic came out so precious... if only I had any idea how I did it so I could do it again.

We made salmon croquettes (okay, salmon patties, but it sounds fancy if you say "croquettes"). B was the BEST patty maker. He loved balling it all up in his hands and saying, "smack" every time he hit the top to make it flat.

The kids were doing a worship set. At church, the band sets up on platform-risers that give them a place to stand so that the wires can all run under them. It also makes it possible to set them up tier-style so that you can see each player. So... this is the kids' creative stage setup. It takes ages for them to get it all setup just the way N wants it (he's the ring-leader on all things musical here). Then... let the singing and banging begin. So precious to hear them sing about Jesus! They even hum the intro music and instrumental interludes!

This is a cake. N said he made a "giant cake" and that it had filling and frosting and everything.

J wanted to look at mommy's jewelry box (I use that term loosely to describe a container of costume jewelry I have :0) ). She decided to put on all the necklaces at once, then declared that she was fancy. Hee hee. (She loves those Fancy Nancy early reader books.)


Three of PT's sibs came to surprise him for his bday in August. It was a great surprise for him and such a blessing to see them. They stopped by the house to visit with the kids after surprising him and taking him to lunch. (B' with Nanny M' and E' with Nanny T')

N with Uncle R'

bat guitar

(click the play button to watch the video clip)

Here's N enjoying some time outside back in early December. It's too cute not to share! Originally he set up the T-ball set and hit a couple of balls with B', but then he decided to put on a concert instead. :0)

we made a sunny day

The three weeks before we moved went on endlessly, rainy day after rainy, muddy, overcast day. The kids were soooo tired of the rain and they were stir-crazy from being trapped in the house for so many days in a row. One morning N' said that we needed a sunshine in the window. I explained that I couldn't make it sunny out, but suggested that we make our own sunny day inside. N' and J' thought it was a fabulous idea and a few minutes later the floor was covered in construction paper, the scotch tape was out, and mommy was in serious demand cutting whatever shape they thought to add next. We spent a fun-filled hour cutting out shapes and taping them in the window in various spots until N' and J' were pleased with the result. They couldn't wait to show daddy their very own sunny day when he returned home from work that day! "Look Daddy, we made a sunny day!"

We spent the next week (yes, it kept raining) of overcast, rainy days pulling the blinds up every morning instead of just turning them open so that they could smile at their sunny day. We didn't take it down until a couple of days before we moved. I thought about keeping it, but thought it would be more fun to start over fresh and see what they come up with the next time!

Isn't it amazing how creative you can be at only 4 and 2 years old! N' was particularly pleased with his lake and sailboat idea. J' loved the three birds flying under the clouds (she loves birds -- they're hard to see in the pics). B' was happy to tear-up and attempt to eat the scraps of construction paper that littered the floor while we worked :0)

happy helpers

READY, SET, GO!











The "bigs" love to help! We bought a giant package of toilet paper at Sam's Wholesale Club. Nehemiah asked what we were going to do with it. I explained that I needed to move the individual rolls into the hall closet and my happy helpers launched into action.

Nehemiah announced that he would bring the rolls to the closet and Judah said, "I want to help too!" Suddenly a race was on! Judah only dared to hold one roll at a time as she ran down the hall. Nehemiah tried two and three rolls at a time, even though several attempts at three resulted in dropping all of them and having to start over. It was hilarious and oddly, actually helpful. If you look closely at each pic, you'll see in the background that "the competition" is working hard to pull more rolls out of the package at the end of the hall as the kiddo in the forefront of the pic is running. I couldn't have finished any faster by bringing the package to the closet and unloading the rolls into stacks on the shelf by myself. Besides, they had the best time with their invented toilet paper race!

I love how everything has the potential to be fun and exciting to a child! YAY! Left up to me, that giant package of toilet paper may well have sat on the floor behind the couch til the end of the day, but my cuties made it a great game to put it away as soon as we got home. I couldn't resist snapping a couple of pics to share -- even though Nehemiah shouted for me to hurry so I could "catch" those two rolls he was racing down the hallway with!

Measuring Cups

When we married we received 4 sets of measuring cups as parts of wedding gifts. I thought to return three sets; who needs more than one? But at two and three dollars apiece and with no gift receipts, the hassle of returning them far outweighed the need. Almost seven years later, I am so glad we kept them all. The kids love measuring cups!

The last thing PT and I do before bed is make a sweep of the house to pick up toys, books, random shoes; anything that's not where it belongs. At least when we go to bed and wake up, the house is all neat and tidy - with most everything in its place. The last couple of weeks this sweep has resulted in a sink full of measuring cups to wash. Our cuties keep asking for them during the day and I keep handing them out. I love the creative ideas they have for them!

Things our measuring cups have recently been:

• boats, airplanes, beds, and cars for toy animals and little people figurines
• pots and pans (J' and N' both like to pretend to cook with me. The 1 cup measuring cups apparently make great pots and the 1 tbsp. measuring spoons become "cooking spoons.")
• telephones and microphones (if you talk into the cup, it has an amplified effect)
• a magnifying glass (N' uses the round hook holes on the end of the green plastic set as a magnifying glass)
• percussion instruments (bang them together, use them like drumsticks, slide them on different surfaces for a scratchy sound)
• chew toys (B' always makes sure he gets in on the action)
• rain makers (In the bathtub, the "bigs" like to stand up and pour water on each other declaring that "it's raining on you," while the other laughs like crazy! Funny how they love this but have fits about having shampoo rinsed out of their hair.)
• hats (for various toys)
• oh, and every once in a while they loan me one to measure something as I cook ;0)