Summer 2011 (or man, my kids are spoiled!)

So far, even though summer has only been going for two weeks, we have managed to do quite a bit! Olivia's fourth birthday was last Sunday, and she had a great time at her ice cream themed party! My sister Jen and her kids stayed on from Monday to Wednesday, so on Monday we met Shell and her kids at Chuck E Cheese for lunch, then grilled out burgers and hot dogs while the cousins played outside in the hose and slip n slide. Tuesday we took all the kids to Busch Gardens, but got rained out before the fireworks. Jen's kids haven't been to an amusement park in ages, so they had a ball! Wednesday we caught the dollar movie (Megamind) before the cousins headed for home. Thursday I took the day to clean up the house, and it was Olivia's actual birthday so the kiddos spent the whole day outside playing in the hose and slip n slide, making water bottle tornados, eating Popsicles and drawing with sidewalk chalk. We got dressed and hit Chick fil a for dinner ( birthday girl's choice) and came home pretty worn out after letting the kids play in the funky smelling play area! Friday Ryan was off, so we hit Busch Gardens again. The fireworks were great, but we didn't get home until 12:40, and had the kids in bed after 1!!! Saturday we took it easy, but Connor and Caden came over to play outside with the kids and then it was our first edition of Kids in the kitchen! Jackson helped make eggplant parmesan, slicing the eggplants, breading them and dropping them in the pan. He also helped pick the basil, and chopped it up with scissors, and added the salad dressing ingredients and shook then up. Sam was in charge of brownies and did everything himself, including putting them in the oven. Olivia made the pasta, salting the water, and adding the pasta, and stirring it, of course! it went much more smoothly then I anticipated, and the kids were very proud of all their contributions to the meal. Today, we went to church and then spent a lazy afternoon playing outside and on the wii. Ryan made hot wing and fries for dinner (or chicken on the bone as the kids call it!) and we roasted marshmallows for s'mores on the fire pit. We pulled put glowsticks and flashlights and the kids played beside the tent we (Ryan) set up in the backyard. they showered and got Jammies on outside which was declared SO MUCH FUN! And settled into the tent with daddy to play chess and read stories. All in all, it has been a fun filled summer and it has only begun!

Stuff

Conversation with Sam:
Me: Sam, Mrs. Ray told me you have a big part in your end of year program.
Sam: Oh, yeah. It's a leadership position. ( quite serious)

Claire said "night night" clear as a bell today. Maybe she'll talk one day after all!

Olivia had her ballet recital about 10 days ago and still talks about it nonstop. She was mimicking some of the older girls the other day and shaking her hips from side to side while pushing her hair back on both sides and saying " dontcha think I'm adorable!". She also told me the other day that she wants an Alice in Wonderland birthday again. But don't worry Mom, I'll just invite different people!

Jack came home today with a recommendation from the school art teacher for a summer art program, which doesn't surprise me a bit. He loves to draw and I have seen marked improvement all year. maybe we have a budding architect on our hands?

Lots of cuteness

The school year is winding down and I am so excited to spend time with the kids without the pressures of our crazy schedule. We ended up making a last minute trip to Florida last week as Ryan's grandmother is sick, and the kids were amazing despite spending about 30 hours in the car in a 4 day period. There was quite a bit of "are we there yet? How bout now? How.many.minutes.? That's a palm tree so we must be there NOW!". But overall they were incredible little travelers! Our schedule is so crazy that in order to be gone for 4days, we missed karate graduation, 2tball games (including being responsible for snack), 2 karate classes, 2 birthday parties, a field trip, and collecting for a teacher birthday!
Sam was so sweet yesterday at a birthday party as they blindfolded Olivia for a game and he whispered to the mom "make it kinda easy for her because she IS only 3 and a half."
I am seeing glimpses of the future like that from all of them. Yesterday after Jackson got off the bus, I was changing Claire's diaper when the phone rang. I asked him to bring it to me, and though I didn't recognize the number, I answered to hear "Is Jackson there?".
"Yes, he is. May I ask who's calling?".
"I wanted to talk to Jackson."
"Okay, who is this?"
"Easton."

Jack positively beamed from ear to ear when I told him the phone was for him and he wandered off talking to his friend from kindergarten. After about a minute and a half he came back and handed me the phone, shrugging. I took the phone and when I listened I could still hear someone on the other end. "Hello?"...."Easton?".
"Yeah?"
"Are you done talking to Jackson?
"Yeah."
"Okay, well I am going to hang up now."
"okay. Bye."

I asked Jackson what they talked a out and he said, " I don't know. We just talked for a while about some stuff."
My little teenager!

The kids played outside today with the neighbors and when it was time to come in, Olivia came cruising up in a kids jeep saying, "mama, Mason is driving me home!" while giggling and tossing her hair back. Terrifying!

On our way home from karate, Olivia asked for some of my lip gloss. Claire watched intently as Olivia pooched out her lips and carefully applied just the right amount. As she finished, Claire thrust her hand out for Olivia to give her the lip gloss, and with a serious look, tried to unscrew the lid while pooching out her own lips like Olivia and trying to apply the lip gloss! 14 months old today and going on 14 years!

Clarification

Conversation at dinner last night:
Jack-we had p.e. outside today
Sam- No fair! You get to PEE OUTSIDE at kindergarten?
Me: No, no, no, NO! PE stands for Physical Education or gym class. Do not, I repeat, do NOT pee outside at kindergarten!!!!

I am so glad we had this conversation now before he dropped trou on the playground.

Sam registered for kindergarten today and the teacher said, "wow! He is just a WOW! The teachers are all fighting over who gets him next year already!".
I"m so proud of him. He reads very well, adds and subtracts, and knows so many things far beyond his years! I am quite sure he was the only child at kindergarten registration who, as he was reading a worksheet where you match the word with the picture on another part of the page, said "Well, I will draw a line from here to here, but it should actually say hatS instead os hat. because there are two of them!"

The teachers adored you Sam, but not as much as me. I'm so proud of you every day.

Soaking wet!

I'm not sure if the chaos has become so normal that it doesn't seem worth documenting, or if there is genuinely less hilarity around here, but it seems there just aren't quite as many funny stories to tell now that the three "big" kids are growing up. Tonight, however, I had one of those shocking, hilarious, only-when-you-have kids kind of moments. I had put Claire in the tub and begun scrubbing her hair when Olivia wandered in, having decided she would rather take a bath with Claire than a shower with the boys. She sat down on the potty and said " I forgot to be good today," with a pouty expression and downcast eyes. I looked away from Claire to focus my attention on Olivia, assuring her that despite her time outs, she was still a good girl and had been good much of the day. As Olivia and I Nuzzled and rubbed noses, I was shocked to attention by a sudden deluge of water flowing onto my lap. I yelled and looked up to see Claire grinning mischievously from the tub with a bucket in her hand. I was soaked all the way through my panties! And it made me and all three big kids laugh heartily at our rotten little miss Claire!

Silly kids

Ryan was out of town for FIVE days at a conference in Las Vegas and spending time with his dad and brother, so the kiddos and I hunkered down here at home and made the best of our time together. Roger sent me a picture of Ryan and his brother in front of their hotel called the LUXOR and as Sammy walked by and saw the picture, he said "WHOA! Dad's in EGYPT?!" He kills me!

The other day after Jackson came home from school, Sammy started chanting "Jack's got Bieber Fever," over and over, trying to get a rise out of his brother. I don't think any of them actually know who Justin Bieber IS, so instead of getting upset, Olivia started saying "Oh no, Mommy, Look at Claire...I think she's got the fever too!!!!"

When Ryan arrived home from his trip, he went in to check on the kids, and Sammy woke up as Ryan rearranged his covers. He looked up at Ryan, then wrapped his arms around his neck in a big hug and said "Welcome Home, Dad." Meltingly cute.

One of our survival nights while Ryan was gone, I took the kids through the Chick-Fil-A drive-thru after karate to pick up free kids meals (with coupons!) for dinner. As we waited in line, Olivia began singing, to the tune of America the beautiful, "O Chick....fil......A, O Chick.....fil......A!"

At least she has loyalties, right?!

Today in the car as the kids were watching the NEW Peter Pan movie, Olivia said something about "Jinkerbelle" and Jackson scolded her with "It's not JINKerbelle, it's TINKerbelle, OLIVIA!" and Sam jumped to her defense saying "She knows what it is Jack, she just can't say it because she's still little and we're older than her." Cute, defending his little sister!

Claire is ONE!

It happened. She really did turn one on Thursday. I just cannot believe she's really one, and yet as I see her personality emerging, I am so excited to know the person she is becoming. She clasps her hands together and chants along while we sing our "God our Father" grace song at meals, and claps for herself and her siblings! As the kids sang "Happy Birthday" to her on her special day, she swung her head from side to side, clapped her hands, and waited with wide-eyes and a cocked head for them to start over again when they were done!

I turned her seat around on the big day, and she has been much happier getting in the car. It's so strange to see FOUR little faces peering back at me from the back of the van!

The other night Olivia was taking a bath with Claire and began pretending that Claire was a baby wolf and I was the Momma wolf, and she was the sister wolf and we howled at the moon. Claire would get very serious, then tilt her head upwards, purse her lips together, and make a soft MMMMMMM noise. SOOOO cute! Her birthday party, just for family, the Wilsons and the Moores will be on Sunday with a PINK ladybug theme. It's pretty much a photo op for me, so I intend to douse the kitchen with pink and take LOTS of pictures of my adorable Claire!

She is not quite walking yet, although she has taken a step or two on her own, and is definitely capable, just not confident enough. She said "Mama," "Dada," "Uh-oh," and "Hi!" and I THINK has said a few other things, but nothing else consistent.

Happy Birthday to my sweet girl, even if you have been keeping me up at night for days on end! I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world! XOXO