3 months ago...

I posted my latest post. Pathetic, really. But we've been so busy this summer that I just haven't made the time to post. Notice I say taken the time, because I certainly have taken the time to do other things. Like read a whole novel in one day. Did I really just admit that:? Anyway, we've had a grand time being outside and doing things like mowing, watering flowers, take walks and bike rides, playing with chalk, swinging, and playing in the sandbox. We've only been to the pool twice and neither child was very impressed. They'd rather play with water than actually be in it.

So without further ado, here are some pictures of our past few months.

Sleeping in her big bed. I know it's been forever since I posted, because here she's still on the mattress on the floor. She is now in an actual bed, and I finally finished her bedspread today (yay!!!!) Pictures of that to come. 

 Play date with the Grimms. Eli and Carter are good buddies.

Bridget loving that she got to hold baby Shiloh (even though she doesn't look real enthused)

Luke's mom brought some big lego blocks for the kids, and they have spent hours playing with them. How did I never think of getting these before?!

My mom also cleaned out her closets, and sent my American Girl doll collection home with me. The kids had great fun with the table and chairs; until they tried to sit in the chairs and I packed them up and put them away. 

Warm weather means flip flops for our little barefoot lover. If she can get away with not wearing shoes she will. But if she must wear something, flip flops are first rate.

Swing set building day!! Carter thought all the tools were pretty great.

The building team consisted of Logan, my brother Adam, and Luke. It was a miserable day to work on it-drizzling and cold, and things didn't go smoothly.

This was all the further they got on the first day. The next week Adam come over and helped again, and between that and many evenings of Luke working, it got mostly finished. 

Dolly LOVES to dress up. Her Target dollar section tutu is worn daily, and is usually a part of her wardrobe no matter where we go. The shoes from Wendi's wedding are also a favorite, and she clomps around the house in them all the time. 

Pretending the hamper is her horse

the following several pictures in the sequence I usually get when trying to get a picture of the two of them together.

Saturday morning picnic on dad's lap

Homemade play dough! The kids had a blast with it, even though I had to work to keep from gagging because of the smell. 

Sunday evening pizza with friends. Are our kids really old enough to eat in the kitchen by themselves??

Grimms came over to swim one day. It was freezing. Our kids hardly stepped foot in the pool but Judah and Eli just jumped right in. 

Carter loves to pretend to drink our coffee...don't worry, we don't actually let him have any. It's bad enough that my kids beg for my diet pepsi every day. 

We got sand in our sandbox! The kids now spend hours in here!

The handsome man to who made it all possible. (with a little help from family and friends)

The finished product. I think it looks pretty awesome, and it turned out exactly how I wanted it!

Spring Goings On

In a rare turn of events, all 3 children in my care today are still in bed at 8am, so I'm taking this opportunity to catch up on the blog, and add some new pictures from our latest happenings.

 I'm not sure when I took this picture, but I think it's pretty cute! Bridget loves to read books, and is happy to sit with anyone who will read her one.

 One Saturday night we went out for pizza with Trent and Jenae. Our quick stop at Benj and Karen's turned in to a long stop, and pretty soon the Leman's ended up there as well. We had a grand time chatting and eating popcorn, ice cream, and scotcharoos. The kids were in the their glory! Carter and Crey are exactly a month apart, and they enjoyed their popcorn at the table. 

 Crazy scene of everyone eating and making food.

We've enjoyed some nice days outside and it is WONDERFUL to be able to let the kids run around! I'm anxiously awaiting the day we get our swing set! There's nothing like making your little brother push you around the car....

This picture is out of order...the kids (esp Bridget) are loving the sidewalk chalk they got in their Easter baskets! In the past week they've used almost all of it. I think we'll be investing in lots of chalk this summer.

Easter Sunday we went to Luke's mom and dad's for the evening. His mom had an Easter egg hunt for the kids in the basement, and Bridget's candy was mostly gone by the end of the night. Neither child was cooperative for any pictures...

Julie and Brice were, however.

 Like I said....not cooperative.

 Everyone else searching for their candy.

 These two hooligans love to brush their teeth...it pretty much gets done at least twice a day.

 Once again, out of order. The Saturday night before Easter my family came over for supper and the kids got to open their Easter "baskets" from my mom and dad. They got bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and bunny ears. :)

Carter's new prefered morning activity is to watch The Wiggles in Bridget's chair before she wakes up. Once she gets up, he quickly gets demoted back to the highchair. 

He is pretty sure he needs to feed himself all the time...and this is usually the result. Bathtime!!

This past Saturday night we went to the Grimm's for supper. We always have fun being with them, and I love getting some baby Shiloh snuggles. One of these days I'll remember to take a picture of her...

These two are going to be best buddies. They're about 5 months apart, but are the same size, and are both major trouble makers. I'm afraid of what will happen as they get older. What one doesn't think of the other one will!

Yesterday was my mom's birthday. All the adults went out to eat and left the kids with a babysitter. Then we came back to mom and dad's for dessert and hanging out. Bridget has been looking forward to this party for weeks and talking about the cake we'll eat and balloons we'll have. We did get some balloons for the party. I'm pretty sure 5 balloons is the most entertainment $5 will buy for our kids. We brought them all home because, to quote Adam: "you might as well let your kids play with them. If you leave them here we'll just suck the helium out of them."  We got to go through mom's skimpy garage sale, and I brought home all my American Girl doll stuff. 

Pictures

It's been awhile since I last posted. But we haven't had much going on, and looking through my camera, I haven't taken many pictures either. And who wants a post without pictures?? Never fear though, I actually have a couple to post!

The other week the kids got their pictures taken by Cassie Knepp. She did Bridget's one year pictures the other year, and since Elise (who always does their pictures) was in the hospital having baby Shiloh, we called Cassie! She did a great job, even though the kids were pretty uncooperative. The pictures of them together turned out pretty much exactly like ones did last time.  :) Anyway, I picked up my cd of pictures last week, and here are a few of my favorites!