Bumps & Bruises

You know the saying, "Snips and snails and puppy dog tails... that's what little boys are made of"? Well, I think that it should be "Bruises and bumps and cute little rumps... that's what little boys are made of." Or something like that - I'm not the best rhymer in the world.

Andrew is a rough and tumble little guy! He seems to constantly be getting scraped up, and as soon as one heals, he'll get another. Here's a little taste of his last few weeks. Minutes before leaving for Iowa, Andrew came in from playing outside with one side of his face covered in dirt. After trying to wash it all off, I realized that under the dirt he had scraped up his face pretty good. No crying or complaining about it, either!


Then, no sooner did the scrapes start healing before he fell down some wooden deck steps and got his first black eye! After about 30 seconds of hollering, he was fine to laugh and play the rest of the night.


We took this picture about an hour after the fall, but the black eye got worse for a few days (I didn't get any pictures to prove it) before it got better.

Then... today came along. We went to the park this morning, and within 10 minutes of getting there he fell and bumped his left eye just below the eyebrow.


I felt bad for the little guy, and then 45 minutes later he climbed up a picnic bench and fell off half onto sand and half onto concrete. This is the beautiful result of that fall.


Every time he gets hurt, he cries or gets mad for about 30 seconds and he's done. He's tough, rough, and made of good stuff...

I have a feeling we're going to see many, many more injuries with this guy.

Knee High by the Fourth of July

Every 4th of July, we try to make a trip to Iowa for two major reasons. First off, Dennis's family has a fun little reunion where we get to see most of his cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandmother. Also... Iowa is absolutely gorgeous in the summertime! It is green trees, green fields, red barns, and white farm houses, more green fields, and blue sky. Growing up in a desert myself and now living in a pretty dry climate, I just love to see the beauty of Iowa in the summertime. Oh yeah... and it marks the 7th anniversary of the week Dennis and I met, which could be part of the charm I'm sure. ("Knee High by the Fourth of July" is actually something farmers used to say about the height of the corn crop at this time. The funny thing is that every year I've seen it, the corn is well over 6 feet tall at this point).

Some quality time on the farm - Dennis and his dad and brothers got one of the old tractors out (the 520 for you tractor experts) to take a few spins around the yard. Our kids loved it, and Sarah even drove (or steered, depending on your perspective).

Corey Ned & Andrew Ned on the tractor - these little boys are only 5 months apart and they both carry their grandpa's name. Best buds for life....

I couldn't pass up posting these pictures. It is such a funny power struggle between these two. Corey is older and weighs a lot more, but Andrew really wasn't intimidated. They were both laughing and having a great time through it all.

Emma enjoyed taking it easy whether it was blowing bubbles in the shade, dropping leaves in the creek, or riding the tractor with Daddy.

Just a little boy trying to take on the world...

A couple months ago, my mom and I decided we were going to run a 5K together when my parents come to visit in August. I've always hated running, but now it's fun and I can honestly say I enjoy it. The 5K in August was supposed to be my first one ever. But... when we were in Iowa, one of the little towns around us had a 5K run and I thought it would be a good test. I called every one of my sisters-in-law to get someone to run with me. With all the guilt and peer pressure, I finally got one of them to cave. Thanks, Melanie!

Here we are about halfway through the race. This course was nuts - it was through all the neighborhoods of the town and it was very hilly. The coordinator of the race told us that "if you're not running uphill, you're running downhill!" Very funny. Hopefully my next 5K won't be this hilly!

This "Hurkey the Hawk" was outside the mall playground, and Emma just loved it. She kept giving it hugs and calling it Daddy bird, so I had to take a picture.

Emma, Caleb, Sarah, and Sammie. These two are Corey's older siblings and also Melanie's children. They sure love each other.

Things I've Learned As A Mother

Boys really like to get dirty.

Storytime is the best time.

Watermelon is a great summer treat.

No matter how cute I dress them and do their hair, at the end of the day, someone will look like a cute little orphan child.

Oh yeah... watermelon still tastes great on a hot day.

Thrift stores are the best toy stores.

Boys love their trucks!

And... I love my kids!

The Little Miss

Sometimes it seems like my blogs end up all about Sarah or Andrew. Sarah just has been involved with pre-school and dance and all the end of year stuff, and with Andrew being the baby I like to document his new accomplishments and happenings. With the being said, Emma can not and will not be forgotten! She is so fun and such a spit fire that it's impossible to forget about her.

Emma has a great personality and it shines through from the moment you meet her. She walks around and introduces herself to everyone. "Hi! I Emma."

She loves to talk and try to be a big girl. Yesterday we went to storytime at the library. They were reading books about fathers because of Father's Day, and Emma kept interrupting the reader telling them all about her Daddy. It was very sweet.

Emma has a bit of dramatic flair. When she gets her feelings hurt or gets into trouble, she runs away into her room and shuts herself in there. She won't come out until we go get her. But, the funny thing is that if we give her time to cool off, she's happy as can be. I walk in there, and she'll say, "Hi Mommy!"

It's very easy to get her to smile. Even if she's grumpy, if I make a grumpy face at her and then start laughing and smile... then she can't help but smile. It works like a charm. What a sweet girl.

Dennis and I were talking the other day and we think that Emma is our happiest child right now. Case in point? While I was sitting here typing this, she walked in and said, "Mommy, I wake up! I wake up!" Just happy to start her day and see her mommy.

A few other things about Emma:
She still loves to cuddle
She asks to read books at least 5 times a day - she even likes to sleep with a book or two
Emma is in love with Dora... in fact she can count in Spanish almost as well as she counts in English!
She's trying to break the habit of sucking her thumb. Sometimes when I catch her sucking it, she'll stop and then say, "I'm trying hard."

Enjoying some yummy cookie dough. Emma is always messy... no matter how hard I try to keep her clean.

She is a crack up! I asked her to stop sucking her thumb in the car, and she said: "I do this?"

Just waiting for some friends to come sit with her... our little social butterfly.

Just getting the hang of posing for the camera

It's so hard to keep those darn sunglasses on!

We love this girl!

With Grandma and Grandpa

We had such a great time while my parents came to visit. It was non-stop work, talking, chasing kids, playing, and tons of fun!

We kept my dad super busy fixing a few things around the house like siding, insulation, putting in a microwave, and a million other things. He and Dennis also made rocking chairs for Emma and Andrew. I felt bad having him working so hard, but he claims that he enjoyed his time anyway.

My mom and I got to play a lot, help a little, and go shopping in different stores while my Dad stayed in the car with the kids (thank you for that too, Dad!)

It was so nice to have them here, and as always, it was hard to see them go. We took a few pictures along the way...

My parents and I took the kids to the sprayground, and it was a hit as always.
Grandma helping Andrew test out the waters

Pretty little girls

It looks like Andrew is asking permission to get back into the action

"I wonder if this will spray me right in the face?"

Grandma and Emma playing a little game

What on earth are they licking off the counter...?

...Our Family Home Evening activity! Monster cookies, which take 12 eggs, 18 cups of oatmeal, 3 lbs. of peanut butter, and a few other really yummy things!

Did they taste good Emma? I think so!!

The three chairs for our three cuties. Sarah's was made for her first birthday, and now Emma and Andrew have their own too. I love that we can always tell them their Grandpa and Daddy made these chairs. They are the best!

Thanks for coming, Mom & Dad! It was the greatest time... Sarah still tells me almost every day that she wishes Grandma and Grandpa could come here and stay forever or that we could go visit their house.

Don't Be Fooled!

Don't be fooled by this innocent-looking little face. This guy is full of mischief! Since the day Andrew turned one, we say it at least 10 times a day... "He's all boy!"

I'm not saying our girls have been angels, but there is just something different about Andrew. Let's talk about this a bit...

• He has a natural ability to throw. He throws anything and everything: sippy cups, food, balls, toys, you name it. Just for fun or to make a point that he doesn't want it anymore... it gets thrown!
• Andrew likes to make a mess. The second I get the playroom completely cleaned up, I turn around and Andrew has dumped one (if not more) bin of toys already. He takes the leftover food on his high chair tray and does a hand sweeping motion to get rid of the rest. Evidence?There goes a perfectly good bowl of cereal dumped over his head
• He hits... a lot. I always thought it was so great that my kids weren't hitters. But then Andrew became a little boy. He hits his sisters when they won't share toys, he pulls their hair too. He even hits Dennis and I in the face when we're holding him - just for fun! Let me tell you that it's not funny.
• He bites. Ask Andrew for a kiss and you'll give a big open mouth kiss that quickly turns into a bite if you're not fast enough. It hurts too!
• He likes cords, hoses, gadgets, etc. Andrew loved the vacuum cord and is constantly unplugging it while I'm vacuuming. He likes to find the cell phone chargers, unplug them, and carry them around the house. He loves the garden hose even when he gets wet. It's just something to play with! He likes to hang out in the garage and play with the shop vac. What could be better? It has a cord AND a hose after all. This leads us to the next point...
• He likes noise or destruction or something! His favorite past time is to stand at the top of our drive way and push anything with wheels down the hill and into the street. I don't know if he likes the noise or he's trying to break something! Usually it's the shop vac that is the toy here, but lately it's been the toy lawn mower. Today he had his mower and our neighbor's mower, and he would push them down one after the other. Sarah kept sprinting down the driveway to rescue the lawnmowers.
• He climbs like a monkey. Last week Andrew's big accomplishment was learning how to get up on the coffee table that sits behind our couch, swing his leg up and over the back of the couch, then get off the front of the couch, and then start it all over again! He likes to stand on the coffee table and yell a little to get our attention so that we'll watch him.
  

After all of this... who can look at this guy and not love him to pieces? I know we do. I'm glad my boy is "all boy"!!!

All She Wants To Do Is Dance...

Last week was Sarah's dance recital! For the past 9 months, she has taken a tap/ballet combo class at a local studio. For the most part she has loved it. I am glad to report that Sarah is pretty good and definitely didn't get any of my coordination (or lack thereof).

My parents came into town for the recital (and to visit us), so it was extra special for Sarah. She really shined... I was worried that she might burn out or have a melt down with this huge recital, but even though it lasted almost 4 hours she was happy and great through the whole thing.

Emma loved seeing Sarah dance and she cheered for her any chance she got. "Go Sarah! Go Sarah!" It wasn't quiet, but very very sweet. I'm so glad she was excited for Sarah.

Ready for the tap number, "Polly Wolly Doodle"

No, I did not pose her this way - it's all Sarah. I think we're in trouble!

The class all dressed up and ready to take the stage!
I know I'm not partial... Sarah's the cutest, right?

The little ballerina
This is her arabesque, and when she talks about it she tells us that she holds still "just like a statue."

You can't really tell she's dancing here, but Emma learned some new moves while killing time in the hallway.

This little boy was trying to show Andrew how to get jiggy with it too.

My mom with Sarah after the show