June: the Middle

More June pictures from before our out of town adventures...

 Playing at Frog Legs - our indoor inflatable play place. This was part of the Terrific Toddler Tuesdays, and we had fun with our cousins there. There was no way to get a picture of Claire, she was so busy. We are pretty sure that this is where we picked up croup, though. An indoor place for lots of little kids is a great way to share germs.

 Something about a pickup truck just calls to a little boy

 Working in the garden with Daddy.

 That's my all smiles Evie Jane

 Sitting on her steps with her favorite "friend" Emily Elizabeth

 Once this was inflated it was pretty hard to get any of them to stay out of it.

 Buddy is quite content to be in the water, but he definitely thought floating around in this was the best part (once he stopped messing with the hose).

 The girls were determined to float too, but mommy wasn't brave enough to really fill the pool to where they could float.

 He is so proud of himself when he gets into a rocking chair. Unfortunately, I have discovered that a kid's rocker should never be near a wall. Not sure when it happened, but there is now a pretty decent hole in the wall just behind where this rocking chair was sitting in the girls' room. Needless to say, this indoor/outdoor rocking chair is now an outdoor rocking chair.

Buddy's new favorite hideout.

June: The Beginning

Moving on into June now in the marathon catch up of posting from Summer 2013. Well, actually the first 2 pictures are from Buddy's actual birthday, but I somehow managed to download them into the June folder of the computer, so there you have it.

 Starting his big day with a breakfast at IHOP

 I cannot say enough good things about the Auburn Library. I know I should be a big supporter of the Opelika library since that's my home town, but yes, I pay for a membership at Auburn's public library. The kids area is out of this world. They have an indoor loft play area and the kids LOVE that place. There is a toddler sized potty which always means we have to go at least twice while we are there, and there are toys and puzzles and blocks and puppets and just all sorts of fun things to do. Plus, my children love books perhaps more than toys. They all want books to sleep with at night. Just the other day, Buddy picked up "Hop on Pop" and said, "Pop! Hop Pop!"

 Enjoying our new inflatable pool (why did I get such a big one - it was so much work to fill that with air!)

 Evie loved the hose more than the pool itself

 Floaties were totally unnecessary with as little water as I put in the pool, but Claire had fun wearing them anyway.

 Teamwork with the pump

 All tuckered out after a playdate with my sister's church group. We have been going to "Terrific toddler Tuesdays" most weeks of the summer - a stretch for me since I tend to be such a germaphobe, and the activities are during Buddy's morning nap. In more recent weeks I have just gone late, after he wakes up. The kids seem to have enjoyed it, and it has been good for me to have something to do as well.

 I was complimenting Buddy on finishing his whole sandwich when I suddenly realized it hadn't been eaten, he was wearing it as a hair accessory.

 He is such a social laugher. He had no idea what we all found so funny, but got tickled at all of us laughing at the sandwich in his hair anyway. Incidentally, he did eventually discover it in his hair and finish eating it. LOL

 The girls helped me build a dog house for Colson. In recent years, Colson has developed panic anxiety. Yes, the vet thinks he needs Zoloft, but we are too cheap to pay for psych drugs for a dog. Since he seems so much happier when he is outside, we decided it was less expensive to build him a very nice doghouse than to buy him a monthly prescription of Zoloft. Of course, he won't actually go in the doghouse, even when it rains. It must make him nervous...

 Chocolate covered English muffin for breakfast

 Our Sunday School group planned a lake trip and the girls were seriously pumped. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure it has rained the entire rest of the summer and the trip has not been rescheduled. We were all bummed, but the life vests have come in handy anyway. Evie is super brave in hers and likes to simply float around a pool with no one holding her. Adorable!

 Silly sisters

He LOVES spaghetti. We are getting smarter about just stripping him down to a diaper for meals these days because he does NOT like to be fed anymore - he is quite an independent little fella. It makes for a mess, but I will always encourage independence when it is reasonable, so I embrace the mess for now. Geoff regularly comments that he is looking forward to the time when they are not quite such messy eaters. Me too!

1, 2, 3... To the Zoo

What is becoming our annual zoo trip with Nani occurred in early May.

 This year we got to ride the train!

 Always a favorite - feeding the parakeets

 Here birdy birdy! Here!

Buddy's Big Day

People often ask me if I notice a difference between Buddy and my girls. Sometimes yes, and sometimes no. I would describe him as "all boy," as if I really know what that means. I guess when I say it I mean that he is a different experience. He is into EVERYTHING, especially anything he shouldn't be. He is so curious, so verbal, so adventurous, so full of spirit, full of laughter, so driven, so tenacious and determined. He is so sweet and loving. He loves to sing. He laughs socially so that no one can laugh without him joining in. He looks so much like me and acts so much like his daddy. He is mama's boy and he is daddy's boy. He talks and talks - a constant babbler of nonsense and plenty of real words. He would rather be outside than just about anywhere (except maybe for the bathroom where he likes to see what he can put in the potty). He is Buddy, not Geoff or Geoffrey, not Stephen or Steve, just Buddy. And now, he is one.

 Testing out this cake

 With all but the oldest and youngest of the local cousins

 Oh yes, he did. He cleaned the entire plate. Slowly, methodically, tiny bite by tiny bite until there was nothing left.

 Straight into the tub!

 Checking out the gifts

 Everything a little boy could want, toy trucks, a lawn mower, and somewhere he is allowed to splash (but he still gets into the dog bowls and the toilet when mommy isn't quick enough to redirect his attention).

Yes, he LOVES the water!

 Our newest cousin, Lyssette. The girls really outnumber the boys so Wyatt and Buddy are going to have to stick together for sure!

Big Birthday boy - what a handsome fella!

Long Time Overdue

Well, I am way past due on a blog update, so here we go with as many posts as I can manage to come up with in a short period of time. (Only think I have time for 2 posts tonight, but check back soon, because I have a lot of catching up to do!)

I am not certain why I got so behind on the blog, but no complaints, because I am back and I have plenty of pictures to share. It feels like the summer has blown by. I think my last post was shortly after Claire's ballet recital in early May. Then came the birth of my sister's newest addition, for which I got to play doula (labor assistant). That was an awesome experience, one more thing I am honored to have been able to share with my sister and truly one of my best friends in this world! Then Geoff was out of town for several days leaving me to single mom it for a bit. Then Buddy had his first birthday. Then we all got sick. Then I took the kids on a week long trip to visit their great-grandmothers in two states. Somewhere in there throw in two visits from Nani and Pop and such and it is now the end of July and time for me to catch up our life in pictures! So, without further ado, happy viewing!

 Sweet sisters

 A nice long visit with Pop

 A little mini waterpark backyard adventure

 During Geoff's out of town time, the kids and I went to Home Depot and bought paint. Several return trips later I finally had a color I could live with and with help from a dear friend, the living, dining and kitchen were finally all painted and put back together before Geoff returned! Now all that hasn't been painted in our house is our bedroom, which certainly needs it since we had that lovely hole in our wall patched... (The girls room which has been painted recently now has a hole in the wall which needs patching - ahh the joys of little kids).

 Loving his water table - birthday gift from Nani and Pop

 He didn't think much of being dressed up by his sisters. They still aren't quite sure why boys don't wear hairbows.

 I shall call him "minimer"

 We love to play in the water!

I remember buying this swingset for Claire and wondering if we would have 3 little ones to fill all 3 swings. Well, yep, that turned out not to be much of a problem! :)