The weeks fly by - here's a HUGE catchup post

I haven't posted anything new in a week. It's not because we have nothing going on... I think we have so much going on that I haven't stopped to think or document any of it. So, here's a recap for anyone curious enough to read through it. If no one is that curious, at least I will have it - should I ever wonder "What WAS I doing the week of 6-23-08?!":

• The kids had bike day at school. Little Bitty's favorite part was wearing her borrowed helmet. It was a Dora one and a huge hit. She wore it to school in the car. Brother took his big wheel - but then came home determined to get more confident on his big boy bike with training wheels. He did just that and now he's been riding all the way around the block (with Daddy jogging behind).
• We traded in my family truckster for a more fuel efficient vehicle. This was the kids' "Fun Friday" last week. Carmax. Are they lucky or what? But they do like the new ride. And I like that I won't spend $83 a week on gas.
• We had a visit from my mom and grandma. My grandma is almost 92 (or 93?) and broke her hip in March. But, she made the drive up from Alabama with my mom and hung out for the night. She's even out of her wheelchair and can get around independently with her walker. Go, grandma!
• Daddy had a softball tournament. Their team came in third out of...um, way more than three teams. He has a huge boo-boo on his leg from sliding. Little Bitty alternates between being worried about it and thinking it's funny to poke it to make Daddy yell.
• Brother attended a birthday party at a gymnastics place and got to ride a zipline, climb a rope wall, etc. He had a blast. I have no pictures because, well - you know how I am.
• We had dinner with some great friends who are about to embark on an adoption journey. Love the family. Love the pork chops and potatoes they cooked. YUM.
• We went to a cookout to celebrate a friend's graduation from Harvard. She earned her Masters Degree (yay!). The kids were well-behaved and I didn't even need to accidentally give Little Bitty more than one or two rum soaked watermelon balls.
• We head out Wednesday to our yearly 4th of July Celebration with my husband's side of the family up in PA - aka "the country". We are all looking forward to it.
• The only downside of leaving Wednesday is that we'll miss a Good-bye Party for some of our friends who are moving. The lovely soon-to-be Dr. J will be gracing UNC with her smart self. Best wishes to them. They will be missed by countless friends here in TN.

Fun Fridays

Brother and Little Bitty have been blessed with not only good looks - but with the world's best Daddy. We decided to keep both kids home from school on Fridays for the summer and Daddy takes off and takes them somewhere for Fun Friday (Brother and Daddy have made a list of places to hit before the summer is over). I go too when I can sneak away from work - but I missed out on this past Friday. They went to a new nature/discovery type center about an hour away from us (Daddy is still not sure of the name... he's a great dad... just no so good with remembering the names of the places he takes his kids).

So - here are some fun pictures of our little ones having one of their Fun Fridays. I wasn't there - so I'm not qualified to add captions for the photos - but let me just point out that the leather cowboy vest on Little Bitty - not part of the play center - that beauty was worn from home and stayed on all day.

If you look closely, you can see Brother's head - he's collapsed under the weight of the fireman gear.

Something I've been working on...

I re-discovered my love of sewing recently (I know - who knew I was crafty). It has been the first time in a long time that I've found something I enjoy doing that also has the potential to contribute in a small way financially to our family (notice I say "in a small way" - nobody is quitting their day job here). Anyway, I'm working on my own online store (my vision is exceeding my web building skills here and I need help) - but in the meantime, have started posting a few things on Etsy and decided to go ahead and share that link here. See new picture with a link to the left.

I only have a few items posted so far - but more are coming. The best part of this is that I'm having fun and able to actually use that creative part of my brain that doesn't get exercised often enough in my career. And Little Bitty looks pretty stinkin' cute in some of my creations.

Thanks for checking it out if you have time! Much more to come... ;)

They grow up so fast

One of the most common sentiments I've heard from more experienced parents is to "enjoy this time...they grow up so fast". And I really do try to keep this thought in my head and enjoy the moments. In fact, I've shared with a couple people recently that this blog helps me to do that. Instead of feeling completely stressed and frustrated after a particularly hard parenting experience - I can blog about it and find the humor in it while saving the experience to be able to share with people or revisit later.

Yesterday my two babies helped bake a Father's Day cake (completely Brother's idea). They were opinionated and intent on being a part of each step. We ended up with a hideous special cake to surprise Daddy with when he returned from his ball game. They were so proud of both the cake and the handmade card. I think their excitement over sharing their creations with Daddy was his best Father's Day gift. I love how much he loves them and vice verse.

As we baked, etc. I kept thinking about how they are growing up and how each challenging stage is fleeting and leading to the next, even better stage... and it does go fast. Lately I've been looking at Brother and his going-on-five self and I marvel at how my chubby baby who just yesterday spent his days eating sweet potatoes and playing with wooden spoons now spends his days seeing how risky of a move he can do on the water slide and can almost bake a cake from scratch.

And then there's Little Bitty. I saw an approximately 6 month old baby at the zoo this weekend and thought - wow - Little Bitty was that age when she came home. She was just learning to sit, had no teeth and only drank formula. Now look at her. She does her best to keep up with Brother, running every where, wants to dress herself, eats whatever we eat (well, only when she wants to), and is becoming an amazing little girl. And on Saturday - she walked into the kitchen carrying an open pocket-knife. I mean, wow - it does go fast... who even knew that she carries a blade now? Yep, they sure do grow up fast.

This is a huge hit...

Brother and the neighbors had a record breaking amount of fun (which is maybe 30 minutes of the same activity before someone ends up crying or in trouble) with this gift from Grammy and Nonno. Little Bitty watched with interest but emphatically shook her head NO each time we asked if she wanted to try. I think it wasn't so much the water or slide that scared her... but more likely the fact that she'd have to share with the three neighbor kids. She's not a huge fan. Of sharing... or the neighbors.

Not sure why Brother looks a little like Flat Stanley here...

another cool feature of our camera I guess.

Why yes, that is me in the background carrying a rocking elephant.

A mom's gotta have fun too.

Things heard around our house....

The following are quotes from the last 24 hours. I won't tell who said what.

• (at 3am) "See - that? Right there? That's about the size of the wild turkey we saw."
• "Me! Me! MEEEE!"
• "Because some kids are too dumb to know how to eat raisins."
• "Whoaaa. Whoaaa. WHOOAAA."
• "Hey - that's lucky. I'm totally clean after just one wipe!"
• "There's a big pickle in her toy box."
• "Mama. Mama. Mama. Mama. MAMAAAA!"
• "From now on, you never have to go to school on 'Cowboy Lunch' day."
• "Bye. Bye. BAAYYYEEE."

Florida in pictures

The Big Chair

Our beautiful Little Bitty
Just finished a run down the BIG slide
The four youngest of the 6 cousins
Two fierce guys
This girl SWIMS and swims and swims...
I love this picture. My oldest nephew is away at camp this week - so he's not in it - but other than that, it's perfect. We had a great week.

Pennsylvania in Pictures

Here are some pics from our trip to the country over Memorial Day. I can't take credit for these. Grammy and Cousin Marci emailed a bunch. Thank you!!

Smores!

Family Boating

I'm so proud of our little guy here... he is usually so nervous around dogs - but he warmed up to this wonderful lab and played with her!

Little Bitty - likely bossing someone around. ;) Playing in one of the creeks. Nothing better.