Labor Day BBQ

At the last minute Matt decided he wanted to have a BBQ at our house for Labor Day. We invited a few friends, hung out, ate, and played! I didn't take very many pictures but this was the highlight:

Croquet!

It is finally starting to cool down a little bit at night so it was perfect for playing in the backyard.

Ella and Flora playing with sidewalk chalk....Ella colored with it while Flora ate it:)

We babysat my cousin Sydney for the weekend, it was great having her around to entertain the kids.

And yes, my kids are in pajamas. It is really hard for me to care about this sort of thing these days!

The BEAR

I might have mentioned in the past that I hate taking my cute husband to Costco:) The thing is, I am usually the one who asks if he wants to come, and I do want him to come with me. I even arrange for the kids and I to pick him up straight from work because its on the way. Any outing that we can do together is better than nothing, even if it is just Costco! I always remember once we get there WHY I don't like bringing him. He is so easily distracted! I always have my list, and follow it. He on the other hand finds the craziest things to buy, and always seems to want to buy MORE food storage, and we ALWAYS spend at least twice as much as I would if I were alone. This last time was no different. We had separate carts, he took the kids to look at toys and such and I started my shopping. The next time I see him he is coming at me with a GIANT bear in his cart! It is seriously huge. I immediately tell him to put that thing back! There is NO WAY we are getting that! But he claims he has always wanted one(who wants a 5 ft bear?) and every kid should have a giant stuffed animal.

I lost the argument. We came home with the dreaded bear. I even tried to convince the check out lady that no, we didn't pay for it, she should confiscate it immediately...but she just thought it was funny. I keep finding brown fur on my carpet. But the kids love it. They take turns every night sleeping with the bear in their room. I will admit Matt has always picked out the best toys. He picks out things that I would never even consider, and they end up being the kids favorite things. So maybe I should just relax and get over it. Hey, maybe he can do all the Christmas shopping himself this year!

When we went to check on Ella before we went to bed we found her sleeping on top of the bear. We usually tuck her in and put the bear on the other twin bed in her room so they can have a "sleep over." I guess she wanted to cuddle up to him!

City Pool

Our friends rented out the city pool so we had it all to ourselves! It was so so much fun. I had not been down the hydro tube in years and I forgot how much fun it is-even while 8 months pregnant! I didn't know if I would go down but then all the other pregnant girls were doing it so I didn't want to be shown up:) Matt and Ella went down ahead of me to wait for me at the bottom and apparently I was screaming the entire way and Ella kept asking Matt if I was ok, and if I was dying in there! After I did it that first time I couldn't get enough and we kept going over and over. (I was secretly hoping it would put me in labor...it didnt work)

At first Ella said she didn't want to go, but Kurt talked her into going with him and after that she was all over it! Her and Kash went down too many times to count and were so sad when it was time to leave.

Climbing up...

Matt and Kash coming out at the bottom.

Ella and Kurt

Matt even took both of them at the same time.

Even 9 month old Flora did it!

Dress Up Queen

This girl of mine is always dressing up. She comes up with the craziest outfits, it always makes me laugh. She comes down the stairs and very seriously asks, "How do I look Mom?"
Although she loves getting all dressed up I think her favorite thing to wear is NOTHING. Most of the time she is running around with no pants on. I usually don't mind cuz she has the cutest little bum in her princess panties:)

Update on the BOYS

So here is the latest on the boys in my life, aka Matt and Kash: Matt was working on yet another project that I asked him to do... he wasn't too happy about it but he was doing it, yea! I kept encouraging him that it would only take 5 minutes and then I would not bug him for the rest of the night:) I guess it was pretty good incentive because he agreed to do it. (He says he doesnt know what life would be like without a Lindsay To Do List) Long story short, the pole he was working on on the kitchen table flew out of his hand and hit the kitchen wall. And it left this perfect hole.

What is with all of the holes and dents in my pretty new walls lately??




Kash: So I still have not started potty training Kash...after listening to all of your advice, I think I might wait until after the baby is born. (maybe I am just lazy and the idea of putting it off is very appealing?)
But anyways Ella and Kash were playing upstairs and Ella came running down and said that Kash had peed in the playroom. Sure enough Matt and I see Kash standing on the stairs with NO diaper. We followed Ella up so she could show us where the mess was and he had indeed peed in the playroom. He had actually peed in the lid of the legos! We could not believe he had almost completely filled the lid, and there was almost nothing on the carpet. It was so hard not to laugh and we almost wondered if this was worth praising? We were just so impressed that he had gone in something other than his diaper, and seemed to do it pretty well. I asked Ella if he had sat on the lid but she said no, he did this: she pinched at her panties and stood over the lid to demonstrate. Who taught him this? Maybe he is ready to be potty trained after all??
If he keeps taking his diaper off and attempting this then I will have to consider potty training him now, but if this was a one time thing I think I will wait....I guess we will wait and see.

ps. no picture of this event, you are welcome.

Wiggle

These two kids LOVE their wiggle cars. Kash especially loves riding his, and is really really good at it. I cannot believe how fast he gets going on it and how well he can maneuver that thing! Every time I am watching him I think he is going to crash into a wall and at the last second he steers perfectly in another direction. Lately he has been giving Ella rides on his and it is the cutest thing. I just love that I feel comfortable letting them play outside in this neighborhood. They have been really good at not wandering off, I just check on them every few minutes because I cannot stand to be out there in the blistering HEAT! I am so excited for it to cool down, but they don't seem to mind it. Although maybe that explains why I always find them naked? I can just imagine what my neighbors must think when they see Kash in his diaper and Ella with no pants on! Oh well, they are kids right?

First Day

Ella had her first day of preschool this week. She is going to a new school in our neighborhood, so she was a little nervous and so was I. Her teacher said she did great, so we'll see how it goes. This will be her last year of preschool before kindergarten so I'm really hoping she will like it and learn a lot.

Of course we were running late so I took a few quick pictures and that is all we had time for. She picked out her own outfit and everything-I guess I'm learning to be a little bit more relaxed about this kind of thing:)

Can you tell Kash JUST woke up? He didn't want to be left out of the picture taking. He kept saying, "My turn! My turn!"

Here they come after school! Kash ran right up to her and gave her a hug. She is holding her little friend Laura's hand who she knows from church.

Heading to the blue line to line up and wait for parents.

Showing off her cowboy hat. She asked if I could buy her a horse and when I said probably not, she said, "fine, how about a pony?"

What to do?

Kash will be 3 next month and I have not started potty training him yet. He has had absolutely NO interest. When I ask him if he wants to go pee in the potty he says, "NO! YUCKY!" and "I want my diaper!" Hmmm not a good sign.

We went to the store and he picked out his own "frog" potty and Spider Man underwear. This did stir some interest. He loves anything Spider Man and seemed to like the idea that he would get a piece of candy if he went in the potty. So for now the potty is out in the open where he will occasionally go and sit on it (usually fully clothed) or when I am changing his diaper he will sit on it for a minute with nothing on. The picture below is of him trying to "get the pee out." :)
He gets off and says, "Now candy?" No Kash, you have to pee in the potty to get a candy. "Oh, ok." And that is the end of it. So my debate is this: Do I potty train him before the baby comes so I will only have one in diapers? This is a very nice thought but the idea of being 8 months pregnant and on my hands and knees all day cleaning up pee is not too appealing. Or do I wait until I have the baby and he seems more ready but I have a newborn to take care of?

Matt insists that he is NOT even close to being ready and forced me to buy a new box of diapers today at Costco. I keep telling him that at least I am getting him used to the idea, even if I don't full-on potty train him for a bit longer. But I just don't know.

Decisions Decisions...

This is my wall...

that has an extremely large dent in it. The picture really doesn't do it justice. How did my wall get such a dent? Oh that would be from Kash's head bashing into it. Do you know how hard you have to hit your head into a wall to put a dent in it? Especially on the corner, which is even more hard. My poor son is always getting hurt. He is a tough kid, and it takes a lot for him to cry, but he just plays so hard that he can't help it. I think he is trapped in such a big body that he hasn't quite figured out how to handle himself. He is definitely not the most coordinated! He is really good at sports; hitting the ball, kicking the ball, etc. I've never seen someone his age hit a ball so far or dropkick a football like he does. But he is still such a little boy in such a big body! haha he is going to be the best football player ever, I'm sure of it.

He also scraped his nose and forehead REALLY bad playing outside. It scabbed and oozed forever! I am hoping it won't leave too bad of a scar...It went really well with his 2 black eyes that he got shortly after.

Really he is still my baby and needs a daily nap...and when he doesn't get one (which is more and more often) he falls asleep under the coffee table.

What can I say, I just love him.
And I'm surprised child services hasn't investigated us yet.

The Wildlife Museum

Matt's brother Mark and his family who live in New York came to visit for a couple of weeks. While we were at the beach they stayed at our house, and when we got back they stayed for a few more days until they had to leave. All of the cousins had lots of fun playing together, swimming at Gina's, going to the visitors center, etc. One day we took the kids to the Wildlife Museum. It's kind of sad when your own small town has a museum that you've never been to! Good thing when Jennie visits she likes to do fun things, so now I can say, yes, I've been to the museum! The kids thought the animals were pretty cool, especially because they got to use binoculars.

I love these faces...

Emily and Megan

Camille

Trying to get a picture of the only 2 boys...

Ella and Lydia are both 4, and SO cute together!

Ella, Lydia, Kash

There was a "hands on" room where the kids could play and touch whatever they wanted. Kash was pretty involved in the puzzles.

Ella was busy making tea for everyone.

Millie all dressed up.

It was a fun little outing and I know I need to be better at finding fun things for my kids to do! Why am I so boring? I'll blame it on the pregnancy.

2010 Beach Trip

Every year we go to San Diego with my side of the family and stay at the beach for a week. It is always SO much fun, and this year was especially fun for Ella and Kash. They are to the point where they can skip naps and just play hard all day. I've decided this is the very best vacation for families with young kids because it is so laid back. You can sleep in, hang out at the beach house until the sun comes out, and head down to the beach whenever. There is no rushing, getting kids ready and in the car, schedules to follow, etc. I couldn't do much this year besides sit, but it was nice to sit and read and chat and watch the kids play.
The kids played in the sand all day and never got sick of it. There was boogy boarding, playing in the freezing cold water, sand castle competitions, smashball, beach ball, tennis, tons of card and board games, you name it. All of the cousins get along so well and the older ones are so good about looking after the younger ones. I love my family and am so glad that everyone has so much fun together.
Next year there will be 2 new babies! Whitney will have it much easier with a 5 month old that wont be mobile, and my life might be a little more difficult with a 10 month old crawling and eating the sand! But we are so excited to have 2 more little ones at the beach. My kids have NOT stopped talking about when we are going back. Thanks mom and dad for the much needed vacation!

Beach Time

It's hard to come back home to reality after a week at the beach...