The Lake part II

The lake treated us well; we enjoyed wine tasting on Saturday, biking and a little boating on Sunday, hanging out in the sun on Monday. There was a little sun, a little rain, a little wind, and a little thunder but overall the weather was pleasant and it was just nice to be outside. Abi loved going fast in the bike trailer "faster daddy!" I pushed her up and down the driveway on her tricycle, and lets not forget the swing, Abi's fave. Abi ran and played so hard she fell asleep on the car ride home yesterday at 5pm and slept all the way until this morning at 6:30am! 13+ hours of sleep, no dinner or anything. Brad and I attempted to catch up on a little sleep this weekend and were somewhat successful. We feasted on Copper River salmon, beer-can chicken, and chocolate fondue. Brad determined there were no crawdads in our part of the river, his traps came up empty both days. There were tree climbing/branch cutting festivities and a long awaited bar top for the garage. Overall a nice long weekend getaway!!!!!!

We did see the biggest coolest rainbow on our way to the lake, it morphed into a double and triple rainbow at times. All I could think about was the U-tube video of the hippy recording the "wow, double rainbow man". Move over frogs, Abi new obsession "wrickets" and "wonder". Ben really was obsessed with my Mikes bottle he wanted to put his hands on it and would scream if I tried to take a drink, LOL.

Weekend at the lake

Somewhere over the rainbow.....

We found the end of the rainbow on our way to the lake.

The weather was kind of chilly but we still had a good time. We took the kids for a bike ride.

Abi heard the "wonder" (thunder) and the "wrickets" (crickets) at the lake.

Abi and Maggie both smiling and happy to be outside.

Ben had a hard day, so he had to hold my Mikes hard.

Pretty in pink

Ready for our weekend, in the rain?!?!

Hallelujah

Hallelujah, I got 11 hours of sleep.....aaahhhHHHH. More sleep than the last 3 nights combined! Perfect way to celebrate Ben turning 8 months old. Mister Ben is getting so big, he can really push himself around in the walker (watch out ankles and toes), he ran over Abi's fingers last night. He is such a little boy, he pounds on his high chair tray and screams. He even smells like a boy, stinky feet and all. He is becoming more aware of when Abi takes toys away from him and screams. I'm glad he is able to stick up for himself a little because I can't always see what Abi is doing to him. He is my sweet snuggle baby.

Abi gets funnier everyday, you'd have to hear the things that come out of her mouth to really appreciate the intelligent, smarty pants she is becoming. Abi's latest obsession, cars and trucks. Next week we are going to try getting back on the potty training wagon armed with Miralax (to prevent the constipation). Hoping for success this time around!

Mom brain

I have Mom brain:
I forget important items at work when I leave, like my purse and keys
I drive past my destination and have to turn around and go back (on a daily basis)
I forget where I'm driving and automatically get on the freeway?-when I'm trying to go to the store
I have no idea what I ate today, but know exactly what and how many ounces everyone else had
I suddenly panic thinking I forgot to go to work
Someone askes me a simple question like my phone number or birthday and I have to think about it
I always feel like I am forgetting something, and I always am

Good morning

Each morning I am greeted with a big, huge, gummy cheshire cat smile from Ben bum and a huge hug from Abi love. It keeps me sane when I am tired. It lets me know each morning what my purpose for the day is; to love my kids. If I get the dishes and the laundry done, well, that will just be an added bonus.

Have I mentioned I am in love with Ben's little dimply, squishy, soft baby skin, and I could smell his baby smell from a mile away. I guess it is somehow a good thing that he keeps us up all night because it puts a cap on the population at our house.

Abi has offically gotten to the why stage. Yesterday in the car Abi quizzed me something like this: "Why is it bright?" "Is that the sun?" "Why did it go?" "Why are we in the car?" "Why are we meeting Daddy?" "Why do you work?" "Why does the road go there?" "Are we going there?".  I just love it when Abi goes "momma, Momma, MOMMA!" because she's excited about something and I laugh out loud when I hear her say, "mom my (insert body part) is stuck" (usually an arm or a foot) or "Mom come quick, (insert stuffed animal) has a poopy diaper." Another favorite saying of hers is "I love blanket (and/or puppy) all day and all night." She was a little angel yesterday, no tatrums or time outs, just sweet little princess Abi, I guess it was payback for Ben being up all night.

Oh Sammy, you look so funny, but no hairballs yet.....

Abi in her suit

Abi is so excited for swim lessons today, she wanted to try her new suit on. She cries big alligator tears when the swim lesson ends and they have to get out of the pool. Abi is my sweet (and sassy) beautiful little girl, we are working on her attitude, but you wouldn't guess it from this sweet smile. She will be strong willed no doubt about it but I think it is a good quality to have as an adult just a hard quality to appreciate in a child.

With our busy schedules I'm sooooo looking forward to relaxing a little this coming weekend and spending time together as a family enjoying the kiddos. I can't wait!!!! The days pass so fast and the kids change everyday, I hope I can appreciate how sweet and perfect they are each and every moment because tomorrow they will change and grow.

Happiness is....

Happiness is this little man........who wouldn't want to wake up to this cuteness?

As promised

As promised pictures of Sam. She is work in progress because she'll only let me shave her for about 5 minutes at a time. I work on her a little everyday, she actually purrs while I'm shaving her but once she's had enough she's gone.

Latest yard project

We replaced our rotting flower bed timbers with a rock wall, built by hand by brad, and back filled it with soil. I love it and we have so much more garden space!

 

We got a lot done!

Yay, for a productive weekend! We got the boat washed, patio power washed, house cleaned, hutch painted (almost finished), grocery shopping, and some yard work done-and we still have some time today to get things done before our traditional Sunday dinner with friends. Abi and Ben are as sweet and cute as ever. Abi just absolutely loves swim lessons, I went and watched her last week and she cried big alligator tears when class was over. We are still on tooth patrol for Mr. Ben, he has been teething like crazy but no sign of a tooth popping through anytime soon. Does anyone know where to find teething biscuits?

I forgot to mention in my last post that before I decided to shave Sammy cat I did try at least 5 different hairball foods, and at least 4 different hairball medicines. I will post a picture of her later, I laugh just thinking about how silly she looks.

Abi and her BFF

Ben Ben

I thought this was an appropriate picture for our little grouch monster, although he has been kind enough to only wake up 2-3 times a night and sleep in his own bed.

LOVE, LOVE baby feet!!!!!!!!!!

Sammy is a nice kitty

Me: "Ahhhhhhh man!"
Abi: "What's wrong mom?"
Me: "Sammy puked up a hairball on our bed again."
Abi: "Why?"
Me: "Because Sammy is a bad cat."
Abi: "Sammy is not a bad cat, Sammy is a nice kitty, Sammy say you're sorry."

This was the last straw for dear Sammy. She threw up twice on our bed this week, at least twice on our bed last week, once right next to my pillow, once inside our bed before I could make it (I had just changed the sheets the day before). Plus she threw up multiple times on the carpet, and I had a near miss stepping in a pile one morning. Not to mention the old dried up hairballs I cleaned up from under the bed last week. This all lead me to purchase an animal hair trimmer. From this point on you pretty much know the story will not end well. Lets just say we all survived and I think Sammy actually liked getting the attention but poor Sam does not look pretty. I will post a picture later, although I am a little embarrassed for her. I will work on her more tonight when Brad can help me hold her down but she still won't be a pretty cat again for some time. Sorry Sam, I feel a little bad since you are a nice kitty :)

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for a husband that cooks (more than I do lately), grocery shops, and takes Abo to swim lessons.

I'm thankful that Nicole didn't lose her teaching job due to budget cuts.

I'm thankful we have so many friends and family that are summer is already booked and it hasn't even started yet.

I'm thankful we had a few sunny days to play outside and work in the yard.

I'm thankful for my precious little kiddos that I love to pieces.

I'm thankful to be a mom that gets to stay home part time with the kids.

I'm thankful to be loved, needed, and snuggled on a daily basis.

Jen sighting

We toured Abi's preschool (Cedar Cross Cooperative Preschool) today, she had a ball, she ran off with the other kids and I had to find her when it was time to leave, she didn't want to go. I was surprised she had so much fun, I think it will be a good fit for her so we signed her up for next year.

Yeah, we got to see Jen! Abi was thrilled, Jen this and Jen that, Jen come with me. We had a nice dinner and played outside. Abi is starting to get really good at riding at her tricycle.

Seeing Jen was too much excitement for Ben.

Who is that tan, sun kissed, blond?

 Having a "Hey" off

Ben's first hair cut

Well, it was more like a trim. It was very technical, I put his hair up in a hawk and cut along the top, and trimmed a little around the ears.

 

It takes a village to raise a child

Mr. Ben you bring us so much love and joy but you have really been challenging us lately. I haven't gotten consecutive hours of sleep in months. Sometimes I wish we had a bigger village (and a bigger bed) so we could share our lacking of sleep. If you weren't so darn stinking precious I might put you to bed in the garage so we could rest peacefully. No one said parenting was easy, and I don't think you can truly understand the  deepest darkest depths of parenting until you experience the up all night screaming and weeks of sleep deprivation. It gives us character, and gray hair, and wrinkles, but it is worth it. It may take a village to raise a child but no one loves you like your mom and dad.

 

Party on the Palouse 2011

I am a Matron of Honor and Abi is a flower girl! Can't wait to see my girl Linds walk down the aisle. Party on the Palouse, can't wait!

Funny little thing

Abi gabby says the funniest things, here are the latest sillies:
"Mmmmm, that's tasty!"
"It smells like dog poo in here, I guess"
"I have pony teeth"
"Dad, are you a messy Mavin?"
"I love blanket all day and all night"

Gabby

When did my little become a big girl? I love looking at her baby pics.

What baby, my baby, munch or buster? Can you tell?

One picture of each, my they look alike :)