Abby lost here first tooth about a month ago. She was so proud to have made it to this grown up stage of childhood. It seems like just yesterday the she was screaming and drooling to cut the same tooth.

Halloween

No commentary needed!

Birthday Boy

Nick turned three on the 22nd of October. We can't believe how fast the last few years have gone by! Yes, I made three cakes. Overboard? Maybe. About a month after his birthday, he potty-trained relatively easily. Wow, were we pleasantly surprised!!!!

What a stud in his cow boots!!!

Abby, Nick and good buddy, Austin, share the spotlight.

Vacation

Josh was on Vacation last week, so we went to St. Louis for the weekend. We stayed in a hotel and swam. Here are the guys in the pool.

We went to "Arthur's Picnic at the Park" in Forest Park on Saturday. It was extremely hot and crowded so we only waited in line for one thing. Abby loved the inflated slide!

Floating the Boat

We recently had a family home evening about Nephi, Noah, and the Brother of Jared. As a part of the lesson, we made paper boats and then went to Lion's Club park and floated them in the lake. The kids enjoyed themselves thoroughly.

Potpourri

Caught in the act!

This is Nick trying to make a break for it. I can't take my eyes off of him for a second!

Our children got into the baby powder in our closet. One of Josh's church shoes was in the line of fire.


Ryan and Grandma Doug at the Parade.



Abby and Nick taking a break from picking up candy at the parade to enjoy a Popsicle.

Kindergartener

Abby's first day of school!

Monkey see, monkey do

Nick idolizes his Daddy. He says that he wants to work in a milk truck when he gets big. Here he is practicing.





















Nick and I have been spending time together doing preschool type things. His favorite thing to do is play with play-do, but Mommy drawing pictures of Daddy is a close second.


The other day Nick was playing and from across the room I heard him saying in a sweet, high pitched voice, "Don't you bite me baby." I looked over and there he was "feeding" his baby from his "belly". Obviously the baby in our family has entirely too many teeth for his age (my opinion only) and has a tendency to bite.

Life with Nick

My friend Lisa and I were at church on Thursday with our children(six all together). We were trying to decorate the bulletin boards. We left the kids in the gym with balloons, balls, and each other to entertain themselves. After a few minutes of quiet, she and I were talking about what life with Nick is like. I made the comment that he is very curious and as a result comes up with some crazy ideas. She asked for an example. I was having trouble coming up with one off of the top of my head, when I hear Nick screaming in the girls bathroom. When I found him, his toenail had been turned up by the heavy door and was gushing blood. As a mother that's when I should have sprung into action fixing his "owie" and comforting him. Instead I was laughing my head off. The kid had found a potty training seat(like toddlers use when their bottoms are too small for the toilet). His first idea, being the thinker that he is, was something to the effect of " I wonder if this would make a good collar". After we improvised fixing his toe with a paper towel and scotch tape, Lisa and I had to try to get the urine covered potty seat off of his head. The poor kid has a decent sized head( I know because I gave birth to it). So needless to say, I have no idea how he got it on but it couldn't have been easy! Believe you me it wasn't easy getting it off either. The tragedy in this story being of course that I didn't have my camera.

More summer fun

Nick and Abby have been climbing on their play house lately, I'm just glad it's not on the roof of our house.

If you ever wonder what happens on a rainy day at our house.
Here is a great example of free play time.

Possible careers

Ryan is having trouble deciding what he wants to be when he grows up. He has it narrowed down to three things: A pirate, a horror film composer, or a GQ model.

"RRRRRrrrrrrr, Shiver me timbers"

Ryan loves to sit and play the piano. Abby and I decided that he's composing music for a horror film. Sucking on his "yummy thumby" helps him think.

Playing in the Creek

A few weeks ago, I asked Josh what we were going to do for fun on his day off. He said that he was going to fix the water gap across the creek. I told him he didn't know how to have fun. He said that the kids and I could come along and play in the creek. I thought that sounded like too much work on my part and quickly shot down the idea. Josh came back with " Gosh Hannah, YOU don't know how to have fun!!!". We obviously ended up having fun playing in the creek.
I love this picture! I think I'll use it in my living room.





Abby was on a mission to collect snails. The kids were so surprised when they discovered that the little "sea shells" were alive!













Doesn't Nick look like Josh's mini-me! He is just a little Josh in so many ways.














I love the symbolism of this picture. Following in Daddy's footsteps.

Cheerios, Bikes, and Firecrackers

Ryan has been feeling left out at meal times. He's not the least bit interested in baby food, but he really wants to put something in his mouth. Our compromise has been Cheerios. He is entertained forever by them; trying to pick them up, throwing them on the floor, smacking the tray and watching them go flying. The only problem is that he hasn't quite figured out how to eat them yet. The majority of the time they end up on his chin. Which is why I present: Exhibit A















Nick has been riding Abby's bike for a while now, so Grandma Jojo found him a bike. Most mornings he's out riding it in his pj's before breakfast!







Abby found some bubble wrap in Grandma's garage and came up with this idea. The kids thought it was a blast!

A little help

Okay, maybe a ton of help. If your blog needs help too, click on the new link: Lee lou blogs
This whole blogging thing has been such a great thing for our extended family and friends. It's great to be able to share this exciting time in our kids lives. Thanks to you all for your comments and interest in our family.

House Guests

We had some friends stay with us a few days last week. They were in the process of moving, so they brought their cat and kittens with them. Abby was in HEAVEN!!!

They have an adorable little blonde girl. So......Nick was in HEAVEN too!!

Safety vs. Fun

I have so many great memories of being a kid in the summer! Catching fireflies, climbing trees, swimming all day, etc. One of those is of jumping on trampolines with sprinklers under them. I now view life as a mom and see all the potential accidents and ER visits. Lately I have found myself trying find "safe" fun. I've come to the conclusion that fun isn't always safe and that part of the fun is the danger. I put aside my mommy ways and this is the result. I'll just make sure that I've got my $25 ER copay in my wallet.

Summer Fun

Lately it seems that our bed has been taken over by our children. All this summer fun sure is wearinig them out.

Josh and I got the kids ready for bed and then sent them out to catch fireflies. My camera has a fireworks setting. I was attempting to get a cool shot of the fireflies. I'll settle for a cool shot of our kids!

Josh and I thought it would be fun to hook this trailer to the four-wheeler. It was a great idea!! Until he dumpted all of the boys into the creek!!

This is a classic Nick look.

Abby has been learning like a sponge lately. She is so excited about kindergarten! A few days ago, I sat down with her during the boys' nap and thought I would "introduce" tieing a shoe. Within five minutes she had it down. Then she asked what else she needed to know for school. So I put her phone number and address in large print up in her room. The next morning I asked if she knew our phone number. The kid rattled it AND our address off like she'd known it all her life. I asked how she had learned it so fast and she says "I see it in my head like a picture, so I just read it out of my memory." Abby's going GREEN. She's been on my case to recycle, so now that we have a recycling bin from the city, she walks around the house checking things for the symbol and the correct numbers.

Nick's up to his normal antics. Since Josh's sisters have been in town, Nick has been witness to his fair share of boys peeing. This does have it's advantages. Now he says "I wanta squirt like my cousins and Daddy". LOVELY! Anyway, the other day he was determined to go on the big boy potty, so after standing there forever with no success, I sent him out in the yard without his diaper on. I told him to come tell me when something happened. After a few minutes he comes running up and tells me he went "poo poo". I explained that it was called "pee pee", but he just kept arguing with me. So I asked him to show me. There it was lying in the yard. He was right, it was "poo poo".

Ryan is trying to get his two front teeth at the moment. In case you're wondering that will make six. Anyway, it has made him quite the "Momma's boy". He's still very much on the move. Today I put him down in the living room right by the hallway and within about five minutes , he had rolled/scooted his way to the front door. He has learned to be aware of Nick's location at all times....smart kid.

Ryan, Ryan, and more Ryan

Ryan loves to jump while I work in the kitchen. However, I can only put him in there when Nick's not around.

The onsie he's wearing says, "Good looks run in the family".

A belly laugh.




Ryan is determined to move. Here he is getting his back end off the ground.

Grant's Farm

Summer is hard for Chub-a lubs. Ask Ryan, he'll tell you all about it.

Nick cooling off with a snow cone.

Abby managed to keep her white shirt white all day! Definitely not a trait from my DNA.

Abby petting a skink named Gino. The kids were so focused on the skink that they never noticed the man holding it only had one arm.

Ryan gave out on us about half way through. How adorable!!

The kids feeding the kids.




Feeding the baby goats was quite different than when I was a kid. Back then there was a lot more shirt eating, children screaming, and knocking around. Kids these days have it way too easy!!! Feeding the goats at Grant's Farm is supposed to be a painful and terrifying experience.