Getting artsy

What do you do when you're in a hotel room, trying to be quiet while the kids nap?  Update the blog you've neglected for two months!  Of course!  In my defense, our old computer crashed, so I've been learning how to navigate the world of mac.  So here you go.  My first post as a mac user.  

I just uploaded over 600 pictures from my phone. Thats ridiculous, guys.  But hey.  I love these kids and I think they're cute.  So I take a lot of pictures.  Many of them are fuzzy and some of them are pictures of the ceiling or the floor (Thank you Audrey). But I'll try to go through and share some of my favorites.  Or at least the most interesting of the shots.  

We do a lot of artsy things around our house. Notice I didn't say crafty.  Because when we do crafty things they don't turn out very well.  Like our Christmas snow globes.  Fail.  (See the first picture) Or our Relax Bottle.  (Don't be fooled by the name.  There is nothing relaxing or calm about glitter, glue, or glitter glue.) Big fail.  

So I've decided to keep it real and keep things simple for awhile.  Paint, stickers, crayons, coloring books, and the occasional bit of Elmer's glue and Cheerios.  There you have it.  

If anyone is interested in doing crafts with my kids (or selecting the activity and gathering and organizing the supplies), please let me know.  If not, I'm sure Jack will love being crafty in preschool next year!

Fail

No one gets the joke - "Your all that and a bag of chips" It's funny, folks.
Thank you Pinterest.

Eating glue

It's fall!

I love this time of year!  There are so many great family friendly activities all over town and we've enjoyed taking advantage of the weather and time together.

Recently we took a trip to Burger Farm with a group of moms from church.  The hayride was a huge hit and so was the puppet show.  Jack reenacted the puppet show for a whole week... every bad joke included. We each took home a little pumpkin and we bought a few at their store, too.  We've now got plenty of pumpkins and Audrey has enjoyed playing with them as we leave and return from the house. I hope they survive long enough to carve for Halloween.

We've enjoyed time with friends at the zoo:

Owen and Levi Gould

Our whole family took a fun trip to A&M Farm in Midland.  It was a hot day in October, and we were sweaty and uncomfortable in our fall clothes.  But I'm so glad we did it.  I love being able spend time with each other - just the four of us.  I feel like we are always busy!  We like to fill up our free time with friends and family, so a quiet morning together is rare. It was great to connect and get refreshed together!

Sharing and sacrifice

Audrey, your brother loves you.  He loves you so much, that he was willing to not only share his apple with you, but give it up completely to see you happy.  

Remember that, little one.  You'll be thankful to have him as your big brother when you're all grown up.  

Mine

It's all hers now. 

Touch a Truck 2013

This morning we went to a Touch a Truck event put on by Springfield Township.  It was SO HOT!  Actually, had we not been meeting friends, I may have canceled our plans and stayed inside.  But I'm glad we went, because Jack had a wonderful time.

We went last year with Aunt Louie and our friends Erin and Jeremiah Lyons.  I was very pregnant with Audrey, and it was another hot day. You can check out last year's pictures here. It's amazing to see how much Jack has grown.... and I was huge!

And here are the pictures of the kids this year.  I'm glad I was able to get one of the two boys again this year!  We missed you this year, Aunt Louie!

Riding the garbage truck

Driving the garbage truck

Happy UPS driver

The Bengal's Bus!

Driving the Bengal's bus

Audrey in the firetruck

Firetruck

I was so thankful for a stroller with a large cover -- and lots of Cheerios and water!

Audrey's 11 months!

Wow!  Has it really been almost a month since my last post?  Sorry about that!  We recently took a family vacation to Hilton Head, and between the packing, the trip, and the unpacking, I think this got put on the back burner.

Our little girl is only one month away from being a year old! How did that happen?  Audrey's got one mighty personality.  It's fun - and a bit scary - to see it shining through these days.  I need to remember to take it one day at a time and not create worries and stresses about how this could play out when she's a teenager.


She's still a momma's girl and loves to sit on my hip all day long.  I don't typically have the ability to do this, but Audrey likes to protest and insist that I try. I guess I'll take it while I can get it, right?

We hit a major milestone on Sunday:  She didn't cry in the nursery at church!  Not once!  I'm so thankful that the kind nursery workers have loved on her these past few months.  She has put a few through the wringer....

Audrey's not crawling quite yet, but has started to scoot across the floor and can also push herself backwards when lying on her belly.  She also loves to sit n spin just like Jack.  I finally caught it on tape:

Occasionally Audrey gets stuck when she's trying to get around.  It's a good thing she has such a helpful big brother:

She's close to figuring this out:

She still to love to play peek-a-boo!

Last week Jack was kind enough to share his ice cream (without even being asked, I might add!).  She loved every bite!

She loves being as independent as possible and enjoys her straw cup and trying to use a spoon.  So far, so good:

Audrey's two lower teeth are almost all of the way in, and she's got four upper teeth just waiting to pop through.  Check out this girl's big smile:

Audrey carries her blankie with her at all times.  She loves it! She also loves her baby dolls, but I don't seem to have a picture of her holding one.  She lights up when she sees a doll and says, 'ba-be"

We recently were at a friend's house for dinner, and they got out their blow-up house.  After all of the big kids had gotten through, Audrey took a shot and sat on the edge.  She loved it.  And she loved it even more when her friend Cara took a seat beside her.  

We took a walk to the coffee shop right before vacation.  Here's the treat that the kids got for breakfast:

I'm thankful that these two seem to like each other.  I'm glad that they're so close in age and that they'll have the chance to experience life together.  

11 months

Audrey is 10 months!

Our little stinker is 10 months old!  She's had a busy month and I've taken a lot of pictures.  I know that I should probably put away my phone and not catch every single moment.  But I can't help but want to share every smile and milestone with Jacob while he's at work. He gets a lot of picture texts every day.  So you get to enjoy these pictures, too.

Audrey's been rolling over in her bed and seems to prefer to sleep on her belly.
She's been eating everything in sight.  (Except of course for those darn avocados, and now she's refusing bananas.) I know that she's got a hole in her foot somewhere.  I just can't find it.  This little girl eats all day long.

Sometimes meals get a bit messy:

She's starting to spin around like Jack used to do.

She's a full time thumb sucker and I'm loving it!

This month Audrey got to put on a bathing suit for the first time and splash around at Washington Park.

 She's wearing barrettes in her hair.

  We've seen Audrey's spunky personality shine this month.  She loves to laugh and smile but will quickly let you know when she's not happy.  She's got a few smiles now.  She wrinkles her nose and gives a huge smile when she's really happy:

Audrey is still fascinated with all things Jack.  She wants to play wherever he's at and I have a feeling that soon she'll be choosing what they do and where they go.  

Here is her 10 month picture in the big red chair and some stats from her 9 month appointment two weeks ago:

length: 28in - 75th%

weight: 16lb 10oz - 25th%

head: 45cm - 75th%

And I forgot to mention that on her 10 month birthday she cut her first two teeth!  She's growing up!!!