Have you ever wondered what goes into Ben’s monthly pictures? They were pretty easy initially. He would stay where I put him and even slept for the first few. Then I wanted him to smile and needed him to focus on the area of the camera. Now I just don’t want him to kill himself. He spends most of the time we are taking these pictures trying to jump off the chair or the changing table (his other monthly series). Teague has become my photo assistant. For the bear pictures, he wears the costume seen below and dances around like a fool to keep Ben entertained enough to both sit in once spot and smile. For the blanket pictures, he kneels below the changing table and is ready to jump if Ben so much as moves a muscle. (I did not think the location for those pictures through very well at all.)
Even as I took this, I wondered if this was the last time these two would play like this on a playground together. Alex spent most of the morning reading in the shade.
Friends sliding together.
Mom’s Club meeting at the park.
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Full sparring gear. It’s kind of fun to watch.
Kaitlyn’s 4 year checkup came with shots. She was actually excited about them (because of the My Little Pony band-aids) and did great until they got to the third shot. It was evidently incredibly painful and ruined the entire experience. She wouldn’t be consoled and screamed until she fell asleep in the car on the way home.
Alex had more help than he wanted unloading the dishwasher this morning.
These guys are determined to get a tandem jump caught on camera. We’ll see…
Ben ate that entire piece of pizza but I was so thankful we were outside and there was a hose nearby.
This boy is a walking death wish. It will be a miracle if he makes it to elementary school. (It’s not that the other kids were easier or calmer, but I had more attention to focus on them.) Ben puts everything in his mouth and for every small item I pick up there are three other people in the house putting small things right back on the floor. For every door I close, there are three other people opening them. Ben is mobile earlier than my other children so he already has access to things I wish he didn’t. (Did I mention he is the first child I have ever had to call poison control for?) He definitely keeps me on my toes!
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This year the first day of school was HOT. Unfortunately the elementary schools up here do not have air conditioning. (If you are really astute you will notice the first day pictures on the kids’ blogs have the boys in polos and the rest of pictures they have changed to t-shirts. It was so hot before school they were sweating just taking the pictures.) I sent the boys to school with extra water bottles and couldn’t wait to see them at the end of the day. Kaitlyn and I cooked up a surprise and decided the boys should start a new tradition this year of jumping in the pool with their clothes on after the first day of school. We met the boys at the bus stop (Kaitlyn already had her bathing suit on.) and escorted them to the backyard. They loved the idea and were happy to jump right in!
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First day of school.
She missed Teague and couldn’t wait for him to come home today.
This boy loves to eat – thank goodness. Baby led weaning is super messy but there is no special food to buy or make and so far I have found nothing he won’t try. (Although realistically all of my kids are really good eaters.)
Today a fairy showed up in my kitchen and wanted to make cookies. How could I say no?
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We are getting ready to return to school – summer is almost over. Today we walked down to the school to meet the teachers.
Meet the teacher day!
Kaitlyn went from barely putting her toes in the water to wanting to live in the water. Some days she is my only child wanting to swim and is happy to do so by herself.
Peaches and cucumbers – yum?
I shamelessly bribed them to play outside while the Ben and Kaitlyn napped so I could have some quiet time myself. I told them for every minute they played outside they could have the same amount of electronics time.
They have an entire pool to swim in and instead play in two large buckets.
Some days it’s rough being the baby..
Neighbors are no fun at all.
Pool time!
Busted eating wood chips behind the chairs.
Kaitlyn has finally decided to swim in the pool! It took most of the summer and a lot of encouragement but once again she is a fish. The water was a little chilly but nobody really seemed to mind (other than me – I took pictures from outside the water).
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Splash pad days.
What didn’t we do today? We played dress up. Ben practiced his vet skills. The kids pulled every single toy out in the living room – and then cleaned them all up. We went to the splash pad and Teague scared every single person with a fake fishing worm. (It was pretty awesome. He just let it go in the water and it freaked out most of the mothers. I had no idea he had even brought it.) Then we had sparring at taekwondo. Finally it was bedtime. Of course Kaitlyn decided to sleep in costume – a horse costume. Why not?
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9 is a great age. He not only can fix his own breakfast, he doesn’t wait for me to remind him to do so.
Sometimes it’s just easier to play Legos by yourself.
Sometimes it’s just easier to play Legos by yourself.
He loves the play food wooden pickle. Now the question is whether he will like a real pickle.
This one keeps us on our toes. He moves a mile a minute and is into everything. One of his favorite places to play is in dog’s water bowl. He also loves to find any food Madison has missed and will happily eat it. (It’s got to have some nutritional value, right?) Life is never dull or quiet or clean….
We all took an evening walk to the park and the big boys played a little basketball.
These two can play for hours in their own created world. I love to sit just close enough to listen without their realizing.
Today she is a fairy.
This is 8 months – into everything!
We bought this exersaucer for Alex. I remember cringing at the time because it was the only one on the shelf and it was neon colors. I didn’t want it in my house but I definitely needed somewhere to put him that would help entertain him and keep him in one spot. Here we are 9 years later with the same one. I searched and searched for a picture of Alex in it and only found two really bad ones. Obviously I hated it so much I didn’t take many pictures. I do vividly remember that Alex’s favorite toy to chew was also the apple – just like Kaitlyn and Ben.
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This is how I get laundry folded and ironing done. I bribe the big kids with a movie and confine Ben with doors.
One of the best parts of summer is all the extra help I have with my daily errands. The boys are such a big help when it comes to loading and unloading my car. (I don’t even have to ask anymore!)
Ben is a wonderful sleeper and even lets me transfer him from the carseat to his bed, but he does not sleep deep enough for pictures. My theory has always been to let a sleeping baby sleep. On the occasion I am going to have to wake them up anyway (for another child pickup, church, etc, then I go into their room with a camera in hand) I learned only on, that Kaitlyn would sleep through most pictures and I could go in almost anytime to snap a few. Ben wakes up the second my hand touches the doorknob. Today seemed to be an exception. I got a nice set of pictures and he never stirred.
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Running wire for an electric fence. (And one step that has to be done before Mom and Dad will even consider the puppy Alex so desperately wants.)
Doctoring all the animals.
Monday nap.
Sadly summer is ending and that means the beach is one of the first things to close. The lake officially closes with a last Sunday afternoon for dogs only. This year Madison only swam a small amount and then found a nice spot near the lifeguards to watch all the action. (Her 13 years are starting to show.)
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Neighborhood laser tag.
Afternoon nap.