we're having a party!

This is the first time that I have "hosted" a party at my house since moving in during late October. I always meant to have a "housewarming" party...but geez, some (okay, a lot) of my boxes still aren't unpacked. So...I won't lie, I was a little overwhelmed by the request to use my house to have a baby shower for our dear friend, Kirsten....but with the help of Melanie, Anne, Emily, Erin and the 30+ guests that showed up (yes...I had 30 people in my home)....I hope that Kirsten felt showered with love.
Katie and Carter were invited too! (They weren't invited to go with Eric and watch the Boilers play...hmmm....I think they had more fun with me :) They were very good, with a few "evil" moments...using the mountain of coats as a trampoline, going thru people's purses, Katie asking a guest why her hair was so white...and the wonderful question "mommy, where is that baby going to come out? Her belly button?" Not today, my sweet...I am not explaining that to you today. It was a stressful couple hours before everyone started to arrive, but overall, Mel, I think we can say this was a success!

p.s. don't ever ask me to do this again (j/k) Katie, Me, Melanie, Kara and Emily

Katie getting a sneak peek at the presents

one of the food tables...

everyone poised...ready to see if they won the game

Katie, helping me explain, the rules of the game to everyone
(p.s. I don't like baby shower games....I never have)

The pretty mom to be...we can't wait to meet her :)

this was a good day.

Kirsten, I hope that your baby girl knows every day of her life how much she was loved.

next time won't you sing with me...

Katie has been working very hard on singing her "ABC's" in and out of school. She can definitely identify all 26 letters, and animals/items that may go with that letter. Something in the song, though...just got all jumbled up, somewhere around the "l, m, n, o, p" part. We sing it all the time, sometimes in the car so they will quit fighting with each other, sometimes at the dinner table just to be silly...
After a lot of repetition...Katie can now sing her ABC's perfectly. I couldn't help but take a picture of the momentous occasion (even is she was in the bathtub) :)

Mommy is proud of you, baby.

flowers for mama deb...

After dropping Katie off at preschool, Carter and I set out for a morning of errands. On the list was to get flowers for Eric's mom (mama deb) since we were going there for dinner so that the kids could visit before her cancer-related surgery. The lady at the florist was nice enough to give Carter a balloon while we were there...I guess she couldn't resist his cute face. The balloon was a total hit! I was petrified that we would lose it on the way to the car, but it made it with us home, safely. I loop tied it under the velcro of his shoes and laughed hysterically while he ran around chasing it. It really was quite adorable. Oh to be a kid again??

That night the kids were very good at mama deb's and papa jays. We enjoyed a nice dinner and the kids got to play for a long time in the playroom. It is so nostalgic to play with them there...so many toys that I remember from my childhood. Deb found this Jack in the Box...and Carter was very enthralled as you can see. He couldn't wait to figure out how to work it for himself.

It's the small things in life, it really is the small things. I'm glad my kids remind me of this.

happy birthday dad

We had a really good time this year celebrating my dad's birthday. All three of us girls made it with all of our families. We made my dad's favorite...ruebens, fed all of the kiddos first, and then sent them off to play while we laughed, talked about old memories and genuinely had a really good time. It was a really fun afternoon. Happy Birthday, Dad. I hope you know how much you are loved.

Carter and his new very short haircut that he appeared with this weekend. Apparently, dad picked the wrong setting on the clippers. I think I will be taking care of the haircuts from now on... :) he's still a cute little guy...

my dad is so silly. I like to think I get my good sense of humor from him.

Katie and Brady loving their chocolate cake

I swear I do not raise unbehaved, ill mannered children, but something possessed both my daughter and my son to face plant in their cake. It was too cute not to laugh...even though we had a short talk about actually eating with our forks.

Carter was really all about the icing

Look Mom! I have a fork and a spoon and I'm not going to use either of them!

aunt britty...i think it's safe to say this was a REALLY good chocolate cake

i love my dad.

my stepmom and Carter

Me, Britty, Melanie...all my dad's girls

mel and her matt

my dad is seriously very smart....like Mensa smart...but he really sucks at taking pictures.

britty and her mark

mark and kj

side effect of eating too much chocolate cake

It was a really fun day with family. We should be more intentional about how important our time is. As my kids get older I realize this more and more. I think I need to remind myself of this more. I'll put it on the to do list.

Camping in the Kitchen

These two silly little monkeys...always into trouble, always finding a new adventure. After dinner earlier this week, Katie and Carter decided to make a "fort" in the kitchen with all of the blankets and pillows from their beds and stack them all around the kitchen floor. (Good thing I decided to clean the kitchen floor that morning...and hey, a little dirt never hurts :). They were nice enough to invite Caymus (the golden retriever) and Abby (our black lab/great dane/we don't know what but we lover her) and everyone had a blast giggling and rolling around on the kitchen floor. I think the dogs had just as much fun as Katie and Carter. well I'm pretty sure his shirt says it all...

my sweet boy.

Abby yawning and Carter making room for her on his "bed"

Katie and Caymus...camping in the kitchen.

Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.

~George Eliot

choo! choo!

Not to make anyone gag...because I'm really not into talking about my "parent of the year" status on this blog (I'm losing...by the way), but I have been intentional lately about turning off the t.v. and "making" KJ and Carter play. I want them to imagine and explore more...and it is so clear to me how much they zone out in front of the t.v. (*editor's note: should I feel the same way about Dora?? My daughter and son can regularly speak Spanish words now and count in Spanish?? hmmm....)

Anyway...back to the point. Carter got this train set for Christmas (his special present from Eric) and even though the packaging said that it was a little bit too old for him, Eric convinced me that it would be an awesome toy for Carter and that he would love it. He was absolutely right. Carter needs a little help getting started, but I love watching his little fingers manipulate the pieces, and put the parts of the track together. He will set up little "towns" and sometimes just make the track twirl all over his room. He insisted last week that he sit down to lunch with me before we picked up Katie from preschool, with his trains...ALL of them. After a little give and take, he settled for two. Hey, it's the small victories.

Just checking out his new toy...he had no idea how much fun it would be outside of the box!

Sitting right in the middle of his creation...so cute in his "Dino" shirt

Carter always needs to make sure that ALL of the pieces are within arms reach.... (there are a lot of pieces...)

I came in to play...and bubby decided he wanted some mommy time, and for me to show him how magnets work (the trains connect magnetically)...it took him a second to figure out the right ends...but he did it.

Having fun with my kids.

And because no post would be complete without a picture with my little girl and little boy...

Children have neither past nor future; they enjoy the present, which very few of us do.

Jean de la Bruyere