Weird

Being a mom is so weird sometimes. Little kids can be so funny, and you really never know what's going to happen next.  The boys are particularly weird.

I was trying to get the kids ready to get out the door this morning and Andrew put my tights on instead of pants.  You can't tell in the picture, but he also has several pairs of my socks in there, too.  He loves so much to be silly.

Charlie begs for pictures all day long.  He gives cute little smiles.  Sweet little baby.

 

I went to the bathroom and when I got back, Charlie had climbed up on the counter and was energetically pounding away on the keyboard.

 

This is what he does when he gets even a little upset.  A little melodramatic.

  

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I love when he makes this face.

 

On Sunday, Charlie and I were napping, and he wasn't quite ready to wake up.  I love that pouty little lip.

 

When You're Sick...

Andrew has had the sniffles this week and it has turned into a cold.  He has come up with some interesting ways to feel better.  When he woke up, he had some dried snot on his upper lip.  His remedy?  Take my toothbrush and dip it in a cup of water and use it to get rid of the "wax" on his lip.  I'm so thankful that he came to me to show me.  He was pretty proud of myself.  And yeah, time for a new toothbrush locked up in a safe. 

Here he is with a bandaid on his upper lip.  Another clever way to help heal up his poor little lip.

 

He told me he got a bump on his leg, so he got an ace bandage.  Later, he got a twin sized fuzzy blanket and tied it around his leg.  Whatever works.

 

Emily is also super helpful.  She got some medicine from the bathroom and a spoon.  Well, more like a medium sized ladle.  Welllllll.  That would make him feel better. 

We decided to get a medicine spoon instead and that seemed to work better.  Then we got the little gal some clothes on.

The Little Artist

I decided to post a couple pictures that Andrew has drawn this month, and couldn't stop myself from posting a bunch.  There are a lot more, but I had to put a limit on it somewhere!  :)

I accidently put that a turtle was there.  As far as I can see, there isn't one.  Just two kids.  I love the big CAT sign above them.

 

 

 

One of my personal favorites.

 

 

He just comes up with this stuff all on his own.  Such a little creative smarty.

 

 

The goldfish is by far my favorite thing ever.  (And the letters for each color.)

 

...and their babies.  This was a direct quote.  Adorable.

 

The tape holding up the pictures!  The tape!  The hat!

 

Oops, forgot to flip it.

 

The dinosaurs eating. The dinosaurs saying I love you and I love you too.  The one saying "rar" (rawr).  Bottom left:  One says "Rar" and the other responds "Col" (cool) The dinosaur with the steam coming out of his head.  All. Too. Cute.

 

A boat on the water.  The boat is carrying letters, you just can't see them he says.

Sweet, Sweet Freedom

Charlie has really grown up lately.  Sundays have been a bit of a challenge, because he is so active and there isn't a class for kids until they are a year and a half. 

 

But THIS Sunday was so wonderful!!!  It was his first week in Nursery and he had a great time.  We, on the other hand, had a fabulous time.  We got to go to our classes the whole time and really focus on the lessons.  Nice.  :)

 And the best part was that he liked it.  He got to play, learned a little lesson, sang songs, and see his big sister Emily.  Hooray for Nursery!

Surprise!

My husband is tricky.  Normally on Wednesdays, he has an all day docket, and then Scouts that night, so we don't get much time with him on those days.  Our anniversary was last Wednesday and he surprised me by an all morning, most of the afternoon date!  He arranged to get the babysitter and planned a fun day together.  It was a great way to spend our 9th anniversary.

First we went to Aunt Martha's Pancake House in Springfield.  Normally pancakes are not super exciting to me but these were goo-oood. 

 

 

Afterwards, he took me to the mall where we walked around for awhile, went shoe shopping, went to several thrift stores, and just basically spent time together talking.

 

When it got to be lunchtime, we went to a place called Farmers Gastropub.  It was so good!  I loved the atmosphere, too.  We actually get to go back this week because Mike's office is getting together for dinner.  Yay! 

 

 

 We loved trying new foods.  One of the best parts of being with Michael is that there really isn't ever a dull moment.  We talk about important things like our past, our future, our children, our hopes and dreams.  But we also talk about silly things.  We just have a lot of fun together.  And I think that is part of the story of our success.

Thanks for the fun date, sweetie! You can surprise me like that anytime.

9

I don't think it's a big secret that I like Michael Jacobs.  He's pretty much the best person ever, plus he's cute. 

Nine years ago, we were married in the St. Louis, Missouri temple.  I've made some good decisions in my life, but that was by far the best one.  It's cliché to say, but it's amazing how much more I love him now than I did then. 

Mike and I when we were just babies, newly engaged.

 I'm so thankful to be married to my best friend.  He helps me, I help him, we help the kids (CONSTANTLY), and we grow as a couple and a family.  I'm so happy, and I love him lots and lots!

 

Making doughnuts with my pal

And to think....the girl in this picture married the best guy in the universe.  Miracles do exist. 

But this picture DEFINITELY shouldn't exist.  I mean, seriously. I have to laugh every time I run across it.  (FYI, I was not on board with the rose.)

 Oh, 15 year old Karen.  What were we thinking?  We've come a long way, baby.

3

(Side note to start off) This happened while I was in the bathroom. Charlie got the icing I had made for some brownies I was bringing to an activity that night.  It looked like he had gloves and a full-on beard.  He was very happily scrolling through pictures and eating icing.  It was the most terrifying sight ever.  Camera works, but all the buttons have icing stuck deep inside.  I still love my son.

 

But on to the actual blog post!  Third time's a charm!!!!!  We were running out of diapers and she was waking up dry in the mornings so I bit the bullet and potty trained the girl for the third time.  And it's been fairly smooth!  Andrew and Charlie are very enthusiastic supporters, partly largely due to the M&M they all received when she went.  Emily calls them ah-nem-ahs.  And it's super cute.  We're really proud of her!

She also got her hair cut this week.  She screamed any time we had to comb her hair because of all the knots and tangles, so this was just easier.  It's been a couple days and as her hair recovers from the shock of being cut, it gets cuter and cuter.  Here she is the day after.

I loved how she looked like just a head and feet.

Before!  It was hard to see those beautiful long curls go.

And after!  She was not miserable, although she refused to smile for the camera.  When the hairdresser made the first cut in the front, Emily got wide eyed and said, "Ooh, are you making me a fairy princess?"  She was so happy.

There was another little girl her age waiting to get her hair cut.  The two of them looked at nail polish while I was paying.  She kept saying things like, "Okay, Emily (she thinks every little girl is named Emily).  We can look, but no touching, okay?  Isn't this one pretty?  We can paint our nails!  PINK!"  Then when we were leaving, she said, "Okay, little girl.  I'm going home now so the boys can see my hair.  Thanks for playing with me!"

We love our little girly girl.  :)

18

It almost seems impossible, but tomorrow Charlie will be 18 months.  Where does the time go?  I have really loved having him be our baby.  He's so sweet and adventurous.  Andrew told Emily a couple days ago that Mommy had baby twin boys in her tummy and their names were Charlie and Charlie.  (None of that statement is true, FYI.)  They LOVE their baby Charlie.

 It is becoming all too apparent that our little guy is growing up.  Way too fast.  WAYYYY too fast, people.  He tries to keep up with the big dogs (A and E) and isn't afraid of anything.  He is really independent now, and since my last blog about Charlie (only about 2 weeks ago) he has added about 15-20 words to his vocabulary.  (Mickey, teeth, ball, etc.) 

He is such a joy in our lives, and we love him to pieces.  We're so glad he came to live in our family.  We can't imagine our lives without our little Charlie boy.

All's Fair in Bolivar

Springfield had a fair this week, so yesterday we packed up the kids and brought them.  Two things: 

1.  NEVER. AGAIN.

2.  They had a lot of fun.

 

If it hadn't been as hot as the surface of the sun, and if the rides hadn't cost more than my entire wardrobe, it would have been more fun for the adults.  :)

 

The kids liked riding the rides.  Andrew sat either with his hands over his eyes or with a blank expression on his face the whole time.  But when asked what he thought, he would say, "Good.  Let's go on another one."  Emily, on the other hand, looked around smiling and laughing and acted like it was the most magical thing that had ever happened to her.

 

Charlie's favorite part was waving at Andrew and Emily while they were on the rides.

 

Yes, Mom.  Of course I'm having fun.  Can't you tell?

 

 Yippee!!

 

Get me down from here.  I want to run away and get lost.

 

Andrew wanted to go on the gigantic slide.  It was SOOOO tall, and halfway up the stairs he looked down at me saying, "Mama.  It's so big."  I told him he could still do it if he wanted, and he'd be okay.  I was proud of him for doing it, although he looked pretty terrified going down.  He says it was his favorite part of the fair.  Go figure.

 

Yep.  They're cute.

I Can Can. Can You Can? Can You?

As I have said before, our garden is awesome.  And we decided that if we're going to be blessed with all these great vegetables, we'd better preserve them!  Nothing is worse than having to throw away food simply because it went bad on the counter.

 

Hello, beautiful.

 

We decided to learn to can.  I've always been petrified to even consider doing it, because it seemed such a daunting and exhausting task. 

 

Turns out, it really wasn't so bad!  It took a long time since it was our first time, but it wasn't hard, and we now have 6 quart jars of tomatoes that we can pop open and use any time we want!

 

And I look straight-up out of my mind in this picture.

 

We have some tomato sauce to can tomorrow.  It's awesome to see those jars on the shelf.  :)