PRACTICALLY PERFECT

Born just an hour and half past his due date, Benjamin James arrived April 30 at 1:27 am. 7 lbs. 11 oz., 20 1/2 inches. We are all doing well and our home feels like heaven with him around.

NO MORE BABY IN MY BABIES

My kids are all grown up and in school! Here they are on their first days of kindergarten and preschool respectively.



 

 

 

 

 

Luke's in a preschool co-op, just like we did before with Calli. Same idea, new batch of kids! You can follow the preschoolers here.

 

Yeah for school!  They are loving it.

NEEDS BATTERIES!

You know how kids think bandaids fix everything? They want one for every ouch even if their not bleeding. Luke is no exception.

But he has also figured out that when things aren't working they might need batteries. And he applies the bandaid rule to that. He'll bring me a action figure whose arm has fallen off and say, "It's not working. Needs batteries."

In the grocery store recently, I was wrestling with Luke to sit him in the child seat in the front of the shopping cart. Somehow he had positioned himself where he could not get his legs to bend through the slots. Through the struggle he is yelling, "Legs not working! Need batteries!"

He is such a silly kid. Really. Coming posts will prove it.

WELL I LOOK PRETTY GOOD

Her exact words as she headed out the door to her first Fancy Nancy soiree last summer. Seriously, where do kids get their confidence?

I tried to tell her over and over that she had other things to wear that were tres more fancy, but this is what she came up with and you can't argue with that.

NOT BIEBER

(The kids circa Valentine's Day 2011)

I haven't blogged in months, I know. But I am going to start somewhere...

Small posts catching up on all the funny things my kids say and do. I give you-- case #1.

Luke has all this hair. It is full, blonde and I can't help but keep it long. I just love it too much. Anyway, it grows out quickly and there are days when I know a trim is due but that happens when it happens.

One of these days at the dinner table Luke's hair was in his face. I brushed it to the side so he could see at which point I hear...

Dan: "Hey Luke, are you Bieber?"

Luke: with defiance, "I not Bieber."

Dan: "You're not Bieber?"

Luke: "I not Bieber!"

Ashley: This is horrifying. How on earth does my two year old son already know Justin Bieber!

Luke: "I no like Bieber. I like Elmo."

Much better. He thought Dan was calling him Big Bird. :)

THE CUTEST PAIR?

Cast your vote.

Little Red Riding Hood and Little Boy Blue?

or Deb and Napoleon?

Other shots from Halloween...

The kidlets ready to go!

Sorry for the crummy picture quality on some of these... been suffering from camera problems. Grr. Resorting to my old camera which is obviously dying.

SUMMER

It's a good thing summer lasts so long here. It gives you a chance to get everything on your make-this-summer- memorable check list done.

I admit it. I love summer. The heat, the water-- it just feels good to me. I love the splashes, the popsicles, diaper clad toddlers running barefoot in the grass. Yep, I love summer.

Don't get me wrong. The structure and routine of a school year is nice and necessary. But I swear it makes life pass you by all too quickly. The carefree feeling of summer--It does a soul good.

Am I the only one who makes oodles of plans to make things feel important? To last? Summer is no exception. I thought I would spend a lot of time teaching my little ones, but I have to say we played mostly. Which is good. Good for me and good for them.

So this past summer? A success. We did just about everything I wanted, just in the nick of time.

First, we swam. A lot. It was great that our pool was used this summer FAR more than before. Calli learned to swim. (The kiddos poolside in late September.)

Then, we played with friends. Many a days at the park, a trip to the nearby lake.

Beach camping. Santa Cruz. Never disappoints. (I have a bazillion photos of all these events, that I just can't bear to think of never posting. Even though it may take me years to get there, I am going to try. So, all of this is just an overview of what kept us so busy.)

A trip to the zoo,

Look at this hair... I can't keep it up!

Peacocks! Calli's favorite along with flamingos.

A fantastic Fourth, where we enjoyed dinner with friends on a breezy day. Drinking lemonade from mason jars, swimming in the dark. Fireworks. Just about perfect.

We hit up a baseball game

and a water park. (For the record, that is my sister in the pink glasses. I'm afraid I'm too old to pull off the 80's thing now.)

We saw all of our cousins, but one. (We still love you Peyton.)

Visited family back east. More posts on this required. Here with my sweet Grandma.

Took a half-day trip sans kids in honor of our anniversary. Picked up these as a gift to us. (Or me.)

Went camping again. Friends. Pine Mountain Lake. Yosemite.

And made it to an outdoor concert. Music under the stars just can't be beat.

Exhausted? Me too. Ah, at least we're having fun.