Molly 6 months

It just keeps flying! It's so hard to believe that 6 months have come and gone already. This sweet little girl is so very much fun! She giggles at just about anything, wakes up with a smile and is the most easy going little lady. She LOVES the pool, which is lucky for her since we are there almost every day! Not so much into eating yet however she actually ate an entire banana in one setting after which I discovered that wasn't conducive to her staying "regular", so we have replaced the banana this week with a little apple and prune juice... still waiting for the desired result:) But seriously, it is hard to remember what life was like 6 months ago without her.

I absolutely love these pictures our dear friend and talented photographer Molly took for us!

Thunderstorms

For some reason Olivia continues to be so sensitive to noises... for a while she would wake up crying when she heard the train go by. It seems that she finally got used to that and is now just crazily afraid of thunder. Even the smallest rumble and she clamps her hands down on her ears and just cries and shakes. These pictures were taken during one of our recent thunderstorms. She is only smiling here because she was allowed to get up and be with the "big people" at 11 pm until the storm quieted. Even though the crying stopped, she still would not take her hands off her ears. We finally did figure out that we could distract her with princess games on the computer and that seemed to make the experience so much less traumatic! We owe that very important discovery to her smart daddy!

Dedication

On June 14th, we dedicated all three of our children back to the Lord. We have been so blessed with these wonderful lives. Our desire is to raise them up showing them the right way to live and entrusting them to His care. It is such a scary and sometimes overwhelming job, I am so thankful there is Someone bigger in control. Pastor Phil married Ora and I 12 years ago! It meant a lot to have him dedicate our children.

Birthday Cake and Party Masks

Ora turned the BIG 38 last month so the kids and I made him his favorite.... chocolate cake! They love frosting the cake the most. I should say they love licking the knife after frosting the cake the most! The masks were made by their Aunt TT. She is so creative and has such patience. They were very cool! Ora and I celebrated his birthday by spending 3 hours at Dave and Barry's playing arcade games like a couple of kids. Contrary to what he may think... I did enjoy it.

Not the pool

So what does a 6 year old and a 3 year old do on one of the few days they can't spend the afternoon at the pool? Why, paint pine cones of course. The things little minds are entertained by never ceases to amaze me. This little project was self directed and used up at least 1 hour of the long afternoon of indoor activities. They were so proud of their "masterpieces". And I'm sure you are wondering what I did with these "trophies".... I admired them for all of that afternoon and then deposited them for safe keeping in the T-R-A-S-H when they weren't looking. When I first became a mom I thought I would save absolutely everything until I started getting fun little gifts like these and dandylions and rocks.... If your'e a mom, you know quite well my predicament. It's funny how they don't even miss them.

The flavors of summer

There are so many things to love about summer but one of my favorite things is all the fresh produce! I personally love the tomatoes, summer squash, watermelon, strawberries, cucumbers and corn on the cob... but my kids most favorite is the corn on the cob! I'd have to say that we enjoy an ear or two at least once a week during the summer. Nothing beats a hot juicy ear of corn rolled in butter and sprinkled with salt and pepper. I remember as a kid growing up we would go to grandma and grandpa's for corn harvest and for lunch we would have corn on the cob and home grown tomatoes... that's it and that was enough! :) Those were the days....

the ants go marching.....

So we have been dealing with a problem i'm sure many of you have faced at some time or another..... ANTS!! We hate them and have been battling them for weeks! But nobody hates them more than miss princess Olivia. On multiple occasions after Olivia has finished her bathroom business she will get up on the little potty (to escaped the little creepy crawlies) and howler for me to come get her. She would not put her pants back on let alone try to walk out of the bathroom through their path! Now you may be thinking, wow they must really have a major infestation... not so much... it only takes one for her! The other day I had come inside for a minute while the kids were in the driveway playing and I heard Olivia scream and start crying hysterically... as I raced out to survey the damage, assuming that her "loving" brother had gotten a little too "loving".... what I found was Olivia screaming because a single solitary ant had crawled upon her foot!!! Well after about a week of potty accidents and balancing acts on the potty, I decided to park the potty in the middle of the kitchen floor! Guess what?? No more accidents! I guess the ants like the bathroom better. Luckily that didn't last long and we finally got her desensitized to the problem we have yet to conquer:) The ants go marching one by one....

Kindergarten Graduation

May 2009

My "baby" graduated kindergarten! The funniest part of the morning was when I asked Joshua where his diploma was after the ceremony and he pulled a crumpled folded paper out of his pocket...(guess i'll have to iron it before it goes in the scrapbook), this is So Joshua as all year long each day when I would open his backpack to check out the day's work... all the paper would be wadded and crammed in the backpack... just as he had done with the diploma. I guess we will need to work on neatness and organization this summer... Yeah right! he's a boy.. ALL BOY!

Olivia's First Dance Recital

Olivia was absolutely ecstatic to dance in her first recital last month. She did two numbers... a tap dance to the song "Lollipop Lollipop" and a tear jerking ballet number to the song "Thank God for Kids" by Alabama. She did a great job, was even cute as can be when she so gracefully fell down trying to twirl around. Her aunt TT and brit finished the performance off as any professional dancer would expect.. by bring her some roses after the show... too bad this distracted mom forgot to actually take a picture of her in her dance costume. She was too cute for words!