A day at the park

The weather has been nice so we have been trying to get outside as much as possible before the heat hits and it becomes unbareable. It is hard to be outside with Bensen though. He falls a lot and just goes where ever he pleases, like running into the street. Plus, I try to get the kids to avoid the fire ant hills and Bensen seems to fall right on them. Anyways, we have a toddler park near us that the kids like to play at. It was a perfect day. A little breezy, not too hot, and no mosquitos yet.

Art, Friend Party, Sleepy

Coloring and painting is always fun. Bensen always wants to join in. He gets really excited about coloring but likes to eat the crayons too. He squeals with delight when he sees the crayons. I try to get him to keep his pacifier in his mouth so he doesn't stick the crayons in., but eventually he does.
The other day when the kids were painting, Bensen was sleeping, I was noticing how different they are when they create. Parker is very concerned with matching the colors. He also does little strokes and paints one area at a time. Staucie mixes all the colors together, uses big blobs, and smears paint everywhere.

Staucie's.......................Parker's

Friend Party!

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We decided to give in and throw a "friend party" for Staucie since she has been invited to some. I didn't really feel up to it and have never done one before. It was also not part of the budget, but we did it anyways and I was glad we did.

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I was worried about how Staucie would do. She was really excited to have all her friends over to play, but she is SO shy. Even when a friend comes over to her house to play she takes awhile to warm up. And the birthday parties that she has gone to, she wanted me to stay and barely participated in anything.

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She surprised us though and was her normal self. She played, talked, and was in the middle of everything. I was so glad she had fun. Fortunately it was a beautiful day so we spent most of the time outside playing games. We even had them eat their cupcakes outside. Daniel did most of the games, and I ended up holding Bensen for most of the time.

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The only pictures I got were of her ripping into her presents and her friends watching.

She got a lot of girly stuff and was so happy!

Sometimes I don't put Parker down for a nap. The other day he crashed on the couch while watching a movie with Staucie.

Today I didn't let him take a nap because he wouldn't go to bed last night. He was real tired and passed out at dinner. He got left at the table because he hadn't finished his dinner. I saw him lay his head down and knew he was going to fall asleep. Poor kid. We woke him up really quick and had Family Night and he fell asleep really fast tonight, along with Staucie. Just how I like it.

Staucie's Birthday

For Staucie's birthday I convinced Daniel to take the day off since he has a couple floating holidays at the beginning of the year. The first thing Staucie got to do was open one present, which was a dress and headband. She loves dresses and wanted it on immediately, along with the headband. Then her and Parker went to run errands with Daniel. They picked up Aunt Brittany and Noah on their way back and they came over to play. They played while Daniel mowed the lawn and then had lunch. While the boys took a nap, Daniel and Staucie went to the store to get a helium balloon and the cake topper, and took Brittany and Noah home.
Then we decorated the cake. I wanted to be boring and make cupcakes, but Staucie insisted on a princess Tinker Bell cake. Aunt Tyne usually makes her cakes, but this year I had to do it. So here is what I did with a butter knife and a plastic bag.

After both boys were up, we decided to go look at some model homes. The kids LOVE to run up and down the stairs of the homes and they like that the houses are big. Then we came home and had dinner. Staucie asked for BROCCOLI and GREEN BEANS for dinner. That was all she wanted. So, I added some other things to our dinner. After dinner, Staucie impatiently waited and waited for Matt, Brittany, and Noah to come over so she could FINALLY open her presents. She was going nuts! (Bensen has a big bruise on his forehead from falling on his face on the driveway Saturday evening.)

We sang 'Happy Birthday.'

Blew out the candles.

Parker ran over to help as soon as I snapped the picture.

Then, FINALLY, ripped into the PRESENTS!

Noah had fun playing with balloons and watching the kids go crazy.

Staucie got mostly ponies for her birthday. My parents sent her a My Little Pony house for her birthday. They all love to play with it.

She has taken an interest in ponies and horses lately. She reminds me of her Aunt Tyne all the time. She exchanged one of her ponies for a Sleeping Beauty Barbie that goes in the bath tub.

Staucie wanted vanilla ice cream, a vanilla cake with vanilla frosting. And of course she ate all her broccoli and beans for dinner, but didn't want her cake, just the ice cream. She never wants to eat the cake, she just wants me to make the cake. Silly girl. The boys and I like cake though, I think Daniel would prefer ice cream too.

Happy Birthday Staucie!

4 Years Old!

Happy 4th Birthday to our beautiful STAUCIE!

Newborn

One Year
Two Years

Three Years

We Love You!

And we are so happy you are in our family.

Baby's First Hair Cut

Sad Day!

I cut off his curls.

He was called a girl too many times.

Look at that pretty little face with his pretty little curls.

The BEFORE shots.

All the curls are along the bottom. He had a curly mullet.
I got it wet first.

This is his hair AFTER.

It still has some curl to it when wet.

He looks different and I was sad to see his curls go. I evened all his hair out so maybe we can grow it all out into an afro. Daniel was not happy when he got home from work and asked Bensen what happened to his hair. Maybe my next baby will have curly hair and I won't have to cut it off because she's a she.

Thanks

I just wanted to tell everyone THANK YOU for your sweet comments. Being a mother is challenging and wonderful all at the same time. Sometimes I feel inadequate which has resulted in a lot of "comfort blessings" from Daniel lately. But thank you for saying nice things. Whether they really are true is a different story ;) But they are encouraging and lift my spirits.

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Today has been a better day, but that's because Daniel stayed up with Bensen and then got up with all the kids through the night. Bensen decided to wake up at 9:40pm and kept crying and then after midnight Daniel made him SCREAM himself to sleep. Luckily the other 2 slept through it. He is one loud screamer!

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Bensen has been our best sleeper at night right now, he is a horrible napper, so I am thinking that along with his cold, he must be teething too because he is grouchy during the day, won't eat well, and always wants his mommy to hold him. I don't mind holding him though, that's a good thing. He is snuggly and gives good hugs. Nothing sweeter than your one-year-old baby running towards you with his wobbly little run and both arms stretched out to you.

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This is a picture of Staucie with her pillow case on.

She somehow got both her arms in and then was running around flapping her wings.

She was a pteranodon (a flying dinosaur).

*I had already cleaned off the crayon with the Magic Eraser. I didn't know it could take off paint though. If it did take off paint, I couldn't tell since this house has ugly walls already :) I thought the crayon on the wall was kinda funny. Daniel was more mad then I was. I figured it would come off. And it was funny because I was stirring something on the stove and Daniel was talking about our taxes and I heard the noise of the crayon on the wall and said, "Is someone coloring on the wall." Daniel was shocked that I knew. Maybe that is why they say mother's have eyes on the back of their heads. You just know by the sound because those are things you tune into during the day. It's just like when your kids are quiet or if they are all giggling, you know it means they are doing something naughty.

Wall Drawings

"Parker Did It!"

That's what Staucie would say, this time it was true.

None of my kids have colored on the walls or anything they weren't supposed to on purpose, until today. I thought Bensen would be the first since we can't keep that kid out of the trash, bathroom, fireplace, crayon box, etc.

The kids and I had a real rough day today. The kids have not been sleeping well lately. They have been sick too, again. We have been fighting it since September and it just won't go away! I cannot remember the last time Daniel and I slept through the night with no interuptions. Kids always wake up, but we would always get a few breaks where no one would wake us up. But every night for a few months now all the kids wake up at least once and none at the same time. Last night they all woke up at least twice and never at the same time. And there are 3 of them.

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Anyways, I have been VERY sleep deprived lately and have been awake since 4 am today. I tried to pass out while Staucie was at school and Bensen was napping and Parker wanted to watch Backyardigans, but Parker wouldn't have it. Ugh. It resulted in another day full of tears for all of us. I hate days like today.

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Anyways, Parker decided to end the day by coloring on the wall and door of his and Staucie's bedroom. He did it while I was finishing dinner and Daniel had just come home from work. Then Daniel went off to scouts. Always the night that I need him the most :) I should be used to it since he has been going for almost 5 years now.

It's Shea's Birthday!

Shout Hooray!

Happy Birthday to You, Shea!

We Love You!

We Miss You!

Playing Outside

Well, sadly Bensen started venturing off the blanket the other afternoon that we were outside. Always a sad day when your baby is no longer afraid of the grass. He started crawling all over the place and loved every minute of it. Wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't pregnant, I guess.

The kids like to color with sidewalk chalk. I have decided that I do not like sidewalk chalk at all. It ends up all over them, their bikes, my car, and sometimes they combine it with water to make a paste. Love it.

Lovely. Can't wait to clean you up.

This is a different day. Staucie's new bike.

And on Sunday we went for a walk and Bensen wanted to try the scooter when we got back.

Bensen is now walking. He is still slow, but prefers walking over crawling, even though it is faster. I love watching him walk around the house. He is always carrying something with him too. So cute.