Good News...Bad News

We had a great weekend...mostly full of good news. Let me fill you in.

Good News: I managed to get the house completely cleaned, all in the same weekend, for the first time in the history of what my mind can remember without straining. Jason did a lot of playing with Joshua outside on Saturday, which in combination with Lauren taking two good naps (longer than it takes me to get out of her bedroom, I mean) meant I could be dangerously productive. It felt so good to have clean bathrooms, empty garbage cans and no dust on the stand by our television at the same time as having clean sheets on the bed.

Good News: We managed to skirt the issue of the Disney DVD vault by finding a few copies of the Disney movies that Joshua is obsessed with currently. The whole ordering online process was a bit sketchy, even for the person who has done her fair share (and then some) of ordering online, so I fear that the videos may be bootlegged copies or in some other way illegal. But when Peter Pan and Snow White arrived in our mailbox on Saturday, you'd have thought it was Christmas morning for Joshua. This is the stuff of great bribery. And, as we've made no bones about in the past, I have absolutely no problem resorting to using it as such.

Good News: Our church's special day of community service called "Be The Church Day" was a success. The projects that were being done all day throughout Milton were pretty impressive--- a handicapped ramp being built onto someone's home, some landscaping for folks who needed assistance, a clothing/food distribution, a one day Bible School at one of the low income housing developments and a roadway cleanup. Because Joshua and Lauren would have been a real challenge on any of those projects, I signed up to help with activities for the children back at the church and was assigned to help Mrs. Mabus (yep, the same one) teach the little ones about what they could do to "Be The Church" to those around them. Mrs. Mabus had big plans--- we planted flowers (dirt everywhere), we made homemade play dough (flour everywhere), we made homemade stress balls (salt everywhere) and a few other activities that kept the kids occupied for 4 hours. I was beat. Joshua was beat. Lauren had had it up to here with other kids. But we had a great time and were happy to be a part of it.

This was one of the kids' craft projects before the rest of the gang arrived. We had our hands full for sure. There were 10 kids there ranging in age from Lauren to fourth grade.

This was Lauren's vantage point for most of the morning. As long as I kept interchanging toys for her, she'd sit there and play or roll around and try to empty out the diaper bag while I worked with the bigger kids. She made it without a nap all morning long, which led to 2 nice naps in the afternoon once we got home.

Good News: Lauren is so close to crawling. She's up on all fours most of the time now, and we've seen her take one crawling "step" (if that's what you'd call it). She hasn't let this lack of actual crawling skills slow her down one bit, though. She's off to the races as soon as you put her down on the floor most times. Her main interests are Joshua's tool bench and anything else she can get to and put in her mouth that will make him mad. Let the refereeing begin!

Bad News: While at church last evening, we discovered a way to really interrupt things. Lauren had been in a bit of a mood as soon as the service started. I reached the useful end of everything I had with me to entertain her by the time the slide show of the day's photos had finished. So I was standing in the back of the church swaying and bouncing with her, hoping she'd close her eyes and let me make it through the service. Suddenly there was a horrible crash.....at which point I realized everyone in the sanctuary was looking directly at me and the vase of flowers that used to be sitting behind me, but was now a pile of 8 million pieces of glass on the floor behind me. I swear, that girl has Go Go Gadget hands....she can swipe absolutely anything out of your hands in a millisecond. She practices this skill when you are holding her and trying to take a drink of something, or when you're holding her and trying to mix cereal (can't tell you how many bowls I've cleaned off of our floors), or when you're holding her and trying to get something out of the pantry (all of the spices get pulled off the rack). Needless to say, we quickly gathered our things and high tailed it home. And I owe First Baptist Church a new vase.

And he surprises us once again!

I'm experience parental pride in a new way lately. I'm proud of my kids all the time for a million different reasons, but it's been such a new experience to feel proud of Joshua for growing into an independent, kind, responsible little person. And at least to date, I haven't seen that in him the way that being a part of nursery school has put on display. To see him with his classmates, playing nicely, listening to his teacher, cooperating and helping others...it just does my heart good. And last night was certainly no exception. In fact, I think my heart grew about three sizes just watching Joshua's Preschool Program.

I had visions of Joshua high-tailing it off of the stage as soon as he saw a bunch of eyeballs staring at him up there. Honestly, as we sat waiting for the program to begin and more and more people kept shuffling in, I thought we were doomed.

The K5 kids started off the night with their little program about "Growing God's Way". They read passages, they remembered their lines, they acted out little parts, they sang a few songs. It was precious....and more like what I remembered programs being like when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade, actually. They showed off their counting skills- by 2's, 5's and 10's. They taught me a neat little saying about vowel sounds that I'm pretty sure my mom would have flipped over, being the English enthusiast that she is.

And then.........and then it was time. I moved into position in the front row to snap some photos. All of the nursery school parents sat there with bated breath just wondering how this was all going to go.

They filed in so nicely. Hands at their sides. They took their places on the bleachers and stayed put. They waved as soon as they saw faces they recognized.

They belted out "I Am A Promise" like it was their job! They did motions, sang mostly all of the words and charmed the pants off of the audience (figuratively speaking, of course). The pictures don't really do it justice like the video does. But trust me when I say I could have just eaten him right up.

When they were done singing, each of the kids had their name called and they got a certificate from Mrs. Mabus. My camera wasn't functioning wonderfully when it was time for Joshua's, so our picture is a little fuzzy, but he was thrilled. And he did a super job following instructions.

After their part was over, the teachers quickly whisked the little ones off to their classroom for some playtime. The K4 group did a bit more of an extensive repertoire of songs and got their certificates. And then it was time for the K5 (Meadowbrook's Kindergarten) to graduate.

They processed into the auditorium to Pomp and Circumstance while wearing their caps and gowns. I'm a bit concerned that I actually teared up while watching them march in, all grown up and ready for 1st grade. I can only imagine how I'll feel when it's my own child doing it. There's been no shortage of making fun of me for my emotion ever since, so feel free to join in the fun if you're so inclined. It was adorable!

Lauren hung in pretty well through the whole evening. Her schedule was off yesterday, making it touchy for her eating. She was hungry through most of the program, but I was able to hold her off until we got home. Although it made for a difficult evening with a very scroochy baby, it did push her bedtime back until after 10. That doesn't sound great, except for the fact that the first peep I heard out of her was at 5:27 this morning! That's the first all nighter she's pulled in MONTHS! Too bad Josh was up a few times....but that's beside the point. On top of that, I have to tell you that she was so close to crawling last night I couldn't even stand it. With just a little support under her tummy, her arms and legs were going perfectly. I also heard her first babble sound last night.......and it was "MMMMMMMMMMMM.........MUM!" Amazing.



Happy Weekend all! Summer vacation at our house starts today, so I'm already dreaming up ideas to keep Joshua busy. If you have any great ones, I'm all ears!

Not to be left out...

Joshua surely has been commanding the attention of the camera and the blog posts lately, hasn't he? I guess that's what happens when you have major life events like field trips and field days and the end of nursery school going on. Tonight's Preschool Program will be blog worthy, I'm sure. So stay tuned for some photos from that adventure tomorrow.

But, I wanted to share some Lauren pictures with everyone. To say that we're entering into the "exploratory" phase with her would be an understatement. I seem to recall that this took MUCH longer with Joshua...that we enjoyed the "put him down on the blanket and he'll stay where you put him for long enough to pee" stage much longer than we have this time around. I can't say for sure, but my memory is foggy. For whatever it's worth, Lauren seems to be on a speed course to conquering a million milestones in one month. Although it's fun to see her do things and get so excited with herself, it also has my head spinning a bit. She's dangerously close to crawling. I would categorize her current progress in the "inchworm crawl" category. Her butt goes way up the air until she's almost on her knees, but then she comes crashing down to her belly. In the midst of this action she scoots at least 6" forward. She can get to anything she wants by doing a combination of this and rolling. And she's FAST!

Last evening I watched her as she pulled herself up in her crib as though it required no effort at all. She was sitting there while I changed clothes and without so much as a grunt or even a deep breath, she got up to her knees, grabbed on to the side of the crib and then stood there smiling at me as if she had just climbed Mt. Everest. Shouldn't we crawl before we start pulling up?

She spends a great deal of time playing with toys on the floor. She loves to tip this basket over and cover herself in an avalanche of things to play with. Sometimes she'll even hold onto the basket, fall over and hold it on top of herself. We don't generally encourage that. When she's playing like this I see such concentration and resolve to accomplish/get/explore/devour whatever she wants. I pray that that tenacity will continue throughout her life. She doesn't quit until she has what she set out to get. That's a character trait that will serve her well as she grows.

Given the little exersaucer incident last week, we've now resurrected the pack & play and set it up in our living room. It resembles a baby jail but we choose to call it our "safe spot". To date she has not managed to weasel her way out it, although that's not to say she hasn't tried. She isn't a fan of being in there unless she can see exactly where I am while she's in it. But it is escape proof enough that if I need to do something like drain pasta or cut something or, Heaven forbid, go to the bathroom without her in my arms, I can do so. I don't ask for much.

And, I was almost as excited to get out my beloved Floppy Seat as I was the day we got out the exersaucer. If there was one piece of baby gear I adored with Joshua, this was it. (This was before I fell in love with the Miracle Blanket.) But, now that Lauren is a pretty sturdy sitter, I thought we would try the Floppy Seat for our grocery trip last weekend. Normally I've been doing grocery shopping late in the day on Friday with NO kids because I can accomplish in 45 minutes what would take me no less than an hour and a half with the kids along. In my life, faster is better. But my work schedule didn't allow any hooky playing for groceries last week so Lauren and I went on Saturday while Joshua and Daddy played at home. We had a ball. She loved looking around at all the people, smiling and cooing at anyone who would look at her. She's a charmer for sure.

Despite all of this, we are still toothless at our house. How funny would it be to have a walker with no teeth? At the rate we're going on both accounts, I'd say it's not out of the realm of possibility.

Field Day Fun

What a morning it was. I can officially say that we are tossed, jumped, batted, scooted, bubbled, fished and spied OUT after Joshua's first experience at the Meadowbrook Preschool Field Day this morning. I was thrilled to be a part of it.

This story is best told in pictures. So here we go...

This is Joshua's friend, Spencer, who I find completely adorable if you ask my opinion. Anyway, I believe we're kind of like a bad cold that Spencer and his Mommy can't shake in these past few weeks. We were assigned to ride in their car to the field trip last week and were also assigned to their group this morning as well. But it's been great fun to get to know them a little better, and the boys really do enjoy playing together.

Here's the wonderful, deserving-of-sainthood, Mrs. Shaffer. Joshua asked her if she would let him get his picture taken with her. And who can turn that down? We're going to miss her next year for sure.

How do you like this scooter action? The boys just loved these little scooters and were pretty good at zipping around the gym floor on them. I'm pleased to report that, although there were a few close calls, no fingers were run over during the 6.5 minutes we were at the scooter station.

Everyone's favorite--- potato sack races! This flashed me right back to Buchanan Elementary School field days where these used to be the one event I did well in. Joshua was pretty good at it as well. My other flashback came when we went to the station that had ROMPER STOMPERS! I don't have any pictures of that because I was too busy holding Joshua up while he stomped around, but all I could think about was Miss Molly and the Romper Room and my daily disappointment in waiting for her to call my name in her magic mirror.

Hula hoop jumping! The boys triend to actually use the hula hoops as they were intended. It was comical for sure. We decided they would do better if we laid them down and had them hop from hoop to hoop. I did share with Joshua that his Nana is a pretty good hula hooper, and he says he'd like to see that. So maybe we'll have to find some hoops to take to Benezette for a good old fashioned hula challenge.


Here's Joshua playing "I Spy" with Mr. Baughman, the school principal. The kids had to use binoculars to find a whole list of things hidden in a little make-shift garden inside the lobby of the school.

After all of the activities were done, we went inside and put blankets down on the lobby floor to eat a picnic lunch with all of the other kids and their parents. Then it was time for the awards ceremony. Below are all of the nursery school kids lined up and listening pretty well to Mrs. Mabus as she gave out their awards.

Here's Joshua getting his medal from Mrs. Mabus. He was so proud of it!

And so ends a very fun Preschool Field Day! Next week is the last week of school with Monday being the last real day of instruction, Wednesday being Dress Rehearsal for the Preschool Program, and Thursday evening being the big Program Night. I already can't wait to hear their songs and see their performance.

Happy Weekend to all!

Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho...It's off to work we go!

Am I the only one who feels like I'm forever saying "no" to my kids, but Joshua in particular? I think it's partially his age where his yearning for independence, but lack of mental maturity makes the job of parenting especially important. As in, "No, you can't climb up on top of the table like that. You could fall." Or, "No, it's not a good idea to eat only Oreo cookies for breakfast." Or, "For Heaven sake child, do not stick that in your ear/nose/eye! Do you want to be deaf/blind/unable to smell forever?" I've read enough parenting books and magazine articles and blogs and websites to know that it's not good to tell a child "no" all the time. Some even take it so far as to say that for each time you say "no" you should say "yes" some magic number of times. But let's be real for a second. That doesn't work. There are times when "no" has to be the answer, because it just IS. In the words of my father, "It is what it is." And the answer is NO. No amount of rephrasing or repositioning or softening is going to change that.

Anyway, yesterday when I picked Joshua up from school, we came home so that I could feed Lauren. When the schedule works out, it's oh so much more efficient to feed her for 10-15 minutes as opposed to hooking up to the milking machine at the office for an hour or more to produce enough to replace the bottle we used. I'm blessed with the flexibility to do that, and from time to time, I do. (Added bonus is that I got to see a few minutes of my DVR'ed Young and the Restless...and holy smokes is THAT getting good!) When she was done eating, Joshua asked if he could please go to work with me. Normally, there's something scheduled for me that wouldn't be conducive to the involvement of a 3 year old. So my usual answer is "no". But yesterday, as "no" was rolling off my tongue, I found an opportunity to say "yes". And so we packed up and headed to work.

Joshua sat in my office and colored pictures of Snow White, the Wicked Queen and the Prince using every highlighter we could find in the four desks at the office. I loved watching him work, because just in the past few days, his pictures are starting to look like what he says they are. Faces are round with eyes and mouths. Houses are square. Watching the development right as it happens nearly blows me away. He talked to clients, pretended to talk on the phone, told me stories and had a snack. He was an angel. And we had a blast. It only took me 15 minutes this morning to return all of the office supplies to their rightful homes from what he got out yesterday. And it was so worth it.

Lauren got some alone time with Grandma, which was a good thing since everyone was a little on edge by her antics in the morning. Judy put her in the exersaucer so that she could let the dog out. She was no more than 2 feet from her when she heard a thud, followed by screaming. Lauren had flipped herself out of the saucer and landed on her head on the wood floor. She's fine. No bumps. No bleeding. Nothing that would lead us to believe she could have really hurt herself. But we're all a little nervous about where to put her now that she's getting mobile and is desperately trying to explore the world. She scoots around our living room floor like a champ...and when she finally figures out how to get up on her knees, she'll be a goner. (I'm not encouraging this AT ALL!) She's super strong and evidently has dreams of being a gymnast. We weren't sure how she managed this, so I put her back in the saucer, obviously staying right with her, last night. She immediately grabbed on to the side of the tray and had herself hanging over the side of it in no time flat. We raised the exersaucer last night, but that didn't seem to do the trick when I tried it with her again this morning. All we did was give her farther to fall. We also lowered her crib two positions to make sure she doesn't get any bright ideas in there.

It appears she may be the monkey of the family. Joshua, as active as he was, never tried to climb. He never stopped moving once he started, but climbing and catapulting himself over/out of things was never a concern. There's always a new adventure, isn't there? I suspect the pack & play is going to be making a reappearance from the depths of our baby furniture graveyard in the basement so that we at least have a safe place to put Lauren down if we need to.......until she learns to escape from that too.

I believe we should file this under the category, "Never A Dull Moment".

Dedicated...

Yesterday was a special day for our family. We all stood together, in our church, and were intentional about being thankful to the Giver of all things for our daughter. We were blessed to be surrounded by our families as well as the church family who has come to mean so much to us.

Pastor Jamie directed a lot of his message to us through Joshua. Joshua was so thrilled to be a part of it and did very well standing in the front of the church. He even interjected some of his own commentary to Pastor Jamie's words. I had no doubt that would be the case.

I would have lost a bet for sure about how Lauren would do on her walk around the church with Pastor Jamie. In fact, I'd have bet every last penny in my wallet that she would have screamed her head off when he took her in his arms. But it must have been a God thing....because she was as peaceful as she could be.

It was NOT peaceful at our house afterwards, as both families gathered together with us for some lunch and visiting time. I don't believe we've all been together since Joshua's special day in July of 2007, so it was nice to have everyone in the same place. Those are the times, however, that I realize that our house is not exactly constructed for that number of people, but we all made it work. Joshua and Brooke enjoyed some giggle time courtesy of Aunt Libby who tickled them silly. There's just nothing like the music of the laughter of those two precious kids. Give me an iPod filled with nothing but that......I think that's what Heaven is going to sound like.

Lauren was pretty pleasant all day, allowing everyone to hold her and spend time with her without a scream fest. Amen to that! She played on the floor....showed off her sitting, rolling, starting to try to crawl skills for everyone. She blew a lot of raspberries. She giggled and cooed and was extra sweet. Maybe she knew that everyone had come together to celebrate her....I've certainly been talking to her a lot about that.

After about 87 attempts (God bless you, Libby), we managed to take our annual Mother's Day photo. In none of those 87 photos are all three of us looking the right direction. But this was one of the only ones that the kids weren't batting at each other with their hands. So we'll call this one the official Mother's Day photo of 2010. Despite the fact that this gathering was really about Lauren's dedication, I have to say that it was an extra blessing to have the opportunity to have all of the mothers who mean so much to me in one place. I appreciate and admire my Mom more with every passing day, it seems. Every challenge I face as a Mom makes me realize and understand in a new way what my Mom has done for us and the depth of her love for us. And Judy has been such a gift to us as well...her influence on the kids each day and the way she loves them is such a gift. And seeing Libby as the great Mommy she is to Brooke touches my heart in a special way. So, being together was awesome. The best Mother's Day gift I could have asked for.

All I can say about this is that you should have heard the chorus of "Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese" coming from the kids when Libby was taking their picture. Only to be trumped by how hard Libby laughed at them for sounding adorable. If Brooke were any cuter in this picture, I think she'd just about burst!

And finally, seven months later, we managed to get a good picture of the kids TOGETHER! I think I could look at this all day....and I just might.

You'd think that, in all that happened yesterday, that Lauren's dedication would have been my mother's day moment. That would have been logical. But it wasn't. Last night, Lauren and I were sitting face to face while she was eating some cereal and squash and applesauce before bed. I always talk to her when she's eating--- sometimes about silly things and I'll sing songs, and sometimes we just talk. She always looks at me so seriously and listens so intently. So last night I told her that I love her so very much, and she grabbed hold of my cheeks and gave me the messiest sqaush kiss you can imagine. I immediately burst into tears at the magic and gift that being a Mom really is.

And since this blog is a record for you both, Joshua and Lauren, I hope you know how my heart overflows with love for you both. For all the ways you've changed me by making me a Mommy. For all the prayers I've said on your behalf, and mine while learning how to love you best. For all the long nights and early mornings, for the morning hugs and good night snuggles on my shoulder. Every day I don't think I can love you any more. And then the sun sets and rises again and I do.....I always do. And I always will. Nothing you can ever do will change my love for you both.

A Three Year Old's Guide to a Play Date

Let me just start this out by saying that I find it humorous that I even just typed "play date" in my blog post title. I think it's funny how formal we've made everything about motherhood sound. When Emily and I used to blow bubbles or ride our big wheels on Edgewood Place, I guess that was considered a "play date", but we just called it "playing". I think things were simpler then. Anyway.

It was a nice night last evening, so I thought Joshua might benefit from some run-around-outside-and-blow-some-stink-off playing. Then I thought that maybe Darla wanted some of that same kind of play time for Sydney, and selfishly thought that we also might enjoy some Mommy talking time and little baby admiring time while the bigger kids played together. Our last venture at playing together went very well...you might recall the pictures of them digging in the dirt nicely together and jumping to their hearts' content in Sydney's bounce house. I am sad to report that last evening's play time wasn't nearly as pleasant.

But I learned a lot about the rules to a play date when you're three. I'll share them in case you weren't aware, as I was not.

1. It is customary to throw every rule of gracious hosting completely out the window. If your guest wishes to have a drink, throw a fit about them using your cup and be certain to make a big deal about making sure they don't dare take it home with them.

2. Whatever thing/toy/game the other person gets out, regardless of whether you had just passed it by a moment earlier in the garage, you must immediately grab from the other person's hands. Do it quickly and aggressively. Show 'em who's boss.

3. If your friend is playing in the sandbox and has dumped sand onto the roads where the cars usually travel, you must immediately (I mean don't even wait a single second to let them enjoy their accomplishment) clean off all the sand because that's how you like it.

4. When it comes time for soccer, dive onto the ball to make sure the other child cannot kick it. I know that makes for good goal tending, but I'm sure the kids weren't attempting that. They were just attempting to make it miserable for the other one. Even when there are two balls present so that each of you can have one, continue to fight over the same ball until one of you cries, growls or gets put onto the step for being mean.

5. Similarly to soccer, when playing tee ball, taking turns is SO optional. Just jump right on in in front of the other child and hit whenever you want. Even better than that, make sure that you run out into the yard and fight over the ball when it lands to make sure the other child doesn't have the pleasure of returning the ball to the tee. Despite your Mommy's attempts at adding some simple rules to the game (As in, "Whoever hits the ball gets to go and get it from the yard for the next person.") ignore her whole heartedly and continue with this boarish behavior.

6. As often as you can, interject "MINE!" into your phrases.

7. Be as bossy and particular and picky as possible because that's the way to make sure you never get to play together again, and then all of this sharing and taking turns nonsense won't be important at all.

Now do you see why there were no pictures of this little "play date"? There was one victory to report. When we decided to get some drinks and popsicles for the kids, I had onto two frozen, one red and one green. I assumed this would be the next in the string of tragic events. But to my surprise, Sydney declared that she wanted green, and Joshua said that he wanted red. To which Darla and I both replied, "Amen!"

Darla and I covered one topic of conversation in depth throughout the course of an hour and a half. It was done in broken sentences interrupted by shouts of "Stop that!" "Play nicely, please." "It's not your turn." "Let her/him try now." "Can you please get off the bilco doors." "SERIOUSLY, get off the bilco doors!" "Don't you dare push him/her." "Nice kick!" "Now that's how we play nicely with each other, good job!" "Go sit on the step until you can share." "No, not forever, just until you're ready to play nicely and share." I don't want to speak for Darla, but I can tell you that I was exhausted.

So, now you know. If you have a child who is not yet 3, all I can say is to enjoy the "Terrible Two's". They're NOTHING compared to three. And if 4 doesn't get better, you might as well write my ticket to the funny farm right now.

Lions and Tigers and Bears......Oh My!

Today was Joshua's first ever field trip to T&D's Cats of the World which is a wild animal refuge between Mifflinburg and Middleburg, in no man's land as I call it along Route 104. I learned a lot this morning while accompanying the 15 nursery school students and approximately 20 adults who were on the trip with us.

1. Most of the animals who now live here were once pets that people found they could no longer handle. It brought to mind the whole pet chimpanzee tragedy from a few years ago. I felt a little sad for the animals, honestly. But it blew my mind that someone would have thought to have a pet peacock......I mean, really? Who would think that's really a good idea?

2. It's hard to put the chaos of that many small people and their parents into words. So if the pictures look chaotic, it is most certainly a truthful representation.

3. My son has a love affair with mud puddles. I know this because it rained buckets both last night and this morning WHILE we were visiting T&D's. Joshua proceeded to jump in every single cotton picking mud puddle. He was soaked to his knees and I literally poured water out of his sneakers when we got to his friend's mom's vehicle that we carpooled in this morning. G-ROSS!

4. Emus are nasty and quite aggressive! The tour guide gave each of the kids a hand full of food to feed the goats, deer and emus and they were just about pecking off the kids' little fingers! Some of the kids were scared. Joshua....well, let's just say he was not. He stuck his whole face into the fence as if to taunt these evil birds into pecking his nose right off of his face. Emus.....not my favorite.

5. When given the opportunity, you should definitely take your picture with deer. All of these deer were more interested in the potential of a snack than they were with being friendly. They were poking their noses through the mesh fence at Joshua while he insisted that we take a picture with them. I'm still a little fuzzy on how deer end up in a wild animal rescue. I was too busy keeping Joshua from putting his arm through the fence to pet them to be able to ask whether people actually had them as pets that needed to be resuced?

6. After seeing the (gorgeous and amazing) tigers, the only logical thing to do next is to crouch down on the ground and pretend you ARE one....tiger face and all.

7. And what's a good field trip without a few "stick your face in some wooden cut outs" photos?

After a thrilling two hours viewing animals and getting pecked at by the emus, we had a gourmet brown bag lunch on the picnic tables. Please recall that it had poured down rain no more than an hour earlier. Now imagine yourself sitting on those benches. Yep......you got it. At the end of the trip, Joshua had a dry strip on the legs of his jeans that was approximately 2 inches wide somewhere around mid-thigh. Otherwise, he was completely drenched.

I think everyone had a really good time today. I certainly count my blessings that I am able to take time from the office to be at these kinds of events along with him. One little boy was there without his parents, and I have to tell you that I was quite sad for him. All the other parents took him in as one of their own, but it still must have felt strange for him to be there without his mom or dad when everyone else had theirs.

The next few weeks are quite busy in Nursery School land as we prepare for next Friday's field day (I'm picturing the Buchanan Elementary potato sack races that I used to love when I was a kid!) and the big preschool graduation that the Nursery School kids perform in. So many bloggable events....and so many wonderful memories.

And, not to be outdone by her brother, this is what Lauren thought about being left at home while Joshua was off in the wild with Mommy.........this is her snoot face and I just can't get enough of it. Her personality is multiplying every day...as is my heart full of love for her.

Before I wrap this up, I should mention that I did 3 posts right in a row today, so don't miss the Blue White game and Cousins Day below. Lots of pictures!

Third Annual Cousins' Day

It used to be that Christmas Eve was my all time favorite day of the year, because of these people you see above. Don't get me wrong, it's still high ranking in my favorites, but I've come to appreciate our newfound tradition of Cousins' Day just as much, or maybe even more!

A few years ago (three to be exact), Jason ran with a wish I had spoken out loud one day...to have a day to spend with just my cousins and to have time to sit and talk together without all of the commotion that an entire family party entails. And so, he worked with his partner in crime, my sister, to organize a surprise 30th birthday celebration for me that year. Libby and I took Joshua and went shopping and when we returned, we found all of the cousins on our back patio with food cooked and ready to go. Not only did I get a day to enjoy with my favorite people on the planet, but I didn't have to fret about getting ready for it. What a gift! We had so much fun that day that we decided to make it an annual event. And we've managed to do so for three years running.

When this thing started, Joshua was the only member of the next generation. Brooke was in Libby's tummy. The rest weren't even a thought! And now, to look at the group photo as it gets wider and wider to fit more people and more babies into it, I'm just amazed.

Stacie was our gracious host this year, and she has the most perfect place to hold this kind of gathering. Her screened in porch made a perfect respite from the sun and heat of the day (who'd have imagined high 80's weather on May 1st?) and her front porch made the perfect spot to put a little kiddie pool for the kids to splash in. She had blankets and toys for the little babies on the porch, and Brooke, Josh and Dre just ran around and explored like champs. We of course ate a lot.....the cooking talent seems to have translated to the next generation from our parents....we giggled a bunch, we talked about parenting and silly things that have happened.

We let the kids swim....and let me just say that Lauren did a whole lot better than I would have expected her to. She looked as cute as could be in her watermelon swimming suit and showed off her sitting-up skills quite well. She even practiced her latest trick of pulling up to her knees and then trying to stand! Just about gave Mommy a stroke!

Here are a few of Lauren, Anna and Ridge playing on the blanket. Lauren looks a little concerned....and I think Ridge is saying, "It's cool Lauren....that's just my Mommy taking our picture. She does it to me all the time."

I'm already looking forward to next Cousins' Day! Girls, we're blessed to have each other. And so are our kids. Thanks for all the miles travelled, food cooked, bags packed and work done to make it all happen. Love to you all!

We Are.....Penn State!

After being absent from blogging due to being busy living the past few weeks, I thought I should do a little catching up. Last weekend we decided to take the kids over to the Blue White game to let Joshua see with his own eyes what Penn State football is really like. I don't think he was disappointed!

First let me say that I was a little shocked at the progression and growth that has gone on with the Blue White game over the past 10 years. The last time I was there was when I was a senior. During my PSU experience, the Blue White game was nothing more than a good excuse not to study for finals. If you were lucky, there were 500 people in the stands. There was no carnival, no parade, no Blue Band involvement, no food vendors, no 8 million cars in the parking lots. I was a little shocked by the spectacle of it all, except that I really wasn't. It was a great chance to take the kids over to the stadium without having to put them through the hassle and commotion of a real game.

Joshua loved giving a few of the players high fives and seemed amazed that he had seen a "real live Penn State football player". He enjoyed the Blue Band and got to have his picture taken with the Lion. He was a little disappointed not to have seen Coach Paterno and we looked everywhere for him.

Lauren was a trooper, riding in the sling most of the day and then sitting in my lap in the stadium. She travelled relatively well and seemed to enjoy looking around at all the people.

Enjoy a few pictures!