skinny genes, ebay, and Chuckie

One day I was telling Scott how one of his friends will probably be tall because he has a tall daddy.  This led to a discussion on genes, and Scott seemed to be getting it by accurately guessing which parent he got certain traits/features from.  Suddenly though he stopped and looked at me with the most puzzled look on his face and said, "But Mommy, where did I get my skinny genes?"

On that note, the kids had the well-checks today.  Scott was 90th percentile in height and 25th percentile in weight.  Natalie was 75th percentile in both height and weight.  

The garage sale thing has probably gotten a bit out of control for me.  The kids love accompanying me and Natalie often pretends at home that she is on her way to a garage sale.  The other day I took Natalie to one and we found a Thomas the train SET (track, shed, trains...wow!) for $1.75.  I snagged it without saying a word to Natalie, and as I was paying for it, the seller (an older lady) said to Natalie, "Young lady, is this for you to play with?"  Natalie shocked us both when she quickly and matter of factly said, "No, my mommy is going to sell it on ebay."  EEEEK!!!  The lady and I both forced a polite chuckle, and we scurried on to a different sale. 

After Jon told Natalie she couldn't do something, Natalie said, "You are NOT my favorite Daddy anymore!"

The little girl who is scared of the nursery workers, will often cry if spoken to by a waitress, and will sometimes act like the grandparents are strangers LOVED Chuck E. Cheese.  Scott and I got a kick out of watching Kate dance with, hug, and demand more high fives from Chuckie.  Big sister Natalie was hiding and trembling, but Kate couldn't get enough.  It's going to be interesting to see what becomes of Little Miss Kate.  We don't have her quite figured out yet!:)

Natalie has been frequently saying, "I like God more than you."  It's not done in a smart-allelic way...more of a stating the facts sort of way. 

Scott finished up preschool in May.  His teacher said that he was a rule-follower.  He knew the rules and would stick to them, and did not like deviation from those rules.  He will do great at Cedarville.  The sisters...not so much...

On his birthday, Scott told me that he "felt some changes happen inside" and that his "skin started to feel older."  Okay...

We've had a bit of an ant problem this spring (don't judge!).  I had several ant traps set out and blocked off from Kate in order to attack them.  One afternoon, I found three snack bowls lined up next to the ant traps.  When I asked for an explanation, Natalie informed me that she had just been feeding the ants.  Grrrrr....

This girl loves to dump anything and everything.  One morning, we heard a dumping of toys going on, and Jon looked at me and said, "That didn't sound good."  We peeked into Natalie's room to find Miss Kate accessorizing for the day...

Speaking of why I love garage sales...$4 worth of fun...

I'll end with a good picture of the sweet little angels.  

 

 On second thought, I'll keep trying...

Birthdays x2 (or 4 or 5...)

The kids birthdays are 2 1/2 weeks apart.  So it seems as if we are celebrating birthdays for 2 1/2 weeks.  This year, Grammy was preparing for a trip to Poland so we had to start our celebrations early.  Once we started, it seemed to never end...

Natalie's birthday came first.  She turned the big FOUR years old.  I set up this kitchen with some new Dora friends for her to wake up to on her birthday.  Jon told me that I was setting the stakes high for Scott's birthday and birthdays to come.  I hadn't thought of that.  Natalie was very surprised, however at night time, these large "friends" have to sit on the couch.  They are a little too freaky for Natalie when in her bedroom. 

Swiper was trying to make off with the birthday treats. 

The kids obviously got their share though. 

Celebrating with Grammy & Great Grandma...

More celebrating with Grandpa & Grandma...

And Great Grandma Joyce...

Posing before a little friend party...

Scott was so sweet the night before his birthday.  He HAD remembered that Natalie woke up to a fun surprise and asked me if I could do something for him, as well.  In case I didn't have anything planned, he sweetly suggested that when he started to get sleepy, he would put his stuffed Thomas on the end table just outside of his bedroom door.  He said that I could put a party hat on it and set it on the counter as a "surprise" for him to wake up to.  :)  So...awhile after tucking him in, I heard his door open and then close again.  He had set Thomas out for me. 

THANKFULLY, since Jon had mentioned earlier about setting the stakes high for Scott's birthday, I had something special planned for him to wake up to, as well.  

A real smoke-puffing Thomas!  He loved it!:)  (Notice the stuffed Thomas with the party hat too...thanks for the suggestion, Scott.)

After Scott turned SIX on June 6th, we were officially done with the birthday celebrations!  Whew. 

Train Up A Child- Father's Day Edition

Jon is perhaps one of the most celebrated fathers around!  To satisfy a sweet tooth...To honor Father's Day, we started midweek with a big cookie.

 

When Jon got home one day, he had this surprise waiting for him.  The kids told their Daddy with all sincerity that Mommy sampled it to make sure it tasted good.  After this cookie disappeared faster than you can imagine, Jon said that he had heard of being Republican in name only, but that this cookie seemed like it was a Father's Day gift in name only.  (I think he got one piece.)

So, with all due respect, we set out again to honor Jon properly.  Scott insisted on drawing Daddy on a cake and begged me to try writing "Happy Father's Day" across the bottom.  (I'm sure bakeries all over will be calling me for job interviews in the coming weeks.)

What a beauty!  

Our cake is almost gone, and it's not even officially Father's Day for two more hours!  Wow!  Do you feel the love or what?

Happy Father's Day to our Hero!:)  We've enjoyed celebrating with you!:):)

Holiday World!

Last week we had the opportunity to visit Holiday World.  It was a great day!!  The skies were overcast and we experienced a few sprinkles, but all in all, this worked to our advantage.  The temperatures were low and the lines were nonexistent. We were able to walk on almost all of the rides and were able to repeat them, as desired.  The rain held off until we were driving home...what a blessing!  (Kate had her own fun adventures with Grandpa & Grandma.  The kids talked about her throughout the day and look forward to bringing her along next year when she is a bit older.)

Natalie's favorite rides were the Flying Eagles and the Spinning Turkeys.  After a couple of rounds on the spinning turkeys, Jon was wishing that there were some lines to wait in!:) 

Scott loved these swings.  Natalie was too short to ride on them this year, but Scott just made it.  He was a bit nervous at first, but then wanted to go again and again.  And that's just what we did...

Jon decided to sit out on the spinning teacups this year.  Next year it's my turn to watch from the sidelines!  Ugg... (Are we getting old??!)

 

One of our "grand finale" rides this year was the log ride.  The kids did NOT want to repeat this one.  Scott took the biggest hit and is growling in the picture below to show his dissatisfaction!:)

 

 

Good times!