Wait! Is it still July?

In honor of the Peruvian Independence day this past weekend, which was brought to my attention by a very dear friend, I thought I would finally remember to post our American Independence day photos! 

At least it is still July. Right?

Here we all are having way too much fun at our 4th of July Block Party! It was like 105 degrees that day....

The party started with some intense bike decorating



Everybody on your mark!


Get Set...


GO!!!   We dressed Norah's bike up as a firecracker.


Sweaty little Clark (OK, we were all sweaty) was riding in his sweet red white & blue stroller.


The bike race - I mean "Parade" :)


The highly desired tree swing - scary and fun - we had to wait in line forever to get a turn!!


Mine!


As you can see in the above shots Norah was wearing a cute 4th of July shirt. She had to go home and change into her Easter dress because her chocolate lunch spilled all over her.




Kid-friendly firecrackers.... and yes, we successfully tried the real ones that night. Just Norah and Mom!


Clark didn't know whether to laugh or be scared!


"Woah!!!"

Norah and I did walk to see the big time fireworks show at the nearby golf course that night. She didn't know what to expect and I hadn't been to a real fireworks show since before Norah was born, so when the real show started we both ducked for cover!

Norah remained as calm as she could and politely requested that we go straight home :)So we packed up the blanket in the stroller and started our walk back. Every few feet or so I would turn her around and ask if she wanted to see. The first 2 or 3 times she said "No. Let's keep going Mom." and so we did. Until she started asking me to stop every few feet to watch and finally said "Can we just sit right here and watch all the way until the 'finanny'?" It was the perfect spot. Two blocks away on the sidewalk across from the lake looking through a clearing of trees allowing for a view of almost every sparkle. This is what having kids is all about.

Love ~ Renee

Chaos

Chaos. I love it. I only discovered that I love it because when it is gone I always miss it so. How could I not miss it when it exists in everything we do? 

If you could hear us in the mornings you would hear: "How many times do I have to ask you to get dressed?" "Do I have to shut off the TV?" "No! We do not throw our breakfast on the floor!" "Please stop screaming and let me brush your teeth!" "Stop running away from me and let me put this sunscreen on you!" "Let's get in the car guys... wait, did you poop Clark?!  Back in the house everyone!"

In the evenings it's a bit like this... At daycare: "Who wants to come home and eat dinner!?" "Hey, stop running away from me. We are going home now!" "Come on guys, the car is just across the street. Clark, stop screaming and trying to run away, we're in the street!" "OK guys wait here while I put the bags in the car" "Come back here right now or I'll open ALL the windows on the way home!"

In the car on the way home (8 blocks): "Norah, we are not doing 'something extra super special' tonight. Special things are only special because they don't happen very often." "Stop whining because you don't have something to play with, we will be home in exactly 2 minutes" "I know you said all the other kids are going out to dinner. How can that be true every day?" "What did you do today?" "You did Nothing? Did you play outside?" "You did too! You were playing outside when I picked you up!"

At home while trying to make dinner: "Clark, stop eating markers" "Norah, don't swipe toys from your brother" "No Hitting!" "Clark stop eating markers!" "Norah, if you want your brother to share with you, then you share with him!" "No Biting!" "Clark, if you eat one more marker they are mine!" "No jumping on the couch" "No pinching!" "Do you want a time out?" "OK Clark, those markers are mine!" "Dinner's ready!!!"

You can imagine what bath time, story time and bed time sound like with Clark who likes to run away and get into precarious situations, makes messes and eat things he shouldn't and Norah who only wants to play with what her brother has and is so dramatic that I swear she should win the next Oscar.

On hot days we like to eat in the playroom on the kids table. In the A/C.

Cheese!!!

Elmo SMASH baby! RAHH!!!.

OK Baby, Do Monkey Cheeks.... Zoooom!.

Kiss Elmo's Owie?

Oh, and did you know Elmo LOVES to drink salad dressing?

Miiiiiiiine!

Just for ME. On my Birthday :)

What is IN there?

Crazy at Grandma's House!

Good thing Grandma's such a good sport :)

Retaliation!

Love ~ Renee

Nothing Says Summer Like a Front Yard Picnic!

Leaving school on a Tuesday night, Norah complains of how she needs to go out for dinner...

Norah: "Mom, Annika is going out to dinner tonight, can we go out to dinner too?"

Me: "No, we are going to go home to eat dinner."

Norah: "But MOM.... Annika gets to go out to dinner!!!! Can WE go out to dinner too?"

Me: "No honey, just because Annika gets to go out to dinner doesn't mean we get to."

She argues back with a convincing: "But I reeeeeeeeally waaaaaaaant toooo!!!"

Me: "Norah, How 'bout this.... How 'bout we have a picnic in the front yard tonight?!"

Norah: "YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I want a picnic Momma!!!"

So a picnic it was!

Love ~ Renee

He is All Boy

First of all, check out this brand new shirt after the first day Clark wore it:

Second of all, daddy got a brand new pressure washer the other day and Clark was just as excited about it as he was. This is a classic picture of the female in the house being annoyed at how excited the men are about power tools:

Clark helped dad put it together, and then later was mad when daddy wouldn't let him try it when he had it going...

Lastly, just like all men leave their stuff laying around the house in the most odd places:

Love ~ Renee

A Very Happy Easter

This year Easter was awesome... it was the first time that Norah "got" the Easter Bunny. I could feel her excitement when she woke up and came running in with a chocolate egg she found outside her door. One of the eggs in the long trail of candy that the Easter Bunny left from her and her brother's doors all the way downstairs to their baskets hiding by the pantry.

Norah: "Mom!!! Look what I found!! The Easter Bunny CAME!" 

Mom: "No WAY! Are you sure?"

Norah: "YES" (nodding her head and raising her eye brows up and down) 

She impatiently waited for her brother to wake up and then we all followed the trail down to their baskets. Norah's eyes were huge as she said "Woah!" when she found the goodies. 

They ate giant chocolate bunnies, gummi bears and chocolate covered marshmallows for breakfast (that was all the candy they got). They had one healthy snack before an early nap, then at Aunt Kathy's they had cookies and strawberries, which somehow replaced their lunch. 

They had candy all day. Then they crashed. They crashed big time. Just use your imagination :)

Oh, and last night we stayed up late dying Easter eggs. Towards the end, Norah interrupted me mid-sentence with a huge "SHHH!!!!". She went on to explain (whispering) that she saw a crack in one of the eggs, and that means that the baby chick is trying to get out, so we need to be quiet! "See that light mom?" (the chandelier over the table) "that is to keep the eggs warm so the babies will grow." As I started to ask her how she knew that, she interrupted with another "SHHHH!!!!!". 

She amazes me every day.

Love ~ Renee

What a beautiful day for polka dots!

This weekend we soaked up the sun, walked for miles, played at the park and had a picnic... believe it or not, the polka dots were accidental :)

Love ~ Renee