Please join us for dinner! You can sit by the baby.

Baby's first spaghetti. I think he liked it!

Chickens on the Move

When Big Al suggested that it was time to take the training wheels off of R.'s bike, I told him there was no way that he was ready for a two-wheeler. Boy was I wrong! Within moments, my four year old was riding his bike minus the training wheels. Very impressive if you ask me....I was eight when I learned how to do that! So either I have a very coordinated boy, or he has a very uncoordinated mother.

Jack turned 10 months old this week and has decided that he's finally ready to put his knees to good use. No more combat crawling for him! He has also discovered clapping his hands (adorable) and standing all by himself! By the looks of things, he'll be a 13 month old walker like his brothers. It makes me sad to be losing my baby to toddlerhood. I know I still have some time left....but it's just unbelievable how fast they grow.

I've been wondering for weeks if Jack was saying "Mama" or if it was just my imagination, but now I know for sure. Jack is calling me "Mama." Finally a baby who says "Mama" before "Dada." It's the least he can do.

He's growing up....slowly but surely....he's turning from a baby to a little boy. And you know what happens when my babies grow into kids....I find myself wanting another baby!

It's sort of like the Easter chicks that turn into chickens. The chicks are so cute and sweet...and the chickens....well....sort of big and ugly....but usually pleasant. Don't get me wrong - I like the big ugly chickens. They are more than welcome to stay, eat their weight in breakfast cereal, and poop in my living room. But eventually, I find myself wanting a new little Easter Chick.....those little yellow chicks....who doesn't love a fuzzy little chick? Honestly, I'm hoping that I don't get the urge for another. My hands are more than full with my three awesome (and exhausting) boys...but you never know.

Beating the Heat

Holy hotness. It has been miserably hot. Fry an egg on the sidewalk hot. Make-up melting off my face hot. Thankfully, it was much cooler today.

Yesterday we went to a birthday party, and the kids had such a blast. Our friends had just set up their new quick set swimming pool, and had the sprinklers going on their huge enclosed trampoline as well. Talk about kid-paradise! N. jumped into the pool and didn't get out for about two hours. Good times! I remember being that way when I was a kid....we had an in-ground pool in our backyard, and my sister and I would be in there for hours. They also had a little baby pool set up for the sprinkling of babies that were in attendance. Jack LOVED this little pool! $10 at Toys R Us - I'm going to have to go get one!

He's the cutest baby....I just can't get over how wonderful and funny and sweet he is. He's a HUGE baby - a big 'ol love bug. And how cute is he in his new swim trunks and ultra stylish (and on sale) Old Navy swim top? Such a California boy.

Surrounded by bathing beauties already. I'm in for it when he's a teenager.

Early Childhood Trauma

I'll just get right to it.

We were at the park today - as we are at least 3-4 times per week. It was lunchtime, and I had 5 kids with me. My three, and the two kids that I take care of a couple of times per week. The big kids finished eating their picnic lunches and went off to play. I was going to make a phone call from my cell, when I noticed a yellow jacket flying around. Jack was in his stroller right next to me. I got up to move to another spot because I just had a feeling the bee wasn't going to leave us alone. Once PB&J is in the air, it's all over. I sort of jerked the stroller out of the way as I got up to move our stuff, and Jack started crying hysterically. Weird, I thought. I figured he must have bitten his tongue. I mean what else would make him start crying so badly, so quickly? I gave him a drink of water from his sippy cup. At first he took a small drink, but then started waving his arms and shaking his head and SCREAMING/CRYING. As I took the sippy cup away, I saw something in his mouth.

It was the yellow jacket. The little jerk had flown into my baby's MOUTH and stung him.

And then I died. OH.MY.GOD. Obviously, the first thing I did was reach in and get it out of there. It was dead. And Jack was hysterical. I was "OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD" -ing as I was taking him out of his stroller. More often than not, my friend and her kids meet me at the park, but not today. So I was totally alone. All of my attention was on my baby. The other four could have been smoking cigarettes on the swings for all I knew. Jack took comfort in an open water bottle, but was clearly uncomfortable and moving his tongue around in an unnatural way. Still crying. A lot. He rarely cries...so it was breaking my heart to see him in so much pain. I didn't have any Tylenol with me. Dammit. Mental note - carry baby Tylenol in the diaper bag. After 15 minutes went by, and Jack was still breathing normally, I figured we were in the clear as far as a bee allergy was concerned. I left a message with our pediatrician....knowing what he would say. Try to get the stinger out. Right. Not an easy task when we're talking about a sting on the tongue of an almost 10 month old baby. I know the yellow jacket got him on the tongue because while he was crying, I could see a little red sting mark.

The kids were very understanding about having to leave the park early so that we could get Jack home. I gave him some Tylenol and a Popsicle cut up into bite size pieces. He loves ice chips anyway, so I figured if anyone deserved a Popsicle - it was him. Plus...I'm thinking the cold treat felt good on his tongue. He didn't seem truly better until about 3 hours later.

Now I just have to get the horrible vision out of my head.....my crying baby with a bee in his mouth.

Current Events - in pictures

Real men (R) wear Lightning McQueen style toenail polish. His brother gave him quite a hard time about it - but he doesn't care. He shows his manly pedicure to everyone!

Kindergarten graduation. I can't believe he's going into first grade!

Here is the teachers aide, giving him a congratulatory hug....

and his awesome teacher....who we'll miss!!


What a pretty Grandma my boys have. She's the best.

"Trouble party of three - your table is now ready. Trouble party of three.............."

Um, sure Grandma. I'll try a frosted sugar cookie. I mean, if you insist.

He adores his baby brother. I know he's a cute boy. I get it. I get that you'd never know by looking at him, that he makes me so angry that I shake sometimes. Seriously - this kid wears me out. I'm too tired to get into it....maybe another day. In the meantime, it's a good thing he' s cute.

Happy Father's Day! We had our friends over for a BBQ tonight. The friends who also have three kids who are about the same age as ours. It was really fun. Big Al and I are so happy to have found a couple to hang out with! It's hard sometimes to find a family where I like the Mom, Big Al gets on with the Dad, and the kids play great together. Usually, there's at least one component missing...or there's a distance thing....or something. Anyway, it was a great evening. Here's three of the six enjoying ice cream sundae's for dessert. Apparently this was something that was best done without shirts on.

And Jack and his lady friend -
"I'm going to break us out of here darlin'....don't you worry. I'll get us out of here if it's the last thing I do."

9 and a half months

Loves: Blueberries, fishy crackers, shoes, remote controls, magazines, dirt and other backyard finds. Loves Gerber yogurt snacks. Loves his sucky (pacifier). Gets very excited when he sees birds. Loves his brothers - R. in particular. R. is an amazing brother to Jack. Seems to enjoy spending time with his little friend M. (shown in the picture). She's an older woman - 15 months old. We see them about 3 times per week. I'm thinking an arranged marriage? I love her Mom, so it would work out great.

Activities: crawling army style - FAST. Pulling up on everything, playing chase with his brothers: they get down on the floor and call him and he goes after them! Loves to swing at the park and out in the yard. Loves to cuddle. He's very snuggly. Loves to play and laugh. If I kiss him just under his chin he cracks up in a fit of laughter. And then I want to dip him in ranch and eat him. He is very flirty with all of the admiring old ladies at the grocery store.

Physical Characteristics - Adorable. Red hair. Big, pretty eyes - blueish, greenish with one big brown freckle on his left one. He is huge. Almost 24 pounds and so, so tall. Clothing size: 18-24 months. Mild eczema - just like his brothers. Eight teeth and more on the way....and so....lots of drool. Cute butt.

He's such a wonderful little person. I can't believe he's almost a year old. Where does the time go?

This is what happens when the color wonder pens are left unattended

Thanks Crayola, for your wonderful, non-toxic creations.