Liar, Liar

Gregg and I try to be very honest with our kids. When they ask questions we give them the most honest answer we think they will understand. However, there are a few exceptions to our honesty. Aside from the usual Santa and Easter Bunny fibs, here are a few of the lies I've told my kids...

Gregg has a gold crown on one of his molars. Carter calls it Daddy's "pretty" tooth and asked me if he could have one too. I told him that if he brushed his teeth really good everyday his tooth might turn gold too.

The ice cream truck was driving down our street playing its music one afternoon while the boys and I were outside. Carter asked me what it was. In return I asked him "what do you think it is?" After a moment of thought he decided that it was a nice man who plays pretty music for everyone outside to hear. I left it at that. He still says "Here comes the music man," and has no idea that he sells ice cream.

One of our more elaborate lies was passed down to me from my sister Allie. When Carter was about two years old he suddenly became scared of the dark saying that their were dogs hiding under his bed and they were going to get him. When we were unable to convince him that there was nothing to be afraid of, my sister suggested that we use monster spray, or in Carter's case "Dog Spray" which is basically imaginary dog/monster repellent. We used an aerosol air freshener and sprayed it all over his room, in the closet, under the bed, and anyplace else that a dog might be hiding every night before bed. We told Carter that it would keep the scary dog away. It worked! We are to the point now that he doesn't need it anymore, but Febreze air freshener may always be known as "dog spray" in our house.

Anytime we don't want to share something we are eating or drinking with Kyle, (i.e. soda 30 minutes before the boys bed time,) and want to avoid a fit, we tell him "No honey, that's Hot" It worked well, until he recently discovered that he likes spicy food.

Finally; A few weeks after Cameron was born Carter climbed up into my lap. He said, "I know how the doctors got Cammie out of your tummy." He had obviously been thinking about it for sometime. I said "Oh? How?" "Through your belly button." He was so proud of himself for figuring it out. I said, "Carter you are such a smart boy!" He's too young for an anatomy lesson anyway.

I'm sure there have been others; white lies, half truthes, and lies of omition, but these are the BIG ones from what I can remember. We try to be honest with our kids but like everyone else it's not always that way. And if anyone tells you that they are completley truthful with thier kids, well I'd bet that's a lie right there. ;-)

5 Months Old

Our little Cam Cam is 5 months old. I can't believe how fast time is passing. She continues to be the best baby anyone could hope to have. She loves to watch what is going on around her. She is really into having toys in her hand right now. Her favorite thing to play with is her set of keys. When she sees them she starts smiling and talking and kicks her feet. We've also been putting her in her bouncer. She is barely big enough to touch the floor so she can't really bounce yet but she likes being upright and closer to eye level with her brothers. She rolls around all over the floor. Sometimes she will see something that she wants a few feet away, one of the boys fire trucks for example, and even though I don't think she really know what she's doing, she is so determine to get her hands on it that she ends up rolling over to it. She responds to her name, all versions of it. Carter is still one of her favorite people. In fact the other night she was looking at Carter who started to cross the room toward her. Her face lit up and she started kicking her feet thinking that Carter was on his way to see her. He passed her on his way to Gregg and the look on her face was heartbreaking. She is 14 1/2 lbs. She is very chubby for her petite little frame. She is still in a lot of 3 month clothes. She is happy all the time and a joy to be around.

Loves those keys!

Watching the boys play outside.
She started posing when I started taking pictures.
She's such a girl.

Playing in her bouncer. She's getting so big!

Logistics

These days even a simple trip to the grocery store takes planning. Carter is still to young to walk when I have all the kids with me. If it's a quick trip he's okay walking by the cart, (although that causes Kyle to throw a fit because he wants out as well,) but on a larger trip when I have other things to concentrate on, I can't keep an eye on him as easily. A "special cart," as the boys call it, is a key component. I literally can't do my big shopping without one because my cart would be so full of kids, I would have no room left for the food. Timing is also important. Not too close to nap time, lunch time, feeding time for Cammie, or when it's too hot outside, (lately 100+ degrees in the afternoon.) I also have to consider some form of entertainment for the boys. This particular day it was lollipops. Sometimes it's games on my iPhone, or a hot wheels car. I have to get creative occasionally and make up games to play as we go down the aisles like who can spot the oatmeal first, count how many apples are in the cart, etc. Just something to keep them from driving me crazy and from fighting with each other. When I feel like it's too much to handle with three kids under four, I think about Bryan and Natalie doing it with 4 under 4 a few years ago, or Kim with her now 5 kids and then I feel better. :-)

Everyone has seen them before but this is how I navigate the grocery store these days.

This thing is longer than the width of my suburban.

Summer Haircuts

It's time for the annual summer haircuts for the boys. Gregg cuts the boys hair every week, but as the weather gets hotter it seems like their hair get shorter and shorter. This year Gregg convinced me to let him buzz cut Carter's hair. Kyle didn't get the buzz, but it's still pretty short. It took a few days for us to get use to it, but we think they look pretty cute.

Our Visit with "The Girls"

Last week we were fortunate to be able to have The Girls, our nieces Courtney and Ashley, come and stay with us for a few days. Carter and Kyle just love them to death! (Carter was practically glued to Ashley.) We did "girlie" things while they were here like playing with hair, making bow holders, and going to the mall. It was a lot of fun.

Courtney with Cameron

The boys got Ashley wet. Here she is paying them back. She was a great sport!

Ashley is a budding photographer of sorts. Here are a couple pictures she took of Cammie and Kyle.

We had lots of fun with the girls. We will have to have them come stay with us again!

Thank you for all of your help Court and Ash. We love you guys!

A Day at the Beach

Yesterday we made an impromptu trip to the beach. It was supposed to be 102 degrees with something like 70 % humidity in Bakersfield, yuck! So mid-morning we decided to pack a bunch of sandwiches and Capri-suns, hop in my car (that had a full tank of gas,) and drive two hours to Pismo. It was a great decision! The weather was 64 and sunny. It was beautiful. The kids and I hadn't been to the beach since before Cameron was born and I can't believe we waited so long to go back. The boys played in the water and the sand for about an hour and a half. We ate lunch on the sand and then decided to go up the road to Morro Bay. While we were there we pushed the kids in the strollers through town. Carter wanted to look for the seals, usually abundant in the bay and on the pier, but they were all someplace else. He settled for looking at the live crabs in the tank. Then we went back down to the beach. It was a little bit colder and overcast at Morro Beach so we didn't stay as long, but it was still fun. The boys say they want to go back everyday, but they will have to settle for another trip down the road.

Cammie's first time at the beach! She loved it. She stayed awake for 7 hours. I guess she wanted to make sure she didn't miss something.

This is a little Crab that the boys and I caught. He was so cute and small, about the size of a pinkie nail. I scooped him up with a sand dollar. Kyle kept saying, "I wanna hold the frog Mommy."

These two were taken at Morro Beach. I was playing with the color settings on my camera while the boys played in the sand.

What a great day!

Playing Dress-Up

Okay, so I know that my daughter is only 4 1/2 months old but I had to do it. I bought this tutu for my niece for her 3rd birthday. It was sitting in my living room for 2 days calling me. I couldn't resist any longer. I put it on Cammie and even though it was a little big, it was SO cute. She loved the tulle. She was grabbing it and laughing. I grabbed my camera and started shooting. Here are some of my favorites.

All tuckered out but still so cute!

Independence Day

We had a very busy, but fun filled 4th of July. We got up early and drove to Fresno to button up all the loose ends on the house we just moved out of. We were able to pick up some fireworks from a friend of ours who runs a fireworks stand while we were in town. We finished up our business, went by Grammie and Grandpa's (to pick up Cameron), and headed back to Bako. around 2pm. When we got home it was a quick unload, pack up the swimming stuff, run by the grocery store, and get over to Matt and Mandy's house for a 4th of July BBQ and swimming. Then we could finally relax.

Cameron's very first 4th of July.

Carter and Cammie waiting for me to finish gathering our things to go over to Matt and Mandy's.

Kyle is our little "Jumping Bean". He was jumping off the side or the rocks or the waterfall all evening long!

Carter is our little fishy. He would have slept in the pool if it was possible.

Carter has been waiting to do sparklers for a week. So exciting for him, so nerve racking for Mommy.

This was the first year Kyle was able to use a sparkler. He was so tired that he basically held it out in front of him and watched it burn out.

Me and my boys watching the fireworks!

Then it was time for homemade ice cream!

We had lots of fun. When I tucked to boys into bed, at 11:30, Carter said, "Mommy I had so much fun today! I really liked blowing up the fireworks, can we do it again tomorrow?" I promised we'd do it again in exactly one year! ;-)