Carter's Preschool Graduation

Carter is done with preschool! If you ask him if he's in school he will bluntly tell you "No! I graduated!"

It was a very proud moment for him and a very bitter-sweet moment for Mom! But doesn't he look handsome in his cap and gown!

The ceremony was nice and typical. A slide show of the kids followed by the procession of 4 year old's being coaxed on where to go to get their diploma and then to hold still so that Mom and Dad can snap a few photos of the occasion.

Here is Kyle being very good waiting for the program to start.

We had to wait 45 minutes after we dropped Carter off at his room before the whole thing got started. Cammie wasn't about to sit still so I followed behind her as she walked around the chapel, (Carter went to a Christian preschool) pausing only when she would come to a new group of people so that they could tell her how pretty she looked in her dress. Once she received the compliment she was after she would walk away very obviously pleased with the attention. I swear she is such a Diva!

The afore mentioned moment for pictures.

He looks so Little!

He insisted on wearing his cap crooked.

The Graduating Class

Our Princess!

This picture is a little out of order, but isn't she cute!

Look at that Handsome little Man.

(Remind you of anyone?)

Grandma and Grandpa made it to town just in time! Carter was thrilled to have them there.

Such a sweet little guy! Lets hope that Kindergarten is just as fun for him!

Double Trouble

Every parent wants their kids to grow up being friends right? In my case my two sons running around, playing together. Buddies. Pals working as a team. Sounds wonderful right? Well, not always. Usually when they are working together it's because they are working against Me! They are still really young (4 1/2 and 3) so working against me usually consists of watching each others back so that they can get into something they're not supposed to.
Case in point:
The other day I was on the phone with my sister. She was helping me do something on the computer so my attention was completely absorbed. No problem because Cammie was still asleep and the boys were nicely watching t.v. together in my room. I was on the phone for 15 minutes tops, and about ready to hang up when Carter comes out and says, "Mom you'd better come see what Kyle did!" (I guess he thought that being the one to tell me first and blame it on the other guy would get him off the hook. It didn't!)
I walked in to my room to find this:

Trust me when I say that the pictures don't do it justice - it was much much messier that it looks.

I kind of could help but laugh at first, even stopping to take the obvious pictures. They were quite amused with themselves too.

As I started helping them clean it up I found more and more piles. Then I started to get upset about all of the waste as I came across empty roll after empty roll. Rolls that I had just bought the day before!

My amusement at the situation diminished completely as they continued to throw around the T.P. while I kept trying to clean it up. So they got a big lecture about mess, waste, and my general disappointment in their behavior - you know, the usual. Then off to their room for the punishment - 20 minutes on their beds with no toys, books, or anything fun!

I thought I'd take that opportunity to take a quick shower. As I'm getting ready to grab my towel and dry off I suddenly remember bits of a conversation I had with my 3 year old while I was distracted earlier.

Kyle: "I wiped my own Butt after I went poo!"

Mom: "What? You need me to come wipe your butt?"

Kyle: " No, I already did it. I used your towel."

Mom (still busy) thinks: I should really look into that.

So I drop the towel on the floor and get out of the shower soaking wet to grab a robe and immediately fetch a clean towel from the hallway closet before I forget again.

Nice way to start the morning.

Even though I do want my boys to be buddies, and work together, and basically grow up being the best of friends, sometimes that backfires and I get Double Trouble instead.

Disclaimer:

I didn't find any physical proof of Kyle wiping his own butt on my towel (or in his underwear), but I threw it in the wash right away just in case.

Allie Finally Came to Visit

Yep, after almost a year and a half my sister finally came from Ohio for a visit! We were so excited!
I had so much fun with her. This is her first visit that I haven't been pregnant or breast feeding in more than 5 years. That meant that we weren't restrained by feeding/nap schedules or pregnancy fatigue, nausea, crankiness, etc. It made for a great visit.
We got pedicures!
Watched movies - kid movies, but still fun.
Went shopping and bought matching shoes! Not for the sake of having matching shoes (we're not 6 anymore), we just fell in love with the same pair.

We stayed up late talking.
Ate junk food. (Bye bye diet!)
And we made Cake Pops!

Lots, and lots of Cake Pops! Yum!

Oh ya, the kids were there too! They had as much fun as I did!

They watched new movies, care of Auntie Allie. (By the way Tangled is so cute!)

Wrestled!

Gave lots of Loves! (This was the first time she'd met Cameron.)

Played together outside.

Showed her all of the tricks they do on their bikes.

Posed for pictures.

Snuggled.

Tickled.

Laughed.

Played Hide and Seek.

Drew with sidewalk chalk.

Blew bubbles.

Ate Ice cream.

Allie gave most of the weeks baths!

And of course read tons of books! Allie brought each of the kids some new ones.

It was a GREAT week. We love you Auntie Allie. Can't wait to see you again!

Mother's Day 2011 - Carter's Gift

Mother's Day was wonderful this year. Nothing fancy just a nice relaxing Sunday.
It was nice and relaxing because I didn't have to feel guilty about not doing a single load of laundry or dishes or anything else that I didn't want to do.
After Gregg and Carter made me breakfast (bacon and biscuits & gravy) I spent the morning playing with my camera while Gregg took charge of the boys. Awesome!
Later Matt, Mandy and their brood came over for a little Mother's Day BBQ. Mandy and I got to hang out and visit, (and feed babies of course - Mandy has 5 month old triplets,) while Gregg and Matt took care of dinner and the older kids.
Matt even did the dishes after dinner. It was a perfect day!

I did get some Mother's Day gifts.
Flowers - a favorite of mine.
Fancy Chocolates - Okay it was actually a bag of Peanut M&M's, but I did eat the whole thing with out having to share!
Carter gave my the sweetest gift a Mother could ask for, besides the beautiful poster he made for me at school that is. I had asked Mandy to snap a quick picture of Me and the Kids as the evening was winding down. Her and I were previewing it on the camera and I told her something like, "Thanks this is great. Too bad Gregg wasn't in here I could have had a nice little family shot." Before I even noticed that he'd left the room, Carter was dragging his dad in by the hand and telling Kyle to get back on the couch for another picture. He said, "I got him Mommy. Now you can have your family picture." Gregg isn't a fan of posing for pictures, but how could he say no when Carter took the initiative to give Mommy what she wanted on Mother's Day. He just grinned and sat down next to me. My Carter is such a sweet boy!

My Beautiful Flowers

Me and my Munchkins

My gift from Carter!

I love my kids! I love being being a Mom! I wouldn't trade it for anything!!

A Visit from Grandma Lou

Last week my Mom (Grandma Lou) came to visit from Ohio. It's always very exciting to get to spend time with her, but it was especially nice this time because we hadn't seen her in almost 9 months. She split her time between our home in Bakersfield and my brother Nolan's home in Fresno.
Her fist day was with us. The weather was beautiful so we spent the day shopping with the kids and having lunch at the Market place shopping center, the kids love the big fountains there.

Later she and the boys made everybody a special dessert. Chocolate covered ice cream pops. Yum!

They were an obvious hit!

The next day the kids and I drove her to Fresno to spend some time with Nolan, Melissa, and Jordan. We spent the afternoon at their house before heading back to Bako. The boys and Jordan love spending time together. It's fun to watch them play together and make up games. They get along great (most of the time) and we try to get them together as much as we can.

It was also nice to be able to hang out with my brother who had the day off. Kyle loves Uncle Nolan, and his motorcycle!

They drove her back a few days later just in time to celebrate Kyle 3rd birthday with us. Again we got to spend the afternoon together. It was a nice day.

Grandma Lou's visit was short, but it was wonderful, and relaxing, and I got to spend some good quality time with her. Sometimes our visits are so crammed with activities that we don't really get to spend time together. This time was different. She really got to spend lots of time with each of the kids this time too. Carter climbed into bed with her each morning she was here. She and Kyle read lots of stories and got lots of loves. And a highlight was her getting to see Cammie start walking and being able to help her practice.

Can't wait to do it again!

Here she is stealing a kiss from the Chubby Girl before we left for the airport.

Baby Steps

Cameron started walking. She has been walking along the furniture and walls for two or more months now, but she hasn't had the confidence to let go until recently. Actually it was on Kyle's birthday at Matt and Mandy's house. There were several people out back and she didn't know anyone was watching. But Gregg and I were. We saw her stand up and take about 3 short little steps to the chair where Mandy was sitting with out holding on to anything. I was gad I got to see it. After that we started working with her to build her confidence more and more. She is doing really well now only crawling when she wants to go really fast or she gets sleepy and starts having balance issues.

So I guess it's official - She a "Toddler" now. Bitter Sweet.

This is from her second or third day. She's obviously doing better now, and getting better everyday, but I think it's those first shaky steps that are the most important to capture.

Kyle's Birthday

We are done having parties for a while, so for Kyle's birthday this year we did some other small things to celebrate.

His morning started out with a chocolate muffin for breakfast.

Later we spent a typical Friday evening with our good friends Matt and Mandy's at their house. Mandy was very sweet and baked brownies for Kyle so that he could have some candles to blow out on his special day. He was caught of guard and got shy for a minute when she brought them out back and we started singing. He got over it in time to make a wish and blow out the candles!

Macy, Cammie, Kyle, and Carter.

The next day Nolan, Melissa, and Jordan brought my Mom (who was in Cali visiting from Ohio) down from Fresno. We had decided that since the family would be together, that would be the day we'd celebrate with cupcakes and gifts.

For months when asked what he wants for his birthday all Kyle would say is a bounce house, so his gift from us this year was exactly that. It worked out well. He was thrilled!

He played, and played, and played...and then played some more!

Hugs for Jordan!

Chasing Cammie!

Pretty Girls!

When it was time to do birthday candles he jumped up and blew them out so fast I didn't even have time to snap the picture. It was pretty funny. I think his birthday song was about 4 seconds long.

Then gifts. Grandma B got him a great little tent. Very cool!

And some dinosaurs...

...a Buzz Light Year blaster from Grandma Lou!

Bear hugs from Uncle Nolan.

Loves for Auntie 'lissa.

A Happy Birthday Boy!

Kyle was beyond thrilled as the bounce house was being set up. I was able to get this cute little video of him. ;-)