Can we keep her?

I just recently started sitting for a 6 month old baby girl full time. I was explaining to the boys how I would watch her at our house while her mommy and daddy were at work. Blake was very interested in how big she was, how long would she be here, would she be here when he got back from school, etc. Baby J was here for about 10 minutes and the boys were absolutely enthralled with her and Blake says to me "now that I have seen how cute she is, can we keep her?" For those of you who know, he has been asking me for a baby sister since I was pregnant with Parker. Unfortunately, we can't keep this one!

Kindergarten News

Blake is on his 5th week of Kindergarten and he LOVES it. He is learning so much in such a short amount of time. He has become much better at writing and is even reading! He is constantly asking us what words are and seems to remember them from then on. A week ago, he was made Top Banana for the week. This meant that he did all his work, followed the rules and was generally great in class (this is how he explained it to me). So, he was able to bring home Curious George for the week along with 5 Curious George books. He was so proud of himself. He made a bed for CG to sleep on at night out of the top part of his toolbench and some long, plastic screws (it really looked like a bed!). He just recently had his progress report in which he received all 3's (highest score) in all areas.

On the negative side, he has caught his third cold this fall! I guess that is the price we pay for not going to preschool!

Still a peanut!

We had the boys yearly check-up the other day and I was surprised to find out the Parker weighs 22 lbs! (I thought he was smaller). He is still in the 5% for weight and in the 30% for height. Poor kid...his brothers are going to tower over him when he is older!

And in other Parker news, he is cutting his bottom two molars...at the same time! They don't seem to be bothering him as much as the top molars did. Unfortunately, it takes him FOREVER to cut teeth and I cannot wait until this is over. Only 9 more teeth to go!

His favorite new game to play is "run from the doggies". He will be holding food in his hands and run around the house laughing hysterically while the dogs chase after him hoping to get some food in the process. The other day he was doing this while saying "Oh pickles". What a nut!

This one is for you Poppa!

The boys were looking at our wedding photos the other day (which they like to do frequently...not sure why!) and I was sitting listening in on their conversation:
B- Isn't my daddy handsome Jacob?
J- Yes, he is.
B- I love my daddy.
J- Well, I love poppa.

So sweet!

Daddy and the boys

We met some friends at one of the Spraygrounds. The boys had an AMAZING time. There were a ton of fountains spraying at all different heights and it was completely covered by shade (which is why the pictures are a little dark). There are no pictures of Parker because, as usual, he wants nothing to do with being sprayed. He wouldn't even put his toes on the water. So strange for a kid that LOVES the pool and will jump off the edge!

Boys and Trees

Cheese

It's how hot outside?!

We are going on our third day of 100+ degree weather. My a/c has been running non stop just to keep it 77 degrees in the house and to top it off, we lost our power the other day for almost 20 hours....and it was 104 outside! When is fall going to come!

Success!

I am happy to say that after 19 months of waking at night, Parker is finally night weaned. The process went much smoother then I expected. It was only two bumpy nights and then he has been sleeping a blissful 11 hours each night. I had forgotten what a full nights sleep felt like!

ZZZZZZ

Just about every night, Jacob and Blake end up in bed together. Sometimes they are in Jacob's bed and sometimes they are in Blake's bed. One night when I went to check on them, they were just too cute to not take a picture!

Parker, Parker and more Parker

Yoga Baby
Blah!
He wanted to wear Jacob's hat and Jammie top.
His first bites of pizza and it happened to be Chuck E. Cheese. He hasn't eaten a piece since!
Notice the piece of his pb&j sandwich on his head!
His favorite thing to do...climb on the table.

Jacob's Party

In an effort to catch up on my blogging, I am posting some pictures from Jacob's Birthday Party. We squeezed it in right before our move. The kids were able to decorate their own cupcakes and Jacob got some awesome presents. His favorite (and Blake's) was a great pirate's costume! It was a great way to end our time in FL with our good friends.

Stinky Feet

Because of Jacob's carsickness, we have lots of conversations on what he can and can't do in the car. For example, "No Jacob, you can't read that paper b/c it will make you throw up". So we were on our way home from my parents and Jacob was wearing his shoes:
Jacob- Can I take my shoes off mommy?
Me- of course you can
Jacob-okay. Stinky feet won't make me throw up.

...And they didn't.

Potty Time

Those of you with multiple children know that the younger siblings are always imitating their older siblings. In this case, it has turned out to be to my advantage. Parker has been watching his older brothers use the potty and has decided to give it a try himself. He will stand next to the toilet, lift up his shirt and say "pee pee". I am hoping he retains his eagerness when potty learning becomes serious!

Early May Visit to GA

Sliding down the pole at a park in Clarks Hill


Looking at shells with Papa


They decided walking through the water would be fun.
Is this the right way?

Playing in Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta
Parker's favorite thing- a wheel!
Grandma and the big boys with Nemo at Georgia Aquarium Cousin Tony, Jacob and Blake looking at the fish They had these awesome "rocks" and "tree trunks" that the kids could climb on!

Watching the fountains in Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta
Running circles around a tree
In front of one of the many water fountains in Centennial Olympic Park.

I apologize

I am very, very behind on my blogging. As many of you already know, we are in the process of relocating to Charlotte, NC. I am hoping to have many, many pictures updated soon. We have been lucky to see Grandma and Poppa twice in the same month, so lots of pictures of our visit will be up within the next week. And of course, pictures of the new (to us) house :) Thanks for being so patient!

Little Helper?

Jacob loves to help me put food in the dog bowl. His favorite part is the scooping and today he politely asked if he could help.
Me- of course
Jacob- big scoop or little
Me- big
Jacob- okay. Do I put it in here (pointing to the water bowl and with a big smirk on his face)
Me- no way
Jacob- do I put it in here (pointing to the food bowl)
Me- yep
Jacob- (with a gleam in his eye and that poop grin) do I pour it in here....or on Parker?

Ha Ha. It always amazes me the way his mind works...never up to any good!

Worms

After a night of storms and the sprinklers being on for way too long, there was a ton of worms on the back patio. Jacob was watching the worms intently when he says "Daddy, do I like worms?". Peter chuckled and then said "uh, yeah". Jacob replied with "oh, goodie". I wonder what he would have said if Peter said no!

A little while later, a worm mysteriously appeared in the kitchen. Blake and Jacob were crouching over it and Blake says to Jacob "touch the worm. Touch the worm, Jacob". I happened to look over at them and I see Blake holding Jacob's hand, trying to make him touch the worm. Typical big brother behavior- make your little brother do the things you are too scared to do, but want to find out what will happen. Needless to say, Jacob isn't afraid of the worm and happily touches it. Blake then wonders "how does it feel Jacob". Jacob tells him "touch it yourself"! Ha. Jacob and I rescue the worm from the kitchen (after I tell Jacob it is not a good idea to touch the worm with his shoe) and set it free in front of the house. We will see if he asks about the worm tomorrow...

Earth Day (afternoon)

We decided to take a hike at Halpatiokee Park. They have an awesome 3 mile hiking path that runs parallel to the St. Lucie River. The last time we went, we saw 3 tortoises, a frog, a lizard, two birds, a black snake, and an alligator (okay, only Peter "saw" the gator. There was no way I was going to get close enough to see, but there was definitely something large in the bushes!). Unfortunately, this trip, we only saw a few birds, a rabbit and lots of dogs! It was a great afternoon anyway. The boys have a blast and it lets them get all that boy energy out!

Daddy and Parker

Looking for gators

Crossing one bridge (out of four) on the path
Snack time at the midway point
Look at me!
Jacob's turn. Blake wouldn't let me take a picture of just Jacob...he had to be in it too!Making sure we are on the right path home.