It's Too Sunny

This afternoon while playing outside, Elyse was complaining that it was too sunny.  I suggested she wear her sunglasses.  Well to my surprise she wore them the entire time she was outside.  Not only did Elyse, but so did Caleb. 

 

As you will notice, Kallen has his on inside the house and that's thanks to Elyse.  In fact, her exact words were, "Mom, you have three children and we all should be in our glasses on the computer."  (Oh my!)  So after dinner I captured Kallen in his shades too.

 

Moon Sand

Recently I saw on Facebook that my sister-in-law, Kim made "Moon Sand" for her daughter (recipe below).  I jumped right on the idea of something new for the kids to play with for little to no cost. I do want to let you in on a couple of things; it's very easy to make, keeps a child very entertained, but makes an enormous mess (have the vacuum close by). 

Well as I stated above, it really keeps a child entertained.  Elyse and Caleb were playing with this stuff for just about an hour, I couldn't believe it.  Perfect activity on a cloudy, raining Thursday.  Thanks, Kim!

 

MOON SAND RECIPE

Mix together 4 cups of flour with 1/2 cup of vegetable oil

Enjoy!

 

Loves His Toes

By far one of my favorite stages an infant has is when he or she discovers their toes and can't get enough of them.

 

Not the best picture.  I took it on my phone this morning, I kept forgetting throughout the day.

 

Deck Fun

Kallen is officially on two full naps and one catnap.  I love that he is on a schedule and happy all the time.  However, that means Elyse, Caleb and I wait up to two hours in the morning before we can go anywhere, and the kids get bored playing in the house.  Yet sometimes I have to get things done, like pack our picnic lunches, and can't trust them on their own outside.  So today, I blocked off the stairway on our deck, brought toys out, and let the kiddos play.  Both Elyse (aka Jasmine) and Caleb were too happy and busy to even take a picture for me :)

Kallen Turns 5 Months

Happy 5 month birthday to our happy, easy going, cute as a button, and growing up way too fast big boy!

Kallen, we love you so much and everyday thank God for you!

The Five Turn Four

Today, Elyse joined her other four friends, Aiden, Willow, Mariana and Mason to celebrate Willow's fourth birthday.  It's crazy to think they will all be four in the next two months.  It's so awesome how they remain such good friends, and I am hopeful that it stays that way for a long time.

In Birth Order:

Aiden, Willow, Mariana, Elyse & Mason

2009

2010

2011

(Mari decided to change it up a little)

2012

15 Months, 3 Days

15 months and 3 days is the difference between Caleb and Kallen. When we brought Kallen home I was really nervous since Caleb was still so young. Although as always, God showed me again that His plan is perfect and I had nothing to worry about. In fact, having Kallen has made me aware of how much bigger Caleb is than I ever gave him credit for. He LOVES being treated like a big boy, not a baby. He is currently doing things that I don't think I would have ever let him try or think he could do if wasn't for Kallen. For instance, getting his stuff on his own (like, shoes, diapers, bibs) when I ask him, throwing away stuff, cleaning up his toys, doing puzzles, climbing into his booster seat, and playing on playground equipment. Although my favorite thing he does is love his little brother like he does. He is always notifying me when Kallen cries, rocks Kallen while he is in his car seat, gives Kallen his toys and constantly kisses Kallen's head. He is such an amazing big brother and I can't wait till next year when they are running around the house playing cars together :)  Love you, big boy!

Princess Nap

Only a big princess takes her nap with a bunch of little princesses :)

Dakota County Fair

My mom and I decided on Wednesday that it would be fun to take the kids to the Dakota County Fair.  Some rain showers really dampened seeing a lot and doing things, but at least the kiddos got to see all the animals.  Elyse loved them all, Caleb wanted to have nothing to do with them, and Kallen could care less.  The crazy thing is that the rabbit barn was by far their favorite.  Guess we could have just gone to the local pet shop :)  Oh well, it was still a lot of fun and a new experience for them all.

 "Being a Farmer for a Day" was a big hit too, especially for Caleb

TGIF and TGFM

As some of you may already know, I have been living the single parent lifestyle this week.  Nate left early afternoon on Sunday to attend a training for work in Peoria, IL.  Thankfully he is to arrive home later today and I couldn't be more excited to see him.  Even though the kiddos have been great for me, I am exhausted by the end of the night, especially thanks to the dinner and bedtime routines.  Therefore, that is why the title for the post is, TGIF, because it's Friday and we all survived the week!  Now for the TGFM,  that stands for, "Thank Goodness For Moms"! I took the kiddos down to my mom's on Wednesday to hang out and spend the night. It was like a mini vacation for us all, and broke up the week very nicely.  So a special thank you to my mom and the kiddos' Nana for having us over. 

The kiddos sure do LOVE their Nana!

Sprinker Fun

I was organizing some pictures and came across these ones my mom took a few weeks ago.  We went down to her house to help fix some stuff and while the boys were napping, Nate and Elyse thought they would have some sprinkler fun.  As you can see, it was dangerous stuff and eye wear was required.

Boy on a Mission

Last month I posted how Kallen was rolling from stomach to back.  He did not mind being on his stomach, but if he did roll I knew I was okay leaving him since he was stuck in that spot.  Well I can not leave him anymore, because yesterday Kallen began rolling from back to stomach.  The boy is on a mission, to move and play with his sister and brother non-stop.

Click here to see video of Kallen rolling

August?

As I was getting milk out of the fridge early this morning, I realized that it was time to redo the calendar to August.  That's when I stopped and thought, "Seriously, August already?"  I often feel like time flies, but this summer really has gone by in a blink of an eye.  I can not believe Elyse turns four and starts school next month.  Sadly I know this month will also fly by with Nate having to travel for work, school meetings and evaluations, appointments, birthdays, etc.  All I can do is sit back and enjoy every last minute of summer with my loves as much as possible.