Big, Bigger, Biggest!

Today I asked Ari if he could stay my little boy forever. He said, "No Mommy I have to get bigger!" It's sad but true!August 2006

August 2007

August 2008

August 2009

Play Time

The time I have been waiting on has finally come! The Ari and Emilie are finally playing together. It is so much fun to watch them interact. Ari loves to make Em laugh and can't stand it when she is unhappy. She loves copying what he is doing and you can watch her watch him and see her brain working to figure out how she can do it too.

Twinkle Toes

We have noticed this week that Old Em's croc like shoes are too small for her, so I went down to the basement and unearthed Lilli's hand me down shoes. Let me tell you this, Lilli is a shoe collector like her mother (we all have our vices!) and in this case it spans multiple generations. My Mom is also a shoe collector! I of course did not inherit this gene... Emilie had a grand time trying on all the shoes and Ari said her wished he had some to try on. I remembered that I had some shoes that were too big for Ari earlier in the summer so I dug them out and he got in on the action too!

Funny Faces

Let's Hear it for the "Little People"

Fisher Price first introduced the Little People Play Family in 1960 and since then there have been 6 major body style changes. In the beginning they were small wooden cylinders with only minor differences between male and females. In 1968 Fisher Price began making the figures out of plastic and they also created the first playset, which was a barn.

This style of Little People lasted the longest, until in 1991 Fisher Price once again redesigned them making them chunkier and more colorful because of pressures from consumer advocacy groups for safer toy designs.

The Little People on the market today were created in 1997 and are smaller in height but larger around than the "chunky" people. In 2000 Little People were brought to life on DVD and the people were given names (Eddie, Sarah Lynn, Maggie, Michael and Sonya Lee) and personalities.

The lesson... if you have Little People hang on to them, one day your grandchildren will probably play with them!

Busy Weekend!

Boy did we have a busy weekend! Saturday morning we were up and running, we went to the farmers market (which was pretty lame) and got a cantaloupe and then went to Top Banana to get what the farmers market lacked and then we went swimming. Em took a nap and then the kids were off to Nana's so Luke and I could go play cards at Jan & Marty's. I successfully lost most of my money there for like the 3rd time!

Yesterday we were off again to the Anderson's for a cookout and then back to Jan & Marty's to swim! Ari is big enough this year to really enjoy jumping on the trampoline and Piper got into the action too.

The kids also got some volleyball lessons from their Dads.

As for Em... you know her... she is too girly for this stuff!

Old-Zilla!

Slide Away

One of the best things about the summer is playing at the park. Who doesn't like big fast slides or swinging high? This summer I have spent more time at the playground than since I was a kid. Angela and I meet every Tuesday morning at the park and the kids play until lunch time. Sometimes we will walk around and look at the ducks and squirrels. A couple of weeks ago Ang brought some walnuts and we actually fed the squirrels. The kids really liked that. I will miss these days as the summer draws to an end, but maybe it will stay warm enough that we can keep going for awhile.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream!

Airplanes

Recently we have been talking to Ari about how Eva & Daniel are far away and that you have to ride in an airplane to get to France. I guess he really has been listening because this morning an airplane went over our house and Ari said "Maybe Eva and Daniel are on that plane!"

All Worn Out

We went to one of my oldest friends wedding this past weekend (and by oldest I mean I can't remember not knowing her). The wedding was in La Porte and about halfway there it started raining. Not a big deal, right? Wrong! It was an outdoor wedding and the house it was taking place at was not large enough to accommodate the people that were there. We tried to keep the kids under the tent as much as we could, but they were getting tired of being confined. The wedding was supposed to start at 3, but when 3:30 rolled around and there was no sign of the wedding beginning we decided heck with it and let the kids walk around in the misty rain as much as they wanted. Once the service was over (it was very nice) they released balloons and it sent Ari over the edge! He HATES it when they fly away. He just freaks out, so we had to leave. Both kids feel asleep almost immediately after we got in the car. Ari slept the whole way home, which resulted in a very late night for him. But that's another story!

Do Over

I would like to request a do over for today. Motherhood has overwhelmed me. Emilie is recovering from a stomach bug so she has been clingy and because she needs me Ari has gone into hyper attention seeking mode. I gave up earlier and laid down on the floor and let Emilie climb on me like I was a jungle gym. Which was okay for awhile and then Ari joined in and the poor boy just doesn't realize how big he is and that I am not Daddy and I can not take the force of his jumping on me like he does Daddy. So the fun ended and the tears and whining began again. Tomorrow will be better.



Despite all this they have still found ways to make me laugh.

Scrapbooking

Sometime after Emilie was born I was at a friends house and she showed me the scrapbooks she had been working on for her children. I thought they were a nice way to showcase the pictures they had taken of their children. I use to scrapbook some, way back when I had time, you know, before I had kids! But, somewhere along the way I stopped. It made me wonder what happened to all the supplies I had and the book I had started working on for Luke and I.

I found the discarded craft supplies and the book in the basement along side some half finished cross stitching and some squares I had crocheted with the thought that I would some day make them into an afghan. I guess I start craft projects and don't finish, huh? Anyway, I dusted off the scrapbook and realized how nice it was to have all these memories collected in one place. I decided that I wanted to make scrapbooks for the kids.

I think Luke was skeptical. He never said anything but I think he thought it would be another half finished project that sat in the basement. I am proud to say that I finished Ari's first scrapbook last week and I am very pleased with the results. It spans from him being born to last August. I know there are fancier scrapbooks out there, but I am happy with what I created. I hope one day he enjoys looking back at it and realizes just how special he is to us.

Don't worry I am working on Emilie's too. It's just not completed yet!