Big Little Sister

I was shocked to learn today at their checkup that Addison has finally caught up--and actually surpassed--Keaton in size. They've been pretty much neck and neck for several years now, with Keaton usually just barely bigger (an inch or so taller, and maybe a pound heavier). In the last few months, they've evened out, and now Addy is actually 1/2" taller and 1.5 pounds heavier. She must have had quite a growth spurt lately, because this picture was taken almost exactly a year ago, and Keaton was quite a bit taller than Addy. One thing remains the same, though. They're still great buddies!

Pool Party

We "upgraded" this year from the little 8-inch deep inflatable pool, to a 3-foot deep pool. Nothing fancy, but loads of fun for the kids to cool off in on hot summer days. All of the kids love playing in the water! (Delaney snuck inside to snuggle up in her blanket before I could snap her picture. The water was pretty cold since it was the first time we had filled the pool!)

Addy especially loves the pool if she has free reign of the floatie. She loves to paddle her way around in circles. She even withstood a dunking when she accidentally tipped over. She didn't like it at first (she was pretty shocked!) but she got right back on and went back for more!

Keaton, on the other hand, has no fear of dunking. He's so brave in the pool that it almost makes me nervous. He'll dunk himself under water and come up shaking his head and rubbing his eyes so much that I'll think he's lost his footing and slipped under on accident. So when I rush to him to "save" him, he tells me to let him go so he can do it again!

Mason has always been a water baby. He loves splashing in the bath, and he's equally at home in the pool--even though it was shockingly cold the first time we filled it up! He got pretty tuckered out after this swim. He was so relaxed, he just about fell asleep on the floatie!

First Day of Summer Vacation

Today was the official start of Delaney's summer vacation, and I have to admit, I was a bit nervous. The thought of all of us being home together all day long, with many hours to fill was a bit daunting. But we ended up having a great day! The kids each chose some "extra" chores for the summer (in addition to their regular daily chores of making their beds and picking up their rooms). Who would have thought they'd be fighting over who got to clean the bathrooms? Go figure.

After chore time, we had fun finger painting. This was the first time that all three kids finger painted, and they had a blast. One package of finger paint from the dollar store + three old tee-shirts + six messy hands = hours of fun!

Kindergarten Graduation

It's hard to believe my little girl is growing up so fast! Today Delaney "graduated" from kindergarten. I'm amazed at how far she's come in the past year, especially with her reading skills. She absolutely LOVES to read! She reads anything she can get her hands on. At night, we find she's snuck all kinds of books into bed with her--chapter books (especially the Junie B. Jones books), full-length novels (her favorites being The Wizard of Oz, Pollyanna, and the Anne of Green Gables series), and even the scriptures. Needless to say, we know why she has such a hard time waking up for school in the mornings...she's up all night reading!

Here's a cute and silly clilp from Delaney's graduation ceremony. It's all the kindergarteners from Initiative Learning Center singing "It's Time to Move Along." (Delaney's cap is just barely visible in the back row, but the little boy in the front row is entertaining enough to make watching worthwhile!)

Without Delaney

Brent and Delaney took a lightning-fast trip to Seattle this weekend. While it would have been fun for all of us to go, it just wasn't practical to pack four kids in the car for a total of 16 hours, for just over 24 hours of time in Seattle. It was really strange being without them. In fact, that's the first time we've ever been seperated from Delaney for any length of time. I was missing her tonight, so I came up with all these reasons why our life just wouldn't be the same WITHOUT DELANEY:

-There wouldn't be anyone that could get Mason laughing as hard as she does.

-There wouldn't be anyone who so eagerly sets the table and "gets the drinks" out at dinner time.

-There wouldn't be anyone to beg me for "tickle arm" or "tickle face" at bedtime.

-There wouldn't be anyone to sneakily read books to the other kids on nights when Mom and Dad are just too tired for story time.

-There wouldn't be anyone to give me multiple fashion shows throughout the day each time she comes up with a zany new ensemble.

-There wouldn't be anyone to spice up the hum-drum rituals of every day life--like brushing teeth, for instance!

Zoofari

Note to self: kids do not need a wide variety of rare and exotic animals to hold their attention; nor do they need an assortment of wild and exciting rides or attractions. All they need for a fun time is a pond full of geese, some hot dog buns, and a carousel. Throw in a little ice cream and you've got every kid's dream come true. That was true for our kids anyway, on the night we took them to the Boise Zoo. The animals were all fine and good, but it was the little things that they really went nuts over!

Finally!

Mason finally got his helmet off! He started wearing it on January 31st, and after just over four months, his head has filled in amazingly well. I am in awe at how well they were able to correct the shape of his head, and how just wearing the helmet cleared up the torticollis (or tight neck muscle on one side) that caused all of the distortion in the first place. It is so wonderful to be able to snuggle with Mason's sweet, soft head again, rather than with a piece of plastic. Now we can kiss him firmly on the cheeks--or the forehead, or the ears, or anywhere we want!--unhindered, and believe me, we all do it, all the time! The only thing I'll miss is the magic soother--giving his head a good scratching. It didn't matter how worked up Mason was, if I ever took his helmet off and scratched his head, he would instantly calm down and go into a deep state of relaxation (seriously deep--we're talking a hypnotic trance!). It was wonderful to have such a tried and true method of calming him. But I'm glad to have my baby back.

Yummmm

What do you get when you combine a 6-year old, a hungry baby, a spoon and a jar of prunes?

Yikes!