Couch Time

Visiting Special Friends

Last week the kids and I drove to Dallas to visit 2 of my dearest friends, Katherine and Dana. (We SO missed you, Amanda!!) We arrange these visits a couple times each year to let our kids play together and to let the Mommies have some much needed catch-up time. Dana already posted about this awesome visit and my post will be almost identical, so here goes.

Here's a picture of me with Katherine and Dana. So hard to believe we've been so close for so many years. I think it's been since Junior High but honestly I can't remember! Could be longer!

During our trip, the kids had such a blast playing at local malls, Pump It Up, swimming, and mostly tearing up the playrooms at Katherine and Dana's houses. That's one of the advantages of visiting at someone else's house, haha!

Every chance we had, we lined up all 7 kiddos in hopes of a great picture. They actually cooperated every time, although that might've had something to do with the fact that instead of saying "cheese" we asked them to say "poopie" and other funny potty words. Whatever works!

We were quite the sight going into the mall with all 7 kids and 3 double strollers.

One night while at Dana's house for dinner, we decided to go ahead and bathe the kids in hopes of them falling asleep on the drive back to Katherine's house for bedtime. We didn't have pajamas with us so we raided Jackson's closet to see what we could find. The biggest pjs he had for Connor were size 4T (he usually wears a size 6). We had the biggest laugh over Connor in these skin tight pjs!

And we also thought we'd try on one of Sarah's bows on Ryan. Bless his heart, this is as close to a girl as Dana will ever get, HA!

Here are the 3 sets of kiddos (Don't mind Jackson...he was making "back off!" eyes at Kaitlynn...).

Finally...I couldn't end this post without mentioning this. One of the things I'll always remember about this particular visit is how my daughter's true personality was revealed in full to my sweet friends. I try to convey in my stories on this blog how, um, spirited Kaitlynn can be and what diva-like behavior she sometimes exhibits, but only when you spend time with her do you really get it. Within the first few minutes of arriving at Katherine's house, Kaitlynn had shoved sweet baby Sarah to the floor and yelled "NO!" to ward off the boys from sharing the toys she was playing with. Sigh. That's my girl. Her redeeming quality is that she can be just as loving and affectionate as she is naughty.

So after this trip, I can safely assume that my parents aren't the only ones getting a big kick out of this child of mine. You know, the one I SO deserve. :-)

Bath time

The other day I gave the kids an early evening bath and I just loved how the light was catching their eyes while they played. I couldn't resist taking some pictures to capture their sweet, bathtime innocence. I'll admit, I've been having my fill of kids these days. But then I experience precious moments like this and realize how truly lucky I am!

Wiggles and Giggles

Connor and Kaitlynn recently joined their buddies Benjamin and Timothy for one of their favorite summer events: attending The Wiggles Live in concert!

I was curious to see how Kaitlynn would do and whether the show would hold her attention. I managed to get this picture of her, and this was pretty much the look on her face throughout the show. She was mesmerized!

Connor loved it, too. He was dancing and singing along the entire time!

I had a tough time getting pictures of the kids. This was the best I managed of the 3 boys.

Here are a couple quick videos of the boys enjoying their favorite Wiggles songs.






Finally, our FAVORITE part of the show by far was when Murray the Wiggle read our homemade signs with each of the kids' names on them. Benjamin and Timothy's sweet family surprised us and made these posters that said, "Benjamin and Timothy say The Wiggles make us Giggle!" and "Connor and Kaitlynn say The Giggles make us Wiggle!" Murray read them out loud in front of the crowd and even commented on how cool they were. Connor and Kaitlynn sure thought so!

Big Brothers

Sometimes I'm amazed at the teenagers in our house. Collin and Kevin are both great big brothers to my little ones and I love seeing their sweet exchanges when they're together.

Every once in a while I catch them sounding more like the parents than the siblings.

For example, a few months ago Collin came over and when he walked in, he was immediately greeted by his little sister (who adores him, by the way). She pranced up to him and hugged his legs tightly, all the while grinning from ear to ear. Collin reached down to hug her saying, "Kaitlynn, I wish you could stay this cute forever!"

On another occasion, the 4 kids and I were sitting around the dinner table enjoying some pizza. I had just registered Connor for kindergarten that day, so I reminded Connor to tell his brothers what he did that morning. "I got signed up for kindergarten!" he excitedly told them. The older boys both exclaimed, "Wow!" and then Kevin added, "Man, Connor, I can't believe you'll be in kindergarten! I remember when you were just a baby...".

A couple weeks ago, I was driving all the kids minus Kevin somewhere and Kaitlynn was acting fussy in her carseat. It was before we had gotten Kaitlynn her own iPod Touch, so I had given her my iPhone to keep her busy until we reached our destination. Connor began whining about wanting a phone or something to play with, and he kept asking why Kaitlynn got to play with my phone instead of him. "Why don't I get something to play with?" he asked. Collin piped in and responded, "Because you're old enough to sit still and quiet!"

Summertime Means...

Going to the doctor with 2 kids in tow. (Don't forget the snacks and portable movie player!)

Finding new ways to entertain yourself at home. (Wearing Mom's shoes is so much fun!)

Making a huge mess of toys all over the house because it's too hot to play outside.

Taking lots of trips to stores (and store bathrooms with cool toddler seats) with both kids.

Naps in the car after a long day of fun with friends.

Shorter summer haircut for the boys...

And beautiful stringy beach curls for the girls (not to mention lots of cute swimsuits) :-)

Swimming. Lots and lots of swimming. Sometimes even without a swim diaper.

Tan lines and pony tails.

Early evening snuggle time on the couch after long days of swimming.

Not leaving the house without sunglasses.

Yep, it's definitely summertime!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July from our little firecracker!

And just for fun, here she is 2 years ago today. :-)