Hey what's in the package?

The kids were very interested to see what was under all those blankies and wraps around Baby Chase. They sat down with Aunt Robbie to investigate. They were excited that he had 10 toes just like them.

Although it looks otherwise, yes, Robin is wearing pants in the top picture.

Happy Birth Day, Chase!

Chase Mitchell is here! I'll post more pix later but here's a little tease of what's to come.

F is for Fantastic Firefighters

Miss Lori (story hour coordinator extraordinaire at the library) arranged for local firefighters to come to story hour today and show the kids all their gear. I forgot to get a picture of an actual firefighter but the kids were pretty excited. They let the kids try on their gear and climb around in their truck.

Good Luck!

The other Aunt Annie (aka Aron's sister) has a big recital coming up Monday night. We *heart* Aunt Annie! Good luck!

Do something little, do something good

My Mom told me about this website. www.freerice.com

Go, test your knowledge, and do something good.

Low Rider

Somebody got a new big girl bike. Somebody else had to try it out, too.

Hot fun in the (soon-to-be) summertime!

Seriously I almost cried I was laughing so hard. Srsly.

I don't know how many of you check out the links along the side of the blog but one of them is for my nephew, Myles. You've got to (GOT TO) check out his dance video to the song International Harvestor. You can see a few of the patented moves that I have him work on when he's at Aunt Annie's house (the butt smack and the air guitar)
Myles video

Some kind of wonderful

New BFF available at Target
We happened upon these little beauties a month or so ago at Target. Both the kids love them. Think of them as a thick fruit leather.

The Case of the Missing Luke--Goldilocks Edition

The Crime Scene
Pic #2

Someone's been sleeping in my bed.

Luke has decided lately that staying in his crib is optional. He has learned how to hoist his tiny little leg over the side, balance himself on the railing, swing the other leg over, and then shimmy himself down the side. Last Friday Aron put Luke in his crib to take his nap and went downstairs to do some things. He went back upstairs about an hour or so later to check on him. He looked in his crib and saw nothing (see also the crime scene). He looked over at Ella's bed and saw nothing (see also pic #2). Then he started to freak out. For some reason, he thought the bed looked a little lumpy. He pulled back a corner of the comforter and found a little sleepy bear snuggled in his sister's bed.

Note: Yes, I realize that the pillow in Ella's bed does not match her sheets. The kids like to steal the pillows from my bed from time to time and that was one of my pillows.

Tell me what you want what you really really want.

I hope everyone enjoys the new layout for the blog. I've also added a poll where you can vote on what you would like to see. I know someone out there will vote for our kitty, Jane...

Vote For Jane '08

Sunny Days...Sweepin' the Clouds Away!

Ella and her Grammie

Holy sh#t! Did you just see that??

It was a motley crue

The cutest trio in town (sorry for the up-the-nose shot of me)

Aw to the yeah, baby! We love ourselves a good Sesame Street Live show!

We went to Sesame Street Live again this year. Grammie, Ella, Myles, and I went last year but Luke had to stay home because he was too little. This year, he was definitely ready to go. The kids shared a giant tub of popcorn (yeah, they totally ate the entire container of it and left just the seeds in the bottom). Good times were had by all. Last year the characters all went up and down the aisle shaking kids' hands and saying hi. Myles was even lucky enough to have one of them (I think it was Elmo but I'm not sure) touch him on the nose. Poor MyMy was very disappointed that he didn't get touched on the nose again this year. During the show, Luke kept saying that he wanted the big, yellow thing to come out again. I guess his favorite part was Big Bird : )

Seriously?

This kid has a serious memory. She doesn't just remember the good things like when I tell her we can go to the park or that she can have ice cream after dinner. She remembers ALL things. This morning I was getting ready to go to story hour with the kids. My bangs weren't cooperating so I need to use some hair spray. I super rarely use hair spray. I've probably owned the same can for the last 3 years (Shh! Don't tell anyone). The last time I used it was probably for the Sharpie marker incident of '07--see also Top 6 reasons why Luke is lucky God made him cute...and what we can learn from it... Anyway, I sprayed my hair this morning while Ella was standing next to me. She turned to me and said "It smells like Monica's wedding." Um, 'scuse me? Monica's wedding (to my cousin BJ) was 18 months ago in Nov 2006. See also Wedding Bells Are Ringing, Baby post. Seriously, how does she remember a smell from so long ago? Until I had Luke, I thought all kids were like this. From a very early age, she would remember the littlest things. From about age 6-7 months, I would ask her where she put her sippy cup and she would know exactly where it was. Even if she had left it in an unusual place (like in a cupboard or in the refrigerator).

Go Speed Racer!

Speed? I am speed.
For those of you who know Luke, you know that he has but one speed--fast. I think he went straight from crawling to sprinting. There is no walking for this guy. He loves his new Lighting McQueen shoes (yes, Missy, the same ones I e-mailed to you). He likes to run extra fast in them.

Exhibit A. The sound is bad in this video but it helps you to get the general idea that this kid does not walk anywhere. It's running, running, and a little side order of running. Just blatent, crazy running. If you ask Aron's Mom, she'll tell you that he's just like Aron was at that age.

Jammie day!

Miss Lori decided to have a "Wear your jammies to story hour day" today. Here are the kids in their beautiful jammie-wear. You know you wish you could wear your jammies in public and get away with it, too! Ah, to be 4 and 2!

I don't think we got very far from the zoo...

...when I turned around and saw this.

Zoo!

Luke on the horse
Ella on the horse
Ella and Carter figuring out the best way to see the zoo.
Luke in the middle of a large flower

Natty and Jeanne

Our new buddies Carter (and Carter's dad) and Natty.

We went to the zoo today with some friends. There was much snack sharing, wagon sharing, and all around good times. No one had a melt down, no major crying episodes--doesn't get much better than that.

Back in the saddle again!

That's right, my friends. We're back in business. I bought another camera last night on my way home from work. Yes, I bought the warranty this time.

Since I don't have a working camera...

Mystery Baby #1
Mystery Baby #2
Let's pull out some old pix of the kids and see if you can guess which kid is which. Make your guess, then look in the comments section to see if you guessed correctly.