Growing up fast and a trip to Midway

Jack is going to be one in two months! He is moving right along into toddler time.....he crawls (mostly on hands and feet) faster than any baby I know. I have to run to catch up to him! He is already climbing up our very steep stairs and trying to accomplish going head first back down the stairs. I tell you, there is no fear in this baby. He will take diving off the stairs at full speed ahead. I have had to dive to catch him by the legs twice now. He moves incredibly fast!

He loves to tear apart drawers and cupboards and is really very smart about not smashing his fingers in the drawers. It happened once and he hasn't let it happen again. He makes the best growling sound you have ever heard. We were at the zoo and I showed him how the bear growls and now every stuffed animal in the house growls. The dog and lizard also growl.

He says mom and da and when he wants food he says "ma" for more. He spends most of his day saying "ma" because he is always hungry! He also says "ma" for drink, so I just have to guess which one he means. I can usually tell when he starts throwing his food that its water he wants....not food! When he wakes up in the morning he will play with toys for about 10 minutes and then start saying "ma, ma, ma" and I say, "do you want to eat?" and he does a laugh cry combo which means, "yes, I am starving, feed me!"

He is such a fun baby. A very very busy baby. But usually quite happy and always doing cute things. He is starting to pull the drama face when one of his brothers has taken something from him. He will look at me and scrunch up his face and pretend to cry. It is really funny!

Jack loves to relax on a pile of pillows or blankets. This has become one of his favorite things to do. I wish Sam and Ben were so easily entertained!

We took a weekend trip to Midway with my family. The kids had a great time swimming until their hearts content! Here is Jack and his cousin Kaleb watching some baby Einstein. They are both so focused on the show! I thought it was a very cute picture of the two of them.

My nieces Chloe and Ella are great baby entertainers! They love playing with the boys.

Ben even got in there and was playing with Kaleb and making him laugh. I was so proud of him!

Sam is doing what he loves most right now (other than swimming), playing Castlevania on the playstation. I sure hope this phase will pass.....soon! I can't believe how grown up he looks in this picture though.

We had a great time in Midway (although Jack made nights extremely long and difficult by not sleeping at all!) But the kids had a fun time and can't wait to go back to the "vacation house!"

4th of July Fun

Summer is such a fun time. I have many fun memories about all the fun things we did during the summer when I was younger. One of my favorite holidays, (well I really just love any holiday) but the 4th of July has always been at the top of my list. We would go to my Grandma and Grandpa Leary's house for breakfast which they held under their carport. It was always so much fun to have breakfast outside with our cousins. We would sometimes play on the slip n' slide after breakfast and then I think we would go buy fireworks at the firework stand and anxiously await starting the night time festivities with our neighbors. I remember some years having about 5-7 families over (all with several kids) and how much fun we all had together watching (and lighting) the fireworks. One year we probably had 20 kids in the road and we all lit a ground bloomer at the same time. We thought it was SO COOL. And really...it was! We had great 4th of Julys.

This year my mom and dad decided to bring back the breakfast tradition and we went to their house this year and ate breakfast under their carport (so fun that they have a carport too!) It was a lot of fun and the kids loved it. They played in the water (even though it wasn't very warm) and we had a chance to sit and visit with each other. I am so happy that they started up this tradition again.

Ben came up with the "grand" idea of getting the snaps to pop by holding a sparkler to them, here are Sam and Ben really involved in their experiment and burning grandpa's carport at the same time.

Later that afternoon, Joe took Sam and Ben to see the new Ice Age movie, which they loved! Then we had a BBQ with our family at home. That night Joe stayed home with Jack since he was already in bed and I took Sam and Ben over to my parents to watch fireworks. We all had a really fun day!

The next day we had Joe's brother and sister over for a BBQ and more fireworks. My kids love spending time with their cousins and us adults love the chance to visit with each other. It was another really good day!

My Handsome Boys...

We took a drive to Logan and my cousin Melissa took some pictures of our adorable boys and my handsome husband. They turned out great! Melissa does awesome work. If you are interested in looking at more of her pictures, her blog is www.simplybephoto.com

Happy Birthday Sam!

Sam celebrated his 6th birthday on June 15th. He has been looking forward to his birthday since March when we celebrated Ben's birthday. He had a hard time believing it had finally come....

Mom walking into Sam's room in the morning. "Happy Birthday Sam!!"

"Just one more sleep until my birthday mom?"

"No....its today Sam....today is YOUR birthday!"

"Its later..... after dinner?"

"No it is right now, right this very day!"

"Ohhhhhh!!!!" with a HUGE grin on his face! "Its my birthday, its my birthday, its my birthday!"

Sam is so cute....well, he would rather me say "Cool". When I tell him he is cute, he says, "no, I am cool" and I say "You are right! You are cool!" and then he says, "Thanks mom."

He really is such a sweet boy. He has always had a tender heart and has such a sensitive side to him. He definitely has spit fire in him, (did he get that from me or his dad??....I will let you decide!) But we are so thankful that Sam is part of our family and we love him so very much!

Sam had a fun pirate birthday party and Jonas worked so hard on making the treasure chest and clues for the treasure hunt. They turned out awesome! The kids really enjoyed becoming pirates and searching for hidden treasure.

We had family over in the evening for cake and icecream and Sam got lots of fun presents. He got a scooter, wolverine toys, slime, a marble rollercoaster, squishy snakes, frogs, and lizards. And you'll never guess what we gave him. I am still wondering what I have got myself into....

Yup. Another pet. A reptile pet. Our newest addition, Spikey Gunnar, (Sam wanted to name him Spikey and Ben wanted to name him Gunnar) the bearded dragon. Yes, I agree. I am completely crazy! Sam was of course, THRILLED! He has been asking for a pet lizard for months....years maybe....and I finally broke down and got him one. Little did I know how much time I would spend cleaning his cage and feeding him crickets! Did I really have time to take on another creature to care for? I guess I am stuck with him now. I have to admit though...he is pretty cute. Only time will tell how much I might end up regretting this purchase!

But Sam was so thankful for his present. He told me all day..."thanks for the lizard mom" and "I love my pet, thanks mom" Now how can I possibly regret buying something when it makes my little guy so happy?? We love you Sam! Happy Birthday!

Photography Giveaway!!

My cousin Melissa....(well technically she isn't "my" cousin, she is married to my cousin Jake....but we are all family!) She is having a photography giveaway. You should check out her website. She is amazing!! You will enjoy looking at all the adorable pictures she takes! Plus....you can enter her giveaway for a free photo session! www.simplybephoto.com

Where oh where has my little Ben gone?

I was trying to get Jack to sleep and I could hear Ben in the house. (He had been at the neighbors playing.) Five minutes later I came out of Jack's room and couldn't find Ben. I searched the house and started calling his name. No answer. I went outside and called his name. No answer. I called the neighbors.....nope, he wasn't there. Went back in the house and called his name. No answer. Walked to the neighborhood park. No Ben. At this point I became a little panicked. I drove around the neighborhood looking for him and stopped at neighbor's houses along the way. No Ben. Now I was getting angry and even more panicked! Probably 20-30 minutes had gone by. I came back home and searched the house again. This time I heard something in my bathroom....I never looked in my bathroom because it was quiet in my room so I didn't bother walking back there.....Oh Ben.....there you are....

"Why didn't you answer when I called your name???"

 "Well, I heard you, but I wanted to do this first." 

"But, Ben....mom has been looking for you all over and I was really scared." 

"Well, I just was making a diaper...see"

Yes, Ben. I see. Now stand there before you clean up so I can take a picture for my blog! Yes, my "good" parenting skills kick in and say "wait......get a picture for your blog before you get mad!" Oh dear!

Mother I love you....

Mother I love you, Mother I do. Father in Heaven has sent me to you. When I am near you, I love to hear you, singing so softly that you love me too. Mother I love you, I love you I do!

I have the greatest mom and I think this song sums up my feelings really well! Happy Mother's Day mom.