First Fish of the Season

Last night Ryan loaded up the kids and headed to the pond to do some fishing. I went for a small run and then met them over there to help out. They were doing pretty well when I got there but quickly things started going downhill. (pictures are off the cell phone so they aren't the best quality!)

This is where things went downhill.... Jack fell in the pond and got his pants soaking wet and his fishing pole was floating away. He got out of the water looked at me with his lip quivering and said "how did I get in there?" I just laughed because I honestly had no idea how he managed to fall into the water!

This was the only catch of the night and the hook caught him on his side instead of in his mouth so we were lucky we even got anything! Ella didn't care about how big it was... she was so excited and quickly voiced her displeasure when we had to put it back in the water!

While I was checking out the fish Jack decided he wasn't going to wear his wet pants anymore and took them off... not a big deal.... except apparently he didn't find it necessary to wear underwear today! So needless to say.... these little buns had to head home pretty quickly after his dip in the pond!

(BTW... he is picking up a rock not taking care of business!) :)

Ella

My beautiful big brown eyed baby girl is the sweetest thing I have ever known. She is definitely my baby and will always be. I don't even know how to describe how sweet she is but she is such a sweetheart. Maybe because her big brother is such a WILD CHILD it makes her look especially sweet but she really is. She loves to grab me by the face with her sweaty dirty hands and pull me towards her and kiss me on the lips all day everyday. She does the same thing when she wants ALL my attention and I am not giving it to her. She will pull our faces close together so I have no other choice but to listen to what she is saying 100%! She LOVES her Jacker Man and although he is mean to her she misses him when he isn't around. When she wakes up from her nap and he is still sleeping she tries to go pound on his door until he wakes up! She is my tomboy who loves shooting things with Jack and playing with all sorts of boy toys. I have been trying to introduce some "girlie" things to her and show her how girl toys can be fun too but we are making little progress! I bought her 2 princess wands last weekend at a yard sale and they quickly turned into swords and guns and have gotten a lot of use by her and Jack.

She is such a lovey and and always wants to call Grandma Rosie and Boppy on the phone. She spends hours talking to them on the phone and the conversation is always the same thing about seeing Shamu and making him splash! Jack was completely potty trained by this age but she has almost zero interest in learning how to use the potty! A time or two she has "accidentally" went in the potty when I have had her sitting there but for the most part she is not interested. It wouldn't be any kind of big deal to keep her in a diaper if she would keep the dang thing on. One minute I will have her completely dressed and the next minute she will be streaking through the house in her birthday suit!

She talks SO much and it is cute some of the things she comes up with. At the store no matter what the gender the cashier is she always tells them "thank you much lady!" We get a lot of giggles out of people with that one. People always ask me how old she is because she talks a lot but she is such a little peanut without much hair so she looks way too little to have such a good vocabulary!
My least favorite thing about this stage is that she is now getting an opinion about what she wants to wear each day. She goes to the closet and tries to pick out what she is going to wear. I am not ready to give her that choice yet so some days it is a struggle. If she had a choice it would be everyday that she wore either her "strawberry" shirt or her "fish" dress. I have though been a little bit more lax about her footwear selection so we can often be seen sporting her black rain boots with many different outfits, rain or shine! :)

I just love her so much and I am enjoying every minute of having a little girl to spoil!

Jack

(He looks so sad in this picture- But I still love it!)
I just wanted to write down a few things that I want to remember about my Jacker man and what he is doing at this age! He is so fun and funny and keeps us on our toes all the time. He LOVES school and I don't know what we are going to do this summer to keep us busy. He asks every day if it is a school day and then if it is he immediately asks the next question of "is Grandma picking me up?" So I am not entirely convinced if it is school he loves or the fact that Grandma spoils him and picks him up from school most days and then they go off to play. He LOVES his Grandma Nette. Those two have a special bond and she can get him to do anything without a fit and he actually behaves for her. Ella and I really also enjoy our special time while Jack is at school and hanging out with Grandma! He says the funniest things and I try to keep a straight face at the ones that aren't so appropriate. The other night Ryan and I were having a "discussion" in the car and Jack and Ella both were watching Scooby Doo and we didn't think they were even listening when Jack piped up from the back seat "You both need to CALM down!" We just looked at each other and laughed and it definitely "calmed" us both down!

He always asks me if different words are okay to say. My favorite is when he serious as can be asks me if "What the Hell" is a good thing to say?!? (Thanks Nate for teaching him that wonderful phrase!) He and I butt heads so much and somedays I swear I am going to pull my hair out and then other times he is so sweet and will come and ask me "Where do you want me to rub you?" Then he will sit by me and rub my back or leg or feet for a few minutes and then he will look at me and tell me "that's enough!" Yesterday (day after Mother's Day) he told me about ten times "Happy Mother's Day" but the last time he did it he said "Mom, how many more days do I have to say Happy Mother's Day?" So I let him off the hook and he didn't have to say it to me anymore. The biggest thing that has changed in the last several months about Jack is that he now EATS and EATS. Since having his tonsils out he is a completely different boy when it comes to eating. Before tonsil surgery he was basically on a liquid diet and I couldn't get him to eat anything. Now, he eats and eats and eats. Every 30 minutes he tells me he is hungry and will actually eat when I serve him something. He is packing on the pounds and it is so cute to see him start to actually chunk up a bit! He is always looking for something "fun" to do and if I don't keep him busy his activity of choice becomes pestering his sister as much as he can. So, needless to say I try to keep us busy and on the go so we can keep his pestering to a minimum!

He is my sweet baby boy and although he is full of spunk and definitely a handful I don't know what we would do without his antics that keep us busy all day everyday!

This is bad... REALLY bad!

I was on the phone last night and as usual Jack starts screaming at me the minute I try to start talking to someone on the phone. And this wasn't just a casual conversation with someone I know so I tried to ignore him for several minutes. He continued to scream my name up the stairs and I politely (as I had someone else on the phone) told him to wait just a minute and I would be right there. I continued with my phone call for another minute before Jack made his way up to find me and he said "MOM, This is bad.... REALLY bad." Now he had my attention!

He continues on with "Ella took her pants off, AND she is playing in her poop!" Yep, he definitely had my attention now. I quickly said I would call the person back I was talking to and RAN down the stairs to find Ella sure enough sitting quietly watching Strawberry Shortcake while painting her legs with poo.

No, I didn't take a picture but I think you can basically put one together in your head! What am I going to do with this child???? And yes, IT WAS BAD.... REALLY BAD!

My 2 Boys

I should have known this would happen... my little princess that I always wanted is the biggest TOMBOY ever! She prefers to wear Jack's clothes around the house (which she puts on herself because I won't put them on for her) and couldn't care less about baby dolls and princesses. She would much rather "shoot" things with Jack or "bam" things with her hammer than to sit down and play something girly. I can quickly see my dreams of me and my little princess hanging out fading away to her going hunting and camping with her dad and brother..... Oh dear!

THE DREADED BUNNY

Awhile ago a random little semi tame rabbit appeared in my Mom's backyard. I told Jack, Ella and Okie that I was going to go catch it. Of course I didn't catch it but the kids thought I had so I stuck my hand inside my jacket and wiggled it all around and then asked them if they wanted to see my bunny. Of course they did so I wiggled my fingers around some more then opened my jacket and squealed at them. They all three about jumped three feet off their chairs. Well, this began her fear of "the bunny!" So when it came time to give the Easter basket to her she was terrified that the darn bunny was still lingering around somewhere! Luckily after some convincing she finally was able to toughen up and see what the bunny had left for her. Poor kid... I think I may have traumatized her for life with my "bunny!"

Sorry about the bad lighting... If I would have known she was going to put on such a show I would have been more prepared!!

Finally a Sunny Weekend!

Ryan had the day off of work for Good Friday so we loaded up and headed to the cabin. The boys gathered tons of firewood while Ella and I just hung out and relaxed. Ella ended up not feeling so well so we abandoned ship and headed for Grandma Rosie's house for the weekend. We left the boys there to work and play for a couple of days. Ella and I had a great "girls" weekend and I think Jack and Ryan had an equally great "boys" weekend. It was fun to spend some one on one time with the kids! Jack is such a hard worker when it comes to anything related to the fire so he LOVES to gather firewood and kindling! He actually is a good helper and takes his job VERY seriously!

It was finally warm enough this weekend to bring Jack's "jeep" to Yost. They had so much fun for about 10 minutes before the battery died out on us! I am hoping I can find a replacement battery that doesn't cost an arm and a leg because they both have a blast on this thing!

We are looking forward to many more sunny weekends spent at the cabin this summer!

Rain Rain... Go Away....

I feel like we have gotten far too much use out of our raincoats this month. Although Jack is a fan of playing in the rain Ella and I are not. We are more than ready for those May flowers!

30

(photo courtesy of Jack!)

Oh my...

Someone turned the BIG 3-0!

Luckily he just gets more handsome and wise with each year I get to spend with him!

Happy Birthday to the best Dad and Husband I know....

San Diego

We were presented with an opportunity to do something CRAZY and I decided to do it! I am never one to turn down a vacation so when the neighbor invited us to join her at her family's beach house in San Diego it didn't take too long to decide that the kids and I would go! We headed out early Tuesday morning and enjoyed several days on the beach in Carlsbad. I even took the kids to SeaWorld and survived to tell about it! Between the neighbor and I we had 4 children that are 4 and under. A little crazy... yes.... worth it... definitely! The kids had a fantastic time and it was a great little inexpensive getaway for us! It would have been even better if the weather would have cooperated and if Ryan would have been able to join us but I will take what I can get! Jack couldn't resist getting in the water but once he did he was freezing. I didn't have any extra clothes for him so his sisters capris would have to do.... they almost did the job... but were a little small in one area!

He surprised me and was very self confident and enjoyed the water without me having to be right by his side!

Ella liked digging in the sand but also really LOVED sitting in the beach chair and watching Curious George on my Ipod and eating snacks!

Nothing like having your brother try to bury you alive!

At SeaWorld... they were threatened with their lives if they didn't stay in the stroller. Ella only dove out once but after her foot accidently got run over I think she learned her lesson!

In her spot again... eating!

Having lunch at SeaWorld... nothing like a $5 hotdog!

The house was so nice we stayed at... seriously right on the beach and you could see dolphins swimming from your spot on the couch!

I took several pictures of the kids by the window because I wanted to show Ryan the view. When I got home and was looking through them I was surprised to see this...

Yes, my son is accidently flipping me off. Well he actually doesn't even know he is doing something but it is still too hilarious. Won't be funny once he realizes that actually means something!

They were SO AMAZINGLY good on the road each way. (the Benadryl may have helped a bit!) I was a little concerned with how the trip might go but I seriously was amazed with how great they were! I would totally do it again tomorrow if that gives you an idea of how awesome they were. Besides being told every five miles that Jack was STARVING we didn't hear much else out of either of them!

We had a great time and I am so thankful that we got to go!