Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Books

Most of our kids books are kept upstairs.  I've strategically planned this arrangement.  

When Morgan cleans up, they look like this:


When Sadie cleans up, they look like this:

But, when Carson cleans up, they look like this:

And, my usual clean up helpers are the latter two.  So, to save myself a lot of stress and anxiety, I keep just a few downstairs, because that's about as big as the mess can get.  Now, upstairs, that's a whole different story.  

I'm so glad my kids love books!

Most of October

I just realized I haven't posted in almost a month!  We've been busy with school, piano, church, soccer, BBQ, preschool, Brian studying, friends visiting...and, I've got a slew of pictures to prove most of it!

So, here goes!

Carson, impatiently waiting for his oatmeal.  I make whipped cream puffs and then freeze them to use as "ice" on our oatmeal.  I hadn't put the silverware out, so Carson just dove in!

You will start to notice a common element in lots of Carson's pictures---Duplos.  He carries the box around waiting for someone to open it!  And, when we do, the first thing he does is dump it out!

Sadie loves to watch The Magic School Bus on YouTube.  A great find!

Morgan has taken The Magic Tree House to a new level.  The website (magictreehouse.com) was down for a few weeks, so she could play any games or complete the quizzes on the books she'd read.  So, she decided to draw a picture of her favorite book, #20, Dingoes at Dinnertime. That's a kangaroo, the tree house and Jack and Annie. Good thing that's not the real ladder.  I'd be afraid to climb up!

Every now and again (sometimes more frequently than desired!), one of the kids wakes up and gets to spend "Mommy and Daddy" time before we all head to bed.  This night, it was Carson, cuddling with Dad.

And here is, that same night, still refusing to sleep!

 I think Carson is almost too big for his Pack n Play.  We're planning on moving him to a big bed at Christmas time.  Let's hope he still loves his bed when we make him sleep on it, not just play!

One evening, I decided this mess was worth making dinner in peace.  The girls were coloring and Carson was dumping out the game cabinet.

However, he went too far when he climbed inside the cabinet.  Daddy and Sadie spent a good 20 minutes putting puzzles back together! It's a good thing he couldn't open the games or puzzles in boxes!

Give this kid a broom and he sweeps!

Here's Grandpa Dale and Grammy Tammy slicing brisket? at the Dana Point competition.  It was a beautiful venue!

Who can resist Grammy's famous peach cobbler?

Apparently, neither of my girls.  (And, as a side note, this is likely dish 3 or 4--they tend to just ask different adults for a taste, knowing they will get more!)

If you ask Sadie, she's hiding behind her "spy goggles."  Good thing she's not a secret agent. Don't know how inconspicuous those are in real life.

Not the best picture, but, I told you those Duplos would come up again!

Along with another "self-feeding" picture.  I'm thinking the chocolate chip cookie was delicious!

Carson thinks it's hilarious to wear this pink headband around the house!  He finds it in the hair pretty box, then brings it to me to put on and runs away, laughing hysterically!

 Play-doh.  This is a rare occurrence in our home, as it seems that I find little crumbles for days and weeks after we clean it all up.  But, for the record, I did not completely deprive my children of this experience.

When Sadie makes her bed, she always makes a spot for Lulu.  I think it's so sweet because when I make her bed, I just throw her hippo on the bed and call it good.

Morgan has started piano lessons.  Practice battles have begun.  And, Carson has also discovered the joys of this wonderful instrument!

Yes, he has sisters.  And, no, he's not crying because they put necklaces on him.  He's screaming at me for trying to take them off!

Oh, how I will miss the day when they can't all fit on the same chair and cook!  (No, really, I will!)

"Mom, I'm bored," turned into all of the chairs lined up and dancing down them to music!

Third times a charm, right?  If you're curious what I'm considering for his Christmas, here's your hint.

I will need a bigger tub, though!

Hope you enjoyed our month in review!  

Friday, September 21, 2012

We Found Montana!

My entire life as a parent, I have prided myself in never losing a piece to a toy.  Sure, I've conveniently "forgotten" a toy somewhere, but, every night when we clean up, each toy has all its pieces and gets put in it's place.  

However, somehow, amidst 3 moves in one year, we misplaced Montana.  So, for the last long while, the girls (mostly Sadie), have been putting together the 49 state puzzle.  Don't know how we've managed to keep track of Rhode Island and New Jersey, but lose Montana.  But, anyway, we did.  


Then, this morning, while putting together a Cars puzzle, Sadie exclaimed, "Look!  Mom!  I found it!"  And, right there, in the box, was Montana!

Now, I don't have to explain to Carson why Montana is no longer part of the United States!

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Never a Dull Moment!

Carson stays busy all.day.long.  Which means I stay busy all day long, too!  From rearranging the cupboards, to "sorting" laundry, there's never a dull moment with this handsome guy!

I kept moving the play tent off the chair so he could sit down and he kept taking it back from me, putting it on the chair and climbing on top!

Front load washing machines are the perfect size for Carson!  He loves to help load and rotate laundry! We're still working on the folding part...



 He loaded the entire basket and closed the door!  Then, he stopped to watch the washer and dryer work their magic!

Earlier today, I dropped a basket of raspberries as I was putting them into the fridge.  Brian and Sadie quickly came to help pick them up.  Carson came just as fast...to eat them up!


What Sadie's Been Up To...

Sadie Bug moped around the house for the first few days while Morgan was at school.  I thought I was going to go crazy!  But, she started preschool, and, loves it!  When she's not at preschool, she's playing blocks and trains with Carson, or attentively tending to her baby, Bailey.  Here she is, preparing to take her on a field trip to the lake (can you tell what gets talked about a lot at our house???).



It's been pretty hot lately, so she's enjoyed some down time, watching movies from the library.  




 And, while Morgan sleeps in on Saturday morning, Sadie (and Carson) helps make breakfast!  She rolled all the biscuits for monkey bread this morning by herself!  And, the mess wasn't too bad, either!

Thursday, September 6, 2012

School Days...School Days

School will finally begin at our house in about 1 hour!

Morgan was up, dressed, teeth brushed, and bed made before 6:30!  But, as anxious as she is to start school, today is a late start day and she can't meet her new teacher until 9:45!  So, she's currently curled up on the couch with yet another Magic Tree House book!  She's already informed me that she will have plenty of time after school to continue reading the series.

So, without further ado, here's Morgan on her first day of first grade!  She's an official "grader!"

And, I'm going to attempt to do something cute in her lunch box each day.  I remember when I was little, my mom put cute little Suzy's Zoo notes in our lunches.  It was always so fun.  Last night, on Pinterest (man, I love it!), I found 180 lunch box notes--one for each school day.  I've already printed them and cut them out, and they are ready to go each day!

I've also tried to find creative lunch ideas.  Last year, even though Morgan only went to school 2 days each week, I got stuck in a rut and she ended up with PB&J, applesauce, a fruit and crackers/cookies each day.  BORING!!!  So, I'm going to try and get creative, all while staying healthy.  Today, Morgan has requested homemade chicken noodle soup.  Not my choice on a hot summer day, but, hey, if she'll eat it....

Today's lunch: homemade chicken noodle soup, oatmeal cookies, nectarine and whole grain crackers, with a brand new water bottle on the side!  I found some cloth napkins while we were unpacking a few months ago, and thought I'd give it a shot.  I'm going green (well, at least for the week)!

And, for the first time in our married life, I packed Brian's lunch!  No leftovers today!  He's getting a turkey/spinach rollup, carrots with homemade ranch dressing, oatmeal cookies, and a pear.


Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Labor Day at the Lake

Guess where we spent our holiday? That's right....the lake!  We had some friends come up, we rented a boat (the kids loved it!), BBQ'd and played all day long!  We love this place!!

 Teresa stocked the kids with TONS of snacks for the boat--popcorn, graham crackers, "red" chips (Doritos), "blue" chips (the yucky Doritos), CapriSuns....

Our Trusty Captain! 

Teresa and the tots! 

Brian and I--I think we take a picture like this almost every year!  
It's fun to look back on them over the years!

I'm guessing one of the snacks included chocolate frosting? 

Morgan and her Oreo mustache! 

Yay for Brian--getting Carson to sleep in his stroller for almost an hour!  

Yummy homemade ice cream!  The kids, of course, were too impatient to let it cure (I remember being the same way as a kid), so it was more like soup, but, still delicious!

Thanks for coming up, Vitzians!  We all had a blast!

Vote for Carson!

Everyone always tells me that my kids should be Gerber Babies.  So, here's our chance!  Be sure to vote for him on Facebook everyday until September 24th!  

His entry number is: 402183


Here's the link: