Video & pictures

I took this video wanting to catch how cute Levi looks scooting along on his little car. It also ends up showing what we have to do every few minutes when we're out on the street before dinner time.



Here are some pictures from the past couple of weeks:

4th of July year by year

2011


2010 (no picture of all three!)


2009


2008


It was so fun going through some older pictures and looking at how SWEET Nate was with Levi (and is generally with babies):

Happy 4th!

God bless America!

I read this article this morning and give it a hardy "Amen!"

VBS

This is VBS week, which means absolutely nothing else gets done. :) We are at church each day from 8:15 to 1:00 or so, and when we get home I'm ready to crash. But the kids are having a blast!

So this is what it would be like to have a part-time manny

Greg is here, and the kids are in heaven. All-day wrestling, playing, and fun. Greg got in yesterday at 2:00 and, by the end of the day, had already taken the kids outside to play on four separate occasions. (It was great for me--I got a sewing project finished and made dinner!)

Today we went to swim lessons (after a stop at A's Burgers, of course) and had lunch at the park. Everyone is napping now while Greg hangs out with Ryan Clark.

Today

Today has been a bad mothering day... yelling and unwise words in response to Lucy's awful behavior. So I'm remembering this from yesterday:



Apparently, it's me. I asked Lucy why I look so sad in the picture, and she said, "You're crying because it's your birthday!" I thought, at first, she had some deep understanding of how adults don't want to get older. But then she said, "Remember, you cried on your birthday?" She was remembering my surprise party when I cried at seeing Daddy, Mama, Greg, and Lucy here. Love it.

GFCFSF waffles

We often have breakfast for dinner on Saturdays. I like that it's a simple, fun family tradition that is easy to maintain. Up until Lucy went on the GFCF diet, we made regular waffles on our wafflemaker for Lucy, Jon, and me, and Nate and Levi had their regular pancakes I always make (in addition to bacon or sausage, etc.). Then Lucy went on the diet and found out she doesn't really like the boys' pancakes (I don't blame her). I went on a search for a good GFCF(SF) waffle recipe. A few weeks ago I tried one, and it was just OK. Last night I tried this one. Instead of the butter I used 6T coconut oil and 6T Earth Balance soy-free natural buttery spread. These turned out soft and delicious! Even the boys liked them (they didn't like the last try)! Success!

Cute words this week

Lucy thinks that using the mouse on the computer to scroll down on the screen is calling "squirreling." As in, "Daddy, squirrel over to that part right there."

I was chewing gum the other day, and Levi, following his sister's very-curious-about-having-gum lead, asked if I had "buggle gum." I tried to get him to say it again for a video yesterday, but by that time he was saying it correctly. (Aw what the hey... I'll upload the video anyway. Here it is:)

Hopscotch & a hawk

I just want to eat Levi up.





I keep watching 0:04-0:07 over and over in that first video. Cracks me up.

Second tooth

The note reads, "Dear tooth Fairy put the dollars in this bag."

Pictures

Lucy in a new favorite dress, and Levi being himself.

Tanaka Farms

On Saturday, we took a trip to Tanaka Farms for a CSA-member-appreciation tour of the farm. It was so fun and delicious! We ate celery, yellow beans (don't know the exact name--wax beans?), carrots, green onions, sugar snap peas, and of course strawberries--all straight out of the ground (and quickly dipped in a bucket of cold water to get off the dirt). At the end of the tour, you get out of the wagon/trailer and pick and eat as many strawberries as you want. We all had a great time.

Swim lessons

Nate and Lucy started swim lessons this week. I decided to take them to the same place Lucy went last year. Though it costs more, the kids get so much more one-on-one attention and make much more progress than in the kind of class Nate took last year (six or seven kids with one instructor; one-size-fits-all mentality). After yesterday's lesson (their second), I can already see tons of progress from Nate. Lucy still looks a bit like she's riding a bicycle under water (vertical; legs peddling instead of kicking), but she's much more comfortable in the water than she used to be.






(That's our friend Elijah, who was with us yesterday.)

Here are some videos too...

Nate:



Lucy:

Laptop bag

Every once in a while, I take our laptop with me to a coffee shop or Panera to do some computer work or blogging (either on a weekend when Jon is home or on a day like this past Tuesday, when my friend Suzanne watched the kids for 3 hours). I always feel a little silly and awkward carrying the laptop in my arms (as opposed to a bag, like everyone else has). So I whipped up this bag for the next time! It's lined in white and has some batting for a tiny bit of padding, and I put a pocket on the front to hold the wireless mouse. The main fabric is one I've had on hand for a while and couldn't decide how to use. I love it and can't wait to use the bag!

Conversations today

1. We got home from the park today, and it smelled funny in the house. I said, "It smells fishy in here!" Lucy responded, "Yes, it does. I think maybe a fish came in here while we were gone."

2. Later, Lucy brought up gymnastics. "I can do gymnastics," she said. "But you can't, Mama. You're too big and you would make the house rumble."

3. I was lying down with Levi to help him go down for nap, but he was wiggling around too much. I said, "Levi, you're being too squirmy!" He asked, "Huh? I squir you?"