The Great Bed Switch

Annie has been climbing out of her crib for the last couple of weeks and Ben has a hard time falling asleep because she tries to get in his bed. Wednesday night he was sick of it! So, he came and curled up in the hallway and was totally asleep a few minutes later. Andy went to put him in his bed and found Goldilocks all spread out...

The Cake

We have a cake book, so I gave it to Ben a week or so ago and told him to pick a cake. I was actually quite shocked that he picked a football cake because that isn't something we normally play nor has he seen it on tv lately. So - we spent at least 2 hours on his birthday creating this masterpiece that was destroyed in a matter of minutes... Please notice the little numbers on each individual bear. Ben helped with the pink bears and also broke my goal post about 15 minutes before serving the cake. I was pretty darn proud of that goal post - lots of patience to create it! Alas - the cake was incredible, the frosting the perfect thickness, and the bears very edible! I can't believe my little boy is 4 years old...

Sweet Baby Girl

Here's my sweet Emily all grown up. She is getting more and more personality every day -she LOVES to laugh and will watch you walk in and out and all around the room just waiting for you to look at her. Then she gives you a gigantic smile!

I Really LOVE It!!!

So - this season Andy and I have been playing co-ed soccer together. I felt so out of place buying cleats, shinguards, etc. I didn't know what I was doing! However, I LOVE playing! There is such a thrill when you actually get the ball, and to know that you played well is just exhilerating. We have one, maybe two more games left in the season but have decided not to continue in the Fall. We might find a team a little closer to home or one that doesn't constantly get rained out!!! It's been so fun to learn something new and encourage one another. Of course, it helps when you win - like we did tonight.

Since I am the only one that posts anymore, I have to extoll my virtues for this game. I think I only really screwed up one play, when I totally whiffed the ball. I did a few okay things, but my proudest moments were two headers, a chest pass and a steal. I even took a shot on goal! I knew there was no way I could pass in time and there was just one man between me and the goalie, but, I of course, have no idea how to get the ball to curve around him and he got it. BUT - I tried! I also forced a few people line on defense which was such a thrill.

However, I couldn't have done it without Aunt Jamie there to play with the wee ones - AND bandaids from a prepared soul. My huge blisters came back becasue I've had 3 weeks off and my shoes began to rub again...oh well - I got to play! Now volleyball is about to start up and I can't wait!!!

the love of my life...at the moment

what a passion i have for - mcgriddles! they are simply amazing and melt in your mouth. i've never been a fan of mcdonalds - until i tasted this wonderful breakfast-goodness. curses to Autumn for teaching me about these. my happy mouth loves you...as do my children!

He Remembers!!!

One of Ben's training wheels broke, so I tried to take them off for him today. We found Dad's socket wrench and the right size thingamajigger (correct terms?) for the nut. I was really struggling to loosen it and was about to make a comment about the man who put it together. When, what to my wondering ears should appear but, "Wow! Santa is really strong to make it so tight. That's because men are strong." It was soon after I realized I had been tightening the little octagony-thing instead of loosing it. Righty-tighty, right?

Not Yet!!!

We've seen a few special talents lately from little Emily, but this morning took the cake! Because she quite enjoys tummy time (a sure blessing for the rest of us), I put her laying on the floor in her room to look at a toy. I hung up a few of Annie's dresses and walked out ofthe room to restore order to Ben and the masses of puzzles that somehow all got dumped out. When coming back to check on her, Emily had done a 180 degree turn and was watching each person walk by her room, just waiting calmly for someone to talk to her! Yesterday I thought she had scooted backwards, but I chalked it up to just the blanket being crinkled. Now I'm not so sure... I'd better start preparing Ben for a frawling sibling again - it's going to be a BIG wake up call to both he and Annie!

Sleeping Issues

For some reason everyone at our house is currently having sleeping issues. Don't know if it's still post-vacation (2 weeks later!!!) or what. Ben had decided that while waking up the middle of the night isn't the greatest, it's much easier to fall back asleep while snuggling with Daddy. So Mommy gets up to feed Emily and takes Ben back to his room - over and over again! This is while going to bed VERY late (for reasons still unknown) and having horrible nightmarees about Andy robbing banks and murdering other theives. We've had a lot of sleepless nights lately! Add to that Annie desire to not be clothed and her recent accomplishment of climbing out of her crib and that about rounds out life! :)You ask about Andy - no problem there! He is so tired at the end of the day he just drops and can even fall asleep midsentence!!! I tell him he's very talented...

Just a friendly girl...?

We are a little bit worried about Annie. She is currently in a 'no clothes' phase. Today I sent her in to tell Ben and Andy that dinner was ready. She did this, then proceeded to strip off her outfit. Ben and Andy came to dinner, but sweet Annie was nowhere to be found. So we kept calling her for dinner (knowing she should be pretty hungry) and she comes waddling in with her shirt on inside out and her skirt completely twisted! It was quite cute and I didn't think much of it until we were outside blowing bubbles after dinner. As cars drove past she shouted out "HI!" and waved - hoping they would look back. This was fine until somehow her clothes got wet and she again stripped down to her diaper and continued to wave. As she tried to take off her last hope of modesty, I whisked her inside and decided we were done with bubbles for a time....

2385 miles later

Well, I still can't figure out how to get the pictures in the order I want them - so this might be a little hard to follow! We took our family vacation last week and had a blast! It was basically two different vacations - one with Grandma and Grandpa Maas in Minnesota and one in the car. By the way, let me just mention now how much I LOVE my van! Andy and I were both climbing throughout it and thrive on all the SPACE!!! It was so perfect! So, on the way up we traveled in two days and stopped midway at the Topeka, Kansas zoo. It was great! We saw a baby orangutang (sp?) that stole my heart! (At each zoo there was one - or two - animals that we had to watch for at least 30 minutes. I think Andy was going crazy with the kids and my facination. At one point he told me that I had fostered this love for...animals, so I had to be the one to pry them away so we could go. hehehe).

We arrived at Detroit Lakes, MN Sunday in time for dinner and played and played for 3 days - mainly outside because it wasn't HOT! Between this trip and our August visit last year to Colorado, we're thinking Texas might not be the greatest for outdoor activites during the summer! We did the paddle boat, went fishing off the dock, took pontoon rides, played baseball, went on walks, visited the 'beach,' played baseball, jumped in the lake (minus mom), reading, and played baseball. We couldn't get enough of the incredible weather! Grandma and Grandpa Maas enjoyed watching all the crazy Ben/Annie antics that my life revolves around. The best part was - no bugs! We used our OFF one time when Andy and I went on the paddle boat after the kids were in bed (Thank you for all of the Emily-watching!), and I don't think we even needed it. However, I was lulled into a safe sense because as soon as we got home and started taking our walks again, we all got eaten alive... Alas, we had a great time.

We planned 3 days to get home (which was a GREAT move), so we didn't have more than 7 hours in the car. We left Wednesday afternoon and drove 6 hours. Thursday morning we drove another 90 minutes to the Omaho Zoo. After a train ride and an AMAZING gorilla exhibit, I didn't want to leave! The zoo was HUGE with all types of bears you can imagine. Andy's favorite part was a $33 million dome that housed the Africa portion of the zoo. After the zoo we had a pretty miserable 5 hours to Witchita where we slept in another lovely Marriott hotel (love those points!!!). We drove a whopping 17 minutes to the Witchita Zoo for another fun and exhausting morning. We went first to the Giraffe feeding and found a 1 week old giraffe! Her older brother is the one who typically likes to be fed, but this was his little sister's first time on exhibit and he was very protective. We also saw a two week old rhino, and a baby camel! Ben loved seeing the longhorn there. We drove home and got in about 10:30 Friday night (after stopping for dinner at Rudy's in Denton) just in time to get our regular 6 hours of sleep before real life started again. Saturday started with a bang with produce early in the morning, a birthday party, grocery shopping and a leaky washing machine!
Andy pushing kids up STEEEEP hill!
Outside the gorilla exhibit where we saw three generation of gorillas in the same exhibit - Omaha.
Our sweet baby giraffe! She was about 6 feet tall and we learned that she will grow about an inch a day!

Getting ready for our first pontoon ride!!! The kids were sooo excited!
" Sitting on the dock of the bay - watching the clouds drift away..."
Emily enjoyed the pontoon ride on Grandma Maas's lap.

Keeping the kids busy in the car. We did several different seat rotations to keep life from getting boring - this was NOT our favorite!
Emily had plenty to keep her attention. We finally put her in the back with Ben on our last day and that was our FAVORITE seat assignments.
At the Topeka Zoo - pulled most of the kids in the wagon...

So after visiting so many other zoos, I've realized how horrible the Dallas Zoo really is. However, all the other zoos have lots of LAND - which is very important to the quality of life for the animals. You can only do so much without space.

How did Andy an I keep ourselves busy in the car? Well, I read most of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince to him - finishing the night after we got home so I could begin book 7 on Sunday. Harry is now over for me - although Andy still neeeds to read/listen to book 7. It was a great trip!!!

Oh the Mind of a Child...

Ben is learning to lie. Having read a few child development books, I knew this was coming because he is learning that I can't see directly into his mind and read his thoughts - although I think I come pretty close most of the time!!! So here is what happened today while Ben was doing "quiet time" with Emily.

"Ben, you put sunscreen on Emily - where is it now?" Blank look back. "Ben, I know you put sunscreen on Emily because I can smell it. Where is the sunscreen?" A little bit of curiosity now. "Where is the sunscreen?" Pause - I don't know. "Ben, you also have sunscreen on because I can see it glistening on your arm and you also smell like sunscreen." Smells his arm and looks back at me with defiance in his little eyes. "Ben, where is the sunscreen?" I don't know. "Ben, where is the sunscreen?" I don't know!

So - I decided to change tactics since that one wasn't working. "Ben, where did you get the sunscreen from?" A bottle. "Where was the bottle located?" I don't know. (Do you see the same pattern!?!) "Ben, where did you put the bottle when you were done?" I don't know!
Well - I can't even remember how this ended because it was the end of a long morning (It was 1 pm!). I did eventually find the bottle of sunscreen, but I can't remember where also. However - knowing that these times are coming - any (moral) suggestions for my sweet little stinker who is more like his father than I know what to do with would be much appreciated!!!

SO - this little boy totally loves Baby Emily. Every prayer includes her to grow big. Heck in this picture he is even letting her wear his shin guards! If that isn't true love, I don't know what is! (Please also notice the cowboy boots with the shorts - I'm really going to miss that look and the smiles it brings to people's faces when we go out...)

The time has come to retire Ben's beloved cowboy boots. We have passed them on to a little boy at church and hope he may have as many happy memories as we have had. Our little cowboy was a bit devasted when Friday we put on the boots his feet hurt so bad he couldn't even take a step. I wonder how long they have been pinching... We went to the store to find new ones, but boots are not the typical target/walmart fashion in the middle of the summer. Although this is Texas, so you would think... Oh well - we will continue returning to the store to find more cowboy boots. This means no more Owen's Farm, rodeos, zoos, etc until we can find more boots! And we best hurry because his 4th birthday is in less than a month and he wants to ride a bucking bronco! Good luck Matthew with your "new" cowboy boots. May you love them as much as we have and may you wear them with shorts as is a RIGHT for all little boys.

Morning Discussion

This morning Annie showed me an animal that hadn't been put away last night and asked what it was. I told her it was a cougar and someday she and Ben and Emily would be cougars. Ben asked why and I told him because they would be going to BYU for college and therefore be cougars.

Somehow the conversation turned to marriage. I told Ben that at BYU he could meet a girl to marry (because he still wasn't convinced he wanted to be a cougar). He told me he is going to marry Kylie since he can't marry Emily. I said Kylie would probably go to college at BYU because she's a pretty smart girl and if he wanted to marry her, he'd better do well in school and learn a lot so he could go too.

Conversation continued further with the fact that "me and Kylie are going to live on a farm, and I'll pay!" He is going to pay for the farm and the house. However, they will not have children; they are going to have horses instead, and one is going to be called Lightening. Lightening will be Ben's horse. He is of course telling me this as he walks around with 4 babies stuffed in the baby bjorn - one girl and a lot of boys.

So, what do Andy and I think about this plan? We like Kylie and her family. She has curly hair, so the legacy would be continued - although I don't know if she is left-handed or not - need to check on that one. She does like to play school and be the teacher - so the three generation trend could be continued... I also know for a fact that she does like farms.

I have told Kylie's mom this plan, but I haven't brouched it with her dad yet. (I think I'll let Andy do that over a game of frisbee or volleyball) I think they might be somewhat concerned about his plans for employment, but maybe Ben will let them ride Lightening. From what I've heard about this horse, it's something pretty special...

Tweezers are a Lifesaver!

small hairclip
bead
bead
raisen
paper

These are the many things that Annie has tried (and succeeded) to stick in her nose. I don't know what she's tried that hasn't fit. Nor do I want to. However, none have yet resulted in a doctor visit (knock on wood) as Dad is very steady with the beloved gold tweezers.

Tweezers also come in handy when one is trying to retract nails and batteries out of the gas turn on spot for the fireplace before Daddy gets home to see them... Whew!

I tell you - each child definitely has his own vice - be it electrical sockets or nose holes... hopefully Emily will stay on the tame side.

Happy Birthday Alex

Alex is Ben's buddy. We met in a neighborhood playgroup almost 2 years ago, and they have sooo much fun together. Alex's birthday was a few weeks ago (a fireman party where they actually got to play ON the truck!!!) and for his gift, Ben gave him an outing to Owen's Farm - which is Ben's favorite place on earth! So, we finally did our little excursion last Saturday and took way too many pictures - although these are some of our favorites. Alex was a little timid of the longhorns, so he gave Ben his food to feed the "big cow." He didn't really believe us when we said it wouldn't bite and 'was really nice.' Andy and I don't lie!
I love this picture! Andy had just finished feeding the buffalo (and teasing him with food to show the kids his black tongue) and I got them all lined up in the process - a rather hard feat for three busy kids with open running space! Emily just slept in her stroller...
And, of course, no outing in Dallas (since March) would be complete without a rainstorm.

Independence Parade

We had our neighborhood parade last Saturday. Last year Ben and Andy got to ride in an old 'stang and wave to everyone. This year we all watched and cheered. It was fabulous!!! We even got free sandwiches from Chick-Filet!

Too Cute

Annie looked so cute today with her 'pigs' that Daddy put in - with an almost perfect part! Had to throw this on real quick before bedtime!!!

The Third Child

Well, Emily already has a great shortage of "alone" pictures compared to Ben and Annie, but she is getting to a really fun age! These are a few of my favorites.

The wide open grin that comes with a deep chuckle... Sitting in her bumbo seat (Did they even make these when the others were still 'little'???). Emily is really quite lucky when she gets a chance to sit there because both Ben and Annie LOVE it! We set up toys for her to look at and the child is just so content!
Yes, Emily is a thumb-sucker! She started this all on her own and loves that little thumb. We've debated between the thumb or trying to get her on a pacifier since she 'needs' it. The pacifier didn't work because she just gets *REALLY* mad after about 10 seconds of vigorous sucking when nothing comes out. We now burrito her with her left arm out (because it has to be the left thumb) so she will sleep - otherwise she will lay and scream her guts out for a LONGLONGLONG time. I know because I tried... Although our average night sleep is around 8 hours, our best time was 11 hours and 30 minutes. Girl, you can have that thumb all you want - until you are about 18 months and then would you please give it up with no fight? Pretty Please??? She still looks so precious with it because her hand just curves around her face. Love that girl with all her rolls! Next time she has a bath or just a diaper I've got to capture her squishy body that we LOVE to squeeze on! I can't believe my baby is already 3 1/2 months old!

Some Favorite Parts of Addy's Trip

Cutting out pictures to make "projects." Please notice which hand Annie is using to color with. :) When I needed everyone in one place, I would call out, "Attention!" and they would come running and salute. This was especially helpful when it was time to do everyone's hair, get shoes on, or finish a few tasks before leaving the house. I love how hard Annie is trying to salute! They are all soooo much fun!
I hate playdough - it makes a mess, Annie eats it, and it just feels funny. Thankfully for my children Addy enjoys playdough... however Annie was still in the corner eating it.

Campbell Green Water Park

While Addy was here we went twice to the water park close to Grandma's house. It was a great way for the little ones to run around and for Addy to get cool!