Happy Memorial Day!

After deliberating in my head whether it would be more fun for the kids to ride in the parade or watch the parade (both equally fun), I decided to take advantage of the opportunity for the kids to get to ride on a trailer behind a tractor in our local Memorial Day parade. It looked like it was going to be rainy, but the sun came out just as we pulled onto the main road to see the crowds. The kids really had a great time! They were both very tired at the end.

Here's Zachary proving he is "fit for survival" on a float that included 10 middle schoolers who wanted to hog all the candy. He was not going to miss out on the candy-throwing. When we got home, he showed me a stash of candy he hid in his shorts pocket. I'm still trying to figure out if this qualifies as stealing? I'll probably have to talk with him about this...even though it is funny & clever!

Allie got really sweaty (like Mommy) and about 3/4 of the way through, she literally laid out on the floor of the trailer, in everyone's way.

Zachary was a trooper, throwing candy and VBS brochures to the crowds the whole time.

And he hung out with two of his little buddies on the back. The children's pastor (turquoise t-shirt) reassured me that he would stand on that step to protect any little ones from falling off the float. And I just want everyone to know that I didn't worry a bit.

Little Ladybug

Allie was so cute with her little ladybug and pigtail. She's a doll.

The downside to intimacy

Being a close-knit family has a lot of perks. We all love each other, we help each other out, we can share special memories, we can enjoy being affectionate, etc...
However, from the eyes (and nose!) of a 4-year old and a 2-year old, one of the negatives involves the close proximity we sometimes get to enjoy.

Recent quotes from the kids about this "too close-ness"...

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Zachary: "Grandad, when you talk, I can smell your breath."

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Mommy: "Zachary, would you like to hold baby Ari?"

Zachary: "No, I can smell her breath."

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Allie: "Mommy, juice please. My mouth is stinky."

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Zachary to Allie: "Ew, I smell your breath. It smells like a bird."

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Allie to Mommy, just after some kisses, "...smell something!" while she holds her nose.

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Zachary: "Mommy, why do I smell people's breath?"

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Zachary to Daddy, on a Saturday morning when all four of us were in our bed: "Daddy, why do you stink in the morning?"

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Cousins

We spent the last 24 hours with Aunt Jen & baby Ari, which was super fun!! Zachary really likes Ari. He asked me if Aunt Jen was going to have another baby after Ari. I said, "Yes, probably in a few years." He thought about it for a second and then said, "Will she put this one away then?"
Of course we laughed a lot and explained that Ari would grow and be a big girl like Allie. His favorite thing about Ari is that she'll grasp his finger now. Allie's favorite thing is to kiss her sweet little bald head. I think Allie's just glad to have a little friend who is as bald as she was/is.

Aunt Jen took these cute pictures of the little cousins. SO fun!

Grammy & her grandkids, being so silly...This picture is hilarious. My kids have started doing a little dance that looks a lot like how a Quail runs...It is really funny.

This last picture is cute. Even little Ari is smiling nice!

Creating Diversions

We've had this awesome marble track for awhile now, but only recently has Zachary started actually making an effort to build it himself. In the past, Todd & I have been the ones who put it together while Zachary just rolled the marbles down the track.
Yesterday, he & I (yes, I still helped a little...it's really challenging for a 4-year old) built a few tracks that turned out pretty cool. I love to watch him build, test, and fix this track so that the marbles will make it through successfully. I'm certain this is critical thinking at its best. My dad said it well, "It's all about creating diversions...", you know, to move the marble along the track...each wood piece is to divert.

He gets a little frustrated when the marbles get stuck. And his first instinct is to send another marble down to "push" the stuck marble. This is funny because the problem isn't usually a stuck marble. It is usually a piece of the structure blocking the track, so each "push" marble actually just joins the other stuck marbles.
Oh, and the "necklace" he's wearing? A track medal of mine from high school. We visited a trophy shop recently and he became very interested in trophies & medals. He's been wearing my medal for several days now. I could only find 1 ribbon that would fit it...thus the polka-dots.

...Love those beautiful eyes.

Smart Male

Zachary: "Mommy, I think I want to marry Alayna, but Emma said she's going to marry me. I don't think that will work for me. I just want to marry 1 girl."

Sleeping Beauty

I love the way my kids look when they're asleep. They both have Todd's lips, which look really so pretty when they're relaxed. I rarely get pictures of them asleep because I am not a quiet, sneaky person. I took these pictures after Allie had been asleep for 3 hours...I figured it was time for her to wake up!

First Official Teeth Cleaning

We had to visit the dentist a few weeks ago because Allie chipped her front tooth. We returned this week so that Zachary could have his very first cleaning. He was a little pro. He got to be in charge of "Mr. Slurpy" (as you can see in his hand in the picture below)...

He picked a cheetah print for the cleaning attachment...

And got to wear super-cool sunglasses for the exam:

Mommy learned that flossing is now necessary for Zachary. Good to know...

Music & Art

Zachary had an end-of-year Musical Program and Art Show at school yesterday. On the way to the event, in the car, Zachary said, "Daddy, will you let Panda sit on your lap so he can watch me sing? I think he would like to see my friends too." So we let Allie hold onto Panda while she sat on Daddy's lap.

At Zachary's school, I've had several different mothers come tell me that their daughter "LOVES" Zachary and "wants to marry him...!" etc...which is really funny. And at the parent-teacher conference his teacher told me that "everyone" wants to be Zachary's friend and play with him "because he is so kind." I am proud of Zachary for being a nice friend.
During the musical program, he enjoyed some laughs with his [school] friend Emma. (Yes, he has several friends named Emma. It has been, after all, the most common name given to girls for the past few years...)

The Art Show was really fun. Zachary's teacher is so creative. See this wonderful caterpillar? It's made of his hand prints. I love it.

The kids' favorite part of the event was the cake & lemonade. They are so darn cute.

For Mother's Day

Pictures of me with my sweet little ones...

Daddy Love

These are some cute pictures of the kids with Todd in Mimi & Grandad's pool.

Birdsong

We found a wounded baby bird in our front bushes. The kids watched him "rest" in the leaves for awhile. I tried to explain that sometimes baby birds fall out of their nest or get hurt while they're learning to fly and reassured them that the bird mommy would be back soon to get her baby. (?)

Zachary said, "Well, maybe we could sing him a song to help cheer him up."

And they did. My two sweet kids sang a song (Jesus Loves Me, of course) on our front porch to help cheer up a baby bird. It was the sweetest thing I ever heard.

Z & A in AZ, Part II

Here are some more pictures of our time in Arizona with Mimi & Grandad. We visited this super cool railroad park. The kids enjoyed riding on 2 different trains and a merry-go-round. They also had a blast at the playground. The bottom pictures are of Allie going down what she calls the "bumpy slide." This slide was so crazy, it had speed bumps and I can't believe her back side wasn't bruised after the many many times she ventured down this slide. We laughed a lot. She loved it.