Summer has begun!

Wow, my blogs are few and far between, BUT I would love to catch this summer with pictures and blog away....mabye I will turn a leaf and maybe I won't! I want to remember each day with my beautiful children...they are growing up so fast and this reality is apparent in my mind more each day as we are now going to have a 4th grader and a 1st grader and my baby is now 2 years old!

Summer is here and we have been lazy days at home! Strawberry picking, pool, spray parks, and lunch with friends and it has just begun! I say lazy, but it really is not lazy.....I hope and pray the kids feel the lazy and do what you want days, because that is what I longed for as a kid! I loved the smell of summer, sleeping in, playing outside with friends, catching lightening bugs, ice cream and swimming at the pool! That is what I want for my kids. I do not want them to feel like we are on the go all summer in this camp and that camp...I want freedom to stay in our jammies all day...which we did yesterday! When daddy got home from work at 5:30pm he said, "You guys are already ready for bed!" We all giggled and said, "Nope, we never got dressed today!" Love it!

Today we walked to the local downtown and went to the Sweetshop we had been admiring for a long time! We found silly banz and japanese erasers! The two popular collectible items for elementary age kids! The kids used their money to buy them both! (:

I LOVE summer! Can't wait for VBS, Lake Barkley, and summer camp, and more lazy days............

Thumb sucking

So, we have had 3 right hand thumb suckers.....

The first of which sucked her thumb often for comfort on a regular basis until she lost her first front tooth in Kindergarten, after which it became not so regular, but only as a necessity! After the second front tooth was lost, I think it was just not the same. If I had to say, i think she was just about 7 years old when she was officially done sucking her right thumb!

The second has been much more attached to his right thumb along with a much stronger suck. We also have a blanket, "Ga Ga". I think at 2 ga ga had to be left at home and then at age 4 we restricted ga ga to staying in his bed. Ga ga ALWAYS is adjoined by thumb sucking. I often still see ga ga out of bed when we are watching something on the computer or tv and have to give a strict reminder that it belongs in bed, to which i am never met with anything but, "Okay" and a quick run back to his room. We once got an ironman toy for not sucking our thumb for a week....he is strong and knows how to get what he wants, but is not willing to give up the thumb sucking. My only hope for him is when he begins to lose his front teeth, it just won't be the same......

To our surprise, number 3 started sucking his RIGHT THUMB very early on, to which i responded, "Oh, no!" Daddy on the other hand said, "It is so cute!" He must not have been thinking about all the possible orthodontic work it may cause in the future! But, i must post this as a reminder, it does not always have to be difficult to stop sucking your thumb. I think it was slightly before Christmas (about a month ago) Silas had a head cold and could not suck his thumb to fall asleep. It was a couple rough nights because he woke up in the middle of the night crying and all we could figure out is that he was upset he could not suck his thumb and breath at the same time! It was short lived, and his stuffy nose was gone in a few short days, BUT to this day the thumb sucking has not returned! Wow! I still keep saying it as a whisper to Brad, "Do you think he totally stopped? It can't be that easy!" Well, anyway, I am now able to say it without whispering....Silas is no longer sucking his right thumb! How long do you think it will last? Is he done forever?

Celebrating Nolan age 5

In June, we headed to celebrate Nolan being 5. His birthday is in March, but we wanted to wait until it was warm to head to Chicago. Grandy has made it a tradition to take the kids to Chicago when they turn 5. When Isabel was 5 we took the train into the city and made a day of taking Isabel to American Girl to get her first doll. For Nolan, we had a great day. We started at The Field Museum to meet Sue and learn about Dinosaurs. We walked around the city and ate at the Chicago Firehouse. We ended by visiting the American Girl store to spend some money Isabel had saved. We had to get Kits ears pierced of course. Thanks Grandy and Happy 5th Birthday Nolan! Hopefully we will return before 2013 when Silas is 5!

Napping

So, we are struggling with napping these days. Maybe it is a stage, maybe it is the chapped face, or just the plain orneryness of my little 21 month old, but mommy has tried everything to help....maybe it is the pink pillowcase he doesn't like! (: This is the way I found him on tuesday when i went in to check on him. Looks like to me that he was fighting it and just fell asleep in the position he was when he couldn't fight it anymore. Does not look comfy to me....almost seems as if his little legs would be tingling asleep by the time he wakes.

Silas is full of spunk, trying to say every word he can, but rarely does it actually sound like the word he is trying to say. He is calling his brother NaNa...at least he has the N right. I would say his favorite word is Coo Kee....and I am pretty sure it was his first word. He is a picky eater...this better not last! If it not sweet or isn't processed, he does not want it! I am amazed at how fast he is growing up. I could do without the newly found tantrums, but I am not wishing the days by with him. I want to cherish every moment of him being a baby, because technically he is on the verge of being a toddler....and frankly, I don't like it!

New Year 2010

It is a new year and I am feeling like blogging. I always get behind and want to catch up, that never happens...so here I am blogging again. We rarely do anything special for new years. Call me crazy, but I don't want to be out on the road after midnight.....not trusting the other drivers! This year we decided to do something with the kids. It was fun. We went to the Indiana State Museum for their new years celebration. The ball (or balloons from the ceiling) was dropped at 8pm...much better than keeping the kids up until midnight! Then, we headed home at 9pm....at which the kids were all asleep by the time we pulled into the driveway. Brad and I rang in the new year by pausing a movie we were watching to watch the ball drop in Time Square, a quick kiss, and then back to finish our movie! Happy 2010!