Gardening

Well, it's been awhile since I last blogged. The weather turned nice and we've been spending a lot of time in the great outdoors. I decided to expand our garden a little bit this year so I've been digging up grass in the back yard. It's amazing what people dump in their own back yards. Here is a list of some of the things I've found...

1. An old coat hanger
2. A rusted out can of RAID
3. Electrical wiring (old-not like the stuff we use today)
4. Metal pipes
5. Insulation
6. A seashell
7. Lots of glass-green, clear, white, etc.
8. A 2x4
9. Random pieces of metal
10. I can't remember

It makes me wonder what I would find if I dug up more than a 4 foot space, and is it even safe to eat vegetables grown in such dirt? I guess we'll find out.

Ella has been hilarious to watch outside. She wasn't walking last summer so this is her first real experience with the outdoors. When I first put her down, she sat on her bottom and lifted her legs and arms in the air so nothing would get dirty. Now she's the complete opposite. I can't keep her out of the dirt. She swims in it. I'll look over and she'll be on her belly sifting her fingers through the dirt and staring at it from an inch away just enthralled. It's fun to see her get dirty. The boys of course could spend all day running and digging and riding bikes. It's so nice to have spring finally here!

Just Some Pictures

My very own Warrior Princess

Big Cheeses

Look at her flex those muscles!

The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker?

Snip Snip

We had our first experience with one of our kids cutting their own hair. Luckily it's just on little bald patch up on top. Iyah got a little scissor happy when I was giving G a haircut. At first he was really pleased with himself, but after he saw my reaction he changed his mind. At first I was kind of upset with the little guy, but honestly, it's one of those things where the natural consequences are much harder than anything I could say or do. EVERYONE comments on it when they see him and I see him getting sad and teary when people laugh. I know he wishes he'd never picked up those darn scissors. I keep telling him it's okay and that hair grows back quickly. If it wasn't so cold out I'd just give him a buzz. Maybe I still should. What do you think?

Good Music

Great music transcends all boundaries/barriers, as I was reminded yesterday. I was driving home with the kids from an afternoon of crazy shopping and I just couldn't handle the "kiddie music" any more. So, I popped some Beatles into the CD player and settled in for the drive. About half way through the first song my 3 year old pipes up from the back seat, "Turn it up, Mommy!" Gotta love it!

Played

Today I was played for a fool by my 18 month old daughter. As mentioned in the previous entry we had a doctor's appointment today for my little sweetheart. As also mentioned previously I was a little bit reticent about having to admit that she wasn't walking yet (especially since I felt like it was a power issue). Well, we went to the appointment and I talked to the doc and he confirmed that there is nothing whatsoever wrong with her but said that if she wasn't walking in the next month we might need to take steps to try to encourage her in that direction. We left and came home and within the hour...yep siree, she walked! She was standing there in the middle of the room and Benj said, "Walk to mom" and she did! I about fell over. And let me tell you, I've never seen anyone more proud of themselves than she was. She was practically turning cartwheels and was laughing out loud. It was the greatest! What a crazy bean!

He's Three!

As usual, I'm a bit tardy posting these pictures. I keep putting it off because my internet connection is so slow. But I have to announce to the world that Isaac is three! He's been telling everyone, "I supposed to be two, but now I three!" After watching George have a birthday, he couldn't wait for it to be his turn. We had a pretty mellow day. Chicken nuggets for the birthday dinner and cake, ice cream and presents afterwards. He was a pretty happy guy. I think the favorite present he received was his imaginex dinosaur. The boys have spent hours locking Ella out of their room so they could set up all of their super hero figures for the dinosaur to tromp down. It roars and walks around knocking things down. They love it.

The weather here has been really cold. We had a big storm this week that covered everything in a fresh layer of snow. It's the time of year when I start feeling like spring is never going to get here. The boys love the snow though. They could spend hours out there. We built a snow man the other day and during the night someone decapitated it. The boys were so mad. I've never heard such threats as were coming out of their mouths. Iyah was literally shaking. Ella also got her first real ride on the sled. She didn't like it one bit. I thought she would cry, but she didn't. She just kept yelling over and over, "No, mama, no!" Like I was being bad. :)

Tomorrow is Ella's 18 month check-up. I'm a bit embarrassed to have to tell the doc that she's still not walking. She stands by herself in the middle of the floor, but every time I suggest she walk she sits right down and says, "No!" A bit of a power struggle going on I think?

Sweet Girl

Little Ella's new hobby is climbing into and onto anything and everything. In this particular instance she wedged herself inside a small baskett. She was so proud of herself. If course, she also has two obliging brothers who don't hesitate to shove her over when she's in a precarious situation. The worst example of this happened last week when George, who was sitting at the the top of the stairs, gave her a "little nudge" with his feet as she climbed toward him. She took quite a fall. Ah siblings. But she sure bounces back quickly and is a very happy sweet girl. As you can see in the picture, she's learned that the phrase "say cheese" means smile big! She truly is a joy to me every single day.