Mother's Day

Last week I was talking to one of my friends and we were talking about what we wanted to do on Mother's Day. Neither one of our families had plans, so we decided we should just get together and have the Dads do the grilling and watch the kids while we sat in the kitchen drinking wine. Hey - if it is left to us, we will plan the day that we want :) We invited another family as well, and left the rest up to the Dads to figure out. We ended up with burgers, hot dogs, an ice cream cake and cupcakes. Not too shabby.  It was a perfect day outside too.

After everyone left, I wanted a family picture. I think we had 10 pictures, each one funnier than the last. It will be a miracle the day we have a picture with all 4 of us smiling. And John is no help.

John took this video yesterday. It basically sums up how they always play together. They have the best time until somehow Madeleine gets hurt. 9 times out of 10, James does not mean to hurt her but he either isn't paying attention or just doesn't realize that she is still a baby and is too rough. She seems to bounce back pretty well and always goes back for more though. Even knowing how it usually ends, it is still fun to watch them interact together :)

James gave his sister his old echo microphone and she loves it - I think its more of the vibrations that it gives off than the noise, but she will squeal into it and just giggle away.

I am not entirely sure what happened here. All I know is that John took James out for a ride on his tricycle and he came back crying about how he ran into the stop sign.

So then we had to go to Target and get a helmet, which James is very proud to wear.

I am not sure exactly why I let James go to the store in his pajamas, but I am certain I had a good reason. I do remember looking at this picture though and thinking "jeez, this kid needs a haircut".

And so we went and got a haircut the next day. And yes I paid double for a haircut at the expensive kids place, but James didn't cry and pitch a fit. Well worth the money.

Duke is always hoping for a bite of Madeleine's waffle in the mornings. It is kinda sad how every day he sits there staring at her and every day he doesn't get any. But he is forever hopeful.

 

Soccer is still going well. Every week James is improving and getting better at listening and understanding what is asked of him. I think at this age it is more about listening to the coach and following directions than skill. It is hard to judge any of their skills when they all basically run around in a mob together kicking at the same ball. It is always entertaining for the parents though :)



Just some pictures from the last week or two. Yes, most of them are of Madeleine but most of the ones of James are a blur because he is always running somewhere! And don't mind her hair, its like this crazy looking mohawk because of the humidity right now.

Soccer

I signed James up to be on a soccer "team" because I wanted him to start getting involved with activities where he had to participate with a group of kids and listen to another adult. Plus, he gets to run around and get worn out - that is a win in my book. I was not sure how he would react, but since we signed up with his best neighborhood friend I was not too worried. He jumped right in and even though he was the youngest he was able to hold his own. He never ceases to amaze me.

Madeleine was able to entertain herself with Sydney - they didn't do much cheering on the sideline but they sure did look for things to chew on.

 

 

It was a really awesome time, I could not be more thrilled with the coach and how much fun everyone had. Can't wait for next week!

Photo Dump

Tonight I took the kids over to our neighbors house and let the boys play with some water - we gave them some water guns and filled up a baby pool. It was in the high 80s and we thought it was a perfect way to end the day.

And then after dinner James got a popsicle for the walk home, only he wanted to ride his bike home... so he had to do a little maneuvering.

 

Addy has started trying to walk - and just ends up flat on her face. But at least she is trying. She is pulling herself up on everything and cruising around, so she will get the hang of it soon.

 



Last night James wanted to wait for his daddy to come home, but John is out of town for the next week and a half - it was a rough night. James ended up falling asleep in the hallway waiting for John. I moved him back into his bed but sometime in the middle of the night he moved back into the hall.

We had almost 20 big pine trees removed from our backyard. James and his friend loved watching the whole process. And it was really cool for the adults to watch too.

John took this first video the other night while he was waiting in the car with the kids while I ran into a store. It was late and Madeleine was getting a little cranky so James took it upon himself to entertain her. Its a little dark in the beginning but John turns on the overhear light after a little bit...

This video is from Easter when Stephen was in town. James loves to race down the sidewalk on his old bike - you can hear him counting down and then yelling blast off! You can also hear the dogs whining from the porch that they want to get in on the fun. It's amazing James hasn't totally wiped out yet.