whobody wants to be friends?

I have to say....

I love the age that Nash is at. 

The almost 3 age.

 

Seriously...it is truly great. I love that he can express himself (as long as I can interpret it) and that he is so full of JOY! He truly is. 

 

Lately, he has been my bestest buddy around the house. With Keaton and Lola gone to school all day...he and I have gotten a lot of quality time together.  I am loving it (most of the time). He is very sweet and very honest....even honest about not being sweet....(he will totally tell me why Cruz is crying if he caused Cruz to cry....).

 

My favorite thing that he is saying right now is....

"Let's be friends."

This doesn't just mean...hey lets be good buddies and talk and play and giggle. It means....let's sit or lay as close each other as humanly possible....

For example, imagine it is dinner time...

we are eating at the table....

as any 'normal' family would....

everyone in their own chair...

in their own place....

with their own plate in front of them....

 

Suddenly...Nash declares (and it is a declaration)

"Keat, let's be friends!"

and Nash proceeds to scoot Keaton over on his chair so that Nash can sit on it too. 

There you have it!

In Nash's eyes...THAT is how you "be friends".

 

 

He says this to me ALL OF THE TIME. 

I especially love it when I am putting him to bed...and he snuggles in

right next to me ON my pillow and says (with a binkie in his mouth...yes, needs to be gone) "mom....let's be friends."

 

I. love. that.

I don't know why...but this kid really melts my heart lately.

I am really glad that he didn't go to preschool yet...

(although there are days I would love to ship him off....)

 

he. is. so. funny.

He plays hard....and he sleeps hard.

Seriously. 100 mph all of the time *unless he is in a tv induced coma.

 

I can't even tell you how many times he ends up outside either in just his underwear...or less.

 

(Yes, he is a middle child.) 

 

THIS is how it happens.  Keaton and Lola get themselves dressed....and go outside....Nash, starts to get dressed, hears the others go outside to play....and sneaks out with them *while I am distracted. THEN I go out and DO make him come back in and get dressed...most of the time.

 (I am really not sure what the marks on his belly are....probably road rash since he wasn't wearing his protective gear...except his helmet, of course!)

That is playing hard....as for sleeping hard: Sometimes he naps so hard in the afternoon...that when he wakes up

 he is convinced it is morning

...and when we tell him it is not morning...but afternoon...and this is the after school snack...not breakfast....HE THINKS WE ARE KIDDING! 

 

He says "just kidding, guys?" and keeps looking back and forth between me, Keaton, and Lola...waiting for us to say that we are kidding. Eventually he just goes along with it....

 

 Lately he has been using the term "favorite" a lot. (Although, it took me  a long time to figure out what he was actually saying.) 

 

It all started when we got the kitties. I gave him one to hold...and the first time he held it he said "mom, this is my favorite pet." and since then... every day when he watches his cartoon after lunch he says "mom, this is my favorite cartoon"....or after watching Mary Poppins at grandma's "mom, mary poppins is my favorite movie"...and even at mealtime "mom, this is my favorite lunch!".

 

I think that the reason that I am 'loving' Nash so much right now...and really trying to 'soak him in' is because I think back...and I have a hard time remembering how Keaton & Lola at that age.  :(

 

That is why I am SO glad that I am writing it down here....I am sure that someday I will look back at this and bawl my eyes out....and I am sure that Nash will do the same (but probably more out of embarrassment than anything!)

 

whobody petted the zoo?

On the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, Jason and I decided that we would squeeze in

another family fun night 

 before he got busy in the field.  SO...I had heard about a place called Strawberry Hills Petting Farm Zoo (or something like that :) by Strawberry Point...

and we decided to give it a try.

 

We grabbed some dinner to go at the Burger Barn on the way...and headed to Strawberry Point.  We had a little trouble finding the place *mostly because I forgot to look at directions before we left.... but once we found it we had a blast!

 

 The kids first just explored the animals on their own.  Seriously, this place is pretty cool.  They had all sorts of chickens, pigeons, ducks, peacocks, an emu, a rabbit, geese, goats, donkeys, a llama, calves, pigs, a horse, a baby deer AND most importantly, and the kids' favorite...tons of little kitties running around.

 All 3 of the older kids LOVED exploring the animal cages and holding the baby kitties. 

 

There was one kitty in particular...(see below) that followed us...and continually jumped up on Cruz's stroller and rode along with him. 

 

I really did not LOVE this....(yuck) but Cruz did. I guess that this kitty usually does that with a grandkid or nephew or something who is there often. 

 

Lola's highlight of the night was when the owner of the farm gave peacock feathers to all of the kids!  Turns out peacocks drop all of their feathers every fall...and then grow new ones in the Spring. (I was relieved to hear this because otherwise I was thinking that there was something seriously wrong with those peacocks.)  Lola's favorite animal is the peacock....and her sole mission in life at the fair was to get a feather...now she finally has one...and it is proudly displayed in our laundryroom.

 We did get the official "tour"....and as a part of the tour, the owner actually got the rabbit out of it's cage and let the kids hold it! They loved this too!

 

 

 

 

 

The llama totally tried to give Nash a KISS....he loved it!!! 

 

(As I am typing this...Nash is sitting beside me...leaning on my shoulder....saying over "No me like llamas....no me like llamas..." then "yes me do like llamas....look Mom....I smilin!" {imagine all of the L's said as W's....so more like "no me wike wamas...no me wike wamas....yes me do wike wamas....wook Mom....i smi-win.}) 

 

Too funny.

 

 

 

 

Of course, Nash loved all of the cutouts...and pretend houses....

 

 

Lola was the most "hands on" of the kids. She is an animal lover to the core!

 

 

We actually got to go INTO the chicken barn.  The kids loved this...and really enjoyed seeing the behind the scenes stuff. 

(Even looking at these pictures makes me want to bathe my kids....I love animals...but always feel so dirty....augh. I will have to get over that one.) 

 

 

Okay, when we were in with the chickens....the owner let the deer in.....okay, seriously, this thing was relentless.  It really wanted Cruz's binkie! I did not take this picture on purpose, I was just trying to take a picture of the deer by Cruz.....but just as I snapped it, "Bambi" went for Cruz's binkie

 

{more play by play commentary by Nash..."bambi wuvs Coozie Mom...but Coozie no wike bambi!"} 

 

We actually ended up taking Cruz out of the chicken barn after this because both the goats and the deer were trying to EAT the stroller!!!

 

 

The funniest part of the whole night was that...of all of the animals that the kids got to see and touch...their favorite was the KITTIES! Too funny...this was the deciding factor in us getting kitties for our "farm". 

 There were also a few fun play areas for the kids.  We ended the night there....

 The kids loved the straw maze/obstacle course...although, my 2 blondest kids with extremely sensitive skin...had the itchies the whole way home.  Ice cream seemed to help with that though. :) 

I was happy to let them take a bath the instant

 we walked in the door!!!

All in all we had a GREAT time at the 'farm' and will definitely go back again. 

We are so lucky to have neat things like this so close to where we live!!!

whobody picked their pumpkins?

Well...(for the first time ever)...we had a success with our pumpkin patch! I have tried to grow pumpkins and gourds the last few years...but have only ended up with a few. Our pumpkin patch was always right by the field away from the garden...but THIS year we moved it into the garden with our cucumbers.

 

 (Therefore, we actually watered the pumpkins too.)

 

The vines had all died, so we decided it was time to harvest. Before I could get our plastic wheelbarrow cart out of the shed...Keaton already had THIS contraption set up.

  His homemade pumpkin train.

 

 

Yes...he hooked our two Little Tike's vehicles together...

and we filled them up and took them to the driveway THREE TIMES!

 The kids had a blast 'finding' the pumpkins...

and figuring out the best way to load the pumpkin train.

 

 

 As you can see....Keaton pulled it....

and Lola hitched a ride on the way back!

 They are so funny!

 Can you tell how proud they are?

 

 

Lola actually DID help push when they had a full load....and Nash was in charge of picking up the pumpkins and gourds that "fell off the wagon".

 

I was just in charge of pushing Cruz in his stroller...and helping with the big ones. 

is their haul...didn't they do a great job?

 

Later that night, after all the toys were put away, the kids got to (for the first time ever) place the 'decorations' anywhere they wanted to around the front door and around the patio and the driveway.....

 

Normally, I like to have control over these sorts of things...but this year, I knew that they would have lots of fun doing it. Of course, now I have little pumpkins and gourds spaced out ALL around on the brick ledge....not what I would have done...but it looks 'great' because I know that they LOVE it!

whobody scored their FIRST goal?

Do you see how happy this kid is?

 

 

Pure joy (and pride) right there. My all time favorite 'facial expression' that Keaton has is after he does something that he is either praised for or proud of....such as helping someone out, doing well on something at school....or

MAKING HIS FIRST SOCCER GOAL!

 

 He LOVES soccer this year, and I am enjoying it too. 

 

I think he likes being one of the

'big kids'

on the team...and trying to be a leader! 

 

Since Jason is in the field right now, he was not able to be there at the game...but Keaton told me that if he made a goal, I needed to call Dad right away! So, I did! I sure wish I would have been videotaping...

 

I would say I was distracted by my kids...but I am pretty sure they were all over on Nikole's blanket.... :)

 He is much more aggressive this year than last year! Confidence seems to have a lot to do with it. I am sure that now he has actually made a goal...he will even be 'in there' more! His team is called THE BLUE WHALES and is really fun to watch...and the abilities are all in a pretty close range so they seem to work together well. 

(It is also really cute to hear Lola and Nash yell
"GO BLUE WHALES" the whole game!)

Keaton has really grown up 'athletically' this year...making huge improvements in his baseball, basketball and, now, soccer skills!

 

We may have a little athlete on our hands after all!

whobody's family is growing?

No, I am not pregnant...

but we did add to our family yesterday.

 

Meet Fluffy and Figaro.

 

 

 

These are the kids' new kitties!!! They are so in love.  When Nash got up from his nap, they were already here (thanks to some great friends who were willing to give us their kitties AND deliver them.)  He instantly wanted to hold them...I gave him one and he said "Mommy, this is my favorite pet!" (and also, his only pet.)

 We already have 2 outside cats. They are both very old and extremely wild...unpettable actually. Their names are Cattywhompus and Hissy.  Yes, Hissy does hiss all of the time.  We decided it was time to have some pets around here to give the kids something to nurture and take care of (not to mention take on some responsibility). 

 Don't be fooled by the pictures of these kitties in my laundryroom and garage.  They are GOING to be outside cats.  I just didn't want to rip them away from their momma AND let them alone outside all in the same week.

 The kids are LOVING the cats...and have spent every waking moment with them since we got them.  I actually need to go out to the garage right now and tell them to get their jammies off and brush their teeth. (No school today).

 

Lola is especially happy. She is really the one I got the kitties for. She needs something to nurture and snuggle...it truly brings her joy!

 Keaton on the other hand is more concerned with making houses for them and building obstacle courses. He is the kind of kid who has more fun actually building with legos than playing with the things that he builds. Lola would build one car and play with it all day....Keaton would just keep building and building.  He and I made a few houses out of boxes for the kitties. They really love them!

 Big thanks to Aidan for giving up his kitties...I am sure it was hard on him :( but he can visit them anytime! We love them...and I think they are very happy here!

 

Aren't they cute?

whobody had the best summer?

I have decided that I am just going to throw the rest of the photos from this summer into one big post....I have no clever title....and really not a lot of stories....but these are just photos from the summer that caught my eye and I wanted to share.

 

We really did have a great summer. Cruz has been extremely tolerant and portable...and I think he even has FUN with us!  The kids LOVE to play with him and ask me to have him play in their rooms all of the time!

 

Getting to wear a 'bucket hat' is one of the perks of being the youngest of four.

(do you think we have enough toys?)

 

 

 

This is a picture of our family (and Colton & Lily) minus Nash at a movie at the park. (I think Nash took the picture? or was on Jeff & Nikole's blanket...either way, he was there.)  Someone...not sure who....sets up a screen and a sound system at the park...and then they play a movie. It was pretty fun! We watched Chipwrecked (an Alvin & the Chipmunks movie)...the kids LOVED watching a movie outside and had lots of fun eating the free popcorn and hanging with their buddies.

 

 

 

 

When Keaton is feeling kind....and Nash is feeling tired...he asks Keaton to carry him to his room for nap time.  (Sometimes this summer Nash would actually let Keaton put him down for a nap too! This involves saying prayers and snuggling....and made Keaton feel pretty important!)

 

 

 

 

When Cruz first started his army crawling (did I mention he is crawling now?)....anyway he was playing in Keaton's room...and backed himself under the bed! Funny!

 

 

 

 

Of course...we have been working on Nash dressing himself...I figure if he is going to put his own clothes on, he might as well be picking them out.....(when appropriate)....here was a favorite outfit of mine...camouflage shorts and a Hawaiian shirt.

 

 

This summer we did have a lot of help from our babysitter "Rachee"....sadly, she has chosen college over my children. (I guess she doesn't just want to babysit the rest of her life :)  Anyway, she came and spent almost EVERY Wednesday with the kids.  I mowed lawn, ran errands, and got other things done that are not as easy to do with 4 'littles' helping....and then of course, Wednesday night IS taco night!  She was also the reason we were able to go on the river without the kiddos!  Big thanks to Rachel for all of her help. The kids LOVED having her here....she baked cookies, played kickball, told great stories....and even brought her guinea pig! Of course, when she put flowers behind Cruz's ears I had to take a picture!

 

 

And I couldn't resist putting a sleeping picture of Cruzie....isn't he sweet???

 

 

 

Keaton spent the summer WITHOUT his 2 front teeth. He still managed to eat sweet corn (somehow!)

 

 

Of course, a silly picture of Lola too...I am not sure WHY she had her gum on her nose....

 

 

Nash and Cruz are best friends....Nash is always in Cruz's face like this!

 

 

After a particularly tiring day of playing outside, Nash actually FELL ASLEEP while watching the post-lunch/pre-nap cartoon. This is unheard of in our house.

 

 

Lastly, a picture of all 4 kids playing together.  I love it when they do this (and it is streaky)....I am so very blessed!  It is funny...sometimes having 4 kids feels like SO MANY....things are crazy and chaotic and loud and unorganized and, well, out of control.  But then other times (like this picture below) it feels totally manageable...and I find myself looking around for our other kid. Maybe that is just because I am so used to having to chase someone down!  The older they all get, the easier it seems to be!

 

Well, Fall is officially here. Harvest has begun so it is pretty much just the kids and I until Thanksgiving. (Aside from rain days.)  We all miss having Jason around (especially at bedtime!) but the kids adapt very easily and act like it is completely normal to see him just a few minutes a day.  So far things are going very, very well.  When he is working like this, we usually don't do anything away from home that we don't have to do.... so soccer games and delivering meals are the only outings. When we stay home it really helps me keep the routine under control...and keeps the kids more well rested and manageable!

 

I hope you enjoyed the rest of the pictures from our summer!!!!