A mom walks into her house the other day

and this is what she sees. Our sitter Erin did Alexandra's hair and then Atticus went over to her and wanted his hair done too. As she did one and then two, he leaned back in her lap and got comfortable. She said it was like relaxing for him. He loved it. He was mad when I took it out for nap time, hence the third picture.

A Party to remember

Even though my birthday isn't until Tuesday, the Erbe's invited us up to their house for dinner and dessert tonight. The kids were playing outside with Scott when Alexandra started screaming and yelling in pain. Scott brought her over to me and we couldn't quite figure out what was going on with her. After some detective work, she had been stung by a bee or wasp. There were two on her leg. We put a baking soda paste on it when Heather (Scott's wife) brought Evan in the house screaming in pain too. We found he got stung too. We put some paste on him when I looked at Alexandra and her upper left lip was all swollen. I think I kind of freaked her out but she couldn't tell us what had happened. She had never had a bee sting before so we thought maybe it was an allergic reaction. After talking to one of the nurses at the pediatricians office we figured it was just another sting even though we couldn't see it. She was so worried that she wouldn't be able to eat dinner or dessert and that it might always be that way. It's so hard to explain that kind of stuff to a 5 year old. By the end of the night, she had eaten dinner and dessert and it was looking a lot better. When she got in the car and looked in the mirror she said to me, "mom, you were right, it is getting better!" As you can see, fun was had by all and it was a great party.

A race for the ages

For some reason the kids decided to race up and down the driveway the other night. What made me laugh the most was their starting positions.

Grandma's 85th Birthday

My final living grandparent, Grandma Quack turned 85. My mom put together a great open house for her and a lot of family and friends came. It was so great to see old family and friends. I think Grandma had a good time too.

My Baby is now two

And he's not a baby anymore. Last Sunday Atticus turned two. He is so expressive and so verbal. He's also started to use his imagination. That's something I didn't see in Sebastian until almost 3 so it's cool to see that already. He also has the mentality that anything Sebastian and Alexandra do he can do as well. He loves to play by himself and is all boy. He loves his trucks and cars. For his birthday we got him a t-ball stand and plate and he hits that ball over and over and over again. We're working on taking turns and sharing but for two he's getting there. He loves his ya-ya (alexandra) and likes his bubby (Sebastian) but seems to hit and fight with him a lot. He likes hats, really the only one of the kids that does. He has the cutest smile and a very sad cry even when he's not really sad. I've been much more relaxed with him which has led me to really enjoy him.

Only one more in diapers

Although I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel, Sebastian is pretty much potty trained. Yippeee! It happened about a week and a half ago, it just seemed to click. He started telling me he needed to go and he just stated going. I was so excited. I think Atticus and Alexandra are just as happy that he's using the potty more. They get an M & M every time he uses the potty! Atticus has started to want to sit on the potty but that's about it. I believe though that he'll be a little easier than Sebastian.

Sprinkler Fun

We've had a lot of great times this summer. This summer has seemed easier than the past two because Atticus can be trusted a little more this summer to stay in the back yard. This video cracks me up because Atticus is trying to copy what Alexandra is doing. They have become two peas in a pod.

Potty Training Part three

We had a good day today with Potty Training Sebastian. We started last week and it went better than when we tried in June. Then the we had a penny incident. Alexandra and Sebastian came into our room last Tuesday morning and told us Sebastian had swallowed a penny. I called the Dr. and they wanted us to have an x-ray to make sure it had passed to his stomach. There was no penny in his belly although he still says its in his tummy. So after that we took a break from potty training last week and I thought we'd start again today. He didn't have an accident but he also didn't choose the potty on his own. I had to make him each time but then he did. We're getting there. The funny thing, I'm always thinking, when did he go last, how much did he have to drink and so on. Ah, what an interesting stage of life. Who knew the potty would occupy so much of my time.

Grimes Family Reunion

Every year my dad hosts his family reunion. This year my uncle Rob came and I got a picture of my dad and his siblings.

why do I get the baking bug on a day like this

It's quite warm here in the mid-west today but I decided to bake anyway. I had a helper and she really is a help. You can see her here putting chocolate chips in our whole wheat muffins. She also helped mix up the batter and put chocolate chip on the pancakes. There was a moment where Alexandra said, "mom, I really like helping you bake." "You do", I said. "yeah, because it's messy and fun". I had a flash back to when I was a youngster, not as young as Alexandra but in elementary school. We walked to a friends house and she would bake with me. She was always really patient and let me do a lot of messy stuff. It was fun and messy for me too. I am thankful that I get to do this with my daughter.