Just to follow suit

I thought I better blog about how we've been handling the heat too. Everyone's doing it, you know.

This particular 100+ degree day, we did Alison's hair like her favorite character on Kidsongs and were excited to receive our new blender (aka frappaccino maker) in the mail.

I had a list of things I needed to bake and really debated whether it was worth the money to just go buy them. Alison was excited to bake with me, so away we baked. We made graham crackers, lemon bread, whole wheat bread and "no bake" cookies. This was the first time I've let Alison stir things on the stove. She did an excellent job and kept reassuring me that she wouldn't get burned.

No surprise here...Alison wanted to decorate the cookies.

Eli spent the time pushing the Elmo chair around the kitchen, attempting to get in on the baking action. Really, he just wanted to see what he could get his hands on to eat.

After our baking extravaganza, we cooled off by the vent in the play room and colored. Alison was not into getting her picture taken, but I had to document Eli coloring. He's got some good eye/hand coordination, for only being 15 months old.

We read some books, watched a Kidsongs, ate some cookies, and played a little Ring Around the Rosies.

Did you notice Alison's outfit change? Her new shoes came in the mail, so a new outfit was required. She will not be convinced that this shirt is not a dress.

While the heat doesn't bother me like most, I am ready for it to cool off some so we can start running outside again...treadmills just aren't as fun as tree lined trails.

Guard the Chairs

We have a climber on our hands!

He moved the Elmo chair into the kitchen all by himself.
Placed it strategically by the counter, hoisted himself up

and whacked my coffee spoon on the counter, like it was a drum.

Oh, the things boys find fun.

Homemade Bread

I made my first attempt at homemade bread. Though it's slightly lopsided, it was delicious. I don't know if this is a pro or con, but it only lasted a couple of days...suppose I'll have to double the recipe next time.

Eli's Stats

Eli had his 15 month check up.
He's...
31 inches long- 60th percentile
22.5 pounds- 25th percentile

He got a shot and didn't even flinch...I didn't even know that was possible.

I decided to ask the doctor a question about my kids that has always puzzled me. Whenever I give my kids Motrin or Tylenol, they are very restless at night. I don't notice much difference in their behavior during the day, but I can guarantee a sleepless night if I have to give them medicine. I usually give my kids some medicine before shots, but I hesitated this time until I asked the doctor his thoughts on why. His only thought was that it might be the dye in the medicine, but didn't have much else to say. He even said that he's never heard of this before...thanks, that's a lot of help! So, if his theory is true, that would mean that my kids are highly sensitive to artificial food coloring. I did some research that afternoon, but everything I read showed that it affected kids with ADHD...which my kids are not. This theory has really intrigued me, but I'm not sure what to do with it from here.

It's a wedding!

Please, Prayer and a little reading

Eli's newest "tricks":

*A million times a day, he'll go to the refrigerator, try to open it and sign please over and over again until someone finally falls into his cuteness and gets him a snack.

*When put in his chair for meals, he immediately folds his hands and jabbers, then looks at me for the go-ahead to start eating.




*Alison was learning the "th" sound one morning for her reading lesson...Eli caught on pretty quickly and circled the table making the new sound.

Where have you been all my life!!!

My neighbor discovered this little, white sanded beach that's just 10 minutes away!
You have to make a short hike through a beautiful trail to get there, but it's totally worth it.
We loaded up a wagon, hauled the kids down and enjoyed a picnic by the ocean.
It was fabulous and we will definitely be going back...maybe every day.

Whew!

What a week!

I had several people ask me how the Adventure Day went. I was never quite sure how to answer. I think it went well. We ended with the same number of kids we started with. There was not one mishap or thought of "that didn't go how I thought it would". Alison wore her knapsack for the rest of the day, slept in it (I know, highly unsafe) and came to breakfast with it on. So in my world, it was a success.

On top of prepping for my first Children's Ministry program, I also taught my first full class of Power Cut at the Y. How did it go? Well, I didn't throw up and all 11 people in the class stayed the entire time. I had several people tell me they were sore the next day, so again, I would say it was a success. 

 

 After this crazy, but wonderful week, we decided it was time to relax and enjoy some Buffalo Wild Wings (did I mention our kitchen was also invaded by ants...hence why we went OUT to eat)

After dinner, we picked up some Cold Stone Creamery deliciousness.

The night was about as good as a bear hug from Daddy.

Eli is 15 Months

And would like to play you a little song.

He would also like to show you why we call him 'Destructo Man'.

You might be thinking, "Jen, your house is awfully dusty!" Nope, not dust. The blurriness would be courtesy of Destructo Man's grimy hands. And, do you hear Barney in the background? Yep, that was my distraction to get the kids to sit still for a few minutes while I got ready for a meeting I have tonight. Eli could not care less about TV...sigh. I guess this "clean freak" mommy is going to have to learn how to roll with the punches of a pink headband wearing, wipe my snot on your clean towel, love to rip everything off the refrigerator, toddler.

Hope Kids Adventure Day

I organized my first big event, since taking on the role of Children's Ministry Coordinator at church. In past years, we've had "Cross Training" in the summer, which is our version of VBS...only problem is, I never actually attended them. So as I prepared a new program for this summer, I had no idea what the kids and parents would be expecting. I decided to keep things simple and have just 2 days of focused fellowship for the kids. I had an extremely hard time finding help to run this and in turn, kids who could attend, and struggled with questions of cancelling. As I prayed about the day I realized I just needed to have the right attitude: I can't expect all 50 kids of Hope to come, but I can put a smile on my face and be joyful that the ones who show up are there.

We met at the Edward's AMAZING farm. It is seriously one of the most beautiful places I've been. Maybe it's the Kansan in me, but I would live in their backyard if I could.

The forcast for the day was rain. I was up most of the night with a teething Eli and as I listened to it storm a majority of the night, I wasn't sure we would be able to pull off our outside Adventure that ended with swimming. But, the One who is able to do much more than I could ever dream or imagine, blessed us with a SUNNY morning...it was even HOT and we were all anxious to jump in the pool. We set up a tent just in case, but it served more as a source of shade than a dry spot.

16 kids came, 2 of which have only been to Hope once.
Ben and I brought back the Youth Group days and led a couple of fun songs.

We made knapsacks and friendship card packs.

The kids played "pizza toss"

and went on a scavenger hunt to build our memory verse
John 1:7
"But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin."

For snack, we made "dirt" and friendship snack mix (i.e. everyone brings their favorite snack and you throw it in a big bowl).
We ended the morning in the pool. Maybe we should have started in the pool, because no one wanted to get out when it was time to go home. Alison loved sliding down their princess slide. Except, I'm not sure you could really say she slid...more like inched down the slide until I lifted her off and pretended like it was the most fun thing we've ever done. She reminded me of myself though. I know we have a home video of when I was probably her age, inching down our slide in Texas. I always wonder how my parents weren't cracking up during all those movies.

You might be wondering what in the world Eli did while mommy was busy running this event.
Well, he ate some oreos...

and sat with Miss Lisa...

and got a drink from daddy...

and let's just be honest, I'm not really sure what all he did :)
But I'm thankful for all the other adults there to jump in and help me where I forgot to organize help.

It was a great morning and it left me excited to start planning the next one.
My goal for the morning was to build fellowship among our kids...all of the kids said they had fun and no one cried, so I think it was a success.

Smoochie, Milo, Eli!

This photo makes me laugh! Poor Smoochie looks decapitated!
He's not, but this is a typical "mommy's trying to cook dinner and Eli's terrorizing the cat"moment that occurs every day about 5:15pm.
Smoochie's destroying the rug that I fix upteenthousand times a day and Eli has something in his mouth while trying to wrestle with the cat. And this is the moment that I shout, "Smoochie, Milo, Eli!"
Why can I not remember my son's name?!
When I was pregnant with Eli, I was worried that the names Eliot and Alison were too similar and I would always be tripping up on their names. Never did it cross my mind that I would get his name mixed up with the cats!

Happy 4th of July!

We began our 4th of July celebration with a popcorn picnic and Alison watched her new favorite video-kidsongs (it's super cute to hear her sing along with all the songs)

Eli decided to ditch the picnic and his clothes and help sister finish her lunch.

During my convenient distraction, I was able to finish some projects that have been on my to-do list for way too long. Top priority was clearing out the rest of the boxes of clothes that were still sitting in our garage from the yard sale.
Now my boxes are filled with 2 things much more valuable than old clothes.

It might be a tight squeeze, but there's always room for kisses.We had some friends over for dinner and sparklers.
Ben smoked chicken and made his famous salmon dip.
We were also blessed with some corn Ben picked the day before from a field of a good friend of ours. There's nothing better than fresh, sweet corn.

Alison reacted to the sparklers about the same as she did last year.
She was not a fan.
Eli, on the other hand, was fearless and wanted to touch the fire.
Ben showed him how much fun smoke bombs and snakes can be.

It was a quiet 4th, but just right for this family.

School for Mama

Alison decided it was time for Mama to go to school.She made me a name tag so she could sign me in.

Then she made herself a name tag so we were all clear who the teacher was.
Eli didn't get to come to class, but he did get to turn into a puppy.

Reading!

This was Thursday.

Reading lesson #13

Friday morning, she read her first sentence.

Getting ready for the 4th

We thought we'd better practice for some pictures while Ben hung a flag.

Then we went for a walk.
Alison got a 'new to her' bike and thought it was time to take it for a spin.

My big girl really impressed me, even if daddy had to push her the whole way.

Eli just thought it was silly that sister was chasing him instead of riding in the wagon.

Elton John?

Doesn't he look like a mini Elton John?

It must run in the genes, because he looks just like his sister at this age...

They also share a love for Elmo...

and popsicles that run down your belly.