Watermelon

Colin is changing quickly this summer, but you will still find him close to his blankie and always ready for a good snuggle...if you can catch him :)

He has been very interested in sitting on the potty lately and one night while we were cleaning up dinner, he put himself on the potty and actually went!  We all ran to the bathroom to celebrate.  I had filled a jar with chocolate and told the kids that when Colin went potty we could all have a treat...it was good motivation for them to encourage Colin.

 

He's been talking up a storm too.  The second he is awake, the motor does not stop running.  It's been fun hearing him repeat things we say and try new words.  One night, Ben brought home a sweet baby watermelon.  Everyone dug in because it was super yummy...here's Colin trying to say watermelon.

 

The day we broke the rules

This was our last full week of "normal" summer...next week is full of appointments and family visits and then school starts!  However, our "normal" summer hasn't had as many afternoons at the pool as I anticipated.  I thought we would be there every single day, but this summer has been really rainy!  This week I had a mission to get to the pool as much as possible.  It's Friday afternoon and do you know how many times we went?  Once.

Wednesday was the only sunny, clear day forecasted.  I was about to lay Colin in his crib when I realized that if we didn't go to the pool right now, it wasn't going to happen (we had small group that night and would need to prep later).  So, I told the kids to get up from quiet time and get their suits on.  We were breaking all napping rules!

They cheered like I told them we were going to Disney and Alison said, "I LOVE breaking the rules!" which isn't true at all, but she thought it was cool that I was allowing her to break the rules.

This girl has grown a crazy amount this summer!

Eli has not been crazy about the pool because he gets too cold.  He's even been bringing pj's with him to change into after he's done.  He was too cold to get up for a picture...He's saying, "I am smiling for the picture, mommy".

Colin took his own selfie.  Pretty impressive, huh?

Colin took a late nap which actually worked out well for our late church evening.  And when Ben walked in the door from work, Eli came running to him shouting, "Daddy!  We broke all the rules today!!!".  I'm sure their teachers will appreciate hearing this story in a couple of weeks.

Baby Eli

It's becoming a thing.  

You know how things in your family come to be a thing just from doing something silly 1 time?  It's seems to happen in our house a lot.  More frequently now, the boys with take a bath while Alison showers in our bathroom.  I'll wash them up and then Ben will dry them off and help them get Pj's on.  One time Ben "swaddled" Eli up in the towel and said, "Colin look!  It's baby Eli!"  Only Eli's face was showing and Colin totally believed that he had turned into a baby. 

Now, whenever baby Eli appears, Colin will ask, "I hold baby Eli?" and he'll smother him in kisses and hugs.

Love this picture and it cracks me up that there's a foot on Colin's shoulder!

After baby Eli is dry, Colin will insist on helping pick out his pj's and getting him dressed.

It's a pretty cute thing...I wonder how long it will last.

First solo sewing

Shortly after Nana left, Alison asked if we could do another sewing project.  I wanted to keep her interest and creativity flowing, so I agreed to another project.  I had just told her we weren't getting a new backpack or lunchbox this year (she still has several good choices), so she asked if we could make a lunch bag.  I found a couple of ideas on Pinterest, but Alison wanted to design her own.  So we made our own pattern and went off of her drawing.

We were about to begin sewing when she decided it had to have a pocket on the front with her name on it.  Our new machine does some embroidery, so we spent an afternoon learning how to put her name on it.  She also added some hearts underneath.

Alison helped me sew the handles and sides on and I assembled the rest.  Going off of a 7 year old's drawing is not easy, plus I have little sewing experience.  I finished it one night after she went to bed and was so excited to see a complete project.

 

We still need to add a snap at the top and if I did it again, I would add insulation and a waterproof liner.  I can see why sewing is addictive.  It felt so good to have a vision come to completion!  It's kind of like a puzzle for me...but one that Colin can't hide all the pieces to.

There were stressful moments, because sewing with a 7 year old is not easy, but it was completely worth it.  The first day we were working on it, Alison said that her dream had come true.  When I asked her what she meant, she said, "I just didn't think we would be able to sew without Nana here."

Soccer!

 We decided it was time for Eli to experience an organized activity and he has several friends playing soccer.  We figured it was a good place to start...I was pretty sure he could run around a field, although I was still nervous about how he would actually do.  Shortly after signing him up, we got an email that they were short 5 coaches for his age group, so Ben jumped in and agreed to coach.  We recruited a fellow dad to help be his assistant, but he was on vacation for the first practice.

So Tuesday night we all headed to the field and met with 5 other kids and jumped into the unknown world of soccer.  Naturally, we are the only novice family, but the first practice went great.

Before practice began, Ben let Alison and Colin run around the field.  I think we may have signed the wrong kid up because Alison was actually pretty good.

Once practice began, we camped out on the bleachers and Alison and Colin did great cheering Eli on.  They didn't even mind a little rain.

I have to say that I am beyond proud of Eli.  He did amazing.  He had a great attitude and followed instructions and actually kicked the ball.

I did learn a lesson this night with new sports: be careful how you dress them.  I grabbed a shirt that just happened to be a baseball shirt and on the way to practice he asked Ben where is glove was.  He asked, "How am I going to catch the ball without my glove?". 

I was equally proud of Ben that night.  I know Ben can do anything, but teaching 6 kids how to play a sport you haven't played since elementary school takes skill.  He did a great job with the kids and they all had a lot of fun.  He did hysterically say that it was kind of like herding cats.

 

Guess I'm officially a soccer mom...a soccer mom who needs to bring more water next time!  This kid was thirsty

Changing too much

There are times that I can see our kids change and this week was one of them.  First of all, all of them are growing and have had huge appetites.  Alison particularly has been starving most of the day and is eating 3rds at dinner.  She's on a major growth spurt and I'm nervous for those jeans when fall hits.  The boys too have been growing and several dinners I almost teared up when I saw Colin's plate completely empty.  This week Ben and I both have been mixing up the boys...it's a good sign that Colin is growing!

Colin is getting is 2 year molars and constantly has his entire hand in his mouth.  But when his hand isn't in his mouth, he's giving kisses and hugs.  This week his vocabulary has tripled and he now says "I hug Eli".  He also started saying, "Look Mommy!  Is that cool?"

 And, all of the kids have fallen in love with Curious George.  Our library trips have been full of George books and movies and they love watching the shows together.  One evening they asked to have a picnic dinner in the living room while they watched George.  Selfishly, sometimes Ben and I enjoy those "quiet" dinners...we just think of them as free dates.  Except when you go on dates, you often are not interrupted with sprinters, dancers and light sabers.

Busy at play

While the girls were busy sewing, the boys were busy playing.

But if it ever turns quiet, you know that Colin has found the iPad.  Sadly, it is the one thing that will keep him in one place for longer than a minute.  It's okay, I know that one day soon he will be playing legos and Star Wars with Eli.

We watched the new Lego movie on Alison's birthday and since then, Eli has become a master builder.  He builds ships and airplanes mostly, but they are always elaborate and symmetrical. 

 

When the sewing was complete, they got a little time with Nana too.

 

Sewing lessons

 Elizabeth came Friday to spend the weekend giving Alison her first sewing lessons.  They picked a dress to make and spent Friday evening measuring and pinning the outfit.  Alison didn't like getting her thumb pricked, so she used a thimble I had in the sewing box my grandma Emile gave me.  It was special to me to get out that box that still has some things from her, but with added new things for Alison.  I'm sure grandma would laugh that she now has purple scissors in her box.

Saturday they cut the fabric and began learning how to use the new machine.  Alison was so meticulous and her perfectionist personality came in handy.

Pretty much all of the sewing looked like this:

Alison sat in Elizabeth's lap and controlled the petal while Elizabeth steered the fabric.  It was a great way for Alison to learn how to control the machine with the safety of not sewing her finger.

I tried to watch as much of the lessons as I could, but most of the time we were trying to keep Colin out of the room.  Eli however, was very interested in what was going on and often wanted to sit and watch too.

Saturday afternoon, we took a sewing break and Elizabeth treated the girls to pedicures.  The lady that owns the salon adores Alison and gave her the full treatment this time.

She was the happiest little girl in the world and is now asking for daily foot rubs.

Sunday afternoon the dress was completed!

I am so proud of both of them!  Alison was teachable and stayed interested the whole weekend and Elizabeth had the patience to sew with a 7 year old while little boys were running around!  I'm excited for many more projects to come!

Happy 7th Birthday Alison!!!

The Princess has turned 7!  I'm pretty sure that this was the first birthday that I was truly ready and excited for.  Because she's so tall and going into second grade in a few weeks, I felt silly saying she was 6.

We started the day off with a little Hello Kitty present.

And then tried a new donut place and had a picnic breakfast.

 

We spent the morning at the Children's museum and Eli said at least 10 times, "This is the coolest place I've ever been!".  We even stayed for a show at the planetarium.

 

inside a giant bubble

 

We celebrated just as a family and focused her gifts around things we could do together.

She's been asking to go camping, so we got her a tent and lantern.

And she got s'more roasting sticks, along with all the fixin's.

And the big gift this year was sewing lessons with Nana...who came to visit the next day!  But Nana and Granddaddy sent a sewing machine and a gift card for a weekend of lessons.

We went as a family to pick out a pattern, fabric and supplies and Nana is helping Alison sew a Hello Kitty dress....pictures to come :)

So, we had camping and sewing and Frozen....because every little girl wants a Frozen birthday.

Grandma and Grandpa sent Anna and Elsa dolls which were a huge hit.

Ben even made Alison a Frozen themed Oreo ice cream cake.

Alison had asked for an oreo ice cream cake shortly after Colin's birthday and while we were eating the cake, Ben asked Alison if this is what she had in mind.  She was so sweet and said, "Well, no.  But this is even better than I could have imagined."

I love this picture: Colin is saying "cake please!" while shoving his plate towards the cake and Eli is consumed with his legos, which is a new obsession since watching the Lego movie.

After tons and tons of sugar, it was time to play.  We set up Alison's new tent in her room and they played camping.  I even turned on the cricket white noise on the iPad to give them the full effect.  Alison spent the night in the tent with Elsa and Anna :)

 

Happy Birthday Alison!  We love you!