Friday Phone Dump...

Can you believe it...I am doing a Friday Phone Dump Post again!

1. We have been living at the beach this week...we are pretty much professional beach bums...and proud of it!

 2. Mommy and son cuddle time...

 3. Trying out my new sun hat...

 4. I went pee, James went in his sister's room and pulled all the clothes out of the closet...he now goes in the bathroom with me!

 5. I was feelin' a bit crafty this week and made a fun 4th of July garland...we will use it to decorate the wagon so we can pull the kids down to the parade in style!

 6. I text this picture to Jon and told him maybe we should consider investing in some boy socks! James hates socks, so he doesn't have any that fit him...but now that he has work boots he needs socks...and he thinks wearing his sisters flowered knee-high socks is okay!

 7. We have a rather large pile of too-little clothes waiting to be brought to either the consignment store or goodwill...it seems like no matter how often I clean clothing closets, I find a big pile of clothes to get rid of! Either my kids should stop growing so fast or I shouldn't buy so many clothes...

 8. Love this picture Elsie drew of our Family...if I was super on top of things I would frame it!

 9. My sister, Ceara invited Elsie {and the little aunties} over to her house one evening for some craft projects! They glued crayons to tag board then melted the crayons with the embossing gun...a very fun project...Elsie had fun!

 10. Climbing trees in work-boots is the best! {notice the boy socks...they are super small, but they work!}

 11. Elsie and auntie Emma enjoying a little Just Dance. Love watching the kids dance...they look so cute!

I am linking up with Life Rearranged again...



Belly...{Embrace the Camera}

 My belly at almost 21 weeks...I love how active Angelina has been lately...nothing is better than feeling those little baby kicks! More than once I have even been able to see my belly move as she kicks...and last night I could feel a hard spot on my belly from where she was pressed up against me! I have not felt her have any hiccups yet...and I can't wait until I do...the kids will love being able to feel that! We are all on the count down for November...only 18 weeks to go!

My lovely uterus is still doing the same thing...contracting off and on all day...combined with the preasure, it makes pregnancy not so fun! At my last ultra-sound though, the cervix was still looking good though...so no pre-term labor yet...yay! We are still living at my parents house for the most part...though lately I have been having more good days than bad, so we have been able to spend a little more time at home than normal! The Dr. warned me to get as much done as I could now, just incase I am put on strict bedrest again very soon...so Elsie and I have had fun buying a few little things for Angelina...like a special going home outfit and some hair bows! Now, we just need to get a few more clothes, diapers and to agree on a middle name!

I am finally linking up again with the Anderson Crew for Embrace the Camera...I have missed not being part of any of my usual linky parties! Just maybe I will get back in the swing of blogging...



Baby Feeding...

James and Elsie are both pretty smitten with their newest little cousin...whenever she comes for a visit the kids practically fight over who gets to hold her! There is no doubt in my mind that when Angelina is born, there will be no shortage of attention for her...I think both James and Elsie will practically smother her with lovin'!

Sometimes when cousin Lydia is visiting, her mama gets busy with her brothers and someone needs to give her a bottle...James is all too happy to do that task! James calls Lydia "Baba" and thinks she needs either a bottle or a paci in her mouth at all times whether she wants one or not! 

Elsie is just as in love with Lydia as James is. After all Elsie and Lydia need to stick together...Lydia is Elsie's only girl cousin...which is kinda funny since my parents had 9 girls and only 1 boy!

Elsie Jane...

My girl is growing up...She is getting quite good with using big words...and her use of big words and witty comments always have me laughing! Ever since Elsie was little tiny...like just over 2 years old, she has used odd words for her age and she always has had a good concept of what those words meant. At age of 2 her favorite word to use was "actually"...I now realize that is kinda an odd word for a 2 year to know and use properly! Her love of words has continued...her favorites that she uses daily include, "Actually", "illegally", "technically"...and my favorite "OMG"...{said like a teenager}!

{Elsie's hair is not this red...it's just the reflection of the pink umbrella! High hopes of baby Angelina's hair being this red though!}

Like I said, she also knows the proper usage of big/odd words. A few weeks ago I was getting ready to go to the store...I told her she could good go with, but if she had any little fits she would have to sit in the car. To which she responded:

"Well, technically that would be illegal"

funny thing is, she said it so seriously like...like she was simply letting me know the law.

How does one respond to that? My discipline method backfired. I tried my darnedest to hide my giggle as I told her what I meant was we would just leave the store.

She makes me laugh...

Tire Swing...

I think my kids are some of the luckiest kids around...how many other kids get to live all week with their grandparents? {those poor grandparents, I know!} And Grammie and Papa Wayne have so many fun things to keep them busy...like the tire swing by the campfire!

I was shocked to discover that both Elsie and James can climb to the very top of the swing...by themselves! Makes me almost think I should watch them closer than I do. Jon assures me it is just a matter of time before we have to  rush James to the ER with a broken bone.

My kids are daredevils...and it makes me kinda happy. My mom said her brother once gave her a compliment by saying that one of her kids were always getting hurt. It may seem like a strange compliment, but it really wasn't...too many people today are "helicopter parents"...forever hovering over their kids...protecting them from everything that could possibly cause any little amount of danger. Kids need to explore and discover things...and getting little owies along the way is all part of the discovery process.

My kids are fully enjoying their childhood...and getting plenty of bumps and bruises along the way...

Dinner and a Fire...

We have started the summer off right with a dinner of hotdogs cooked over the campfire...

A few weeks ago Uncle Colter built us a little campfire...however it was such a hot day out that being near the fire made us all a bit too warm...thank goodness for long hotdog roasters...and good uncles who willingly stand close to the fire to roast hotdogs for little arms!

We had a fun meal using the trays to eat our hotdogs, beans and chips. My parents have a great campfire area set up...complete with a vintage camper...so we keep all the food in the camper so no dogs, or bug {or certain toddler boys!} get it!

Yum, yum...nothing is better than dinner around the campfire!

Because we are a GF/CF family we don't eats buns when we have hotdogs...but my kids know no different...to them it is completely normal to just pick the hotdog up and eat it!

After the kids finished eating, they all ran off to play...some on the trampoline, some on bikes, some playing with the water hose, some on the tire swing...then they all came back to the campfire for another round of hotdogs as a bedtime snack before heading in to bed...a perfectly fun and simple summer evening...those are my favorite kinds of nights...

Sawdust Burgers...

My children have vivid imaginations...give them an empty bucket, an old skate board, a couple water bottles and a couple handfuls of sawdust...and they can make you a plate of lovely burgers!

James 2nd Birthday is coming up super fast...and we really have no idea what to get for the boy! You see, he rarely plays with toys...he has such a great imagination that he plays much longer and more contentedly with silly things like sawdust and water...but a box of sawdust is hardly an amazing birthday gift!

I love watching the kids find creative and everyday elements to play with. Ever since Elsie was a baby we have been a rather anti-toy family...our kids certainly have toys, but we do limit them and keep some packed away if too many are brought out! I would much rather find them playing with everyday things than plastic toys with far too many buttons and lights!

The kids played together for quite some time...then James wondered off to play with the water spigot...and Elsie happily finished the sawdust burgers by herself...

Hot Days...

This last week the weather has been perfect summer weather...some days it even got as high as 90'! I love hot summer days, so you won't hear me complaining...that said, I also love my central air! My kids love warm weather too because they know that warm weather means we will head to beach! These pictures are from our second trip to the beach this season...I am sure before long my blog will be post after post of beach pictures!

Ceara and I brought my kids and the 2 little aunties to the beach...we met up with Lisa, her boyfriend Jordaan and his 2 little brothers...it was a fun afternoon!

There are 2 public beach areas around the big lake in town...and this one is our favorite...because it is just a few miles from my parents house and there is never anyone there! So we spread our blankets and just enjoy ourselves.

The kids all had fun...wadding in the water and building in the sand...Emma, Elsie and James had fun playing with Jordaan's brother Carter. Emma has quite the little crush on Carter, and it's so darn cute!!

James is a water man...he has no fear at all. I guess he must think I have enough fear for the both of us! This past weekend we bought him a life jacket so he can walk out on the dock and go in the deeper water without giving me a heart attack!

Proof that I was at the beach also! Having to be careful to not over-do it in the summer is the worst thing ever...I love to be out and about...and the idea of staying home to lay on the couch is just too much for me. Thankfully we can drive up super close to the beach area so I don't have to walk far...and I just lay down on the beach blanket and take it easy. Thankfully my sisters are all more than willing to go run after James before he drowns himself while I just lay there!

Elsie loves the beach...she begs to go all the time...last week she wore her swimsuit almost all week long...that includes sleeping in it at night! I think it is safe to say she loves summer! We had to buy her another suit so she could wear one while washing the other...she is funny!

I would love to boast about how well my children get along...but, I think this picture proves otherwise...fighting over a sand bucket...silly...and trust me, we had plenty of buckets, dishes and cups with us...it's not like they had to fight over that one! They did eventually figure it out...

See, all is well...James let his sister have the bucket so he could grab a cup and have a nice cool swig of lake water! Yum! Jordaan quickly spoke up and said that his brother drinks swamp water, so a little lake water won't kill em'. Good to know! {James is still alive today, so Jordaan must have been right!}

Guitar Girl...

These are some super old pictures...I was going through my saved blog posts and saw that I never published these...better late than never, I guess! These pictures were taken a few weeks after Elsie's birthday. Even months after her birthday she still loves that guitar and plays with it almost daily. Lately when Elsie is playing her guitar, James goes and gets the little keyboard...and they sit outside on the deck singing at the top of their lungs!

Love her style...no one else can quite rock the zebra print pants and pink striped shirt look like Elsie!

This picture is fun...birthday decorations still up, toys on the table, art work on the hutch...and a fancy guitar girl standing on the table!

Pink...

We had our almost 20 week ultrasound today...

Our house will have a little more pink before long!! As soon as the ultrasound technician said it was a girl, I looked at Elsie and she had a big smile on her face! Now I am off to do a little online shopping to buy plenty of big flowered hairbows, little shoes and adorable hats...

Bike Rides...

Last weekend when Daddy was home, Elsie mastered the art of riding a bike! Last year she tried to ride a much smaller bike, but never really figured it out very good. This year the smaller bike was too small, so we borrowed a bike and training wheels from the aunties...but at the beginning of spring her legs weren't strong enough to pedal...then suddenly last weekend she took off and could pedal just fine! Personally I think it may have something to do with the fancy bike helmet she begged for at a garage sale...we are not a bike helmet/safety kind of family, so where the idea of needing a helmet came from, I don't quite know!

I think Elsie spent most of Saturday afternoon perfecting her bike riding...I noticed today that the training wheels are pretty bent and more times than not the training wheels are not even touching the ground...won't be long and she will be riding with no training wheels at all!

Where is my little girl at!? She is growing up too darn fast fast!

James is never far behind his sister...so in a great effort to keep up with her, he quickly pulled his little trike over to the road and "rode" his bike...

I love watching James ride his bike...he never uses the pedals...he basically just walks with the bike between his legs...and he can get going mighty fast too! Sometimes he goes right over his handlebars...but he doesn't cry about it...instead he stands up with a big smile...and we all clap and say, "whoa, just like Nitro Circus!" Which only makes him feel pretty proud!

Jon is a good kind of Daddy who loves to do fun things with his kids...the kids know that there are certain things that mommy does with them and certain things are reserved as "daddy only things"...some of those special daddy things include going on walks to the park! Now when we drive past the park James says, "dada, park!" Going to the park with daddy is a pretty exciting and special thing to the kids...and it won't be long until Elsie is riding her little bike all the way to the park!

Happy kids...Summer lovin' kids...