Just Couldn't Resist

I just couldn't resist posting this picture of the boys. One of Tom's co-workers gave us the giant Tigger, Eore and Teddy Bear.

Watch the video to see how Drew "plays" with Tigger...

After dinner Drew was making Claire laugh. After 10 minutes of her cracking up I finally grabbed the camera and caught the tail end of her laughing. Enjoy.

We've been doing a lot of swimming this week. It is a great way to beat the heat! During the day we love to go to my parents' house to swim. That way Claire can take her nap in the nice AC while the boys and I play outside. Then, in the evenings, we take the kids down to our neighborhood pool to wear them out before bed.
We picked Tom up from work on Tuesday after a day of swimming. The boys were tuckered out!!

Claire has a new friend...

Girls' Afternoon at the Pool

I am truly blessed with a wonderful husband! Tom took the boys for the day so that Claire and I could spend the afternoon with all the girls from play group. We went to my parents' pool and had a wonderful time just hanging out, talking and eating. The moms from play group have become very close friends and it was so nice to be able to talk without our kids running all over the place.


Thanks, Tom, for allowing me an afternoon to relax with the girls!!

"The best day of my life!"

Drew had a great day yesterday. I think I heard him say 3 or 4 times, "This is the best day of my life!" Tom took the day off work and took Drew golfing in the morning. They played 9 holes and Drew did wonderfully! I'm always ready to quit after 9 holes but Drew wanted to keep playing. Look closely at the picture below and you can see Drew's golf ball in the air.

Tom and Drew brought home our favorite meal for lunch... Jersey Giant subs. While they were gone Reese, and I had made "a special treat" (aka pudding) that the boys enjoyed after lunch. Then we headed over to my parents' house. Tom and I worked outside on some landscaping while my mom played with the kids. Yet another link in the "best day" chain. After all our hard work we jumped into Grandpa's pool to cool off, then enjoyed a cook out with Uncle Nate, Ellie and Grace for dinner. The boys were so tired that they went to bed as soon as we got home at 7pm - thus making it a great day for me and Tom too :)

Tooth #2

Claire's second tooth poked through last night. Poor girl has been uncomfortable but hopefully will feel better now that it's through.

My hygienist friend gave me this cool "teething toothbrush" for Claire. It must feel pretty good to chew on - She loves it! Thanks Kim!!

Tom has been teaching the boys a few things. This is their latest "macho thing" that they got from Daddy.

In case you missed it, the last thing Drew said was, "Tickets to the gun show." Followed by flexing his "guns." What a goof :)

Saturday Night Movie

Our Saturday was fairly laid back. It was rainy outside, but by the afternoon Tom felt like he needed to get the boys outside. All three boys went out and played in the rain puddles. Afterward, the two younger boys took a bubble bath. We promised Drew & Reese a movie night so we rented "Alvin and the Chipmunks" and popped some popcorn. Despite the rain, it was a pretty fun day.

Bath time just got a little more fun...

The boys enjoying their picnic and movie

Claire playing in her exersaucer (please ignore my voice - do I really sound like that?!?)

Funny and Funnier

I've got a couple "comedians in training" on my hands. Sometimes they are trying to be funny and other times they are just being themselves and make me laugh out loud. This is the conversation I overheard in the back of the van today:

Drew: "Reese, I'm sick."

Reese: "Me too."

Drew: "Reese will you pray for me?"

Reese: "Sure. Dear Jesus, thank you for this food..."

Drew: "No, wait till you get to Grandma's." (Reese was staying with Grandma while I took Claire and Drew to the Doctor)

Drew: "Tell Grandma that I'm sick... and Dakota (the dog)... and the pool."

Reese: "That's where we die." (as we drive past the cemetary)

It's so fun to listen to them have a conversation with each other!

Dinner was an adventure tonight. Claire "ate" carrots or, more accurately, spit carrots all over herself and anyone within her range (namely me). Then, the boys were making up jokes - trying to be funny. Here is just a taste of the show:

Drew: "What happens when a dog hits his head on the ceiling?"

Me: "I don't know. What happens?"

Drew: "His heads bangs off! Ha, Ha, Ha!"

Drew: "Knock, Knock"

Me: "Who's there?"

Drew: "Cheese"

Me: "Cheese Who?"

Drew: "Cheese Mouse" followed by histerical laughter

Not to be left out, Reese decides to try his hand.

Reese: "Knock, Knock"

Me: "Who's there?"

Reese: "Grandma Gheen" followed by incredibly fake histerical laughter

I know this isn't Mike Birbiglia funny but they're trying :)

On a more serious note. Claire had her 6 month check up today. She is growing beautifully. Her height was 27.25 inches (95%) and she weighed 18 lbs. (90%). She is sitting up very well and has one tooth in and another on the verge of breaking through. I can't believe how quickly 6 months has flown by!

It IS possible to swim too much

We've been swimming 4 times in the last 3 days. Drew loves it and can swim for hours. Reese gets bored with swimming and usually wants to do something else after a short time.

Yesterday we headed to my parents' pool with the boys' babysitter Sarah. We grilled out for lunch and swam all afternoon (Reese eventually went inside to play). Drew loves to dive down and pick up diving sticks from the bottom. He also loves to go down the slide.

All this swimming though has worn the boys out. Today, Reese is fighting off a cold and Drew is complaining of water in his ear. I think we'll take a break from the water today :)

Drew with his buddy Sarah

4 am... Really?

Reese woke up crying at 4 this morning. He was VERY upset because he thought the wet spot on his pillow meant his nose was bleeding. In reality he had just drooled in his sleep. I was sitting on his bed explaining this to him when I realized I was sitting on a wet bed... I ended up changing all his sheets since he had also wet through his diaper too.

Afterward, as I lay in bed trying to fall back asleep I was thinking about all the times my mom got up with me during the night. I never really appreciated it or realized I was depriving her of sleep - probably because she never complained. She was always there when we needed her. I realize not every child grows up with such great parents and I am thankful and very blessed to have grown up with good examples of selfless parenting.

Drew is the BEST at making Claire laugh. Reese tries too but often Claire just looks at him somewhat confused at his attempts.

A little too much nudity...

Yes, Reese is naked in the picture. He took his jammies off this morning and didn't put anything else on. Since he's working on potty training it was okay. Drew then decided to take his clothes off too. That was a little too much for me - both boys running around naked all morning - so I asked Drew to get dressed.

We headed to the pool to meet up with the gals from play group. It is a beautiful day so we stayed from 11 till about 3. Drew is becoming a fish! Now it's time for a snack and a rest before the boys have their gym class today at 5:15.

Brutally Honest

Tom has been working a lot lately. This was made even more evident by Andrew's comment to me this morning. He asked if someone was going to come over today to visit because, "I'm tired of just Mom, Mom, Mom all the time." Then he added a big "huff" at the end just to make sure I understood how he really felt about hanging out with me all the time. At least Claire is always happy to see me.

Fairly Typical

It's hard to say what a typical evening is like for us. Once Tom gets home we usually eat dinner and then either head outside for a walk or go to the pool. If we stay inside Tom will put some music on and the boys will "get their wiggles out". We have to do something to wear them out before bedtime. Drew & Reese LOVE the "International Harvester" song by Craig Morgan. They don't always sing it this loud - thankfully!

July 4th and other news

Tom is becoming famous for his firework shows. What you see in the picture took him 10 hours to fuse together and about 45 minutes to blow up. I think he'd say it was worth it though.

On Saturday we had lots of people over for a cook out. We had yard games out that a few people played, but unfortunately the mosquitoes were feasting on everyone. Most people chose to hover around the citronella candles and smack themselves ever few seconds.

Claire slept in her Mei Tai during the fireworks. The explosions didn't wake her but the people clapping and cheering did :)

I can't believe my baby girl is 6 months old...

She's drooling a lot (obviously) but no signs of any teeth breaking through yet.

Bug Bites

The boys enjoyed the deck and backyard so much last night that Reese came away with several mosquito bites. Poor guy was pretty upset and very ichy!

This morning Reese was playing a basketball game. The "announcer" on the game is loud and irritating so I usually tell the boys to play the game with the sound off. I asked Reese to turn of the "voice". He was confused and said, "But Mom, that's God's voice."

Lots of changes

The boys both got haircuts yesterday. The reason they look like cheap haircuts is because they were... I cut their hair to save some money.

Claire got her ears pierced over the weekend... I did let the professionals handle that :)

Another big change for us is that our deck is done!! We are so excited. It's just in time for us to have people over this weekend for Tom's firework show.

These are the pictures I promised of the front yard landscaping that Tom did Memorial Day.