Aaargh! The Weekend!

It was an action-packed weekend at our place. Friday the kids and I went to our friend Chris' house to play in the pool and choose some great hand-me-down's for Augi. I was introduced to the Wii, and I quite liked it! They won theirs at a fair--I don't imagine we will fork over the money for one any time soon, but I am envious of those of you who have one!

Saturday was spent trying to do chores and Em took a 3 hour nap. Meme and Papa came over for dinner. The kids are always so excited when someone comes to our house. I copied Chris and started an upside-down strawberry plant. I didn't order the Topsy-Turvy, as seen on t.v. I just made my own out of an old pot.

Today I worked on the play equipment in the yard--put up the pool and the little jumper thing.
Well, Chris has been working on a sail for our sandbox (a.k.a. pirate ship, Aaargh!). It doubles as a sun shade. That sand gets so freakin' hot by late afternoon. I ordered a Jolly Roger flag tonight. I am going to try to talk Augi into a pirate party for her birthday.

OK now, watch the comments. Some of you might remember this swim suit from when Augi was this age. I had to order it directly from Australia, you know. They are the skin cancer capital of the world and they know sun protection! We weren't in public, and this suit is great for keeping his skin milky. His little round bum is so cute it in anyway!

The weekend of stealing great ideas from friends. I saw Heather do this with her kids, and I am so happy I remembered it this year. We bought some fake flowers for the kids and gave them some pots. Augi went to town planting, picking, and replanting her flower garden. Em mostly just picks!

The Professionals

I told you some pics of my kids would be available soon on the Jolley blog. Check them out at www.jolleyphotography.typepad.com
You have to admit--they are adorable!
I love the last picture of Augi and Em together--Augi was mortified because Emmett was tearing the petals from the flowers. So freakin' cute.

A Couple of Whiles...

Augi found a long lost toy last night, under her bed. She was excited about it and when she came to tell me, she said, "Mom! I haven't had this hat for a couple of whiles, and I found it under my bed with the Barbie stuff!"
How long, exactly, is a couple of whiles? Hmmm...

Goodbye crawling!

Em has officially given up crawling. Sniff sniff. He is walking everywhere. He is very determined and he refuses any assistance. He finds every one of his lovies--binki, blankie, and llama-llama--and tries to carry them around as he walks.
Augi is so sophisticated lately. She is giving us glimpses of 4. I have high hopes for 4. It is going to be great.
Chris is growing his hair into some sort of long shaggy beast.
I am in a daze from allergies. This pine tree pollen is killing me.
In other news...

• I got the Expedit shelf at the big Ikea sale. I am one of Ikea's biggest fans, but after my shopping experience from hell this weekend, they are on my naughty list.


• We had Em's 1 year pics taken this weekend. They are darling. I hope Tammy puts some on her blog so you can all see them.


• Augi is tortured by birthdays. She is so eager for hers and there is a birthday every week for the 3 months before hers. She is doing great, though.

Hmmm. Guess that's it. Allergy brain must sleep.

The battle for daddy's lap: Despite the look on Augi's face, they did have fun at Kaed's 5th birthday party. I, on the other hand, would like to never go to Chuckie Cheese again.

This little deer was peeking at me from across the street as I watered my flowers the other night. Aaahhh. I love Spring.We went to the zoo with the Obray's. Here is a little video of Em walking...

The Sniglet

I promised another post about this little Sniglet. Her parents are missing her. She is a great dog--very sweet and fun. However, I am ready to not have a puppy around. She takes as much work as my kids!! I thought I would post a ton of pics of her, but I can't get her to hold still long enough to get anything in focus. So, for Tammy and Bruce, here is one last picture and a video. I put this super cute bow (upside down) in her hair for the picture. Then, she managed to get it out and she ran outside to play keep-away with it. The video is the keep-away game. I hope you guys have a good last weekend in Europe. Drink a good beer and we will see you late Monday!

Happy Birthday Emmett!

In just over one hour it will officially be my baby boy's birthday. On May 11, 2008, just before 10pm and 4 weeks early, Emmett was born. I can't believe it has been a whole year, yet I can't remember what life was like without him.

He grew so fast. He was such an easy baby, I could have 10 of him!

By July we were getting his first smiles.

In August he was a pro at winning us over with his beautiful blue eyes and his sweet smile.

He seemed so little when we first put him in the exer-saucer.

Walks were great. He always seemed to enjoy the ride.

November, 6 months old!

He already had his little chunk of hair sticking up in the back...he still has it!

Peek-a-boo! Crawling everywhere in January. February 2009, still not much babbling. His hearing wasn't great. But, he was a pro at playing nakie.

March 2009--always trying to make us laugh.

OMG. I really can't believe he is almost one.

Here we are...just before his party. He is walking, although crawling is still his fastest mode of transportation. Tantrums have started. He loves to tease me. He is the cuddliest kid in the world. He adores his sister. He loves sweets. He passed his hearing test for the first time this month. He can say hi, and fish. I love him.

Mother's Day

Last year on Mother's Day, I was in the hospital giving birth. This year I am the lucky mother of two wonderful children. What could be better than spending the day with them? We went to the Dinosaur Park for some outdoor fun. They love the playground more than anything else.

M & M Party

This was hard for me...a small party with just family. It was really nice. Em took a nap just before the party. He was in good spirits and he loved his presents.

The theme was "M&M", I think there was more food coloring in the cupcakes than in a ton of M&M's.

Emmett didn't care about the coloring...it was getting the frosting in his mouth that was important.

More colored mouths...

I love watching all the kids help the birthday boy with his presents.

Playing with his loot

The guests:

Dayton getting into the party spirit

My sweet boy playing with his new water table

Augi got the party started. She had been waiting for this for weeks.

Miscellaneous Kids n Stuff

We gave our yard sale a second go this weekend. Made about $100 on a few big items and dumped the rest at the thrift store.

Augi's caterpillars finally made their chrysalides, so they were moved to their hatching habitat. I guess it takes a week or so for the butterflies to emerge. We'll see. They look like creepy alien pods to me.
Augi snatched a new comforter set from Lester at the yard sale. Her room is getting so full of "stuff." She hates to throw anything out.

I am constantly feeling guilty because we don't read with Em as much as we have with Augi. Isn't it obvious--look at the orientation of the book.



Emmett loves to misbehave in his sister's room. You can hear her scream, "NO EMMETT!" for miles...

Augi is teaching Emmett about the important things in life, like being a good daddy to his baby dolls. She even gave him the good stroller. What a great sister.

The Definition of Cute...

Meet Matisse...the dog, not the artist...

We are puppy-sitting this little stinker while her parents are in the Czech Republic. She is a really good puppy, and Augi adores her. Nanny is tolerating her and growling less and less. Emmett starts flinching every time she comes near because he knows the face-licking will begin. She is eating great, going outside all the time, and she DOES NOT need to drink water from a Dixie Cup. This video is nauseating because she is such a fast little bugger. But, I promised her parents there would be one so they could see her. I'm surprised they didn't ask to set up a nanny cam. She is currently attacking the sofa pillow. I think it is winning. We have her on a new schedule...bed at midnight, up at 6. Woo-hoo!

Rice, Caterpillars and too much Stuff.

Busy. Busy. Busy.

I am always looking for activities to entertain the kids while I cook dinner. Sensory activities work great, usually. Augi played with this bin of rice for over an hour the other day. I decided to give Em a turn. It was really cute. He was scooping and dumping all over (as you can see.) Then, he decided he needed to get in the shoebox to fully experience the rice. The rice was a babysitter for at least 20 minutes. Hey, it beats t.v.

MEET OUR 5 LITTLE CATERPILLARS...

Grandma Meme gave Augi this butterfly house for her birthday last year. I didn't ever manage to order the caterpillars until recently. The tiny catepillars come in this little container. They have grown really quickly. We'll update when they form their little chrysalis.

So, I had my first ever YARD SALE today. It was POURING rain. I made about $10, but I spent about $20 on Celeste's stuff. So, I am down 10 bucks. Nice. Well, I decided to have it for a few hours tomorrow morning and again next Saturday. Then, everything will be loaded into Rocky's truck and dumped at the thrift store. My house will be free of a lot of clutter, so it is all good.