Special Sunday!

This weekend was busy, busy, busy! Sunday Austin and Caitlin had separate special activities to attend!

Caitlin went to a Pinkalicious Party at Barnes & Noble with Aunt Bubbles. Caitlin loves "special girl time". We dropped her off and she apparently had a blast...they listened to 2 of the stories in the Pinkalicious series, they made tissue flowers that they dipped in pink and purple dye, they made ice cream sundaes, and she got her nails painted (this was her favorite thing!). She also came home with a cute little Pinkalicious coloring book.

While we waited for Caitlin, Austin got some "special mom & dad time". We took him to Recreation Unlimited and he and Ryan shot hoops! The boy played non-stop for an hour and a half!!! He was so cute....found a low net and hung from it! He had some serious hero worship going on when watching daddy sink shot after shot. Just when I thought he couldn't idolize Ry any more!!! Austin is quite a baller (says his mommy!)...he was making a ton of baskets at about 8 feet tall. Ryan says he is a lefty with pretty good backspin on the ball...apparently that is a good thing. After ballin' we stopped at a Chevy dealership and took Austin's picture by a REAL Chevy Corvette. Austin has also discovered a love of cars and identifies them by their brand logos. It's pretty funny. He wanted a picture next to a Chevy Camaro but there weren't any on the lot...a corvette had to do.

It was so weird to only have one kiddo and both parents!!! Waaaaaaaay easier, but weird...Caitlin certainly adds a lot of pizazz to the family! :) When we picked her up, they both lit up to see one another and chatted non-stop.

We took them to Cold Stone for an ice cream treat and let them play at the park for awhile. Then we came home and they had "water day" using a kiddie pool and a sprinkler that Gramma brought for them on Saturday. They both had their sunglasses on and were pretending they were goggles. Pretty funny stuff!

Today is GORGEOUS outside (a little windy, but it beats the oppressive heat and humidity that we've had)....sooooooooo, lots of outside time! We are waiting for Ryan to get home from work so we can go for a walk (the kids will ride bikes), have a family dinner, and then baths & bed.

The birthday party went so smoothly! The preparations were a bit crazy, but everybody seemed to have fun and everyone loved the theme/decor. I even found time to chat with the grown ups! Hooray! We have soooo much candy left over though!!!! Tonight's dinner will be raisinettes topped with m&m's served with a side of mixed runts and skittles. ;) For dessert? Twizzlers a la mode (cuz we have a lot of leftover ice cream too!). :)

Random funnies....

**Caitlin is so darn skinny that most of her shorts/skirts require a safety pin to keep them up. She calls the safety pin a "pin clip". lol

**Austin's new favorite word? "Stubborn"....For example, "Argh, these socks are being stubborn!" (the "r" comes out as a "w" so it's extra cute!)

**Caitlin was looking through a new make-up kit and didn't want to go outside. She said, "But we're doing make-overs!!!"

Catching Up With Their Actual Birthday!

I have been so busy with the draft, I haven't been able to post the pictures from their actual birthday!

Sorry about that... Hard to believe that they are old enough to be riding bikes up and down the sidewalk. Caitlin still isn't sure about turning around, but Austin picked it up almost immediately...he can go just about anywhere on his bike... The only thing is they need to both get used to using the brakes!!!

4th Birthday Party

Today was the ever anticipated Candyland birthday party. Several of the kids that Austin and Caitlin go to school with, along with a couple of neighbor friends came over to help celebrate. Even Ms. Amy and her daughter, Courtney, came! Grandma Junior, Great Gramma, Aunt Courtney, Cousin Ethan, Aunt Bubs, Uncle John, Bethany, Kellen, Beckham, and Mr. Dave and Ms. Penny all took time to celebrate, as well.

Uncle John borrowed a bounce house from a friend that we used. That was a big hit!!!

We had 2 very tired kids who fell immediately to sleep tonight at 6:45 p.m.

We appreciate everyone who helped make this such a fun day for Austin and Caitlin. Kim decorated the house in true Candyland fashion, the cake was unbelievable, and there was even a "Candy Shop" where the kids loaded up with a huge assortment of candy to take home....Sorry about that to all the parents!

Below are alot of the pictures that were taken today. Special thanks to Lory Hamblen, mom of Jet, who is in their class. She is a professional photographer and took a lot of pictures for us. She did a much better job than I could have!

They received many gifts, and we are very appreciative of people going out of their way to do that. The kids will have a lot of fun with all their new toys and things to play with.

We hope you enjoy the pictures. Hard to believe that they are already 4. We are really proud of them and grow to love them even more everyday.

RIP Michael Jackson!

I would be remiss if I didn't mention this on the blog...he is Ryan's music/entertainment IDOL! Ryan says he is in mourning...let's hope his grief does not distract him during their picks! ;)

Two things that we laugh about a lot deal with MJ...first, at a friend's wedding early in our dating life (so, about 11 years ago!) Ryan busted out the moonwalk on the dance floor! OMGosh, he had it down pat AND I think that's the wildest I've ever seen him! :) Second, we were having dinner at Hooters with Travis while we lived in El Paso and there was some dj or something there...anyway, they were playing a medley of Michael Jackson songs when Ryan says to us (dead serious)..."If they play 'Smooth Criminal', it's over!" Travis and I found that very funny (I STILL do!).

In more important news...I left the kids with a babysitter for a couple hours today so I could do birthday party shopping. I was a little wary about how Austin would react, but once Carolyn got here & he told me, "Go Mom!", I knew it was all good! She took them for a walk around the neighborhood (they rode their bikes) and then they asked if she could spray them with the hose. I gave the green light and so they played in the backyard until I got home. When I got here they were all in the "pirate ship" (the top of their playset)...it was great. After Carolyn left, she was all they talked about! Austin said, "I guess I DO like having a babysitter!" They both said, "Miss Carolyn is fun!"

OOOOOOH wait, Indiana is on the clock..."With the 13th pick in the 2009 NBA draft, the Indiana Pacers select"........(I swear, this is our 6th draft and that quote NEVER gets old!).....TYLER HANSBROUGH! I just got a little surge of wifely pride! YAY for my hubby! Quality pick babe (in my professional opinion). Tyler just said Indiana is getting "a hard worker who knows how to win." Yeah, let's do that. Looks like Little A will be getting a new jersey!!!!!

Holy cow! Shaq goes to the Cavs???? Shaq + LeBron? ugh.

All right, I've gotta get something done around here!!!!

Latest happenings...

Well, FINALLY tomorrow is the draft! Ryan has been working very hard in preparation so I hope they make their picks count! Go Pacers! Go Ryan! :) Draft day is his equivalent of the summer solstice...longest day of the year!! ;)

Naturally, I have a TON of stuff to do for the party on Saturday and yesterday my back decided to act up. Ever since I've been pregnant, I've been dealing with sciatica. Yesterday was awful...painful, nonproductive, and not fun. Last night I tried to turn over in bed and gripped Ryan's arm so hard I thought I might break it...I think it was my yelling in pain that woke him up. Poor guy. He was great though...helped me out and kept telling me it was okay. Today it is a little better...I'm just tired from not sleeping much last night. I read that I should keep moving so that's what I've done. The kids and I vacuumed downstairs, I watered the flowers/plants in the backyard, then sprayed the kids with the hose (more on that in a minute), then I watered for the next door neighbors who are on vacation.

Now, back to the spraying the kids...they were soooo funny! They were surprised that they could get sprayed while wearing clothes and not swimsuits. They loved that! So I had the nozzle on "shower" and they pretended they were cars at the carwash. Every time they went through I had to say what kind of car they were...Chevy Camaro, Chevy Corvette, a Saturn, a Ford...they had a good time. It was soooooooooooooo hot today it was ridiculous!

Austin's favorite things to say..."Or something like that?" (example: "Are you going to vacuum the office or something like that?"). "Does that sound like a good plan?"

Caitlin keeps telling everybody she is taking ballet lessons (she's not...yet). It's pretty funny because she has to throw in a ballet move also. She likes to demonstrate the pirouette nowadays. We plan to enroll her in ballet this fall/winter and Austin will do "basketball class" (as he calls it). We need to keep busy, busy, busy so we don't dwell on Ryan's travel.

Oh yes, while policing the hallway at bedtime the other night, here's the song I got to hear Caitlin sing..."Rock your body, rock your body, the lady on tv says rock your body, sing a song." The girl LOVES to make up songs...when she gets dressed she'll sing, "underwear, I call it funderwear and thunderwear" and then she does a little dance.

Austin loves his new drum that Caitlin got him for his birthday. It also came with a kazoo that is a hit since they both learned how to use it. Caitlin loves "the clappers"....so they play marching band a lot. Noisy and mildly irritating if you are trying to conduct a conversation, but most of the time it doesn't bother me really. I find it amusing.

Time to head upstairs for baths....maybe more later....

Father's Day

Well, I didn't get to enjoy it for long, as we have alot of work to do in getting ready for the draft on Thursday night, but it was a great morning for me. The kids came in when they woke up asking if it was Father's Day. They got excited when they were told it was. They got all the stuff that they made for me from school, along with a couple of other things. They helped me open the stuff and told me all about it. Each of them made a little book where they completed different thoughts like, "I love it when my daddy..." then drew a picture for each of the phrases. It was very cute and something I am sure I will enjoy looking at again as the years pass by. They cut out some neck ties from some fabric samples with string to wear them around your neck. I thought that was pretty cute. They also gave me a poem with their footprint next to it.

Kim bought a picture frame in which you can record a greeting. The kids each said, "Happy Father's Day" into it, so when I press the button I can hear them say that...I really like it.

I think that the kids and Kim are headed over to Aunt Bubs this afternoon to ride their new bikes and help celebrate Lynn's birthday. Yesterday, they went up to see Grandma June for her birthday. It has been a busy few days.

We thought the kids would like the bikes, but we had no idea that they would be such a hit. So far, everytime they have been told it is time to come in from riding them, it has elicited immediate tears. Austin is doing really well, Caitlin is doing good in straight lines, but not so sure when turning around on a driveway with a little incline. She gets nervous when it starts to pick up a little speed. Both need to learn to use the brakes to control the speed, but that will come. We have taken a lot of pictures and will post them when we get a chance.

I hope to get home before the kids have to go to bed to squeeze in a little bit more time with them on Father's Day.

Lot's of work to do for Thursday night. Go Pacers!

bowling

I think I forgot to blog that a couple weeks ago we took the kids bowling for the first time! They loved it! They looked so cute with their little bowling shoes on!!! The lanes had the bumpers up so they never got a gutter ball and they used a metal ramp thingy to roll the ball down to the pins. It was a great set up and they each got a strike! We took pictures so will try to get those up in the near future.

another something funny...

A cartoon character was acting grumpy and Austin told me, "Maybe he needs to use the restroom." Austin gets soooo grumpy when he has to use the bathroom so I always tell him to go tinkle because he's acting grumpy. :)

Happy Birthday Austin & Caitlin!

Four years ago our lives were changed forever. I never truly understood the love that a mother feels for her children...now I do. I am so thankful that God allowed me to experience that kind of love with Austin and Caitlin. After all the years of praying and trying so many different things to actually get pregnant, we were blessed with 2 absolutely wonderful kids...loving, kind, smart, hilarious, beautiful, sometimes ornery! I can say that what I expected motherhood to be and what it actually IS are vastly different...in a good way though (except I could do without the exhaustion part!). So on their fourth birthday I feel as grateful as ever to be celebrating with such fabulous kids!

Today's festivities will take place when Ry gets home...we are going to open small presents and then go to "Rockin' Robin" for dinner (it's safe...the big biwd isn't there on Fridays!). When we come home, we are going to have their new bikes waiting in the garage with bows on them! They will be so excited!!! Then we will have cake with Aunt Bubbles and Uncle John, skype Gramma & Grampa Carr, have baths and head to bed. They are having a hard time understanding that they have to wait a week for their big party...

Right now they are watching "Cars" by Austin's request....he likes when the cars "speed up" (this means they pass other cars!). Austin is eating goldfish crackers and Caitlin just finished some peanut butter and is snuggled up next to me. :) Later I think we will go to Party Tree to look for little birthday ribbons they can wear...I thought we had some already but when I looked at them, they said, "I'm 3 today!"...so a-shopping we will go! :)

where do they get this stuff?

caitlin said today, "mom, i'm tired of all this growing up stuff!" she also declared that she was "tired of all the car riding!"

in the car austin said to caitlin, "i don't love you!" and she started to cry. i told him he hurt her feelings and made her sad by saying that...about 5 minutes later he said to her, "i'm sorry sissy. i didn't mean to hurt your feelings and make you sad. i love you." talk about making my heart melt!

yesterday caitlin got mad at austin and yelled, "YOU ARE NOT MY FRIEND ANYMORE!" which led to him doing what she wanted because he doesn't like when she's mad/sad!!!

we were talking about them being born on their birthday...caitlin asked how they got in my tummy...she said, "did you put us in your mouth?" LOL!!! so i told them that God put them in my tummy. then she asked, "how did we get out?" oh boy! i said, God decided it was their birthday and had them come out to see us. she was happy with that answer, but wow....mommy is NOT ready for that conversation!!!!

tomorrow is the big birthday!!! the kids are excited that when they wake up they will be 4. AND they are more excited about the cake than the presents! funny! speaking of which...gotta go wrap some presents so i can hit the sack!

PIRATES!

so, we're driving and we see a crane with a pirate flag on top of it...caitlin and austin both exclaimed, "look! it's the jolly roger!!!" are they the only 4 year olds who know that???

today has been heavy on the outdoor activities! we did have a short car ride to fix a calamity with my mom's 60th birthday present. crisis averted. other than that we've been outside all day! they were so exhausted at naptime! HOORAY!!!

well, that's about all for now...we are going to head inside for dinner and baths. tomorrow morning is school so that means i get to shop. ryan has some very heavy work days ahead of him...draft is a little over a week and a half away! go pacers!!!

The Weasel

Austin kept asking me if I'd bring the weasel outside. WHAT? So then he said, "Yeah, the one in the basement!" AHA!!! I said, "Oh, you mean the EASEL!" Pretty funny! Now they are outside using the EASEL to color pictures.

Blove to Skype

Hi everybody! We have been quite the computer literate family this weekend! Gramma & Grampa Carr got a webcam so the kids were able to talk to Gramma on Skype on Friday and Sunday. Gramma Carr got to experience Austin's obsession with asking "WHY?" after everything you say and Caitlin's catch-phrase, "Can I see it?" They also asked if she could "jump out of the computer." They love to Skype! Austin was sad he didn't talk to Grampa because he wanted to ask him about basketball. His burning question? Can Gramps slam dunk? :)

Yesterday Austin got to mow and Caitlin flitted from activity to activity...bike riding, hopscotch, watching me, swinging, playing in the sand, asking for a juice box...sometimes she is very hard to keep up with! It was such a nice Sunday though...busy but relaxed and so nice to have our whole family together all day.

On Saturday we took the kids to shop for each other's birthday presents. We all went to Meijer and split up. Ryan & I were careful to keep reminding them that it was a "secret mission" and they couldn't tell what they got. The boys made it to the car first. Caitlin and I got in and she asked Austin, "What did you buy?" AND Austin told her, "Sissy, I got you a caterpillar game and a Tinker Bell dress!" Then he went on with a long explanation that he got her Tinker Bell because they didn't have any princess dresses! So, after all that, Austin asked, "What did you get me?" Caitlin said, "I can't tell you. It's a secret!" Did she work that in her favor or what?!?!?

I am happy to report that I made some serious headway on the birthday party decorations. I only have about 6 more lollipops to make and Lynn helped me make 5 "hard candy" decorations last night...have about 15-20 more of those to make this week so next week I can focus on the final shopping and food/organization...oh yeah, and house cleaning! BLAH!

Okay, time to get dressed and head outside for some playtime!

Some funny stuff...

Today Austin's speech teacher told me that during speech he burped, said, "Excuse me."  AND THEN SAID..."Do you want to smell my breath?"  EW!  Both kids find that amusing!

Last night Caitlin was reading "The 3 Bears" to herself...she is pretty accurate and even does the different voices for each bear like I do.  It is a crack up.  She also started singing the "Sleeping Beauty Song"...Ryan and I were sitting in the hallway just giggling at how funny and cute it was.

Right now Austin & Caitlin are snuggled in Caitlin's bed and Austin is reading her stories..."The 3 Bears," a couple "Spot" books, and "Just me & my Mom".  He is doing a great job.

A little bit ago, Austin was tearing around Caitlin's room putting things away.  He said, "I'm cleaning Sissy's room!"  Caitlin said, "Austin can clean my room.  It makes me soooo happy!"

BTW, all that prep for water day and it got rained out!!!  blah!  The kids were bummed.

Finally started tracing my circles for the lollipop decorations...tonight I'll begin cutting them (hopefully).  Then tomorrow I can glue on the sticks and cover with cellophane.  The kids are going to love it!

Ryan is home now...time for dinner!

Prayer Time

So, not sure how this started, but here are the kids' typical bedtime prayers...

Caitlin:  "Jesus I love you.  I love God with whipped cream and a cherry on top with sour lemons.  I love my dad.  Amen."

Austin:  "Jesus I love you with a cherry on top with sour lemons and Novembers.  Amen."

Typically after each kiddo says their prayer, Ryan or I will do the "family prayer" but Caitlin has been volunteering...tonight's was "Thank you for a beautiful day to play outside with Anna and Abby (Austin chimed in with "AND MAE").  Thank you for school and dinner.  Amen."

I love it!  So sweet.

Well, let's see...this morning Austin was running around with Mae and hit his head on the driveway and got a nice cut and goose egg.  AND skinned both knees...I told Ryan he's going to be one big scab by the end of the summer!  Not sure I'm cut out to mother a little boy...I'm too much of a worrier and I LOVE to baby him...after all, he's my little bear!!!  

After naps we went to the grocery store and then it was back outside.  They played with Anna and Abby (backyard neighbors who are 5 and 3.5)...running back and forth between the yards.  Then the girls had to go inside, but Mae came outside so they played with her for awhile.  Finally at around 6:45 we got inside, had a snack, and headed up for a bath.  Caitlin reminded me that tomorrow is "water day" at school so we had to organize all the gear for that...swimsuits, towels, change of clothes, water shoes, sunscreen...I'm glad she remembered because that would have been a scramble in the morning!!!

Currently, I'm policing the hallway to stop "Squatch" from sneaking into Austin's room.  SOOOOOOO hilarious...Ryan nailed it when he called her that...if you've seen the pictures of Sasquatch trekking thru the woods or wherever, that's exactly what Caitlin looks like as she tries to sneak back and forth between her room and Austin's at bedtime!!!  Austin's favorite way to avoid sleeping is to stand and look out of his window.  Our neighbor said he saw him up there the other night waving and saying, "Hi Mr. George!"  A few weeks ago Ryan snapped a cell phone picture of our little guy in his window watching the guy across the street mowing his lawn!  :)

Gonna try to get some decorations started for the big PAR-TAY...Ryan is still at work, kids are relatively calm...maybe I can do a couple before I head off to bed myself.

Sweet dreams!

BORRY!

that's what Austin would say instead of "sorry"...anyway, "borry" we haven't updated the blog in awhile.  it's been a little busy around here!!!

we have spent a ton of time outside enjoying the summer weather.  we do a little bike riding, hopscotch, drawing with sidewalk chalk, playing on the swingset, playing in the sandbox, running around with the neighbors...all the outside time leaves little time for the inside activities such as housecleaning and blogging (darn).  :)

we are also getting ready to celebrate austin and caitlin's FOURTH birthday!  HUH?  when did that happen?!?  on their actual birthday we will enjoy 2 mini cakes from a local bakery and open presents (they are getting "big kid" bikes from daddy & mommy!).  next thursday, they are taking some ice cream cone cupcakes to school for all of their friends.  then comes the big candyland party.  i love planning their bday parties!!!  we are having the neatest cake decorated like the game board (with candy, of course), a candy buffet, a bounce house, and a party game or 2.  i am making all of the decorations so that has been somewhat of an undertaking...if you know me well, you know i tend to overdo it with the festivities...martha stewart wanna be...

okay, more later...we now have a laptop so i can update as they play...HOORAY!!! :)  they are now playing duck duck goose with their neighbor friend, mae.