Surprise Sunshine

The sun made an unexpected appearance this afternoon! (A leap day miracle, perhaps?) You can't stay inside when it's sixty degrees in February. So we went to the park for a walk/bike ride.

Micah thought riding through the puddle was awesome.  Hannah was furious that I carried her around it.

At the end of the ride, I gave Micah the option of playing on the playground or going home to splash in puddles.  He chose home because "the puddles will be more funner."

Hannah loved the spray from Micah's rear wheel.

love this girl!

mid-jump

post-jump

I Made it.

It was a rough morning, people.  Micah was sick (of the vomit variety).  Hannah cried a LOT.  And Jackson was a little wound up and did not appreciate the lack of attention.  There was a lot of screaming, crying, and time-outs.  But I made it.  (I admit, I did have to excuse myself to the garage once to scream.  But that's better than screaming at the children, right?)  And now Hannah and Jackson are napping their grumpiness away.  Micah was lying quietly on the couch while I cleaned up from lunch, but declined my offer to take him upstairs for a nap.  A few minutes later, here's what I found:

So, praise God that I made it to nap time.  Praise God for disinfectant.  And praise God that most days aren't like this one.  :)

Lots and Lots of Playing

Lately on Thursdays I have been taking Jackson and Hannah to story time after we drop Micah at school. We play at the library for a little while, then we go to McDonald's playland until it's time to pick up Micah. Jackson and Hannah LOVE to go down the slides! Hannah starts getting excited before I even take her out of her car seat. They run and giggle and slide, slide, slide.

On Friday, we went to a "gymnastics center".  I purchased a groupon for it, but had never seen the place.  I figured having my parents here was a perfect time to try it so I would have extra help if needed.  I think the best way to describe it was a glorified play room.  It was small, and there wasn't much "gymnastics" about it.  But, it was perfect for us!  There were tons of toys and lots of ways to burn energy.  And since it was small, I'll have no problem taking all four kids by myself in the future.

Not surprisingly, Hannah spent a lot of time sliding.

Their faces may not show it, but they were all laughing and squealing.

Carter was pretty good on the bar!

One last thing - one of Micah's birthday presents was a Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head.  When I gave it to him, I told him that it was for him and Hannah to share.  I'm glad I did!  It's one of Hannah's favorite toys now.  She is quite good at putting the pieces in by herself.

Here is one of her creations.

Mommy

Hannah has a new word.

The Party

We held Micah's birthday party at a church's indoor playland.  It was the perfect place for 17 small children to run around without destroying anything.

 

After MUCH deliberation, Micah decided on a cement mixer truck.

This is most of the "big kids".

Lots of presents!

Happy Birthday, Micah!

YEAH!!!

Hannah has started answering questions with an enthusiastic "YEAH!!"

Are you wondering where she learned this enthusiasm?  Here's a hint:

And one last clip of Hannah.  She's pretending to read "B-I-N-G-O".

Finger Painting

You know the old army slogan, "We do more before 9 a.m. than most people do all day!"?  There are a lot of days when I feel that way.  Today, after I dressed, made lunch for my hubby, made heart-shaped cinnamon rolls, changed a diaper, fed four kids breakfast, and cleaned up from breakfast - I did finger painting with all four kids.  Of course, that necessitated giving the two smaller ones a bath.  While Carter supervised the babes in the tub, I raced around cleaning up all the paint and supplies.  Then I diapered and dressed the little ones, brushed their teeth and wrestled them out of the bathroom.  It was sometime around then, as I was starting to break a sweat and realize I was a little tired that I happened to glance at a clock.  8:53.  Right.

Just getting started - not that messy yet

 

Hannah is trying a new shade of lips.  Hope it's non-toxic!

Rudolf :)

P.S. Lest you think I slack off after 9am, I've also made a grocery list, gotten gas, ran 3 miles, fed 4 kids lunch, and made a blog post, among other things. :)

Swimming Lessons

Today was Micah's fifth swimming lesson, which means that it was his first lesson where I did not get in the water with him.  He did great!  He did everything that was asked of him, and sat patiently on the steps when it wasn't his turn.  I'm so proud of the progress he's made!

"diving" for a ring

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Let me just start by saying that I know my posts have been pretty weak lately.  There is no excuse.  I'm not too busy.  We haven't stopped doing fun things.  My kids haven't stopped being cute.  I have just slacked off in this area.  I am going to try to pick it back up a little bit - remember to bring the camera with me places and all that.
Yesterday I attempted something I haven't before:  I took both kids to the outlets so I could shop for jeans.  (I was down to one pair that didn't have holes in the knees from playing on the floor.)  It went surprisingly well!  Micah was quite cooperative, and Hannah was easily bribed with yogurt-covered raisins.  There is a duck pond at the outlets, and I thought ahead to bring some bread with us (but not the camera).  There was also a McDonald's with a playland on the way home.  So, overall I think the kids had fun. 

See?  She's still cute! (Hannah, not me.  Yikes!)

Today is Daddy's birthday, so we're going out to eat to celebrate.  And Micah helped me make a special dessert. Yum!  Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Gymnastics

Last Thursday (I know - I'm a week behind!) Micah's preschool had a field trip to a gym.  He got to participate in a gymnastics class.  He loved it and has already asked when he can go back.

(Sorry it's sideways)