Summer Blog Ketchup!

We've had a very awesome and very busy summer!  I've spent most of it packing and unpacking bags.  I can't leave the house without gym bag, diaper bag, purse, swim bag, swim toy bag...you get the picture.  So I spend every morning or afternoon packing bags, and I should be good at it by now, but somehow there is always something I forget.  May was packed with birthday parties and then the pool opened and Charlotte has been walking for all of it so I have been very busy on defense trying to keep her pretty head "boo boo free".  Especially with Bill travelling for a good part of the time this is seems like a never ending job.  After sending Bill off to Illinois and putting the kids to bed I decided to sit and catch up on my favorite blogs.  This made me increasingly guilty for my lack of updates so I'm going to try and do a blog blitz to catch up on the whole summer.

May = Birthdays

Bill, Liam and Charlotte all in one month.  Lots of invites and planning and food preparation made for a tired momma.  Did I mention Liam's birthday was also Mother's Day this year?  Lots of present buying and celebrating all around.  Liam's theme of choice for birthday #4?  Pirates!

We went to Red Robin for our annual birthday party eve dinner and the boys get their birthday sundaes:

My grandparents treated Liam to Build-a-Bear for his birthday and here he is with Chick making his very own Gapper:

Charlotte's birthday didn't have a theme but involved lots of people and generous gift giving.  Charlotte showed off her amazing mobility and even managed to eat some of her birthday cake.  She did turn one so all in all a successful event.

I only have video of her birthday because I couldn't find my camera and all the people that promised to give/send me their pictures have failed to do so.  This is why I can only have two kids - the second one is already getting the short end of the stick!

Miraculously - second born children survive!

After today I have decided that it is amazing that any of us second (or third) born children have ever survived our older siblings. I don't mean that the first born are on a mission to kill off their younger sisters and brothers. I think that its just coincidence that most of their daily activities happen to create a myriad of death traps in the way of small pieces of toys strewn around the house. Liam almost succeeded today when he pulled these metal hooks out of my wall that are meant for holding back curtain sashes and placed them in the oven of Charlotte's laugh and learn kitchen. Did I mention that the other end of these hooks are pointy like nails and that they are easily small enough to be swallowed? Luckily I happened to hear the metal clink as Charlotte opened the door and reached for them.

Liam is now awaiting parole from his room.

The hidden message in all of that was - Charlotte is now on the move:




Its still an army crawl, but slowly she can get her little hands on anything at floor level.

Jorie - The Little Monster in Liam's Pocket

My sister's two oldest boys, Marky and Jack, were in town last week. Liam loves to play with the boys even though he takes some abuse as the smallest. One day when we were over at Grammy Sue's Liam came crying to me two times for injuries; one large scratch from his nose down to his lip and another time he received a swift kick to the jaw. So when he came crying the third time I assumed it was more of the same - but this time it was a little different.

"Jack hurt my little monster!" Liam holds out an empty hand to me.

"Your monster?"

"Jorie, the little monster that lives in my pocket. Jack hit him and now he is hurt!" Liam is crying hysterically now - and its not at all fake - there are real tears.

After administering some monster medicine, and a little TLC, Jorie was "warm and safe" back in Liam's pocket. This was the first I'd heard of Jorie, but I've since kissed him goodnight and searched for him in the car.