Day #243- Rocket Boy

We have these foam rocket launchers that I found at the red circle boutique and they have provided HOURS of entertainment for my kids- esp Boy #1. He LOVES them!

Day #242- Why Boys Are More Expensive

Sigh.....so here's the story. We have an entry that's all glass- glass door surrounded by large glass windows on top as well as the side. This would be the large glass window to the side of the door that's about the size of a full size door. I'm upstairs and hear the boys banging on a window- yell down the hall and stairs to stop. It stops. Then I hear LOUD BANGING- as in obviously not with a hand. Sure enough...this was the result. They hit the window with a large hard plastic water bottle (Naegle) filled with water (kept by the dog's water bowl for easy refills)- so very heavy.
Their story: This is Boy #2 talking who admitted to being the one who broke the glass "There were these birds on the lawn and they were eating worms...and we wanted them to stop. So we were hitting the window with our hands but it wasn't scaring them. So [Boy#1] TOLD ME TO DO IT! He told me to hit the glass with it so it would be loud and scare them away so they wouldn't eat the worms!" He then proceeds to yell at Boy#1 "you shouldn't have made me do it!" Needless to say we had a nice discussion about personal responsibility as well as encouraging others to make good choices...blablabla. The funny part is that Boy#2 has a strong sense of right and wrong...he's a very black+white kinda kid. But his brother can SO manipulate him into doing things they both know to be wrong, partly because he adores him so much, but I also think because then he knows he has a partner to blame if it goes south. :)

Oh- the last photo is from later in the day..it reminded me of a get-away scene so I thought fitting with the story :)

Day #241- Afternoon at the Park

This afternoon for the FIRST time the kids rode their bikes to our neighborhood school and it's playground. They were so proud of themselves for being "responsible" enough to ride there. Which basically means I can trust them to not ride in the middle of the road, or that when a car is coming or I YELL they will actually move to the side (no sidewalks around here)
The kids had a blast playing on the equipment as usual. Boy #2 has been working so hard at the monkeybars and has gotten good at them! He is a little monkey so it's only fitting :D The Girl had the best tolerance for the spinning thing, probably from ballet class. The boys were so funny- they were quick to get dizzy and fall off :) lol

Day #240- Smiley

Boy #1 is just a naturally smiley kid...he thinks everything is funny. The up side to this is that it's easier to get genuine smiles from him than the other boy, who just does not find me funny. At all. :)

Day #239- One more

One more pic from yesterday...I love how she's biting her bottom lip a little :)

Day #238- Cousins

This afternoon I had the pleasure of hanging out with my 3 nieces at the park (and my trio as well) while their dad and my DH (and their other siblings) planned their parents upcoming 40th wedding anniversary party. C is 9, E is almost 6 and A is almost 5. The kids had fun playing and I had new kids to stalk :) A was SO funny- she kept ordering me to take her picture- so of course I was happy to! Thus more photos of her. LOVE that first pic of her :) E was much less amused with me...she's got the "look" down pat- I can already imagine her as a teenager :) My Girl ADORES C, I think she's like the big sister she always wanted. :)

Day #237- Bat Girl

She sings while she rides her bike.....it's too cute- today she was singing a song about bats...in honor of her bat-girl shirt :)

Day #236- Future Anarchist

Boy #1 in his favorite shirt- he use to call it his "Green Eagle Shirt" until DH explained to him who Green Day ...so now he loves it even more because he's realized he knows the music.
Perhaps there's a little anarchist brewing inside him- we can only hope :)

Day #235- One Lonely Alligator

He has had this costume since he was 3...and it's much too small for him, but he just won't part with it. He loves to put it on and run around and chase his silbings and roar at them or pretend to snap at them :)
He wasn't really sad here...just tired. We had a 4 hour playdate this afternoon and the kids were beat afterwards. But it was a great way to kill a rainy day!

Day #234- Brother & Sister

Are they not just GORGEOUS?!! These are 2/3 of my lovely g/f's kids- 6months and 4yrs old. She needed new pics for her wall and of course I was happy oblige :) I don't get baby fever much but that little man is just sooooooo scrumptious and what a sweetie and so lucky to have 2 adoring older sisters :)

Day #233- Roller Basketball

Boy #1 thought this was a great idea for a new sport.... although I'm sure somewhere it probably already is :)

Day #232- Roller Girl

The Girl up on her new roller blades for the first time...notice her hesitant face in the first pic...then she found a stick on the ground and decided it would help her balance- "like on a tightrope" :D

Day #231- Mean Brothers

The boys were tormenting her....by not playing the game in the way that SHE wanted. Darn them for not bowing to the princess...have they not learned this yet in their 5yrs together?! :)

Day #230- From Bellies to Babies

Today.....and 6 months ago. It makes me smile SO huge looking at these :) How cute are those babies? Two girls, two boys. They've actually all been featured here before...see Day #159 and Day #146 :)
And don't my girlfriends look fabulous!!? Love you girls! :)
Oh- and the new song pick- that's for you. :)

Day #229- Biker Boy C

I love the chunky bike with the skinny 5yr old looking so serious and tough :) He got it for her birthday last month- and he sure can ride it well!

Day #228- Playgroup

We've had a weekly playgroup since the kids were 10months old...we lost 2 families due to them moving (we miss you!) so at one time it was regularly 11 kids, all within 3months of age (4 sets of twins plus my trio)
This weekly playgroup has become such an amazing part of our life...not only have the kids become wonderful friends, but we moms have become close friends as well. I can't imagine my life as a stay-at-home mom without them! Our weekly playdate is something we all look forward to- and I'm so glad that we have another year ahead of us, before we all start Kdgtn.
The other two pics are from about a month after we started our playgroup....it makes me giggle...look at how chubby they are! So these are the EXACT same kids as in the photo from today :) Can you tell who's who? :)

Day #227- Handsome

Boy #1 looking handsome :) And yes a little cheesy :)

Oh- and new song pick. I was a HUGE U2 fan in high school and college.. (still like them but not like I use to)
This is one of my all-time favorite U2 songs for several personal reasons. I haven't listened to it in awhile and it came on the radio today and was like a little beacon from the past- made my heart happy...it's SUCH a great tune.

Day #226- ECFE Friends

We had a playdate with some friends we've known since our kids were babies and in a class together :) It's been such a joy to know these wonderful moms and amazing kids over the past 5 years :)

Day #225- Baseball Boy

One of their bday presents- they LOVE it! It's sort of opposite of a t-ball as the ball hangs down (velcro) and they hit it. They love the obnoxious ballpark music that plays from it also :)

Day #224- Birthday Girls

Today was the kids playgroup friends A&J's Princess Birthday Bash. I love the look of encouragement on A's face as J swipes some frosting :) Since A had done the same thing a second before :)

Day #223- Pirate Party

Today is the kids big birthday bash- they wanted a pirate theme...they love to play pirates, even The Girl- as long as she can sometimes be a princess on the pirate boat :) So when it came time to choose their cake- this was the obvious choice to order :) lol
The group shot makes me smile- as it's so them. :) It was a good party- horribly hot+humid, but the kids played in the pool and the adults did our best to keep cool and I am so thankful that the rainstorm stayed away until the end of the party as I had no back-up plan for 16kids trapped inside my house. :)
Every year I think "I should really hire a JSOer to take pics at their bday party"....because once again the whole day went down and I literally only have 8 pictures :) Maybe next year......

Day #222- Expressions

Boy #1 has an infectious laugh- it's so fabulous :) Every since he was a baby, if we were out in public and he started laughing total strangers would look over and start laughing/smiling because of it. I love this photo for that reason- his eyes- happy eyes :) One of my photo battles in my backyard is color casting...I get green/blue castings a lot from all the leaves-esp on their hair...not sure how to avoid it though- even with CWB I get it- because it's really there I suppose. I did some tweaking a little to try to tone them down so it's not too bad- but I think that's why I kinda like the b+w since it's not an issue :) Thoughts?
Oh- and The Girl- CLASSIC expression from her. She's still getting over a cold- look at those eye circles! To bed early for her tonight! Tomorrow is their birthday bash- fun fun! :)