Getting Ready for Baby

I have been doing some laundry and getting out some baby "stuff" to get ready for our new arrival. The kids were so into it I decided to let them have their own baby stuff. Braden took one of the new boy outfits and put it on Kendall's doll. He knows that if the baby is a boy he has to give it back! Kendall found another doll to push around in her toy stroller. Both kids needed diaper bags, and the gardening bags from Gunkle and Aunt Lissa work out great! Once they got started they realized they needed more baby paraphernalia. They asked for bowls, spoons, bottles, blankies, diapers, and wipes. This entertained them for a while, but I'm not sure how "helpful" they'll be when the baby comes...we'll find out in about 2 weeks!!

Feeding their babies

Changing diapers (although neither says they want to help with this part when the baby really gets here.


Braden looks like he's done this before!

Pool Time!

Last week when it was REALLY HOT this preggo Momma decided to get a cheap pool from Aldi. The kids enjoy it (and I have gotten in it once...hopefully the neighbors weren't looking) and it doesn't require much maintenance. I hope it (along with the slip-n-slide) will entertain the kids here at home when the newborn baby makes it hard to venture out.

These smiling faces lasted just long enough for the picture and then they were back to their normal arguing selves. Those moments sustain me when I'm at my wits end!

Gardening...I hope!

Aunt Lissa and Gunkle had bought Braden and Kendall some gardening bags with seeds and tools. The kids were so excited I hated to tell them no, even though I usually kill anything green or plantlike when I look at it. We decided to give it a try (mostly because they wouldn't let up about it!) and plant our seeds. Braden's bag was Oscar the Grouch and he is growing green beans and Kendall's bag was Abby Cadabby and she is growing pumpkins. Here are the kids during the planting process (with some help from Mommy and Daddy).

Putting stickers on our posts to label them while we wait for the soil pods to suck up water.

Braden's gardening bag.

Kendall's gardening bag.

Planted!

I am happy to report that each pot has at least one sprout in it! We need to find some time this weekend to transplant them into our backyard garden. This is probably when they will die, but maybe the kids will forget about them...

Before/After Pics

Dustin has started a new fitness routine, so he always has me take before and after pictures of him. Braden and Kendall were enthralled by this and insisted on showing off their own physiques for posterity. I will not post Dustin's pictures, but the kids' were too cute to pass up!

Gateway Grizzlies

One of my students gave me 4 free tickets to the Gateway Grizzlies game on June 17th. We packed the kids up that evening and headed for the ballpark. We had never been before, but it was a lot of fun. I'm not sure if we saw more than an inning of baseball because we spent most of our time at the playground area. There is a really nice playground, bounce slide, and other crafts and activities for kids. We hung out with our favorite pals - The Rodgers Family. The kids and Dustin had fun while I sweated my preggo rear end off...it was HOT! Right before we went home the kids wanted to get their faces painted. That led to an interesting bathtime just a short 30 min later :) Here are some photos of the kids at the game.

Braden with his dragon and Jack with his Spiderman

Kendall was so excited about her flower she couldn't look away from it while I took her picture!

Only Kendall, Olivia, and Jackson were brave enough to stand by the SCARY Izzy the Grizzly

Fireflies!

Each night when we sit down to read before bed, Braden notices the fireflies outside. He VIVIDLY remembers catching some with his Mimi and Papa when he was camping. After promising him we would catch some, I had to find a jar. Luckily I am not good at cleaning out my fridge and I had some pickles that had a date with the garbage can. While the kids took their tubby, I tossed out the rotten pickles, rinsed out the jar, and put some air holes in the lid of the jar so the bugs could breathe. Kendall wanted nothing to do with the "firebugs" as she calls them so she was happy to watch from the living room. When Braden and I went out, the birds seemed very loud and active in our trees. We are guessing maybe they wanted to eat the bugs we were trying to catch? Anyway...we were able to catch a few and then (luckily) Daddy came home and helped Braden catch a few more. Here are some pictures of the lucky bugs who came to live with us for about 24 hours before meeting their maker!

Kendall watching "firebugs"

So proud of his catches.

Telling the bugs to say "cheese"

A close up of the bugs

Year 9 and Counting...

Nine years ago today I said "I do" to my wonderful husband. I'd do it all over again and again. We've grown a lot, but like a fine wine we only get better with age! I can't believe we've spent 15 years together! We've seen and done a lot, but I think the best years are yet to come!!

We love to play at the YMCA!

The kids started their summer classes at the Y this week. Kendall had her first dance class Monday morning and Braden's swimming class started right after her class was over. His class was everyday this past week, but Kendall's is only once a week for the next 5 weeks. The kids did great! I'm so glad I signed them up since it gave us something to do each day. This week will be a bit different since Kendall will be the only one with a class. I may sign them up for more classes in the next session, but we'll have to see how ambitious I am after a new baby joins our family in less than 5 weeks!

Kendall with her class. They are standing on circles to hold their place.

Braden with his group. This is a BIG class, so each set of 5 kids had their own instructor.

Mouse Race!

Last Saturday we attended a benefit to raise money for my godmother who has ovarian cancer. This benefit was a mouse race, which we had never been to before. What a great idea for a fundraiser! There were 10 races with 6 mice in each race. You could bet on the mice like you would on horses at the track. It was so much fun!! I think we ended up winning $14 (way less than we spent) but it was still worth it. After the mice races there was a silent auction, a live auction, and a band. We weren't able to stay for the whole thing (this preggo was tired) but we heard they were able to raise a LOT of money, which was the whole purpose for the event. We were so glad we could be there to show our support for Tracie!

The mouse race track

Laura trying to stop the mice from getting out

Sarah and me listening to the band Hicktown (really good by the way)


Sarah and Dustin

Slip N Slide...Take 5...Action!

Here is Braden showing me how the slip n slide works. You can also hear Kendall in the background complaining about how she doesn't like it and needs to wear her crocs. Enjoy!

Slip N Slide

Last Friday this Momma was bored. Daddy was helping out at a KC fish fry, so I took the kids to Target to buy something they could play with outside. The slip n slide was our ultimate choice. I didn't think I'd ever buy one of these, but it was only $10 and I know the kids are going to want something to do during the day and the SIUE pool is out of the question this year. Braden enjoys this toy much more than Kendall, but maybe she'll get used to it. She usually takes a while to warm up to new things. Here they are enjoying their first moments with the slip n slide!

Binky Bear

Kendall was very attached to her binky, but only for sleeping. We have talked about giving ours up ever since our friend Alayna showed us her Binky Bear at Kendall's birthday party, but she wasn't having any of it. Right after school got out we decided to try nap time without a binky. It was a success. That night we told Kendall if she slept without her binky I would take her to Build-a-Bear to make her very own Binky Bear. She had a few times during the night when she woke up looking for it, but we continued to tell her how proud we were of her and she would go back to sleep. The next morning we went to the "bear store" to pick out her new bear. She gave it up just about as easily as Braden did at her age.


We then went to ToysRUs for Braden to spend the graduation money that was burning a hole in his pocket. He wanted (he would tell you he NEEDED) a pair of roller skates. The kids had a good time, but I was worn out by noon! We ate a quick McD's lunch in the car and the headed to Super WalMart (not my favorite store) to get groceries and household items. When we got home, we ALL took a nap! I can't believe my babies are getting so grown up!

Putting the Binky in the bear...you can feel it by her left ear!

Princess Tiana Binky Bear

Roller Braden

Braden's Big Moment

At graduation, Ms. Crystal asked each student what they wanted to be when they grew up. You can watch this to hear Braden's response. He's already a clown!

Graduation Day...Kindergarten Here I Come!!

My baby (I know he's 5) graduated from pre-school. We were so proud of him! His Mimi and Papa came to watch him receive his "diploma" and perform songs for his graduation. We are so pleased with what he has learned the past two years in Ms. Crystal's class. I know he is very prepared for Kindergarten this fall...I'm not sure I'm ready for him to go!! I may have shed a few tears, but I'm attributing that to pregnancy hormones! Here are some pics of our Big Guy!

Pre-School Picnic

Each year the Pre-School has an end of the year picnic at Glik Park. I took off a half day and went to the park with Braden. We had good weather, but it was another hot day! The kids played on the equipment while I tried to find some shade. After a while the kids sat down at the tables for some sugar...I mean food. There was so much to eat! They played again for a while and then we headed for home. I was so glad to be able to have the time with Braden!

Cardinal's Game

While our friend Randy was out of the country in Turkey, we used some of his baseball tickets. We went on the hottest day of the year! This 8+ months pregnant lady was SUPER hot! Our seats were in the sun, but we came prepared. The kids really enjoyed it until about the 5th inning. By then they were HOT and TIRED. We stuck around until the 9th when the Cards tied it up. Braden started crying because he wanted to go home. We decided it was in our best interest to leave. We listened to the Cards win the game in our air conditioned car on the way to Pasta House Co. where kids eat FREE on Sundays! We had a great time, but I'm not sure we'll be able to go to another "family game" for quite some time.