Best Pinata Stuffer You'll Find!

He's Still Here

Yes I have noticed the "lack of Makin" because Lorelei seems to be getting all the posts lately! Maybe its just me worrying about being fair. :) Anyway, had to take a few pictures...really some of the reason for lack of pictures is because he does not want to stop moving for any pictures! :) He may just earn Flash as his nickname. ;)

And as for what he is up too...being that awkward age of 11 months. He thinks when he gets a two minute nap he is good to go and does not want to get any more sleep. He wakes up some nights, and others sleeps fine. It is not a fun time where sleep is concerned. :( The good news is, we have gotten the hang of patting his back (Lorelei would never sleep with this so its a niiiiice change) and he will fall asleep that way, so working our way out of so much rocking. Not sure how close we are to dropping morning nap...but working our way there.

The other thing I have noticed is how good he is at going and playing by himself! Again, big change from big sister! If I'm cleaning up something in the kitchen, he will just go into the playroom and start playing. I can see a future of actually having a few minutes to drink my coffee (without nuking it three times) and perhaps even reading a magazine!!! Maybe... ;)

And I have been rethinking not getting his hair cut with Lorelei...getting a little long!

And one more note...his surgery is scheduled for January 11th now (couldn't get in until then) unless they call us and tell us they have an opening, then we will go in sooner. The speech lady says it is no problem, but this mommy is not convinced...but this is the choice and we are sticking with it. :) And the other interesting thing in that area...he has a tooth smack dab in the middle of the roof of his mouth! And the good news...its normal! Phew. This is from them pulling the tissues to close up the palate. Just have to see a pediatric dentist in the next year and see if they think it needs to be pulled or stay. Yuck. :(

Love you little man!

Checklist For Go-Time - A Little Pampering

This seems to be party prep WEEK as it is taking a few errands each day to get ready. This was by far the most fun item on the list. :) Haircut! And boy did this girl get the royal treatment. Haircut, braid with clip, nails painted (with second layer of requested sparkles), fairy dust heart, sucker and balloon (for both kids!). I love it for all its "extras" that makes it a special event, and I especially love that these ladies know just how to deal with a super-squirmy almost-three-year-old. When she wouldn't keep her chin down, the lady stuck a comb there and said "hold this with your chin." Brilliant! Makin even got to take a little drive while waiting for big sister. :)

Cloudy Wonderfulness

For the first morning in months, it was actually cloudy and something close to cool...cool enough we had to get outside and enjoy it as soon as the kids finished breakfast. And the only thing we have right now for that are balls and clubs...going to have to work on our outdoor play ideas for the fall, but will worry about that when this becomes the norm...which can't come soon enough! We were thrilled to enjoy this weather for 45 minutes before we got a short rain shower.




Nothing like an early morning game of golf in your new silky zebra pajamas! (Grandma, she loves the silky like you and wants to know why her top isn't silky too! Guess we have another silky jammies lover in the family!) And of course it didn't take the kids long to start clubbing each other with their clubs...as to be expected I suppose.

And now you can see why we have very few sibling pictures lately...but thought they were worth posting...almost a keeper! :)
Was a great way to start our morning! Soooo ready for fall! :)

Daddy Weekend

And the first important task of "Daddy Weekend" is helping him make eggs for breakfast - his specialty! This is the weekend of my huge consignment sale where I get almost all of the kid's clothes for fall/winter and hopefully some birthday presents. Anyway, this time I tried my first ever volunteering for the sale. This meant I got to get in at 2:30, 30 minutes before most of the other volunteers (I got priority shift) and two and a half hours before the cosigners (all the people whose stuff we are buying!). Lets just say three huge Ikea bags and 5 hours later I was finally done with my shopping. Yes 5 hours. I don't know how I could have done it any faster! I was relieved to hear one other volunteer say she was there from 2:30 until 9 pm. See I'm not the only one! This meant I worked Sunday with the sale, I was mostly running items back that people decided not to purchase so that they would be on the racks. On my feet but at least I got some extra exercise in! :)

Anyway, this also meant Brad was in charge all of Saturday afternoon, including bedtime, and then Sunday after 10:30 until around 5. Not quite my usual full shift, but a big job nonetheless. :) The kids were absolutely thrilled to get extra time with Brad, and it is awesome to me that I can leave them for hours and not worry. So blessed to have an active daddy who knows what he is doing with the kiddos! They all loved their extra time and we are going to try and get them this time more often. :)

Lorelei tried on her kitty costume first when raiding the sale pile. Not sure this will be for Halloween, but knew she would love dressing up in it. We'll see what she ends up being!
















Loving wearing the bracelet I wore when shopping and loving her new Minnie PJs!

Who's Got Mail?!?

Lorelei does!!! This girl was elated to have not one, but TWO letters when checking the mail on Friday. This is her surprised face...can you tell? :) I am lucky to have so many amazing friends and two of them were quick to send Lorelei her first real letters for her to find in our mailbox. Well actually...they are two of Lorelei's amazing friends. :) She got mail from Sydney and Lily!

Sydney sent a post card and picture. Lily sent a note and even wrote Lorelei's name herself! Thank you both so much. :)

New Chalk

And much needed. We were down to a few very short pieces, so I finally made sure to get some new side-walk chalk. This morning was a unique one in that Makin slept in...after crying for an hour somewhere around 4-5 AM, so we girls had some time just the two of us while he got some much needed rest.

The front has just a bit of shade so that is where we ended up. (They are excited when it gets down into the 80s at night! So no cool down in the morning here!) We even traced shadows and then went back out to see how they changed a few times that day!

Trying Out Her New Clubs

With Daddy after work...I held out until they were on sale for $3 today! She actually picked the girly ones and we got Makin his own too. They only lasted outside a little while and then finished up inside. Still wayyyyy too hot even after 6 pm. Cannot wait for cooler weather!

Boxes and Crayons

Go together like brother and sister. ;) And keep them busy while I unload groceries!

Loves Her Some Salsa

Oh yes, very, VERY big on salsa. The other day she even had a huge arguement with her dad because he would not give her some to simply lick up with her fingers...Thankfully she had a chicken wrap carrier tonight. :)

Mail Call

This girl is officially on mail box duty and would love getting some mail herself if you have time to send some! :)

Latest Favorite Cereal

"Haybales" or "The Talking Ones" :)

Commonly known as Frosted Mini Wheats :)

Almost One and Almost Three

Finally got a cute picture of the kids together! :)

As for the update on the siblings...
Makin is still mostly in adoration mode, although he does show a bit when he is mad that Lorelei takes something or has something he wants...but still takes it too easy on her. Ready for him to let her have it one of these days and I can just look the other way. :)
As for Lorelei it is very common for me to hear, "No let Makin have that." and "Makin bothering me." She definitely has the he-is-my-pesky-little-brother attitude, but still does love him very much.
Probably the favorite thing that gets both of them shrieking and laughing is just playing "chase" and running around...as much as I let them hoping Makin won't fall! :)
I have caught a few moments of them playing nicely together which is just heart warming and looking forward to many more of those...hopefully to somewhat even out the squabbles! :)

Last Trip To Splash For The Summer

We spent the day with Auntie Di at Splash before they closed for the summer. She made us a special lunch with home-made mac and cheese before we were off to enjoy the pools. Makin loved that he was even better at walking so could make his way around well in the kiddie pool and get to the water spraying out. Lorelei headed right for her favorite, the lazy river, and also loved the orange slide, which I made one trip down and Di made several. Makin and I even made a few trips around the lazy river with them this time. We so enjoy our visits and looking forward to seeing them again when they get to see the house and join us for Makin's birthday party! :)

Lovin Some Ehhhh VEGGIES!?!!?!

Yep, its worth its own blog post. These two officially are in love with one veggie each. Makin cannot eat enough sweet peas, and Lorelei can down multiple bowls of carrots with "wanch." Whose kids are these anyway??

My Laundry "Helper"

Gotta love attempting to get laundry done around here. As I was putting clothes in the dryer Makin proceeded to take the already dry/clean clothes from his basket and help me by putting them in the dryer. :) Honestly it was so nice to have a reason to chuckle while doing laundry! He also decided to throw in his book, and then kept trying to close the door, which is something he also does anytime I have anything open, like the dishwasher for one example. He has a thing about things being closed...anyway Lorelei came in and assessed the situation and quickly made sure to remove the book, while Makin was trying to hurry her up closing the door behind her. :)

Cowgirl Meets Library

Well, I was wondering how long it would take for Lorelei to insist on wearing her boots somewhere. They are super- cute John Deer pink boots from Grandma and Grandpa, but because of the hot weather she has not been wearing them out until today. (They have been used when playing "shoe person" though.) She picked out her own shoes to wear for our trip to the library and then said, "I need hat to be cowboy girl." She ended up deciding not to wear the hat and donned her kitty backpack. Which, I might add, is not really big enough for the books we picked out! She got two compliments on her boots from moms at the library! :)

My Morning Dose Of Cuteness

August Family Picture

And if anybody has any bright ideas on getting a baby to smile at a tripod let me know! :)

Rain!!!

After at least two full months without a drop, we were thrilled to wake up to rain this morning!

The kids went right out and enjoyed it.



Then Lorelei got decked out to splash in some puddles with Daddy.












And not only am I thrilled to have water for our sod to grow, but extremely thankful for 40 minutes to keep them busy in the morning! Two weeks stuck mostly at home have given me cabin fever. We also made muffins (great time with us girls during Makin's nap), enjoyed the cool down and went for a walk around the neighborhood, and then just as we were running out of ideas, got a package from Grandma and Grandpa with new toys to occupy us. Big Thank You!!! (You should all check out Smart Snacks: http://www.learningresources.com/category/teachers/shop+by+brand/smart+play/smart+snacks--174-.do Stringing the "Trail Mix" was a huge hit!)

Come Monday we are hoping to get out most days again now that things have settled down. Just have to find some ways to beat the heat for another month... :)

Watermelon Day

Cannot say enough how much I love this picture and how it just captures summer and our afternoon so well.

National Watermelon day was actually August 3rd, but since we had a pretty busy week there was not much time to do this, so we celebrated a bit late this year. Both kids absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE watermelon. I just thought it would make it a special afternoon to have them be able to just bite into it outside and enjoy themselves. Lorelei did that without hesitation, but Makin just kept taking handfuls and eating them. :) We did have a book from the library we read a few weeks ago and then we also did a craft. Lorelei really enjoyed getting a chance to paint. :)








After our usual swim we dug into 1/4 of a huge watermelon. They devoured it and only had about a small bowl's worth left. It was simple and fun and now looking forward to a Watermelon Day every summer. :)

Guess Who Loves To Color Now!

Yep, wants to be like his big sis coloring now too. Will throw a fit (um yes, I get two kids that throw fits now...soooo looking forward to this year...) if we do not give you a paper and crayons. And look at that good crayon-holding form already!

Makin At 11 Months

And my heart is breaking just a little bit typing that number. You are so close to not being my little baby anymore. I still cannot believe it.

You are walking like crazy. No help, and rarely even crawl anymore to do anything. You are great at getting up and down and everything. You are still in that clumsy stage where you think you can go faster than you really should, so getting lots of bangs and scrapes and I'm coming close to putting you in a bike helmet. :)

You do not like to be told no, or get things taken away and you are now very vocal about letting us know that this is making you unhappy.

You still have not gotten the hang of nodding yes, and when asked a question you shake your head "no" when you really mean yes. :) One of my favorites of these is when I was asking if you were ready for nap and you kept shaking your head no. :)

You like to make noise with mouth and patting your hand on and off of it.

Your hair is consistently gelled with banana or applesauce after breakfast. It is also now long enough we brush it each night and you can really see the curls at the end.

Your eyes have officially changed to brown.

You love to give us big slobbery kisses and melt my heart each time I ask for a hug and you just lean in to give me one.

You love to stand in front of us and then back up to sit in our lap.


You love rough housing but I'm constantly discouraging it because your sister is way too rough...ready for you to be big enough to handle it better without falling! You looooove to roll around on the bed (and think its hilarious to go to the edge and give me a heart attack) and dive into pillows where you know its safe to plop anywhere.

Love the magnets on the frig and love to dance to the songs. If I ask for "Annie Ooo" on the frig you will go try and play it for me.

You love to play chase with your sister and squeal happily when she almost runs into you and screams. You also already know how to switch directions and go the other way to catch her faster.

You still love musical instruments, especially drums and love walking around the house with drum sticks...very safe.

You especially love balls. You love to throw them (and you are throwing Little People too...working on that one) and you also like to walk behind them to make them go, but not quite kicking yet.

You still love to eat and eat a lot. You do not like to be fed at all. Right now you are really loving peas. (Gasp!) You also love to drink water from a sippy cup.

You seem to be understanding so much more and can follow one-step directions and identify objects and point to them in a book

We are pretty convinced your first word would be "mama" and you seem to say it to me more often now. Not totally sure though. :)

One cute story from Brad (technically the day after you turned 11 months) is when he was reading a book to you before bed. You squirmed off of his lap, walked over to your basket of books and picked out the one you wanted him to be reading instead and handed it to him. Love that you are able to communicate so much more! You still love your books!

A Quick Hello and Goodbye

We were beyond thrilled to have my friend Luke and his wife Annette stop by on their way back to Japan on Monday. Luke and I have been friends since around age 5 and it had been almost 4 years since we had been able to get together. This Oklahoma boy surprised us all by heading off to Japan for Annette to take a teaching job on the base there. Yes they have weathered the crazy earthquakes etc there and are hoping for a much less eventful two years they have left. They will come back about 6 weeks each summer and we hope to see them longer next time!





He was, of course, great with Lorelei and I'm wishing he was here for babysitting! He comes close to having her level of energy and she had no trouble giving him a work out.



Two of their friends brought them to Dallas so we enjoyed having some wonderful company and giving them a big send off with their "last meal" with "real food" for a while. :) They don't seem to mind the sushi so much but he does love his beef.








After hearing about Brad's amazing corn cob eating abilities Luke was not to be outdone by a Nebraskan, so they had to see who could eat the fastest. Brad won and I think the time was something like 35 seconds or so? :) Lorelei had to join in too of course. :)

I drove them to the airport and we are sad for a short visit but glad we got to see them for just a bit. Looking forward to hearing this years adventures!

Loving Some Puzzles

Maybe we will finally have a puzzle person in the family! Either that or its just one more thing for him to leave all over the house for us to step on... ;)

Swimming and Ice Cream Cones

We had a rough week...to say the least. We are just so thankful to be able to have some time in the afternoon to swim and enjoy an ice cream cone treat. :)

Give Me Back My Bath-Loving Baby Please

This is at one full week of screaming through his bath. We did skip one day he managed miraculously not to get banana or applesauce in his hair nor use sunscreen, but every other night has been this. The only thing we can blame it on is the darkness of the bathroom and tiles...but our bath-loving baby is not a happy boy.

Update a few days later would be that he is slowly getting used to it. We let him sit in there a bit and watch Lorelei before putting him in so that seems to help...hoping it will be smooth sailing soon!

Playhouse

Lorelei is enjoying her play house we have been waiting a long time to set up for her. She has a cradle, changing table, washing machine and oven inside and especially loves just having a door. :)

Kiddie Pool Fun

We are love, love, LOVING having a backyard. So far we have gone out almost every afternoon after nap to play in the kiddie pool. This is almost the hottest part of the day, but it is not shady in the morning, so we choose to have a nice little shady spot and go after nap. Lorelei usually asks to go the second she wakes up. Makin is not totally sure he likes it, but I have gone in twice with them and then he loves it. He really loves the fountain from the elephant when we hook up the hose. :) They also love dumping the water on the patio and splashing in the puddles.

What They Are Into

Cell phones and anything with buttons. He prefers the real remotes for the T.V. :) He will also make a bee-line for any cell phone left in his reach. Thankful for fakes to keep him busy!













The Radio D.J. Still loves dancing to them and will try and find my favorite "Annie Ooo" Upon request. :)








Playing Turtle. Got this one from Caillou too. Every day I hear "Mom, where is the washing basket?"