Library Clowns

Last week my kids were clowns at the library.  Mr. M. was not on his best behavior and just about lost his chance to come back later that evening to see the real clowns.  But he earned it back and boy was he glad. 

 He really thought this guy was hilarious.

Now we have to read 25 hours to get free tickets to the circus. That's a lot of reading to, I've decided.  We usually read about a half-hour a day and we've had to bump it up by quarter to half and hour to get enough hours in before the circus arrives.

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 We are in a serious drought here.  It hasn't rained since right after Little D was born in September.  There are fires everywhere, the wind is horrible, the air is horrible, and we are praying for rain like crazy. 

We have restricted water days.  The kids have been begging to jump on the tramp with water.  So I put the tramp where the lawn needed water and sprayed them for about five to ten minutes.  It made a big mud puddle underneath the faucet and they had a hay day, much to my dismay.  But they looked cute and I survived it.

Mish Mash

Mishmash has moved in with our friends the Laings.   I was the one who wanted him to go but had the hardest time.  He is a sweet little dog but I had my reasons.

I know he'll be better taken care of over there. The hardest part is our poor dog Toby is in mourning.  He's really subdued now.  He misses his buddy.  I feel guilty.

Mr. M had a bit of a hard time too but the good thing is we can all go over to the Laing's house for a playdate. 

On a completely different note:

Our kids look like they've taken permenant jobs as chimney sweeps.

Trampoline

The kiddos spend HOURS outside every day.  It's awesome.  And I have succombed myself to the fact that they will need showers every single day for the next few months. 

Lil' D is so white we can't spend much time outside, but we spend as much as we can.

 The Lil' Guy and his 2000 parts.

 I showed him that if you put your face on the tramp you can see right through it.  He thought it was the best thing ever and spent most of the time with his face down and butt up.  The Big Sibs had to join in.

 This girl's new nickname is Dirtball Pete after a book we read about a little boy who is never clean.  That is so her.  And that was so me as a kid.  I doll her up every day and it lasts about two minutes.

But I'd rather she was a dirty, mess playing than a clean doll sitting around bored.

Tiger's Birthday

A week or two ago Cabe was craving cake. He was ready and willing for any excuse to eat cake. So when Mr. M said it was his stuffed friend Tiger's birthday we had to have a little party. Not surprisingly Tiger's favorite cake is the same as Daddys, Rainbow Chip with Rainbow Chip frosting. As soon as Mr. M and I finished the cake he said, "Oh mom! I hope Tiger doesn't get too excited for that cake. He might just jump right in it!"

Progression

I thought about writing a funny caption for all of these.  But I think they speak for themselves.

 (Take a close look at Damon. Nasty!)

Paint Away

Painting the canvas.

 Painting the sidewalk.

Whatever it takes for some peace and quiet.

Oh and Lil' D definately can get out of that bumbo.  I kept trying to deny it but when I looked away and looked back he was on the ground rolling around.  And he jumped right through his jumperoo.  He wore it right out. He's a wild thing.

The Entertainer

Mr. D'Mark'O is 7 months old.  Seriously! Weird. I know.

This pic was taken in Las Vegas.  We ended up being stuck there all day on the way home from Utah.  The lil' guy pooped out of all the extra clothes I brought.  So he ended up naked in Vegas which I thought was rather funny.  Eventually I found this lil' plaid jacket for him to wear.

Lil' D was an amazing traveler. The first flight he cried a bit but I was sitting by a wonderful lady who helped me a lot and ended up giving D her beautiful silk scarf .  She said she thought I would need it for nursing but I think it was pretty much because Lil' D had sucked on it and spit up on it and pretty much ruined it.  He still loves that thing.

Lil' D entertained the masses.  He was hilarious.  Big burly guys were goo-goo gaa-gaa over him.  Teenage boys were trying to get him to smile and giggle.  Anyone who came anywhere near him had a little grubby hand reach out and grab their clothing, then he'd look up and smile at them.  Even when people weren't actually looking at him he was giving them that winner grin. 

He really shined with all the attention on him (no sharing with big sibs).  It was so fun.  I was shocked at people and their interest in him.  He is my third.  This is not my first go-round.  I know when a baby is getting more than their fair share of attention.  He was just the cutest charmer. 

I met some incredible people while traveling. One the second flight to Utah I got a stomach bug and I threw up the entire time. I just passed Lil' D to the ladies next to me and ignored them the rest of the flight.  Everyone was so gracious.  It was good to meet so many helpful, wonderful, observant people.  I feel bad that they probably were all sick a few days later.

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Dear Damon,
You are such a sweet, happy little baby.  I enjoy you so much.  You smile a ton.  You giggle often.  You are awesome.

You started sitting up really well a couple of weeks ago.  I love it.  Now you can play by yourself for periods of time.  You have also crawled just a bit.  At this point, however, you mainly get up on your hands and knees and throw yourself forward, sideways, or backwards.  You get wherever you want to go.  You are really hyper and crazy.  You get so excited over an object or someone's nose or ears, you will do anything to get to what you want including flipping upside down right off a person's lap.  You are very determined.  You are amazingly happy. 

I wish I could bottle this all up.  I wish I'd never forget.  But I know even greater things are to come. 

Love,
Mommy

Lovey Doveys

My grandpa changes the words in songs to include me in them.  He has an amazing singing voice.  He calls me Fritz and Miss L, Lil' Fritz. He tells me I have a beautiful singing voice.  He took me camping as a little girl, fly fishing, hiking to mines, horseback riding, pine-nut gathering, four-wheeling, tadpole catching, riding in the back of his pick-up, he snuck spare change from his pocket to mine.  He tries very hard to be a good grandpa and I love him.  He was having a hard day in this picture but he's doing much better now.  He's out of the hospital and hopefully he stays out!

 My little niece and nephew came to meet me at the hospital.  My niece told me, "When I grow up I'm going to look just like you!"  Which is fairly accurate, she does look quite a bit like me, but even more like my mom and brother.  She asked me to spin her around in a circle and I told her I would, but only because she is special.  My nephew is growing so fast and I don't have a kid his age so I was a little more awkward with him and knowing what he is interested in, but he's a dang cute kid and I wish I could see them every day.  They've had a hard couple of years and I wish I could take it all away and just give them the good things in life.

My mom has also had a rough couple of years but she is a rock for all of us.  We love you mom!

Damon and the Ozzies

On short notice my in-laws traveled several hours to meet up with Damon and me.

 Aunt Darcy, Grandma and Grandpa, and Cousin Kylee

 Kylee loves babies.  As you will notice. :)

  Grandma, Cousin Kendra, Aunt Heather, Kylee, and Damon.

 Lil' Cousin Chelsey looks like a Mini Kylee to me.

 
 Aunt Amy, Damon, and Chelsey.

 Chelsey was pretty adamant he didn't mess with her dolls at first.

But eventually she relented. 

Damon thought she was pretty freakin' awesome (which she is).  All she had to do was walk by him and he'd bust up laughing.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I love my in-laws.