Laughter is the Best Medicine

We got Elizabeth laughing the other day. She sure does warm our hearts. 

She is very talkative these days (especially in the morning). 

I love listening to all her jabbering & cooing. 

Playing at the Creek

A few weeks ago our three favorite kiddos had some cousins visiting. We tried to get out and have a little fun while they were here. One of the most fun things we did was go play in the creek and have a picnic. The water was a little low, but we had ourselves a fine time anyway!  I can't tell you how many times I heard a kid say thank-you for taking them there! I'm glad that a bit of simple fun was so great! I couldn't have pulled it off with just any kids. I'm not looking to take on another group of six plus the one in my belly. These are exceptionally wonderful children!

 Like I said, the water was a little low...but isn't this a sweet picture of Jonah and Molly! 

 The girls worked hard to catch a crawdad, while the boys (and I) decided to settle down for some lunch! 

I wasn't totally crazy, I thought ahead and DID NOT make seven sandwiches. We ran by the store first, where I let each of them choose their own Lunchable. I was so glad I did, because we all had exactly what we wanted. 

They played on the playground for just a few minutes before we had to head back home. 

Summer is HERE.

I took the kids out to breakfast to celebrate the beginning of summer vacation. We had the most fun on the way to the doughnut shop. Jonah was cracking us up in the car. He was in a really good mood and answering any question with lots of excitement. When asked if he was drinking coffee, he replied, "COFFEE...YES!!" And when Ben coughed, he shouted out "good cough, Ben!" 

I am determined to take lots of photos this summer. I only have a few remaining weeks with these dear children of mine. We shall make the most of our time...and document it accordingly. 

Jonah Bear

I don't know if I ever posted pictures of Jonah Bear. He was Jonah's first stuffed animal. We made him before Jonah was born...and included a sound card with Jonah's heartbeat inside of him. 

Today we went back to Build-A-Bear to buy another sound card...for the new baby. 

We let Jonah bring his bear to get some clothes. He chose a football uniform (which came with a ball and helmet). 

 I secretly had hoped he might choose something "cute" (ie: a shirt with a collar and pants with a button), but his choice made him very very happy. 

I also could not resist buying a little pair of glasses for the bear. 

A Sporting Good Time

I first uploaded each of these pictures individually, but it wasn't as enjoyable to look at. So, I made one of my fun collages! Aren't you excited!

If you have met Jonah, then you know he loves to play ball. Any ball, he's not picky. But, he doesn't limit himself to just balls. He likes anything that is done outside, or anything athletic (although he doesn't yet know the word or meaning of 'athletic')

above you see Jonah:

• wearing a bike helmet (the way he thinks it should look)
• sporting BEN's tennis racket (it had to be Ben's)
• with his fave....the basketball
• ready for swimming

• being Joe Cool
• playing t-ball with Molly
• drying off after swimming

below you will see Jonah playing his own little made-up game...

Football on the Hammock, or "weeep" 

(since that's what I call the word he keeps repeating):

I did not put the ball on the hammock.
This was all Jonah's doing...no form of weird parental torture! 

Weekend Update: Perfect Friday Night

My recipe for a perfect Friday night includes two boys, some fun puzzles, and a pizza!! I've listened to lots of laughing and dried a few tears...we're living it up! 

(what they don't know is that we're all going to bed early too)

Another Trip to the City

Last weekend Jonathan's parents came to visit. We took ourselves (with our season passes) out to Silver Dollar City. We really use them far too little. It's free (if you don't count gas or the occasional food purchase) entertainment. 

Anyway, we headed out there on Friday, and we sure were glad we didn't try to go on Saturday...cause it rained ALL day Saturday!!

(there may or may not be multiple collages today...be glad I didn't post all of the pictures individually...there are a lot of great ones!)

Remember this similar picture from the same time last year:

Jonah and Grandpa tried on some hats:

Jonah also did a lot of this:

And then, on the way out, Jonah (re-)discovered pumpkins!! (he thinks they are all BALLS!)

Making Pretzels

Some of my favorite people love love love LOVE Auntie Ann's Pretzels.

These same people also like a good cooking session in the kitchen. Sooooo...we found a recipe at Copykat.com.  Mmmm....yummy.

 Mixing the dough

rolling/shaping the dough

 cooking up nicely!

 And eating up VERY nicely!

Happy Day to ME!

Today is my birthday. 

Happy Birthday toooooo Meeeeeee!

Anybody (other than my mother) know how old I am today?

did you guess??

if you've been around me at all lately, you just might know!

Today I think I'll make a list of  things that are neat about my birthday...

how about a Cool-Things-About-Amy's-Birthday Top Five list!

5. I can usually enjoy a good fireworks display for my birthday. 

4. my half-birthday is New Years day....so, I usually see fireworks for that too!

3.I share my birthday with a princess...this may not seem like much, until I tell you which one...

(and if you were my friend Julie, well, this little fact would be in the #1 slot)

2.  My birth date rhymes...seven. one. eighty one. the thing that makes this fact even cooler is that my sister's rhymes too!! maybe my parents only had two of us because of the low odds of pulling that off again (neither one of us was induced/scheduled)

1. And the coolest little fact about my birthday is that it marks the exact center of the year. (thanks to February)  Jan. 1 - June 30 has the same number of days as July 2 - Dec. 31

well, that's all. I'll be out enjoying my day with my family and some friends. 

(the plan is to see this:

 with 3 of our favorite people!

Puppy Time

As you well know, Jonah loves to play with Harry, our rat terrier.  Well, today he decided to play Harry...not with Harry...he wanted to be Harry!  I was sitting at the computer (where you can find me most mornings checking the blogs I follow) watching Jonah on the side.  Then, I heard the sound of Harry's crate closing.  I went to check, and sure enough, there was the boy IN the crate!  Yuck.  

But, (say it with me) 

"At least he's not eating dog food", right?!

Good Morning, Harry.

Harry is probably sulking because we made him go out in the rain.

I Scream, You Scream, WE ALL Scream for.....

ICE CREAM!!!  (ok, technically it it frozen custard, but you get the idea) Somebody had his first taste of this frozen treat last week! Emily and I took the kids and their dog, Toby, to Andy's Frozen Custard on Friday. Andy's is unique in that they serve "dog cones." So, this was a special treat day for Jonah AND Toby! I just so happened to have my camera with me! (now, if you've ever gone to an outdoor eatery with 4 children and a dog, you'd know the 1st priority is NOT taking pictures...these are by no means award winning)

I was getting my camera out to capture Toby eating his "dog cone" but got distracted and couldn't find it in time...you can take my word for it....he LOVED it!

And then there is Jonah! We all love Jonah!

We had a great time on our Friday Fun Day!

A Cabin, A Lake, A Boat, OH MY!

We recently had a little family get away...well, sort of. My sister and parents rented a little (ok, huge and beautiful) cabin near the lake. Jonah and I drove out there in the evenings to crash their peaceful getaway! Actually, we were invited...Jonah was the guest of honor, you know! It was a really nice cabin with a wonderful view of the woods out back. Unfortunately, I did not take many pictures. Here is the best shot I can give you. Jonah is sitting on the back deck.The view from the front...not so nice! Oh how I wish I'd taken a photo of the view from the front porch. It was a classic old-school trailer park! Complete with rusty siding and detachable porches! In fact, we had to drive through the trailer park to find the cabin tucked away at the end of the cul-de-sac! Anyway...back to Jonah...and more interesting facts. On the last day of the cabin adventure my family rented a boat. We invited my favorite friends under 4 ft tall and had a blast. Jonathan was adventuresome and took the girls up on some rocks where they jumped into the lake. (this made me a little nervous, but he was ever so safe)


Boy did we have FUN! Everyone but Jonah had fun. Jonah's love of the water stops at the bathtub! Poor little guy was swallowed up with safety gear. He looked like a life jacket with legs and a hat! Well, here, see for yourself!

When we stopped to swim and have our little picnic dinner, we unbundled him. He even sat in the driver's seat with Grandpa!

Apparently we brought this little guy along as the afternoon's entertainment! He kept us laughing. Ben can be kind of shy and timid...until he warms up to his environment! He warmed right up...in fact, he was downright HOT! He started imitating animals...oh it was FUNNY. The blue heron was everyone fave!




What a fun little family outing! It was so nice out that day. We had the perfect weather. Now, if only there was no cold water spraying in our faces as we sped through the lake and no life jacket to inhibit mobility...it would have been perfect.