Science Fair 2014

 The kids wanted to participate in the science fair this year at school. I could not bring myself to do three different experiments so we did the same one three separate times and they will each get to do their own boards. The end of the year is upon us and I am about at the end of my rope.

 We made elephant toothpaste for the experiment and it was so much fun. Dish soap, peroxide bleach, some food coloring. Add yeast and watch the fun!

The experiment is exothermic but the end result is simple soap foam. Perfectly safe for the kids to play with. They were so excited to play with the results!

Favorite Stage

Miss Lucy is now at my favorite tooth stage ever. I love the two missing front teeth, gap toothed grin. Something so elementary aged about it. And just in time for us to get family pictures done! Lucy is very dramatic about pulling teeth out. In fact there were a lot of tears when it did finally come out. But mostly because she was afraid she had swallowed it. She loves to just let the teeth dangle in her mouth. Totally unbelievable to me who has never had a loose tooth that I did not wiggle out the very same hour. To each their own!

Brotherly LOVE

 The big brother/little brother bond is strong. Normally Ollie clings to Andrew but this morning Zane was a big fun plaything. My babies are blessed to have each other. No one is ever lacking a friend at this house.

Undies!

 I dread potty training. I mean, I like the end result to pieces but the process? Meh. Not a fan. So it was with great trepidation I started down this road with Reid. How did I know when to start? When he actually pooped on the potty for me. In my opinion, if they are not willing to do the poo on the toilet there is no point in actually even starting the process. Because I can deal with a lot of things but poo wars are not one of them. Anyway. Reid did the poo and he has figured out how to pee on command so I knew that we could start down the road. We are going with the trusty pull ups until we are trustworthy for telling when we need to go. So far we are only running one accident a day or so. I expect him to be quite solid within the next week and ready for undies. Waiting for the kid to be ready makes for a very pleasant and positive potty training experience. Go Reid Go!

George Washington?

 The big 5th grade project at the local elementary school is our 'Night of the Notables'. Although it is no longer at night, the project has remained the same. Andrew decided he wanted to be George Washington and do his project on him. I have been impressed with how hard he has worked on this project and his costume is just straight up adorable. And don't worry about the lack of a smile. He informed me that George Washington never smiled in pictures so he couldn't either.
 

Another Tooth Fairy Trip!

Some kids are tooth wigglers and some let them dangle long past when they should. Lucy is a kid that lets her teeth dangle. That front tooth would have been out of my mouth 2 weeks before she finally yanked it. It was ridiculously loose. But today at church she pulled it out and we are happy to need the tooth fairies services again tonight. I think the missing front teeth look is my favorite kid stage.

Pneumonia for Two

While Oliver had a very nice doctor appointment, the same was not true for Reid and Lucy. Last Friday Lucy woke up in the early morning with a really tight and nasty sounding cough. It was almost a barking croup sound and since I did not want to deal with the walk-in clinic in the middle of the weekend I took her in. Ultimately they heard crackling on her right side and diagnosed her with pneumonia. When Reid came down with a fever on Sunday and then started a similar tight sounding cough, I knew he needed to be seen when I took Ollie in for his well child check. I already had piggybacked an appointment for Lucy on to Ollie's and I was so thankful that they allowed me to have Reid seen too. Diagnosis: Pneumonia. Lucy's chest sounded so much better than last week and her antibiotics have a couple of days of work left in them. Reid started his round today. I am ready for my house to be all healthy again!

Oliver Benjamin: 1 Year Well Child Check

Oliver has been a sweet and healthy little man and I was happy to take him in to get looked at for his one year old well child check. Not surprisingly he is doing fantastic and growing like a weed. He showed off his walking and climbing skills in the room for the doctor, and his verbal/communication skills are all right on track. So nice to have a pleasant, not sick doctor visit once in awhile.

Height: 30.5" (74%)
Weight: 23 lbs. 10 oz. (82%)

Mother's Day

I stole the idea from a friends facebook page and made my own for Mother's day. When you have the right number of kids for the word you just need to take advantage of the moment. I love these little people that have made me a mom. I couldn't ask for a better bunch!

Ollie's First Birthday

We celebrated Ollie in farm fashion for his first birthday. We had a BBQ as part of our celebration with friends and family.

He was thrilled!

 Ollie was not terribly sure about the cake. He liked it in theory but then discovered just how messy he was and stopped eating. He fussed for napkins and to get wiped up.

Ollie got some fun toys and cute clothing for his birthday. It was a wonderful day altogether! Happy Birthday baby boy!

Happy First Birthday Oliver Benjamin!

And just quick as a wink, Oliver is 1. I can hardly believe that it has been a year but I also barely remember what it was like before he was a part of the family. We will love on him at home today and then celebrate him this weekend. So excited to see what Ollie's second year of life brings!

New Hips

Life has been crazy at our house lately with all the kiddos and school and everything. There is a piece though that I guess should be mentioned. Eric needs hip replacement for hip dysplasia and it needs to happen this year. The last year has been rough with Eric being in increasing amounts of pain from normal daily life activities. We went bowling a few weeks ago and he fell several times. I add this to the blog just to put it all in perspective. The kids know that he is hurting and unable to do things. They understand that after he gets them replaced and recovers he will be back to super fun daddy again. Right now he struggles to be super fun daddy because of the pain. This weekend Lucy was telling a friend about it and she said, "My dad is going to get his hips cut off this summer. I am going to need a place to stay." It was so sweet and sad all at the same time. Looking forward to this part of life to be fixed and through!

Math Olympiad 2014

Andrew participated in Math team again this year. He has had such a good time doing math and learning ways to stretch his mind mathematically. This time around the competition was held at his elementary school which was super convenient. In fact I even went and helped with the score entering which was fun. It was exciting to be part of this event. Andrew's team unfortunately did not win a medal or a ribbon but they came close! He was very bummed about the lack of a ribbon but up until then he had a fabulous time. I am just going to focus on that piece of it. It will be fun to have more kids participate in this in the future if they qualify. Only time will tell!

Blueberry Baby

I have a similar picture for almost everyone of my kids. What is it about their sweet messy purple faces that I love so much!?!