Sleepover!

Tonight the boys had their very first sleepover! Adan came over to play and stay the night with us.  We have had such a fun day!  The kids played in the yard, and rode bikes in the neighborhood, and after dinner, we went to the park (the boys rode their bikes) to play, and then we came back home for ice-cream sundaes :)  It was so much fun watching them play together, and as we were walking to the park, watching David and Adan speed along on their bikes, I was remembering the first time they played together.  Time goes by so fast! I can't believe how big my boys are getting, and that they are actually old enough to have a friend over!

Fireworks!!

This year we introduced our boys to fireworks.  Yes, they are 3 and 5 and have never seen fireworks.  I didn't really understand that until I told them we were going to watch the fireworks tonight and they said, "Mommy, what are fireworks?" Oh my! They were in for a treat.  The Hemingways (minus a sick Tadj) joined us and we had ice cream sundaes then went across the street to our neighbors' yard where there is an awesome view of the fireworks!  They had a firepit set up and the kids made s'mores. Lots of fun!  There were sparklers for the kiddos too, and except for David's little finger burn (he found out the hard way they stay hot on the ground) those were fun to watch.  Here are some pics of our fun late evening.

Artificial Flavors, please!!

So today my Mom relates this story to me:
While caring for the children during my work day today, David says to her, "Nana, can I ask you a favor?"  "Sure, honey," Mom says, "what is it?"  "When we have our sleepover when Mommy and Daddy go on their trip, can we PLEASE have some artificial flavors? I miss my Cookie Crisp."  Mom said she couldn't stop laughing, and she told him she'd ask me...what am I to do?? :)

The Best Birthday Ever!!

Yesterday, I tuned thirty-one years young, and I must say, I think it was the best birthday yet. I woke up to little David and Andrew telling me "Happy birthday, Mommy" every time I opened my sleep-filled eyes. Then, we went to the closing of our Ashley house! Finally sold! What an amazing blessing, and a huge answer to prayer!  That by itself would've made my day, but that was just the beginning.  Joe set up 2.5 hours at the salon for me and took the afternoon off work to care for the  kids, while I had a haircut, highlights, and a manicure!  Then  I came home to a boquet of flowers from Joe and my wonderful mom (who 31 years ago endured 36 hours of labor with NO pain medication!!) took care of the kids for the evening while Joe and I had dinner at the Hill and went to an amazing Chris Tomlin/Tobymac concert at DTE!  We hadn't been to a concert in six years so it was so awesome, and the worship was sooooo good.   What a blessing to praise the Lord with the love of my life and like a thousand brothers and sisters!  Besides all of that all the birthday phone calls and texts and facebook messages and gifts from my wonderful family were so sweet.  I am so blessed and thankful for the year that has past and for a great start to this one!

My favorite worship song!! It was the first song that started when we reached our seats! I was soooo glad to be there for it!

Hilarious

Andrew today:  "David, don't leave the (baby) gate open! Our baby sister could fall down the stairs and then we will have no baby sister because Mommy doesn't have another one in her tummy and she said she isn't buying any more!" Andrew's stern expression and serious tone left David silent, and he shut the gate! I love these hilarious children of mine.  The laughter that breaks up the monotony of cleaning and cooking, and wiping noses and scraped knees. Thank you Lord!

Googly Eyes

My funny boys in their first swim goggles! I love these little kids!

Our First Slip and Slide!!

Yay for summer!! Target had a slip and slide on sale for 3.99 and I just had to buy one :)  Today we tried it out for the first time and had a blast. It wasn't super slippery so I added dish soap (training from my Wildwood days :) and we had a bubble slide!  Here are some pics of our slippery afternoon!

Andrew the Nudist :)

So, after swim lessons today I was changing Bella and taking a call from a friend with a sick child, and meanwhile it seems Andrew was following my directions to start getting changed.  When I finished with the baby, I couldn't find Andrew.  Finally, I see him through the patio door, on the back deck, STARK NAKED, holding a tool box!!  When I asked what he was doing, he said, "I'm going to work on the climber with David." He was not sure why I thought he should come in. :) And yes, I took a picture before I brought him in :) I love this little guy!

First Swimming Lesson of the Summer!

Summer has officially started!! To commemorate this very important day, we had our first swim lesson at Lakefront Park! The boys had a very nice time and a good lesson with their teacher.  Afterwards we played in the pool for a little while before we had to take Bella home for her nap :)  Here are some pics of our first day of summer 2010.   The bottom picture is of the boys sitting on the deck before their lesson.  I found them like this outside, playing with their yo-yos.  I asked David what they were doing, and he said,"We're just having a little chat." I had to get the camera out to document this brotherly bonding time :)

Father's Day

What a fun day! We got up earlly (as usual in our house!), gave Daddy his gifts (a super-soaker watergun and some Tigers tickets :) and then walked to Big Boy for breakfast (the boys rode their bikes).  We spent the afternoon relaxing at home(the boys wanted to snuggle with Daddy!!) then went to the swim park .  Daddy worked on swimming skills with the boys (they actually started jumping in off the side of the pool!! )--he made more progress with them in two days than two months of swim lessons in Warren! We really enjoyed spending the day with the World's Greatest Daddy and we are so blessed to have him! Here are some pics of Daddy with his three musketeers (of course they don't all look at the camera at the same time) and Bella wearing her pretty dress for Daddy's day .  We love you honey!

The Dress

         Here is Arabella, on the afternoon of her first birthday celebration, wearing Mommy's first dress.  Yes, it's true! This dress was given to me by my mom, who tells me she bought it at KMart while she was expecting me and brought me home from the hospital in it. (It was really big, but she had to have it and loved it!) I was so excited to have Arabella wear it, and since it was quite large for her last summer it seemed like a good first birthday outfit :)  The youngest member of the family, wearing the oldest piece of clothihg (30 years old!!).  Amazing!

Reading Lessons!

Well, it's summer! Time for more...school :) No, not really, but I am trying to be very intentional about keeping the education going this summer as Andrew will be starting preschool and David full day (eek!) kindergarten in the fall.  So, we are doing these awesome handwriting flashcards with puzzles on them that David got for his birthday (thanks Meriweathers! :) and some activity books, and my modified version of "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons"...and today just kinda ended up doing the "at" words and whoa! The boys were both READING!! Sounding out words, phonetically ! Yippee! I am not sure which of us was more excited (Andrew was pretty over the top :) but I am still geeked and it's 10:30 at night.  Who says learning isn't fun?? I'm so excited about this summer!  Not just the reading, the pool and the sun and all too!

Fun Times This Spring!

Well, between packing, rennovating, and moving, it's been a very busy spring for our family, but we have found time to add in lots of fun times! Here are some pics of all the fun we've been having: first ladybugs of the season, Andrew's first time rolling pie dough, playdate with Grayson, painting! (Bella's first painting session!), and smiles galore :) Pics of karate and Splash Village will be in separate posts, along with posts about all the preschool fun we had! Our busiest spring EVER, but a good one!

Arabella is one year old!

It's hard to believe that our first year with our little Arabella is complete, but alas it is true! Our little princess is now one! We celebrated on her birthday with TCBY and we gave her our family gift to her (a stroller/walker in pink, of course :) and then had a big birthday party for both her and David on the 13th with friends and family. It was lots of fun, just like our little Bella. She is such an easy-going, happy little girl, but as she is getting older she is showing us the fiery side of her spirit :) Still the best Amini sleeper ever, and with the best squinty-eyed, wrinkle-nose smile in the world! I have really enjoyed this year, having a daughter. I love dressing her up and I even painted her little fingernails a bit ago :) Arabella has been a true joy and delight for our family, and is just adored by her big brothers, and her parents! Thank you , Father, for my "answered prayer" (the meaning of "Arabella")! You are so good! Happy Birthday little one! We love you sooooo much!

Big Birthday Bash

Since our "June babies" have birthdays so close together, we decided to throw a big birthday bash for the both of them at once this year! It was so much fun! Daddy barbequed hamburgers and hotdogs and Mommy made lots of salads and two cakes, a strawberry one for our Arabella, who would eat nothing else if we let her, and a chocolate one for our David, who has inherited his Mommy's sweet tooth :) With just family and close friends it was a party of 23, with 10 of those children. There was swimming (a big kid pool and a baby pool), riding toys, a pinata, favors, and super soaker squirt gun antics (that involved adults too :), and lots of presents! It was a whirlwind to me, but everyone (especially the birthday kids!) had lots of fun --success!!