The things I thought I'd never have to say....

Our kids are each so completely different. I knew that would be the case, and I've been prepared to see their differences play out. Still amazes me sometimes though. Eli, as our first, is very independent, very stubborn, and fairly ornery. But his little sister is a whole different story. Kamdyn keeps us on our toes. She is always mirroring what big brother does, therefore, she's learned/picked up a lot of things that Eli didn't start doing until he was 2 or older. But other than that, Kamdyn is sneaky. SO sneaky. She's one of those kids you can't trust to be by herself for long or she's getting into some kind of mischief. She's one of those kids that if she's quiet for too long, you know she's getting into something she probably shouldn't. This isn't something we've really had to deal with with Eli yet (and there may be no hope for Parker as the 3rd:)) Kamdyn is just a quiet little thing; she's so cute and sweet you just don't think she's going to get into trouble. So not true! It's her quietness and cuteness that make her so sneaky. She can get away with stuff because we don't normally suspect her of wrong-doing (this is quickly changing because we've seen all kinds of ornery come out of this little pixie). If you leave her alone in a room, she's likely to find the one thing she's not supposed to get, and she will be cute about misbehaving (I'm thinking the teenage years are going to be a nightmare!!!)

Anyways, that brings me to the point of this post. Our ornery little middle child......she loves to color....on ANYTHING. And I do mean anything. I can't tell you how many times i've walked into a room and seen her with something to color. It's not like we even leave pens and markers lying around. She just has the amazing ability to find the single pen or crayon in the room and use it for her "artwork" She's colored on walls, tables, floors, and even her baby brother. Seriously. The kids and I were up at Encore (the dance studio I work at) last week. Between me and Jodi (the owner), we have 6 kids, 6 and under up there. I get to watch them.....thankfully they all play well together. It's like having other siblings, only better because they aren't around to bug each other all the time:) But our kids have grown up together and love each other. Anyways, Parker and their youngest, Barron are just 11 weeks apart. Barron was upset and Parker was content, so I put him in the back room with the big kids while I went up front with Barron to help some people out. I was gone only about 5 or 10 minutes. I can hear the kids from the front. No one was upset. So they just stayed and played. Walked back into the room to find our baby a piece of art....
I was a little shocked. Not what I expected to see when I walked through the door to check on the kids:) Go figure, Kamdyn got the ONE marker that wasn't a special color wonder marker (ones that only show color on a special paper) and used it to color all over her unsuspecting baby brother. It was hilarious. One of those moments where you have to try to have a teachable moment without laughing. I mean seriously......it's not okay to just go around coloring on people. Well, anything except for paper ( a point we apparently have failed to teach to our daughter). But this was so funny. And Parker was just as happy and could be. I walked in and he was all smiles for me. He apparently didn't care that he was used as an art canvas. And Kamdyn....man she was so proud of herself it was almost cute. I walked in and she immediately said, "mommy, pretty!!" HA! Yes he's pretty, but that's not cool. So I took the marker away and put it on the front counter where hopefully it is drying out so it is no longer usable:) Thankfully it was washable. It came right off in the bath and Parker was no worse for the wear. Like I said, he seemed to like his little artwork on his body. And it got lots of smiles from anyone who saw him.
Here's are handsome little piece of art before he got cleaned up in the bath. So handsome, even with pink/purple marker on him!

So some things I didn't necessarily think I'd ever have to say before I became a parent......

don't eat your boogers!! (seriously, this was never a problem with Eli. I had to tell Kamdyn more than once in a single day. Gross!)

don't color on your brother!

Never a dull moment in the life of a parent:)

Happenings

So I had every intention of showing some Easter pictures to you all....but apparently they haven't made it onto my jump drive yet. So you will just have to settle for some pictures of recent happenings around here!

We have been loving the warm weather, and have been spending lots of time outside. Lots of time at the park with friends. Soaking up that vitamin D! Loving it too. This kind of weather makes me so happy:)

Parker went in the swing for the first time.....he's getting so big!!
Checking out the "zoo" at riverside park. Really it's mostly birds and turtles, but the kids think it's cool. And I think that park is pretty sweet too.
Picking flowers:) Someday he will realize that these weeds are everywhere and you can't get rid of them if your life depended on it. For now, it's cute to see him get excited about picking flowers for me:)

Such beautiful blue eyes!

The kids and their pal Conrad.

Throwing rocks in the water. Life is good. Thanks Derek for picking rocks out for them over and over for 30 minutes!!Hoping lots more of this beautiful weather is in our future. Gotta take it while we can.....I have a feeling it's going to be hot hot hot this summer! (Makes me SO thankful that I'm not huge and pregnant this year!!!)

She adores him

I found these old pictures when I was uploaded pictures off my camera....so I had to share:)

Our kids adore their baby brother. So much so that it can sometimes be borderline too much:) Only in the sense that they have no concept of this poor boy's personal space and bubble. But I will take it....and it melts my heart to see the love they have for him. Makes me even more thankful for his place in our family!

But while they both love him, there is nothing quite like a big sister's love. Kamdyn is just smitten over her baby brother Parker. Whenever he is on the floor, she is right there laying beside him. She is always the first to give him toys, his paci, sing him a song, or even read him stories. So sweet:) This particular day, he was just hanging out doing some tummy time, and Kamdyn came over to talk to him. She plopped down next to him and talked to him and kept trying to give him kisses. Precious big sister (even though he will probably outgrow her by 2!). I can only hope and pray that the bond between all our children stays this strong,sweet, and innocent (Hey, I may be delusional, but a mom can dream, right?!?).