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?!?).

7 months

My baby is 7 months old. I'm not really sure how that happened. I feel like it was just yesterday that I was checking into the hospital to have him. In reality, I've visited 4 friends since then who have had babies. WHAT?!? He's getting to be my big man now. His first tooth just popped through. It's so stinking cute to see that tiny little white speck when he gives me his big cheesy grins. But now it's official....with a tooth, sitting in a high chair scarfing down baby food, drinking (if you can call it that:)) from a sippy cup, almost sitting, and 7 months old....Parker is closer to being a toddler now than a baby. Tear:( It's so exciting and so sad all at the same time. I do cherish the baby year, and am planning on soaking up every little bit of it I can. Because in just 5 short months, I'm going to have a 1 year old (and a 4 year old, and almost 3 year old....YIKES!! Three toddlers....might just be a little bit like a nightmare;)). So here's to the last 5 months of Parker's babyhood! Man he's such a cutie!!

zoo

We go to the zoo a lot. It's close, cheap (once you shell out the dough for a membership), and has a lot of room for the kids top run wild. We usually go at least once a week in the spring and summer. Last week, we went three days in a row. Maybe a bit excessive, but the weather was gorgeous and the kids had a blast. And we got out of the house and burned off some energy with friends. Guess that's all that really matters. Plus, we probably already would have paid for the membership by now:). Such good time with some great girlfriends and their kids. It was fun to play around with my camera too. I feel like I am almost a pro at handling this thing now! Well, maybe I won't go that far, but I was fun to mess around with all the settings and get some fun pictures.

Parker was there too. This is the proof. He doesn't walk yet, so there is no other visual proof of his presence:) He was such a good little man too. Sitting up like a big boy in the stroller (tear:()She was afraid of the goats (even though they were behind a fence) So she just hung out behind the stroller for protection and to help me push.
The new fun game at the zoo. Climb up the posts and throw stuff into the water. Geez, people gotta learn how to watch their kids:)
Goofball.
Such a pretty little thing. She was checking out the giraffes. One of mommy's personal favorites!
So sweet! Conrad and Kamdyn, bff's, perhaps future boyfriend/girlfriend, just hanging out holding hands. She loves her friends. And she thinks their mommies are pretty awesome too. Conrad's mommy, Allison, is a personal favorite of Kamdyn's:)

Nerf Wars

We've been having fun and having battle with our nerf guns lately. So we've had to spend some time practicing out skills. Gotta get the reflexes in tip top shape for our wars with friends. Never give up!

Clearly we are pretty intense. So you better watch your backs. We take no prisoners.

We've upgraded from milk

I finally got Parker started on "big boy" food:) I seem to be doing things so much slower with him that I did with the other two. Part of it is laziness, but really, I just want this handsome little man to freeze. So. Stinking. Cute. And lovable. I don't want him to change, or grow up, or talk back. Ever. Oh well, wishful thinking. And I'm sure I would eventually tire of 330 am feedings and changing his diaper. But for now, I'm perfectly content and don't want this to change.

Moving on....the nuts and bolts of the post. I started Parker on baby food (a couple of weeks ago...baby steps, I'm getting caught up!) He's had cereal and oatmeal and loves them both, but he's never had anything that doesn't taste like cardboard:) We started with peas. Mostly because it's probably the most disgusting of all the options (in my opinion). He didn't love them, but he didn't really hate them either. Since then, he's also had green beans and squash. He seems to really like those......so peas are really the only dislike so far. Again, can't really blame him here, but that's why I started there. It only gets better. So, to the pictures.....

Warning: there are probably far more pictures than are necessary for a baby food post. But I can't help it. He is so darn cute. I can't take enough pictures. And those blue eyes....don't even get me started on those eyes. I love them. Besides, I don't think any of the grandparents are complaining (at least I know my mom isn't:))