Our Lovable Pooch

Bobo has not realized that he has grown. He is determined to get into this basket. The below picture shows what happens after a couple minutes.

Yup, he tips it over and falls out. Sorry Bobo. We love you, but we're not spending $50 on a dog bed for ya!

Marbles with Carrie, Ada, and Sam

On Thursday we met Carrie, Ada, and Sam at Marbles. This was our first visit to Marbles. I was excited for Maddie and Ry to experience it, and even more excited to see Carrie, Ada, and Sam. Carrie and Josh are some of our best friends from Virginia. They lived across the street from us. And we have spent a couple summers enjoying a week at the beach together.

Hello Carrie, Ada and Sam.

Madeline and Ryan say "ahoy" from the top of the pirate ship.

This is one of my favorite pictures. After climbing up the plank, Madeline turns around and holds her hand out to Ryan. Ryan rarely accepts these gestures, but this time he did. One of my ongoing prayers for them is that they will be close friends and that they will be like iron sharpening iron to one another.

Though Matt and I think that Ry looks like me, there seems to be a lot of Matt in this picture. My fiercely, independent boy was so fun at this play area. He wanted Mommy to experience everything with him, so he grabbed my hand and brought me everywhere, directing me to sit down in certain spots or to climb through different things. It was so fun.

There's the Ry guy driving the bus.

Madeline accompanies Ryan on an ambulance ride.

Ryan takes my order (I'm a bit nervous about it because the boy does not know how to write and I don't think his memory is that great). :)

Can you tell that someone knows "the pose"? I love every ounce of girl there is in Madeline!

Playing chess together.

This is my sweet Madeline. This picture is so "her". The stance, the smile, the look.

The balls were a huge hit with the kids (and Mommy too). Yes, it's a germ fest, but who does not have great memories of jumping into balls as kids??? And these balls are not just any balls, they are peas. . .and when you look closely, you can find carrots, too. I could not resist, so I jumped into the balls with them, pushing Ryan down, which he loved, and going on "adventures" with Madeline.

The hockey ring was Ryan's favorite part of the museum. I wish we could bring it home! Ryan was so excited about wearing this jersey, until he realized that it was way too big and was getting in the way of his shooting. :)

This is another picture that I absolutely love. Any tender moment between the kids captures my heart. Here Ryan embraces his sister. And this time it did not turn into a wrestling match.

There they go, down the slide and into the balls.

My handsome boy, the hockey player.

Here they find their groove.

I was laughing so hard at Madeline and Ryan. As you pedal these bikes, the windmills at the top of the pole, which are attached to the bikes, begin to spin. Mirrors are attached to the front of the bike so that you can watch the windmills rotate. Of course, the mirror was too boring. Maddie and Ry insisted in contorting their necks to observe the rotations above their heads. Too funny!

Time with Friends

Guess who came over for a visit last night? One of our favorite red heads. . .Jackson. Since Maddie accompanied Daddy to visit baby Ellie, Mommy got some boy time. I LOVE boys. They are so much fun and the things they say to each other and do to each other are hilarious. Within minutes of entering our house, the pair of them (Ry and Jack) were chasing each other in circles, wrestling, "hi-yaying" each other, and squealing. Though few words were exchanged, I could tell they were bonding. It just cracks me up.

For dinner we had chicken nuggets, fish sticks, bananas and apples. Definitely not the healthiest, but I was not in the mood to cook. I am so used to my children who eat and are quickly ready to be excused. Have any of you sat through a meal with Jackson. The boy savors each bite. I think we sat around the table for 30 minutes while he ate 1 nugget, 1 fish stick, and 1 small apple slice. I love seeing different personalities in children. Courtney told me that he had never eaten a fish stick. I put one on his plate and thought he could try it if he wanted to. When he was done with his nugget, he chose the fish stick instead of another nugget. It was funny to watch his first bite. I could tell that he knew it tasted different, and he was pondering it. I did not say anything and before I knew it, he was eating more of it. One of my favorite things, is to watch children experience "firsts". Oh. . .I also introduced Jackson to the Twinkie (Courtney, don't worry, it was not a whole one. . .just part :)). It was hilarious. At first he wanted NOTHING to do with it. He accused me of trying to feed him cheese. Ryan and I pleaded with him to take a bite. We both told him that he would like it. After having him smell it and telling him it was like cake, he decided to take a bite. He then excitedly exclaimed, "I like this". And after stuffing the rest of it in his mouth, he said, "Ms. Yaren, can I have more cake". So. . .the boys and Mommy had some fun last night!

Last week we met the Shortlidge's at the Morrisville playground for some playtime for the kids and the dogs. Bobo and Jessica's dog, Rocco, are buds. Here is Madeline acting extremely silly. She does not get into these moods often, but I LOVE when she does. She makes me laugh so hard, that after two pregnancies and deliveries, you know what I'm doing.

Madeline, Jessica, and Ryan have become such good friends.

Okay, I'm laughing just looking at this picture. So stinking silly!!!

I think a sign of living in suburbia is when your children are fascinated by worms. . .it's really some of the only "wildlife" they see. They must have spent at least 30 minutes turning over rocks searching for worms. At first Madeline and Ryan were too scared to pick them up, but I would have NONE of that. I refuse to have children scared of worms. . .that's just way too prissy. Though, I confess, I hate picking them up because they are dirty and slimy.