Strong Boy

Patrick was helping us move the old bedroom set so we could put the new stuff in the girls' new rooms. Not quite done yet but will post photos when I am. The girls were very excited to pick out their new bedding and it is completely different than what I originally bought them. Anna's is something a grandma would love (red floral) and Megan went with red, cream and navy, so perfect for my beach house someday....

Patrick keeps visiting his big boy bed which is being stored in my closet, not quite ready to release him from his cage, but we will need it in the pink room by November. The rest of his new furniture is set up and tethered to the wall now. Taking no chances with this climber. I am taking advantage of the 2nd trimester energy to get all these projects done now. Sean is so happy that painting is not one of the projects!

Grandma Marjie will like this

I took the girls to see a baby horse when our friends were here from Singapore. Megan inherits her suspicion of horses from me but Anna at least tried to feed one.

No Photos

Forgot to grab my camera on our mad rush out the door to go to Kansas City on Wednesday morning to meet Sean's mom, Nana. His dad, whom Anna has fully embraced calling Grandpops, had some meetings so he did not get to enjoy the full 20 hours of waterpark time at the Great Wolf Lodge. We were just happy to see them and it only involved 90 minutes of driving. 90 minutes of Patrick yelling "get down" which just made us thankful that we didn't follow up the drive with 2 flights and another 3 hours of driving to get to the Outer Banks. Sorry Keenan reunion, have a good time without us this year! I'm sure we can pull enough memories from other OBX trips to later convince us that we did in fact make it this year. I can only keep the OBX photos straight by analyzing which kids we had with us or how pregnant I was.

Anyway, even without photos I'm sure the kids won't forget this trip. Lots of waterslides with Nana and Grandpops and then a great dinner out in the middle of a big thunderstorm. Of course no trip to KC is complete now without me going to Nell Hill, working on baby girl room now. Nana took the girls to make necklaces at Urban Arts & Crafts while I spent more time hunting out large furniture items that I want for the next house. What is that weight limit when the army moves a major? Well, if I have to pitch all the toys then that is the price we pay to get that kitchen island moved... I anticipate a garage full of items that will make the movers grimace. Wait until they hear I want the good stuff crated, hahahahaha!!

Can't Stop This Hand

Here is Patrick dismantling the new child proof lock on the freezer. He ripped it off within seconds of spying it. How dare we attempt to stop his ice cream treat binges??

It's a Dalmation!

We had the girls open up a baby gift yesterday to find out if it's a boy or girl. You can see how oblivious Patrick is to the meaning. Yes, those are pink and brown polka dots, hard to see in the photo. Anna was thrilled of course and informed Sean that there will be 4 girls and only 2 boys in the house now. Megan finally admitted that she had hoped for a boy so that she could help paint the nursery which is currently pink. Yes, because I was going to let a 7 year go wild with real paint near real carpet?? As for names, Anna has informed us that since the baby is coming near her birthday, she will be choosing the name. Current front runners include Jill (from some video game?), Wonderwoman, Supergirl, Ginny (from Harry Potter), and Rainbow (who doesn't love a rainbow??). I am sensing a repeat of when Patrick was born and we would overhear her telling him that his name was really Eddie.

Regifting Stops Here

We have friends visiting from Singapore staying with us right now and they managed to get the full "welcome back to Kansas" treatment. They moved away last year shortly after the tornado and it was looking like another one could arrive the other night, as they were driving to our house. Suddenly dark out, blinding rain, trees bent over from the wind, good times. They managed to find our house, thanks to the trusty water tower landmark (again, helpfulness outweighs hideousness) and got soaked dashing into the house, where we promptly lost electricity.

To distract myself from being upset over the Bachelorette recording being interrupted, I managed to find about 74 candles that I have been given as gifts over the years. I had no idea I had so many... I would carry one into a room only to find that I had several there as decor already, so I just lit those up too. It smelled like the White Barn Candle store, do they still have those? Been too long since I was in a real mall, I have no idea. But they always smelled so good and I would waste a lot of time trying to pinpoint which scent it was. Turns out it was all of them combined unfortunately. Anyway, a good thing I decided a while ago to just enjoy the gifts I am given and not pawn them off on teachers when I needed last minute gifts. (My sister the teacher assured me that she would rather get gift cards, so gift cards it is now!).

I have also finally run out of all the lotions and such I have been given as gifts over the years too. Who knew there were so many different types for specific body parts. Hand lotion of course, general body lotion, foot lotion, tired leg lotion, cuticle lotion, super dry skin lotion, you get the idea. I have to stop typing lotion, the word has lost all meaning. Now before people get mad at me for breaking the regifting cycle, let me assure you, I have paid the price. Sometimes I can't get out of the bathroom because I have too much lotion on and can't turn the doorknob. I don't dare burn the candles at the same time, fear of candle fire getting out of control and getting trapped in there...

Junk

I went in to get Patrick up this morning and he was standing in his crib with all his toys and blankets thrown out as usual. What was not usual was that he was only wearing his pajama shirt, his junk just swinging in the breeze. He immediately pointed out his wet lump of a diaper in the corner. He hates getting his diaper changed so I was just glad to have the job half done already.

Flamingo Game?

We got a wonderful surprise in the mail today, a Flamingo game and unfortunately it did not say who sent it. The girls are loving it/fighting over it right now, so please let me know who sent it so they can send you a note. Many thanks as we are in the midst of yet another overcast afternoon with Patrick napping and the girls bored. Someday we will get to the pool again and the girls will be ready!

Patrick is boss

He insisted on eating his cherry icee thing with a fork and it almost worked. Once the hand got in there I had to intervene.

You sunk my battleship

Keeps him busy while the rest of us finish dinner. Sean insists these are not choking hazards.

Power Scribe Old Brain

Patrick and Anna try their hand at moonlighting. We've all heard the phrase "power scribe old brain" enough to know that is a common dictation that Sean has saved. Sean gets recognized for his efficiency on his shifts, wait until the other guys find out there are actually 3 of them working from this office.

Inconclusive

We tried to get a sneak peak at the baby this week since at 12 weeks it was really too early to tell the sex for sure. Well, I hope this isn't a reflection of personality because this baby would not cooperate. First there was dancing and kicking, then there was a hand in the way, then the legs were crossed, then the foot was tucked up there. We really don't do anything to prepare for the baby until we know the sex so kind of stuck here. I need to sort clothes and toys and plan a nursery and oh yes, discuss names. The girls are having lots of dramatic fights these days and Patrick is getting into all sorts of trouble involving pushing a chair around to help him climb, so really, I'm not thinking one gender is better than the other at this point....