BABY's HERE

This is Danny. We had the little piggy, ie 9 pounds 2oz @ 3:53 pm Mom & baby doing great!!! Say lots of prayers that she can come home ontime :-) we just saw the doctor and so far so good. We love Mountain View!!! Sooooo much better than the other one. Send pictures later. This was done on my i-touch at the hospital. Technology rocks!
Danny & Melinda & (patent pending) Lauren

Dear Alex..

Ahhh... my dear Alex. Living with you is so interesting. I have often said that you could push Mother Teresa to the drink, but you also keep life very interesting. There is never a dull moment with you around.
  Like today, when I noticed that you and Alaina were nowhere to be found, and I realized that both of your bikes were missing, too. Uncle Justin found them at the Darrington's house, down the road, but no one answered there when we called. So down I went to investigate. And yes, you were there, with Alaina. Too bad the Darringtons weren't there, too. You had just helped yourself into their house through the garage and basement doors. I'm sure Alaina was a willing accomplice, but whereas when she was caught she was shaking in her boots and kept saying how sorry she was, you happily showed me the toys you were playing with and seemed oblivious to the fact that you were in someone else's house without them there.
  Ahh.. and then tonight at Danny's work party. Everyone was gathering at the park where there were hot dogs and chips and toys, but most of all for you, inflatable bounce houses. But the one you wanted to go on the most was the super tall one with the slide that landed in water. Much like this one here.We tried to get you to wait. But then we heard cheering and Dad said, "That's Alex!" and pointed to the slide. I was fully prepared to see you in your clothes, drenched and wet on the slide. But, no. You were still climbing up that huge ladder. Completely naked. I will never forget the image of your backside going up while you were cheered on from below. What does a mother do? I ran for a towel just as I saw you reach the top and turn and give everyone a big wave, before your joyous ride down to the bottom. You landed in the water to much applause and cheering, while one of Dad's bosses beside me said, "Now it's a party!" You were so happy you ran across the lawn to meet me and tell me all about how you had gone down the slide.
  Being the good mother that I am, while putting on your swimming trunks and trying to scold you and explain to you that we don't go around naked, I think you missed the point, since I couldn't stop laughing.
  Yes, today was probably one of our proudest moments as parents. And to think, this may never have happened if we hadn't left our camera at home.
  You are crazy and impulsive and will probably kill us off early, but at least you do know how to have fun. And, how to get a party started. We love you for it.
                                                                                              Love, Mom and Dad

Start of Summer- Part 1

 

I am going to try to do a quick rundown of our summer, a few parts at a time.  We had such a fun, busssy summer and I don't want to forget so much of it!!

So, going really far back, our summer started with graduations. Alaina from her first year of pre-school,

 and Tristan from Kindergarten!! They both had soo much fun and made great memories.

This is Tristan's teacher Mrs. Blackburn

and her helper Mrs. Misty. Tristan loved them both!

They had activities and games for the kids and siblings after the graduation.

Alex and I both had our first paino recitals!! This was a big deal for both of us. It was a real challenge to get Alex to grasp the concept of written music, etc. but now he is really coming along.

He was very excited to play on the "big piano" and wanted to take it home. But what I really loved was that while he played he kept looking out at the people in the audience and smiling, and he sang along with his last song. You can't hear it in the video, but after his last song he stood onstage for a second and then said, "Excellent!"

 The kids played in the sprinklers a lot and one day Alex decided to strip naked and get completely covered in mud. You couldn't even tell he was naked, he was so muddy! And, he tracked it all through the house before I saw him. Thank goodness he stayed out of the living room!! This piture was after the water had already washed some off. Before that, there was no skin showing.

 We were making roast for dinner one Sunday, and so we seared it before putting it in the crock pot. After leaving it for a minute, we came back to find Emme helping herself to it. She had just climbed up there on her own and was going to town with that thing. (Sorry the pictures are blurry, but they were so funny that I still had to put them on here.) I don't know if Danny has ever been prouder. :)

And I think that's enough for today!! 

I Promise, we're still alive

You know you really need to post, when your husband keeps telling you that you need to. How weird is that?? So, I will start downloading some pics of our summer, but since that will take about 3 years, in the meantime here are some funny things the kids have said.
Tonight- Alaina- "Mom! Your belly is getting so big!"
              Me- "I know! Why is that?"
             "Because a baby is growing inside! And your bottom is getting big, too!"
             "Is it? Why?"
            "Because the baby is growing in there, too!"
            "Ummm... no, it's just growing in my belly."
            "But... it's getting so big!"
        
But just to even out the score, Emme, who frequently pushes on my chest and says, "Baby!" tonight also pushed on Danny's stomach and joyously proclaimed, "Baby!"

Recently as I was putting Tristan to bed, he was lamenting that he had to sleep alone in his own room. (Poor kid, has to have his own room.) "Mom, when will I sleep in bed with you? You sleep with Daddy every night!"

Tristan is very excited for this baby. But I think he would like to have another boy around here. He told me, "Yeah, and after this baby we can have a boy, and then another boy, and another, and then another one." Hmmm.... you keep hoping Tristan!