It was said...

Well, it took 6 months, but we've heard the phrase, "I wish we didn't have that baby" for the first time this week.

Big sister wanted to leave the babysitter's house "right now" to head home and spend time with mommy, but mommy needed to get little brother into his car seat. Big sister didn't want to wait.

Poor big sister -- I guess she's finally realizing that he's not leaving.

You wouldn't tell by this photo that she didn't want him. She's really in love with him and little brother is infatuated with his big sister!

The Fair

Nothing says "county fair" like a ducky game and a big tractor tire, does it?

New videos

Big Sister reading her first book -- we ordered the Hooked on Phonics program and let me tell you -- it's AWESOME!

Little Brother thought mommy's monkey noises were SO funny! Too bad I had to run downstairs and grab my camera - so, let me tell you the laughs were a lot stronger before I got these shots!

Birthmark, part 2

We had our second session of laser treatment for the little brother's birthmark. The first treatment can be seen here. This time, the little guy had to be under anesthesia so they could treat a larger area and he wouldn't wiggle and scream!

He was so happy -- he always has this big smile on his face!

















































After the treatment, his right arm is really purple -- but, it doesn't hurt him at all. We just have to put vasoline on it and keep it covered up for about 2 weeks. We will start to see the benefit of the treatment in about 3-4 weeks.

Name that food...

Can you identify that food on my face?

I REALLY like food!

So, the little brother has taken a liking to baby food -- he just can't get enough of it right now. I feed him 3 times a day and he enjoys various cereals, applesauce, avocado, green beans, carrots and sweet potatoes. Soon to come: pears, mango and yogurt!

Family Night

The big sister has been having some 'issues' with being a big sister and has been acting out for attention -- she doesn't really care that it's negative attention, she just craves any attention at this point. I think it's because the little brother is getting bigger and is needing more attention -- eating baby food, starting to move/roll around, etc.

So, after a rough weekend of time-outs, spanking (yes, spanking -- even though my husband and I don't want to hit our children, we've gotten so angry and frustrated that our hands have hit her butt a few times -- it doesn't seem to do anything at this point) and taking away toys, we decided to put little brother to bed early and try to have some big sister bonding time.

We made pizza -- she LOVED adding the cheese! We also played some board games and just spent time with her one on one. It really seemed to make a difference in the evening. No one told us this parenting gig was so much work!

We have a TALKER!!

The newest talker in our family....

VBS, 2009

Not much time to write a long story...we'll save that for later....but, here are some picture highlights of our week last week: Vacation Bible School.





















Big Sister's first crush: "Matt" -- one of the junior high helpers. She wouldn't stop talking about Matt, "Guess what, Matt did this and Matt did that", "you know who the best helper is, Matt!"...and on and on.















...look at those dreamy eyes she has for Matt!

















Jeffrey, Holly & the Big Sister

A special overnight event...

This past weekend, the big sister was invited to spend the night at Grammy & Papa's house (okay, so maybe we asked them to take her for the weekend!)

They had big plans: to make a sash, like a Girl Scout would wear. The big sister got this idea from the movie UP. The little boy in the movie needed to earn a badge for his Boy Scout sash...so, the big sister wanted her own sash too!!

Being the great sewer that she is, Grammy agreed to help!

Take a look at that wonderful sash -- she's earned a popcorn badge (for watching a movie with Grammy), a pj party badge (for spending the night), a "me and my gal" badge (for being Grammy's gal for the weekend), a Cars badge (of course!) a soccer badge, a butterfly badge, a helping hands bead (for helping her little brother stop crying), heart bead (for showing love to a little boy at the babysitter's) and a star bead (for being a shining star -- having a positive attitude). So, I'd say she's on her way to becoming a full-fledged Girl Scout -- without even joining the 'real' scouts!