Marshmallows

So I guess Jacob likes marshmallows...

excuse the horribly messiness that is my house!!!

Harvest Time!!

Alright, alright! Here's the harvest post Binga!!! :) And Mia, I cannot believe you don't know what a combine looks like!! Tell your Daddy he should be ashamed! ;)

We went out west for a couple days to "help" with harvest. We got to ride with Aunt Cara & Uncle Terry and Grandpa Frank! They happened to be cutting close by, so it was easy to see both of them in the short time we were there. I love harvest. That was probably my favorite thing about summer growing up. I mostly rode in the wheat trucks with either Mom, my great Aunt Lois, or my cousin Becky (sometimes Beth). Once in a while I'd ride the combine with Grandpa Frank or Dad (those are the harvests I remember, anyway! I know I rode with Grandpa & Grandma Stinemetz during harvest, I just don't remember). I just feel so at home out there. It's peaceful and it feels good to see something that big accomplished!

So anyway, this time I convinced Kim to let us take Jake along!!! Anna and Jake were beyond excited! Although neither one of them had a nap Sunday afternoon, they didn't sleep on the way out there! They were much too excited! I think I might have to end every sentence in this paragraph with ! That's how excited they were! :)

We arrived around 5:30 Sunday evening. We stopped on the way and grabbed supper. I think I was asked at least 20 times "Are we there yet????" We hadn't gotten 5 miles out of town and Anna saw a combine. She got excited and said "JAKE!!! That's my combine! We're almost there!!!" hahaha She still had an hour to go! :) I think Aunt Cara was just as excited to see us!

Jacob surprised me...I figured he would be over-the-top excited about all these huge wheels and tractors. But I think it was a little too noisy for him. Once we got inside the tractor and sat down and started moving, he was fine. Then he got excited about seeing the combine pass by.


Jake and Anna rode in the combine with my cousin TJ and his girlfriend Marissa. They were so excited (I think I'm going to use that phrase a lot in this post!!!).

Hi Mommy!!!

So excited, in fact, that they didn't even make it 2 rounds before they fell sound asleep!!! HA See how Jake is still holding on to the door handle?! Isn't that funny? I honestly don't know how the drivers stay awake. There's something about a combine in motion that is very soothing and methodical...puts ya right to sleep!

Marissa was a champ and held them both in her lap, sound asleep (that's about 65+ lbs. of dead weight!) for quite a while.

Grunt! (translation: I'm so excited! I see a combine!!!)

I just love this one.

I wasn't prepared for staying out in the field for so long Sunday evening (I don't know why I thought we wouldn't!). So I didn't bring any extra drinks or snacks! Luckily Cara's got some extra cans of pop with their suppers, so Jake & Anna shared a Pepsi. They were THIRSTY!

They also shared their cookies with the kids. I told them "Look at me!" so they did...and looked right into the sun! I wasn't thinking!! Jake looked up and said "Ooohhh! Dat da sun!"

Anna got these cowboy boots a long time ago, and even now, they're too big. But she loves them. And I love her in them! :)

Riding with Uncle Terry to go dump the grain cart.

Oh boy! Look out!! Jake's driving the "brrrum brrrum"! :)

I think this might have been all the kids' favorite part of the trip...riding in the semi! Anna and Jake sat in the sleeper and just thought it was the greatest and funniest thing in the world! Jacob sat on my lap up front and had his arm up on the widow checking everything out. He LOVED the horn. He did his perfect "o" face and looked around to see where the noise came from. I'm not sure if Jacob or Uncle Terry liked it more! :)

Gus. The giant Anatolian Shepard! For as big as he is, he loved the kids. Anna & Jake were scared to death of him, but Jacob wasn't the least bit scared! Gus loved to have his belly scratched :) He also loved to lick, which sent Jacob reeling!

Look at those paws! Practically as big as Jacob's head!

All excited, waiting for Grandpa Frank to come pick them up!

Running to get on with Grandpa.

You can't see them, but Jake & Anna are in there with Grandpa :)

After a very long afternoon/evening (I'm not telling what time they got to bed!), these two were out cold in no time! Aren't they so sweet?!

Day 2, hanging out waiting for the cutting to begin for the day.

Anna collected a bouquet of leaves while she waiting. And no, they aren't weeds! Or so the princess in green cowboy boots informed us all!!

So many memories in this red truck! :)

This field was hailed out, so they had to cut close to the ground. Therefore, there was a lot of straw left behind. They bailed most of it.

We had more fun than I can describe and I really wish we could have stayed all week! Maybe next year. Thanks for letting us come out! We had such a good time!!

Anna's Birthday Week

Okay, so blogger is being obnoxious and won't let me move my pictures around! So they're backward in order. Anyway!

Anna is her father's daughter. She is milking this birthday thing for all it's worth!!! It doesn't help that she's had a week between her actual birthday and her party! We were kinda low key on her actual birthday. We made cupcakes but that was about it. Oh, she got to choose what we had for supper. Aaron made the mistake of saying something about how much she's going to love her present from Mommy & Daddy (that she'll get at her party Saturday). She got so sad and said "But it's my birrfday today. No present on my birrfday??" This was after she woke up, asked if it was her birthday and ran out to look at the kitchen. When she didn't see any decorations, she came back and with the biggest lip sticking out and said "No decorations? It's my birrfday." So guilt was really piled on when the whole present thing happened!!! Thank you Dollar General for being open past 8pm! I ran up and picked out a little something for her. Daddy felt really bad, so he said after baths, Mommy would be back and they could go on a scavenger hunt for her surprise! She was so excited!

I found a fun little mixer that I knew she would love. She did!

So did Jacob! He thought it was awesome how the beaters actually spin around and a little light comes on!!

I couldn't believe it...not 10 min. after getting her new, special surprise, she--completely on her own--let Jacob play with it! She's such a great sister!

She's been baking up a storm! :)

This was after she found her first surprise (some wall stickers). I gave her 2 hints about where to find her next surprise (the mixer)!

I got them cute flower and lady bug wall stickers for $1. She loves them. Of course, so does Jacob! :)

Okay, that's all for now. I've got another post to do about HARVEST! We had so much fun and even got to take a special friend with us! I'm exhausted, though so I better finish my actual work and go to bed!

He's Our Special Boy

I've said it before and I'll say it again....Jacob is "special". He never gives us a dull moment and he is a stinker! For some reason, he thinks it's just hilarious to put this bucket over his head. This time (several weeks ago), he actually tried walking a bit. He barely touches a toy cooking pot with his toe and he says, plain as day, "Oww!" Such a goofy kid. I have no idea where he gets that!

Healing Hearts Ranch

I've posted before about my cousin's horse therapy ranch. And since I'm pretty sure most people that read this blog are family, I won't go into details about his place! :)

We recently got their update email. The Lord is working in so many broken lives through Scott and Amy. I am passionate about kids and horses, so I love hearing about their work! We live in an incredibly broken world. It seems to get more 'broken' as the hours go by. So many people, especially children, are hurting and lost and broken. And Healing Hearts Ranch is a safe haven for them and a place where they can learn to love and trust again. I can't say enough about the awesome things Scott and Amy are doing!

A group of ladies from church have started meeting on Friday mornings for "Prayer in the Park"...sort of a Bible study/prayer time focusing on praying for our families. We've been specifically looking for Scriptures to pray. I came across a verse in Philippians that I have started praying for Scott, Amy and the ranch. Maybe it only makes sense in my mind!

"And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense til the day of Christ."

Philippians 1:9-10

I've worked with special needs kids before (minimal compared to what Scott deals with), but I know how much it can take out of you emotionally. Ups and downs, joy and frustrations...all to the extremes on both ends. I just pray that the Lord would renew their spirits every minute of the day, that He would cause their love to abound even more in knowledge and discernment as they deal with, teach, and love these kids and families.

I also want to ask all of you to hold Scott and Amy and the ranch up in prayer. You can go to the website for some specific needs they have there.

Daddy's Down Time

A good "down time" for Aaron is his softball team. He plays in the town rec league on the same team he's been on for 3 years now. He's very proud of the fact that they've only lost 2 games in that time. :) He has a lot of fun and the kids love to go watch him and play on the playground. We don't make to a lot of the games (they play 2x a week), but Anna wanted to go tonight for her birthday:) It was so miserably hot. Ridiculously high humidity with absolutely no breeze. Luckily the Bullets whipped the other team and the game was over in 30 minutes!

I CAN'T Have a 4 Yr. Old!!!

It's just not possible. My baby girl cannot be 4 already. But, the calendar (and Anna!) says she is. Four years ago today, I was never so glad to get that girl out of my belly! I had no idea what a joy she would be...or what a challenge.

My sweet Anna Rose,

You are the most precious little girl...at least you are to Daddy and me! You're still a great big sister and you've been asking for another baby! You're gonna have to wait on that one for a while girly...sorry! :) You still love all the girly things you did last year (and the year before that and the year before that!). Your dolls and kitchen set are your 2 favorite things to play with. You and Jacob play fairly well together. He lets you mother him and you let him play with your favorite things. Even tonight, after you got a birthday surprise you didn't hesitate to let him play with it right away!

The thing that blesses my heart the most is your love for Jesus and awareness of God and His majestic creation. You remind us to pray before our meals -- you're the one that usually prays, too -- and you don't have to be prompted to pray before bed. Every day you ask God to show you "one of Your beautiful rainbows"! Remember when we made that rainbow out of the beads? You said you wanted to make it for God to say 'thank you' for the beautiful rainbow we saw on our way to the VBS program. Your heart is so tender! Daddy & I pray that you will continue to be sensitive to God and His will and calling for your life.

Jake...he's your bestest friend! You two have such a blast together and I just love how he calls you "MY Anna Rose". Somehow, you can understand almost every word he says! Neither one of you wants to leave from our playdates!! I think being able to play with Jake almost all day today was the best birthday present!

You are such a blessing to your family. We couldn't love you any more, but I know that each year we will!

You had SO MUCH FUN playing at Jake's house all morning! You thought that slide was pretty cool. And even though the water was so-cold-just-out-of-the-faucet, you kids didn't seem to mind!

That was your face every time you came down that slide!

Such fun!

After a swim, you all sat down with a snack for a movie. Aly is the only one that lasted more than 5 minutes! :)

Then after naps, Jake got to come over to our house and swim and play! You guys didn't swim very long, but you sure had a lot of fun playing with your cash register and whatever random toy (or non-toy!) Jake found to "buy". It was fun to watch you play!

So, happy birthday sweet girl! You did so good accepting that even though today is your birthday, your party isn't for another week! You are beyond excited that your cousins Mia, Kaedyn, Bryce and Hudson will be at your party! You can hardly stand to wait so long to see them!! You even told someone last week that your birthday starts in 5 days. Just like Daddy!! :) We love you Anna Rose!

Mommy, Daddy, and Jacob

Video

Here's a montage of random things. The kids decided Sunday night that they didn't need to sleep, so they were up really late and being very silly. And some other videos that I can't remember! haha I'm tired :)

My Montage 6/23/09

Craziness!

Oh my stars. We got MORE rain. It poured like you wouldn't believe Saturday. After it finally stopped, I stepped off our front curb into KNEE DEEP water!!! I've never seen that much water here. I'm so glad we have a sump pump!! It's been going like crazy since Saturday. Aaron said after the first "flood" he thought Glad we just spent $400 on a sump pump that we'll probably never need again! Wrong-o buddy! Our neighbors' pump has been going like crazy, too but the house on the other side of them--theirs hasn't gone but maybe 3 times since the first flood! It's crazy.

Completely flooded. And yes, our trash can knocked over so now there's nasty, wet trash all over. Lovely.

My garden even flooded!! Our yard slopes down, but we built up the garden about a foot or so when we put it in. There was actually water bubbling up from under one tomato plant!!

Flooded...awfully close to getting in the shed! That would have been very bad.

that's our neighbors' camper that they're loaning us for the 4th when all my family will be here to celebrate Anna's birthday! she is so so so excited about it (both the camper and her cousins coming!)

The kids had so much fun playing in all the water!

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Okay, Jacob got this race car book almost a year ago, I think. He's always loved it (*gasp* shocker, I know!). But just recently, he discovered it again and he L.O.V.E.S it! Lucky for him, Anna doesn't have any qualms reading it to him over. And over. And over. And over. I think she must have read that book to him 20 times in one afternoon! I'm uploading some videos. One of them is of her reading it to him. The book is about 5 pages and it rhymes, so she has it memorized and can "read" it to Jacob. They both love it!

After reading it to him 10 times in the bedroom, I hear her say

"Just a minute Jacob. I have to go potty. Just wait."

Then I look down the hallway to see Jacob trailing after Anna, book in hand. Then I hear

"Jacob! I have to go potty, just wait a minute!"

So I peek into the bathroom and see this:

What a sister!!!



Just hold on Jacob! I have to pull my panties up!!!

And this is what happens when Jacob gets ahold of a yogurt container when I'm on the phone with the internet company!! Isn't that just some lovely art on my floor?! Oh well.

So things have been fun around here! And we got a surprise visit from my parents for Father's day! The kids were excited to say the least! This week will be spent getting ready for all the family and Anna's party. Oh, and we have termites so tomorrow will be spent at Kim's while Orkin does their (ridiculously expensive) thing for that! When it rains, it pours...in more than one way!!!

Star Wars? Dark Age?

Okay, so it just took me like 15 minutes to find the name (shows you how big of a Star Wars fan I am!). But when Jacob was "floating" around after his bath last night, it reminded me of Yoda! (from the back) He was having fun, but only as long as the towel was over his eyes. There's something about not being able to see that this strange boy likes!

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Many might think we've gone to the dark ages....we cancelled our Dish! We signed up with a special to get a year free and this was our last month. We had several reasons for doing it. The main one was to save money. The other was because it's such a time waster most of the time! And sometimes it just becomes habit to turn it on for the kids. They never watched live TV anyway...it was all just cartoons I'd recorded for them. And really, now that it's summer they want to play outside. There are a few times when Jacob wakes up CRANKY and the only thing that settles him down is Dora. But we have a million DVDs they can watch. And for Aaron & I, it ended up being something we did instead of spending time with each other (or doing things that needed to be done around the house or at work for him). Today was the first day and we survived! I was in the habit of turning it on and either watching one of my recorded shows or a game show (I love watching the crossword puzzle game!) while I worked during naps. But now I just listen to music while I work (or the silence...sometimes that's nice:)). We didn't have TV for a long time when I was growing up and I certainly didn't miss it. And like I told Aaron, even the cartoon channels had commercials I didn't want Anna and Jacob to see! It's crazy what is on these days. Even just watching sports, very few of the commercials are appropriate for little eyes & ears!!! I told Aaron we can watch almost any of our shows we want to online. Maybe not the same night they air, but who cares?! We'll see how it goes once NFL starts! :)

They're watching an old time cartoon video here. They both love it. That slap-stick humor isn't in any of the new ones! Anna built a tent with her Dora couch and any blanket or towel she found!

Peru Missions

My cousin Ben is on another missions trip right now in Peru. They flew into Lima and are going to a place that starts with a C! I can't remember. But you can keep up to date with them here. They covet your prayers for their trip!

She's funny

I wanted to "record" this before I forgot. Another funny Anna-ism :)

She's been playing with her princess wand and evidently had turned Daddy into Cinderella earlier. As he's walking out the door for his softball game, she runs after him and says,

"Wait! Here! (waves her wand) Now you're not Cinderella anymore. Give me a call if you want me to change you back to Cinderella!"

I'm sure Daddy greatly appreciates not having to go face the guys as Cinderella! :)

Why Silence Is Golden Around Here

This shows you why Aaron & I enjoyed the silence on our date for 15 minutes. This montage is from on the way home. Way past their bedtime, so I expected it to be a pretty quiet ride home. WRONG! Both kids love the Leap Frog Letter Factory movie. Anna already knows all her letters and their sounds. Jacob knows 7 letter sounds (well, I don't know how well he knows them, but he can say them). So most of the noise is from them saying the letter sounds. Needless to say, it was not a quiet ride home. Make sure your speakers aren't turned up too high...Jacob gets pretty loud!

My Montage 6/16/09

I Love Thunderstorms

On our way home from our anniversary date (I'm working on that post! In the meantime, go check out Cassie's blog for a fun video of what the kids did while we were on a date!), I just had to stop and try to get some pictures of the storm. I've always loved thunderstorms. I still haven't learned anything extra about my camera, so I don't know if there was a better setting I could have used. I had a hard time getting the pictures I wanted but these turned out pretty cool. I didn't edit them at all. I went out later last night after we got the kids in bed and tried to take some more, but none of them turned out. It was incredible, though. It was constant lightening behind clouds. If you've ever seen that video of the house with Christmas lights that light up with the beat of music? It was like that. It was just amazing and a testimony to God's AWESOMEness:)

Seven Years Already?!

It's been 7 years since I became Mrs. Wallman. That's just craziness.

We went to Wichita for the evening. We dropped the kids off at Uncle Jamie & Aunt Cassie's house and went out for supper at Johnny Carino's. It was so yummy and most of all, it was so nice to have some quiet!! We didn't talk for the first 15 min. b/c we were enjoying the silence so much!!! Then we went grocery shopping...that's what happens when you've been married for 7 yrs...a date can include grocery shopping! After that, we went back to Jamie's and hung out with them for a while and then headed home, just in time to miss the big storms heading that way! It was a wonderful evening. Thanks again, Jamie & Cassie (and Doug and Bailey!) for keeping the kids! They had a blast and Anna has been asking ever since if we can go back and play car wash with Jamie! :)

At our rehearsal dinner, I was presented with a scrapbook that my sisters-in law put together for me. It was full of letters and notes of advice and encouragement about marriage and life. It was so precious and I still go back and read through it once in a while. Remember when you were about to get married....did anyone ever tell you at that time that marriage was going to be hard work and you would have to choose to love your man every day? That was in more than one of my letters and I remember thinking They can't be lying to me, but really? I can't imagine it being hard to love Aaron! Well, that's because I hadn't lived with him yet!! haha So for anyone not yet married...it IS hard some days to love your spouse. A blogger recently did a great post on focus that's great and so very true.

So I'm going to focus on the good things about my husband:)

He works harder than most anyone I know.

He puts up with my moodiness!

He's an amazing father and our kids adore him.

He doesn't care that I'm not the perfect housekeeper. In fact, I think sometimes he doesn't even notice when the house is messy!

He encourages me to step outside my comfort zone.

He's a dreamer.

He'll eat almost anything I make him (except meatloaf!).

He encourages me to try new recipes and strive for healthier foods--for me and the kids.

He takes my family's teasing in stride.

He gets along great with my family.

He lets me go visit my parents when I feel homesick.

He's quick to forgive.

When he gets home from work, as soon as the kids hear that back door creak they go running and squealing. They love it when Daddy gets home!

He loves me for who I am.

Even better, he loves Jesus.

So Happy Anniversary a day late, babe. I love you!

Hillbilly? Not here!!

Oh Jacob.

Aaron offered to match Jacob's look, but I insisted he not!

Nuttin' like a lil' plumber's crack to make ya look like a hick!

Just Because My Kids Are Cute :D

But then, I'm biased! Just a few pics of random things we've been doing. And a new favorite of Jacob's...

I can't even remember what she was doing, but I know she said "Take my picture Mommy!!" I just have to say God created one of a kind with this precious girl. She is such a sweet and sensitive child, yet can be so very stubborn (all from her Daddy! ;)) and defiant (very rarely, though). And she's a hoot! She discovered some 'new' cowboy boots, that are still a bit big, but she loves them. We were walking through the back yard and she said "I'm a girl cowboy!" Another time, she said "Heeey! The grass doesn't tickle my feet because I'm wearin' my cowboy boots!!!"

He, for whatever reason, LOVES sitting in the grocery cart like this. It's so odd, but then...he's so odd! haha I need to put the video of him and the bucket on his head. He's so special, my boy. :)

I asked him "Jacob, did you eat dirt again?" This was his answer. I think Aunt Joyce was right...he could charm the socks right off you! ;)

During a break in the stormy weather (actually right before a big ol' storm), we took a walk to get ice cream and play at the lake. Jacob loves eating his ice cream all by himself and he made quite a mess. He had fun watching Anna play and even tried a little himself. This particular playground was little 'old' for him. We fed the ducks, but again...Jacob was scared silly of the little ducks (had there been a horse nearby he would have been delighted!).

It's been a while since Anna's painted, but she's always enjoyed it quite a bit. She insisted that we mail her paintings she made to Papa & Binga (notice the 'name' she painted...she does amazingly well on her letters by herself). She wrote both their names on each painting and then went to the post office and bought a stamp and put the envelope through the slot. And then asked every day (every few hours, actually!) if Papa & Binga had gotten their painting yet! She was VERY EXCITED to find out tonight that they got them today!!!

I was shocked at how well Jacob did and how much he liked painting! I have to hide the paint...otherwise he begs to paint all the time! He makes quite a mess, but he really has fun! He sent a painting to Papa & Binga, too.

Pool Fun

Here's a video of the kids the first day we had the pool up. The water was freezing but they had a blast. I really didn't expect them to want in, so when I did let them get in they were fully clothed! Yes, Anna has a swimming suit (although it's getting a little small...hint, hint Binga! j/k!). And yes, I know she's got her shorts on backward! :) She slipped and got soaked, so she wanted her shirt off. Later, Jacob totally wiped out. I figured he'd be scared to get back in, but after less than a minute, he wanted back in!

My Montage 6/9/09

Summer Time!

This is what we'll be doing this summer.....

Watching magnificent storms (I still haven't convinced Anna that thunder is awesome!)

Exercising at the track. Anna actually ran 1/2 a mile!!!!! She walked a few steps here and there, but she ran most of it...at once! It was amazing. Jacob and I cheered her on all the way around. Aaron has started training for the annual 1/2 marathon!

Jacob doesn't understand why Daddy keeps running past him! But he soon found something to distract him.

My garden is growing by leaps and bounds! I can't wait to start eating from it! This year, I've got 2 tomato plants, zucchini, 4 pepper plants, red onions, green onions, green beans, sugar snap peas, and cilantro. Everything I planted is growing this year! And I hope I've left enough room for my zucchini this time!!!

And playing in the pool. I knew Anna would love it, but I wasn't so sure about Jacob. Oh yeah...he LOVES it. They got in right after it was filled up and stayed in until Jacob's lips were turning blue. Of course, after the storm last night blew the cover off, it got a little dirty and that was NOT acceptable with Little Miss Priss! Good grief.

It should be a fun summer with lots of outside playing! :)

VBS Blast Off!

Anna's VBS program was tonight! She did such a good job with all the songs and actions! She had so much fun and is a little disappointed that there won't be another program tomorrow!!! The pics aren't very good :( The lighting wasn't great and I was at the back of the sanctuary, so my flash didn't do a lot of good. Oh well!

Anna and 2 of her classmates (I think she was the only girl??). Jake was night and day between this morning and tonight. This morning, the kids got up and sang a couple songs during church (Anna refused to go up there). Jake was HILARIOUS! He was so cute and everybody was just rolling. Tears were streaming down my face I was laughing so hard. He was 2 beats late and loud on the words and the actions, he fell down once, and he was just glowing and having so much fun. It was precious to see! Tonight...he just stood there. Didn't sing, didn't do the motions. It was funny.

Best friends! :)



The big kids (and Pastor!) did a hilarious skit at the end. It was quite entertaining! :)

And here's a montage of Anna singing. Sorry it's a little shaky! I had to zoom all the way in, so the tiniest movement seemed like I was shaking the camera! Isn't she just too cute?! ;)

My Montage 6/7/09

Her Faces, Rose Bouquet, Football Corn, Leftie?

Tonight, we had a picnic on the deck. Anna loves picnics. She was being silly...

Seriously Ange--it is genetic! We just can't help but bite our tongues. Tsk tsk tsk :D

I told her "Just look normal. Smile."

So silly.

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My rose bushes are blooming like crazy. Something I've never noticed before (maybe because I hardly ever get store-bought roses??)...Grandma J got 2 rose bouquets for her birthday and she pointed out to me that they really didn't have a fragrance. She was right! They had hardly a scent to them! It was crazy. Now, these roses....they have fragrance and it is LOVELY! Roses are my favorite flower, in case you didn't know :)

They smell so wonderful. I think heaven must be filled with roses :)

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My kids love sweet corn, especially if it's from Iowa (it is so sweet and yummy). Tonight, Jacob was carrying around his corn like a football. So Daddy and Anna started calling it his "football corn". He loved walking around munching on it!

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Such concentration! He's using his left hand a lot recently...I think it would be crazy if he turns out left-handed. I don't think anyone in our immediate families that is a leftie.

What Happens When...

...Mama doesn't pay attention!

Whoops!!! Jacob has discovered the chore board and he loves to draw on it. And evidently, Anna loves to draw on HIM! See his ear? She drew inside his ear!! They're dry erase markers so it wiped right off. Anna had a little on her face, but I'm pretty sure she did that to herself and not Jacob. I was mistaken when I took their silence for so long to mean they were getting along, sharing, and having a great time drawing...on the board!!

They're Growing Up Too Fast!

My babies aren't babies anymore! :( Time just flies by so quickly.

For the last couple weeks, I've been putting Jacob on the potty chair before bath time. Until tonight, nothing has come of it (except some hilarious rounds of Patty Cake!). Tonight, I put him on the big potty with the little seat on top. That seemed to work better for him. Anyway, I went out to get something from the living room, and when I got back I saw the evidence of his accomplishment!! :) I ran (literally!) to get my camera (duh!) and...what else? Skittles! If you're worried about my child starving, just look at the last post! haha

Yea for Jacob! (You see the gap btw the little seat and the big one? Bad spot for a gap!!) I don't think he really knew what he did, but oh well. It's a start. Summer is a great time to potty train!

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This week is VBS at our church. I volunteered for the nursery. Turns out it was just Jacob and the other Anna and our neighbor girl! 3 hours in a very small nursery with three 2 year olds is WAY.TOO.LONG! So I asked the other mamas if they minded me keeping the little tykes at my house for the morning (our church is about 8 mi. outside of town). This morning went MUCH better than yesterday morning! The kids had lots more room to roam and lots more to distract them from missing their mommy! It was a rough start, but it got better quickly and we had lots of fun.


Jacob: Mom, are you serious? Aren't there any BOYS we can have over to play?!
Girls: Hehehe........

My girl is getting so big!!! She's going to VBS this week and is SO.EXCITED!!!!!!! She's having so much fun and just can't wait to go every morning. Last night at supper, she realized she would be going every day. She got so excited!

You mean I get to go EVERY SINGLE DAY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

This pic is from her first day. Too soon I'll be taking her "first day of kindergarten" picture!

It's Fascinating...

...to see how he can spot any kind of a "wheel" from a mile away! I hadn't put the sewing machine away and Jacob spotted the wheel and would not leave it alone. Not to mention all the buttons and knobs!

He found a button he could push in and not get in trouble! :)

Then he found the wheel (is that what it's called?? I'm tired!).

This is his favorite place to sit. When he's too quiet and I can't find him, this is the first place I look. Usually he's sitting there looking at books. This time, he found Anna's basket of baby doll stuff (bottles, brushes, etc) and was actually sitting there "brushing" a baby's hair! It was so cute.

We had spaghetti for supper the other night. This was the easiest way to clean him up!! He loved it. What a belly!!! :)

Who can resist a cute baby bottom picture?! :) He's going to hate me some day! haha

Seriously Funny

Now this is a funny video!

Appropriately titled "Are Women Born This Way?" :)