James is cute, and artwork, and squash, and why I shouldn’t take pictures of sleeping babies with the big camera

The kids were playing with blocks this morning.  I think James is the first of my three that sat and enjoyed stacking blocks again and again.

I deeply love this one:

James came into the kitchen saying “my stroller.”  I said, “Do you have a baby in that stroller?”

He said “No.  Car stroller.”

And sure enough he did.

Laura was having a tired/hungry moment, and she fell asleep eating.  I couldn’t help snapping this picture, but the sound of the shutter startled her awake.  Clearly it didn’t take much, and she probably would have woken up in a second anyway.

Joanna drew this picture a week or so ago, and she did some writing on it.  Basically it says “I went horseback riding.”  And you can see some of the letters that are actually in that sentence – I think she was sounding it out!  She has the horses labeled at the bottom with an “L” for Labamba and a “P” for Patches.  I love it!

I love all the drawing that the girls are doing lately, but the papers are kind of taking over the world.  I decided I would start trimming them and putting them together in a book so they’d be fun to flip through.  I pulled down all the school work and artwork that I had hanging around and sorted it by kiddo.  I pretty much keep every single thing that comes home from school/church/nursery for the whole year and then I go through it to save the very favorites.  But this is the first time Joanna especially has been drawing so much at home, and I want to catalogue it as it comes. 

I trimmed the drawings to squares because squares make me happy and mounted them on cardstock that was slightly larger.  I also attached a label with a description told to me by the artist as well as her name and the approximate date.

I’ll add more on the back as they come in.  I think I will set up a little basket or drawer or something with the glue, labels, and a pen so I will keep up with this little endeavor.  The girls and I love the book!

And look what I found in the “garden” while I was pulling clothes off the line?!!  It’s like a real vegetable!!!!!!

This morning we had a gorgeous walk to school.  The kids all wore their jean jackets.  I didn’t wear a jacket, but it felt glorious to be just a little chilly on the walk.  And I wasn’t drenched when we got back home.

I managed to get some laundry done today but not so much folded.  Hopefully I’ll get a burst of energy to do that tonight.  Or… not.  :)

I actually drove to pick up Joanna this afternoon, and I don’t have a good excuse as to why.  I do have a bad excuse though.  :)  I really just wanted a Dr. Pepper, and I decided everyone would benefit from me having one.  (I was a little grumpy and tired.)  The trouble was that it was too close to pick up time to go get one and then walk to school.  So I put the four littles in the car and called the school to tell them I’d be picking up Joanna in the car.  She was pretty excited, and it was nice to get to say hi to Joanna’s teacher, who does back door dismissal.  And the Dr. Pepper was really good.

The three “big” kids enjoyed playing outside after their rest time today.  It was so lovely that they didn’t come in just drenched in sweat!  They were plenty dirty though.  The neighbor kids even came over to our backyard and played for awhile.  Yay for bearable weather!!

Miscellaneous Catch-all post

James reminds me a lot of me in the rather obsessive-compulsive way he needs all his stuff just so at bedtime.  I think I remember the girls going through a similar stage, but it didn’t involve four or so not very soft trucks.  :)

It’s typical for him to sleep with 2-4 trucks of various sizes, his pillow, his lovey, and a rather large stuffed giraffe.  I love him.

When you are two, you do not care if a hat is a man hat or not.  And you are cute anyway.

Thursday while ALL the kids were at school, I made a big batch of pasta sauce.  We ate some that night and froze the rest.  Yay for yummy sauce in my fridge!!  And also yay for cooking without interruptions.  :)

James’ teeth seem like they’re growing in a strange order, but I guess as long as they all come in that’s okay.  :)  Here you can kind of see how on the left (my left, not his) he’s already got those two teeth on the side that are between the front two teeth and the molars.  On the right they’re just poking through.  I thought there was more symmetry in this teeth growing business.  :)

And another…just because he’s so stinkin’ cute.

I am pretty sure I am spoiling James way more rotten than I did the girls.  He has got me flat-out wrapped around his little finger.  He can simply do no wrong!!  Look out world.  :)

Fall

This morning it actually felt like fall outside.  I walked to school in my usual sweat-capris and a t-shirt, and I was a little chilly!!!!

I decided I really wanted to decorate my front porch for fall, and I saw the mums out at Kroger last week.  Since that’s pretty much the only place I shop, I grabbed a couple along with a big pumpkin and brought them home.

Natalie and James were helping me, AND they just so happened to be dressed cutely, so I made them pose with the décor.

I LOVE this one.  LOVE. IT.

(You can see my little gourds that I grew by James!!)

Here’s my little set-up, with Natalie in the background.  Forgot to adjust things to get her in focus instead.  But I like how it turned out anyway.

I’m planning to get at least one more mum and of course some more punkins.  I’m going to let the kiddos pick out some though.

Finally I just moved Natalie to the foreground so I would have to work so hard to get her in focus.  :)

This super precious skirt was handed down to us from a friend along with a matching shirt that has a monogrammed “N” on it!!  The shirt is too big yet, but because of the skirt’s elastic waist, it fits her fine now.  And she likes her skirts and dresses on the long side anyway  (Though, she likes ‘em on the short side too.)    I could only manage to dig up one lousy one shirt to match in the interim, and it’s a tank-top.  I can never seem to find pretty white t-shirts when I want them.  :)

I love fall!!!!  I really love it when it actually feels like fall!!!!

A Box Turtle in a Box

My mom told me last week she had a box turtle in a box.  David had found it on the greenbelt and brought it home so the kids could look at it.

We stopped by after school on Thursday.

I forgot my camera, but I used my mom’s to catch all of these.

I was squatting to take the pictures, and the turtle kept crawling under my legs and trying to burrow under my shoe.

Joanna worked up her courage to pick him up!

Then we let him go in the yard and will likely never see him again.

Back inside, we vegged in front of the TV for a little while.  James grabbed a pen and said “ant me” to Gran.  He looooves it when she “tattoos” him.  :)

A fun little nature trip!

Last Week’s Lunches

James for Tuesday – Almond butter and apple butter sandwich, grapes, cheese

Natalie for Tuesday – Peanut butter and apple butter sandwich, grapes, cheese, carrot sticks.

I think they both pretty much ate it all.  They got to eat pizza at school on Thursday – wahoo!

Joanna Monday and Tuesday – half a tunafish salad sandwich, cheese, grapes, peaches, and carrots and ranch.  Apparently the carrots and ranched mixed up was gross so that was a fail.

Wednesday and Friday – apple and peanut butter, cheese and crackers, and either a pumpkin muffin or a slice of banana bread.

That was a pretty successful lunch.  On Thursday she got to buy lunch (pizza) just like the little kids.  And Matt ate pizza at work, so of course I made myself a frozen pizza at home.  It was pizza day for the Pences!

Miscellaneous Things Including Shoes

I was cleaning up in the girls room the other day and came upon this cache of acorns.  So I don’t know whether I have squirrels living in the house or maybe my children are squirrels or maybe there’s an oak tree in the walls.  I’m stumped.  :)

I love these pink sandals of Natalie’s.  I will be sad when they don’t fit her anymore.

James got a box of hand-me-downs the other day – yay!!  In the box were these awesome cowboy boots which Natalie promptly claimed for herself.  :)  I love her style.

They actually do fit, so they may get passed through one more kiddo before James gets to wear them.  :)

Baby Laura started coming over this week, and James is OBSESSED.  He loves her so so so so much.  Here he’s cleaning up her mouth a little bit.  Sooooo cute!

He’s such a good “big brother!”

James

Please excuse the sad baby since it’s not the point of the photo.  :)  James is so funny about needing to carry around a bunch of stuff.  Usually it’s just about three little cars, but this morning it was his ice water, his little car – “Lisa’s car,” his lovey, and a giant giraffe.  He says giraffe in the cutest stinkin’ way!

I had my settings for a different spot, and I didn’t look before I snapped, so it’s blurry, too close, and too bright.  BUT he’s sooo cute!

I loooooooove him!!!!

Poor kid, though.

Knows how to put on play make-up.