no longer a kindergartner

Bayli had her end of the year Kindergarten program.  Chase and I had a fun time watching her sing her little heart out.

Giving me the thumbs up for a great year of school.

Bay and one of her cute little friends, Josie.  She is blessed to have so many wonderful friends.  It was fun having nearly half the kids her age from our neighborhood in her Kindergarten class.  I wish that I had gotten a group picture of all of them.

Bayli with her teacher Mrs. Venning.  She will miss her greatly.

EMHE

Jed's company was able to donate their talents and time to the building of a home for Extreme Makeover Home Edition.  We were able to visit the site as VIP guests.  We knew that Chase would be the most excited about the "extreme" building that was going on.  It was a construction site/carnival gone mad.  Bayli was more excited about the VIP tent with its free food and the special "tag" that she got to wear.

You can ask Jed his feelings about the experience if you really want to know.  Let's just say that he and "the talent" (aka Ty Pennington and his co-hosts)  would never get along.  Oh, and he thinks that ABC is kind of lame as well.

Dad and his boy taking in the beautiful views of a construction site.

We've never seen him so quiet when there is any type of big rig around.

He was in complete awe.

Bayli was content to eat the free food.  It was like being poked with a pin to have her picture taken.

first swim

 I know, we are lame.  

Lily is almost 11 months old, and we are barely taking her to the pool.  

(Filling the bathtub doesn't count.)  

We will count the backyard pool though.  

She LOVES the water.  

She is going to be a little fish like her big sister and big brother. 

super excited to finally get her turn to play in the pool

she loved splashing the water

she also loved licking the water off her arm

we took it a step further and introduced her to the baby floaty, she was tickled

love that happy little mug

Yeah, she didn't like the fact that after attempting to bite the hooks on the floaty, she dipped that cute little mug in the pool. 

It's okay Lil's, big brother is just barely starting to enjoy getting his cute mug wet.

One day, you will both be pros like big sister, sporting your awesome goggles.

Until that day, it's okay to take a break from the pool.

And go about your merry way, sporting your cute swimwear and beach bum.

it's official

we have ourselves a rooster
and he's a crowing
well, sort of
more like screeching or dieing

pretty much at that awkward age
puberty
you know, with the voice changes and all
that is what he sounds like
so imagine a young man, going through puberty
speaking or better yet singing
and yeah, that is what he sounds like
only he speaks chicken

jed's impression is spot on
just ask him to speak rooster
then you can get a better idea

i kind of compare it to a beagle
or a dog that has had it's bark removed

we will take a barking chicken
we are in the business of competing with all of the obnoxious neighbor dogs anyways

mission=success

Well, after trying and trying to climb into the tub, Lily finally did it.  Of course it was at a very inconvenient time and  a big surprise for everyone.  Needless to say, we will have one eye on the step stool from now on.  And I am sure Bayli will remember to close the bathroom door when she hops into the shower.

our super excited little cutie, pretty proud of herself

BUGGED!!!

Honey Bee pollinating the Amur Maple

I am so irritated by all of the pest control companies that keep knocking on my door (I literally had 4 different companies in a weeks time) trying to get me to commit to their services.  With promises of no more spiders, hornets, wasps, ants, etc.

For one thing, I LOVE insects.  They completely fascinate me.  Even the Squash Bugs that wreak havoc on my garden each year-although I could do without them.  Even the ants that once plagued us when we were living in Jed's dad's rental, fascinated us.  Especially when Flying Ant Day Week came around each year (or Flant Day as I have also heard it called).   That period of time when the freshly emerging queen ants would make their appearance and begin their nuptial flight. The family room/back door would be swarming with clumsy new flyers trying to make their way out into the world.  If they would only have quit coming up through the cracks by the back door, they would have been a bit more successful in making it outdoors rather than into the tip of the vacuum hose.  Those who did make it out into the backyard made quite a spectacle.  It often reminded me of a crowd gathering to see a hot air balloon show.  We also had some pretty excited birds awaiting the arrival of an easy meal each morning. 

The main reason why I am completely bothered by the "pesky" control people and their promises of "no more..." is that we need all of these insects to have proper balance.    With all of the discussions going around about why there are so few bees anymore, I am sure that they have something to do with it.  I mean, you spray for one type of bug, another is going to walk/fly along and have issues as well.  Especially if you are spraying every tree and bush in a given area.

Don't get me wrong, we do fertilize our lawn with certain grub eliminators.  And we remove a hornets nest when it is dangerously close to where our kids are playing.  Not to mention the exterior perimeter foundation spray that Jed applies to keep the majority of spiders outside.  But really, every bug in my yard has a part and if they are not interfering with the welfare of my family, they are welcome to stay.
Especially the lovely honey bees that find the Lilacs and blooms of the Amur Maples in the spring.  Then, as their numbers grow in the summer months, make their beautiful buzzing sound as they fly about the Blue Beard and Russian Sage.  I mean really, what is lovelier than that?

flat mates

A few weeks ago we finally got tired of Lily being our roomy.  Ten months of tiptoeing around was WAY too long.  We moved her bed into Bay's room.  Can we say, wall to wall furniture?

Bayli loves talking to her in the morning when they wake up. Lily loves watching big sister play about the room with her polly pockets and pets.  Since she has too much of a love for placing EVERYTHING in her mouth, Lily doesn't get free reign in the room.  So instead, her playroom is Chase's bedroom.

Bayli is so cute with her little sister.  The other day, after Lily woke up from her nap, I was busy in the kitchen.   I asked Bayli to go in and play with her until I could come get her out of the crib.  Bayli kept coming out and saying, "mom, come and get Lily out."  My response, in a minute.  Really, it was nice having Lily detained and entertained so I could get a few things done.  After the third time that Bayli came and asked me to get Lily, I finally gave in.
To my surprise, I found a little princess full of smiles.  Cute Bayli had been playing dress up with Lil's.

In her most cooing tone Bayli said, "isn't she sooo cute?!!!"  Then she proceeded to tell me how hard it was to dress her (ya I know, I do it like 6 times a day!) and how she had to "kind of climb in the crib" to get the job done (I am sure that Lily loved that part).

After I took Lily out of the crib, Bayli insisted that they have a fashion show in the family room.  How could I refuse my two little princesses?