Fun Stuff

Hey! Hmm so I don't remember what I blogged the other day. Lainey likes to twirl. It is SO cute! Did you know I think my kids are cute? lol =)

This morning, Em said "Laina has ear wax!" Harp said something like oh yeah? And Em said "Does it stick to cheese?" Harp was like what is she talking about? And she said "Like cheese wax?" Hehe he said "no ear wax and cheese wax are pretty different." =) She said oh. =P

Anyway so yesterday Ashley came over. We had a fun time and she brought the books she got me at the Creation Museum. I love these books! =) Then we went out to dinner with Adam, one of Harp's friends from high school. He just got a job with Adam Aircraft in CO (where Harp interviewed for that night-shift engineering job 2 years ago) and he's here on business doing something to an airplane for a show or something. =P Anyway we had Red Beans in Wichita and then he took us to Braum's. Em was really shy at first - she usually is around guys she doesn't know. She softened up when she found out he knew Uncle Quin and then some more when Adam bought her ice cream. After ice cream, she even held his hand back to the car.

Today was Harp's 9x80 and he has Monday off - yay! We are having a couple over tonight that has visited our church for the last two weeks. Heath and Bethany. She plays piano at a high school about 20 min or so away, to accompany the choir and stuff. I don't know what he does. But they look to be about our age. =)

Well I need to roll out & cook tortillas. Oh but I want to blog that Laina makes this funny growl/screech (if you can imagine that) when she really wants something. It's so (you guessed it) cute! Oh and she says hi and she says peew if I say it first, but it's ppppph! (kind of buzzing her lips).

Ice Cream at High Park

We went back to the park later that night for a city-wide thing with free ice cream and a movie, which we didn't stay for. But we had a fun time!

High Park Cutie Bots

(so excited about ducks)

More Pics From Birthdays

Grandma and Grandpa A got Laina this rocking snail. She loves to rock on it. =) I don't have pics (well I do but Em is in her panties in them) but my parents got Lainey a microwave that she loves, too. =)

Eating a flower off her cake.

Birthday Boy =)

Emmy opening presents.

Joy Joy Berry Oy =)

Laina's Birthday Cake

Pics!

Sorry this took me forever. I don't know if I'll even get everything I want posted but we'll see. Some things I wrote down to blog:

About 2 months ago, Harp took Laina to the grocery store with him. He got a thing of milk and she pointed to it, with a questioning "Hmm?" He told her it's milk. She looked at him funny and signed milk, asking if he really meant that it was milk. He said yeah it's milk that came from a cow. Ever since, she has used the milk sign to mean anything she puts in her mouth. Especially for drinks, but even for food sometimes. =P If it's not all from Mommy, then it must be everything, right?

Emily likes to dance in the dark. =)

When we were on a walk with my parents, Emmy told me "the trees are blowing my hair into my eyes!" =)

The question of the week is "Why?" The other night Harper told her she was asking why too much. She said "Why do I ask why?" =P

Emily really really likes the car parts store. We went to the tag office and spent like an hour and a half there to register the van and the girls were SO good. Afterward, I was thinking about taking them to Braum's when I realized we hadn't really eaten lunch and it was 4. I drove into the parking lot and Emily spotted the car parts store next door and pointed it out - not the big ice cream sign and the fact that we were in the Braum's parking lot! She always points out the ice cream. Well the auto parts store is cooler to her now. =P Anyway I was driving out because I was thinkin' ice cream really wasn't a good idea and Emily said "I have big munchies, Momma!" So we went and got some Sonic as a treat (kid meal with an apple juice slush - she loves it) instead of Braum's.

When Harp's mom was here, we were driving around and Emmy kept saying "Let's grab some Sonic!" =P

Harp's mom brought a box of chocolate and Em asked her "Should I have some chocolate?" =P Hehe.

Laina says hi now. So cute! =)

Okay gonna post more pics.

Our Week!

Hey! So it's been a really really long time. I don't even know what all we did while my parents and Harp's mom were here. And I know I've forgotten SO many cute and funny things Em said while they were here... So I don't know where to start.

I have to blog that Laina says some words now. She has been repeating words for a while, but she wasn't saying them because she knew what they meant, I don't think. She is a VERY good mimic. So maybe she said stuff before this, but this is the first "official" word because she said it without our saying it first. I guess it was a week ago Sunday, the day before my parents came. We were snuggling the girls in our bed after we woke up and Laina pointed to the ceiling and said "tars, tars!" We have stars on our ceiling (the girls do, too - tons of them) and we charge the girls' stars every night and they love it. =) She did this again a few days later.

Then on Sunday she started saying kiss. =) It's "iss" usually, but sometimes she gets the k sound. =) She'll give a kiss and say it. SO cute!! =)

Lainey loves Ben, my parents' dog. She is so cute with him. She tried to say dog, too. =) It was just a D. Cutie!

We mostly just hung out while my parents and my sister were here. We went to a fun pizza place in Wichita and they brought dough for the kids to shape and then cooked it for them. Em made a pepperoni and a snowman and I made her a big E and little e. My mom made Laina a J for Joy and a cat that turned out so good! I would have taken a picture of the cat if I'd had my camera.

My mom brought all her cake decorating stuff for me and I made Lainey a birthday cake with daffodils on it. Harp didn't want flowers on his. =P Now I want to make more cakes so I can play with the flower stuff, but who will eat them? (Yeah, I would if they were here - that's the problem.) I will have to remember to make cakes for small group and stuff. Or surprise people on their anniversary, lol. It's Dave and Donna's anniversary on Friday... =)

Lainey and Harp kind of had a combined birthday party (just family) because my parents would still be here. They went back to CO on Harp's birthday because the opening of the photography stuff at the State Fair was that night. My dad entered three pictures and they all got in (it's the hardest art thing to get in at the fair because there are so many entries so that is really cool). Emily opened all of Lainey's presents. =P She had fun.

Em was kind of a toot last week, especially about going potty and taking naps and going to bed. She would fuss and flop on the ground about it and it was all because she didn't want to spend any time away from grandparents and Aunt Laurin. She is already back to normal. I'm glad. =)

Yesterday I went to the Wisners' to teach CK and Raven to sew. We cut our patterns out and started to sew a little bit. Then I took a nap for a little bit while the girls did and then we went to the library. We got back and Harp met us not long after that and we stayed for dinner and then played Settlers of Catan with 6 players for the first time. It's pretty fun with lots of people. =)

Harp's mom got the girls this CD that's songs about cows and ice cream. It is so catchy and all the songs stick in my head, so as I'm typing I'm thinking about cows dancing in bermooda shorts. =P lol

Oh we went to the mall and Harp's mom got the girls some really cute matching outfits. =) And my mom got the girls a cute matching outfit for Laina's birthday, too. Fun! One of the things Harp's mom got was a knit sweater. We went and got a knitting machine (she bought it and we're sharing it =) ) and drove all over to find yarn the right colors. So I'm going to make one to match the girls. =)

I've been doing laundry and cleaning up the house. Oh Harp's mom and I painted the upstairs hallway. It's blue, the same as the living room. It needs one more coat and I was going to do it during kids' naps but I have too many other things to get done to do it today. Guess I should get back to work, but I wanted to blog before I forgot EVERYthing. =P

Pics will come eventually... =) I have to put them on the computer now to send Harp the pics of the 4Runner so he can list it for sale... So maybe later today.

Quick Note =)

My parents and sister are here! =) They got here yesterday and they will be here until Thursday. Harp's mom is coming tomorrow and will be here until Sunday. So I probably won't be blogging much. =) I might post pics of Lainey's birthday though. And Harp's. =) Later!

Mynecks =)

Emily calls magnets "mynecks." It is so cute! Today we had some curly fries and Emily made hers into an O and asked what letter it was (a game we play all the time with food and pipe cleaners and whatever else we have). Then she nibbled part of it away and asked what it was. I said it was a C and she said "it's a myneck!" =) It was shaped like a horseshoe magnet. =)

The other day, Em got her heavy metal stool out from between the cabinets and the fridge and set it up by the sink and said "Thank you, God, my stool didn't fall on my foot!!" About a week ago she tried to get it out and it fell on her foot really hard. I thought it was so sweet.

I don't know if I have ever blogged how Em always asks for chamomile tea. =P She asks for it even over blueberry or other berry kinds of tea. She usually takes only a few sips, but I always make it for her anyway because she likes to have tea together. =)

This morning, Harp felt worse again. =( This thing has been hanging on for a long time, getting better and worse. I took the girls to church and set up sound, but one of the microphones wasn't working. I was trying to figure it out with Harp on the phone and then Dave got there and he got it all figured out for me and even ran sound for me so I could be with the girls. SO nice! I worked in the nursery with Nancy and we had a good conversation. =) I love being in there with Nancy. I want to talk to her more because we hardly even touched the conference! There was an Elizabeth George conference in Hutchinson yesterday and I was planning on going until everyone got sick. Liz was Nancy's mentor in California, so they are really close and the Wisners got to have lunch alone with her and they also visited some friends there (they used to live in Hutch, too). So it's good in some ways that I didn't go because we would have gone together and they might not have seen friends and things. But I still want to hear all about it from Nancy and I can't wait. =)

We had a meeting today after church to talk about changing some things this fall. We met last week too but this was to talk about it more - last week was like here is something to think about. So starting this fall we are going to have the service earlier and keep the kids with us in the service. Then we'll have a little break and then have Sunday school classes for everyone after the service. There will be adult Sunday school at the same time as kids'. Very cool! We had been wondering what we'd do when the time came for Em to be in Sunday School because we didn't want her to miss the main service and miss Jeff's messages. But we also like the idea of Sunday school and didn't want her to not go to it... This is awesome! =)

Okay Em just got up from her nap and she really wants to be held. She's still kinda sick too. =\ Blog ya later!

New Van, Lainey's Big, Fun Family =)

Today we bought a van! Emily said "we need to get some babies to put in this van!" lol Cutie!

Harp took Laina home after we picked it up and grabbed some lunch. Em and I went shopping. We didn't get anything at Perfect Peace (they didn't have some advertised VeggieTales in yet) and then we went to Target. We found all these super-cheap cute kid shoes ($1.74 and $2-something - I got 5 of them) and got decaf coffee pods (can only buy them there) and a couple other things and then went to check out. They had yet another magazine with a completely naked woman on it, covering her boobs with flowers this time. So after I paid I kindly told them at customer service that this was not okay and that I didn't appreciate that there is nowhere for my kids to look in the checkout stand where they can't see this stuff. Well they basically said they couldn't do anything and they didn't really care. So then they brought a manager that could supposedly do something but then she told me the same thing - that she couldn't do anything about it either and that it was one of the most popular fashion magazines (Jane). She was kind of vague about who could possibly do something about it and if they ever would... So I just asked her if anyone ever would get rid of them. She said they'd been there as long as she had and no they wouldn't be changing it. I said okay then I would like to return everything I just bought and let you know I won't be shopping at Target anymore. UGH. I liked the shoes. Now I have to order coffee pods online or something. But seriously I am not funding the tiniest portion of that porn-displaying company's sickness. I called Harp and told him all about it and he said he was proud of me for returning the cute shoes and everything. =P lol

ANYway! So Lainey is SO big. She is riding facing forwards in the van! Tooooo cute! It has a video player and Lainey kept pointing to it and making noises, asking to watch something. =P She does that at home, too, to ask to watch a movie. lol What a cutie. She is so adorable. =)

Emily knows the whole ASL alphabet. I can sign a letter and she'll tell me what it is and she can do most of the signs by herself. We have an ASL video that Harp's aunt sent us when Em was really little and now we watch it all the time.

Tonight, we went driving in the van. =) We just wanted to go somewhere. So we went to Wichita and stopped at Goodwill and Hobby Lobby and then the good liquor store. This store has 987 different beers sold by the bottle plus other beers in 6-packs and stuff. And it's a clean store with no nastiness (unlike Target)!

Okay Harp and I are going to work on my kite for a bit before bed. It is so close to being done! =) Later!

Sickness & Ducks & Clothes & Stuff

Well Harp is sick now and he felt really bad yesterday, but stayed at work anyway. Last night he just got worse and worse and he is home today. Lainey has started coughing and Em's still sick. =( Sad, sad!

Yesterday I just felt like we had to get out. Even though it was hot, we made some PBJ and went to High Park and ate under one of the gazebos. We fed the ducks and Lainey got attacked by one for a piece of bread. It scared her, but I don't think it hurt her. They are as tall as she is though so I bet it was extra scary! =P She chased after them later, so she wasn't traumatized. =) Em dropped her sandwich on the nasty ground because "there was a bee on it!" I didn't see any bees, so I don't know. But she freaks out if there is a fly (even a little fruit fly) on something and won't touch it. I was SO hungry but I gave her the rest of my sandwich (she had eaten very little of hers before the bee).

Then we went to the playground, but everything was too hot. We felt the motorcycle, the swings, and the slide. Em said "I guess we'll just have to go home then." =P We did.

Oh those are the dresses I made from the garage sale fabric. Em's is a little too short - oops. I guess she's bigger than I think. =P

Yesterday I started putting away 12 month clothes and getting out 18 months clothes for Lainey. She still fits in most of the 12 month clothes so a lot of them are still out too. But I'm at least getting stuff kind of organized in the process. =)

Laina was up for a long time last night. I don't know how long, but it felt long. She had a runny nose and just didn't feel good. I tried to sleep with her on the couch so she'd be propped up some and the snuggles would help. But I gave up after a while because she kept sitting up and let her cry herself back to sleep. This morning, I got up when Em tinkled in her diaper and she was hungry. I cut her a slice of bread and she ate it in her room and was supposed to just go back to sleep when she was done (I could tell she was still tired and yesterday she asked for a nap at 10). But then she got me up again because she got crumbs in her bed. When I crashed again, I crashed hard and Harp let me sleep until 8:20. I woke up to Em saying "Mommy, will you hold my juice for me?" "Where is it?" "On the counter in the kitchen." "Are you just trying to get me out of bed?" "Yes!"

Okay I think I'm gonna go put Emily down for a nap. She is throwing fits for no reason at all. Well because she is sick, but she doesn't have anything in particular that she is upset about. She just feels bad. =\

Fabric Shoppin'

Today I had to go to Wichita to pick up a lawnmower wheel (yeah I ran over our lawnmower) and I took CK and Raven and we went fabric shopping. We got fabric to make some shirts and I'm going to teach them to sew. I am excited! I also got some clearanced scrapbook stuff that I'm excited to use. =)

I went garage saling on Friday and found some awesome deals. I went to a church sale that was $1 a bag on clothes and shoes and I found brand new never been worn New Balance running shoes in my size. I already had a bag of clothes started, so it was basically free! I also got Em a Mrs. Potato Head for 50 cents. =) Then I went to another church sale and got Don't Spill the Beans and 2 yards of super-cute fabric from JoAnn's for $1. Also found a former teacher's garage sale and got loads of cool stuff. Some story balls, some books, some math stuff that my kids won't use for a while but I couldn't pass it up for that cheap... =) Also got Hi Ho! Cherry-O for a buck and a barrel of monkeys for a quarter. =) And some other nifty stuff. Oh a brand new-lookin' salad spinner for a buck! I was just telling Anna (Graves) that I wanted one of those like 2 weeks ago.

Oh man I haven't blogged in forever 'cause I don't think I mentioned that they came over. Well they did and I altered Anna's dress for Rachael's wedding and that reminds me I should go check Connie's blog for wedding pics. Later!

Hola

Hey! I can't believe it's been so long since I blogged. Hmm, so major events? Friday night was a ladies' thing at the church. All night. I was tired when my girls went to sleep at 9 but I thought I ought to be social and stay up. I made it until 11. Pretty much everyone else was up until at least 3. Eek! Then of course I was up at 6 with the girls and nobody else got up until around 8 unless they were leaving early (and not hanging out!). But it was fun anyway and the time I did hang out with people made it worth it.

We found a van and were ready to buy it today but then Harp looked up a Carfax on it and it appears the owner might be lying... There have been two owners and he says he's the original owner. We'll ask about it - hopefully they just transferred ownership from him to his wife or something like that so they could get a loan because there was no loan the first time but there was the second time... Anyway we like the car but if he's lying about one thing, there's probably another... We'll see.

Em and I have a new little thing that I love. I say "I love you, Emmy blue eyes!" and she'll say "I love you Mommy brown eyes!" Oh, extra cute is that it's "I yove you, Mommy bwown eyes!" Ohhh, I love it! =)

Emily has been into eye color. Friday night, she was lying on top of Hannah on the floor (Hannah crying) and Alyssa and I went over to rescue Hannah. I asked Em what she was doing on top of her and she told me proudly and matter-of-factly "Hannah has brown eyes!" lol

Hannah was sick that night (and last night at small group) and the only kid Emmy's age around, so guess who is sick today? Uh huh. Emmy. Bummer, but whatareyagonnado?

Laina has been teething and had a fever, icky poo, and been pretty cranky off and on for the last two weeks. She had a break for a couple of days so I'm thinkin' another one is starting. I don't know.

Emily spelled 'Quin' with the fridge magnets with very little help from me. She identified all the sounds and found the letters. I just kept saying Quin slowly for her. And she knows "Q and U stick like glue."

A few weeks ago we made chocolate covered strawberries and we were playing with the leftover chocolate, drawing things on waxed paper. Em asked for Emmy and Mommy and Daddy and Lainey. Then she asked for Uncle Quin (predictably - she always adds Uncle Quin). Then she asked for Aunt Laurin. Yay! She hardly ever asks for her without prompting. That may have even been the first time, I don't know. But then after I drew Aunt Laurin, she asked for another Uncle Quin. She wanted two Uncle Quins. =P

I had two empty picture frames in Em's room and I asked Em who she wanted in them and she said Mommy and Aunt Laurin. That made me smile. =)

Well I'm sure there is other stuff to blog but I can't think of what and I have plenty of stuff to do, so I'll just blog ya later. =)

Mini Golf Pics

When you stop laughing... =) Yeah, it was a mistake, but I really like this picture.

How Lainey plays golf.

Emily-O

Cutie Em

Daddy and Lainey Joy

Emily's Quilt Pics

Raven

CK. I love CK. She's one of my best friends. =)

Emily and the elf ears. These have been circulating around the church youth for a while. =P Donna said they were from a Sunday School thing.

Pat, Nancy, and Raven putting the top down. This is the only picture I have of it, but you can see it well enough to get the idea. =P I think it turned out as cute as possible given the things we had to put in it. =) Nancy found the fabric we used for the border (and also the backing and binding) and it was perfect. It had almost every color in it that was in a shirt. I think all but the yellow.

The lady whose name I hate to admit I don't remember... I met her the day I was due (or maybe overdue) with Lainey when I went to help with the setup for the homeschool banquet. I only vaguely remember that. And then I spent this whole day with her and I don't know her name. =(

Donna (not wanting her picture taken). Donna paints amazing pictures and works at a gallery one day a week. She has her art in the gallery. I have never been, but I want to go! The last Friday of every month, it's free and there is free food and a trolley that takes you around to different arts-related things downtown (all free).

Pat (also not wanting her picture taken)

Carrie. This is Diana's youngest daughter. Also, Mike's (as in Mike & Felicity) sister and Kendra's aunt (her mom is Ellen).

Nobody wanted their picture taken, so most of these are goofy. I'm hoping this Friday people will want to have their picture taken (yeah right). =P This Friday is a ladies' night at the church. All night. =) I'm taking the girls and we're going to sleep in the "camping house" (the tent).