Out of the mouths of babes--August

A couple of days late, here are this month's funnies.

8/3--On our way to church this morning, we passed a truck that had a whole bunch of cases of pop in the back. Whit said, "I wish I could drink Sierra Mist all day!"
Brandon added, "Me, too! And I wish I could have a port-a-potty right by me!"

Doesn't want to have to hold it.

8/4--I love it when kids make observations like these. We read "Goodnight Moon" for the first time in a long while. I think Whit got some of the lines stuck in her head because later I heard her say, "A room full of mush is a mushroom!"

8/5--Deep thoughts from the backseat of the van. By Brandon:
"You're lucky, Whit. You get a mom. Moms get to stay home. Dads have to go to work. But they get to sneak candy....But they get old fast." Is that a slam on Andrew? Ouch.

8/6--Today the radio was doing a little piece on the most misspelled city named. Albuquerque was #4. Tucson was #2. And Pittsburgh was #1.
I was so surprised to hear it was Pittsburgh and thought I knew how to spell it. (I was wrong! I didn't know there was an "h" on the end.) Anyway, Brandon was shocked, too. He said, "They're wrong. That's impossible. First graders can spell Pittsburgh!"
Me: "How?"
B: "Well, I'm not one of those first graders, but others can."
Cracked me up.
Then he proceeded to make an attempt.
And he spelled it the same way I would've, without an H on the end. So I told him he got it right. Then I found out we were both wrong. Oops.

8/10--Whit came walking down the stairs this evening in one of her fancy princess dresses. This is pretty much a daily occurrence. But today, she took the act further than usual. She informed us (in her fanciest snobby voice) that she was Sarah, the princess of Agrabah. She assigned the rest of us new names and titles as well. I was Allie, Queen of Agrabah. Andrew was Josh, the King of course. And Brandon was the Royal Advisor. (Where does she come up with this stuff?) She insisted that as we all sat around the dinner table, we address her in our fanciest snobby voices as well.

Does she look like a Sarah?

8/21--The first thing W said to Dr. Buckley when he walked into our room was, "I like your tie." I thought it was so cute.

One night after the kids had gone to bed,
we went upstairs and saw this in the hall
between their rooms:

How cute is that? They'd tucked in all their
favorite dolls and stuffed animals.

8/24--B's deepest desire of the day: "If I could have only one thing, I'd want something to let me see through walls. That's my wish. Even if I only get one thing for Christmas." Later in the day he changed his mind, "Actually, if I could only have one thing, I'd have five billion dollars." That sounds more like him.

8/25--At the store today, Brandon asked, "Can me and Whit have a rice krispy treat?"
The answer he can almost always count on, "No."
But he had a great retort, "Can we have TWO?"
Good try, buddy. Still no.

B and I were trying to capture an optical
illusion of Caroline with a big head using
this huge magnifying glass.

Didn't quite turn out the way I'd imagined.

8/27--During our dinner conversation tonight, the subject of home-schooling and tutors came up. (Not that we're considering it, we just happened to be discussing people who do.) Whitney asked, "What's a tutor? Is it an 'utor' that toots?" She had us all cracking up over that one.

8/28--Whit walked into my room wearing a fancy white dress.
W: Today is my wedding.
Me: Who are you marrying?
W: A guy named...Joe.
Me: Oh. Where did you meet him?
W: Nowhere. I just heard about him.
Me: So you've never met him? How do you know he's a good guy to marry?
W: I heard about about him on my blog. [pause] And my sister-in-law told me he was a good guy to marry.
Holy cow! I've never heard her sound so grown up.

I think she can cook more at four years old
than I could when I got married!

Brandon didn't take any self-portraits this month, but I did find these pics on my camera:

Everyone needs a sideways
picture of their monitor

Peace out!

He thought this one was cool because C's
binky is in the process of falling out of her mouth.

That's his webkin perched precariously on the
balcony. Don't do it, Sam!!

And, finally, this is what happens when two 7-year-olds commandeer my camera at the water park:

Silly boys!

Caroline at three months

Get ready for a HUGE dose of cuteness. I had the best photo shoot with Caroline this week and am excited to share the fruits of my labors.

Caroline hit the three month mark this week. Woo hoo! I had told myself that the first three months would be the hardest, as far as fatigue goes, so I'm hoping I remember correctly.

I think I've loved her newborn stage more
than with B or W. I am completely
smitten with her! I was trying to figure out why.
Here are my theories:
*I realize how short-lived this phase of her life is and want to savor it.
*I treasure her innocence and purity.
*I'm just getting more sentimental.

She is more interactive now and will
coo back at me when I hold her close
and look her in the eyes and smile and talk to her.

She's quick to smile back and has that
same big open-mouth smile that her
brother had as a baby.

Whit is still a GREAT helper with her
and shows no jealousy about all the
attention a newborn demands.

She loves both Brandon and Whit, but seems
to have a special spot in her heart for B and always
has big smiles for her brother.

Still doesn't sleep great. Most nights she
has two stretches of 4-5 hours each. It's
not bad, but I wish it were longer.

I LOVE her shoulders. I think they look buff,
considering what a petite little thing she is.

And I love her eyes: their shape,
size and color. Adorable.
A definite nickname has yet to emerge
for Caroline. A few that we toss around:
Carolina
Care Bear
Baby Bear

I find that we often just call her "baby girl" or
"munchkin" or "my little girlfriend."
Interesting.

We are SOOO blessed to have this
little sweetheart in our family.

My BIG Second Grader

My big B-train started second grade this week. He was ALL excited for it to start. Now that it's here, the thrill is long gone. I already heard for the first time this morning, "I don't wanna go to school today." Great.

Here he is looking sharp

in his glasses and polo.

Don't let the look fool ya--he's still as goofy as ever.

Going...going...gone.

According to Brandon:

The best part of second grade(so far): Music and art. Good thing we're in a school that still has specials like this every day, huh?

The worst part:
TORNADO DRILLS

Yesterday, we had lots of severe weather alerts
for our area and the kids ended up having to sit
in the hall in THIS position for safety. I don't know
how accurate his sense of time is, but he says
he had to stay like this for an hour in the morning
and an hour and a half in the afternoon.
He's convinced he did chronic damage to his
knees and elbows. Poor little guy.

The other worst part: NO RECESS! Since it has been raining both days of school, they haven't been able to go outside for recess. When I asked what they did instead, he said, "We just did work!" Not the best start for my super-active boy.

He only has one friend in his class from last year, so he'll have the chance to make lots of new ones...if they ever get the chance to go outside and play together.

It's much quieter around here with B gone.

The girls and I enjoyed a lazy morning in our PJ's
for the first day of school. Yay for us!

Pirate Princess

Ahoy, mateys. The one-eyed princess has returned.

Last week we went to visit Whit's favorite Pediatric Opthalmologist. Her vision wasn't great. 20/30 in her good eye, 20/50 in her bad. That's not a huge difference and she's had worse in the past, but it was enough that he wants her to start patching...again. Will this ever end? Will she be wearing a patch to her wedding? Sheesh.

On the plus side, she only has to wear it 2-3 hours a day. So she won't have to wear it to school or church. And we go back in two months. Hoping for a good report then.

We thought we could dance

So, Andrew and I were big fans of the show SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE this season, right? Well, when it ended, we were so bummed that we decided to bring it to life in our own living room! Andrew came up with the idea and I have to give him major props. He e-mailed some friends who are fellow fans and we all prepared dance routines and rocked the house. It was so much fun. If laughter adds eight years to your life, I will live to be a very old woman after this party.

By the time Andrew and I had finished choreographing our number, I was feeling pretty good about it...then we taped ourselves and watched it. Oh...my...gosh. Here we are on the night of the party. Take a look:

Hill...air...ee..us. The lifts are the best. What grace. What elegance. Um....or maybe not. I have a much greater admiration for all the real dancers. They are so flexible and strong! I was seriously sore from our two nights of practicing for this little number. Phew. Now I know why those dancers have such great bodies. Hey, maybe that could be my new weight loss plan...dance off all the baby weight.

Whitney wasn't about to let a chance in the spotlight pass her by. Here is her contemporary interpretive dance:

This girl makes me smile.

Not to be out done, Miss Caroline was practicing dance moves in her sleep.
Trying to get a ticket on the hot tamale train.

Brandon must be growing up because he was too embarrassed to dance in front of our friends. He told me it was because he hadn't prepared a routine.

Hodge Podge

I haven't had anything to blog about this week. So I kept waiting to post. But now I have an assortment of thoughts to throw out there. Here ya go.

Best. Husband. Ever.
Every year there is a scrapbooking convention down in Charlotte. I think I've gone for the past 5 years. Even though I don't spend a lot of my time on that hobby anymore, I still enjoy it and like learning new things. The convention was this past weekend. My AMAZING husband agreed to keep all three kids all day long. He's usually a homebody when he's in charge of the munchkins, but not this time. He even took them to his company's summer party. Impressive, right? I left the house around 7:30 in the morning. I called him at 5:30 to see how things were going and if it was OK for me to stop at Concord Mills and shop for a while. Not only did he say things were going great, but he even suggested that I SPEND MONEY while shopping. Wait, are you sure this is Andrew on the phone? Did I hear you right? Well, when he makes a suggestion like that, I have to take him up on it. I turned off the ringer on my phone (in case he called back in his right mind) and quickly hurried to the Skechers outlet and purchased two new pairs of sandals. Ahhhh....retail therapy.

Andrew handled Saturday like a champ. I was SO grateful to have a little getaway. It was the first time in Caroline's life I'd been away from her that long. It caught up with him on Sunday. He fell asleep after church and had the hardest time waking up from his nap. He originally fell asleep downstairs on the couch. Then the phone rang, woke him up, and he came up to the bonus room where the kids and I were playing. But he just laid down on the floor and fell back asleep. The kids proceeded to torment him while he was in and out of consciousness. Brandon thought it was hilarious and grabbed the camera and took these pictures. Poor Andrew. I thought it was funny, too, so I didn't even tell the kids to stop. (SOOO not the best wife ever.)

Basket over head and gun in hand

Plus a Little people doll on chest.
You know he was tired if
he slept through all of this!

Olympic Fever
You gotta love the Olympics. We have become total couch potatoes as we watch elite athletes compete on the international level. Do you see the irony here? The kids are so into it. B and W don't care if it's swimming, volleyball, cycling, or the women's marathon. They are glued to the TV and cheering with excitement.

What has been your favorite Olympic moment so far? Mine was easily the men's swimming relay when France was talking trash and we came back from what looked like an impossible margin to barely edge them out for gold. YESSSS!!!! I was yelling at the TV like it was my own family out there swimming.

I wish I had the body of a beach volleyball player. Maybe we do need to move closer to the ocean so I can start playing that sport.

Do you watch any of the events and think, "I bet I could do that."? I've found myself thinking that on several occasions. I could do the uneven bars. How hard could it be to spin around like that? I could ride a bike really fast if I trained for a while. Oooh, I bet I could be really good trampolinist if I tried.

Water park
We have REALLY missed going to the water park this summer, but it's just not the best outing for a mom of three with a newborn baby. (I guess I'm not THAT adventurous!) But at the end of the season, they run a special where you can buy a season pass for next year and use it for the rest of this year, too. Since Caroline will be 1 by next summer, I thought this would be a perfect way to sneak in a couple of visits this month and then we'll be ready for next year, too. Andrew took the day off from work and we spent it frolicking in the sun and water. LOVED IT!

Brandon has decided he is NOT into water slides so just wanted to swim and do the lazy river. I was SO bummed because I LOVE water slides and was hoping to go on them with B since he's tall enough for all the rides now. Luckily Whit pulled through and went on a couple with me. Wheee! Andrew and I took turns hanging out with Caroline in the shade. That was actually a really great excuse to take it easy. It wasn't nearly as exhausting as usual.

Drew taking his turn with the baby

W having fun.
B...maybe not so much.

Drew and the kids on the lazy river

Me and Caroline relaxing in the shade

Did you know Whit was learning
to walk on water?

Caroline
Of course I can't update the blog without a few new pics of Miss Caroline. She laughed for the first time this week. Her little giggle is totally contagious, but I've only managed to get her to do it twice.

Her eyes are still that pretty gray-blue.
I hope they stay that way.

B took these first two pics. He's good at
getting her to smile. Sweet big bro.

She LOVES her hands right now and sucks
on them all the time. She also drools a lot.
She's at that point where the front of her shirt
is always soaked. Ahhh, the joys of babyhood.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

So, as a mom of a newborn, I consider myself pretty adventurous in a non-extreme-sports way. I've taken all three kids on a cross-country flight, grocery shopping on more than one occasion, to the library, out to eat at the Olive Garden, on a 30 minute walk with my friends, to church, to the movies....all in the absence of Andrew. Come on--does it get braver than that? Not much.

But, one of the least daring spots we decided to take her this weekend: to her first baseball game. Yay--go Grasshoppers! I decided baseball games are wonderful events for newborns. There are lots of things for them to look at, they're outside (unless you live in Phoenix), and it's really loud most of the time, so if they cry it just blends in with the crowd noise.... At least that's what I told myself.

Caroline did awesome.

I didn't even have to worry about her crying much.

She was happy to just hang out
and munch on her oversized binky.

Andrew and I love watching minor league games.
Brandon gets into them, too.
He's always one of the loudest cheerleaders.
Whit gets bored, but hangs in there.
(We usually bring Andrew's iPod so she
can watch a movie or two when her attention
span has reached its limit.)

On Saturday nights, they do a fireworks show.
It was AMAZING!
My camera takes crappy firework photos,
so you'll just have to envision something
similar to the opening ceremonies fireworks.
OK, maybe not that fancy-schmancy.

I don't know how she pulled it off,
but little C slept through the whole
thing. And it was LOUD! Yea, like
deafening. I think my ears are still ringing.

Whitney with Guilford the Grasshopper

Brandon with Miss Babe Ruth,
the bat retrieving dog.

On a completely unrelated note, it's fun to hear others' comments on who Caroline looks like. Most people say she looks like B. Others tell me she looks like Andrew or Whit. I've had very few people tell me that she looks like me. I don't blame them. I hadn't seen the resemblance, either....until tonight.

See my head full of dark, thick, voluminous locks???

We got a peek into the future tonight
when Brandon put Andrew's wig
from Halloween on Caroline:

Yes! Now she looks like she could
be my baby. She has my hair!

SYTYCD and other random fun stuff

So You Think You Can Dance
Andrew and I are SO into this show right now. It has been our only summer show, so we've looked forward to watching it every week and now it's coming to an end. Excuse me while I wipe a tear. I know some of you have been watching it, too, so what do you think? Who do you want to win tonight? Who is your pick? Did you call in and vote?

I want Katee to win and I meant to call in and vote, but got distracted and forgot about it until it was midnight and I SO needed to get in bed. I thought Will should've won, but I think maybe Josh and Twitch were more charismatic, so they got the votes. I like Katee the best out of these final four and Josh is my next favorite. It'll be fun to see what happens tonight. Oh, and I was so sad to see Chelsea go home last week. I thought she was way better than Courtney.

What was up with Cat's dress last night? I'm a big fan of hers, but that dress was ugly. It made her look like an armadillo. Am I right?

Videos clips that I like
Here are just a few random youtube clips that make me smile and/or crack up. You may have already seen them, but if not, enjoy.

These first two are from "Improv Everywhere," a group that puts together random improv moments in public places. HILARIOUS idea. I would love to be a part of something like this, but probably couldn't keep a straight face.

Food Court Spontaneous Musical


Frozen Grand Central Station


This one I saw on Jackie's blog and every time I watch it, I laugh myself to tears. That probably shows how easily entertained I am, but hopefully you'll get a chuckle, too.
Human Tetris


When we were watching Fox last night, they had a commercial for a this same show coming this fall. Great, I'll probably end up watching it and then feeling dumber for having done so.

Breaking Dawn
If you have finished reading Stephenie Meyer's new book, raise your hand. I spent WAY too many hours with it when I should've been sleeping, but I made it. LOVED it. There were a couple spots throughout the middle when I thought I didn't like it, but by the end, I was hooked again. I'm sad that the adventures of Bella, Edward, and Jacob are over, but I was happy (if a little disturbed) with the way everything resolved.

Miss Caroline Rose
And, finally, I'll end with a couple cute pics of our little cutie. She is still changing every day it seems. She is so much happier now than she was a month ago. It is wonderful. She smiles a lot and sleeps a lot.

Is there anything cuter than
a baby girl in her Sunday best?
I think not.

Love this little girl.