Not my fault

We bought a new VW Jetta a couple months ago.  It's a fabulous little black zippy thing.  The kids love it because it has a sunroof.  Adam loves it because it's fast and plays nicely with his iPhone.  I love it because I look way cooler in it than the minivan.

But now it's crashed.

It wasn't my fault.  Will it ever be right?

Recovering

Jonah's party was just perfect!  Seriously, it was the best party to date.  Everything went exactly as planned and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves (or at least they didn't look miserable).

I have billions of pictures to share with you from Jonah's birthday when he received his new bike to the birthday party to the 4th of July party with the Behm's to the fireworks display.  It was a CRAZY weekend.  We're still recovering.

We also have exterior remodeling pictures to share and will soon have another special announcement.  Lisa, I'm not pregnant:)

In the meantime, here's a little snippet from the party...

The bike parade.  Photo courtesy of SquidMommy Photography.

Party FAQ's

FAQ's about Jonah's birthday party:

Q:  Who starts a party at 10:00 in the morning?
A:  We do!

Q:  Why does the party start so early?
A:  Because it's a parade party.  Parades are in the morning.  Unless it's Mardi Gras and you're planning to flash your boobies, then it's best to save that for later in the evening.  Also, it's a busy weekend for many with the 4th of July holiday.  We thought this would have the least amount of conflict with other functions that typically occur on this weekend (fireworks, 4th of July parties, etc).

Q:  Is there food?  Alcohol?
A:  There will be donuts, fruit, juice and coffee.  There will only be alcohol if you bring it.  Otherwise, no.

Q:  What's on the agenda?
A:  We'll start by decorating bikes for the parade.  The parade will be followed by present opening.  Donuts and coffee will be available throughout the morning.  The jumpy will be set up too.  It will be over around 12:30.

Q:  What if it rains?
A:  Come over just to see Mandy throw a huge temper tantrum.  There is no "plan B."  There is a chance of rain on Saturday.  If it does rain, prepare to be packed in the house like sardines.

Q:  What should I bring?
A:  Kids should definitely bring a riding toy.  If you're an adult, you should bring a chair or blanket to sit on.  If you'd like to join the parade, bring your bike, walker, cane, scooter or wagon.  Adam and I will be riding our bikes with the kids.  This might be your only chance to be in a parade so don't miss out.  If someone could come dressed as the beauty pageant winner, that'd be great!

Q:  Should I take a sedative before coming?
A:  Yes.  Possibly two.

Jonah is 5!

Jonah is 5 years old today.  I can't even believe it.  Five seems even crazier than his first birthday.  He'll still want to cuddle with me, right?

Jonah has always been a hilarious, energetic, talented child.  I think he got Adam's "will of a rattlesnake," good, bad or indifferent:)  He is our challenging child that keeps us on our toes and makes us look like complete rookies everyday.

I was chatting with my friend Lisa the other day.  Her first born is so much like Jonah.  We shared with each other our fascination, amusement, unconditional love, complete frustration and concern for their social well-being.  We talked about their willful behavior, the looks you get in public during a "not so shiny moment" and their difficulties in preschool.  We talked about watching them succeed in school, tell funny jokes, sharing their naive view of the world and showing love to their siblings.  We talked about the perfection that is your first born.  It makes it all worth it.

Jonah woke up this morning ready to take on their world as King Birthday Boy!  He told us he gets to do whatever he wants on his birthday.  And Adam agreed.  Oh god...it's going to be a long day:)

Jonah - 1 day old

Jonah - 6 months old

Jonah - 1 year old

Jonah - 2 years old

Jonah - 3 years old

Jonah - 4 years old

 

Jonah - 5 years old

Smile pretty y'all

Photographing our birthday parties is not a strength of ours.  Our parties are always waaaaaaaaay too crazy to think about picking up a camera.

We are always so bummed about this.  We love parties and miss so much of what's going on because we're busy doing other things.

And this year's party includes a parade!  How will we ever be able to take pictures among all this madness?

Solution:  The fabulous Leah Naeve from SquidMommy Photography will be onsite capturing all the great moments.  She's super duper awesome and you can see some of her work here and follow her on Facebook here.

Leah will be chasing all the kids around for some great shots.  You'll be able to shop all of the party pictures on her site and purchase prints if you'd like.  I'll let everyone know when they are posted to her site.  If you love them, you should schedule a session with her for your next family pictures or party.  She's amazing with kids!

So, floss your teeth and wipe the eye boogers out of your eyes before you arrive at our house at 10 am on  Saturday morning because Leah's close ups are my favorite!

About the time where I start to get the crazy eye

Jonah's 5th birthday party is only 96 hours away!  The pre-party insanity is in full swing.  Half of my dining room has been taken over by a mound of decorations and party supplies.  There's been lots of last minute poufing, planning and prep.

And, of course, it wouldn't be a birthday party if we weren't also trying to tie up a house project.  The exterior project is FINALLY coming to an end.  Adam is finishing the lower portion of the deck today.  We'll have lots of pictures of the before and after just after Jonah's birthday.

Jonah's actual birthday is this Thursday.  We'll be celebrating with a picnic dinner and a special surprise for him.  We'll keep you well informed:)

Boys being boys

I came home from work the other day and found Adam and Jonah sitting in the driveway doing this:

What were they doing?  Well, I asked the same thing.  Adam's response, "We're making primitive tools like cavemen."  Very matter-of-fact, like you've done this before, right?

Adam is the biggest kid I've ever met.  I love this part about him [usually].  He loves video games, shopping for kid's toys, playing with fireworks, making blanket forts, drunken wrestling in the snow with his best friends and now caveman tools.

So they rubbed the spears on the concrete driveway until they were sharp:

Then, they were ready to go catch a bison:

Adam spotted one and threw his spear:

Jude spotted something to spear.  Poor Tara:

Jonah decided that bison are too hard to catch.  Instead, spears are to be hammered into the ground.  Maybe the bison will trip on it:

Boys will be boys!

Down and out

A freak summer storm blew through yesterday afternoon with crazy winds, hail, horizontal rain and lots of thunder and lightening.

The maple in our front yard has been deteriorating from some weird flesh-eating bacteria that's been causing the bark to fall off.  We thought the tree had a couple years left but apparently not...

It landed on the electric box in our front yard and caused a weird humming noise?  We were a bit nervous about that so our neighbor called the electric company.  They showed up several hours later, just after the electricity in the entire neighborhood went out.  We feared that our tree caused the power outage.  Great, our house is getting egged tonight.  But the electricity workers said a transformer blew down the street.  Whew!  Hopefully our neighbors knew that too.

The power didn't come back on for hours and hours.  Sometime in the middle of the night it kicked back on.  By then, I had been up with both boys when they woke up in a pitch black room all freaked out.  Eventually, Jonah ended up in our bed so I kicked Adam out of bed for keeping Jonah and I awake from snoring.  Not my best night of sleep.

Today, Adam will be taking care of this tree.  We have had a tree come down in each of the three houses we have owned.  Weird!

More

Jude has the cutest way of saying things.  Although he's still coming up to speed with his speech skills, he has made HUGE progress in the past two and a half months.  He's gone from not wanting to repeat anything you say to a little mockingbird.  The words he repeats aren't usually even close to accurate but getting better everyday.

For example, I say "motorcycle" and Jude says "coco".  I say "truck" and Jude says "quou."  I say "Karen" and he says "Momma."  Yes, he calls his babysitter momma.  I'm trying not to freak out over that.  He loves her very much so I'm trying to see the bright side.

He is starting to make two words sentences but only very infrequently.  He's learned to work around it though.  When he sees something he wants (like a plane in the sky, toy at the store, special treat) but pats his chest and says "mine, mine, mine."  It's his way of saying I want that.

One of his cutest words is his version of "more."  He's just recently started using it without being prompted and says it when he wants more juice, food and water for his squirt gun.  When he says it, Adam and I find ourselves repeating it for a few minutes..."moi."  Think about the way you say me in French (moi) but say it slower with an emphasis on the "m" sound..."mmmmoi."  Cutest thing I've ever heard.  I'll try to capture it on video in the next couple of days.

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Jonah's 5th Birthday

Invites were mailed today.  If you didn't get one, don't be offended.  Come anyway.  We'd love to have you there.  It's going to be fun and chaotic as usual.  If you've been to one of our parties before, then you know that you have less than one month to prepare for an extremely loud, crowded and unique experience.  If you've NEVER been, then you should plan to come and relax during this peaceful, tranquil experience.  Haha!

We're going to try to beat the heat by kicking it off at 10 am.  Plus, you can't have a parade in the evening.  That's just not right.  We'll have you back in the car around 12:30.  You'll have the rest of the day to recover from this mania or to take in another party and fireworks.  

Kids, don't forget your bike, tricycle, big wheel, scooter, roller blades, wagon or stroller.  It's the best way to join the fun, but you can just walk if you prefer.  Parents and adults, bring a chair or blanket.  Adults should also feel free to join the parade on foot or bike. Adam and I will be riding our bikes!

Kissing

This morning on the way to the sitter's house...

Jonah:  I saw you kiss Daddy in his car.

Me:  Hehehehe

Jonah:  It would be so cool if I could kiss my friends like that too.

Me:  Oh god!

At least he's free

King's Island is only 20 minutes from our house and is the most awesomest place on earth.  Their water park is mega-fun for the boys and for Adam and me too.  So we purchased season passes for the family this year.  Jude is under 3 so his was free and this is important to note.  Keep reading.

Jonah, no surprise, is a dare devil when it comes to anything in the water park and any normal ride.  He'll seriously ride anything, except the haunted house.  He rides the beastie, log rides, ANYTHING he's tall enough for.  He can't get enough.

And then there's Jude.  Nothing.  He will ride NOTHING, not even the carousel!  Who in the world is afraid of the carousel?  He rode the little toddler train but refused to ride anything else.  Instead, he laughed and ran in circles outside the queuing areas for rides.  He's free, so I'm not going to freak out this year, but next year, we'll be forcing him to get his $75 worth of rides, damn it!

On the way home, Jonah told us that it was the bestest day of his life.  Yeah!  I'm sure Jude felt the same way but he was asleep shortly after we buckled him in.

Yes, I'll take a free trip to Paris for our 10th anniversary

Jordan Ferney from Oh Happy Day is giving away a 7 day trip to Paris.  I think it's just in time for our 10th wedding anniversary.  What a fine way to celebrate!  We'll be taking looking for someone to watch the boys so you better start thinking of excuses for not being able to do it because we'll be asking:)  Hahahahaha!

You should enter.  I did.  http://ohhappyday.com/2011/06/goes-to-paris

Good luck!

Intrigued but shy

We have so many pictures of Jude with the same expression on his face. He walks up to the camera, like right up to the camera, and looks down. He's intrigued. He wants the camera. But he's shy. Melts my heart.

Of course, as soon as you snap the picture he comes to life and looks right at the camera with a big smile on his face.  So, you hold up the camera again and say "cheese" and he looks down or runs away.  Stinker!

OUR Big Chill

We've returned from OUR Big Chill weekend in Hocking Hills.  We joined two set of our besties at a giant rustic cabin in southeast Ohio to enjoy some nature, calories and to just hang out with friends.  Luckily, there were no dead bodies or cocaine.  But there were smores, hiking, swimming, children running and screaming and playing inside and out.  We ate like it was the last food on earth and enjoyed each other's company.  It was pretty awesome!  It was a lot of work for only two days of awesomeness, though.  Next time, we'll have to stay longer.  And drink more beer.  It was a true testament to our age the amount of beer that DID NOT get consumed.  We're getting old.

Here are a few shots from the weekend.

This shot was HILARIOUS to set up!

Jenn

 

Puppet crafting

The kids LOVE Dave!

A wild woman at the waterfall!

The self-portrait master

 

Lily & Sophia in the cave

 

Poor Lily.  Covered in mud.

The Lobo's

EXHAUSTED!

The classic Jude picture.  We have so many pics of him doing this exact thing.