Clothes by Piper

To keep Piper out of mischief for a few minutes, I asked her to pick out Wesley’s clothes. This is what she came up with. I think the ensemble needs a beret.

Gramma and Papa's House

Dwayne is best man in David's wedding this weekend and as it is in North Carolina, it made sense that only he go, as it is not cost- or sanity-effective to bring the me and the kids.  At the prospect of taking care of everything, and everyone, for the 5 days he was going to be gone, I whimpered something like, "Mommmmmmmmmy!" which translates as "May the kids and I all stay at your house for 5 days?  Please?"

It was a rough start, even just getting us down here.  I was exhausted and headed to bed before 10pm when I heard the retching.  Piper had a 12-hour stomach bug in addition to the cold all the kids had.  Luckily, the time has gotten better.  Much better, though it doesn't take much to improve upon an all-night stomach bug.

We like to walk/ride/be carried around their neighborhood.

 

Puppy is buried under all those blankets.  He’s been kind of the new Baby.

 

 

Is it me, or does Wes look like a vampire in this shot?

 

 

Oh, but what a bathing beauty in the kitchen sink!

 

 

Today, we went to the newly opened

 

It’s an outdoor area made for running, climbing, and exploring, activities my girls have a natural bent towards.

    

In the same parking lot, there is a nature center with turtles, snakes, and frogs.  We got to dress up as all sorts of animals.  Kyla chose the skunk costume for me.  They had puzzles, books, microscopes, and a min-gift shop that sold candy, so we spent a lot of time in here as well. 

With the Snake Lake trail just behind this building, there was lots of fun (and educational!) things to do here.  We’ll definitely mark this as a place to visit again.

If only...

If only I had washed Baby after the last camping trip.

If only I had told Piper that Baby had to stay in the car.

If only I hadn't put Baby down in the restroom to help both girls wash their hands.

If only I hadn't arranged to meet my parents in Renton at 12:30 after MOPS, not allowing us to return to church after I realized I didn't see Baby when loaded the car.

If only Kyla and Wesley hadn't been sick the next morning, making me decide not to go out that day and check at the church for Baby.

If only I had at least called the church on that Friday.

Because....Baby was found on Thursday and propped up on the nursery counter. On Saturday, someone with very good intentions saw Baby during a clean-up and decided that this nursery toy was too dirty and should just be thrown away. At least that is the story that we have pieced together after trying to find Baby at church on Sunday and then a special, more frantic, trip again Monday morning.

If only Baby wasn't in some unknown trash heap.

I'm sorry, Piper. Really, really almost-to-tears sorry.

Love,

Mama

Kiddisms

 

Kyla [running up the stairs]:  Mama, Mama, we were chasing monsters and a monster ATE PIPER.

[Piper comes up the stairs, expressionless.]

Mama:  Piper, how are you?  Do you need a hug?

Piper: No.

Mama:  What do you need, then?

Piper: New bones.

*     *     *     *     *     *

Kyla: Daddy, my tummy’s full enough for dessert, now.

*     *     *     *     *     *

And, just today, Piper stopped saying “Kaga” and called her sister “Kyla”!

8 Months Old

He’s sitting up like a pro, rolling and scooting all around the floor, and can pull himself up (and out of!) his bathtub.  And he makes all of us very, very happy.

First Day of Preschool

Kyla’s been ready for preschool for a while now. Here she is play going to school, the day before the big day. The first day of preschool.

Here’s my confession. The crew was coming that morning to start building the deck, so I was out there earlier with my camera to take “before” pictures of the project. If it hadn’t been for that, I wouldn’t have had my camera available, and wouldn’t have remembered to take any pictures of Kyla’s first day of school. Almost fumbled that one!

I always said my goal was to treat my first born as a second child.

Hello, World! I’m coming!

Not a tear was shed, I have to admit. When Dwayne walked her to her classroom, she was off as soon as he turned to give the snacks to her teacher. We certainly don’t fall into the “cryer” community the principal warned us about.

But this picture nearly broke my heart. Piper is without Kyla.

 

She wants to go preschool, too.

It Takes Two

It takes two. That’s' the theme of this post.

It takes two pictures to get good shots of Wesley and Piper driving together.

It takes two to supervise the deck building. (More on that later, when (if??) the deck is completed.)

We break theme a little here—it takes 3 pictures to capture 4 in the bath. Love the shot of Wesley!

And the two boy cousins, just 7 months apart, get their first encounter. Sorry about that, Parker!

Dwayne turns almost 40!

Which is the age he has been at since leaving his twenties. He’s actually 36 this year and since I turn that in just another 2 months, I don’t find it remotely old. Barely pushing against middle age, in fact.

Kyla thought Daddy should have brownies for his birthday and Piper voted for cake. So we made brownie cake, or brownie mix baked in a heart-shaped cake pan. We’re trying to teach the value of compromise here at the Need homestead.

Labor Day Camping Trip II: Playing

I had made witty commentary (or we can just both believe so) on all the following pictures before over-riding the entire post. Now I’m just posting the pictures. I’ve got new stuff to put up before I forget!

Baby Parker, 2.5 weeks old.

Labor Day Camping Trip III: The Party

I’ve run out of time to narrate these but they pretty much speak for themselves. The one thing I will add is that Baskin Robbins can put dry ice on an ice cream cake if, for instance, you are camping and don’t have adequate refrigeration. It doesn’t damage the cake at all, even if you put right over the writing. We were impressed!