Happy Birthday Aunt Beth!

Aunt Beth had a birthday this weekend and we were lucky enough to celebrate with most of the family in Birmingham.

Here are Harper and Svea standing off at the pool...



...before joining Carter, Graham, Jackson and Henry in the Bounce 'Round:



You could sweat your weight just sitting there in July Alabama heat, so it made sense to have the Bounce 'Round, some corn hole, and some game called Bulong Ball or something that involved swinging golf balls that are attached to ropes. Henry loved it of course, and I was just nervous about everyone keeping their teeth and eyeballs while Henry was swinging.




At the beginning, Henry told me, "Mom, this is the best party I've ever had!"
In the middle of the party, Svea told me, "Mom, I'm ready for the party to start."



We all got to sing Happy Birthday and then dig our fingers into Beth's Strawberry Shortcake birthday cake.



We're so glad you were born, Beth! Thanks for having such a great party.

Mommy & Me

Henry and I enjoyed an early morning chat before everyone else woke up the other day.



He brought the full tennis bag. I brought the coffee.

Misting Off by the Tiger Cage

Mean Guys Eat Poop Sandwiches.

That was the conclusion over lunch...



...along with the thrill of saying "poop." It just never gets old.



I must say, I have to agree.

Round and Round the Dinner Table

Our first old-school merry-go-round ride:



In addition to playground dizziness, Brian and I have been graced with some bizarre and hilarious dinner conversation topics lately.
Like knock-knock jokes.



Henry: Knock, knock.
Me: Who's there?
Henry: Football player.
Me:.........Football player who?
Henry: (in exasperated tone) Football player knocking on your door!
Me: Duh.



Then there's:

Henry: Mom, I've got some GOOD news and I've got some BAD news.
Me: Okay. What's the good news?
Henry: The GOOD news is football players.
Me: Of course. What's the bad news?
Henry: The BAD news is ghosts.



Sometimes we actually eat during dinner and it's a good night when we can remember if Henry has changed his name to Peter, Peter Parker, John Parker, Jack (as in Baby Jack-Jack from The Incredibles or as in Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean which he has never actually seen. In the church nursery today he made the workers call him Jack Sparrow the whole time).

Tea Party for One

All dressed up in proper Princess Tea Party attire...



...Svea is ready for Tea Party #14 of the day.

Stress

We have all, in some way, I feel sure, been dealing with stress this summer. By "all" I really mean all of us out there and here and around.
I think it's sneaky, this stress. It sneaks up on me, my friends and family, and especially my four year old. My two year old is a model of stress management so far.

Henry has been stressed lately about his hair.

There were real tears the other day about his fear of growing a mustache. He does NOT want a mustache.

They next day, there was serious fit before going out for a walk because his hair didn't look right.

Then yesterday morning, again, real tears, because he wanted black hair not blonde.

He even at one point went running for a picture of Caillou (who has no hair) to show me how he wanted his next haircut because his hair was getting too hot. Pedro from "Napoleon Dynamite"?

I tell you, STRESS.

So I gave him a hair cut and he didn't stress today. At least not about his hair.



Svea saw I had pulled out the camera and she had just enough time to put on one Beauty and the Beast shoe, grab her biggest plastic Dora, hike up her pajama pants and pose with Henry. Thank goodness.




(Aunt Brooke, do you recognize Henry's t-shirt? He found that in your drawer at your parents' house. It has a black and white photo on the back of a little boy sitting between two girls, one girl has an AU and one has a UA on her dress. The boy chooses to kiss the girl with the UA and the AU girl is making an awful face at the two kissing. Do you know how to explain this to an overly-obsessed Alabama fan four year old? Any help would be welcome)

Another Good Day at cMoe

We went to cMoe the other week and the kids had a blast, of course. We stayed only an hour since there were so many other summer camps and field trips there. I need to remember to go on Sunday afternoons...







They really loved the more low-key toys like building blocks and plastic dinosaurs. Sweet.



I think Henry is propping up his diving board here and (below) Svea is trying to reach more blocks to put the dinosaurs on.



Overall, a very fun day.

Help, Tony Hawk. I Must Be Crazy.

But he's been asking, and it was $8 at Target, AND he loves accessories so he thinks the best part is all the elbow, knee, shin guard and helmet action.



I can't believe I'm typing this, but I think he really is learning how to do it.

There are no ball bearings so if he's on carpet or holding the wall, it won't move. He's experimenting with balance and has fallen some, but can change directions and actually pose with it.



When we are in the ER with two arm casts and a goose egg on his head, you can totally judge me.

We're All (elephant) Ears

These are popping up in our yard:



I LOVE them and the way they begin all twirled up tight and then fan out within hours.

Henry saw them today and told me to QUICK! RUN TO THE OTHER EAR! I'M GOING TO CALL YOU!



I told him to leave a message.
On one of these phones:

We're Hooo-ooome.

I can't stop looking at all of these pictures.



I'm trying to organize all of mine and all of the grandparents' but I might miss a few.



Or overlap.



I'm in the post-vacation fog.

Nay Pulls

We've been in Naples, Florida for a few days.



The kids are loving it...



...even if one of them still won't touch the sand and just wants to eat carrots on the beach...



...and the other just wants to surf.
Dude.

Fish in the Water

More Than Just the Beach

This trip, we decided to stay in a house that was far from town, but actually on the beach. That made all the potty trips and snack trips much easier. You could even spend your entire day on the porch and still feel like you were at the beach.

We were a little afraid the kids would get bored, but they did great.
Especially when Henry built his rocket ship:



And Lydia and Svea loved painting time:

The Gulf

Last week, we got the chance to go to Gulf Shores with Cousin Lydia.
No internet, cell phone usage by choice, a screened-in porch, sand and surf.

Lydia and Henry were in heaven.



Svea...took some time to warm up to things like the sand actually touching her, the wind blowing her hair, the sound of the waves and the water being wet.
The first day she finally calmed down once we got her on a towel with very little sand, cleaned her sandy fingers and got her a magazine.



She never left the tent that day.

101 Uses

IMG_6753
Originally uploaded by iMollie

for a baby doll, a belt and roller skates.

Svea Sliding

Svea Sliding
Originally uploaded by iMollie

Sleepy eyes, but totally dedicated to the slide.

Henry Swinging

Henry Swinging
Originally uploaded by iMollie

Got some new photos from Aunt Merpha from our time with her a few weeks ago. Here's Henry swinging at the park before our picnic.

Seton Harvest Saturday

These are Sweet Williams that I cut at Seton Harvest on Saturday. We bought a share of Seton Harvest this year in effort to eat from a local farm, to learn new ways to prepare and cook vegetables, and to invest in our community more.



The first time I went out there, I felt both proud and ashamed of my naivetee about all things Food. There are still foods that I don't know anything about...like if they grow in the dirt or on a vine or what they taste like raw, blanched, boiled or baked. Some I don't even know how to pronounce them. I am so excited to actually work on closing the gap between what I eat and what I know about what I eat.

So this week I learned that broccoli is actually the flower of the broccoli plant and I even saw one growing in the middle of gorgeous leaves. It looked like something Dr. Suess would draw.

I cut some flowers in their flower garden and learned that if the stem has a square shape (cross-section) then it belongs in the mint family. And oregano has a square stem, is in the mint family, and is delicious in salads and on turkey sandwiches.

My favorite flowers were these small purple balls on long stems...that ended up being the flower of an onion. Hello. Who knew?

All of you who log on to see more of Henry and Svea may be subjected to a little food tidbit here and there until the growing season ends...sometime in November.

While Henry Read...

Svea wanted to be my little helper.








Little green thumb and all...

What Henry Wanted To Do After His Nap Yesterday

Just to recap:

He is in I, Husband's Scout. There are no keys in sight.

He is in long sleeves and long pants even though it is finally warm weather here.

He is studying a baseball book he got at the library and trying to memorize uniforms and positions.

He did not even want a snack before.

And he did not want socks with his cleats.

Just As Pops Says

I'm sorry I was so distant with you.

I spent most of the day
avoiding that crazy farmer's wife.
You know the one with the carving knife
and the obsession with my tail?

so when I got home,
I couldn't tell friend from foe. 
I'm sorry. I miss you.