Visitors!!!

We got to have Mom and Jane stay with us over Mother's Day weekend. We had a wonderful time and are so glad they could come visit.

Annie and Nana got really good at this. They practiced quite a bit and Anne enjoyed every second of it. There were many different versions to this one plus a few other fun songs they did.

What's a guy to do?

Naomi decided to dress Noah the other day. I've always known that with 3 older sisters Noah would eventually be dressed in girl clothing. It really wasn't as bad as it could have been. Even if he was wearing a sweater with flowers on it, he still wanted to play with the cars.

Olive Fingers

How Many Years?

Four years ago today we moved into our house. This is what our kids were like at the time. Aren't they so cute? And so totally little! Just look at their cheeks.

Classic Records for Kids

We have a new favorite website, Kiddie Records Weekly. They have all kinds of children's records from the forties and fifties that you can listen to and even download. It is wonderful! They even have the Winnie the Pooh stories narrated by Jimmy Stewart that I remember listening to as a kid. It is SOOOOO FUN listening to it again and with my own kids this time. It is just as wonderful as I remember it! Plus there are lots of others. Hooray!

The Jungle Gym

Other wise known as Daddy.

This picture was taken about a week and a half after we moved into this house. Annie was one week away from turning 3 and Ellen was 10 months old.

Naomi's Favorite Sandwich

About a month ago I was making lunch for the at home kids (PB&J) when Naomi came into the kitchen to see what I was doing. When she saw what I was making she asked if she could have cheese on her sandwich. I asked if she wanted a plain cheese sandwich and she said "No. I want cheese and peanut butter." The cheese was not out, so I don't know where she got this idea. I asked about three times if she was really sure and she kept saying "Yes, cheese and peanut butter." So I decided I could let her try one cheese and peanut butter sandwich and then she probably wouldn't ever want another one. I was wrong! She keeps asking for them. Almost every time we have peanut butter sandwiches, she asks for cheese on hers. Maybe I'm missing out on something, but I haven't got up the nerve to try it myself.

The Day of the Worms

Last night we got quite a bit of rain and it was pretty chilly this morning, not freezing though. As we were headed out to walk to school this morning, Stephen called for Annie to "come quick and look at this!" There were worms all over the road. Not covering it, of course, but every few feet or so was another night crawler. The kids were so excited. We had a hard time getting to school and actually ended up being a couple minutes late because everyone was so busy looking at the worms and the little paths they made in the dirt. Our neighbor, Miriam, dubbed today "The Day of the Worms." I really wish I had had my camera with me. By the time I got it outside with fresh batteries, the worms were starting to dry up and were pretty sad looking. I did find some in a couple of puddles though.

This was a great big one, probably 7 inches long. Most of the worms we saw on the street were this size.

There are 4 little baby worms in this picture.

Since there were so many worms out today, Ellen, Naomi, and I talked about worms and the letter W for our little preschool lesson today.

These are the yarn "worms" Ellen glued onto her paper.

This Week

On Tuesday Noah fell down the last 4 steps of our stairs. After he took a nap and was still crying and not using his left arm (and a quick call to Mom) I took him to the quick care office. They said it was his elbow and that it might be broken. So they took x-rays but couldn't see anything on the x-ray because his elbow is still mostly just cartilage. They put his arm in a splint which immediately made him happy. Then the dr. took the splint back off to see if Noah had something called a nursemaid elbow which is basically just a slightly dislocated elbow and is quite common in small children. She tried to pop Noah's elbow back into place, but couldn't feel anything happen and Noah was still quite upset without the splint, so she put the splint back on and set up an appointment for Noah to see an orthopedic dr. She did tell me to try taking the splint off the next day and see if maybe it really was a nursemaid elbow. So on Wednesday, I took of the splint and Noah was happy and using his arm and playing like normal. He's just fine! What a relief that was!

We also were able to have Heidi, Kevin, Luke, and Shelby come visit us this week. We had a great time. The kids finally got to know each other and had a good time playing. Noah loved Aunt Heidi and playing and laughing with her, and Shelby let me hold her and kiss her and squeeze her.

April showers will come so they say, but they don't...

...and it's May.

Well no, it really isn't May. But I keep thinking those words every time I look out the window and see that it is snowing again. This was our backyard yesterday morning.

It was perfect packing snow, and we had no school because of Parent/Teacher Conferences, so the kids had to make a snowman. Anne had to go to the dentist to get sealant on her permanent teeth, so she didn't get to help with the snowman. She did get plenty of time in the snow later though.