2 Years Old

Mallory seems to be the main topic of a lot of my blogs. She is a very interesting child to care for as some of you can see. But she turns 2 tomorrow and I had a friend of mine take some pictures of her. They turned out great! Tina did an excellent job. You can check out her pictures at http://tinavinkportraits.smugmug.com/.

She's a Maniac

Mallory never seems to surprise me lately. Maybe it's because she's the baby of the family, I'm not sure. Today I was standing in my sister's doorway watching my kids play nicely outside when I see this:



For those of you that know Mallory this is right up her alley. She simply found the skateboard and decided to hop on it and take a ride down the driveway. Will she never cease to amaze me??

A Good Reminder

Today was one of those days when it seemed like I couldn't accomlish anything and nothing I did accomplish went right. I would dare say that most of my days repeat this pattern. And at night while I'm rocking Mallory I finally get a minute to reflect on my day. It was tonight that I started to think of each little mishap as a reminder of what life is like for my children. Here's what I think they are wondering throughout our days together:
-Who cares if I spill milk all over the dining room chair? It'll dry.
-What's the big deal if I want some candy at 9:00 in the morning? I'm still hungry.
-Why should I get wiped up after dinner? I don't care if I have ice cream sandwich all over my face.
-Why can't we run naked around the house after bathtime? It feels good.

It's at these moments when I try and recall what it was like to be young and I can't. Now I know that some of you may be thinking, "My word, it wasn't that long ago" but in truth it was. I have grown into a mother, a wife, and an example for my children. But when I look at my kids I cannot get over the overwhelming love that fills me. No matter how bad my day, no matter how messy my house is or how messy my kids are I love them. It's nice to be reminded of that once in a while. If you know me well you know that I can talk about my kids for hours upon end. I can tell you bad stories or funny stories but I could talk about my kids all day. I wonder what they'd say about me?

First Day of School

I can't believe it but Maddy started her first day of Kindergarten this morning. I don't know if she's ready to have a schedule after the way our summer has been but she popped right out of bed when I woke her up this morning. Here are a few snapshots of the first day.



Each Kindergartener has their own frog nameplate outside the classroom so they know where to hang their backpacks and coats.



This is where Maddy will sit. There are 4 kids at each little table.

Mallory

There isn't much to say about these photos. I just thought they were cute.

Grand Haven

Every August my grandparents stay at a cottage on Lake Michigan that has been in my grandma's family for years. This past Monday I packed up the kids and headed out for a short visit. We stayed for two great nights. It was awesome to watch my kids interact with my grandparents, their great-grandparents. I'm not sure how many people can say they remember their great-grandparents so I'm trying to make sure that my kids can. I took lots of pictures of them together. We went for ice-cream, got a visit to the candy store (Fortino's in downtown Grand Haven), went to Chinook Pier and saw the charter boats come in with their catch of the day, and even had the excitement of cutting down a tree that fell over the driveway. The kids thoroughly enjoyed the time there and keep asking when we are headed back. I guess that's the best outcome I could hope for.

The kids are enjoying their ice cream.


Hanging out on the channel watching the boats pass by.


Rolling "Hearts" with Great-Grandma

GM Employee?

I think we just discovered Mallory's future occupation. Seems to me she's a little interested in the inner-workings of vehicles. The day before these pictures were taken I missed the opportunity to take her picture lying next to Jason while both of them were under the truck. It would have been a priceless picture but I was not fast enough. However I caught these great ones last night while she helped Daddy rotate the tires on the Suburban. She's a quick learner.

5 Years Old!

I can't believe it! My baby is 5 years old. I know I sound melodramatic but I can't believe I have a 5 year old. Her birthday was a great success. We started the day by shopping for the food for her party and picking out her cake. Then we headed out for lunch. She seemed to feel that since it was her birthday she deserved to get something in every store we went into. It took a while for my penny pinching ways to kick in. I think she got about 3 things out of me before I finally got through to her. We celebrated at Grandma and Grandpa's house and the kids all got tractor rides and played with a bucket full of ice. It's amazing how much humor they can find in things. Then of course Jason showed them how to put it down people's pants so that became a great challenge for them.







Loryn couldn't seem to figure out how to get the ice out of her pants.


Maddy got a lot of great stuff from everyone. She felt like a true princess I think. All in all she had a great birthday. That's what's most important, right?