Cute kids

Sometimes it amazes me how kind and observant our toddlers are. Here are two examples from the past week.

It was one of those days when I was just tired and a little overwhelmed. So when it came to cooking dinner I just threw some stuff on the counter to make quesadillas. Like always, Ebby came up to "help" and started poking at the food. I was too tired to correct him so I just kept quiet and heard this little gem. "Oh, that's the cheese and that's the tortillas. WOW! You're doing a great job mom!"

For a while now we've been rotating a bad cough through the family. Last night was Autumn's turn. Andrew being the great dad he is opted to sleep with her last night to help calm her. He said she woke up about every fifteen minutes. (Andrew you are my Superman.) So when his alarm went off this morning and he groggily reached for the phone he was surprised to find Autumn patting his chest saying, "Shh. Shh. Shh. It's ok, Daddy. Go to sleep."

Last three weeks of August

For those of you who don't know, I have an awesome twin sister. When I was in my third trimester with Kaylee and Andrew was doing away rotations Sarah flew out with her two kids and stayed with me till Andrew came home. It helped me SO much that when I learned I could do something similar for her while she was preparing to have her third kid I jumped on the opportunity. We started out with a week in Dallas. My mission was to keep all the kids out of her hair so she wouldn't go into labor until our mom could fly in. Then I took all the kids for a week in Shreveport. Five kids all by myself. It was very crazy but we had fun. Then a final week back in Dallas. Which was super fun since Dad flew in and Tim spent a lot of time with us. Here's a little video of our vacation.

Kaylee's Crawling!

This is about a week late but with Andrew working nights all last week I didn't get a chance to do much of anything.

p.s. I love that I'm bribing her with candy she can't have yet. Chocolate, the great motivator.

I love Louisiana ... I think.

The Forth of July is my most favorite holiday. They're all favorites but Independence Day is my most favorite. I love that everyone on my side of the family really tries to get to my parents house. I like that there are no gift expectations. And I love that it's warm enough outside to play all day and then cuddle with loved ones at night while looking up into a beautiful night sky and seeing some amazing fireworks.
Fireworks are also my most favorite. Actually, they're probably my most most favorite.
Needless to say, I was really bummed when we found out that we wouldn't be making it to my parents house for the fourth. So on the fourth we put the kids to bed early and just hung out. Not a bad evening really. I don't get to see Andrew a lot and I definitely don't get to hang out with him, so I was feeling pretty good about the night. Then we started to hear the booming of fireworks. And they were loud. Andrew and I ran outside. Apparently Louisiana doesn't have the same firework restrictions as Utah, California or Texas. From our driveway we could see the occasional aerial firework in literally every direction. It seemed like most of our neighbors had them. Consequently we were usually faced the wrong way or there would be a tree obscuring most of the view but it was still breathtaking. It was then I thought, Louisiana is totally worth the humidity if we can have this kind of fourth!. 
That thought lasted almost two days. Today, when we were borrowing our neighbors lawn mower, we were told that it gets so hot here that the grass will almost stop growing. Now that's hot.

P.S. Here are some interesting comments we're heard in the past couple of days.

While neighbors were lighting fireworks (you should read it with a southern twang):
"Well, hair's gone now."
and
"Ow, ow, ow, ow."

The resident Andrew is currently working with:
"Oh, yeah. You probably didn't grow up with all the fireworks. We grew up shooting roman candles at each other."

I'm glad Ebby's only 3

Three times I've tried to get Ebby and Autumn to sleep in the same room. All were failures. But we're headed for Utah and Canada next month and I can't help but think it'd be better for everyone if I could finally 'train' them to actually sleep in the same room. So late last week I decided I'd try the process again. I knew I was going to fail but at least I'd feel better because I tried.
To our utter amazement it's working so far! It's been interesting though. For example, Andrew and I overheard this conversation the other night.

Ebby: "Autumn. Autumn! AUTUMN! GO TO SLEEP! ... RIGHT NOW!!!!!!"
Autumn: crying and sobbing quietly
Ebby: "Oh, it's ok Autumn. Sh, sh, sh. It's ok. Don't cry. Be happy."

A hogpage of posts in a post

A new pastime

Like our other kids, Kaylee does not enjoy tummy time. So it's only natural that she does this within seconds of laying her on her back.

A new bed

 After almost seven years of marriage we finally got a real bed. Two weeks ago our neighborhood put on a neighborhood garage sale. One day a year, if you have anything you want to sell/get rid of you can just put it in your driveway. The community can then just walk from house to house. It's like a small flea market - only with a lot of old toys, tools and clothes.

At the end of our tour of driveways I happened on this beauty and made Andrew stop to look at it. It was 50 bucks and we (Andrew and the owner of the bed frame) walked it back to our house.

A new doctor

As of today we officially all know a new doctor! Congratulations, Andrew! I'm so proud of you.

Who wrote this?

Ever since we matched I've been looking online at rental home listings in the Shreveport area. This is what I came across this morning. No joke. I just copy pasted the entire post.

Air conditioning Remodeled 3 Bedrooms 2 Bbaths home, serene Cable-ready Cable-ready Pantrie Laundry area Tile floor countertop Balcony heard age sleep idea it language second their first star inch fall like mean form door mother red map have question problem line four words