Into Everything!

Chelsea has decided that it is her job to make as much work as possible for her mom. She has gotten to that stage where it is so much fun to pull everything out of drawers, cupboards, and containers. Some things she has gotten into are worse than others. My other two little babysitters are pretty good at making sure she isn't into something she's not supposed to but she still finds times that no eyes are watching her and she makes the most of it. The other day she got into the trash and pulled out a styrofoam raw meat container. Before I got to her she was chewing on it. I know....GROSS! (along with very unsanitary!) I think she is cutting about 4 teeth right now which would explain her need to chew on any and every thing. I just wish they would come through already! She now stands by herself for a little bit until she realizes what she's doing then plops back down on her tushie. She walks behind some of her toys and just grins because she knows she is big stuff. The last little while she has discovered that her food is not the same as ours. If we happen to be eating she will not eat her bsby food but wants to have what is on our plates. It's pretty difficult to give her what we are eating sometimes considering that she only has one tooth. Right now I'm trying to figure out if cutting all these teeth could give her something that looks like pink eye. Her eyes have been red and itchy for the last week or so. I keep waiting for it to go away on it's own once these teeth pop through.

Summer fun with the Cousins

Sunday night we headed to McKinley park for a picnic with Paul and Rhoda, PJ and Amy, Syl and Junior, and Steve and Holly. A little later Mary and Joe showed up as well. We climbed many steps and ran numerous times around the monument. After we ate LOTS of great picnic food at the top of the monument we spent some time playing in the park. Monday was more fun with the cousins. Taelor and Braidon came over for lunch and since it was a nice hot day, we decided to get the slip n' slide out. That thing sure has been worth the five dollars I paid for it! It has proven to be much better than the pool where the water gets so gross and the kids have most of the water splashed or dumped out in the first 10 minutes. Tuesday was even more bonding with the cousins as we headed to Kim Tam for a swimming day. I had some reservations about going and taking Chelsea since she would probably need to sleep at some point. She did surprisingly well. The kids had so much fun playing with Grant, Carter and Dayne. Chelsea played for a while then took about a 45 minute power nap while tractors were literally driving a few feet from her head! The kids played and played, then took a lunch break and played some more. You would have thought with all that playing that they would have taken nice long naps that afternoon....Nope! No nap for Casey or Audrey. Chelsea did take a nice nap then once we got home. It was a really fun day and I'm so disappointed that I forgot to take my camera. I came in to get it at one point when we were loading up but then forgot what I came in for. The true sign of a mom gone crazy right? Today we are getting ready for more cousin fun as Brad, Steph, Caleb, Kadin, and Jake are planning on stopping here on their way to Cape Cod. The kids have been counting down the days. This is such a special treat since we don't see them that often.

Summer Days

It is summer but some days really don't feel like it. I kind of miss the hot days but I'm not really missing air conditioning. I hate going in and out of that. I think we need some more hot days for swimming and playing in the water. Yesterday the kids wanted to get the slip n' slide out and they had a blast. They invited the neighbors over and they played for a long time while I snapped beans, beans, and more beans! I'm done with the tedious part...the snapping..now just for the pressure cooking and I'm done. I think I will have close to 45 quarts. It's a good feeling to get that done but I know that I should start canning something else right away. Pickles, hot mix, salsa, peaches, applesauce and corn are all yet to come! Earlier this week I made a run to Beilers and got 20 lbs. of blueberries to freeze. That particular day Casey ended up spending with Koby so I had some time with Audrey while Chelsea was sleeping. We had a very fun tea party in which Audrey was allowed to wash her dishes afterward. It ended up kind of sad as she broke one of her plates. Oh well...still 5 more left and she had an absolute blast. She loved the attention and the permission to play in the water while washing dishes.

Family Fun at the Akron Zoo

On Saturday we went to the Akron zoo. We have been promising Casey all summer that we will go to the zoo. Saturday seemed like a good day since it was supposed to be a little on the cooler side. We got there shortly after opening hoping it would be less busy. The big attraction that we were all looking forward to seeing were the baby jaguars. Casey thought it was rather funny that they named one of the cubs Lebron. The way our route took us though we didn't end up seeing them until the end. We saw the lions, tigers, bears, snow leopards, and all kinds of other animals. The lions roared for us and the sloth bear gave us kisses on the window. We then walked through the farm area to see the goats, pig, and sheep. They weren't quite as interesting but Casey did find some crumbs on the ground and they ate out of his hand. Then it was in to view the relatively new jellyfish exhibit and climb the sea wall. They really liked the jellyfish and also spent quite a bit of time trying to climb the wall. Chelsea was glad for some time to crawl around too after being strapped in for an hour. The jaguars were last and then it was time to head out. Since it was about lunchtime, Ryan thought it would be a nice end to our family day by letting the kids stop at McDonalds for lunch. They were thrilled....that is all except Chelsea who wanted to go home to her bed! She did eventually make it there a little later than usual. Next time maybe we'll be a little more adventureous and head to the Cleveland Zoo. I really miss some of the animals like the monkeys, elephants, zebras, and kangaroos. But it was a fun family day anyway.

Off Track with my Goal of 3 Postings a Week

Yes, it has been awhile since I have written anything. I do have a good excuse though. My computer somehow contracted some horrible viruses. It was very sick but is feeling much better now! For a little catching up....Last weekend over the 4th, sadly enough we didn't even see any fireworks. We spent Saturday and Sunday at Steve and Holly's lakehouse. Saturday was a little chilly for my liking especially for being in the water. The kids still played in the sand and went tubing though. We also ate lots of good food. I think Holly had enough food to feed a small army! After a day of playing and relaxing, the kids went to bed and the adults (Steve, Holly, Scott, Kami, Ryan and I) spent some time at the fire. Sunday dawned a little overcast but ended up being warmer than Saturday. I did get in the water to go tubing and to witness Casey's first experience kneeboarding. My tubing experience was fun but I ended up with a black eye. I happened to be holding Taelor between my legs and we went over some rough water and her head came back and smacked me in the eye. Oh well...black eyes make you look tough right? And Casey's kneeboarding...I was so impressed. First, I was amazed that he actually would try it. He's usually pretty cautious about things like that. He got up and stayed up for a bit. I was afraid that he would be really scared when he fell off but he told me when he was done that the scarier part was going over bumpy water. He wasn't scared when he fell in. Sunday we packed up to come home and this week has been busy but good. Wednesday we went swimming at Kim Tam with the cousins. I was so amazed by how wonderfully they all played. There was really no fighting and the best part was that they entertained each other so we moms could sit and chat! The worst part is that Audrey spent a large majority of the first hour shivering and I think ended up with a cold because of it. Last night was NOT a great sleeping night for her which means that it was not a good sleeping night for me either. Argh! She is taking a good nap now so hopefully that means she will sleep better tonight and not keep me up coughing for hours. Time to get something together for supper and wake her up so she's not up until midnight!

Casey's Newest Accomplishment

Yesterday was a magical day for Casey as he learned to ride his bike with no training wheels. He hadn't really even been practicing. I had given up really even trying with him because he got frustrated. But yesterday when he asked me to take the training wheels off..I did. And he took off. We went to Metzger Park with our Life Group last night and he asked to take his bike to ride around the path there. He did so well even on the little hills! It's amazing to me how something like that all of a sudden clicks. It just reminded me that kids do things in their own time. It is no use for us to force them into something, they will do it when they are ready. Chelsea is getting very good at pattycake these days and really is starting to enjoy playing with Casey and Audrey. That is very nice when I'm trying to get something done. She is at a difficult age for being outside since she can't walk yet. When I put her down outside she immediately goes to her knees and starts crawling and trying to eat whatever she can off the ground. Last night at the park it was a woodchip diet!