The Zoo

The day of Ben's birthday, we went to the zoo with Mimi. We all had a great time, but let's face it, it was durn hot. And nobody told me that they would be doing construction. Or that they closed the Dippin' Dots stand at 4:00. (What is up with that?)

Seriously though, the kids love the zoo, and the lions were actually out. I was so excited because they roared. I tried to get a recording of it, but alas, I wasn't quick enough. Anyway, here are the pics...

Happy Birthday, Ben!

Today we had a party to celebrate Ben's 7th birthday! I cannot believe that this sweet child is 7. All week long we have told stories of his birth, his first year, and my pregnancy. He loves to hear these stories, and he has been much more cuddly this week. There are so many things I love about Ben, including his generous spirit, his love for his brother and sister, and his inquisitiveness. (His questions stump me sometimes.) In a word, he is a joy.

We did the traditional burgers-and-dogs-in-the-backyard party this year. A good time was had by all...

The cake was homemade (thank you very much).

Mmmm, yummy.

More beach pictures...

And you can go here for more.

Topsail Island, NC

This year we went on vacation with Tim's family to Topsail Island. We have been there before, and it is always beautiful and we have a great time. This year, there were 15 of us, all together - Eight adults (Tim's parents, plus two brothers, two sisters-in-law, and us) and seven kids.

As you would expect, we had our fair share of chaos (15 people in one house? Uh, yeah, there was some of that:), but it is so nice to spend some quality time with people that you love. I think my favorite part of the trip is always just hanging out with the kids. The children rarely fight (except among siblings), and they play really well together.

So, what did we do all week? Well...

We built sandcastles...

played in the water...

played at the Children's Museum in Wilmington...

and ate.... a lot...
(notice that sometimes we slept while we ate...)flew kites...

played in the pool...

celebrated...

and climbed on Boo-Pa.

And after looking at all of the pictures, now I just wanna go back:)

Happy Father's Day

I actually meant to write this yesterday, but I have been pretty wiped out by a cold, so it didn't get done until tonight. Oops.

Thankfully, I am blessed with fathers in my life - maybe not as many fathers as mothers, but still more than most people. I want to start with my grandfathers. I had the great pleasure of growing up with not only both of my grandfathers, but also my great-grandfather, Daddy Warren. These three men each made a huge impact on my life, simply because I knew that they loved me unconditionally and took the time to let me know in real, tangible ways. I couldn't even begin to tell you all the ways they did this, because it would take me all day.

I have also been blessed with uncles. They have taught me so much about life, and I love each of them. Even now, I can just show up, and I get taken out to eat or given a place to stay or get something fixed. They are great.

And Arlie and Gene definitely fall into this "do whatever he can for me" category too. I love that I can call them say, "Can you do me a favor....?" Or, "What do you know about....?" They are each a blessing to me.

Even better, I am blessed with a wonderful father. He is the kind of dad who is always trying to think of ways to help me. I get random calls from him saying, "I am at the store. Do you need ...?" He has also spent countless hours fixing things for me. Not to mention that I am able to talk to him about difficult decisions, and he will walk with me through whatever trial I am going through. More than once I have said, "When I am sick, I just want my Daddy." In fact, when Will was born, Tim and my Dad were the only ones I wanted at the hospital while I was in labor. Dad stayed with me until I was ready to push.

There are so many random things that I love about him. For example, he loves to shop for just about anything. When I lived closer to him we would grocery shop together, and he would give me cooking tips as we ran across items. He taught me a lot about cooking that way, and I really enjoy cooking with him. I always have, ever since I was little.

He is always, always there for me when I am in need. And that is the kind of grandfather he is, too. Daddy John helps the kids pick out new shoes, winter coats, and whatever else he thinks that they need. So, to my Daddy, I say Happy Father's Day.

Here is my Dad and Ninnie...Did I mention that he is a wonderful son too?

But I can't stop there, can I? I have one more dad in my life. My husband is a wonderful father to my kids. At this very moment, he is in the back yard in a tent with the three hoodlums. It was a total surprise to them, and it absolutely made their day. They have been scampering around the house collecting pillows, blankets, flashlights, and snacks (and yes, Elmo, of course), exclaiming, "I can't believe we are going camping!" What a great dad:) He fixes food for them, cleans up their vomit in the middle of the night, kisses boo-boos, and does all of the things he should do. He enjoys finding fun things to do with them, like taking them out for breakfast on their first day of school or playing games with them.

Furthermore, he is the kind of man that I want setting an example for my children. His unconditional love for me and for them is amazing, and even when he drives me insane (which happens quite often) I am still soooo thankful for him. We shared a dream of a baby girl somewhere far away, long before we even talked about it with each other, so how can you not love that?

How many hours has this man spent pushing a swing???

And I love this picture, taken on his birthday. Can you tell he loves his kids?

Happy Father's Day, Sweetheart!

Kate's Speech, Part 2

Oh, my goodness! Kate just said, "Kay-Kay"! Big stinkin' deal because she doesn't do the 'k' sound!

I said, "Are you Kay-Kay?" She nodded and said, "Uh." (Translation: yes.)

Of course, just now I tried to get her to repeat it for her Da. Did she do it? Nope. This girl's got a mind of her own:)

Kate's Speech

This girl continues to amaze me as her speech progresses. Recently her speech was evaluated and compared to her evaluation six months ago. Both her receptive language (what she understands) and her expressive language (basically what she is trying to express) has risen in leaps and bounds. In her receptive skills she is even above her age level now, which is awesome. I actually attribute a lot of that to her sign language skills. I don't think she would've picked up on language so quickly if we weren't all signing with her. I am kind of sad that we aren't learning as many new signs anymore, but we just don't need them as much, which is awesome. As she learns to say a new word, she drops the sign, usually.

Of course, we are still working hard at producing individual sounds and making them into words. Just because I understand that "ma ha ah how" means Mickey Mouse Club House doesn't mean that the rest of the world does. (And actually the literal translation of that would be Mickey Hot Dog House, because that's what she calls the show.) So we still have weekly ST appointments where she and Jennifer play lots of fun games, which she enjoys.

This past two weeks we have seen lots of new words and phrases, such as - beach, pizza, I wanna see, me too, baby pool, and my turn (can you tell that she did not want to be left out of what the big kids were doing on vacation?). And today she said 'ocean' for Jennifer. Now, she isn't saying every sound for all of these words, but we heard the "ch" sound for the first time, and lots of "s" sounds, which are really tough for a two year old even if there isn't a cleft involved.

So, you will have to forgive me for bragging, but this kid works so hard, even her brothers notice. Today I heard Ben today saying, "Say 'socks', Kate. Lemme hear the 'ks' sound." I had to laugh. He was being so sweet:)