Mall rats

This was our first trip to the mall where Chasey was able to fully take advantage of the kids play area. He crawled all over the place, pulled up on everything and had such a good time!! It started off on a bad note in the parking lot when I went to get the stroller out of the back of the van, only to realize --- no stroller! I wasn't going back home (gas prices have that effect on my decision making these days!) so we walked to Customer Service to rent one. Good grief, you think instead of just pointing with arrows, they'd put mile markers! I think it was 5 miles from where we started! The kids all had a really fun time. Summer especially seemed to like the giant frogs. She hugged and kissed each one. Days like this though I do miss living in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. The Gardens Mall is beautiful!!

My 6 quirks (a fun blogging game)

I've officially been "tagged" by two of my blogger buddies: Jenny and Katie so here is my part in this fun little game we're playing...

The 6 Quirks Meme

The Rules:
1. Link the person(s) who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged


My Quirks:
1. This is apparently not a quirk because Katie does it too! I count things. And I like for things to be balanced evenly. If I'm counting floor tiles, I count from the outside in, on each side, to see where the center line is. I count syllables in sentences and think of ways to change it to an even number of syllables, like 10, by changing words.

2. I wash my hands too much. Not OCD or anything but in the kitchen I'll wash them when I first get in, after I touch a sponge or towel, after anything touches them, food, water, anything. I have to use soap. Noone has to ever worry about germs on my hands while I'm cooking!

3. I don't eat fruit because I don't like the texture of it. I can not imagine ever eating an orange YUCK! I don't drink orange juice if it has pulp, unless it's been strained. I love ketchup, tomato soup, tomato pasta sauce, all tomato products, but don't like tomatoes.

4. I can't drink well without a straw. I started drinking with straws so long ago because I have sensitive teeth that if I have to drink out of a glass I almost always miss my mouth at least once.

5. I can't sleep without at least 2 regular pillows and a king or 4 regular pillows. Two for my head, one to hold onto and one to prop my knee with. Frankie has slept with none before, at hotels while I've had four. I've folded up comforters (and then covered them with towels or a sheet or something since hotel comforters are gross) to make due before.

6. I can't stand it if someone tears a napkin. Paper towel, paper, anything else is fine. Napkin. AGGHHH!!!

I thought I was more normal until I was forced to participate in this exercise!!

Budding friends and binkies

Lately Summer and Chase are interacting and playing with each other so much more, I love it! They reach out for each other, talk back and forth to each other while in their cribs, they sit and play with toys together. It's really sweet!! Now, don't get me wrong, they can also do a pretty good tug of war over a toy or a hair brush or a pair of Mommy's slippers. But hey, I'd be more concerned if they didn't do that!

Summer's always been a binky loving baby. She's down to just using them in the crib now. My nerves are not honestly ready to wean her from that right now (I'll save the crying and screaming for another week!!). But sometimes she seems to sneak one downstairs, I think she must have it in her hand and I don't notice when bringing her down. She must then stash it somewhere because she never puts it right in her mouth, it shows up like an hour later ... out of the blue.

I think this was Summer's way of saying, "Hey, I have my binky and I love my binky and you aren't going to get it from me!!!" Of course, I could be wrong. She could have just accidentally gotten stuck in the clothes hamper too.

Father's Day 2008

We took Frankie out for a special Father's Day dinner at The Outback last Sunday. Lexi, Skye and Brad made and bought him cards and we made him cupcakes and had a little celebration at home. Erik's gift was to stay home with Summer and Chase so Frankie could have a stress free meal. I kind of felt bad about not taking them, but it really is nice every once in a while to have a quiet meal, we don't have those very often around here!!!
Of course, Frankie shaved the day after we took the pictures but even with all the grey in his beard, he still looks so much better than last year at this time. Hopefully he will still continue to improve every day. He's still such a caring and patient Daddy it really is amazing! He is truly a very special man who I love with all my heart.

Summy's signs and Chasey's new chapter

Summer is signing more than ever. She's also pointing to things all the time asking what they are. She now signs eat, more, cup, drink, night night, cat, hello, bye, thank you and grapes. Tonight, at 6:30 she signed to me "night night". I asked her if she wanted to go to bed to go night, night and she signed it again. So I got her dressed and in bed at 6:45 and she went right to sleep!!

Chasey is now able to balance himself enough that he can ride on the zebra all by himself! He's also steady enough on his feet to rummage through the toy bins. This is really good progress for the little guy. He seems proud of his accomplishments! I know I am!!

That's using your head Chase!

So we've been working on eating out of bowls, without Mommy holding the bowl. As you can see, Chase has it mastered! He's such a little genius!!

We've had to resort back to the darn cloth bibs. For some reason, the plastic ones with the pockets velcro on the side of their necks and they rip those off like there's no tomorrow. The cloth ones velcro in back and they don't mess with them. Go figure??!!

Flashback Friday

Here is a picture of Frankie, his Mom Carol and Summer and Chase last year over Father's Day weekend. Frankie had been home from rehab for 4 months, had been back in the hospital the month before for a broken hip and was still in a wheel chair. He looks so much healthier now looking back at this picture! This year will definitely be a better Father's Day!!

This is Summer and Chase at this time last year.

Beached

As a reward for Lexi and Skye's final report cards and all the awards they received I took them on a girls day outing to the beach! They both were on the A/B honor roll, Lexi received the 6th grade Triple R reward for highest level of Responsibility/Reliability/Respect. Lexi was in an advanced class this year (meaning she was working at the 7th grade level) and has tested for and been promoted to be in an advanced class again next year. Skye got awards for the highest GPA in both science and math. She also had the highest overall grade point average of her 5th grade class. They also both received several service awards.

So we picked a picnic lunch and spent the afternoon at Isle of Palms. It was a beautiful day, perfect weather and we all had fun swimming and sunning all afternoon. I can't wait to take Summer and Chase next time! I wish Frankie had come with us, but he had a really bad cold and wasn't feeling up to it. We all got a little too much sun, despite several applications of SPF 30 lotion. I even did a little souvenir shop browsing to get out of the sun a little bit and I still came home a lobster. It was well worth it though!!

Sand pit and a swim

The thought of using the old, smaller, baby pool as a sand box was great... until it deflated and left us with essentially a sand pit in circular form. But Summer and Chase didn't seem to mind in the slightest. Chase thought the sand was just as yummy as if it was in a regular old sand box! After about the 50th "no eat. play" he seemed to do better. Hopefully he didn't ingest too much by then! Lexi and Skye seemed to have just as much fun as the babies.

It was nice to just strip them down and put them in the pool to get all that sand off! Chase seemed to like 'swimming' and Summer was really, kissy, kissy with her Sissy!

Flashback Fun

So it's not Flashback Friday but I'm flashing back anyway. I haven't had a chance to download pics from the weekend so here are a few pictures from last year at this time.



Here is a family picture from this time of year, 2006. It's one of the few times since Trey's joined the Marines that we were all together. Frankie and I are in the back, Brad and Skye are on the left and Trey and Lexi are on the right. This was 3 months before Frankie's accident.

Who doesn't love a bargain!

We have a really nice consignment store by the house, Once Upon a Child. If you hit it at the right time you can find some really nice clothes, toys at really great prices.

Lexi and I went last night. We hit a summer clothes clearance and that's what I had gone shopping for so we really lucked out.

My total bill was $28! Here is what I got.

3 Baby Gap dresses, with matching diaper covers
3 Gymboree one-pieces
2 Ralph Lauren dresses
2 Old Navy jeans
2 The Children's Place tops
2 Gymboree overalls
2 Circo tshirts
1 Laura Ashley dress with diaper cover
1 Baby Gap capris
1 Seafolly Girl bathing suit
1 Fisher Price melody push chime
1 lap harp (new in box, for Lexi)

The melody push chime new at Toys R Us is over $30 so it's like I got everything else for free!

Lexi loves the lap harp. I had one at her age I played with all the time. I called mine a 'zither' though, maybe they've just changed names, it's the same thing.

Walk this way

Chase took his first steps Saturday!!
He was playing with the VTech sit-to-stand activity walker. A few times this week, he'd pulled himself up to play with this from a stand, he'd plop down on his tush when he was done. Well Sat., he took a step with it and another and another and went all the way across the living room! He made it all the way to the couch until he couldn't go any further. He looked so proud of himself, he had the BIGGEST smile on his face! He also started bear crawling, walking on all fours, so he really is on his way to walking!!

Here he is crawling across the room to the toy bucket, pulling up, free standing and catching his balance.

Lounging, and sweating, by the pool

I guess I hadn't realized Summer (the season, not the baby) is full on here now! I decided Saturday was a good day, at 2:00 in the afternoon with high sun, to go out in the back yard and get the old blow up pool filled with play sand and get the new blow up pool set up. Wow! Won't make that mistake again for the next 3 months!

We all had a good time but man it was sooooooo darn hot!! We brought a few fans outside and got the stereo turned up. Skye helped me set the pool up and she and Frankie pumped it up with the leg pumper. Then she and Brad drug the sand bags from the garage and filled it with sand, I even got a few bags of green sand to liven things up a little bit. Of course it isn't until all the sand is in, we notice there is a slow leak and the pool is deflating! We'll get to that another day.

Lexi was on baby duty, walking Summer around the yard and letting Chase crawl in the grass. Erik was complaining of the heat and then took Brad and Skye up to the gas station to blow up the 2nd pool with the air compressor. The leg pumper was too much for that one! So we added water from the hose, which is ice cold, and assembly lined buckets of hot water from the kitchen sink. By now it had cooled off a few degrees so since the pool is in the shade we let the babies take a swim. Of course, Skye joined in.

Erik made a good point to let Summer's cut on her nose heal before letting them get in the sand so maybe we'll do that this weekend. Days like this make me wish we had an outdoor shower!