More Family Fun!

    I posted last week before the family fun had ended with all the family visitors we had so this is kind of a continuation of last weekend with a little of this weeks activities too.

Here is Baby Shae who was the reason for all the family coming.  Kayli's making sure I get a good look at all those rolls. Could you not just eat her up!!  (Baby Shae, not Kayli.  That would just be weird.)

Kayli was also happy to give rides to the kids on the Ruckus.  Jovi loved it.

Austin was happy to start the race between Mom and Dad on the wiggle cars.

Go,Go, Go!!

It won't be long before these two little cuties are big enough to ride this thing on their own.

McClane was fascinated with the goodies in Grandpa's pocket.

"Thanks for the yummy Nuttella sandwich mom".

And here's Brock's idea of a good time, a trailer full of fertilizer or "Pooh dirt" as Brock calls it.

Can you say "Disgusting"?! Should I be worried that there's "pooh dirt" all over my child's face?

And here's McClane loving Cosmo who is the most patient dog I know.

And treat of all treats, dinner at Applebee's.

   I couldn't believe how well behaved the kids were at Applebee's.  We had a few free kids meal gift certificates to redeem before the month was over and the kids were all so excited and loved their food but were a little surprised to have to wait for their food.  I guess fast food has ruined them a little but sitting and having a meal served to you is a special treat for mom if no one else.
    So that's the week in a nutshell.  I apologize that my comment box isn't working.  I've looked into it but if you know me, I'm not that tech savvy so if anyone knows what might be wrong please let me know but for now I'll just imagine what you all might say or figure no one has a comment.  Either way this is just therapeutic for me to get this all documented.

Just Another Week in Paradise:)

        Another week has flown by and now the weekend is here which brought several visitors our way, most of which follow this blog and won't be too happy to see their faces here but too bad!

This blurred cutie pie is Kari Larson, my last Larson niece who is the best baby girl!

And here's McClane with Grandma Baker and cousin Lottie.

This is the typical Baker family gathering, just sitting around visiting.

And this is cute Asher Larson who wasn't aware I was taking his picture until it was too late to hide.

Here's Kari again and this is what happens when you're the sixth child, mom just dumps you wherever.

And here's Isaac, Asher and Jovi playing basketball with Grandpa Baker.

Aunt Ann is holding chub of love, Cole Baker who has grown a ton in just a few short weeks.

And yes, Grandma even managed to squeeze in a short nap with Brocky boy.

   Tomorrow my sweet baby niece Shae is being blessed which is the reason for all the "chaos" at our house this weekend and we're happy to accommodate as many family members as possible we only wish they could stay a day or two longer, especially if they're going to continue to restock the bridge mix supply:)
    And last but not least, McClane is definitely walking.  I'd post a video but I don't have a great video of him yet so maybe next time.  There's a picture or two that should suffice for now.
It's recently occurred to me that Brock has finally reached a new phase and isn't so hard to manage but now McClane is hitting the "busy-drive-mom-crazy" stage of life and it's going to be several more years of chasing a toddler around.

This was just seconds before he fell and put a little cut on his head.  He'll be covered in bruises for awhile.

Sorry it's blurry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Put Him to Work!

         It was time for a small change after cleaning out Mark's room of all the toys and cleaning up the storage room and garage last weekend and thankfully I have a great husband who can be convinced every once in awhile to do things my way and be a bit inventive. 
        I've had bookshelves for years now and I've also had toddlers for years and those two do not mesh well.  The time spent putting books back on shelves after the toddler has had their fun is incalculable so I decided it's finally time to put up a shelf out of reach of little hands and Mark's room had the perfect spot for this shelf.
        Of course Greg was ready to just do a little shopping at IKEA or something and find a simple shelf that could quickly be installed but Greg doesn't run the finances and doesn't realize that really wasn't an option but I was willing to make do with pretty much any kind of shelf.  I was even ready to go so far as to dismantle our cheap bookshelf and reconfigure it some how to be hung up on the wall but after discussing it for a bit Greg realized he had another option, use the old wood fencing he's been stashing under the deck out back for who knows what.  Rustic shelf, sounds good to me!!  We were even so lucky to have an old nail gun and nails that worked in it so literally no money was spent to assemble this shelf and I couldn't be happier to have the books out of reach and now Mark has an even better spot for his desk in his room.

Here's my man prepping the boards.  (Really just brushing off all the dust, cobwebs and dirt.)

Lay them out and doing a little measuring.

Starting to nail it all together.

Here's the before of Mark's little "nook".

And this is how his room was before.  It's such a tiny room that this was really a great change.

And here's the shelf installed and stacked with most of our children's books.

And here's Mark's room with a little more space around his bed.

And the final look for the "nook".

   Also this week we've had a little fun.  McClane is really becoming quite a skilled little boy.  He's climbing up on everything and is even able to climb down too.  I found him climbing down from my bed today without any problems, not even a scared look of "where's the floor" on his face or anything.  Before we know it he'll be riding around on the wiggle cars.

    

     He's also had his first nap in his high chair.

    And then there was Father's and Son's this weekend.  It was half tent, half the back of the car for sleeping arrangements and Greg said it worked great.  He didn't love all the weapons that were brought and used around the campsite but after they ate dinner and got away from the "Shoot um up" area things weren't so bad.  He did not take McClane for some reason but just having him and Kayli home with me for the night was still a welcome break.

Ready to go and McClane luckily doesn't realize he's being left behind.

    So that about wraps up the week.  Next week my family is coming and I can't wait to see them.