Edison Picnic

Grandma & Jericho ride the train.
Jericho had to jump on this jumper instead of the pink and purple castle because that one was "for girls."

Hero rides the pony.

Jericho's first pony ride.

Jericho and his spiderman balloon.

Hero and her little mermaid balloon. (Her face is painted like a kitty cat.)

Hero has a thing for reptiles.

This skink was fun to hold and it tickled her ear.

Jericho checks it out but won't hold it.

Like I said, she has a thing for reptiles.

Hero cooled off later by going on the waterslide. Jericho got his swimtrunks on, waited in line, but changed his mind at the last minute.

Final Awana Night

Hero received her ribbon for finishing two Sparks books. She did things a little out of order so she will review both books next year.

Jericho received his Cubbie Bear pin for finishing his first book.

This is the JV Discipleship group that I had the privilage of helping with this year.

Bundle of Energy

Well, Ransom has suddenly realized that his ability to crawl means that he is no longer confined to the room in which Mommy leaves him. He has been trying out the tile floor in the kitchen and visiting his brother while Jericho takes a bath. He is quite determined, as you can probably tell from the pictures. Oh yes, he is pulling up on things too. He even likes to cruise along his brother's train table. Unfortunately Jericho is not accustomed to sharing his trains yet.

Apples and...

My son is one of the pickiest eaters I have ever known. The type of food that he especially abhors is fruit. Recently we have realized one of the many problems with this... a desperate need for fiber. So yesterday I began my campaign for brainwashing him into believing that he likes apples. (Lest you think I am crazy, we did it with carrots and it worked.) To start the day off right, I peeled and sliced two apples. To make the fruit a little more appealing, I added a spoonful of caramel dip. When Hero came in to eat, she was ecstatic; Jericho started bawling. It took him twice as long as his sister but he eventually ate the entire apple. Can it really be called success if you spend half of your morning listening to your three year old cry?
FYI: Jericho used the facilities later that afternoon and when I asked him if it hurt he said, "No, because I ate fruit!" So, the brainwashing is taking effect.

Crawling

Yes, the fun has officially begun. Ransom has mastered the art of crawling forward. Yesterday he would crawl forward a couple feet, then crawl back into a sitting position. Today he crawls forward, grabs, and chews on whatever is in his path. Thankfully, he is still rather slow at this, but it still keeps me on my toes!

Ballet Performance

Here are some pics from Hero's ballet performance last night. She is in the "Little Princess" class. Can you tell?

Hero's Garden

Here is Hero's window garden. She is learning how sunflowers, chives, and oregano grow. (She was supposed to have tomatoes, but they turned out to be radishes; mommy broke the pot anyway.) We will soon add parsley to the group. Hopefully she will be better than her mom at keeping plants alive.

Mother's Day Gift

Here are some photos of the lemon trees that my husband (and kids) gave me for mother's day.

Six Month Check-up

Ransom had his six month check-up today. He weighs 16 lbs 9 oz and is 26 1/4" long. That puts him at just under the 50% marker. He hasn't started crawling yet, but he can scoot along on his tummy. He thinks it is the greatest thing to stand up like his big brother. No teeth yet, but plenty of drool.

Cinco de Mayo Pics

Day at the Park

Jericho had fun riding bikes with Mitchell and Michael.

Jericho and Mitchell are ready to race down the slide.

Hero swings from the monkey bars.

Ransom's thinking, "I think I need a bigger hat."

Recent Photos

The Charts

I decided that it was about time I put my children to work. No, I am not violating any child labor laws. I am simply assigning them household chores that they are responsible to complete. Hero and Jericho each have their own chart with simple tasks to accomplish such as "Brush teeth, make bed, pick up toys." At the end of the day, they get stickers for each box that has been completed. At the end of the week, they will get one penny for each sticker. (Yes, I know. I'm cheap, but they think pennies are great.) We also have a chart on the refrigerator. This chart has different chores that pertain to the household. Across the top of the chart are the different days of the week, and along the side are the jobs that need to be completed. In the boxes next to the jobs are the names of the person whose turn it is for that day. This chart is really a challenge for me. Not only does it encourage me to make sure that the daily chores get done, but it requires me to teach my children how to do each task. It's going to take some work.
This chart has helped in greatly in some ways, though. The kids no longer fight over who's turn it is to get the newspaper. Nor do they complain about having to get the dog's food...again.

Playing House

Overheard today...
"Jericho, do you want to play house?"
"Okay, you be the mommy and I be daddy."
"Alright, and here's the baby."
"No, not a baby! How about a dog, okay?"
"Okay."

The Spin

My youngest son enjoys swinging in his outside swing. It is one of the few places that I can set him down and he will be happy for more than ten minutes. Today I did just that. I set him in his swing so he could watch his brother and sister entertain him. Every so often, one of the older children would push him a little. I would observe the interaction from the kitchen window, venturing away for only the briefest of moments. Unfortunately, one of these moments was not so brief as it should have been. I returned to find my daughter releasing the swing that she had just twisted up. The swing, with the baby inside, twisted wildly. I ran out the door, stopped the swing (which still had a couple of revolutions left,) unbuckled the baby, and lifted him up. I watched his little eyes try to focus as I waited for the barf that I thought was inevitable. Fortunately, that didn't happen and the baby seemed fine. My other two children couldn't quite understand why Ransom didn't have a good time.

Then What?

Jericho likes to plan ahead. He likes to know exactly what is going to happen each day. For example, today when he woke up he asked, "What are we going to do, Mom?" My reply, "Eat breakfast." "Then what?" was his next question. I proceeded to outline our whole day for him, each time receiving the query, "Then what?" or "What's next?" Finally, after one such question, I came to the summation of our day and said, "Then we go to bed." His response, "Oh, man! I don't want to go to bed!"

Planting at the Park

The kids enjoyed planting flowers and playing at the park on Friday with our church friends.