"Mom, she's not falling!"

That's what I heard from across the room as Big Man watched in fascination.  For several days now, I've been very intentional about working with Lollipop in this area-- as her 6 month birthday came and went, I realized that I had not been giving her enough floor time (translate== too much in-Mommy's-arms time), so I determined to help her "practice" every day until she was able to sit on her own.  Well, yesterday, Lolli was playing contentedly on her mat when Big Man decided to work with her himself.  I watched as he tenderly raised her to a sitting position and then... let go! (I wasn't expecting that!) Fortunately, her "practicing" had paid off... she was sitting up all by herself!  I managed to grab my camera in the nick of time~  

  Well... she's almost topple-free.  Every once in a while she'll reach too far for a toy and, oops...

wind up horizontal!

But Big Man is always ready to set her upright again :o).  He's a wondeful big brother and a super helper... most of the time!

Now that Lolli can check "learning to sit" off her to-do list, I'm sure she'll be moving on to bigger and better things... I just don't think I'm ready for a crawler!!  Hopefully I'll be able to enjoy a few months of stationary-Lolli, but with 3 active brothers around, she just might surprise us and launch forth sooner.  You know what they say-- ready or not...!

Dollar Night at the Fair

Last night was Dollar Night at the County Fair.  We were there.. along with everyone else in the world!  Last year we went on a Thursday night (we were very careful to avoid the weekends when the crowds would certainly be the worst) and the timing was perfect!  This year, however, when we made plans with our good friends from church, none of us thought to check the fair schedule.  We never thought to consider Dollar Night and just assumed we were "safe."  We were not, however, and through the course of the few hours we were there, a very firm idea grabbed hold, took root, and rattled through my head all night long... we will never go to the fair on Dollar Night again!  It's just now worth it.  It took us almost an hour to park, the lines were a mile long, and the crowds were gy-normous.   

All my grumblings aside, we still managed to have a great evening.  Good fellowship makes for a delightful time, regardless the circumstances, and the kiddos were still able to ride all their favorites-- the Hurricane, the Hi-Roller (according to Noh-man, his "worst nightmare come true"), the ferris wheel, the carousel.  We ate our $5 funnel cake (did you catch that?  5 bucks!) and drank our $2 coke (the size of a church communion cup); we smelled the smells (and boy, were there some strong odors present) and gawked at the colorful folks walking past.  If you've never been to a county fair, you must go if only for the people-watching.  It really is a very educational experience! 

I wish I had a few photos to share-- unfortunately, when I turned on my camera to take my first picture, it immediately shut down due to a dead battery.  And, of course, I had no replacement battery on hand, much to my dear husband's dismany.  He keeps reminding me that he bought an extra battery for that very reason, but have I even taken it out of the package?  Um, no.  (Note to self... charge extra battery today and put it in my camera case.)  So... no photos of the bright lights or the gorgeous almost-full moon or the boys laughing at near-hysteria heights.  It's so fun to watch them let go and enjoy the delights of childhood... 

It really was a fun, fun time; we look forward to going back again next summer-- it's become a tradition now and who am I to break tradition??  If any of you have any interest in going with us, we'd love to share the experience with you.  And no worries... we won't be going on Dollar Night!

Wordless Wednesday

81972512MW152_Olympics_Day_, originally uploaded by gearaddicts.

Mancakes & Menstown

This is a Mancake.  The very last one, in fact... the latest and greatest creation to come out of "Menstown."  (What's "Menstown," you ask?  Well, let me see if I can offer a fair definition, seeing as how I am not a man!  To my understanding, Menstown is any gathering of the guys, both large and small, and its primary goal is to enjoy great time together with 1) good--often hot & spicy-- food, 2) quality programming on tv-- generally sports or war movies!, and/or 3) any other manly thing they can conjure up.)   This past weekend, while the ladies were away, Pops, Daddy, Bub, Noh-man and Big Man spent 50 hours in Menstown and had a fabulous time! 

 

As for the "mancakes"-- the  guys decided to try something new for breakfast on Saturday morning.  Pops made pancakes the usual way but then decided, with Bub's help, to add a secret ingredient.  Now for any of you who know my dad, you know that he is a hot sauce fanatic-- hot sauce usually tops most any meal he eats.  So naturally, I assumed it would be the secret ingredient.  Well I was close, but no cigar.  It was... are you ready for this?... crushed red peppers!  Have you ever heard of such a thing?? No, I hadn't either, but evidently, the experiment worked and the "Mancakes" received rave reviews from all.  Who'd a thunk it?!

Fortunately the men's weekend together was a huge success.  Of course, their time together is always great, but this weekend was an extra fun treat.  They did all sorts of neat things-- they spent an afternoon at an awesome children's museum, they watched the Olympics, they stayed up very late, and they dined on who-knows-what.  Curious as I was about what my children had consumed in my absence, I decided to ask about their meals... had they eaten any fruit while we were away?  Nope.  Any vegetables?? Bub: "Does macaroni and cheese count?"  How about beverages-- did you drink anything other than soda?  Bub again: "Um yeah-- I had a glass of orange juice yesterday."  Hmmm.  I'm not sure what they lived off of for 2 days and nights, but I did find an empty box of these on the counter:

Notice the weight on the box-- 3 lbs, 6 oz.  I'm sure that box was at least half full when we left.  Not anymore!  They also left us a few of these... evidence that they did eat something requiring utensils~

Anyhow, the guys apparently had a great time on their own, so who am I to complain?  As an added bonus, they all looked great when we returned and didn't have any horror stories to report. One never knows!  They even ran to greet us when we pulled up the drive.  Big Man offered Corrine a squeeze but refused to smile for the camera~

Noh-man and Pops were a bit more cooperative.

I'm very proud of my main men-- they did a super job while we were gone!  Now, does this mean the ladies will get to take more girls' weekends away??

Go USA!!

I'm still trying to find a photo of the entire men's relay team, but for now, I think Phelps's reaction to the men's record-breaking victory says it all.  Truly awesome!

Photo credits go to theaffirmationspot.com

Truly amazing!

Oh. My. Goodness.  If you went to bed early... if you turned off your tv too soon... if you were doing anything other than watching the United States Men's relay team compete tonight, let me just tell you that you you missed THE race of the entire Olympic games.  As mom would say, it was Pha-nomenal!  Phelps, Jones, Weber-Gale, and Lezak smashed the world record, smoked the French, and walked away with the gold medal-- it was truly unbelievable, possibly the best relay race of all times!!  And yes, if you're keeping track, that's 2 for 2 for Phelps!   

Lollipop's New Friend

This is Cosmo, a spunky little wild man of a pup... and Lolli's newest friend.  He's a two year old golden doodle-- the constant companion of my brother, Dave and his wife, Wilma-- and a truly delightful dog.  This past weekend  he was the perfect host to my mom and my cousin, Corrine, Lolli and me after we traveled south to visit them all and attend a baby shower for Wilma (she and Dave are expecting twins in October!).  

We have all enjoyed Cosmo's company on several previous occasions, but this was Lolli's first encounter w/ the little guy.   She gladly shared her toys and her play mat, too, but when she started tugging on his paws and whiskers, Cosmo had to draw the line.  Fur-tugging was off limits; he simply would not tolerate it!  That was ok with her, though; eventually he came back and she, of course, loved every second of his attentions.  She even stole a few seconds of play time with Uncle Dave.  We certainly appreciate their patience and hospitality, especially that of Cosmo-- the arrival of a little screech owl could have severely disturbed his otherwise peaceful home, but he proved that he could hang... and he also showed us all that he will most certainly make a wonderful companion for his newest siblings this fall-- they'll be very privileged to have such a faithful, and very furry, friend.

Thanks, Dave, Wilma, & Cosmo, for your opening your home to us... we had a great time!