Happy Birthday Ford

First things first the boys put on their matching Michigan shirts to get the party started! 

Happy Boys

 Mad/Crazy Boys

 Daddy couldn't keep a straight face!

 Time to open presents.

The first two were from Evan and Seth, they picked out some of their own toys to give to Ford.  Beanie babies!  

 Then he got a golf set and wasn't sure what it was.  

 When he figured it out he was beyond excited.   

 "Cake" time!!  

We discovered a new doughnut shop in town a couple months ago, they carry these beauties.  Oh yeah, that's a maple bacon donut, ah-mazing!  

 You can't just lick them all!  You have to blow out the candle first! 

 There you go!  Notice big brother "helping".  

 Don't mind if I do. 

 Yum. 

 Take the biggest bite you can boys! 

 I saw daddy doing it, it must be good! 

 Oh the horror! 

Get it out! 

 Not to be one to learn from other's mistakes...

 he gives it a try and..

Ewww!

Happy second birthday little man!  

First Backyard Gator

Well, hibernation is over and its officially mating season so Florida alligators are on the move and one decided to move into our pond!  

Thankfully this one is quite small at around 3 feet but its still makes me nervous!  We've instructed the boys that they are not allowed near the pond.  I got the impression they weren't taking our warning seriously when Evan informed me that it wasn't even big enough to eat a kid his size and Kane told us that he wanted to name it and keep it as a pet so he could give it snuggles.  

 I am a big fan of being honest with my children even on controversial subjects like death, sex, and you know being eaten by large reptiles, although I try not to over share/over react on things either. However this time I let them have it.

 I explained that the gator probably couldn't swallow them hole like other prey, it could bite them, drag them in the water, hold them under until they drown/died and then it would snack on their bodies for a few days.  

Evan and Kane stared at me in horror and amazement during my little speech, following up with a thousand questions, while Seth just smirked and rolled his eyes.  Seth was born a skeptic so I'll be pulling out the big guns, showing him Youtube videos of gators hunting and feeding, hopefully driving my point home.  

Always trying to walk that fine line of over reacting and teaching them respect for the world around them. :)  

And we're still working/budgeting for a fence (the ones our HOA allows can cost upwards of $4,000!!!!) as its one of our top priorities.  

Pre-Baby Pics

36 weeks

Well, tomorrow I'll be 37 weeks pregnant but this is the only recent pregnancy picture I have. 

Picture back story: the night before I had lower back pain and contractions for about an hour, just as I was about to wake Jed up and call my midwife it stopped.  I was disappointed and relieved.  

I was most stressed out that I'd have our little girl before we had taken pregnancy pictures!   To make sure that she'd have at least one picture of this pregnancy, the next day when Jed walked in the door from work, I threw on a clean shirt, took my hair out of my standard ponytail and tossed my camera at my husband. Not glamorous but really what is when you're 8 months pregnant!  

We're hoping to do pregnancy/family pictures tonight after Jed gets home... that is if I have the energy to get all four boys and myself ready!  We shall see!  

Flood Fun

Our sprinkler system sprung a leak and flooded our front yard.  

I tried to turn the water off but couldn't figure it out.  Jed had to come home from work to do it.  While they waited for daddy, the boys took full advantage of the situation! 

 Due to the way the water flowed through our yard it created a deep puddle which was perfect for soaking in and of course...

 Jumping into! 

 Dirt+Water+Boys =

 Pure...

Joy! 

Jump! Jump!

What kind of mother lets their kids use their living room furniture like its a playground?!  

Oh yeah, that'd be me.  

Not all the time, we do have rules but rules were made to be broken, right?  Especially when you're 8 months pregnant, its hot outside and you have 2 really wound up toddlers/preschoolers!  

Let the fun begin! 

 Ford likes to talk smack to the couches.   

 Then he lets them have it.

 So fun! 

 He also likes to pretend that he's being kind to his big brother before he shoves him off the table, he gets his devious side from his dad (I've been shoved in the pool too many times). 

Kane was a good sport about it. 

 1... 2... 3... 

JUMP! 

  

Birthday Boy!

Seth turned 6 this weekend!  I can't believe he's 6, wasn't he a baby just yesterday?!

  When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday dinner he told me he wanted to eat Subway at the beach.  That was a little over a week ago and although what he wanted to eat changed many, many times the location stayed the same.  

We woke up early Saturday morning, sang happy birthday, ate birthday doughnuts and packed up for the beach.  For the last few weeks the weather has been pretty much the same every day, chilly in the mornings, warming up to perfect beach weather by 10, and then unbearably warm by 2pm.  Of course the weather broke its pattern this weekend.  

I don't think we saw the sun once on Saturday, in fact the closer we got to the beach the dark the skies became.  We also lost about 5 degrees while gaining stiff winds.  

For the sake of the birthday boy and the ridiculous amount of gas we wasted driving out, we endured, and when I say "we", I mean, Jed and I, the boys wouldn't have cared if it was snowing!  

While I sat in a chair, wrapped in a towel, the boys took their new boogie boards (one of Seth's birthday presents) into the surf.  They rode the waves for as long as they could, until they finally broke down with blue lips and uncontrollable shivering.  Even so, as we drove home Seth announced that it was the best birthday of his life!  

The rest of the day was spent playing his new Wii game while waiting for his new remote control monster truck to charge, driving his truck around the house and finally making our way to McDonalds for Happy Meals (he finally settled on his choice for dinner).

I was far too cold to get pictures at the beach so you'll have to settle for McDonalds pictures.  It was only their second Happy Meal ever so it was quite the novelty!

Discovering what was in his bag of deliciousness!

A happy meal for a happy 6 year old! 

It had been a long time since I had seen the contents of a happy meal, the mini fries cracked me up!