August

We got home from our vacation to WA on August 1. Brian went back to work the 2nd. The girls all ate breakfast on the patio that morning, like they'd done with Grandpa and Grandma in WA. Caroline and Lauren stayed out there blowing bubbles.


The youngest 3 kids have gotten more injuries at this house than ever before!! They're playing outside more, riding bikes on the patio, scootering on the patio, running around, climbing trees, etc. They've needed lots of Band Aids since we've been here. Fake pout and you can hardly see the Band Aid. Ha ha...but she wanted me to get a picture of her owie. :(

Pongo was freaked out about our moving and our new house! When we went to clean the last house, the last day we "had" it, we tried to find Pongo. We thought he ran outside when the movers came. My friend said to buy canned cat food; it gets them every time. Well...it didn't work. While I was cleaning the kitchen cupboards in our old house, I saw Pongo hiding behind the RO tank in the very back corner of my corner cupboard. I got him out of there, and he jumped up to the top of the upper cabinets, and made himself all flat. It was crazy! He is so big and strong, that I don't like trying to catch him. He bites and kicks and puts holes in my shirts! Grrr!

Anyway, before we left the house, Brian got a towel and grabbed Pongo. We stuck him in a cardboard box and brought him to the new house. He stayed in the laundry room for days and days. Even after we left the door open and let him be free. He'd hide out in his covered litter box, like it was his own little hut! As he got braver, he'd come out at night. Now he's king of the castle again--or so he thinks--and roams and lounges all over the house. :D Here he is hiding out in the master bedroom closet. Silly cat!

Julia helped with her 4-H club's rummage sale on August 6. The owner of a local storage unit lets a non-profit group have all the stuff people leave behind when they leave their units, to have a rummage sale. Then the group gets the $$ from the sale. I think the 4-H club made $400. (?) Lauren wanted the pink exercise ball, so I bought that for $1. All the kids have fun with it and fight over who gets to sit on it at bedtime prayer and song time! LOL

One afternoon I was weeding and pruning in our front flower bed. An older man, one of our new neighbors, stopped his truck and talked to me for awhile, saying they were so glad we moved there, how he and his wife had had 5 kids, he liked hearing we have 4. :) Things like that. I kept working, and later he stopped by again with a bag of fruit for us. He gave us oranges, lemons, peaches, and plums. He said he was sure we'd enjoy them all (we did) with all those kids! Ha ha! Julia and Lauren made lemon bars with with some of the lemons one day.

Julia is quite the baker these days. She likes baking cookies the best. It's so nice that she is pretty much capable of doing everything herself. Sometimes she still asks for help, but she knows quite a lot. I should have her help make dinner! That's harder, since she's usually doing homework at that time, during the school year.

Bailey adjusted much fast to the new house than Pongo. We didn't want him peeing in the corners of the new house (as he has been known to do!!), so stuck him in the storage shed the first night. I thought he was probably just baking in there, as it's metal, and there's no window. No light either. I took pity on him and brought him in the laundry room with Pongo. They were actually glad to see each other! They're not typically too friendly to each other; well, Pongo tries to play with Bailey, but Bailey wants nothing to do with Pongo!

I think they were just glad to have "someone" familiar to be with. They each had their own litter box, and Bailey used his...thankfully!! After about 3 days, Bailey had enough of being locked in the laundry room, and we put him outside. He loves it out there! He stays out there all the time now. Sometimes he sneaks in to eat, but back out he goes. He's the one who ended up with the canned cat food Pongo wouldn't eat, and now spoiled old Bailey gets canned cat food every day.

One day, Julia and Lauren had their friends, sisters Keeley and Gracie, come over to play. Lauren and Gracie played Barbies and set up the Barbie pool on the patio. Look who else wanted to swim...

Julia and Keeley built a teepee on the putting green. All the girls played Indians for awhile.

The 3 younger kids have spent hours and hours riding bikes round and round on the patio.

And then August 18 school started. The kids love time off, but they all were excited for the first day back! They all got *great* teachers this year, which is an answer to prayer. I couldn't be happier! We were most concerned with who Julia would end up with, since the 6th grade teacher we hoped for moved to the middle school. Her teacher is a sweet, young teacher, and I think this is her 6th year teaching, but first time teaching 6th grade. I asked Julia if she knows how to keep those wild boys in line--Julia had a whole group of them in her class last year, which this year has been broken up! Julia said her teacher does, keep them in line, that is. :) Austin has the same teacher Julia had in 3rd grade, and Lauren has a teacher that is friend's w/ Austin's. They are both Christian ladies, which we are glad about.

I didn't think to bring my camera to school this year. The first day, Lauren saw other kids' moms taking their pictures at their desks, and she wanted her picture at her desk also. So this picture is on the 2nd day.

Caroline in bed before a Sunday afternoon nap...She wanted all her stuffed friends around her pillow. She has slept in the bottom bunk since we moved here, and has done great! She's stayed in bed every night and nap. She did fall out, but only once. Our baby crib is unassmebled in the garage! It's the first time since Fall 1999 we haven't had a crib set up in our house.

Lauren has to take a nap on one day of the weekend. Saturday is best, otherwise she has a hard time getting to sleep early, Sunday night. But she *needs* that one nap. It makes a world of difference in her crabbiness/cheerfulness level!!

Same Sunday afternoon: Austin watching TV with Daddy. Notice the lamp on the floor! Ha ha! We still hadn't *exactly* placed all our furniture. :)

Later that afternoon, riding around the patio again.

Picture 1: Little girls in their cute daisy dresses. Yet another Band Aid on Lauren...

Picture 2: I was working in the yard and Caroline was playing, catching Roly Poly bugs (pill bugs). She tried to catch as many as she could in her snack bowl.

Later we were discussing the Roly Poly bugs, and I asked Caroline if she left them under her bowl all day to bake in the sun. She replied, "I didn't bake them in the sun! They baked themselves in the sun!" Riiiiiiight....like they had any choice! Poor bugs.

Back to school = back to homework in the afternoons. The kids get home frome school about 3:35. They have a snack and do homework right away. Julia has to read for 30 minutes and Austin has to read for 20 minutes, Mon. through Thurs. They don't mind this, as they both like reading, and can choose the books they want to read. Austin has about 20 minutes of homework on top of that, and Julia has anywhere from 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours of homework on top of her reading! Some of the 6th graders are starting band this year, so when they go to band, the other kids get to start on their homework. Julia is always glad when it is band practice day! Ha ha!

The kids are busy during the week. Monday, Austin has Karate 5 - 5:45. I bring him, Brian picks him up, usually. Tuesday, Austin and Lauren both have soccer practice 5 - 6 pm. Austin's is at the park, Lauren's is at the school, and Brian helps coach her team. Thankfully, the park and school are close to each other! Then we all have Awana at 6:15. I've been taking Julia and Caroline. Brian takes the two soccer players, who eat their dinners from metal pie plates in the car on the way to Awana! Wednesday, Austin has Karate again, 5 - 5:45. Thursday is soccer practice for both kids, 5 - 6 pm. Whew! We are all glad for a break on Friday night! :) Then, Saturday, we have two soccer games. Soccer season ends just before Thanksgiving, so just a few more weeks of that. Julia has 4-H meetings the 2nd Monday of every month, then individual project meetings here and there throughout the month.

Picture 1: More playing on the patio...tying up Baby Sister. Don't worry, she was laughing and having fun!

Picture 2: Caroline is very into playing with the toy kitchen and toy food. She makes meals for each of us. She makes meals for her dolls and stuffed animals. This day she served Pongo some food! LOL I saw this when I went to use the bathroom in there...

Austin had his soccer game first, this Saturday. He was taking a nice break, eating his snack, sitting with Caroline during Lauren's game.

Lauren has several very agressive players on her team. Their first few games were blow outs, with her team winning with a ton of goals. I was actually surprised when her team lost 2 games! Guess there are other good players out there too. :)

Brian was barbecuing on the patio and joined the kids in riding round and round the center "posts".

Lauren still loves to play Barbies!

She and Caroline also play dress up frequently.

This day they were both fairies. In the first picture they were looking at baby plants sprouting. They'd planted seeds from an alstromeria growing in another planter box, and said they were growing! Maybe they were? Maybe the sprouts were weeds? I guess time will tell! In the 2nd picture you can see the alstromeria from which they took the seeds.

This is what they did when I told them to show me their wings. Silly!

Austin wanted to try on the wings too...

One morning at breakfast, Austin made a face on his toast, using his fruit.

Picture 1: Little girls wearing their cute turtle outfits.

Picture 2: This is what I got when I asked Caroline to stand by the tomato plant! Goofball! She liked picking the tomatoes that grew. I thought the plant was done and told Brian to dump it in the compost, but last week I noticed more baby green tomatoes growing on it!

I started potty-training Caroline the last week of August. She "got it" that first week and has done so, so well. Bless you, Fourth Child who wants to be big like your brother and sisters and thinks going potty on the toilet is what you're supposed to do!!! We started out having her use the thick training underwear. She'd only had like 2 accidents, and wanted to wear her pretty underwear, so didn't wear the thick pairs much. She does all her potty on the potty, willingly and often on her own. Unlike a couple siblings who would wait till they had a nap or bedtime diaper on to poop, Caroline goes on the potty! I hate potty-training, and am so glad she is done with diapers! She wears undies at nap, but a diaper at night, which is usually dry in the morning. Yippee!!!

The 2nd picture is her after being "hosed off" with the faucet after one of her accidents early on. Another thing the laundry sink was handy for. Ha ha ha!!

The house tour will continue in the next post!

Caroline, 34 Months

Caroline is at such a fun age, and says such cute things! She is very loving, and gives us big hugs. She likes wearing headbands, as in these pictures. She'll find Lauren's laying around the house, and put them on her head, no matter if she's wearing other clips or bows already.


She still likes writing in her own little notebooks. She's discovered scissors, and has claimed a pair of Lauren's old ones as her own. She cuts itty bitty pieces of paper, and of course they get scattered all over the kitchen. It looks like confetti on my floor. She doesn't mind when I vaccuum them up; the fun is in the cutting!

I used to call Caroline my little munchkin. Sometimes she tells me things or asks me questions, and refers to herself as Caroline Grace. As in, "Is that cookie for Cawrowine Gwrace?" or, "That's Cawrowine's notebook." Well, a couple months ago, she started calling herself "Little Mun", shortened from munchkin. So, often I hear, "How are you doing, my Little Mun?" or, "Little Mun is sad. Little Mun has a tear." Sometimes she turns it into Little Munt or Little Hunt! Funny! And then say something like, "Do you need a snack, Little Hunt?" It's so cute, and we've all taken to calling her Little Mun as a nickname!


Caroline loves going to Sunday School like the big kids. She tells us her classmate's names. She loves doing crafts. She loves her teacher, Miss Mary. Caroline tells me, "Miss Mary said, "You look so cute today, Cawrowine!" Hee hee. One of the helpers in there told me they should clone Caroline so they could have about 15 Carolines in the class! LOL I think she must be a little character in there, and they get a kick out of her!

We attempted potty-training. First Caroline willing sat on the potty. And nicely went pee pee. And got jelly beans! What could be better?! I guess a lot, b/c now she refuses to sit at all! Stinker! If I sit her on the potty she bucks around her bottom and won't sit or go. I tell her when she turns 3 there aren't going to be any more diapers, only at bedtime!

A few weeks ago I bought Caroline her very own cherry ChapStick. She was constantly getting into mine, and getting it slobbery, so I thought, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em," and got her her own. Oh my goodness. She puts ChapStick on all the time! I told her she can only put it on on the hard floor now--this after I found red smeared ChapStick in the carpet. This picture was the first day she had it.

She is a little sweetheart though. She tells me, "You're my best thing EVER!" or, "You're the BEST mommy EVER!" and gives me big hugs. She also tells me, out of the blue, and often, "You're the mommy cub, and I'm the baby cub."

Caroline loves singing. Throughout the day she sings, and it is the cutest thing. She does pretty well remembering words, but if she can't recall them, she makes up her own. She sings "Holy, Holy, Holy", like " 'Oly, 'Oly, 'Oly". ;) She also says "lullow" for yellow. But "yet's go" for "let's go". Here she's wearing a headband, no matter she already had the one bow in her hair. :)

Playing babies just outside the laundry room while I sorted clothes.

Caroline loves doing puzzles and having us read stories to her. She likes many, many books. She calls Berenstain Bear books, "Papa Books", b/c Papa Bear is in them. She likes "Sleeping Beauty", both the book and movie. Caroline is extremely interested in Maleficent, the villainess. Caroline will exclaim, "There's Maleficent! She's over there by the coffee table! Will you pretect me, Daddy?" Then snuggle close to Brian. Or, "I see Maleficent! She's by Lauren's foot!" Or "Maleficent wants to sit by me! You pretect me, Mommy!" Sometimes Caroline says, "Maleficent's just pretend. She's stuck in the TV..." (which I've told her, LOL). But usually Maleficent is very real in Caroline's mind, and out to get her! It's funny--I think she likes scaring herself w/ the idea of Maleficent!!

Caroline always wants to talk on the phone when one of us is. She likes talking to her grandmas and daddy, when he's at work.

Playing baby dolls is one of her favorite things. She's a sweet little mommy and takes good care of them--giving them bottles, pushing them in strollers, giving them toy food, putting them to bed, giving them hugs and snuggles... She's named this baby, Rosa.

Caroline wants to be so grown up, just like the big kids. She always wants to put on her own clothes these days, and sometimes does ok. She gets frustrated when an arm gets stuck...or two legs end up in one pants leg...or when we insist on helping her!! Her shoes are often on the wrong feet, since she almost always puts them on herself.

Usually she's pretty good when I do her hair. Today she told me, as I scrunched her curls. "Stop it. Stop 'crunchin' my hair!" Hee hee

Recently Brian and I were discussing a decision to be made, and he said, "I feel on edge." Caroline, as if she was part of the conversation all along, pipes up, "I'm not on the edge."

The other day, Austin was running after Julia, and yelled, "Julia took my bomb!

Julia: "He threw it at my doll!" (She was playing with her American Girl dolls) Then, "Here's your stinkin' bomb!"

Brian: "A bomb? That's a grenade."

Caroline: "I like lemonade!" :D

She also likes Bailey and gives him lots of hugs when he's just sleeping in the chair. He's very tolerant of her, even though he wants to escape!! He never bites or scratches. In the morning we give Pongo his hairball treats, and Caroline often wants to help. The problem is, she comes running in, exclaiming, "I want to help! Yet me do it!", and scares Pongo off!

Caroline has two special imaginary friends, Gotta Gotta and Laura. Gotta Gotta is always doing something interesting. Today Caroline told me, "Mom! Laura hit Gotta Gotta!"... Lauren told me, "Laura is the naughty one..." Sometimes Gotta Gotta throws up. Often Caroline plays that one of her dolls is throwing up: "Oh no! Look Lauren! Keri threw up! Here's her yucky throw-up clothes." or, "Poor Gotta Gotta! She throwed up!"

Caroline--following in her sisters' footsteps--Ahem--has been throwing fits lately. She shrieks and gets mad and hits someone. She cries and kicks and carries on. We had been putting her in her crib to get it out of her system, but one day she climbed out! And got a purple bruise on her forehead. So now she just gets stuck in the bedroom with the door shut. She kicks and screams and yells, until finally she calms down. None of my kids really had terrible two's, but the girls had terrible three's. Austin (b/c he's a boy?!) thankfully hasn't been one to throw fits!! Oh, the drama, with girls. ;)

Most of the time Caroline's just as sweet as can be. She's extremely mellow and likes to just sit with us and snuggle. She likes to hold a piece of our shirt and rub it between her thumb and index finger while sucking her other thumb. She's content just to sit with us, even with no stories and nothing going on. She also entertains herself very well! That said, she does miss Lauren at school, and is always glad to see her when she gets home. :)