Photo Shoot

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get 3 kids to smile, look at the camera and keep their hands to themlseves, all at the same time? This is, of course, after arguing about shirts, and trying to fix hair and clean faces. So how did I get 3 kids to smile? (not necessarily at the same time, of course) Good, Old Fashioned Bribery. Ummm, I mean rewards. If they listened to me and smiled, they got to pick between 1.) a Hershey's miniature 2.) Mellowcreme pumpkin (Which I have only for decoration in my candy jars, of course) or 3.) 2 quarters. Chloe and Ellie picked the candy- Hayden went for the cash. The next question is, "Why the Photoshoot, Erin?" Well, thank you for asking, and I'll tell you why. Someone's birthday is coming up in a few weeks, and that person was involved in the making of these three kids (and sometimes the taking care of, but we moms know how that goes) and we thought that he might like a new picture of all three of the kids- which is a very rare thing. So, shhhhh . . . don't tell- its a suprise.
The above pic is the winner- not the best picture in the world, but I have three smiles, open eyes and no boogers. I would have really like more eye contact for Hayden and Ellie, but beggars can't be choosers.
This last one is "serious faces". I was trying to get them to smile naturally with the old, "Don't smile!" trick. Ummm, they are really good at not smiling. I think Ellie's been giving them lessons. Now I can take a few months off until our Christmas Card Photo Shoot. I'll probalby have to up the ante- Hayden will demand green and the girls will probably want full size bars. Hey- Whatever it takes to get the shot!

Yee Haw

That's about 125 lbs of kid on his back! Hayden really wanted me to get it on video, can you tell? Oh, and pardon the laundry pile.

Hot Hogs and Sweet Faces

I love this picture of Billy- is he cool or What?? Just hangin' on his hog, waiting for good times. And this is the sweet face. I know I'm her mom, and I'm not exactly an impartial observer, but isn't she lovely? Now, I just need to look at sweet pictures of her to remind of her loveliness when she's acting, umm, not-so-lovely. At 4.5, that's amazingly often these days!

Happy Birthday Emily!

We celebrated Emily's birthday a few weeks late, b/c you can't have a birthday without Grandma! The kids had a blast playing in the grass, eating hot dogs and chips, and ending the evening with an ABBA-based dance party. (Abi really has the good moves!) Emily is the sweetest 5 year old girl, ever. And she opens her presents so calmly and methodically. She's a champ. I didn't get that many good pictures for some reason- it was an off night for me, I guess. Also, I was on Emi's right side- a.k.a. the long bangs side. I couldn't get a picture of her without her hair in my way. I'll be excited when that hair grows out!
Poor Squish was LOVED ON by Chloe and Billy all night. Good thing she is so easygoing. How many hugs can one girl withstand?
Finally, Grandma believes in BIG pieces of cake. I think this piece was bigger than Billy's head. It had a big ol' smiley face on it, so it was appropriate for that smiley boy!

Happy Birthday Emi! WE LOVE YOU!!!!

A First Haircut

Okay, these aren't the best pictures in the world, but I had to show Ellie and her first haircut. We went to Lollilocks, which is a very cute kid's haircut store. Its a good thing the girls don't need haircuts often- it ain't cheap! Chloe got hers trimmed first (I'm selfishly glad that she doesn't want to donate her hair anymore- is that bad?) and then Ellie climbed up on that Elephant and sat there for her trim. They each got a pretty hairstyle afterwards, and a sucker. A Lovely day at the beauty parlor! Pre-trim here- (notice the tat on her arm)
All done and lookin' goo-oood. Two sweet girls looking so lovely after their cuts and suckers!

Preschool, Here we come!

Chloe started preschool a few weeks ago. For those of you that don't know Chloe, this is a BIG deal. The girl is amazingly shy, and still cried going to the same Sunday School class for a year. The first few days were a bit rough- she was excited to go, but then would cry when I would leave. She wouldn't participate in anything- not even snacktime- and hang by the teachers all day. That is, until last Wednesday. That girl gave me a kiss at the door, said, "bye mom. I'll have a great day today." and then DID. She had snack, she painted, she colored. So hopefully this happy trend will continue and we are over the worst of it. So, three mornings a week, Chloe is a big girl at her very own school. I'm one proud mama.

Fishy Fun in Prescott

We spent Labor Day weekend in Prescott, and had a great time. Not only did Hayden get to go fishing for the first time, he managed to catch quite a few fish! I've been fishing a few times and have never caught anything in my whole life! They had to throw everything back the first day, because AC didn't get a permit, but the second day AC, Hayden and Chloe went and both kids caught a few. The only one worth keeping was Tito the almost-ten-inch Trout. Hayden was very proud of his catch, but, like his mama, did not really relish the idea of eating Tito. Dad took care of that.
In addition to the exciting fishing expedition, Ellie also potty-trained that weekend. She and I spent lots of quality time at the house with nothing but a Dora potty seat and a bagful of nmnmns. (M&Ms). Oh, and lots of stickers. The first 2 days were a bit, um, wet, but by the third day she is en feugo. She's only had 1 accident in the past two days. For the first time in SEVEN years I do not have a child in diapers!!!! What am I going to do with all of that extra $$$$?
Kind of a long post for me, but we are excited to share our big news!
Next issue of EandAC: Chloe and Preschool.

Beware the Clone Troopers

I think Hayden's favorite gift was from Auntie Natalie and uncle Travis- a Clone Trooper helmet, complete with phrases from the movie and a voice-altering button. Go ahead, ask me how I feel about it.