Movie Trailer

Ben has been hard at work at camp this summer working on a movie trailer with his friends Zach and Conrad during their weekly computer hour. Finally after seven weeks I got to see the finished product, all minute and 19 seconds of it ;) Ben says he has a new appreciation for all the work it takes to make a movie ;) They did all the filming/acting/editing themselves. Good job boys!

Crazy Hair Day

First Day of Preschool

Here's my big girl, on her first day of preschool at her new school! If you think she is gazing off into the distance contemplating her future, I think she is actually looking at a delivery truck that pulled up to the curb just as I stopped to take her picture. 

Anyway, yesterday I brought her to her new classroom to "meet the teacher", which was fine, she played and explored and did not seem to be shy or upset. Then this morning I brought her in, and she played, and explored, and then realized I was leaving! I could hear her screaming all the way down the hall. Poor baby! But I know she is at a GREAT place with a GREAT teacher and she will have a fantastic school year! (Also, most of the other kids in the classroom were crying too. First days are tough!)

Splash Park

Mommy & Becca Date

Ben had a birthday party at the movies this afternoon so after dropping  him off Becca and I took advantage of the cloudy/rainy afternoon to have lunch together, paint pottery, and get ice cream!

Wednesday Update

We wrapped up a great visit from the Robinson cousins yesterday, followed by lots of loads of laundry, house-cleaning, etc, which is all not quite finished up yet. When you have 5 kids running around the house, inevitably you get behind on some things like housekeeping :) Saturday we took the kids to the pool and then Abby and I went to the mall and out to dinner to enjoy some yummy Spanish food and sangria, and Sunday we took the kids to Great Wolf Lodge for the night. (Joel stayed behind with Caroline since he had to work Monday and she is really too young to do much there except, well, possibly drown anyway). It was Ben and Becca's 4th trip to GWL and Charlie and Amelia's first, so Ben and Becca were excited to introduce their cousins to things like The Howling Tornado (water slide) and the MaqiQuest game. Ben FINALLY got to battle (and finally defeated) the red dragon, so he was very happy. Now the next time we go he can work on the ice dragon ;)

Going back to work yesterday after a 3 day weekend sucked, and I have tons to do at work so of course I must take some time now to procrastinate some more :)

This is Caroline's last week at Lambs of Grace, she starts at CJP on Monday. They put her in a "young twos" class with 8 other kids who turn 2 between September and December, with our favorite teacher and Becca's "best friend" Lindsay. Lindsay called yesterday to discuss Caroline's dietary restrictions/procedures for making sure her food / eating area does not get contaminated. We will bring Caroline to "meet the teacher" on Sunday so she can see her new classroom before we leave her there on Monday. I am sure there will be a bit of an adjustment for her, but I am so excited for her to be at CJP finally!!

Great Wolf Lodge

A happy girl at Great Wolf Lodge!

Cousins

When we look back in years to come Ben will come to be known as "the sulky one". 

Green Band Girls

Becca and her friend Amelia passed their swimming test today, earning them access to the entire pool including the 12 foot diving well. They had to swim a lap freestyle, tread water for 2 minutes, then swim a lap backstroke. Way to go girls!!! 

Two Dudes & 5 Kids

Joel and Mike took all the kids out to dinner while Abby and I were out tonight :)

Semi-annual Miro Dinner

Clara Approves

The other day we had our living room TV and new Sonos sound bar mounted on the wall in the living room. We did this because a) we didn't have anywhere to put the new sound bar and b) we were concerned about the TV getting bumped by one of the kids as it didn't seem very stable just sitting there. Now we are shopping around for a new piece of furniture to replace the coffee table pictured below with. Something of similar length and height but about half the depth. Having no luck so far.  Here is Clara checking out the new set-up:

Kid-Free Day

Joel and I arranged for Sharon to babysit for about a 26 hour stretch this weekend, from Saturday morning around 10 am to Sunday morning around 11:30. We used free movie passes to finally see Star Trek: Into Darkness, used a Marriott gift card we got from cashing in rewards points on our American Express card to stay at a Courtyard by Marriott in South Park, and used a gift certificate to one of our favorite restaurants, Copper, that Joel had gotten for his birthday. We also went out for breakfast yesterday morning to my favorite breakfast place, Terrace Cafe. Below are some pictures of some of the delicious food we ate this weekend. When we got home I got the greatest welcome from Caroline, she ran over to me as fast as she could (she isn't quite running yet but almost) shouting "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" She was so happy to see me! It was so cute. 

9 Year Old Well Check-Up

I took Ben for his 9 year old check-up today. The appointment was at 11:30 so I dropped him off at camp this morning, picked him back up at 11, took him to his appointment, had lunch @ Panera with him, and dropped him back off at camp. Not the most productive day I've had lately, considering the two hour interlude there, but not much I could do about it.

Anyway for the yearly height /weight stats you've all been waiting for-- Ben is 57 3/4 inches tall and 72 pounds. I was quite happy that he's actually gained 7 pounds since last year, which seems like more than usual. Still tracking right along at >97th percentile for height and around 75th percentile for weight. And according to WebMD's height calculator, still on track to reach an adult height of 6'3 ;)

This year he was wearing underwear (last couple of years seems to have gone to his well visits commando for one reason or another usually due to swim lesson proximity), and the only funny moment was when the doctor was questioning him about his vegetable consumption and after offering mashed potatoes in response, the doctor said, "Well I mean green vegetables? What green vegetables do you like to eat?" And Ben wracked his brain for a minute and said, "Do pickles count?"

*Do* pickles count?

Pudding

Tooth Fairy Savings & Loan

Ben has yanked out two loose teeth in the past week and he keeps doing this after dinner when I have no cash in the house and no opportunity to get any. Clearly Tooth Fairy Savings & Loan needs to start keeping an emergency stash on hand so that I don't have to do this any more:

Becca on 2 Wheels

No not a bike -- taking the training wheels of her bike has not gone so well yet. So we decided she needed some two-wheeled practice a little closer to the ground. After a little practice she is whizzing around pretty well. Maybe she will be ready to try the bike again soon.

Happy Birthday Ben (again)

Cake number 3 is a cookie dough ice cream cake from Marble Slab. You may wonder, why the continuation of the birthday festivities 3 weeks after Ben's birthday? Well he had wanted to have some friends over for a sleepover and due to scheduling conflicts (ie summer vacations) this was the first free-for-all-concerned weekend we could come up with. Consequently Joel is at this moment at the movies with 5 kids, while I am home with Caroline, who is asleep already. Do I feel guilty? Kinda. But I am on be-quiet-or-I'm-calling-your-parents duty later, since Joel has to work tomorrow. So maybe we're even?

Cuteness

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Gluten free of course. All three kids pronounced them a success!

Happy 4th of July!

18 Month Checkup

Caroline had her 18 month well checkup this morning. This was an important visit because it was her first checkup since her Celiac diagnosis two months ago. I was anxious to see what her growth has been since then, and what the doctor thought of her belly distension now.

Everything went well, Caroline measured 32 1/2 inches , which is half an inch taller than last time.  She is also gaining weight, up a little over a pound to 26 pounds 13 oz this time (25 pounds 10 oz last time). Since poor nutrient absorption associated with untreated Celiac disease causes growth problems in babies/toddlers, the proof that she is gaining weight and getting taller again now is very reassuring that her intestines are healing and she is absorbing nutrients better now.

Also the doctor agreed with me that her belly, while still showing some distension, is much softer and smaller than it was at her last checkup. We don't go for another checkup until her 2 year visit, but we go back to the GI doctor in September I believe for repeat lab work to check her gluten antibody levels.

Caroline as usual was not happy to be at the doctor's office (Except for the waiting room which she loves), and she voiced displeasure at every part of the examination (including the two shots she got). She did say bye bye and blow kisses to the doctor (in between sobs) which was pretty adorable.

Reading

Super Dad!

I have to give credit to Joel, he managed to cram a lot of activity into our day yesterday, despite my skepticism that we could get everything accomplished:

1. He watched the kids while I went to the 9am boxing class,
2. Then he went for a 5 mile run,
3. Then after lunch he took Ben and Becca to see Monsters University,
4. Then he took them to Best Buy, where he bought a Sonos Play 3 for my office, a Sonos sound bar for the living room, a wall mount for the living room TV, and scheduled someone to come mount the TV and the sound bar on the wall for the end of next week.
5. Then I met him and the kids at the JCC with Caroline, and Joel played basketball with Ben for an hour.
6. Then we went out to dinner,
7. Then Joel did the grocery shopping for the week!

While Joel was grocery shopping I set up the Play 3 in my office. The sound equipment is all my early birthday present, by the way. Now I can listen to whatever music I want in my office, or whatever radio station I want, or my iTunes library, or stream music from Rhapsody or Pandora or pretty much anything at all. And I can control it all with my iPhone. Soon we will be able to do the same thing in the living room; the sound bar had to be ordered since it was not in stock, and will be delivered this Friday. The only thing on my wish list that did not get accomplished yet is to be able to play music on the back deck, we discovered that there is some issue with the wiring out there plus Sonos does not yet make an outdoor unit, so we would have needed to a) figure out the wiring issue and b) spend an extra $500 on another piece of Sonos equipment to use the existing outdoor speakers with the Sonos system. So we decided to hold off on that for now.

After I set the Sonos up in my office I called Ben downstairs to see it, because I knew he would appreciate it. He is really into music lately. He took one look at it, grabbed my iPhone from me and started blasting music with great enthusiasm. In fact he and Rebecca kicked me out of my office, shut the doors, and had their own little dance party.

Anyway thanks to Joel for a busy and fun Sunday!