Show Them Your Smile

Time for their first dental visit! After working things out with that pesky ol' dental insurance who insisted they pay for pediatric dentists but alas there were none covered in all of St. Louis... so they said "take your pick and we'll cover it." Imagine that! An insurance company!
We were off.... a little hesitant... a lot nervous...



Nicolas and the nurse compare shoes. What good taste she has! Turns out she hunted all over for them just like we did for Nicolas. When a person wants red Nike's you won't settle with anything less!




Nicolas was a trouper. He did great. Let them scrape, polish and everything. Even tried to answer her questions when she was really talking to mom and dad and he had a mouth full of tools! What a cool guy he is!



Lexi watches... wary... playing with the reptiles. Does this window lead outside? Is it locked?
The nurse asked her if they could count her teeth like they were doing to Nicolas? They would love to do that and would even do it in Spanish like Dora if she wanted. She said "sure... maybe tomorrow." That got a laugh.

Uh Oh! Lexi's turn. A few extra tears on her part. Mommy was there holding her hand.... tight! But no kicking, no wiggling. She was a trooper too! And they both got to hit the treasure box on the way out. She liked having the fluoride "painted" on her teeth. Later told me she "looovvveedd it! It tastes like sugar." Funny what they have now days compared to when I went. Flavored gloves for the staff to wear when doing the exam. They get to pick the flavor of the fluoride coating even! They got Disney themed toothbrushes! Wow, we were lucky to get to pick between purple and blue.

Must not have been too traumatic or at least long lived... Lexi played dentist when she got home with her dolls. Even put that pretty bracelet on the dolls left wrist after the dolls exam was over. The one that she got from the treasure box and wouldn't take off. I do realize that it looks more like she is picking the dolls nose with big tweezers but kids move fast when taking pictures and she really was going for her imaginary teeth in her little string of a mouth!!!

Slip and Slide Away.....

It was a hot, hot day in Glen Carbon this Tuesday! Got out the new slip 'n slide for the kids. Lexi wasn't crazy about the sprinkler portion of the slide so she didn't last long. But Nicolas and his little friend Allison couldn't get enough.

Look at me go!

Splash!

Um.... I need to potty....

Thanks, Margaret, for going with her... naked little rump so that I could keep taking these cute little photos of our kiddos!

No Holes Yet!

Grandma Birdie brought over some cute sticker earrings for her girlie girl granddaughter who loved every minutes of it. She wore them for two days and savored every minute of it. Boy if mom would just let her get her ears pierced! I just can't do it until she truly understands how it will hurt for that moment and how to care of them. But these sticker ones were really fun! And isn't she just cute?

Then we headed to Dandy Inn with Grandma and played on the playground, played in the rocks, at good ol' fried food and got real dusty!

Thanks Grandma for helping with the baths tonight! When the dust cloud cleared there were two happy kids to show for it!

We are off to the zoo!

Shawn worked at home early this morning so he could go with us to the zoo today. Haven't gone all year! Why is that? The year has flown by so far, I guess. All the kids wanted to see were the penguins. So we trekked there and on the way....

We made them stop at the reptile house. Daddy's favorite! Promise, guys, we are heading towards the penguins! They were intrigued for sure with all the snakes, lizards, turtles and alligators for sure.

Getting there.... had to wait for the train.

Then a stop at Mommy's favorite... the orangutans. Not too active today but quite a chance at a close up for Lexi. One baby one was having a blast playing peek-a-boy with a burlap sack. "Yes, guys, we are going to the penguins... we promise! Be patient!"

Then after a few more grudging stops (that they of course loved), we made it to the COLD penguin house. I think the little girl and boy are cuter, don't you? Apparently, Lexi and Nicolas don't because they were thrilled!

Then after a quick bite to eat we were off again. But this time... Lexi was getting worn out. Don't blame her! So was I! Daddy's shoulders were Lexi's saving seat.

Daddy and Lexi fed a giraffe. She was giddy!

Look! This stone statue of a sea lion makes a nice cool bed...

Shew! The backpack and the girl... if I had done this all morning maybe I could have worked off that burger and fries for lunch!

Then Daddy was off to work late at his office and we were off for some much needed nap time at home. In fact, Lexi didn't want to wake up at 5:00 when I begged her to.

Daddy Plays Baseball

After a very nice birthday party at my brother's house for my nephew, Corwin, we headed to the late game to watch Daddy play softball. The season has flown by and we haven't been able to see one game he played. First all the rain soaked us out of games. Then the first game was late so we couldn't go. Then Daddy threw out his back so we couldn't watch him throw out a player for weeks. Then another late game. Finally, I decided the kids would just have to stay up so that they could finally lay their sleepy little eyes on daddy on the field. Yippee!! So there we were at a 9:30 PM game. They did pretty well for the late hour. Thankfully Grandma Birdie came and that helped especially when Lexi decided she needed to go to the potty. She did announce it quite proudly as we walked back to our seats ... "Grandma, I went potty! Grandma I went potty!" Not quite the normal thing you hear yelled at a softball game, I bet.

Daddy takes a swing! He got two hits and one of them later became a run for the team.

Nicolas is a little shy around his Daddy suddenly. Guess Pujols is going to have to move over because Daddy is top of the heap now!


"My Turn!"

Lexi sits still ... for a moment... to watch her Daddy bat.

Sibling Swap

Why is it that the grass is always greener in the other yard? Got these photos this morning from Erica, friend and neighbor. We went to her house after a stressful trip to the Y (smile). Tried to go and get a little exercise for the first time this summer for my ever growing thighs after dropping Nicolas off at his Y camp. Well, neither Erica's little darlings (Julia - 1 and Ryan - 3) were any more happy about staying in the playroom then Lexi was. So by the time we got to get on a machine we managed to squeeze in 20 minutes before the Y pool opened for the kids. Picked the kiddos up... and wrestled with swimsuits, diapers, lotion, crying.... running for 20+ minutes. Got to the pool only to have to take Lexi need to pee about every 10 minutes and whine the other minutes. We lasted about 30 minutes or so before giving up and heading home.

Erica invited us over for a quick lunch before some much needed naps. (after picking up Nicolas from Astronaut and Aliens Camp). They didn't do too bad together. And a little "down" time with some Diego turned into a photo opportunity.

Julia wanted to sit next to Nicolas. He gets a kick out of the attention this little one year old cutie bestows on him. Lexi and Ryan are always just adorable together.

Now, if Lexi wanted to sit THIS close to Nicolas as he watched a cartoon it would be a shoving match. But not Julia. He turns to her every few minutes and gives her a little chin tickle.

Please keep in mind they are two and three years old! This will NOT happen ten years from now! Although I must admit I would probably take a picture then too before sitting myself between them on the couch.

Another Hot Day... Another Pool!

Well, as you may have read, we had a cute splash pool with a slide... it was very loved for that three hours (tops) that it lasted. Actually, even loved for that last hour when it already had the massive hole in the seam but we rigged it to not let more water leak out. Hated to ruin a fun evening. We started to get another one and then thought maybe we would try a whole different type. So here we are. We filled it up tonight after dinner. It was freezing!!! The side of the house we have to put it on gets shade late in the day. I even tried to heat a big pot of boiling water on the stove to warm it up.... didn't even matter. But if you ask Nicolas and Lexi they didn't notice and the water was fine... even with Lexi's lips were turning blue!


What a happy little boy!

Gotta love it!

Happy Little Wet Girl!.... (do you see the tinge of cold purple in her lips?)

Cold or not they refused to get out for long.

They love it this much when it is freezing in the water. Imagine how happy they will be when the water is just cool and the sun is HOT! Make room for Mommy!!!

The dead spot of grass will be worth it. I'll have to show Shawn these pictures again in the fall when he removes the pool and cries over the yard. (smile)

Hot Days of Summer!

Nothing to explain here. Just sharing the HOT days of summer! Don't we all love that loooonnnngggg drink of cold water on these days!

Okay, I know I posted the photos from this bubble delight the other day. But just got the other camera and didn't realize Shawn had video taped it. Now THIS shows the giggles. No need to watch the entire thing. The first few minutes are all I needed to be near tears with delight.

Sorry about the background conversation. Some high school cross country runners were meeting at our neighbors house and had just gotten back. Funny to see all those pale young guys run. Our neighbor was state champ so guess it is a good house to practice at. Did him good!

Look at me! I am a fairy princess!

Lexi is starting to like to dress up. The moment doesn't last as long as playing with trains or dolls or her PetShop toys. But she does like to flaunt her princess ways... even when not in a gown or crown. It is fun to catch these moments on film. They grow up so fast!

Augh! Why are you people encouraging her? (hee, hee)

Same night... just a costume change. Now where does she get that from? Outside in a Cinderella outfit and bubbles. She didn't change the crown though. Got that for pottying in the potty. So our little Princess of Potty is now enjoying the bubbles. She did go change though when she wanted to stop playing with the bubble machine but wanted to play with the bubble wand. She didn't want to get the soapy bubbles dripping on her pretty gown. Shew!

A Little Golf and Cycling on a Sunday

What a lucky little boy Nicolas is this Sunday! His interests and growth... not to mention a December birthday which leaves 12 months between celebrations for big purchases It has let Mommy and Daddy to look for any small "excuse" to buy those special treats. But we were paid back with smiles and joy. What else would you need then that?


Nicolas' interest in sports seems to go with the season. And now it is baseball and golf in strong swing. Golf was being satisfied with his little plastic clubs... but that was starting to leave much to be desired. Not exactly the clubs he needs to bring to the driving range with Daddy which is something he really wants to do. So we picked him up a set today after a Target trip after church. Lexi was happy too. Now she can use the plastic set without having to share herself. Boy our front yard gets used for a lot of sports. You would think they would be in the back but they go to that slanted front!

After golf came the new bike. Yep, a new bike for big brother. We took a trip to Sports Authority after naps to look at a new bike. Our rapidly growing tike was rapidly outgrowing his 12" bike. It was kind of sad and yet humorous to watch his little legs peddle so fast as he tried to move a long distance on the diameter of those tiny wheels. Now he is comfortable with his new helmet (you should have seen the old one sitting on top of his head as he had outgrown it) and new bike. Doesn't he look proud! And doesn't Lexi!

Get the tools out! With a little help from little hands, Daddy fixed the training wheels. Nicolas wants to try and ride with them all the way up so maybe they can come off soon. Doesn't have the hang of it yet but he is working on it and bound to succeed.

Look out world (and anyone else on the sidewalk), here comes Nicolas!

Bubbles Anyone?!?!

The warm weather is bringing out lots of fun cooling off devices. Our bubble machine has brought out lots of fun on the driveway these days. Was it the heat or the laughs that caused these cheeks to Rosy like that? Giggles could be heard across the neighborhood!

Here they come!!

Did you see that one????

May the bubbles glow in her glow! I think her favorite color, pink, flatters the bubbles well!

I'll get it! Jump!

No, I'll get this one!