A music lesson

Some afternoons, I lose my mind. Please...don't act shocked. It's the "crazy hour"--somewhere between waking from nap and welcoming Daddy home from work, we get a little...well...hyper, cranky, anxious, unbearable...just. plain. crazy. I do my best to "defuse" my little ticking time bombs during this time. We go outside, we read books, we play in the floor, sometimes when I'm feeling super creative we do a craft, sometimes we just stand around and stare at each other...it's not my favorite time of the day. So recently I did something I haven't done in awhile...ya know, just to keep my kiddos on their toes...never know what nutty thing Momma will do next....


I pulled out (and dusted off!) my violin, and gave Grace a music lesson! Now it's been years since I have truly played and my violin is MUCH too big for Miss Thang, but it was FUN! And Grace was really interested in the instrument. Plus it filled the time and kept the children (well..okay ONE child--I think Sam climbed up on the couch during this time and jumped up and down, he had no interest but whatever...) from revolting...
I showed Grace how to tuck the violin under her chin, how to stand (this is actually the first thing I remember learning...), and how to draw the bow across the strings--keeping the bow between the bridge of the violin and the fingerboard...





As you can see...someone snapped pics...our beloved Daddy came home during this time and caught us on camera. We LOVE when Daddy comes home!

Guess who we got to see??

Yup...somma the cutest kids I know...my niece and nephew, Bailey Rose and Isaac! Aren't they just darlin'?

They spent last week at their Grandma Sheila's house, which is conveniently located about 1 1/2 hours south of Kansas City. Soooo...on Thursday we met up with them at Deanna Rose Farmstead. A ROCKIN' place I would highly recommend to anyone coming up this way, whether you have kids or not! I didn't tell Grace WHO would be there...just that we were going to the "farm" to "feed the goats" (ewwww...don't worry, I brought lots of hand sanitzer) So when we walked up to the entrance and were greeted by her two sweet blond headed cousins, Grace was temporarily speechless (shocking...I know!). Then she said "Bailey Wose and Ikey??....BAILEY WOSE AND IKEY!!!" It was a moment I will not soon forget.

There was horseback riding (I am amazed I got this photo...I was secretly doing the "dance of joy"...you see LAST year when we went to the farm...Grace REFUSED to ride the horses. She said she would ride them "when she got bigger"--I guess she's "bigger" now) If you look in the background of the picture, you'll see Bailey riding a horse too!

There was fishing. Complete with BAITING YOUR HOOK WITH LIVE WORMS. Are you reading this people?? LIVE WORMS...LIVE WIGGLING WORMS. Nasty stuff. And don't you think for even one second that the CHILDREN baited their own hooks. Oh no no no...Mommy and Grandma Sheila got that glamorous job. Bailey caught three fish, Isaac caught two, Grace caught a stick (oh well, there's always NEXT year...ya know, when she's "bigger") I do hafta give Gma Sheila a little shout out though...she "unhooked" all the fish the kids caught and gently threw them back. I just couldn't do it...totally grossed me out. All that sliming and squiggling...gack...so a big thanks to Gma Sheila!

There was tractor racing...on very small, foot powered tractors....

There was petting of horses. Bailey Rose packed Sam around like a little momma. She is SO good with that boy. And he is SO happy to latch himself onto her hip. She shows him the COOLEST stuff...like big horses. Honestly, when I first spotted this little interaction between Bailey, Sam, and the big horse...I was a teeny bit terrified. But I took a step back, took a deep breath, took a picture, and when Bailey turned around, Sam had a huge "momma I petted a horse" grin on his face. Totally worth it...totally.

And of course, there was the feeding and petting of goats. HUNDREDS of goats. Don't worry...did I mention I brought LOTS of hand sanitizer? Yes lots...
What a fun day! I sure do love those two creepy blond headed kids! And I'm glad Grace is bigger...'cause riding horses with your cousins is FUN!

What tastes like sunshine and is fun to eat?






Yeh, you guessed it...fresh corn on the cob. We got this corn from the downtown farmer's market. I think it was picked that morning because it sure as heck tasted like a ray of summer sunshine. Grace Looooooved it...with a capital "L" (bet ya couldn't you guess that from looking at the pics?!)...we couldn't get the girl to stop eating the stuff. We also picked up some local honey with the honey comb IN THE JAR....Yummm...I sure do love me some summer food.

There comes a time in every little boy's life when he realizes he is separate from his mommy. I love and live with a little boy like this...his name is Sam-O...and at the ripe 'ol age of 16 months, he is discovering he can do more and more all. by. himself. He is defining who he is, he is learning about the world, he is climbing on and STANDING up on tables....

(All I could do was take a picture...it was perfectly hilarious. I believe children can be classified into the following groups. Climbers and non-climbers. Biters and non-biters. Grace never did such things...she was not a climber, she was also not a biter...her baby brother is both a climber AND a biter.)

But I digress...

This same little boy also falls down and scrapes his knee...see..

Such strong liddle boy legs...

Sam-O also discovering the "fun" parent in this house...and that parent is NOT me--nope Mommy is all business...that "fun" parent?? Yup...that's Daddy...He will wrap you up in a blanket and swing you around the living room until you are so dizzy you can't walk...


He will feed you bites of HIS cereal in the morning...just like a baby bird...

He doesn't even care that you eat most of the cereal...he knows where to get MORE cereal!


He can JUGGLE...and sing...at the same time...

Yes...Daddy is fun...being a liddle boy is fun...but being an annoying baby brother is SUPER fun!!! Sam-O wants to do EVERYTHING his big sister does. Of course that's just not possible...big sister is 4 1/2 and she is a total rock star (with a large dash of diva mixed in). She can write her name and get her own drink and snack, she can ride a bicycle. But he tries...he sure as heck tries...


Ahhh...yes...Sam-O is a big boy...he can eat with utensils...he helps me get him dressed in the morning, pushing his liddle arms through the armholes and trying his best to put his shoes on...he can climb up AND down the stairs...he can say "bird" and "ball", "balloon" and "bites", "dog" and "bye-bye"...he will eat ANYTHING you put in front of him...and he can run--FAST! He LOVES the Magna-Doodle, and Daddy swears he saw him draw a circle. Nothing much fazes the boy...he's pretty chill. He likes to dance (although white boy has NO moves)....he likes to get dirty and he totally digs the water. He nods his head "yes"...appropriately...so, for example "Sam, do you want to go outside?"--and he enthusiastically nods YES!!! Now if you ask him "Sam, do you want to take a nap?" He just looks at you...wide eyed. (He hasn't nodded "no" yet...which I think is a bit backwards, but whatever...) He is such a big boy! It happened so fast...so incredibly fast. And here's the big news...at a little over 16 months of age...he doesn't even want "ninny" anymore. That's right bloggy friends. I think I can call it...he's officially WEANED! I'm not sad (well, okay maybe a little)...we were both ready...yes, such a big boy indeed.

But...he still thinks his momma is pretty wonderful...and he gives the BEST hugs...silly boy, I love you...but stop growing so fast.