My Town.

There used to be a storefront at the mall that was remodeled into a make-believe kid-sized village.  The inner walls were lined with cubicles that were designated as the police station (complete with jail), the schoolroom, the ice cream shop, the dress-up parlor, the train station (with brio train sets), and many more.  There was an indoor "road" where kids could ride the little tricycles and pretend cars, and a grouping of tables in the center to have lunch, or for parents to chat.

We only went a few times before it closed its doors, but here are a few pictures:

Noelle liked to hang out in the library.

Natalie in the dress-up room.

This picture is from the schoolroom.  Theresa had been trying to play a school game where she was the teacher, Mrs. Poop-poop-a-loop.  The other kids weren't interested in playing just then, which hurt her feelings.  I found this on the chalkboard shortly after, which broke my heart, too.

Blankie.

Sarah had Fluffy Blanket, but there hasn't been another kid with a favorite blanket since then.  

Until Phil.

Blankie has a backstory.  

In 2009,  Scott had a car accident in which the car was seriously injured and thankfully, he was not.  He still won a trip to the hospital in an ambulance, and the ambulance crew had to cut his jeans off him, so he arrived at the hospital (and came home) covered by a loosely-woven hospital blanket stained with his own blood.

Flash-forward to 2013 - Philip is born in August, and during a shopping trip in those early months, in the baby department at Target, I saw a gauze baby blanket for upwards of $20.  $20 FOR GAUZE!!!  It doesn't even keep a baby warm, but it's supposed to reduce the risk of suffocation.

I remembered that blood-stained blanket that I'd been hanging onto, and thought I could do something with it.  I cut out the stains to make it into a large rectangle, and sewed a blue satin  border around the edge with pastel rainbow thread.

This was taken December 2013, when he was 3 months old.

I don't remember exactly how old he was when we realized that he was grabbing for it eagerly at  naptime or bedtime, but it was definitely a faithful companion by the time he was crawling.  It was when he started to walk, however, that Blankie became a liability.  He tried to toddle around with Blankie dragging under his feet, tripping him up. 

By that time, he had become so attached to it that I was fearful we'd lose it somewhere and he'd be inconsolable.  It was then that I sub-divided Blankie into one large, one medium, and three "Traveling Buddies."

Philip, 11 months, and a Traveling Buddy on the return trip from Illinois last July.

Sometimes we can find all five, sometimes only two or three.  One Traveling Buddy is permanently stationed in his car seat, and he knows that "Big Blankie" lives in the "kib." (crib)  The rest are dragged (and lost) everywhere on a daily basis.  He even came proudly into the kitchen today, pushing a doll stroller with Blankie in the seat, exclaiming, "Blankie - roller!"

July 2015, 23 months old

Beach Time.

For some reason, we haven't been to the lakes around here for at least 10 years, probably 15.  I can't even remember the last time, but I remember Brian being a baby, so that puts us over 15 years.  Why did we stop going?  I can't remember that, either.

We told the kids we were going to a place with a lake and a beach.  Like the ocean?  No, not that big.  Are there waves?  No.  The sand is pebbly, not grainy.  There are woods, no boardwalk.  Oh, nevermind, just wait and see.  Will we like it?  I hope so...


They liked it.

It was a GREAT day.  Philip was able to toddle in and out of the water at will.  The beach area wasn't too wide so we could see from end to end, and see the kids at all times.  The older kids could swim out to the ropes ,but even there it was only 5 feet deep.  The sandy beach kept them occupied for hours.  There was a shower house, and the water was WARM!  I even got some quiet time to read.  They all thought it was amazing and as I was typing these words and choosing pictures, they drifted through the room and asked when we can go to that place again!

Bucket List.

At the end of June, the girls and I put together a Summer Bucket List, trying to find a bunch of free or low-cost activities that would make for a memorable summer.  Some of the activities we placed on our list are:

- attend the free kids' shows at the mall
- participate in the summer program at the library
- finally use the free passes to Knoebel's pool we won at a Chinese auction three years ago
- attend a minor league baseball game (the kids get free tickets through their kids club)
- sew something with Noelle
- make a batch of homemade soap
- go mini-golfing
- visit each of the closest state parks
- see a drive-in movie

I took a blotter calendar and covered my bedroom door with our bucket list and activities.  Little did I know that by putting this list on my bedroom door. Andy would take it as a personal challenge to check off as many of the boxes as possible.

I put "fix the leaky faucet" on there.  Remember, I put the list on the door at the end of June.  By July 6, after more than a year of dripping, he replaced the kitchen faucet. :)  The baseball game was July 19, and it was a great day, but we didn't think to take a camera along.  We've had quite a run of rainy days so far, but he kept an eye on the forecast, took a vacation day, and on the 17th we hit the beach at a state park.  To be continued. . .

Like Father, Like Son.

Sunday morning, Philip decided to get up and play at 3:00 a.m., so when the sun finally caught up with him, none of us were anywhere near ready to face the day.  

Are You Happy Now? ;)

I recently had a complaint that I haven't updated the blog in a long time... you know who you are  ;)  ... so I'm throwing a little bone along with an apology. Besides feeling like I'm drowning under my responsibilities and having a one-year-old menace to chase, I've also been missing a camera or two. And a cell phone. My memory is at an all-time low. Anyway, no pictures, no blogging. Simple as that.

Andy recently took a trip out west to visit our 2nd son and his bride, and he purchased a camera out there, which was promptly regifted to me as an early birthday present.  It's already been two weeks, and I haven't lost it yet.


 

Speaking of the Menace...

He used to be so easy to photograph! Now, whenever  he sees a camera, he dashes toward it.  It's hard to capture him doing whatever you wanted a picture of.  Anyway, the new camera has a feature called Color Pop, which highlights only the desired color - red, blue, green or yellow.  Here's the Bandit with a yellow filter:

And here are the girls with a blue filter:

Noelle has the braids.

And Regina, last but not least.

B.D. and Sarah Blast From the Past.

 August 5, 2013

2014 Circle Picture

Missing You.

Daredevil.

In June, he learned to crawl.

In August, he started to walk.

 And now, all he wants to do is climb. 

First he climbed up the tailgate. 

Then he stood on the siderail.  Then he tried to get up on the roof.

Then he climbed through the window into the cab.

THEN he tried to climb back  out into the pickup bed through the window.

We almost thought he wasn't going to make it.

NOW what are you going to do?

In August...

Conor turned 16 and passed his permit test 

without any trouble at all.

Andy took him and his sweetheart Emily to Scranton to see the a RailRunners minor league baseball game in the UGI box.

Sarah and her boyfriend Jeremy went up to Great Lakes

to visit Brian.

Philip fell asleep in Andy's arms 

for maybe the second time ever.

Sarah and I took all the girls and Philip

to Ocean City and to see Granddad & Pat

before Sarah had to go back to college 

Sarah, Noelle & Regina

(for her last first day!).

Sleepy Phil with the tide coming in!

We buried my mom.

Jennifer drove up from Texas for the funeral 

with her Dad & Mom, Jason, Ian, Sophia & Kevin.

Here is Regina playing with her god-brother, Kevin.

Conor broke his leg.

And Phil turned one.  :)

Phil started to take a few steps the week before his birthday, and can now take up to a dozen.

We also discovered that he is quite the camera ham, as you can plainly see.