Beach Day

Last year we tried to meet up with our awesome friends at the beach, only to end up cancelling due to weather and heading to play in Philadelphia instead.

This year we tried again, planning a lovely trip to a beach called Avon-By-The-Sea (which I fell in love with just because of the name), only to have the weather turn against us. But we decided to stick it out! There were some sprinkles and it was cloudy basically the entire time we were there, but it was still a lovely day.

Kellie & Audrey burying the boys

Seth & Ian in the sand

Working together on some important project

Catherine prefers to work alone.

Actually, this picture may be evidence of my kids' lovely practice of completely burying toys in the sand and forgetting where they are. Somewhere on this beach is at least one Matchbox car waiting to be discovered...

And now, the Blood family presents: Baywatch! 

Another shot: 

This was Catherine's favorite activity--running back and forth across the beach with Daddy. And no, I did not join them. No one wants to see an 8 1/2 months pregnant Megan running across the beach.

Seth's pile of sand, waiting for the tide

Giving careful instructions to Catherine concerning the pile of sand...

...who in turn relays the instructions to Daddy.

We did manage to have a bit of time to sit around and chat together: 

(I have no idea why my shirt is like that. Classy, Megan.

Also, I forgot my swim shorts and got to swim in my capris).

Seth, as always, had a fantastic time, despite pretty much staying out of the water the entire time: 

(Impressive height for a little guy!)

And, in an increasingly rare moment, Catherine actually fell asleep in my lap, all wrapped up in a towel. I loved every minute of it--she hardly ever naps or cuddles anymore, so I cherish every chance I get to hold my baby girl before little brother shows up and takes over my lap. 

(Two sleeping babies--I'm holding Catherine in the background)

So glad we finally made it to the beach together! I'm really liking this summer tradition! Thanks to Kellie for the pictures (and I owe you some, too)!

A Little Princess

This is what we like to call the "Princess Barbarian" look:

It's actually a quite fitting match to her personality--wild thing with princess curls

But this is my favorite part: 

Jon and I are so in love with these ringlets...she's never getting a haircut.

This is one of the sweetest things ever: A few weeks ago I posted on Facebook about Catherine's obsession with Lightning McQueen. A Sunday or two later, a friend from the ward was substituting in Primary as the pianist. She handed me a bag from Disney World and said, "This is for you." I had no idea what to expect, but this is what I found inside: 

Lightning McQueen pajamas for Catherine!

Apparently she had seen my post and, while on a family vacation to Disney World, decided to find something for Catherine. I was so touched by her generosity! Needless to say, Catherine LOVES them. She wears them constantly, day and night. Did I mention that I live in the best ward in the church?

And, lest you think that I could be overwhelmed by living with such cuteness every day, here's a glimpse of what we are frequently blessed with: 

Oh, the teenage years are going to be SO MUCH FUN.

But really, she's adorable: 

Funny story: Jon was trying to motivate Seth to clean up by having him compete with Catherine. Due to Seth's allergy to cleaning, Catherine was quite successfully trouncing him. But when Jon told her she was winning, she quite forcefully turned to him and said, "No, I not winning. Seth is winning. I YOUUUsing." She's learned already that it's better to just let Seth win than to deal with what happens when he loses. Wonder where he gets that from? *cough* Jon *cough*

Life

Wearing the dress up clothes Seth got for his birthday:

Don't let Catherine blind you with her awesomeness.

What happens when mom is distracted while shopping: 

(Look carefully--she's chapsticked her ENTIRE face, including her hairline)

Speaking of shopping, look what Seth found in the produce aisle: 

Let's skip over the part seconds later where he let go and the cart flipped over...

What happens when Mom is distracted while cooking dinner: 

Yes, she's totally shaking her hips.

No, she doesn't get it from me.

Then there was that one time we thought the kids would really enjoy a nice afternoon playing in the creek...

...and enjoying a nice picnic lunch... 

...only to have them start whining to go home after we'd be there 90 minutes.

Not cool, babies, not cool.

See if we ever take you fun places again!

Bunk Beds!

With baby #3 on the way in a couple of months, we knew we needed to get Catherine out of the nursery and into the room with Seth. August was our planned start date, but after Seth & Catherine did so well sharing a room at Grandma's house, we decided to just start as soon as we returned home.

In order to get Catherine excited, we let her pick out some new sheets for her bed. And guess what she picked?

A cute pink little Princess with her Lightning McQueen sheets.

She was SO EXCITED to see them on her bed.

Seth transitioned to the top bunk without any problems: 

I think he actually enjoys having his own place that Catherine can't get to (we took the ladder down--he just climbs up the pole like a monkey). He also uses a little lamp Angelina gave him for his birthday to read in bed after we turn off the light.

I had DREADED this change pretty much since we decided to try for #3. Catherine was still waking up fairly often at night for various reasons, plus I wasn't sure if they would stay awake talking all night. But my biggest issue was knowing that there would be very little sleeping in from then on--once one was awake, both would be awake.

Turns out I didn't need to worry. Catherine seems to sleep better knowing that Seth is in there, which is great. One night when I tried to put her down before Seth (she was tired, he wasn't), she emerged a few minutes later and stated, "I need Seth." Yes, they do tend to stay up much later talking, but it's not generally too late and they do sleep in to compensate. And, miracle of miracles, occasionally Catherine will sleep through Seth getting up in the morning! 

We'll see how things go when/if #4 comes along and someone has to start sleeping in the bedroom in the basement. You know, the one with the sliding glass doors that lead out back? I'm really excited about having one of my kids down there, all alone...

West Virginia

It's summertime, which for our family means a nice 6.5 hour road trip to West Virginia to see Jon's family. We started off the trip by letting Seth watch "Charlie & The Chocolate Factory" (Johnny Depp version). We had just finished it for school and this was his reward. He didn't seem to enjoy it as much as I'd hoped. The best part was his face whenever the Oompa Loompas would start singing:

"What. The. Heck."

Catherine, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy the entire thing. But that's no surprise from the girl who will watch just about anything as long as it's on a screen. 

We started off with a nice Sunday visit with Brianna. I love seeing my little blond princess with her little Peruvian princess cousin: 

Then on Monday it was off to the wave pool for some splashing: 

Catherine did lots of splashing: 

While Seth commandeered the tube (unless the waves were going, at which point he quickly vacated): 

Claudia, Brianna, Catherine & James: 

This is where the girls headed as soon as the bell for the waves sounded. 

They were not fans.

And Joanna: 

During our trip Catherine discovered the joy of Disney movies. She insisted on watching 'Beauty and the Beast' almost every day, plus she also got 'Aladdin' and 'The Lion King': 

Seth preferred to pester his aunt & uncles: 

Actually, so did Catherine: 

West Virginia is Seth heaven--not only does he have an entire huge room full of toys and cars, he also has Uncle Jacob and Uncle James to play with him. I honestly never saw the kid unless he needed food. Sadly for all of us, the kids all headed to Youth Conference a few days before we left for home. Seth was in total meltdown mode when he found out Uncle Jakey was leaving... 

(He crawled underneath the table just to sit between these two)

We had a horrid, horrid heat wave while we were there. Our one comfort was that it was actually slightly cooler than it would have been at home (except we feared for our garden, which really did end up dying). In an effort to get the kids outside without melting, we headed to the splash pad:

Don't let the happy faces fool you: my kids actually don't like splash pads. Too many opportunities to get water on your face. The real highlights of the trip were these: 

Feeding baby ducklings in the parking lot

And: 

Standing on a huge pile of gravel and throwing fistfuls at the bushes.

Another morning Jon decided to pull out Seth's birthday car and set up some Army guys on the road for Seth to plow over. It was a big hit, and something Mommy would have never thought of doing. That's why Daddies are awesome. 

Tongue out = serious concentration

Princess got to enjoy the show, too

(Notice the fogginess? That would be the humidity)

Those Army guys stand no chance against Seth.

We're so glad to have family (relatively) nearby, and so glad they let us come invade for a week! Now we'll see if Jon decides Thanksgiving in West Virginia is happening this year...

Seth at Five

Dear Seth Man,

I can't believe I'm already writing this--how did you possibly get so big so quickly? I'm torn between wishing I could force you to stay little and wanting to see what you're going to become.

I've watched you grow from a quiet observer into a friendly, constantly inquisitive little boy. Sometimes I feel bad about letting you and your incessant questions loose on the neighbors/my friends/pretty much any adult, but mostly I love seeing you trying to figure out the world.

You are a wonderful big brother to Catherine. And by that I mean you take on the complete role--some days your sole form of entertainment is tormenting her. But most days you call her your best friend and sulk if she doesn't want to play with you.

You've also become a great helper. You'll do any favor I ask of you without a second thought. Now if I could just get you to clean up with that same cheeriness, you'd be a perfect kid!

I love you, my monkey. I love the parts of you that are growing up--the little boy who's learning to read, who's constantly climbing higher and jumping further. I love the parts of you that are still little--the boy who still snuggles with me when I read to him, the boy who still pretends he's a baby bird and I'm the mommy bird. Thank you for all the joy you've brought me. Being your mommy is my very favorite thing in the entire world. Happy birthday, my little man.                       Love, Mom

Here's what you're up to at age five:

*Cars! Cars still dominate your playtime. Dad observed yesterday that you play with cars the way other boys play with action figures--they speak, fight, plot and plan. But they're still cars and I don't see that obsession going away anytime soon.

*You love playing with the neighbor boy, Stephen. It's a fight to get you to finish school on the days Stephen comes knocking on our door at 10 am.

*You are officially the slowest cleaner I've ever seen. You would rather die than clean up the huge messes you make.

*You love your Primary teachers, Brother and Sister Anthony. Every week I find you either sitting on Brother Anthony's lap or snuggling up next to him. They are the only reason you like Primary now.

*Every week for FHE we let you pick the closing song. And every week you make us sing the theme song from "Magic School Bus."

*The first place you learned to identify on the map wasn't Maryland--it was Kansas (because that's where tornadoes are).

*Lately you've started eating as much (if not more) for breakfast as Daddy. I'm getting a premonition of what life is going to be like when you're 15.

*You are constantly asking questions about everything, which I love (except when I'm on the phone). I love getting to explain to you what certain phrases mean, or why people act a certain way. I also love getting to turn answers over to Dad when they get above my pay grade ("What's a chemical?") or when I'm not sure how to approach them ("Is the Easter Bunny real?").

*We have to be very, very careful about telling you about exciting things coming up on the calendar. You have a bad habit of waking up REALLY, REALLY EARLY because you're so excited. And I don't just mean beach trips--the other morning you woke me up at 6:45 am because you were excited about going to my doctor's appointment with me.

*You still won't sing (but love being sung to), but I do catch you humming the theme songs to "Bad Piggies" and "Where's My Water?"

Seth's Five-Year Old Interview (which was conducted almost entirely in baby talk, much to my dismay):

1. What's your favorite color? "All!" (Answer after I reminded him that he always insists on the pink bowl/plate/utensils): "Pink is my favoritist color in the whole world!"

2. What's your favorite food? "Cottage CHEEEEEEEEEESE!"

3. Who's your best friend? "Gabey Baby (Knox) because he's silly."

4. Favorite movie?  "Race cars crashing!" (Youtube videos during lunch)

5. Favorite toy? "Legos. Car crash." (Translation--building cars out of Legos and crashing them)

6. Favorite game to play? "Bad Piggies"

7. Favorite snack? "Smores"

8. Favorite kind of animal? "Toad. Because they are my pet. They are my bestest pet." (We happened to find a tree frog that morning, which I let him keep as a pet for one day)

9. What do you want to be when you grow up? "An animal doctor, because I see animals!"

10. Favorite song? "Wheels on the Bus"

11. Favorite book? "Berenstain Bears. ALL!"

12. Do you like school? "Not really. I like when the breaks are and the fun stuff."

13. What are you learning in school? "Math. 100. Aaron and the Giant Peach" (Translation--He's learning math, specifically counting to 100, and also reading James and the Giant Peach. Those uncle names are hard to keep straight...James, Aaron, whatever...)

Five years old, here we come! Why do I have a feeling it's just going to get faster and faster from here on out?