too cute not to post

Jeremy and I weren't really sure what the rules are about posting "nakey" pictures, but we figured tushes are probably okay, especially when they're this cute! And I love that they are totally glued to the Wizard of Oz. For the record, I had just gotten everyone out of the tub and went to grab jammies, when I came out, this is what I found...its not like we let our kids run around naked all the time, I promise!

Operation: Organization

Its beginning to come together! A few more days and Jeremy will be ready to do some projects...I already have his first one assigned to him...a special Christmas project for the kids. It'll be cute, I'll blog all about it when its done!

A Trip To the Fire Station!

Our friend Levi just turned 3, to celebrate, he invited everyone for a tour at the fire station. Whoa, was it just about the coolest thing ever? We think so!
I appreciated the fire man getting in full gear and explaining to the kids that this is what "the good guys" look like, so they don't need to be scared, and if they're ever in a fire, come right to him!
Tucker was so excited to see so many helmets and boots in one place!
Maeli had just seen the Fire Truck and Ambulance at pre-school, so she had no problem explaining to the EMT how things worked....at least we know she pays attention at school.
Jeremy decided that he would come along and help with the kids...hmmm, I think he, too, was a little excited about the firemen!

Reaping what we sew

Harvest at the McLain's House:
Dad chucks corn into the grass and Tucker husks it, and put it in the box--thus making Tucker a chucked corn husker boxer boy

Maeli's job is to find the red tomatoes and bring the to mom--a ripe tomato picker sister

Mom and Dad turn this, into Salsa--mama mixin' salsa and daddy picks perfect peppers to add a little pizzaz

And we got lots of corn this year!

Cookies!

For some Family Fun this week we decided to frost Pumpkin Sugar Cookies. Jeremy's not a huge fan of sugar cookies, so I used a recipe that is more like cakey-cookies, but really...its all about the frosting anyway, right?





And poor Riker really wanted his own cookie, how can you say no to that face?

Finally--A First Hair Cut

Jeremy and I noticed that most of the time Maeli looks like an orphan, so we thought it was time to get her hair cut. She was super excited until we actually got to the place, then she got nervous. It took her about 5 minutes to warm up to Tonya "the lady" and then she would not stop talking. Everything in the hair place distracted her, and she had her head as far into her shoulders as she could get it most of the time, but she didn't freak out, or cry, so I thought it went pretty well. Maeli agreed when they brought her a sticker, candy, and a balloon. It looks pretty darn cute!

Maeli's Prince

Maeli's Halloween costume arrived in the mail right before lunch time, she was so excited that she had to put in on right a way. As I was getting lunch ready, I caught her pouting in the corner. "what's the matter maeli?" Big Sigh..."I'm waiting for my Prince to come." "Who's your prince?" "Daddy is my best prince ever" So I had to call Jeremy and let him know that a very special princess was waiting for her prince and he better hurry so that she could eat lunch. Jeremy took his lunch break and came home, the second he walked in the door Maeli asked me to put on the "princess music" aka Beauty and the Beast so she could dance with her prince. She was beaming the whole time! I was a picture in my head of the not so far off future when they'll be dancing at her wedding... I hope she still thinks her Dad is the best prince ever, or at least in the top two!

Rub a Dub Dub

3 Kids In The Tub!



Riker's first bath with all the kids. He really liked it for about 5 minutes and then the big kids got a little too crazy for him. Now, though, whenever they're in the tub he thinks he wants to be in there. He cracks up watching them splash and play.

Getting so Big!

Just a little video of how big our sweet Riker is getting. Please ignore the mess, and Dora in the back ground but, well, this is how we live :0)

The Garage...continued...

Trust me, we're sick of the garage too! But we are making progress and the end is in sight...its possible that I might even be able to park in there by the time it starts snowing! We had enough nice days in a row to get it painted, a very cheery lemony yellow that in no way matches the yellow of the house, but next summer we're repainting both some other shade of yellow. We just needed to get a coat of something on there before winter hit, and the lovely wal-mart paint matchers are not so awesome. I kind of like the lemon though...it grows on you for sure.

So now Jeremy is working on building a work bench so that he'll have some "man" space to actually do some of the projects he's been dreaming of, and hopefully some of the projects I've been dreaming of too. His little helper is super excited to have a wood-working project!

A "real" Tea Party

I'm not really sure what makes it a "real" tea party, when we don't drink tea...I think maybe because I let Maeli put water in her little tea pot, and had real food on her dishes, she was in heaven! She very carefully set the table, helped Tucker to his seat, and then helped cut up his marshmallow for him. They both had a ton of fun!

Oh Brother!

Who's been sleeping in my bed?

I have reason to believe that Tucker's sudden ability to climb out of bed was inspired, and perhaps taught by his darling sister. Her favorite thing to do when she hears Tuck wake up from his nap is to "tell him the truth" which somehow always involves jumping in the bed.And low and behold, one day we learned that Tuck can man his way into Riker's crib, no matter where we put it, what-if anything- it is near, and regardless of what level we place the mattress...heaven help us.
Some friends and I sent our husbands off for a weekend of fishing/camping in the mountains. We got together for a little company on the Saturday night they were gone, a movie for the kids, and all kinds of fun (and food) for the moms

What we've been up to

Went cruising for chicks, found a cute blond and took her for a spin

Made my way to the edge of the bed and discovered this super happy guy lives on the floor over there. He's a little strange, but I kind of like him.

Attempted to beat the record for the number of kids you can fit in an exer-saucer, but was thwarted by a mother.

Helping Dad train for the six-legged man relay summer of 2011, he's building muscle, but we still need to work on his endurance

Riker

Our little Riker is getting SO BIG! Next week will be his 1/2 birthday and I can hardly believe how time has flow by. He's turning into a pretty good chunk, and has the world's most kissable cheeks. He's on the verge of being mobile, which, I'm afraid, will be my doom. He can't stand not being able to join in when the other kids are having fun without him. Although, he's still a little unsure if he likes it or not, when they join him in on their own. Maeli cracks him up, and when he's a little bigger, he will have no problem holding his own with Tucker on the wrestling mat. We started him on rice cereal, a little earlier than the other kids, but he really can't stand not being a part of dinner. The boy is all tongue and has thus not yet mastered the fine art of eating, but he' more than happy to continue his practice.

He is an excellent sleeper, although our problem has been where to let him sleep to keep him safe from Tucker. We're still brain-storming our best situation for everyone, but when he's not interrupted, he'll sleep all night long-bless his little heart, he must love his mama!

Tucker

Our sweet Tucker has turned into a monster boy, but he's still the sweetest ever. He had his 18-month check up last month and is doing very well. He doesn't use a lot of words, so they referred him for a speech evaluation. There was a little bit of concern that his difficulty may have some connection with oxygen deprivation and/or being intubated at birth. But he tested within normal limits for his age. His understanding portion was above average, but his communication is below average, although still all within "normal." We opted to have him re-evaluated in 3 months and see if the gap has closed at all.
He is always busy, running everywhere he goes. If he hears a good beat, he'll stop dead in his tracks to boogie a little bit, and recently has added a crazy jump-turn thing to his dance moves. He is all about Dad right now, although he'll go with anyone if you'll take him outside. We've discovered that if you channel his energy into something good, he's actually a really great helper. If you let him roam free, destruction is sure to follow. He has been a super eager helper as far as helping Dad finish the garage. This summer he learned to climb a ladder (made it up about 10 feet before Mom and Dad really got too nervous to let it continue), how to climb out of his bed, and how to move chairs around in order to reach things that you can't climb to. Here he is helping Dad:

And helping Mom (grandma is working on making a more manly apron for him :0)