I wanted to thank Aunt Meghan for sending Rowyn her newest form of enjoyment, the 'Jenny Jump Up'...who knew Johnny had a sister. We had a small fight when it got here, because Camdyn didn't understand why she couldn't bounce in it...because honey, we've seen what you can do in those things.

...and because I couldn't help myself...

So the idea I had will have to wait, I had an uncooperative subject today.

For Mugs, who pointed out I left out the finished product...

I've got a cute idea in the making, stay tuned...

...and she isn't a little caterpillar any more. She is a big, beautiful, rollie-pollie, almost 5-month-old butterfly...

Oh Mommy, you crack a girl up. I'm not a bug...and Lumpy isn't a "fweature"...well, maybe sometimes. ;)

Pumpkin Carving 2008

Redneck pumpkin carving at our house...the kids stand on the kitchen table with their bare feet.

The children are scantily clad, as usual.

Riley in a maniacal frenzy, thankfully only the pumpkins were harmed and not her siblings.


...and like his sister, Cooper had to use the pumpkin carving tools as a weapon. He proudly shows the spoils of his pillage.

Today I brought up the exersaucer for Rowyn, little did I know it would cause such a conflict. Camdyn took one look at it and announced that it was hers, not Rowyn's! I washed it up and since the seat was in the washing machine, I took Rowyn to the other room to feed her. When I came back in the kitchen, this was what I found.

Yeah, you almost fit in there.

Camdyn from back in September...

Poor Lumpy is sick, she's been running a fever since Thursday. We took her in to the clinic on Sunday and they diagnosed her as having a virus. Since she wasn't getting better and her cough was worsening, we had her rechecked tonight. Poor baby girl has pneumonia. :( She's on Azithromycin now, let's hope she's back to her crazy self in no time!

Come here kitty, I want to EAT you.

Oliver thinks this toy has potential...

...and in honor of Caturdays,
You can't haz my toy!

I'm crushing on Anthropologie right now. I love their latte bowls, their aprons, their dish towels, ok, all of it. Their clothes, shoes, and handbags are oh, so cute and feminine too...but way out of my price range. If I bought a cute pair of mary janes for $368, I'm quite sure my husband would have me committed. I'm afraid Target's shoe section is what I'm accustomed to.



Speaking of which, why is it if I get my older two daughters within 50 feet of a shoe department, they're instantly asking to get a new pair of shoes. Is there a shoe gene girls are born with or is it a chemical reaction after smelling the leather on their first pair of shoes? Camdyn is all about her hot pink cowgirl boots right now and Riley is more of a sparkly ballet flat kind of girl. I wonder if Rowyn will have the same affliction?

...and a picture of Rowyn wearing her first pair of overalls...they were actually Cooper's. Camdyn was fascinated with the little frog in the front pocket.

What's my Mommy going to blog about today?

Not my hair again?! She told me I look like a rooster today.

Actually, she's just shamelessly posting pictures of my adorable baby smile! =)

...and some drool too. True dat.

Yesterday was my birthday, and for a multitude of reasons, not a very happy one.

My parents ended up bringing Chinese food out to the house, along with my present. It was nice not having to cook and being with family always makes me feel better...she also made cupcakes with homemade frosting, how can't that make someone happy?! After dinner, they gave me their gift. Along with a beautiful note (which made me cry), she handed me this box (and after I saw the logo, I cried again...because I now had a pretty good idea what it was). I opened it (and cried some more), it was the mother's necklace I had coveted from Etsy and blogged about (apparently Mom reads my blog)!

It's gorgeous, and it made me cry, smile, and forget about my crappy day...and it made my birthday a happy one.

Thanks Mom and Dad, I love you!

You can click on the picture to see a bigger image, I was too lazy to switch lenses to get a better close up. ;)

Riley decided she wanted to get her ears pierced for her birthday, so off we went to Claire's to get them done. They gave us a board to choose which style she wanted...she choose diamonds, and unless she asks if they're real, I'll just let her believe they are. So, of course, I break out my camera, because I am after all the meanest mom in the world and had to capture the moment. I was happy to hear they could pierce both sides at the same time, because I have to admit I was a tad nervous that after they did one side, she'd never let them do the other.

As they were prepping her ears, I heard some lady say, "Did you see what they're making that poor little girl do?"

Yeah lady, that's it, I drug here and forced her to get her ears pierced...OR ELSE! Perhaps if she were 2-months-old, but we decided they are Riley's ears and she got to make the decision when and if she wanted her ears pieced. Love those unsolicited comments.

All ready to go! She admits she's a little nervous...

At this point, I'm thinking I should have brought an emesis basin from work. I put the camera down, held her hand, she cried for a minute or so, then looked at her ears in the mirror and was instantly back in diva mode.

My 7-year-old and her new 'diamond' earrings. ;)

You know those moments that make you smile on the inside as well as out, moments that make your heart happy? I witnessed one today, quite possibly the sweetest thing I've seen in quite some time. Cooper and some of the neighbor kids took it upon themselves to surprise Riley and sing Happy Birthday to her. I'm not sure which of the group orchestrated it, but what a surprise for Riley...she loved it!

It may be child labor, but we did let her pick her own uniform.

We call Camdyn the Little Big Sister and up until the birth of Rowyn, we still referred to her as 'The Baby'. Now that she's a big sister, she's still adjusting to how that affects her place in the family. She does, however, love that she can make Rowyn smile and giggle.

And Sissy kisses are always welcome.

When little sisters become a bore, try jump roping as Buckethead.

A Birthday Tradition

Since I was a child, my dad would buy flowers for my birthday...always carnations. So, we decided early on to continue that tradition with our girls. Clyde has bought flowers for the girls for each of their birthdays, Riley especially looks forward to them.

Oh, and for my siblings that didn't get flowers for their birthday...that's because Dad loves me more! :P

The Opportunist

It didn't take Camdyn long to figure out, that when Mommy is nursing Rowyn, she's distracted. It is prime time for getting into naughties. Yesterday, she sprayed Body By Victoria all over herself and the curtains in the bathroom (which now smells quite lovely, I must admit). Last week, she spent 10 minutes chasing the cat with her Fisher Price shopping cart, climbed on the counter and ate 6 pieces of bubble gum and washed them down with my coffee, plugged the toilet, and stuck all our stamps on the oven door.

Today she put on her own makeup.

And later, finger painted peanut butter and jelly sandwich on the window. All in the nude mind you, she loses her clothes by 9am. They're too binding for climbing and scaling.

For the Birthday girl...

Newborn Riley

9-months-old

1-year-old Riley

Riley is 2!

Riley is 3!

More of Riley through the years...

Riley is 4!

Riley is 5!

Riley is 6!

Happy 7th Birthday Riley Breck!

We made cake balls for Riley to bring for her birthday treat at school. Riley decided on pink and brown cake balls and she picked out the cutest sprinkles at this awesome little shop downtown, The Calico Bean Market...check it out online too: http://www.calicobeanmarket.com/catalog/

Grammy is prepping the Styrofoam

Riley was in charge of the sprinkles.

Mom packaged them all for us, thanks Mom!

Cute and yummy!