LiTTLE STiNKERS

My kids are CRAZY.  I know all kids are total crazies, but I really do think my kids are even MORE crazy than usual.  :)  They are so active and ALWAYS getting into mischief.  My sister Kim gave me this (below) sign for my birthday and with these kids around, it is all too true.

Sometimes they get into the diaper cream...

Sometimes they poop in the sink.  Seriously...what the CRAP.  Melia said (her friend) Brinley was going on the potty, but she really had to go, so she just squatted in the sink.  (Cause that makes way more sense than GOING TO ANOTHER BATHROOM...).  UGH.  I suppose it's better than the floor...

 

Sometimes they bust into the fridge and eat cheese...by the block.

 Other times they just climb around...(don't worry, he is wearing a diaper, NOT pooping in the sink.)

And sometimes they're just total divas.  :)

playing on the tablet while sitting on the throne

wearing mommy's glasses

 And other times they just like to show off their bods and admire their reflections.

Check out that tan line

cutest little bummy

 And sometimes they act like little princesses.  :)

 Or get into Mommy's makeup.

By themselves, or with cousins--enticing others to be equally as naughty!

 Other times they throw food at the wall, and all around the kitchen.

 Sometimes they climb on the counter and get into the sink, fully clothed, and give themselves a little bath.

 They're also very talented at dressing themselves.  :)

 They refuse to take naps and then fall asleep on the bathroom floor wrapped in the bathmat.

Even when they're sick, they manage to wreak havoc by get out the paint and paint their faces.

Other times they climb around and cram themselves into small spaces.

And at times those small spaces are too small to get back out of and they scream in distress.

Other times they take off all their clothes and run around naked enjoying the freedom!

And most of the time, being a major stinker is utterly exhausting.

 But all the time, I love them to pieces.  (Even when I am relaxing on the couch and they insist on squeezing their way behind me, climbing on top of the couch, and sitting on my shoulders.)

 I sure adore them.

Pirate and Princess Adventure

We got tickets to see Disney Junior LIVE Pirate and Princess Adventure starring JAKE AND THE NEVERLAND PIRATES, and SOFIA THE FIRST which are the kids' two favorite TV shows.  They were so excited, especially Melia.  They both wanted to dress up like pirates.  I gave Melia the option of dressing like a princess--I had the outfit all planned out.  But she INSISTED she wanted to be a pirate!  :)

 During the show, they were so mesmerized, I couldn't even get them to look at the camera.

 Melia was pretty excited when Cinderella came out on stage with Sofia.

 The kids even brought their cardboard Jake swords that Mike made them.

 And when the pirates came out the kids were brandishing their swords and waving them all over.  It was my favorite part!

 Evera was seriously in awe.

 Afterwards we got dinner at Zupas.  Evera DEVOURED his chocolate covered strawberry!  :)

 YO-HO LET'S GO!

"Dixie Lullaby"

...Then the babies came
The youngest one's got his granddaddy's name.
And in the early morning hours when my children could not sleep,
I'd rock them in my arms to a gentle beat.

And I'd sing them a Dixie lullaby,
Hush baby don't you start to cry,
Oh my what a beautiful life,
Just like a Dixie lullaby.

I love this life.  Some days suck and others suck worse, but really, I couldn't wish for anything more.  I know that makes no sense...but, that's how it is.  Most days seem so mundane.  There are piles and piles of laundry.  Dishes stacked up in the sink.  Vacuuming, dusting, scrubbing, cooking, and laundry laundry laundry!   Some days it's overwhelming and some days I just want to cry.  Sometimes it seems it'll never end.  I'm home all day and on the days that Mike has school sometimes I don't see him until he comes in to say goodnight.  Some days I'm lonely and I don't talk to a single adult all day.  But nonetheless, I love my life.  I get to spend EVERY DAY with my little Melia.  When I wake up and hear her crying, sometimes I'm so tired and I just want a little more sleep, but I still get up and cannot wait to see her sweet face smiling at me through the bars of her crib when I walk in.  She is such a happy girl.  She'll cry for me but as soon as I open the door she'll start to laugh.  She's been super sick lately and keeps me up some nights with her coughing (and my worrying).  But when I get her and rock her back to sleep she smiles at me and giggles.  If she hits her head or falls down, or even when she gets her shots at the doctor's office, all I have to do is pick her up and she usually quiets right down.  If not, I just have to nurse her and she always calms down.  She really is such a good baby and is so much fun.  She is always smiling and laughing and I could not wish for a better little angel.  She makes every second of every day bright.  

Then there's Spencer.  How did I get this wonderful little boy?  How did he turn out so great?  I honestly could not have wished for a better kid.  He is sooooooooo sweet.  I cannot even begin to express how much of a little sweetheart he is.  He idolizes his daddy.  Mike has said before that he doesn't mind drinking warm water because that's all he drank on his mission.  Well Spencer wants to be like his daddy so much that whenever he gets himself a drink of water he turns it to warm!  He wants to prepare for a mission to Mexico too.  :)  Spencer calls Melia "sweetheart" and always tells her how pretty she is.  He always tells me I am the best cook.  He really is the sweetest kid.  He is super smart.  Very athletic.  And cute as can be.  But on top of all that he is the greatest, sweetest, funniest, must fun little boy I've ever known!

I also have the sweetest most obedient dog too!  :)

Then there's Mike.  How could I ask for anything more?  This man is the love of my life.  He is so dang handsome.  When I had first met him I kept telling my sisters that I had a crush on this guy but that he was way too hot for me!  Who would ever have thought that I'd end up married to this man for the rest of my life and we'd have kids together and a home and a life!  Mike is such a hard worker and is the greatest man I know.  I am so proud of him for doing school and being such a hard worker.  He is an amazing dad and a wonderful husband.  I love this man with all my heart.

August was a fun and busy month for us.  We did a lot of fun things together!  We tried out a new place here in town called The Incredible Pizza Factory.  It's sortof like Chuck-E-Cheese or Boondocks except we liked it a lot better.  We had a coupon for $10.00 per person for unlimited food (it's a buffet), and unlimited activities including bumper cars, laser tag, go carts, and mini bowling.  It was sooo fun.  We played all of those things multiple times and had an amazing day as a family.  It was our last weekend together before Spencer started football and Mike started school.  Anyway, we had a blast and would recommend it to anyone looking for a great time!  It actually had great food too--I mean for a buffet it was excellent.  Salads and pizza, but also slushies, ice cream, cinnamon rolls, etc.  It was really a lot of fun.

We had our neighbors babysit Melia for a few hours so we could spend time alone with Spencer bowling and doing go carts and laser tag.  It was a lot of fun.  Then I picked Melia up and brought her back to play some more.  Here are Spencer and Melia in the kiddie land.  She sure loves her brother.

Here's Mike with Melia on the tiny carousel.

And Spencer running his hardest on the wheel in kiddie land.  :)  Look at that facial expression.

Here's Spencer on the go carts.  It was so much fun!

Also in August we went to Lagoon.  Twice!  :)  The first time we went with my dad's company.  I had my mom babysit Melia so I could spend the morning and afternoon with Spencer just the two of us.  It was a good bonding time for us.  (Mike was out of town.)  Then I had my mom bring Melia a little later in the day.  Spencer only got to be there with MeliaMelia is in the background.)

Melia loved the tugboats!  Here she is with her cute cousin Hailey.

I always have so much fun with my baby girl!

Melia had fun on the cars with her cousin Aubrey too.

I love this picture with both their piggy tails!  :)

I even took Melia on Puff the Magic Dragon!  You can tell by her face that she was quite terrified!  :)  My sister Stephanie and her daughter Kalia are right behind us.

My nephew Ryan was super sweet with Melia carrying her around all day and she was very comfortable with him.  BIG YAWN...

And then out cold!  :)

 We had so much fun at Lagoon I wanted to take Melia again.  So my sister Kim and her two daughters Becca and Hannah and Melia and I went back with our bounceback passes.

Here are Becca and Hannah on the Screamer.

Here are Hannah and Melia on Bulgy the Whale.  Melia was a little hesitant, but Hannah took good care of her.  :)

Becca is such a sweet little mommy-cousin.  :)

Melia got pooped pretty quickly.  I nursed her and she fell sound asleep on the table.  :)  Classic!

But when she woke up she was good to go again!  She was a little hesitant when we got on the Tiki boat ride (forgot the name).  She held onto Mommy.

And buried her face in my side.

And held on for dear life to whatever she could find.  :)

But by the end she had fun.  :)

She loved this space ride with Becca.

And the Dumbo ride too (I have no idea what it's really called).

And had a lot of fun with Hannah.

But nothing beats those tugboats!

I am in love with this picture I took of Hannah on the swings--soaring like a bird.

Melia also made some new discoveries in August.  She LOVES WATER, and always has.  But this month she discovered Chief's water bowl.  Whenever it's quiet I know Melia is making her way towards Chief's dish.  She LOVES to splash in his water.  The other day I found her laying in Chief's bed splashing in his water.  :)  At my mom's house she was having so much fun with Chief's dish so we decided to put a dish of water out on the grass for her.  She was entertained for a long time!  (If you enlarge the picture you can see the water splashing up!)

She liked the canning jar ring too!  I remember playing with those all the time when I was little.

Melia also got to meet her Great Grandma and Grandpa Richards (Mike's mom's parents).  Here she is with Grandpa Richards.  This is the guy that married

Here she is with Grandma Richards.  If I can look like that woman when I'm 90 I'll be a happy woman!  Isn't she beautiful?  I know they're not looking at the camera, or smiling, but I love this one of Melia cause I love her in this dress with her tan little legs and white sandals.  (Speaking of the sandals...I only have one now...if anyone has seen a tiny little white sandal at their house, let me know!)  Anyway, I was surprised my fair little girl got such a little tan on her legs this summer.

Here they're both smiling  I think there's some serious family resemblance there!

I love this picture of the old hand and the new little foot. 

Here she is with Grandma Morgan and Great Grandma Richards!

She was watching TV with her daddy one night and fell sound asleep in his arms.  I love this picture.  It's a miracle Mike isn't asleep cause 99% of the time he is in front of the TV he's asleep!  :)

Melia loves her high chair we got a few months ago.

She's been trying a lot of new foods lately, and I've had fun making baby food for her instead of buying the jarred kind.  I think the pureed peaches smell the best.  It's fun to look in the freezer and see all the yellows, oranges, and purples from all the baby food I've pureed and frozen!  Here she is eating one of her favorite concoctions I made up--mashed bananas, oatmeal and soy milk.  Mmmm Mmmm Good!

Here's my little sleeping angel in her carseat.

One day when I was over at my friend's house, Melia fell down and bonked her head really hard on a speaker.  She must've hit it right on the corner because the bump swelled (that word sounds so wrong but I looked it up and it says it's right) up so quickly and bruised like crazy!  The next day it was a black eye.  Here she is shortly after she fell down.  I love this picture in spite of the bump because her eyes looks so beautiful!

Here she is climbing on me at the park.  :)

And climbing up to the TV.  She is into everything these days!  I cannot believe how big she is getting!

And here she is with big brother.  Spencer is soooo good with her and takes such good care of her.

And last but not least, one night I was trying to keep her up to say goodnight to Daddy when he got home from school.  Well she didn't make it.  She didn't want me to hold her while she drank her bottle so she would drink a little and play and drink and play.  Then it was really quiet to so looked around for her and found her sleeping on the floor with her little bum in the air, laying next to her empty bottle.  How adorable is she?  I love it when she sleeps with her little bum in the air.  I think it's sooo cute!  :)  That's my angel.