Things that kept us busy this week

Fishing with strings into the kitchen.

Taking smiley pictures with Mommy.

Sweeping.

Napping with nose pressed against the couch.

Listening to a cd while following along in the book.

And trying to puncture wet diapers with MagnaDoodle pens.

Deciding to have a bike and lawnmower race.

Racing a bike and lawnmower.

Arguing over who won because "the garage" wasn't a clear enough finish line.

Playing together in the tub.

Drying the entire bathroom (and part of the hallway) after a very splashy bath.

Wearing braids for the first time.

And bonding, any way we can.

Labor Day laboring...in photos

Ah, Labor Day.
A day to stay home and relax.
Or a day to clean the garage.
Or a day to get sidetracked from the garage cleaning with a bout of spontaneity and tear the carpet out of your bedroom.
Which hadn't ever really been discussed before that day.

Bedroom carpet before:

Bedroom/hallway carpet before:

Cold air return under our bed. It appears I never (ever) move the bed to vacuum underneath.

Partway done tearing out carpet and pad. It's a bit paint speckled.

Staying busy with Smurfs while Mommy and Daddy work feverishly and Laura naps.

Done tearing out! Ready to clean.

Cleaning after Evan and Kendra are in bed. (Laura had never seen a Swiffer before this. We had no need to use ours since our whole house was carpeted. It seems Swiffering is an innate knowledge.)

Bedroom put back together and ready to sleep in. Only 8 hours after starting!

We're now taking suggestions for what color to paint our walls...

To caf or not to caf

If you put the (still hot and mostly full) coffeepot caraffe in the cupboard instead of back on the coffeepot burner, should you have opted for "caf" instead of decaf?

Randomness from the past week

This past week, we had good friends Andrew and Kathryn stay at our house for a couple of days. Trying to make up for the fact that I never took a single picture of them when we were at their wedding a couple of months ago, I snuck this picture of them sharing their beehive (yummy, chocolatey goodness) from Jaarsma Bakery in Pella.

While in Pella, I stuck Laura in a big wooden shoe to get this cute picture:

And the kids also ran circles around the fountain in the park.

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Tonight while getting into bed, Evan decided to tuck in all of the things that he has been accumulating in his bed to snuggle with. I think it may be time to thin the herd soon.

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Since doing your business on the potty has become a big deal in our house again lately, the ritual of watching it flush and bidding it farewell has also returned. This morning as Evan and Laura watched the stool flush, Evan said, "Bye, baachies, have fun at church!". To which Laura responded with a wave and "bye, baachy".

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This afternoon after the girls got up from late naps, we decided to bike the kids to the ballpark so they could hopefully wear themselves out. Chad was hugging Kendra before we left. He asked her for more hugs so he was sure to have enough to last him all the way to the park. He said he needed a couple more because what would he do if he ran out halfway there. Kendra's reply? "We could just stop at a hug store and get more hugs!"

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Last night at bedtime, I was having a sippy cup talk with Evan and Kendra. I was telling them that they shouldn't mess with the rubber valves in their cups. If they ruin their cups, Mommy can't really justify buying them new ones when they're (the kids, not the cups) three and almost five. Evan immediately responded with, "I'm almost five. I don't need a sippy cup anymore." Yay! Now, to find a place to have a glass of water for him that he can reach but Laura can't spill...

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This afternoon, I asked Evan a yes-no question, but I apparently asked it in the opposite way of what he expected. He answered with "no", then quickly changed his answer to "yes" with the following description: "I said no, but I meant yes. I didn't mean to lie. And I don't mean lie like babies lie and look at first, but lie like in the Bible."

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I really wish I could record more things the kids do and say during the day! Wouldn't it be great to have it all written down somewhere to look back at whenever you need a smile or a laugh or just to have your heart filled with the unconditional love your children give you when they're young!