Interview on Minibury website

 

http://www.minibury.com/guest-post-meet-the-parent-3/

A fun little interview with me.

The milestones they don’t put in books

We have hit the following new exciting, sometimes frustrating, very entertaining stages:

• No safe places: She can reach pretty much everything; everyday a new place where you thought you could safely stash items becomes available to her sticky little fingers. 
• Stashing and hiding: You never know where you might find something.  Joseph’s missing sunglasses were finally located in one of my ceramic pots.  My glasses were found in with our extra toilet paper rolls, after weeks of searching.
• Climbing, climbing, climbing:  climbing everything.  For months she has been climbing onto the seat of Joseph desk.  Yesterday we found her sitting right on top of it.  And on top of the coffee table. 
• Tantrums: when thwarted she pulls out the good old fashioned crocodile-tears-screaming-flailing-chocking on snot type tantrums.  She’s got it down.  Awesome flailing skills.  Putting her in the car seat is my wrestling practice.
• Electronic fascination:  cell phones top the list of desired items.  Cords, computers as well. She pretends all sorts of things are phones.  We let her play with calculators and the TV remote and she spends hours toting each one around, pressing buttons, and holding it to her ear.
• Anything big brother: what he has or does, she wants to have or do.  She loves anything with wheels.  She looks at books all the time.  If he has a snack, she must have it as well.  He get’s loud and dramatic—suddenly there's two of them; he’s hyper and silly, her too…(Btw, two grumpy kids is exponentially more trying then one, but two happy, loving kiddos is way better!)
• Nudist/escape artist: She is all about taking her diaper off these days.  I’m the kind of mom who likes babies in as little clothes/paraphernalia as possible.  She spent most of the summer in just a diaper.  But it is no longer safe.  Numerous times I have gone to get her after a nap to be surprise by nakey-buns.  The other day she even had unzipped her pajamas and had her diaper half off!
• Careful what you say and do:  She is a serious mimic these days.  I noticed that she was often making this little growling noise.  Then I realized that she was copying my exasperated noise.  Which I guess I do a little to often?  She thinks it’s hilarious and does it with a big smile.  Speaking of which, if she does something she’s not supposed too—and then you laugh a little because it is hilarious to see tiny little people do anything—she knows!  And learns….
• Goodbye crawling:  She took forever to start walking, but suddenly it’s all walking, almost no crawling.  Kind of sad.

Maybe she is a toddler???  Ack!

July Photos

Maybe we did too much fun stuff this summer to stay on top of my photos?

Not a great photo—but 4th of July is hectic.  And fun!

Joseph was with his camp Kookamunga for the day.  They had spent the week working on their outhouse for the outhouse races and came in second!!! 

Woah—guess I told Brad to smile?

Zeno Mountain’s AWESOME “If You’re Happy” float

That’s the “I am so tired” ear touch

Hike with cousins

This is on the Trail around Middlebury (TAM).  Very cool.  We did get kind of lost, but made it out!

Wagon ride with grandpa

So, so beautiful!

Seriously, Shoreham is so beautiful

Nora singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Ahhhhhh . ..  our first house.  Tenants moved out mid July and we (well mostly Brad) did a bunch of work on it while it was empty

Sleeping babies.  One of my favorite things ever.

Ohhh baby in the dirt.  With stripes.  Another favorite.

Me in the garden!

And bru-bru

A dinner party at Bob’s

Old house again.

I miss those trees!

Sunset lake, sunset lake!!  Joseph’s friend Tanner’s family spends a week on Sunset lake every summer and we stayed with them one night!

Ruby—another friend from Shoreham second grade joined us too.  So there is half the class!

They had a blast.

The next morning Joseph and tanner had an awesome kayak adventure.  They went all the way across the lake and explored a beach. 

A little watching tv

Michelle made us homemade bread dough.  Ohhhhmmmmyyyggodddd.

Fishing!

Love the camp so much.

Nora playing with the pup

And Joseph

Photos off Michelle’s camera.  Her cousin took us tubing—Joseph’s first time and he LOVED it as I knew he would.  I have been waiting for him to get a chance.  And, the guy with the boat picked up on how much I like tubing, and another random cousin held Nora, so I got to go too!  Actually Michelle and I were going to go, but it flipped just with us getting on, so it ended up being me and the kids instead.  Also, this was the first time Nora really started enjoying being in the water.  She would even stick her face in!

Joseph riding his bike back at the old house

Kitchen experiment.  I was making bread and Joseph decided to wrap blackberries (that grow all over our yard) in dough.  Very yummy and he was very proud!

Swimming, music, friends all night at Button Bay

Handsome boy

Swim lessons

First tractor ride

Playing at my old swimming hole with friends

More swim lessons.  Very hard to get pictures, but I was proud of Joseph.  He was in the deep end the whole time this year! 

Nora hanging during swim lessons.

And a trip to Waterworks after lessons

Enjoying some grub

Kate’s camp

A spontaneous family night at the cabin in Lincoln

A & W

Dressing Nora up in some of Joseph’s old clothes

Had to stop for a cow crossing on our way to Fort Ticonderoga

And took the countries oldest continuously operated ferry.  Which is owned by friend Tanner’s uncle and operated this summer by his grandpa.

History!

We had SOOO much fun!

It is a lot different then when I last visited as a child

Joseph loves crafts

Yay!