Silly kids!

 I am loving this age. These two are so fun. This was for a photo prompt that I needed. But since I didn't end up using it, I thought I'd share it here. 

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This morning I went in to wake Dominic up. I kissed him, and rubbed his back. Nothing was working. He was as still as a mouse. Then all of the sudden, in a totally awake voice, he says

"Wake me up when alligators are extinct."

What?! His eyes were still closed. It kind of freaked me out and I yelped. And I heard him mutter -

"And make me a sandwich. Hold the mayo."

I have a very strange little boy.

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A couple of days ago I was with some friends and was telling a story about Caitlin to illustrate the differences between my children. She told me I HAD to write it down so her future husband would have an idea of what he was getting in to. Once again, I was sure I'd blogged about it, but it isn't there. So here is the story - a bit late.

This summer I watched a boy just a few months older than Caitlin for a few days. The kids get along great and he's a doll to watch. But by the end of the week emotions were a bit high and the kids were tired. My kids were dealing with a torn up house from the fire, company the week before, and late bedtimes.

I'd noticed that Caitlin was crying about everything and had already listened to some disagreements. The boys were outside on the patio playing with some cars when Caitlin wandered out and sat down beside her little friend.

A few seconds later I heard her crying.

"He was thinking mean thoughts about me!"

The poor little guy was looking completely confused. 

"I was thinking about my cars. I promise Ms. Tima."

Apparently Caitlin had seen a look cross his face that she was sure was just like the look he'd had when he'd teased her earlier and her emotions were so close to the top that it just sent her over the edge. She was so sure she knew that he was thinking those teasing thoughts about her.

Poor little guy didn't even know what hit him. :/

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When Jon was dry walling the kitchen he allowed the kids to "help". They wanted to make hand prints. So he gave them a space that would be behind the cabinets and let the prints dry. I wrote their names and the date beside it. So now whenever the kitchen is renovated again, 50 yrs from now, someone will find those hand prints.

My babies are growing up. They are able to truly help us. And it's nice to be able to interact with them instead of just take care of them. 

Jon and I are both calling this the sweet spot. They can function on their own with very little help, they are tons of fun to be around, they get such joy out of everything we do with them, they still love to be with us and hug us, and they aren't embarrassed to be seen with us.

Goofy painter

Jon and I have been spending quite a bit of time in Chattanooga trying to get one of our town houses ready to rent. Dominic and Caitlin have been amazing helpers. It's been wonderful having them working right along side us. But Dominic desperately wanted to paint. I was several years older when my dad first handed me a paint brush and I was really reluctant to let him.

He assured me that he would be incredibly careful and paint really, really slowly.

And then he proceeded to demonstrate. This would be his expression while he's painting.

After I finished laughing I agreed to let him try in one of the closets.

I'll be honest - it wasn't half bad. It was definitely done by an almost 8 yr old. But still, not bad. And I didn't see this expression once while he was painting. =)

There's something about Caitlin

Unless you've seen the movie "There's Something About Mary" you won't understand the title. I had put Caitlin's hair up into two little pig tails. She got upset and pulled them out later in the day.This left two little "horns" so I pulled all of the hair back and fastened it w/ one bow.

When that came off, Jon commented that she looked like Mary in that movie. He took some pictures so I could blog about it. Poor little girl. The picture is a bit blurry because she wouldn't be still, but I think you can get the idea.

A friend gave us some peach trees and I was able to get a cute picture of Dominic "helping" Daddy. How Jon ever gets anything done is beyond me. Dominic has to be right in the middle of everything.

This picture is of Caitlin and Jon in the garage. I thought it was precious.

Caitlin is trying out Dominic's old swing. She seemed to like it. I'm so thankful that the weather is finally getting nice enough that we can play outside w/out needing several layers of clothing.