ups and downs

OK, we've been in this situation before. The whining increases, the compliance decreases, the rebellion reaches new heights. I'm at the end of my rope; feel completely at a loss; start examining our sleeping habits, diets, schedules, parenting strategies; start wondering if there might be something going on with his brain; start wondering if he's teething or has an ear infection, or BOTH. And then, for some unknown reason, everything starts to improve. Attitude, sleep, smiles, hugs, all of it. 

Soooo....I've been here before and I recognize that this is just a phase. This too shall pass. yadda yadda yadda.

Any minute now....

Let's get started...

Ready, set....

The kids are rockin their new summer hair cuts!

Before

After

Before 

After

OZ!

For the past few months, Laura has been attending a drama class after school. Its been fun. They tackled a pretty challenging musical: OZ! The performance was this Saturday and Laura had a great time. She had one spoken line "Its the wicked witch of the west!" and a verse in a song. Jim's parents and my sister came to watch, so it was a pretty big day for Laura!

The munchkin down front on the right.

Jim was amused.

The smiling citizen of OZ.

Adam was fantastic. He has been listening to a CD of the music for the last 3 months, which helped a lot.

Peek a boo!

Hi Mom!

She was thrilled about the makeup!

All the actors put their handprint on the wall and signed it.

In no particular order

Pictures from my "flagged" file that I haven't done anything with...

Adam is the leprechaun on the right.

A very long roll of packing material on a windy day.

2011 Angel Choir

Costume my mom made for me when I was little

Let him sprinkle baking soda on the carpet and set him free with the vacuum.

Easter 2012

Easter was lovely. We took yet another road trip, but this one turned out to be so nice. We ventured down to Iowa to Bob and Kate's new house, so it was a relatively short drive, and very relaxed and kid-friendly. 

Breakfast at McDonald's on the way

Isn't it wonderful? And they have 40 acres of brushy/wooded land for exploring, in addition to a beautiful, huge lawn. It reminded me so much of the dome home that my grandparents lived in when I was growing up. It just felt good to be there.

Oh, and they have a dumbwaiter! How fun is that? The kids liked it quite a bit :)

It was also handy for moving our luggage to the top floor

We went hunting for morel mushrooms on their land since we happened to be there during their short growing season. Apparently they are a pretty big deal around there, selling for $30/pound. Everyone had a great time and we found lots.

See the bag of mushrooms?

A beautiful area on their land with a broken down barn. Think of the history! 

Three generations

Easter morning

Egg hunt!

Kite flying

Butterfly chasing

Spongebob was way up there

And some sleeping. I love the hand on the duck.

Squinty

OK, seriously. These are a few pics from my previous Chicago post. Check out Adam in all of them.

My vampire child has some super sensitive eyes. I've tried sunglasses and hats, but he finds them all irritating. Poor albino kid.