Rhapsody's new dirt bike

Daddy brought this battery powered dirt bike home for Rhapsody the other day and we can't get her off of it! You actually turn the handle for throttle and it has lights & a radio.... awesome!

He picked it up for free as someone was moving and no longer wanted the toy! We cleaned it up and it is good as new!!

Biker Chick

Rhapsody LOVES motorcycles and Bub's pocket rocket is fascinating to her. We don't let her ride it, but check out the excitement on her face just sitting on it for a picture.... priceless!

Rocky (the squirrel) has some competition...

I work from home one day a week and this morning after dropping the kids off at school, I headed back home. Bub took the day off to go to the dentist today, so he was waiting for me at the front door. He had put some fresh peanuts and a pawpaw (fruit-check out here) out for Rocky who was patiently waiting at the bottom of the stairs... As I was walking up to the door, a beautiful blue jay dove down right above my head (squawking) and made a fast swoop up onto the gutters. I ran in the house, grabbed the camera and headed for the front door.

The blue jay was diving the squirrel and making tons of racket... All of a sudden, he swooped onto the porch and grabbed a peanut. He sat there for a second and took off. A few minutes later, he was back for more peanuts. Bub snapped a couple of pictures and I took off inside to look up a blue jay's diet online. I was under the assumption that a blue jay eats eggs, insects and fruit... not peanuts. Lo and behold, the primary diet of a blue jay consists of crumbs from humans and nuts! We learned something new and Bub got a couple of beautiful pictures!

Harry rocking a faux-hawk

I just had to post this picture because it makes me laugh!! Harry's hair is now long enough to put into a mohawk in the bathtub... hilarious!

Rhapsody's first sleep over

Friday, September 26, Ashley, Tony & Trey invited Rhapsody over to spend the night for the first time. She has not spent the night with anyone except family & her old baby sitter... We dropped her off around 6 pm and we left at 6:30.... she never even cried! She was excellent and had such a great time. She had trouble going to sleep, but she was still a good girl. Ashley took Rhapsody & Trey to the park and out to lunch on Saturday and they had a blast!! You can check out the pictures here.

Trey will be coming to our house this weekend and I am sure we will have tons of fun!!!

Harry - Monday's Cutest Kid

September 22, 2008 - Harry won a contest on the 'Contest for Moms' website... he is Monday's cutest kid!! How awesome!!!

After a long days work...

This is what Bub looks like during weekday evenings... After dinner, while mommy cleans the kitchen, Daddy and the kids enjoy some time together! I think it is so cute!!

Rhapsody and Trey Have Dinner

Trey and his family came over to see Rhapsody on Friday and they sat at the table and enjoyed dinner together. Since they have both had their tonsils out this summer, they both understand what it is like and we are fortunate to spend quite a bit of time together. They are only 1 week apart in age (Trey being 7 days older) and they are both so much fun!!

Wagon Ride with Mimi & Papa

This weekend, Mimi & Papa took Harry and Rhapsody for their first wagon ride together. Harry wasn't real sure at first, but it did not take him long at all to catch on to the fun! Mimi & Papa had to take them for a second ride after dinner because they had so much fun the first time!

Meet Rocky - The Family Squirrel

I have to write about this because it completely cracks me up! At the beginning of spring, there was a litter of squirrels born in our neighborhood. They had a nest in a tree in our yard, so we watched them grow up for a few months before we noticed one in particular really hanging around the house. On a whim, Bub and Rhapsody put some goldfish crackers out by the tree in the front yard... just to see what he would do. Before they could even get back in the house, he was scurrying down the tree to check out what they left for him. Slowly, over the past few months, they have been moving the snacks closer and closer to the front porch. He really likes to eat nuts (duh) and corn (of course) but he also LOVES when I make cookies. He really also likes Ritz crackers and apples.

Now, he is so spoiled that he comes up on the porch and bangs on the storm door if there aren't any snacks out for him. Also, if he doesn't like the snack for the day he will bang on the door until we put him something else! He is no longer afraid of us, we can all walk outside and he will just sit and watch. If any other squirrel comes up, he runs it completely out of our yard (and usually out of the cul de sac)! Occasionally, he allows one of his siblings to eat with him... but we think she is a sister because she is built much smaller and she seems much more timid. Rocky has started burying his corn the past couple of weeks in preparation of winter... it is hilarious!

Bub and Rhapsody started calling him Rocky because of Rocky & Bullwinkle (and it was easy for Rhap to say) and we now wait for him every evening when we get home. These pictures were taken with the camera right against the front door, but it was not zoomed in... this is how close he comes now!

September 9, 2008

Today was Rhapsody's tonsil/adenoid surgery. She went in for surgery at 8:04 AM and she was out of surgery at 8:36 AM. She did really well and had very minimal bleeding. She did not wake up from the anesthesia very well and was trying desperately to pull the IV tubes out of her hand. We were finally able to get her to calm down and we took her home at 10:30 AM. The first 24 hours were ROUGH!! We thought we were going to have to take her to the hospital because she refused to drink fluid and she refused to take the medicine. My mom came over on Wednesday afternoon and was able to get Rhapsody to start drinking juice! Yay!! Finally, on Wednesday night, Bub convinced her to take the antibiotics and I mixed some of the pain medication in with it. She then drank and ate just fine. She healed very well and we are looking forward to a much healthier Rhapsody!!

The picture in the Camouflage was taken at the surgery center right before surgery. The picture below was taken the morning after surgery! All of the tatoos and stickers signify each time she drank or took her medicine!!

Harry is 6 months old today!!

Today, September 5, 2008 is Harry's 6 month birthday! He is almost crawling and is really close to sitting up on his own. His bottom two teeth are cutting and he can say Mama & Dada... He is very intrigued by his big sister, who can make him laugh with no effort. She is also very helpful when it comes to him needing some attention or letting us know when he is awake. Happy 6 months, Harry!!

Santa Cali Gon

Labor Day weekend 2008 was very exciting for us! Rhapsody and Harry went swimming together for the first time with Rhapsody's boyfriend, Trey. Ashley (Trey's Mom) and I took all 3 kids swimming in their pool and we all had a great time! Harry was laughing and splashing and we all had tons of fun. We also took Rhapsody to Santa Cali Gon, an annual festival here in Independence. She rode all of the rides, including the Ferris Wheel, and she was so worn out when we got home. She had a blast and had a slight sunburn to prove it! Bub even climbed the rock wall to win her a Spider Man toy! Check out all of the Labor Day Pics here.