Carter

Carter's not going to be the baby for much longer.  It's weird to think that we'll have another child in just a few short weeks.

Another baby boy.

Carter has stayed a "baby" longer than my other kids did.  I guess it's because there's a 3 year gap between him and Jackson.  There's the "big kids" then the "baby".  I think he recently got the memo that his reign as baby of the family is coming to an end.  He's decided to grow up.

Although he's had a small vocabulary for a few months, he's just started using words to actually communicate with me.

Mostly one word sentences.  

Eat.

Drink.

Book.

Go.

Down.

Up.

Bite.

More.

Please.

Thank you.

Night night.

Yay.

Wow.

Etc.

He'll say what he wants and then giggle with excitement when he gets the thing he asks for.

The switch finally turned on in his head that there's a reason behind me trying to get him to talk.  It's not just another trick like waving bye or blowing  a kiss.  This trick actually get's him the things he wants!!

It's really cute watching him communicate more and more.  

Carter is a HUNGRY boy.

When I get him out of bed in the morning I'm usually greeted with an excited

"Mommy!!"

Followed by

"Eat?"

or

"Cookie?"

or

"Bite?"

He'll continue to ask me until we finally eat.

This morning I guess I took too long.  He came to me squealing with excitement saying

"Eat!  Eat!"

with a waffle in his hand.

From last nights dinner.

Out of the garbage.

(Yes, sometimes we have breakfast for dinner.)

All I could do was laugh....and then think about how differently I would have reacted to this when Sydney was a baby.

Needless to say Carter got a yummy crunchy waffle to start off his breakfast.

It's sure fun watching him grow up.  I hope having this fourth child doesn't push me over the edge to insanity.  I want to be able to enjoy moments like watching my kids eat out of the garbage.  

I want to be a happy mom...a nice mom.

Maybe this next child won't ever cry or want to eat or be changed or held.

HA!

I'll try not to complain these next few weeks as my body stretches beyond belief ...because no matter how hard it is to be pregnant... soon I'll have another little one and I can't imagine the craziness that my life will become....when I'd pay a million dollars for moments like 

this.

:-)

Circus

Last night we went to the circus!

I got a coupon in the mail a few months back for $10 tickets and thought it would be a fun summer activity.

We invited my brother and his family along with two of my sisters.

For most of us it was our first experience at a circus, and it was really good!

We had great seats, but not great enough to get any good pictures.  I took these off Google.

The elephants were amazing.  They are so huge, but remind me of little puppies.  

I had told my kids all about the tight rope.  Sadly, our seats were positions so we saw the rope straight on, rather than from the side, so we didn't see much....but it was still cool.

The horses were beautiful!  They had three different "rings" of horse acts going on at the same time.  One of the rings was actually zebras, and they were so well trained.  Very entertaining!

Of course they had tons of clown stunts and cool bikes and vehicles....but the animals were by far my favorite part.  I think this will be a tradition for us.  The kids loved it!

Carter's poor broken tooth smile...

It didn't get over until 10pm and after a long day of swimming and playing the kids were totally wiped out....amazingly none of them fell asleep....that is until we got int he car. ;-)

It's just too hot out there!

Right now it's 103.  Google says the high today is 107.

Last night we picked up a nice little pool for the kids.  I went back and forth between getting a $20 kiddie pool, and this $50 pool with a pump and chlorine.  

Last year I had to dump and refill the pool after just 2 days....partly because the water would get so hot, but mostly because it would turn green...sick.

So, we opted for the 8' X 2.5' chlorinated pool with a pump.  The kids can stand on their knees in it...so I'm comfortable sitting inside the sliding glass door reading my book while the big kids swim.  SO nice!

Maybe me and Carter will join them out there some time....I dunno...I'm sure enjoying my 75 degree house.

Fun Stuff

We got to spend the weekend with cousins!  Swimming was definitely  a highlight!

Then last night we used an idea my aunt gave us.

We called it "Ice Cream Fire Drill".

A few minutes after putting the kids to bed, we ran into their room, turned on the lights, and yelled

"ICE CREAM FIRE DRILL!!!!"

We yanked them out of bed, threw them in the car, and drove to 7-11 to pick out an ice cream treat.

Jackson putting on his slippers.

Carter, along for the ride.

They were SO excited!

Trying to decide....

Yummy!

So fun, and it only took about 20 minutes.  The kids will never forget it, and I think we'll be making this a tradition!

School is out, let Summer begin!!

Sydney with her teacher Mrs. Smith.

My little girl finished Kindergarten.  How did this day come so fast?

We got to go to a little assembly where they sang some of the songs they've learned and some awards were given out.  Dad even surprised her and showed up during his work day, and then took her to 7-11 afterwards to pick out a treat.  I love how the simple things make kids SO happy.

So, today is the first day of Summer break.  I know once the new school year comes rolling around that it will seem as if it's flown by, but today I'm feeling  a little overwhelmed trying to think of ways to keep the kids busy each day.  

This morning we headed out and went swim suit shopping!!  Sydney tried 6 suits and had the hardest time choosing.  She modeled each one in front of the mirror in the dressing room.  We both agreed  on the last one.  Gone are the days of picking out my favorite suit and just throwing it in the cart.

Jackson has worn the same swimming suite for the past 3 summers.  I had him try it on this morning before we went shopping and it was TINY!  He's gained 9 pounds and grown about 5 inches since September when he had his tonsils taken out.  CRAZY!  So, he got to choose a new suit, too.

We're going to a swimming party later this afternoon, but the kids couldn't wait that long to get ready.

Let the Summer begin!

Gifford Grandkids

While cleaning off my desktop I ran across this photo and realized I never posted it.

This is a picture we took of all the Gifford Grandkids to give to my mom for Mother's Day.

Evan, Conner, Sydney, Jackson, Levi, and Carter.

There are 2 more on the way so far.  I'm excited to see this group of kids grow each year!

Another new post below!

A picture update

I'm still totally slacking in the picture taking area.  I left my camera at my mom's house for over a week, then brought it on a trip to the cabin...but it was dead.  So, most of these are old, but here you go!

Sydney had her first school project due in May.  They learned all about dinosaurs then had to make a diorama.  She had so much collecting just the right rocks and "trees", painting, cutting, and gluing.  

I LOVE the school she's in.  We're living in an older part of Henderson, and it really has the "small town" feel.  The school is 52 years old, and every year the Kindergarteners do a square dancing performance.  They work on it for months, and Sydney got there just a couple of weeks before the performance.  They found her a spot and she fit right in with all the kids.  It was so fun to watch all those little kids dancing their hearts out.  

The best shots I could get were of her back, but she did peek over at me a few times.

Pretty crazy that today starts her last week of Kindergarten!   

Jackson has learned to love his "alone" time while Sydney's at school.  He does crafts and projects (as he calls them) constantly.  I'm not sure what gives him the ideas for the different things he makes, but they never end.  

I usually text a picture to McKay when he's finished.  Sometimes McKay emails them back to me, and this is one of them.

The banjo.

We had a little too much fun shopping at Old Navy this past weekend.

Oh, and that trip to the cabin, here we are ready to head out...the only picture of the whole weekend.

So sad.  We had a blast.

Sydney has a cousin who loves Justin Bieber....so now Sydney loves Justin Bieber.  She asked me the other day if I'd take her to a Justin Bieber concert.  

Uh, you're SIX Sydney!

I pulled up his song "Baby" on Youtube and told her that would have to be good enough.

Now the kids ask me to play it ALL the time

Whenever it's time to clean up the house, they want to listen to it.

Now Carter will walk up to my computer, point, and say "Baby?"

It's pretty cute.

June is going to be a busy month for us.  We have the end of school, 2 family reunions, the circus, and my doctors appointments are every 2 weeks now....along with the normal craziness of our lives.

I like being busy.  Life is good.