A little Nervous

We are going camping soon.  We are taking our children.  Even Mr. Grumpy Drew.  So far in his 9 months of life, he has never been further than 45 min away from home.  He has never been on a long car ride.  He has never slept overnight somewhere besides our house.   I am scared about taking this child anywhere.  The kid is a screamer.  Will he wake up twelve times a night?  Will he scream so loud that the whole campground hears him?

At home I let him scream fuss for a bit so I can actually get something done around the house.  He's old enough to learn that Mommy's not going to hold him all day long.  But can I let him do that when people might think I am torturing my child?  I'm serious- once at Emma's dance class I put him down so I could help Kyle go to the bathroom, and he screamed so loud I had a crowd gathered around the bathroom door wondering what was wrong.  It was really embarrassing.    

At least I am prepared if he screams in the car the whole time.  I remember a trip from Seattle to Madras where Kyle cried the last 2 1/2 hours.  Nothing we did helped- except getting to Grandma and Grandpa's house.  Come to think of it, Kyle was just about the age Drew is now.  Oh no....

Okay, I am going to try to be optimistic.  We're getting out of the heat, we get to enjoy some beautiful scenery, and we get to have S'mores.  S'mores will make the rest of what MIGHT happen, worth it.

Right?

Heat Advisory

It is hot here.  It's not just hot, it's HOT.  Oh, and it's humid too.  Today, the high is 110, and the weather guy said "Tomorrow it's going to start getting really hot."

Hmmm....

Well, it's supposed to be 115 with a high dewpoint.  Usually about now, the monsoon storms start rolling in (hence the high dew point) to lower the temperature to a more liveable 105 or so.  But so far, nothing.  Unless you live in Apache Junction.  They get all the rain.  All 1/2 inch of it.

So, what's a family to do on a hot summer day?  Normally I barricade the kids indoors and try to stay cool in the a/c, but they were also a little disappointed that swim class was cancelled that day.   So, we pulled out the new slip n slide that I bought at Walmart for 5 bucks, and it entertained them through the heat of the day.

At first, the kids didn't know how to slide.  They would just run down it.

Then, they tried sliding on their tummies, but didn't get too far.

Finally by the end, they got the hang of it.

They were muddy, grassy, and soaking wet, but man did they have fun.

I don't miss the work of having your own pool, but sometimes, like when it's supposed to be 115, I REALLY wish we had a pool.

Slip n Slide, the kiddie pool, and trips to the local splash pad will have to suffice.

9 Months

Drew is 9 months old today.  I love this little boy!  When he is happy and smiling, he is just so adorable and fun to watch.  

At 9 months, Drew really hasn't changed that much since last month.  He eats more foods, scoots a little more, and sleeps a little better (though he wakes up a little earlier!).  He loves going out and about and gets grumpy when we stay home.  He is cutting four teeth at once.  He loves to stand and tries to pull up on things- though then he does a funky dance when he is standing.  Music and other people fascinate him.  I kind of wish he were more mobile, just because all the other babies his age are, but I also enjoy not having to chase him around everywhere.  There will be plenty of that to come.

At home, we see this face a lot when he gets grumpy.  

Everyone out of the house tells me he is so happy and never fusses.  Ha! If only they knew- but they only see his smiles!

Kyle and Emma love playing with him and helping me feed him.

They really are great helpers and Drew just can't get enough of them.  I love them all, and we are grateful to have such a wonderful family.

Scary Guy

Kyle thinks adding a holster makes him a "scary dancer".

Are you scared yet?

More Painting

Painting the kitchen got us in a painting mood.  I was inspired by a blog post somewhere out there in blog land to convert our boring sheet mirror in the bathroom into something a little more classy by adding molding as a frame.  We had some mis-steps along the way, but eventually it turned out great.  Well, then we decided we really liked the black in the bathroom, and since we didn't want to replace the cabinets, we simply painted them black.  We also painted our clock and added a new light fixture over the mirror.
Here's the before:  (ignore the pajama-clad photographer)

Here's the after:

I love it!  Thanks Marcus for helping me in my quest to beautify our home.