Katie Quip

Kaitlyn is such a little smartie pants sometimes.  I was looking around for the camera, so I could take a video of Natalie crawling up the stairs.  I asked Kaitlyn, "Hey, sis, do you know where the camera's at?".  She wrinkled up her nose, and said, "No, I wasn't around when you losed it!".

Little booger!

Family Trip to the Dentist

We had a family trip to the dentist yesterday.  Not what I call a fun family outing, but it went really well.  The kids were super excited, so their mouths were running a mile a minute, but they cooperated really well.  On Wednesdays, the office has all three hygienists working, so it goes much faster.  Anthony got his teeth cleaned, while I sat between two of the chairs the kids were in.  Then he watched all of the kids while I got mine done.  Let's just say, I had the more peaceful experience.  Once Anthony took the kids out to the waiting room, even the doctor came back and said, "Wow, it's pretty quiet back here!".  He didn't take me up on the offer to rent out his chair for a couple hours so I could take a nap, but I did cherish the peace and quiet while I got my teeth cleaned!

Talon was so excited to show them his new tooth coming in behind his baby tooth.  They told him he needs to start wiggling the baby tooth so it will come out.  Dr. L said to "wiggle it until it starts to get uncomfortable, then stop for a while."  All Talon heard was, "wiggle that tooth".  So he started a wigglin'.  He wiggled that tooth for probably a solid hour and a half.  Next thing we knew, he was almost in tears because his tooth hurt so bad. This could be a long, painful process... for all of us!

Getting some X-rays.

Ready to get started. The hygienists are always so patient to answer the million and one questions the kids have.

They let the kids do "Mr. Thirsty" (the suction).

Watching the older kids go and waiting his turn.

Showing off her pearly whites.

Sissy's turn for X-rays.

Nolan wasn't so sure of the whole thing at first, but warmed up rather quickly when he got to use "Mr. Thirsty".

Being goofy with their 'Smile Supplies'.

Going for a ride in the chair.

Natalie wanted to sit with Nolan.

Getting his teeth "counted".

No cavities for any of the kids.  Woo hoo!!

They were so excited about their new tooth brushes and goodies, they were almost begging to get ready for bed early, just so they could brush their teeth again.  Let's see how long that lasts!  Kaitlyn loves chapstick.  She got chapstick in her goodie bag.  Guess what most of her conversation has revolved around today.  Yep... chapstick!

Trying out the sippy cup

We are trying to transition Natalie to a sippy cup, and get rid of her bottle.  We've almost gotten rid of the binki- she only gets it when she goes to sleep now.  She's quite fascinated with the sippy cup, but more as a toy.  We're getting there, though. 

I love how she is concentrating so hard and staring off into space while she's drinking.

She likes that she can walk around with her sippy cup, but we're trying to keep it in the kitchen. (We never let her walk around with her bottle.)  We've already had one disaster where she unscrewed the lid and was dumping it all over the floor.  I'd like to avoid that as much as possible.

Sacked out

This is how Natalie fell asleep for her nap this afternoon.  She was running around and playing, and then everything got really quiet.  Anthony went to check on her, and this is how he found her... sacked out on the dogs' bed.  Must be nap time!

I love how Kiki just sits there... looking at her bed... probably wondering if Natalie's ever gonna move so she can have her spot back.

Deschutes Rafting Trip

I got to go white water rafting on the Deschutes River on Thursday.  It's something I have wanted to do for as long as I can remember.  I went with my mom, my sisters, and our friends, Kandi and Laura.  We had so much fun!  The river was quite cold (we quickly found out when we went over the first set of rapids), and the sky was overcast, but the weather was comfortably warm.

 Let me tell ya... there's nothing quite like paddling through rough waters to remind you how out of shape you are!

Waiting to get on the bus and head down to the river.

They had photographers staged at various places along the river.

Our guide was Zach. He's been doing various river tours for about 12 years. He did an awesome job! 

Feeling a bit tired and water logged.

Getting some dinner before we head home.

Such an awesome time. So glad we got to go. Can't wait until our next trip!

Random 5 on Friday

My Sister-In-Law, Beth, started something on her blog (Weavings) that looked fun, so I decided I would try it. I am going to participate in Random 5 on Friday hosted by Miranda at The Pebble Pond. I am going to attempt to make it a weekly routine, but we'll see. Life might happen, and it may become "Random 5 on Random Fridays".

1. We are ordering the materials to start homeschooling Talon in the next couple of weeks. It's hard to believe he is already starting 1st Grade. He is so excited. I'm a little nervous, and quite emotional about the whole thing.

 2. We are still trying to kick this gastro bug. Kaitlyn and Nolan have both had it so far, and now everyone is coughing and has a runny nose. I don't think we've ever had to deal with this much sickness in the middle of Summer before. It's getting a bit old, I must say!

 3. Natalie just got her 6th tooth, and Talon is getting his 1st permanent tooth. Neither of them seem to be very fond of getting new teeth in. Talon's tooth is growing in so far behind his baby tooth, it's not even pushing the baby one out. I'm afraid we may have some visits with the orthodontist in our future.

 4. Natalie has now figured out that the upstairs playroom is much more fun than her little toy basket downstairs, AND she's figured out how to climb the stairs and push open the gate at the top to get to the playroom. It's become quite the chore to keep her off of the stairs now.

5. On Thursday, I went white water rafting on the Deschutes River, with my mom, my sisters, and a couple of friends. We had a BLAST! It reminded me how out of shape I am, but I can't wait to go again! (Pictures to come later)

 

Sick Little Man

Nolan is a pretty tough kid, but he started getting sick yesterday, and he hasn't wanted to do too much.  He even turned down playing outside.  Not normal!  We haven't seen any body fluids being forcefully ejected, but he does seem pretty miserable.  I woke him up after his almost 3 hour nap today, and all he wanted to do was go back to bed.  Poor little guy.  He has been running pretty high fevers and having abdominal pain, but then it subsides for a while and he seems fine.  The nurse side of me wants to take him into the ER just to make sure he doesn't have appendicitis, but the rational side of me says it's probably just a bug and he'll get over it.  I called his doctor just to make sure, and he said just to watch him for a while.  So we are.  I think he's pretty convinced he's hit the jackpot, because Mommy keeps asking him if he wants another popsicle.

Kaitlyn threw up randomly on Saturday night, but we attributed it to her having eaten too many Cheese Puffs after dinner.  Who knows.  I just don't want to get it.  I will clean up puke and whatever else I need to for my family, but I really don't need to experience it myself!  Oh, the joys of a big family... when one gets sick, it's such a challenge to keep everyone else from getting it.

Here is Natalie, wanting Nolan to play.  She kept taking his green puke bowl away, so I gave her one to carry around.  I brought his blanket downstairs, and he promptly spread it out and laid down.

You know he's sick when all he wants to do is lay around and sleep... it's not like him at all!  I do enjoy the cuddle time, though!  Tonight I was sitting in the recliner, and he came up to me and said, "Mommy, I want up. I rock you.".  Poor little booger!