Cloudy with a chance of Umbrellas

The next day's weather was in the 80's but cloudy and threatening rain and thunderstorms. We decided we'd go for a walk downtown by the Chattahoochie but went prepared with umbrellas. We played around the water steps and then walked down the path aways until it started to rain a little, not a downpour, just a little southern sprinkle. Even so, everyone wanted an umbrella. So fun.

It was Grandpa's idea...

There are a few things we've come to expect from Grandpa Walton's visits... and he did not disappoint. Within the very first minutes of getting here he started in on his 'classic Grandpa Walton bag of tricks'...

• singing 'There was a Little House' with Luke and the excited backup singers,
• playing Grandpa's own version of Pictionary with the kids,
• showing Megan and Luke how to play 'Lather and Shave',
• coming up with a timed obstacle course in the house which EVERYONE participated in... Chris won, with a faulty hip and everything. Ryan was second. Even Grandpa raced (with disapproval from Grandma) and yes, his back was sore the next morning...
• teaching the kids the '3 Billy Goats Gruff' readers theater edition,
• asking the kids a series of random questions like 'what animal does bacon come from?'  The kids LOVE Grandpa's questions!
• instructing Luke to shoot Grandpa with 'finger gun' to watch Grandpa's dramatic death scene, (again more disapproval from Grandma)

you know, the basics. Well, now we have another thing to add to list.

• playing outside in a rainstorm... in your bathing suit!

One of the things Grandpa was most looking forward to on this trip was experiencing a good 'ol Southern rain storm. The kind that puts a 'river' through our backyard. And on his first morning here he got exactly that. Mom and I and the little boys had dashed off to the mall for a fabulous shopping trip and left Grandpa watching the four older kids at home. While we were gone, the rain poured, and Grandpa couldn't help but put his bathing suit on and run outside. The kids are always asking me to do this and I usually say no. They looked at Grandpa stunned and asked if they could do it too. Pretty soon they were running, slipping, sliding and even surfing (on make shift skim boards) in our mud river. I'm not sure if Grandpa was slipping and sliding but he was out there in his bathing suit. We saw the wet bathing suit to prove it and a glimpse of a picture with him showing off his muscles... priceless. The kids had so much fun. And you can bet, that when Grandpa comes again they'll be expecting some more playing in the rain.

Grandma and Grandpa Walton

We just spent a wonderful week with my parents. It was so fun to have them here to see little Matthew, be here for his blessing, and get reacquainted with all the kids. We hadn't seen them in almost a year! It's rough to be so far away... but we sure packed in a fun week... playing in the rain, trips to the park, picnic lunches, BBQ dinners on the patio, games of monopoly, yummy Margaritas, shopping trips, late late night movies, baby Matthew's blessing, dinner and movie date, and sightseeing around Columbus in all kinds of weather. Stay tuned for the details of a great week. Thanks for coming Grandma and Grandpa!

3 1/2 weeks

Doctor's appointment again today... he looked so good he didn't even need a bili test. Yay...no more jaundice. He's looking so big these days. 10 days ago he was 8 pounds 15 ounces. Today he's 10 pounds 2 ounces. What happened to 9 pounds? Guess I'm feeding him creamy milk shakes after all.

Cub Camp

Ryan's Cub Scout Day Camp is from 3-8 every day this week. No early morning drop-offs and even better, Chris was able to go straight from work to be parent helper today. He got to see Ryan and his buddies work on knots, learn about leaves and trees, make bird feeders and practice archery... oh, and of course be silly... what cub scouts do best!

Family walk

I've been wanting to go back and walk this trail for months. (We discovered it when I was 7 months pregnant and just after that I gave up walking altogether and replaced it with anything that involved sitting.) The trail is shady and beautiful and paved... perfect for scooters... except when the scooter kids get going too fast down the hill and wipe out... see Ryan's blog for all the gorey details.

Lukey loved being able to walk by himself but he made the pace pretty slow. He was in his own world picking up rocks, pointing up to birds, wandering into the forest and generally going whatever direction HE wanted to go. He didn't mind being in the stroller either though, especially since he could point at Matthew and say 'baby'.

We walked all the way down to the River. We found walking sticks. We ate snacks while watching some locals try to catch catfish. We watched Ryan (still bloody and in pain) and Katie race on their scooters. A near perfect evening walk.

Holding Matthew

Really summer

Now that we've been to the pool for the first time, it really feels like summer.

Saturday Chris worked until 4:00 so we decided to meet at the pool for a couple hours as soon as he was done. I told the kids the good news at 12:30 and 7 minutes later they had their swimming suits on, and were happily collecting their new goggles and towels. It was a long afternoon to wait but it was worth it. At 4:00 we loaded up the double stroller and went to pay. The pool guy looked at my big group and said, "Um, we have a 1 adult to 3 kid ratio here..." As I started to chuckle, the second worker said, "Are they all yours?" and then let us in. What else could he do? I was well aware of how difficult it would be to watch six kids... luckily Chris was on his way.

The pool was so much less crowded at 4:00. Maybe we'll plan on heading then every time we go... especially if Chris can join in the fun. Ryan, Katie and Emily dashed off to play in the deep end. Megan, donned with arm floaties, splashed around like a fish and Luke couldn't help but just smile to be in the water. And to add to our perfect pool evening, our friends (with six kids) joined us unexpectedly. Now that it's really summer, we're looking forward to many more trips to the pool.

So sleepy

This is the magic blanket (hand tied by my 2nd grade class when I was teaching and pregnant with Ryan)... the one that makes him toasty warm and puts him right to sleep... that or he's still a newborn and just likes to sleep a lot.

After bath pictures

Matthew after his bath.
2 weeks old... 8 pounds 15 ounces - 21 inches

Last Day

Every day around 4:00 looks a lot like this. I say "Are the kids home?" and Megan and Luke run to the front door and peek out the windows while Luke says 'Ry-ry, Ry-ry!' with a huge smile. Then I breathe a sigh of relief knowing Megan and Emily will be inseparable and Luke will follow Ryan around. But now they'll never part again. SCHOOL'S OUT FOR THE SUMMER!

Best buds

There is a baby at my house. He is a nice baby. I like to point at him and say 'baby'. When he cries I put on my surprised face and then point at him and say 'baby'. I like to say 'baby' all the time. Daddy tells me to say 'Baby Matt'. I say 'Baby Mah'.

I get so excited to see the baby. Sometimes I see the baby across the room and get my lips puckered up and ready before I run to him to give him a kiss. My mom and dad smile when I do that. I like to kiss the baby on the head or on the foot. Sometimes I kiss the baby over and over. Sometimes I get so excited to see the baby that I don't know what to do with my excitement and I slap the baby on the head. Mommy says 'no-no' with a frown but I still like to do it again.

When the baby is on the floor I like to be a bridge over top of him. I like to lay on him too. Mom doesn't put him on the floor very often.

The baby has a swing in our house. He likes to swing. I like to swing too. One time the baby let me sit on his lap for a swing. I like the baby to swing really big so I help to push him. I say 'Wee-wee' and then mom says 'no-no'. I think the baby will like to swing big but mom doesn't think so.

I like to share with the baby. One day I gave the baby my very favorite horse figurine. I put it right on his chin so he could see it. Mom laughed and was glad I placed it on him instead of throwing it on him. I like to throw things. Dad is happy that I like to throw balls. Mom isn't happy that I like to throw toy cars.

The baby has a soother. I like to have a soother. Baby lets me have his. Mommy doesn't like it when he shares with me.

Whenever I come over to see Mommy feeding the baby, Mom puts her free hand up in front of the baby -- just in case. I like to hit the baby and mom while mom tries to grab my hand to stop me. Mom tries to talk to me and sing songs but I like to hit and try to roll on top of them instead.

Mom says that I will kiss, lay on, share with and hit Baby for a lot of years... and that we will be best buds too.

18 months old today

Like clockwork, after the big kids go to school and Luke has eaten his cereal and watched Backyardigans with Megan, he wanders into my bedroom to come find me. Then he spots the big bathtub in the master bathroom and suddenly he can think of nothing else. 'Baf Baf Baf Baf' he repeats over and over until I turn the water on. He's so excited he can hardly stand it and sticks his arms in the stream of water usually getting his pajama sleeves soaking wet. Megan comes out of nowhere, and jumps into the bath, already naked. She knows the routine. Then they splash and play for a half hour while I straighten the bathroom and sit at the computer. When they decide they've had enough they pull the plug and scream for towels. Megan wraps herself in a towel... sometimes only her bottom half ('like dad') and sometimes her whole body ('like mom') and parades upstairs to find something wonderful to wear. Because I have a stack of size 5 diapers in my bathroom, Luke gets a new diaper on and spends the next half hour running around in his diaper while I say "Go get a SHIRT" hoping he'll bring back something adequate. Sometimes he does. Sometimes Megan helps. Sometimes he stays in his diaper until I walk over and get something... like today. I say 'ready, set' and he says 'Doh' as I throw him on the bed. Then I tickle him and he wants to do it over and over and over. Today he jumped on the bed and got in the covers. Say 'cheese' I said. And he did.

Don't grow up little baby.

I spent so long wishing that time would speed by until little Matthew arrived. Now that he's here I want time to stop, or at least slow down a bit. Just let me hold him and smell him, and hear his little newborn cry a little longer. Don't grow up little baby.

I am treasuring these days with my newborn. He is such a good baby. He sleeps a lot. For the past six nights he's let me sleep 5 hours straight and then another 3 after he eats. And last night it was 6 1/2 hours straight. He loves to be cuddled up in a blanket. We've figured out the exact right way to wrap him up with the exact blankets and he's set for the night. Even during the day when I want a nap, I just wrap him up and put him in his little crib and he'll give me 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Thank you baby. He takes a soother well. He likes his little swing -- it makes him fall asleep. He loves being held. He sleeps in his car seat. He smiles in his sleep... a lot. It takes awhile to burp him but I enjoy him cuddled up on my shoulder. He has a 'angel's kiss' on his forehead that will stay for up to a year before it fades away. Every time I walk past a mirror while I'm holding him, I stop to really look at how small he is in my arms. He is a good little nurser. In fact, this is probably the best transition into nursing I've ever had. Still a couple seconds of ouch at the beginning there, but not bad at all. He doesn't cry much... but I like it when he does... it sounds so desperate and adorable. He grunts. He gets the hiccups a lot. I smile when he sneezes. I love this baby.

Ballerinas

The Columbus Ballet Conservatory had it's 'end of the year recital' tonight. We got a babysitter for Megan and Luke (they already went to the dress rehearsal the night before) so Chris and I could actually enjoy it. I took the girls early and Chris came later with Matthew and flowers for the girls. Then he left at intermission to make it to a stake meeting and the girls and I stayed to watch all of the dancers. So fun to have two ballerinas.


Katie spent the year in Ballet Level 1 and performed 'Heidi' to Minuette in G by Bach. She loved her costume... especially the headpiece. She really did a great job. Her teacher is recommending her for two classes a week next year. Congratulations Katie! We are so proud of you!


Emily spent the year in a Creative Movement Level 2 class, and although some days she wasn't super excited about going to class, she could hardly wait till the performance. Yesterday she said, "This is my favorite day ever!" She performed 'Cats' to the Broadway Cats music. It was adorable... and there may just be some muffled chuckling on the video we took of her. The whole class bumping into each other as they turned around... it was pretty funny. Emily knew her dance moves though and was a great little dancer. Emily, we are so proud of you!