Aubrey's First Haircut(s)

See that beautiful golden hair?

I love it.

My favorite thing about it is watching it blow behind her when she's running around.

Well...lately, Aubrey hasn't been such a fan of her long, tangled hair.

She doesn't want me to brush it or pull it back.

She basically just wants me to keep my mitts away from her head.

That's a problem when you are two and your hair goes half-way down your back.

I've been debating having it cut for awhile now.

But I just couldn't do it.

So Bradley did it for me.

Eek.

I was cleaning the garage while the children were running wild constructively occupied.

Aubrey was eating a sucker and apparently got it stuck in her hair.

Soooo...Bradley cut it out for her.

Good gravy.

It wasn't horrible, but there were definitely some short pieces in there.

(No pic, sorry.)

At first I decided that we would just roll with it.

It wasn't that noticeable.

But then I looked at her while we were at church and she basically looked like an orphan.

It was the best I could do to get a little clip in to hold it out of her face.

It certainly wasn't the beautiful golden curls pictured above.

Much more like the picture below.

So this morning I took her in for her first "official" haircut.

We had to bring Scooby Doo along on the Ipod because she wasn't a big fan of sitting in that chair.

And I didn't get any pictures of her in her lovely little apron because I was in the chair with her.

But here are the remains of her long hair.

(Well, besides the ones that Bradley already removed.)

I am happy because it will be 100 times easier to take care of.

And look, it still blows behind her when she runs.  :)

Doesn't it make her look so much older?  

Waaaaaa.....where's my baby?

A Case of the Naughties

I have pretty good kids.

They are cute and charming and the apple of my eye.

But I should mention that they can sometimes be positively naughty.

Like last Friday for example.

Now, I make an honest effort to get in the shower everyday.

And for you young mothers out there, you know that sometimes that feels like a small miracle.

Well, that day, I should have skipped mine.

I enjoyed that shower, 

but I sure didn't enjoy cleaning fingernail polish out of the carpet when I got out.

Although, let's go ahead and give credit where credit is due.

Bradley (who is 4) painted his and Aubrey's toes and fingernails with surprising precision.

I must admit that I was mildly impressed...

right after I nearly laid an egg right there in the family room.

Curse you blue finger nail polish!

Well, after feverishly working to remove the stain in the carpet

(and trying to think happy thoughts!)

I went upstairs to look for those two little devils darlings.

I heard giggling coming from Bradley's closet.

I slowly opened the door to see Aubrey throw her hands out and yell

"TA! DA!"

And then Bradley slap his hands over his eyes.

Which is a sure sign that: 

A) He was being naughty

B)  He KNEW he was being naughty

C)  He thinks I'll never know...because obviously I can't see him there.

Sheesh.

Can't we spread out the naughtiness a little?

Two biggies in one day is definitely over quota.

First Day of School Round 2

Remember this sad little boy?

The one who was left behind when the big kids got to go to school.

Well I am pleased to present that same boy on HIS first day of preschool.

He was pretty excited.

And I'm not gonna lie...

I was pretty excited to run some errands with only 1 child.

I forget how much easier it is.

I didn't leave the store feeling like the ringmaster of a 3 ring circus.

Go me.

After our little trip to Target, 

Aubrey continued her favorite activity of changing into at least 1.1 million outfits throughout the day.

She branched out today though

and stole the clothes right off of the Build-A-Bear stuffed animal.

Aubrey's 2nd Birthday

Oh my!

The baby in this house has just turned two.

photo by stephanieryanphotography

I sure miss that furry little head.

Oh wait...

She's still got it - times 10!

This girl brings so much sunshine into this family.

She's a happy and pleasant cherub who just loves to be with the big kids.

Basically, if they would all be as easy as this one,

then I'll take at least 10 more.

If only I didn't have to potty train them...

Anyway, we had a wonderful day spoiling little Miss Aubrey.

And OF COURSE wondering how two years have passed so quickly!

Can anyone honestly tell me that they don't want to just squeeze that little face?!

My goodness - I could just eat her for breakfast.

Aubrey's 2 Year Stats

Weight:  22 pounds 

(below 3rd percentile)

Height:  32 Inches  

(8th percentile)

This n That

Nothing too excited going on around the old homestead these days.

Just a little of this and a little of that.

But the everyday happenings are worth documenting, right?

First of all, the parent's in this house have finally given in to an extracurricular activity.

We've been kind of dragging our heels because
A) we like not having to be 1 million places,
B) it's expensive, and
C)  our kids were blissfully unaware that they were missing out on anything.

Sounds like the perfect conditions to pull a quick one, eh?

We thought so too.

But, I have finally decided that it is time to branch out a bit and try to "round out" these kids of ours.

And I'm quite glad I did. 

I feel like I've graduated to some new level of parenting.

For now, I smile as I hear small successions of notes
(over and over again)
while I am preparing dinner.

Soon I will not smile as I threaten to remove her left arm if she doesn't practice.

It's all part of the joys of parenting, right?

She is cute sitting up there with her make-shift piano.

And she totally staged this picture,

but wanted to make sure that it didn't look like she staged it.

That's a Motherhood Lesson 101 course in itself.

Making it look like you "caught them in the moment."

Even if you and I both know that you likely tortured the kid
and made them re-do that special moment at least 6 times just for the perfect picture.

She's ahead of her time.

~~~~~~~

Around here the blossoms are in full bloom (achoo!) and spring has definitely arrived.

Which means that the gardener at this house has to get to work!

He painstakingly spent a billion years building that beautiful

self watering garden box.

He has planted his little plants and takes great pride in whatever is growing in there.

He comes home from work and stands out there with his hands on his hips
just willing those precious little plants to grow.

And then he asks me which child put the tire marks through the garden

and whose "bum print" he can see.

I've already got 4 of them to watch,

I can't possibly babysit the garden too.

If those plants are going to grow around here,

then they better be tough.

~~~~~~~

Speaking of tough...

What does she think she is doing?

Oh ya know, just playing naked outside in the water bowl in February!

Sheesh.

I'm running around with a fleece jacket (cause I am a wimp)

and she's running around in nothing.

And for the record, it was the dog who left the "bum print" in the garden, not Aubrey.

~~~~~~~

About a month ago we got a letter in the mail that basically has ruined my entire last month.

It said something like this:

"Because we are mean, we want you to get rid of your trampoline

and only allow your kids to sit on little pillows in the corner.

Love, your Home Insurance Company"

Boooo on them.

I LOVE the trampoline.

My kids LOVE the trampoline.

And I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it when Dave takes them out to jump while I am making dinner.

What kind of American family will we be without a trampoline?

I seriously might shed a tear.

And then put in a zip line from the second story into the neighbors pool.

See what the insurance company thinks of that one.  :)

~~~~~~~

On a serious note,

last week we had to say goodbye to our beloved and cute little Grandpa Bowen.

He was Jack's birthday buddy and was nearly 96 years old!

This guy was only about 5 feet tall, but was at least twice that in personality.

He was a darling little man with sparkly blue eyes.

We'll miss him,

but we are thrilled that he has been reunited with so many loved ones on the other side.

Because my Mother made me feel guilty...

Sheesh.

My Mother made me feel guilty about not posting pictures of her adorable grandchildren.

Slothful daughter, I am.

In response, I will post a long and picture-full post for her viewing pleasure.  ;)

I love the morning hours when I just have my two littlest ones at home. 
I miss the big ones (of course),
but having time to just hang with the pee-wee's is nice.

And who wouldn't want to hang out with these guys?!

That guy on the right - that's a true little gentleman.

Man - I could eat him up.

(even if he is a little lot rough)

He takes good care of that sister of his.

When he steals the end of the loaf of bread while his mother is cleaning the bathroom,

he happily shares.

(he does still have a right arm...even if this picture looks otherwise.)

And when that same Mother puts Bradley in charge of the bean scooping activity 

while she sneaks in a shower,

he takes care of business.

By the looks of things,

maybe "that Mother" should put Bradley in charge of getting Aubrey ready for the day.
She we could use a little help.

Potty Talk

I'm so behind on everything it seems. 

Or at least not finding the time to do everything  that I want to. 

Like post on my blog.

I think my new calling sucks all the creativity I have.

I've always been afraid of this calling.

That "Primary Chorister" calling.

But as it turns out, I haven't died.

Who knew?

The kids haven't thrown rotten tomatoes at me or requested that I please stop singing.

Hooray!

But still, my normal blogging time is being spent searching the right hemisphere of my brain
(and the internet)
for ways to frighten teach the kids.

And when I am not traumatizing other people's kids,

my own are traumatizing me.

Potty training.

Ugh.

Isn't there a summer camp for that?
I'm pretty sure that I am not the only one who would happily write the check for that one.  (Sarah?)

This boy definitely has not made it easy on me.

Just look at that face,

taunting me...

He is almost there though.

Which is a really good thing, because I am was getting desperate.

And a desperate mother is capable of doing absurd things.

Like paying her 7 year old to try and potty train the baby over Christmas vacation because she was just sure that at the rate we were going, the baby would be potty trained before the 3 year old.

10 bucks, she would have made.
And I would have paid more.
Much more.
Wouldn't that have been beautiful?
Too bad it didn't work...
Maybe summer vacation??!!
Brooklyn will have all kinds of time to be tethered to the toilet,
read stories, serve up juice, and just generally rot away in the bathroom.
That should free me up for all kinds of projects.  :)

The Falconer

Aubrey is definitely a special child.

She's positively adorable, sweet, funny, love able, and LOUD.

At first I found this loudness problem to be a bit irritating.

I mean, I know we all love a very high and loud shrill to accompany our dinner,

but one can only take so much.

But as it turns out, I think her "skill" may turn out to work wonders for our self reliance.

We were at a friends house a couple of months back and our friend says,

"Wow - she sounds like a real life falconer!"

I have thought a lot about that comment over the last couple of months and thought to myself,

"I think he's right!  Let's test it!"

Lucky for me, I just happened to have a pile of mice guts

and a pair of bird handling gloves just lying around.

Who doesn't?

I took Aubrey out in the front yard, slipped on a glove, handed her some mice guts

(and of course told her not to eat them) and watched her waddle a few steps away.

She immediately lifted her left arm, belted out one of her annoying impressive shrieks

and wouldn't you know it...

a massive falcon swooped in for a landing, nibbled away on the mouse entrails

and then stopped to pose for a picture.

Which I thought was nice of him -

not just any one-year-old can manage to call in a carnivorous bird.

A mother must document such a milestone.

We'll never starve, I tell you.

Aubrey will call one in and we'll roast it up.

In the meantime, I hope all you mothers out there with your own falconer's

can handle the hours of "bird calling practice."

It just might pay off someday.

*Parts of this story may or may not be fictional.

Her Majesty

Aubrey has definitely been our latest walker.

I thought to myself, "What is taking this child so long?"

Not that I was really in that much of a hurry,

I mean, we all know that when the baby starts walking the trouble begins.

But still, there comes a point when you have to wonder.

And wonder I did.

Until I started looking through a few pictures.

Can any of you identify any reason why her walking was a little delayed?

Why walk when you can be pulled, carried or pushed?

Valid point.

She's a smart one, that girl of mine.

That last picture is my favorite.

They get her all cozy like she's a princess in her carriage

and then they slide her across the wood floor.

At dangerous speeds.

It may or may not be a little dangerous, but hey, she loves it.

Therefore it's ok, right?

I should mention though that she has finally decided to work out those little legs.

And if you are going to ask if you can have her -

don't bother.

Unless of course you just want her between the hours of 3 and 5 pm.

Then she's all yours.

A Mother's Work is Never Done

I only have 4 kids, right?

Let's see...we've got Brooklyn,

and then Jack,

and then there's that little artist (more on that later)

and of course the littlest one.

Hmmm...yep, I guess there are only four.

Because I am telling you people,

sometimes it feels as if there must actually be at least 12 people living at this house.

They move so fast!

So fast in fact, that sometimes it feels like they are doubling my workload.

Oh wait, I guess they are.

One bath just wasn't enough for miss Aubrey tonight.

Summer Check-in

Well hello everyone.

I have completely checked out of the blogosphere for the last month.

I've been doing a little house shopping.

Oy.

It started out fun,

but considering I have to drive 50 minutes away every time I want to see a house,

and I've been looking for a month now,

I'm ready to just find one.

Well, not just one - I want the right one.

And for the right price.

Too much to ask?

ANYWAY, besides going crazy trying to find a house,

we've been having a great summer.

I just realized though, that I haven't taken many pictures.

Shame on me.

I do have a couple of goodies though

Here's my baby-cakes showing off her locks.

(She gets those from her mother)

Awesomeness.

The boys have spent hours in the dirt.

Seriously, how can boys be so dirty and gross -

ALL THE TIME?

I feel like I don't even want to put them in my bathtub

because my bathtub may never recover.

And then there's Brooklyn.

Ahhhh Brooklyn.

Now that she's kind of growing up, (sniff)

I'm feeling like I'm peeling back the next layer of parenting.

She's so fun and quirky and talkative.

I don't think her brain or her mouth ever take a break.

No really.

She doesn't stop.

Like ever.

On that note, wish me luck on my 14 hour road trip this weekend.

Dave asked me not to forget to pack the earplugs.

Happy Birthday Aubrey!

As I am typing this, I can't believe it.

My sweet Aubrey Jane is 1.

I can't believe how the time has flown, but yet it seems like this little lady has always been around.

She's our perfect little blend of sweet and sassy.

We had a little celebration on Saturday to celebrate this girl -

and you better believe that she knew she was special.

She loved the presents, the cake and all the attention.
Now, I have to explain the cake.
I couldn't really decide what kind of cake to make for Aubrey. 
I wanted to make something that she would love (or at least recognize).
So far, there is only one toy that absolutely makes her leap with joy.
Her puffer-fish.
So, here's how it ended up.

Ha Ha
Frightening, right?
That little fella on the left is THE puffer fish.
And that thing on the right...
Well, I do have to say that that special creation was all me.
Because apparently no one else on the internet
makes a blow fish birthday cake for their kid.
I wonder why??

Whatever the case, she loved it.
Just look at that face!

AND she recognized it.

Mission. Accomplished.

Since she's 1 now, Aubrey has decided that she's entitled
to get into all the mischief she can find.
She's big now, after all.
I'm just grateful that she isn't walking yet.

For the record:
One year stats: 
Weight: 16lbs 12 oz  (1st percentile)
Height:  Who knows? 
That girl knew exactly what was going on
on that doctors table and she wanted NOTHING to do with it.
So they didn't exactly get a good measurement.

Spring Break, Part 2

Because the grandparents love us (and spoil us)
they treated us all to a day at the happiest place on Earth.

I knew about this trip for several months before
and I have to tell you that it was giving me anxiety.

Remember all those stories about Bradley getting lost?

In my mind I was calculating what Bradley plus Disneyland might produce.

And seriously, it gave me a fright.

BUT, I am proud to announce that he did awesome.

He didn't wander, he didn't hide and most importantly, we didn't lose him.

That's right - go ahead and give me a few 'Super Mom' points for that one.

The kids did great and we had a blast!

Stopping for lunch

Tinkerbell's line was like 3,000 times shorter than the princess'.

The only D-land celebs that really matter at our house. 
I know they aren't smiling,
but I want all of you to give proper appreciation for this picture. 
You have no idea what it took to get them to look at me. 
All the 'other' kids would walk up there and happily pose for a picture. 
The Bowen kids however, walked in there and had to look in Mater's mouth,
look for door handles,  try to climb on the hood ,
circle each cars entire perimeter and then give McQueen a loving squeeze. 
This is true love, my friends. 
I think those 2 minutes with McQueen made Bradley's entire life.

My sweet, sweet Babe.  She did not want to miss a thing.  
But she did just tell me that "It's a Small World" was her favorite.

Bradley enjoyed himself, but he wasn't too sure of the rides. 

I think he preferred to people watch and look for pre-chewed wads of gum. 

I asked him what his favorite ride was, but he couldn't tell me.

He did however, tell me what his least favorite was:

 Yes, for some reason the Carousel absolutely terrified him.

We tried to sit him on one of those evil horses which made him kick and scream in fear.

Weird.

But really, look at the closest horse in the picture.

It is a little creepy.

Hark!  Is that a smile?

I'm pretty sure he only smiled because he was trying to swoon me

into buying him that Woody Hat.

Nice try, partner.

Can you see my phone number "tattooed" on his right arm?

You gotta do what ya gotta do.

This trip was a new experience for Jack.  He has finally grown enough to ride the 40" rides.

Some of which can be a bit scary.

Have you been to Disneyland?

They have a ride called "Tower of Terror."

Basically they take you up 13 stories in an elevator

and then let you free-fall to the bottom.

Jack decided that he wanted to ride.

Suit yourself.

So the rest of the fam took him up while I sat with the little ones.

I was prepared with my camera because I was sure

he would be bawling when he came out.

But I was wrong.

They all came out busting up with laughter.

Apparently Jack was quite a scene on that ride.

His knuckles were white and his eyes were as big as baseballs.

Can you see him?

That teeny weeny fellow in the back.

This is a picture of a picture so the quality isn't great, but priceless none the less.

Such a concerned look on that little face.

Seriously though, does he look like he's big enough to be on that ride?

I held a small interview with him when he got off and he said he would like to go on the ride again.

Although as he walked away I noticed that his pants were wet.

I think that ride may have been a little too scary.

What an unpleasant surprise for the person who got the seat after him!

Brooklyn sporting 3D glasses for the Toy Story ride.

Brooklyn is the perfect age for Disneyland. 

She can ride everything (except to her dismay,  the BIG roller coaster)

and she loves it ALL.

The Fam

Um, are those really all our kids.

We look awesome with kids hanging everywhere.

Like it's all we can do to hang on to all of them...

Three cheers for a successful trip to Disneyland

and a HUGE thanks to Grammy & Gramps for taking us

and for helping us corral our small army.

Aubrey Check-in

I haven't been very good at posting Aubrey's growth stats.

Probably because she hasn't been doing much growing...

I took her in for a little 10 month check up:

15 lbs 14 oz (3rd percentile)

Height:  (hmmm...I can't remember, but it was somewhere around the 18th percentile)

She's rapidly falling on the percentile charts, but no worries -

this girl is eating, sleeping, and acting like a healthy, happy 10 month old!

I went out to take a few pictures of Aubrey (with no hair in her face!)

but apparently she has no interest in showing us her whole face.

She WOULD NOT look at me!

Obviously the flowers, cars, and kids were way more interesting than me.

OR, she knew exactly what I was after

so her little "internal spark" told her to look anywhere except where I wanted her to.

Little stinker.

New Boss in Town

I have been completely blindsided.

Out of nowhere a little spark has been lit inside of my sweet little baby.

Apparently, once you can crawl, you can rule the roost.
She is now the self-proclaimed boss of herself, her siblings, her food, her toys,
her nap schedule, her parents, and most importantly, her hair.

Oy.

Check out those wonky-tonk ponytails and all that hair in her face!

That is a sure sign of the wildness within.

And trust me, when you pin her down to take care of it,

she lets you know that you've crossed the line.

She wiggles and squirms, screams and squeals,

and uses those little mitts to bat my hands away.

And once I get a clip or something in there, she yanks that bad boy out.

But even if she has her own opinions - which she regularly voices,

she is sooo stinking fun!

Her personality is exploding out now and she's crawling, babbling, laughing

and most definitely finding her spot in the family.

We all eat her up and may or may not spoil her just a little bit.