Christmas in July

Since Polar Express the movie has been banished in my house until the month of December rolls around, I decided to treat my children to a little Christmas in July. At our mall there has been a free Family Film Festival going on all summer. At ten in the morning you can come in, for free, and watch a fun kids movie then get a free ride on the carousel.

So this week was Polar Express, and it was awesome on the big screen. Hannah could barely sit in her seat she was so excited and she sang along to all the songs. To my total suprise Ben sat quiet and still for the entire movie, the bag of animal crackers and m&m's might have helped!

I'm sure December 1st the movie will back on our tv again, but until then we've had our fill of Christmas.

One Last Bun

We've told most of you already; but if you haven't heard, Stacey is pregnant again! We're all very excited.

Hannah, of course, wants a baby sister and Ben wants a baby brother. I'm not sure if those wishes will change when they realize one of them will be sharing a room. We haven't decided yet if we're going to find out the gender at the 20 week ultrasound. We did find out this week that there is just one in there.



The baby is upside down with the yolk sac to the right. We signed up for weekly emails from babycenter to keep track of how he's growing (because, yes, it is just as exciting the third time). You can use the big picture as a reference to figure out what the gray blobs are in the ultrasound picture. Right now we're at 9 weeks making the due date February 22, 2009 - an early birthday present for Hannah.

We also found out that the baby won't be delivered by the same doctor nor at the same hospital as Hannah and Ben. The old OB/GYN is now just a GYN. Stacey was referred to an OB that delivers at the other big hospital downtown. We've heard good things from friends who've had their baby's there; so, we're not too worried about it.

As the title of this post suggests, we're planning for this to be the youngest member of the family. Some people claim we're crazy for having this many while others say we make such cute kids that stopping now would be a trajedy. Who knows if our plans will change, but for now we're just looking forward to having one more healthy, beautiful baby.

Shining Moment

Hannah joined the YMCA summer soccer league. After two practices and a blowout win last week, today was the Tigers' second game. Was her "shining moment" a goal? No.

Today was also picture day and the uniforms came just in time. Did she "shine" for the camera? Well, of course she did, but that's not what I'm referring to. Anyway, these were the only pictures taken; her team didn't get pictures taken because it started pouring down rain when it was their turn.



Notice anything? Yes, the uniform is about three sizes too big, but other than that... What's that under her left eye? Let's zoom in on that.



A "shiner!" That's right. Hannah got her first black eye. At 2 minutes and 5 seconds into the 5 minute game, there was a forehead to cheek collision. Hannah came out of the game and iced it down. Three minutes later the team was called for pictures and the rest of the game was rained out.

It was still a good time. When we got home, the kids' feet were covered in wet grass, so we had them splash in the puddle at the end of the driveway. I'm sure that was Ben's favorite part.



As you may have figured out, we bought a new camera. Fortunately, we checked the forecast before the game and didn't bring it with us.

Antiquing

This Saturday's adventure-the Antiquefest at the park. We went for the reason of finding a piano bench (which we did not), but I soon realized the potential history lesson. At breakfast we had a long talk with Hannah explaining that not everything in the world is new, and if you take care of older things they can have value.

We spotted many interesting things and slowed the wagon down to take a look. Some of our faves: doll and baby carriages, metal dumptrucks, water pitchers and bowls, high chairs, and even an antique potty training chair. The question of the day seemed to be "can we buy that?" I could've left there with my arms full of little treasures, but I refrained. I'm satisfied with knowing that my child has some grasp on what life was like a long time ago, and old things can be made new again and loved.

Motor boat, motor boat

Motor boat, motor boat, go so slow
Motor boat, motor boat, go so fast
Motor boat, motor boat, step on the gas!

I heard this chant thirty times over breakfast this morning. My children thought it was quite appropriate to sing since we were going to the park to see hydroplaning race boats. Our lake park was hosting the Syracuse Hydrofest today. We packed a lunch, the folding chairs, and some sunscreen. It was definitely a big event, so much that it required "grass pointers" as Hannah called them, we told her they were parking attendents.

We found a spot in the shade and waited for the show. We weren't even close to where the boats were starting and it felt like we were at the races with all the noise. The boats were loaded into the water with a crane and then warmed up around the course. I thought this was very cool. My husband thought this was very cool. The kids though, were slightly more interested in sliced nectarines and the swings at the playground. Oh well, we did have fun, and even though we don't have any pictures, we'll remember it for awhile.