Child Labor Laws?

Kate was whining, "I'm bored" so I handed her a squirt bottle and cloth. She typically loves helping and after a two foot section of base board was clean, she was no longer bored. Ty couldn't resist the bottle. Since it is Shaklee and I don't have to worry about chemicals, I let him explore along side me as I began the tedious process of cleaning baseboards, blinds and windows. Good grief that is a lot of work! I would like to thank Pam and Kenny for their spotless baseboards. As a result of our visit last week, I now see all dirt in my house that I was successfully ignoring until visiting their perfect home! Love you guys!

Forward roll?

Ty loves trying forward rolls. He stands in this position until one of his sisters gives him a boost over!

Ty's new ride

Grandma Carol and Grandpa Dale gave Ty this really great wagon for his birthday. Just after assembly, Ty made a hole in the drywall in our dining room by pushing the wagon through it....nice. So, the wagon is outside and ready for lots of adventures and we have one more drywall repair to tackle this fall! He's pushing Kate in the wagon and pulling it to back it up....so strong and determined!

Celebrating Makenna

Look who's 10 years old! We had a birthday celebration in Ohio last weekend but had to mark today in a special way. She chose chocolate chip cookies and the movie Ramona and Beezus. The movie was adorable and Makenna loved seeing her favorite pop star, Selena Gomez on the big screen. We listened to Selena's music on her new iPod during the drive. Makenna used all her birthday money and some extra cash from Grandma Pattie to get the one and only thing she asked for this year. Happy birthday to a very sweet girl. We love you!

"Big Blue" Tractor

The girls have fond memories of Grandpa Dale's farm and especially riding/driving his tractors. "Big Blue" is their favorite so I thought we'd create a photo opportunity while we were in town with Lizzie and get some shots. In Jessica's words, "no tears, so it was successful"!

Ohio Trip

"Anything you can do, I can do better"

After watching the other kids jump in, swim to the ladder and jump in again, Ty had to try it too. He did this over and over. I am convinced he would have just jumped in without someone there to catch him! Not much gets by this baby. The kids played a game of chase around the circle Mom's house layout naturally provides and Ty jumped right in. He was lapped repeatedly but kept playing, clearly proud to be a part of something with the big kids.

It's a JOB!

Greg and I made the decision that it is time for me to pick up a part time job to help meet our growing expenses. School fees of $500 (insane I know!) for ONE kid in public school and the needs of our home school helped seal the deal....it's always something.  I applied at Target and Meijer since those are the places I tend to shop so I can multitask (get what I need while I am there with a discount)....anyway, I interviewed with Target yesterday and they offered me a job that is going to work out better for me than I dreamed possible in retail. They need a person who is willing to come in at 5:45am and work a 6 hour shift Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays pulling clothes off the truck and putting them on the sales floor. It seems they need a detail oriented perfectionist (hmm)! That schedule will not take away from my family time or prevent me from meeting their needs. It is perfect. God given. I am grateful. They asked the best question in the first of two interviews. "Describe a time you had to multi-task, who was involved and what was the out come?". I simply replied, "I have five kids". The interviewer responded, "enough said"! I laughed and elaborated that sitting in that chair talking with her was the first time I could remember in a long time that I wasn't multi-tasking and feel free to take a very long time!

Physicals

Kate had her 5 year physical today. She was a trooper, although not impressed with her vaccines. Can't blame a girl for a few tears on that one. She had her eyes, ears and vitals checked. No issues there. Her height and weight confirmed she's a peanut! 42 1/4 inches tall (40%) and weighs 37 1/4 lbs. (30%). Dr. Rezaei says she looks great. She was able to tell her where she lives, her phone number, draw some shapes and her full name. The only issue I took to the appointment was her speech. She uses "t" sounds for "k" sounds. I am just going to keep correcting that when I hear it, as Dr. Rezaei is sure it is something she'll out grow on her own.

Ty went from a cupcake yesterday to a blood test today. Let's just say he isn't as happy with Dr. Rezaei as I am! His hemoglobin was a VERY strong 12 today! Reassuring to see it in print. He is still a big guy and maintaining his 90% in height at 30 3/4 inches and his 50% in weight at 22lbs 9 1/2 ounces. His milestones are "advanced" since he's walking, climbing and jabbering with the use of some real words. We discussed his need to be in the "no-no's" constantly. I was once again told that "he's a boy" and just keep correcting. He appears to have a milk intolerance so we are moving from whole milk to soy. Kate has almost completely outgrown her intolerance to milk, so hopefully Ty will also. When Kate was 12 months, we had to put her on soy formula but given Ty's healthy size, Silk milk will suffice. The budget is happy to hear that news!

He fell asleep mid bite......

Now that is a sleepy baby!

Erin

Erin's entering her sophomore year in less than a month....time flies. Indiana law changed so she is a full year + from getting her driver's license which suits us just fine. The only perk we see to allowing her behind the wheel is the ability to let her drive herself to work and youth group.....she's almost always at one of those locations! She is still silly, playful, smart, talented and a lot of fun to be around. She has a great time working with the kids at the gym. Kelly, her boss is impressed and had Erin take on four of her own 3-5 year old classes and assist in two others for the summer session. She's been asked to take on more this fall but is keeping it light since she'll not likely have a study hall first semester to keep up with her studies. Brad, the boyfriend has been around for about 7 months now...only 4 of those have they been "dating". He seems like a good kid. They are both pretty level headed and have high expectations for themselves. He has two older sisters who've somewhat prepared him to be around our family! Greg's enjoyed the football and hunting discussions....

Happy 1st Birthday Baby Ty!

Already?

Baby Ty, I cannot believe you are already a year old. Where did the year go? I know we were busy driving  to and from the hospital for months, praying over your health and losing sleep over feeding you properly. How on earth did we get through some of those moments without losing our minds? Funny, months after you were perfectly healed and no longer seeing the hematologist,  we worried we should have your hemoglobin checked when you were sick for a few days. You’ve rocked us buddy. And all the while, you smiled and were extra sweet. How can somebody so helpless and precious suddenly think he can feed himself and walk? You’ve grown so fast! We were dealing with a sickly underweight baby for months and then suddenly you were six months old wearing twelve month clothing! It seemed as though you changed over night. Some nights, you did. Being the fifth baby we were able to bring home, you would think everything would just flow but God changed the rules when he chose to send us you! You are the busiest Baughman baby although I think your cousin Lizzie is a good rival to the official title! As I review your first year in my mind, I see so many smiling snapshots, hear lots of jabbering, smell your freshly washed hair, and can feel you snuggle into my chest. There is no better feeling. I love watching your chubby little legs walking through the house with your special burp cloth in one hand. You love the ones with tags the most. I suppose I treasure the baby days that much more since I can look at your sisters and see just how quickly those moments disappear. As we celebrate your first year, I see how determined you are to grow up. You find bodily functions hilarious. Climbing is something you are convinced you need to do. I love it when you take me into the kitchen and point to the coffee pot repeating “Dad” over and over as if to ask if we can get him up yet. Playtime with Daddy is most certainly a high light in your day. It just shows me how quickly you will be too big to let me hold you and love on you. I adore you little man. I am enjoying watching you grow.  Happy birthday buddy. I love you.

16 years and counting......

Today, Greg and I are celebrating sixteen years of chaos marital bliss. Time flies. In some ways it simply doesn't seem possible and in other respects, we feel as though we've lived twice that many years together. A lot of life has happened and we are incredibly blessed. Happy Anniversary Honey. I love you! Sad truth...in the last four years, we've had exactly three photos taken together and one of them includes Ty! Might be time for a real photo session?

Latest attraction

Ty's latest fascination is the trash can....all trash cans. We've found all kinds of interesting things in them. This is how I found his little monkey toy last night. Inside was one paci and a burp cloth. Since those are treasured items, I assume he has no idea that things that go in the receptacles are intended to disappear. I really don't want to think about all we've likely lost thus far but we are all on notice to pay attention to the trash when we throw something away.

Who doesn't love a pasta sauce covered baby?

Because they are so sweet when they are asleep!

When Kate was a baby we made up a lullaby for her that we sang regularly. We've adapted it for Ty too.


"I'm rocking this baby, rocking this baby. Because she is so sweet, when she is asleep. That's why I'm rocking this baby."

I am just captivated by my sleeping babies....I can watch them all night.

Mommy and Ty

Up and Running

This video was taken a week ago but I have just figured out how to post it....he's literally running and kicking balls now.

Check her out!

When I asked Kate how she learned to hula hoop, she said she asked Jesus to help her.