King of the World

Finn's the king of the world! (King of Bull Shoals Lake anyway.)

Can we get an 8th day, please?

I'll even settle for a 25th hour.

There. Are. Not. Enough. Hours. In. The. Day.

Or days in the week. Or weeks in the month...

You catch my drift.

Life is crazy-busy these days, and of course, it doesn't help that this is our busiest season of the year. We're enjoying our Wednesdays off with the kiddos. We've been taking them swimming and tubing! One morning we boated up to another marina for breakfast. We love our Just Jackie's, but a little variety is NICE. An evening trip to 178 Club is in my and Matt's (near) future, I assure you. Yesterday I told Lola that Mommy and  Daddy need a "date night." And she said, "NO!" Then I told her she and Finn could eat dinner at Pop and Gigi's and maybe even take baths there, and then we'd come get them before bedtime. She came around to the idea and proceeded to tell Pop and Gigi alllll about Mommy and Daddy's date night plans. :)

The kid is hilarious. The other morning she said: "I want a baby sister Mommy, can you born another one?"

I choked on my morning tea.

Emily, our summer babysitter, went to Nashville for a week on a school trip. Last week was her first week back, and she and Lola were sitting in the kitchen eating breakfast when I heard Lola say: "So, Emily, how was your trip?" Just all grown up like.

Finn babbles nonstop. Like his sister, he is rarely quiet (unless he's sleeping). He understands everything we say to him, but he speaks back to us in "Finn language." (We're learning it.) His facial expressions are priceless, and he is such a sweet cuddly bug.

They play well together 85 percent of the time. Sometimes they even occupy themselves for a decent amount of time in one room while I am able to complete a whole task in another room! Sometimes I hear full-on laughter coming from both of them. This warms my heart. (Other times, there is screaming and crying and "He took my parrot!" or "He pinched me!" or Finn is screaming in "Finn language" at Lola because she booted him off the piano bench... Sigh.)

I am really enjoying this summer. I love what I do, and I can't imagine doing anything else (work, I mean), but I'm not gonna lie. It's a nonstop stress-inducing juggling act trying to balance running a busy seasonal business with taking care of my family/home (and myself). We're learning as we go and managing (I think). There are still plenty of days when I don't feel like I am doing a good job at any of it, but that's normal, right? Right?! (This is where the 25th hour would come in handy.) I don't want to wish away these long days and warm nights, but I am already longing for football season and pumpkin picking... And blogging a lil bit more. Til then.

Hey, daddy-o!

Happy Father's Day to my dad (aka "Pop" or "Cap'n")...

and to Matt's dad (aka "Papa Dan")...

 and to Lola and Finn's daddy,

who is always willing to go "one more time, daddy!"

We love you!

Jabet, Lola & Finn

We're still here!

Summer at PCM officially kicked off Memorial weekend. We hosted our first ever 5K and Fun Run/Walk, and it was pretty great. We had a wonderful turnout, perfect weather... and it all ran pretty smoothly (if I do say so myself). Already looking forward to next year! The holiday weekend in general was busy, the weather cooperated, and folks were happy. We have a new summer babysitter, Miss Emily, who comes to the house to stay with the kiddos. The kids like her, and I think she is getting into her groove with our family. So much to share and so little time. So, for now, enjoy the photos!

Finn's 18-month checkup was last week. He had two shots and a finger stick. He did N O T like any of it one little bit. But, he's doing well. 33 inches and 26 pounds. 90th in height and 50th in weight.

After the checkup, we went to the zoo!

Feeding the (smelly) goats was one of the highlights for these two.

Gainesville hosted its first ever "rainbow run" last weekend. Our St. Louis cousins were in town, so Megan and I took all the kiddos while Matt and Patrick were supposed to be fishing. Matt got really sick over the weekend and pretty much stayed in bed while the rest of us partied. He's feeling much better today, thank goodness. We took Regan with us, too, so her mama and daddy could spend some time unpacking their new house!

This stuff doesn't wash off that easily, btw...

These two are pretty tight. It's so fun to watch them grow together and become close. I just hope it lasts! 

Summertime = popsicles!

A happy Mother's Day it was

I enjoyed these messages in my inbox from 

babycenter.com

and

bodenusa.com 

I didn't cook all day, which I usually love to do.

But really, it was a nice break.

Breakfast at Jackie's, then...

Dinner at the Blackburns'. 

(I did make a strawberry cream pie, but that was pretty effortless.)

We went for a Mama's Day boat ride:

And even though we didn't get to see either one of them on Sunday...

We are thankful for the two mums who made "us" possible.

Gigi:

and Nana:

Photo update: Easter and springtime fun!

A quick update (mostly pictures) from Easter and the warm spring days (finally!) we have been enjoying around here.

 

We hid and hunted the same eggs over and over on Easter Sunday. The kids played in the sprinkler - hence the wet hair (and clothes) here.

The weekend before Easter we went to a big Easter egg hunt at Cooper Park in Mtn. Home with Jessica and Regan. There were hundreds of kids! It was crazy but fun.

First sleepover (gasp!)

Last Friday Lola had her first sleepover (we called it a "slumber party" back in my day). Regan spent the night with us. Let me just say there was a whole lot of giggling and squealing.

Finn and I picked the girls up from school on Friday.

We ordered pizza from Jackie's, then the girls took a bubble bath.

We made homemade popcorn, and I polished their nails.

We made a pallet in the living room floor. They started to watch Mary Poppins then decided they'd rather watch Frosty the Snowman, which we still have on our DVR from Christmas. (The below picture was actually taken Saturday morning - Regan woke up at 5:30, and the first thing she said was: "Can I put my princess dress on?") They were still pretty excited at bedtime, so they had a hard time falling asleep. I laid down with them, and they were asleep within 5 minutes. Regan slept great. Lola - not so much. But that is a story for another day. The girls had a blast, and I think Regan's mom and dad enjoyed a much-needed night to themselves. :)

In other news, Finn was a bit under the weather all last weekend. I'm pretty sure it's all related to his teeth. He usually goes down for naps in his crib without a fuss. But he wanted to be held and rocked instead. It's hard to take time for that when there is another little one (Lola) vying for my attention, but I try to remind myself that someday he'll be too big to rock. So, I'll take it for now.