Dentista.

We drove down to the boarder last month (actually Yuma, AZ), for a little family fun. It was a great time with just the four of us. We hung out in the hotel, played in the Colorado River, and I got some dental work done on the side. Good times were had by all!

No Moms Allowed.

Our "girls night" turned into male bonding for the guys. They all got together and entertained the kiddos. It is nice to know that they are all in good hands while the mommas are away!

Happy Father's Day!

To Daddy-boy,

These smiles on our faces

That twinkle in our eyes
The tiny little freckles
And even our thick thighs,

The way we look, the things we like
Almost everything we do
You have a way of making things great
Just by being you.

A little boy who loves baseball
And watching sports on TV
Being Peter Pan & Captain Hook
I love when you play with me.

A girl with a ghetto booty
Kissing "the prince" while asleep
Loves cuddles and back scratches
When she is sad, tired, and weeps.

For all the Superman tucks at night
The piggy-back rids to bed,
Saying "delicious" in our funny way
And taking airplane bites when fed.

We love you so much Daddy
In ways we cannot show
Our faces light up when we see you
We hope that helps you know.

You are a great example
Of being helpful, honest, and kind,
We want to be just like you
There is no doubt in our mind.

To the greatest guy in town
Have a Happy Father's Day,
We are so glad you're our Daddy
We love you in every way!

love,
Charlie-boy & June-bug

Tantrums.

I think I might have to rank June-bug #1 at throwing the best tantrums ever! It can be annoying but for some reason it is so hilarious many times. Brace yourself for:

June Koch's Top 3 Tantrums.

1. The poop protest. We were walking out the door to go to church (which is a process in and of itself: Adam leaves early for meetings, I get kids ready, get self ready, get snacks, activities to keep kids reverent, etc.) when June says "I have to go poop!" Fine, I thought, now she won't have to go while we are at church. So she finished up, I wiped her, then the tantrum began. It went something like this: kicking, screaming, rolling on the bathroom floor, yelling repeatedly: "I wanna wipe my poops!" Windows were open, neighbors were home. I put her skirt back on, carried her to the car and she continued to scream "I wanna wipe my poops!" I am such a mean mom for not letting my two year old wipe herself. Oh wait, I tried that once and decided never again!
   
2. Homeless man steals donuts. I went to the drive-thru pharmacy to pick up a prescription for the kids. As I was waiting for the pharmacist to hand over the meds this homeless man walked up between the wall of the drive-thru and my car, totally scaring me. He asked for money, I had none. So I handed him some left-over donuts we had in the car from Charlie's birthday that morning. June flipped! As the man walked away June started thrashing in her car seat "NOoooooo! MY DONUTS! DON'T TAKE MY DONUTS!" I quickly rolled up the windows, laughing inside. Sorry June-bug, I don't expect you to "get it" but I promise you that was the right thing to do.
3. Naked in Target. While shopping at Target June grabbed a bag of chips. I told her to put them back... she refused so I put them back for her. Cue tantrum. She was so angry. As she stood there in the back of the shopping cart she was so filled with anger that she did not know what to do with herself. She decided to take her shoes off and chuck them across the store. I know she just wanted a reaction from me so I ignored it and kept walking. I felt so calm, like: oh well, there go your shoes! June got really ticked because I kept ignoring her tantrum so she decided to rip off her skirt and undies... trying to get naked in Target. She out-smarted me... I reacted. That little rascal.

Memorial Day Track Meet & Picnic.

Charlie doing the long jump.

June helping Daddy and being the cheerleader.

Charlie racing. This picture is deceiving because seconds before it was taken Char was crying because he did not want to loose the race and seconds after it was taken he cried because he was not the winner! Valiant effort though. Life is not about whether you win or loose, it's how you run the race, right?!

Pony rides at the park.

We were happy to have the Menlove's join us for the day.

Everyone rode the ponies over and over... except Junie that is. She is not much of a pony lover!

Pretend City.

Charlie loves to play dress-up (not the princess type), the pirate, Buzz-Lightyear, firefighter type. He loves to imagine he is all sorts of characters, so what better way to spend his 4th birthday than by going to Pretend City. He had a great time playing with all his cousins on his special day.

Our favorite 4-year-old.

I cannot believe my guy is 4 already. Does a smile get any cuter than this? I love how easy to please Charlie is, so happy about life! We spent his birthday at Pretend City with his cousins and then topped it off with McDonald's nuggets for dinner and ice cream for dessert. He had a great day.

Charlie has been wanting to turn 4 ever since he turned 3!! When we ask him to have 3 more bites of dinner he asks if he could have 4. When we tell him to sit in time-out for 3 minutes he wants 4. He calls the freeway the "fourway." He wants so badly to be big. I got him a pair of shoes that were way too big but he insisted that they fit. He told me that he grew from taking a nap and now his "fast shoes" would fit him.

I love the cuddle moments with Charlie, I often tell him "You are my favorite guy." Then he looks at me with a huge grin; it never gets old. One time, after telling him he was my favorite guy I asked him, "Who's your favorite mommy?" to which he replied "Daddy!" :)

Charlie is one of the happiest kids I know. Everything is his favorite. If I give him a blue spoon with his cereal he thanks me because blue is his favorite color. If I give him an orange fork with dinner he thanks me because orange is his favorite color. Whatever cartoon he watches, shirt he wears, sport he plays... they are all his favorites. Life is good for our Charlie boy and he is definitely our favorite 4 year old!

(4 year old stats: Charlie is 42 inches tall (95%) and weighs 41 pounds (75%). The doctor predicted that he will be 6'2" as an adult. It will be fun to look back at this blog and see if he ends up being right.)

Male bonding.

Charlie adores his daddy-boy and they loved hanging together at the father/son camp-out. I think the night filled with sleeping in tents, roasting hot-dogs, and hangin' with the boys was a success. Cheers to fathers and their sons, too cute!

Can you feel the love?

Trained.

This girl is something else! The week after she turned 2 we went to visit a friend whose daughter was potty trained. While we were all hanging out June disappeared. We found her on the little potty seat with her pants down and diaper ripped off. Cute, I thought, but she's not ready. Well, the next morning this chick decided to unzip her footed pajamas, take off her poopy diaper and climb onto the toilet again. I went out and bought some undies for her that day! I still thought she just liked the idea of taking her diaper off and getting a treat, not that she could grasp the concept of actually being potty trained. She proved me wrong! Her determination amazes me. She has only had 2 or 3 accidents, always tells me when she needs to go, and even stays dry throughout the night. I never thought potty training could be so fun and effortless. Thanks June-bug!