Under da Sea!

"Dahling it's hottah under da watah!"

Well, contrary to Sebastian's clever lyrics, it is much cooler under the water these days than on shore. We've put our aquarium membership (thanks Mom and Dad!) to good use already as a way to beat the heat and see some pretty amazing critters as well.

For our first trip, the kiddos and I met up with our friends Arlyn and Georgia. Arlyn and I went to college together, and it's been fun to reconnect now as marrieds with children!

Although dressed appropriately, Katie Beth wasn't much into anything but riding in the Baby Bjorn, and this was the best I could do of a picture of her and Ben together.

Ben and Georgia, however, worked the camera over big time in the underwater-tubey thing.

Checking out the fresh-water tank

"Yook Mahmmy, biiiig bish!"

Tyler got to come on our next adventure, and Ben loved watching him pet sharks and snakes.

But he wasn't about to join in..."no waay!"

marching with the penguins

sharing some laughs with big kids in the tubey-thing

finding Nemo

Look out behind you, Ben!

"We got no troubles,

life is the bubbles!

Under da Sea!"

...after which we enjoyed some yummy fish tacos! Hmm...

"Double Trouble"

That's what these two are!

Always have been!

And it was such an aptly named title of Kelley's post from our visit last week. She was sweet enough to host myself and the kiddos while we were in Birmingham for my follow-up appointment at UAB.

As you can see from the post (read it here), the boys had a great time! And Kelley was a really good sport about the mess. :) We girls had a great time too - so wonderful to spend quality time with good friends that I miss so much!

Any man can be a father...

But it takes someone special to be a dad.

Happy Father's Day to the special dads in my life!

Thank you each for the time, love and support you give our family.

We love you!

When I see you smile

(cue Bad English*)

Yeah, sometimes I wanna give up

I wanna give in,

I wanna quit the fight...

And then I see you, baby

And everything's alright,

everything's alright

When I see you smile...

I can face the world,

oh oh,

you know I can do anything

When I see you smile...

I see a ray of light,

oh oh,

I see it shining right through the rain

When I see you smile...

Oh yeah,

baby when I see you

smile

at

me...

*If you think an 80's power ballad is an overly dramatic soundtrack for recording Katie Beth's first smile, then I have not shared the all-nighter woes of the past couple of weeks. Trust me when I say that seeing this girl smile is such a ray of light!

Down by the river

One of the things we love about Chattanooga is its proximity to national forests and rivers. I mean, it's not called the Scenic City for nothing! We camped in these woods during college, got engaged in front of one of its waterfalls, took trips to the river to fly fish/read and lay out (guess who did what) in our prechildren days, and even went down in a kayak once (my first and last time!). So we've been anxious to get back and share it with Ben.

Saturday's trip did not disappoint.

Brrr! It didn't bother Ben too much, but the water was fuh-reezing.

Tyler and his mini-me

Hat - check

fishing vest - check

felt-bottomed sandals - check

net for catching fish and/or rocks- check

Let's go!

We ladies opted to nap and supervise.

Daddy the Crocodile Hunter looking for river creatures for Ben to meet

"No way!"

Fortunately there was a less-slimey method, courtesy of a cool critter magnifier holder from his cousins.

Ben stayed eyeballs-to-plastic with this thing!

This picture is for you Caleb. We can't to come back with you sometime!

Once we finally bribed Ben out of the water, we had a nice little picnic while KB snoozed.

River folk

Couldn't get Zoe or KB to cooperate, but that's to be expected.

After the boys did a little hiking/exploring, we headed back to town.
Ben headed to Dreamland in about two minutes of departure.

You've got to love a fun, fun day with the fam!

King of the (concrete) Jungle

What does the lion say, Ben?

"Roooooaaaaaarrrrrr!"

A hair-brained idea

The other day I'd stripped Ben down, you know, "neked" to play in the kiddie pool after his nap. Watching him rub his eyes to get the hair out for the millionth time, I decide this would be a great time to trim it up a bit, so that he could at least see!

He was game, as long as there was a lollipop involved, so I set out to set a record in speed and efficiency before he could squirm away or the baby wake up.

But then the lollipop got hairy, so he wiped it on his leg. I dunked it in the water (yep, the nasty stuff in the pool) and handed it back. We continued this cycle until both he and the lollipop were a hairy/sticky mess and his head looked something like this...

Tyler now calls him Llyod.

Sorry, son...it will grow! And I won't do it again, seriously.

In other household happenings (I should rename the blog!), Ben decided Katie Beth looked a little bored hanging out in his room the other day, so he generously shared some cars and books with her!

Ironically, the book in the background is called The Mine-o-saur, and it is all about learning how to share with our friends. It was a perfectly-timed delivery from the Imagination Library, as we currently try to train our own little mine-o-saur.

Ben teaching KB "thumb-sucking 101"

She wasn't a great student and surprised him with a quick jab.

So he pretended to cry.

I think she's pretending to care. She's a scrappy one!

Notice the bib? A girl can never have too many accessories! It's so cute (thanks Mom!), but it - or one like it - adorns her neck at all times as this little one is The Spit Up Queen. We're hoping it's just a phase and nothing serious like reflux...but it's a good way to ensure I make time for a daily shower and the laundry stays updated. Ugh.

"Now vhat?"

Sounds like we're raising a little Transylvanian, I know, but it's a phrase I hear a lot during the day from Ben. Probably because a lot of times our days look like this...

He's gotten pretty good at entertaining himself, although sometimes his methods are questionable...

Playing his piano along with Elmo on TV

(he's also started to enjoy picking out is own clothes...)

(why yes, those boots do go with everything, Ben!)

But he definitely enjoys the chance to get out and about!

"I doe fass!"

We've spent some time playground shopping in our area lately. Apparently, Ben is a park connoisseur and has yet to find his perfect match! But he's managed to at least have marginal fun at the ones we've discovered so far, and I think Daddy could help seal the deal once he's able to join us.

Of course he especially enjoys getting to see his friend Austin. And I enjoy getting remarkable obedience just by the mention of his name - "Ben, do you want to see Austin in three weeks? Then you have to brush your teeth." Well, maybe that's a little extreme...but it would probably still work!

Kirsten posted some cute footage of their latest playdate here - you have to see Ben breaking it down in the video, kid's got mad dance skillz. The Radnoti's have really taken care of us since we've been in Chattanooga...feeding us at least three times, not to mention Kirsten picking Ben up and taking him with them to Kids Gym so I could have a morning off during our first week here.

Ready to go!

Looks like he's heading to school more than the gym, I know. He needs some mini underarmour gear next time!

Regardless of his attire, he had a super-good time getting his jump on!

and swinging from the rafters.

Thank you Kirsten - I will pay you back this fall when your #2 arrives!

Speaking of school, Ben started a mothers' day out program yesterday at a local church. He's going twice a week, and I'm happy to get him back around kids on a regular basis. Although trying to be somewhere by 9 with two little ones has already proved challenging (especially on an empty tank of gas)!

So after a busy day of bike riding, jumping, painting, coloring, talking, talking and talking, I feel justified in answering his "now vhat?" question with a pat on the couch right next to me!

(he's also a little Boppy thief)

And, just to be thorough, here is a girl who really knows how to relax mid-day...

mid-night has been a different story this week!