Crew Cuts Vol. 9

Here are some recent shots from around Homebase!

Shmook needed some reflection time so he decided to sit himself under a tree and have a good look at the grass.  He sat like that for a good 10 minutes!  

Miss Thang and The Dude.  These two punks go off to kindergarten in less than 4 months...not that I am counting. :(

The Dude hanging (literally) out at big Rock.

Peanut sporting a cute grin in the backyard! 

Can you believe that this little man up and turned ONE?!  The nerve!  Doesn't he know that he is supposed to stay a baby?  Happy Birthday Swanny Jr.

I love this pic because Shmook looks so cute in his bucket hat!

The boys showing off their muscles!  

I LOVE this pic because the kids all sat down and were visiting without any prompting from Ms. Francis or myself.  Its like they all decided that they needed a few minutes to cool off and chill out (it didn't last long). :)

Miss. Thang.  The girl has never met a camera she didn't like.  She actually said to me "Ms. Rikki, I am waiting for you to take my picture please!".  Such a little diva!

Sissy reaching for the sky!  
 Lil' Rick doing his best "cheese" imitation.  THEE CUTEST THING!
The Dude and HP loving it up.  
Swanny Jr eating his 1st Birthday cookie!

Crew Cuts Vol. 8

A little sampling of some pictures that I had lying around Homebase.  There is NEVER a dull moment in my house (and that's the way I like it).

Little Peanut.  I guess she's not too little, but she isn't ditching me for Kindergarden just yet.  I am happy that I get to watch her grow for another year.  She is a little ray of sunshine.

The Dude (who is ditching me for Kindergarden...not that I am bitter or anything).  Here he is in all his big boy glory, chillin' under a cot-tent that the kids made.  Damn he is cute.

I LOVE, LOVE this picture.  Here is our little half-British darling Shmook in his "galoshes" (that's how his mum said it).  Isn't he priceless!

HP getting good and dirty.  Little Rick is watching on as if to say "I can't believe you are doing that!".
Swanny Jr. loves the swing!
Little Rick is is such a ham.  I lurve this kid.

Crew Cuts Vol. 9

Dunky-doo, debunking the myth that only girls like to play princess.  

Swanny Jr. as his alter ego Patricia Louisa.  He is such a good sport!

Teensy is starting to break out of her shell.  She LOVED the sidewalk chalk!
The entire crew out enjoying the warm weather!
The big kids showing off their green.
Swanny would not smile at me, no matter how many ridiculous faces and sounds I made!  He could give HP a run for her money in a poker face contest!

Shmook showing off his modelling skills!  What a little charmer!

Crew Cuts Vol. 8

Here are some tidbits from the past few weeks...

HP and Peanut.  Although they prefer the princess gear, if none is available, they will gladly dress up as superhero's!

Dunky-Doo making one of his leave-me-alone-Ms-Rikki faces!  

Here is one of our new additions.  Her name is Teensy and I think she is just the sweetest thing!  She only comes a few days a week but is adjusting nicely.  

Yes.  This is what the playroom looks like in the middle of a normal day.  Luckily, the kids are as good at cleaning up as they are at making a mess. ;)

Sissy is almost big enough to fit in to the princess dresses.  Until then the tu-tu and some princess shoes will have to do.  She looks happy enough!

Peanut, Dunky-Doo and HP chowing down at our Valentines party.

The party in full swing.  Don't you just love our banner? :)

HP and The Dude at nap time.  They have been moving their cots side-by-side when they nap.  A couple of times I have caught them holding hands while they are sawing logs.  I think it is pretty cute that they obviously love each other so much. 

Snowman Carnage

I promised you all the video that accompanies the post from earlier today.  

I want to just throw out there, that I do not encourage violence among the children.  We do a lot of hugging and kissing and make every effort to play nicely together.  

But every once in a while, when I am busy fiddling with my camera, mayhem rears its little head.  So turn up the volume on your computer and enjoy 30 seconds of crazy...

Snowy Big Rock

We got a little snow this weekend and since it was mild enough outside this morning, the bigger kids and I decided to venture to Big Rock.  It was Dunk's first time and all of the other kids acted like expert tour guides.  We had a blast making a snowman and having snowball fights!  Here are some pics from our winter fun...

OT- HP went to the eye doctor last Monday.  Her alignment is looking great unfortunately her vision in her right eye is getting worse.  We have to patch her left eye 6 hours a day for the next two months.  She is being a trooper about the whole thing.  I found these fun felt patches on the Internet and they are great.  She especially likes the "fairy" one!

The Dude.  I registered him for kindergarten yesterday. *sniff*  I am enjoying every day with him knowing he will be starting a new chapter of his little life soon.  It is SO bitter sweet.

Here is The Crew with the snowman that we built.  It was made entirely from stuff we found around big rock.  It took about 20 minutes to build.  Tomorrow I will post a video of the kids demolishing the snowman in 20 seconds.  It was pure carnage.

Dunk finally figured out how to climb up big rock only to catapult himself off a few seconds later!

All of the kids (including The Dude here) loved gobbling up the snow.  I made sure they ate only the nice white stuff! ;)

Peanut was cracking up as she chucked snowballs at the other kids sitting on the rock!  

Miss. Thang showing off her pine cones.  Her face is total rock-and-roll!

Crew Cuts Vol. 7

Since my posts have been sporadic (to say the least) I am trying to play catch-up.  Here are some recent shots taken around home base.

One of our favorite games to play is the "running game" (I know, really original name for it!).  The kids line up along the wall and (after all toys are cleared out of the way) I have them run to the other end of the playroom.  The only thing that makes this game interesting (at least in my eyes) is that each time, I tell the kids to run a certain way (on their tiptoes, with their arms out like an airplane, hopping like a bunny, etc.).  This shot, is blurry because their instructions were to run CRAZY!  Gotta love Sissy out in front not knowing what the heck is going on! :D

HP, looking more four than three.

The group reading about Arthur and his bad manners.  They sit really well for story time!

Swanny Jr.  Getting so big!

We used paper to make a "castle" in the playroom.  

Well hello there Shmook.  Don't you have two of the biggest blue eyes.  
Dunk, a before and after school new addition!  He is quiet but has a big heart!

The Dude (Mom, he is still wearing his "golden medal" he got from Hemmy at Christmas).  We made beaded bracelets this day.  

Swanny Jr after I played "beauty shop" with him!  I couldn't help myself.  He looks so hard core! :)