Bits of Summer

I love the everyday feel of summertime around here. The kids are wearing me out, but in a good way.

Dexter Dexter Dexter these days. Everyone who says two is the hardest age lies. Big fat lies. He is so cute that I just want to squeeze him and never let go. At the same time I also want to lock myself in my bedroom and hide from him. Don't let this picture deceive you, this child never wears pants. Shirts are fine, but underwear and pants, forget it. The messes he makes are horrific, and I swear he is the worst cleaner I have ever met. But he melts me in a way that none of the others do. 

 There is a new local ice cream shop that is on the way to the pool. Coincidence?

 Little Emmy Lu ends up catching a nap whenever she can.

Weekend Trip to Richmond

Nate and I constantly talk about taking more weekend trips, but it doesn't happen often. We decided a week ago to spend the 4th of July in Richmond. It was a lot of fun, and I was surprised by how many things we found to do there. Nate was off work on Friday so we woke up early. We drove straight to Pony Pasture Park (well not straight there thanks to our GPS). The park is situated on the James River. It is pretty shallow and there are rocks peppered across the river. We packed our lunch and ate on the rocks. 

 Piper and Dexter stayed in this spot most of the day and collected rocks and shells.

 My little adventurer swam around and discovered all kinds of boulders and under water treats.

 His goal was to swim through as many rapids as he could.

 Emmy Ly got a little tired of being on the rocks so Nate found a little place for her to splash around.

On Saturday we went to Belle Isle and swam around there as well. It was a great mini vacation as the kids called it.

Botanical Gardens

We recently got a membership to the botanical gardens. It is a beautiful place to visit, and there is a lot for all of us to do. Nate's parents came to visit last weekend, and we went to the gardens for the day. 

 Emmy appreciated the fact that we remembered the stroller this time, but needed frequent breaks so she could crawl around.

 These two get along pretty well these days and it's a lot of fun to watch.

 There is a huge children's section in the garden. There are a lot of fountains and water areas for the kids to play in.

 Dex spent most of his time sitting on this frog. He is all about consistency these days.

 Little Loopers loved being in the water.

 Asher of course, takes every opportunity he can to climb something.

 I think we will have a lot of fun exploring this place.

Conflict Resolution

Apparently, there have been quite a few issues that have arisen amongst the stuffed animal community in our home. We decided to sit them all down today and create an environment where they could talk about their feelings. Overall I feel like it was a success. Elmo felt very sad about missing Piper's birthday party. Twilight Sparkle couldn't find her shoes (we did locate them thankfully). Two of the snowmen have been fighting with each other for quite a while and we all decided it will be for the best if they sleep in different rooms. Piper's new pink fish was extremely angry that she has been here for three days and has yet to acquire a name. Hopefully that will be resolved shortly. The kids were great facilitators and I think monthly meetings will be necessary. 

Sweet Summertime

This is our first week of summer and the kids have jumped right into busy activities. Asher is going to basketball camp, and Piper has kindercamp at her new school. They are both having a lot of fun, and I am trying to make sure I keep all their drop off and pickup times straight. I haven't forgotten anyone yet (although there were a few close calls). 

Emmy Lu is quickly realizing that as the youngest of four her whole life will be on the go. She has probably had about six naps in her crib since she was born. Most of her sleeping occurs in the car. She doesn't seem to mind. When she is at home she crawls all over the place and is pulling herself up. 

 My silly little guy is constantly making me laugh. He goes to camp next week and reminds me about every five minutes. He is so ready to do everything Asher and Piper do. 

 I gave up trying to get this one to wear anything appropriate. She decided that she needed a winter hat and boots to wear for a water fight with her brothers.

Piper Swiper is 5

Piper,

  You are five today. Five. You have such a big personality, sometimes it's hard to believe you haven't been around for longer. There is such a mixture of sweetness and feistiness all rolled into you. I love witnessing how kind you are to me, to Emmy and your brothers, and to your friends. You were so convinced you were going to get a sister, and you were right. Watching you with her breaks my heart every day. Your love for her is amazing to watch. 

You are certainly the peacemaker in the family. This year has been a huge turning point in your relationship with Asher. You guys play so well together and I'm so thankful you have him for your big brother. Dexter adores you and mimics your actions everyday. I hope you continue to be a good example to him. 

There is nothing you love more than having friends to play with. I get such a kick out of watching you with them. You finished preschool last month. I'm so glad it was a good experience for you. I have a feeling you are going to rock Kindergarten. 

My little girly girl I can't put into words how much I love you. You delight me countless times a day. It is an honor to be your mom.

My Little Pony Party

Piper's current obsession is My Little Pony. It was an obvious choice what her birthday party theme would be. I have a lot of fun planning parties, and this one was especially great. I have never met a child who likes birthdays as much as Piper. She was so excited for her party and was very appreciative for all the work we put into it. 

For any of your who aren't familiar with the current series, there are a lot of rainbows involved. I made a rainbow cake out of cupcakes and Piper loved it.

 We also had rainbow fruit kabobs. There is something very appealing about eating any food on a stick.

 My kids love having bounce houses at their parties. Dexter was very afraid of it this time and spent most of the time in the house.

 We had a few games to play. One of them was pin the tail on the pony. I'm glad I had extra tails since Emmy Lu tried to eat them earlier in the day.

 We also had a cutie mark (tattoo) station and nail painting. My friend Ashley ran that like a pro.

 A Niphakis party wouldn't be complete without a pinata.

 The kids actually broke it down, so Nate had to rip all the candy out of it.

 This was the loudest rendition of Happy Birthday ever. EVER.

Piper had so much fun celebrating with her friends. I'm so glad we got to do this for her.