A Bicycle Built For Two

Kaity and Joe were playing outside today when through the open window I heard Daddy's car. Then I heard Kaity proclaim -- "The time for dinner draws closer!"

During dinner, the kids drained their cups and I told Kait to go get the milk. Joe said, "I want some more milk as well!"

And now I'll leave you with some pictures Daddy took last night of the kids riding their bikes in the driveway.

Another Nephew!

Baxter Robert Finn arrived last night at 11:11. He's 8 pounds, 5 ounces, 21 inches long. For those of you who don't know, Baxter is the son of my best-friend-since-fourth-grade, Leah Finn (and her distinguished husband, Nathan).

Just an Ordinary Day

I really do love ordinary days. I like going places and doing special things, but overall, I love being at home and doing all of those everyday things that make up our lives as a family. I try to keep my camera handy so that when wonderful, ordinary things happen I can snap a picture.

This is Joe in a "car" that he and Kaity designed. Well, basically Kaity was design and management while Joe was construction. The basket is the trunk, and Joe is holding the "steering wheel", a clothes hanger.


Sunday isn't really an "everyday", but we love the traditions and ceremony of the day. A day set apart to worship our Father in His house, to sing praise and worship through music, to hear our pastor challenge and encourage us with a message from God, to fellowship with other believers, to spend time together as a family ... Sunday is my favorite day of the week! These are pictures of the kids on Sunday morning 30 seconds after I brushed their hair and put the finishing touches on them. If I had waited a full minute to capture this, Joe's shirt would be untucked and Kaity's hair would be a mess.



And just last night, Jeff and I sent the kids upstairs after baths and pajamas so that they could play for a few minutes before bedtime. Ten, fifteen minutes later I looked at Jeff and said, "They're awfully quiet up there ..." Immediately, he said, "I'm going to check on them." You see, when you're a seasoned parent you know that silence is not always golden. Sometimes silence means your bathtub just got painted blue.

But in this case it was sweet ... Kaity was reading a story to Joe and he fell asleep in the middle! Adorable, huh?


Get this ... while I was typing up this post, Jeff came home and brought me flowers!


I thought that was really funny, so the kids then dressed up as Kaity and me.

Joseph's Alphabet

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Kaitlyn G. Pittard, Attorney-at-Law

My mom called the house the other night and typically, Kaity answered the phone. (She's my little secretary, weeding out the solicitors. She's perfected the eye roll and hanging up the phone while saying disdainfully, "Computer solicitor!") So anyway, mom and Kaity start talking about school and Kaity tells Grammie that she's learning division. It's obvious to mom that she's not happy about it.

Grammie: "Division is important in life. You use it for a lot of things! (She's being happy and encouraging and Kaity is not having any of it.) For example, let's say you had three friends over and you wanted to share a bag of M&M's with them. You'd need to divide them equally."

Kaity, completely missing the point: "Mommy would never let me have three friends over. She's never let me have more than two friends."

Grammie, trying a new tactic: "Well, let's say that you went to the grocery store and Mommy let you get a dozen doughnuts to have for breakfast. How would you divide them up between you and Joe?"

Kaity, perhaps deliberately missing the point to avoid division: "Mommy would never let us have more than one doughnut."

Grammie gave up after that.

It's A Boy!

Virginia and Stuart are the proud parents of a new little boy. His name is McKinney Shervette Ralston, and he was born this morning at 10:54. He's no bigger than a minute at 6 pounds 11 ounces and 18 inches long.

Hopefully, I'll have pictures for you before too long!

Coming Soon, To A Crib Near You!

Nothing much exciting has been going on, but Grammie is having grandbaby withdrawal so here's a picture!

Of course, her withdrawal will be relieved even more when Stuart and Virginia's baby is born sometime today! I'll update again when that happens. :)

When I Was Your Age ...

I am a firm believer in kids doing chores. I figure if I had to suffer when I was child, then mine will, too! Actually, I have real reasons for them helping out around the house, none of which have to do with punishment. But, the point of this post is that Joe especially, is hilarious when it comes to his WAT -- work avoidance technique. His is a three-pronged approach -- Physical Ailments, Charm, and DOT (Doing Other Things). He varies his approach in the variety of things he says/does, and also in the order in which he takes them.

Physical Ailments: (These are actual quotes!)

I can't stand up anymore! Followed/preceded by -- My legs are hurting!
The bottom of my knees are tired.
My tummy is hurting.
My mouth is hurting ... I need a drink of ice water.
It's too heavy! (While carrying a plastic cup)

Charm:

"I love you, mommy!"
A wink and a smile ...
"I want to kiss you!"
"I was just coming to give you a hug!"
The how-could-you-make-someone-this-cute-do-hard-labor look that you just have to see to believe.

D.O.T.

Letting Daisy outside
Feeding the cats
Checking to see what the rest of the family is doing
Going to put something else away (stray sock, toy, cereal box from breakfast etc.)
"I need to go potty!"

And of course, the classic blame of the sibling. "Kaity didn't put her dishes away!" or "But Kaity is distracting me!"