July 10

Happy July 10!
We did things a bit differently this year. Instead of my setting up a tripod and using the camera's timer, I bribed my great friend Mary to take our photo!

Alright, so it's not as bad as it sounds...we were discussing the July 10 ritual* and how it would be our last photo of this crepe myrtle in this house,** and Mary offered her skills and services. Since I really like pre-sunset lighting, and that's pretty much dinner time, I wanted to feed Mary and her fam. And really, having someone else take this photo just brings this tradition full circle as I*** did not take the first one.

So we enjoyed great food and company to commemorate the final July 10 photo on Mango Street.

It's not easy to get our family in photos...Thank you, Mary! You're the best!

Enjoy some outtakes!* On July 10, 2003, when Noah was a 3 week-old itty bitty, Joanne was here visiting. Our crepe myrtle was blooming beautifully and Mom took a photo of the new Harvey fam in front of the tree. As a way to document growth and changes for posterity, I decided to take the same photo, with the same tree, on the same day. And we've done it every year since.

**The Harveys are moving! Stay tuned for deets!

***Joanne took the first photo, Mary took the last, and Linda took all the ones in between with a tripod and timer.

Fabulous Fourth!

We started the day with a 6:15 wake-up to participate in the Firecracker Four. It's a four mile fun run and two mile walk. Mike ran, I walked, and the kidlets rode in style!

Yeah, I think it's a little early to be out and about...
Go, Daddy, Go! I came in a few minutes before Mike (remember, I only walked the 2 mile course) so I had enough time to position myself to take this photo finish. Bud, I didn't have quite enough time to shower and get a beer. ;-)
Later in the day, we met with friends at Quintana.
We finished the day with a little tailgating and fireworks! I'm not sure Noah could have stretched his neck any further! He LOVED the firework show!
The bunny and Jess did, too!
Finally, the firework finale!

Shhhhhhhh!

Shit is my favorite expletive. It's such a useful little word. With many ways to use it. Most often, it's the first word I utter when I hurt myself. Like when I stub my little toe on the the corner of a chair for the third time in a day...Shit! (interjection)

Or when I'm making a grilled cheese sandwich and the phone rings, so I answer it and forget I've got buttered bread in a hot pan on the stove. And I don't remember until I smell burning bread...Shhit! (interjection, again)

Or when Ginger is running amok at two o'clock in the morning, barking at the neighbor's barking dog, and I'm chasing her down in the grass while she plays a festive game of keep away...you little shit. (noun)

Then there's the obvious verb form, mostly said to Mike when I need him to make a quick decision...shit or get off the pot. (idiom)

Sometimes I use it to describe my day...shitty (adjective)

Or to highlight a particular part of an event...when the shit hit the fan (another idiom)

And sometimes I just say it when I find something to be particularly funny or I've been duped...shit. (yet another interjection)

You get the picture.

These days it comes out more as a, "shhhhhhhh," and it ends before I get to, "it." If the, "it" makes it out, it's usually muttered so low under my breath the sound is lost, thereby losing the effect.

Before the kidlets were born, Mike and I decided we'd stop the colorful language in the home when little ones are present. We started getting into the habit the day we brought the boy home and for the most part have done a pretty good job. This doesn't mean we don't use expletives at all...we're just careful. Most of the time. Mike can still be expressivel at work. Me, not so much. So I slip up more.

Today, the bunny was outside and I heard, "shhhhhhhhh a mosquito bite me!"

I asked her to repeat what she had just said and she replied, "ouch-shhhhhhhhhhh a mosquito bite me!"

I've been busted.

Noah

...glows when he sees his birthday cake
...wears big boy underwear
...shares candy with his sister before eating his piece
...writes his name
...surfs perfect waves
...blows giant bubbles
...bites the bottom of sugar cones before eating the ice cream
...snuggles his mom every morning
...smooches his dad every evening
...makes rainbows
...devours Grandpa's barbecue chicken
...giggles when you tickle his feet

Noah turned six last weekend. We had a fun family celebration that included a trip to the beach, Bud's barbecue chicken, and triple chocolate cake with fudge buttercream!

The Harvey Boys
6 Candles!
He couldn't resist!
He savored every bite! Noah hasn't been a cake fan until recently.
He enjoyed it all over his face!
He needed a bath before presents!
Noah lit up like a Christmas tree when he saw his cake with candles!

Happy Birthday, Noah! We think you're the best and couldn't be more proud of you!

"Noah and Jordan bolding hands to each other."

Is that not the sweetest drawing ever? She did it all by herself. No help from anyone with anything. She amazes me every day.

We never know what's going to come out of her mouth.

Recently, we went out to lunch. We were having a nice family meal complete with nice family conversation:

Mike: Noah is as pretty as a girl. (think Cassius Clay)

The Bunny: (speaking in high volume) No, Daddy! Noah is not pretty like a girl! Noah is a boy! Noah has a penis! And Jordan is a girl! Jordan has a vagina! Mommy, you're a girl! Do you have a vagina?

Me: Yes.

The Bunny: Daddy's a boy! Daddy has a penis! Daddy are you wearing your penis?

I tried to keep a straight face for this. I tried really, really hard. But I couldn't hold it in and ended up laughing hysterically at the table. I couldn't stop. Sometimes I wish we had cameras rolling all the time so you all can share in our experiences.

Seriously.

I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried...

Shake the Bunny

You may remember a post where I challenged you to Name That Tune. In my haste to blog the video with tears in my eyes and a tummy sore from laughing so hard, I forgot to tell you she was singing her version of AC/DC's You Shook Me All Night Long.

She starts singing with no warning. Usually on high volume - in the car, the shower, the grocery store, the backyard, the playground. And she stops singing as suddenly as she starts. And I laugh. Every. Single. Time!

I've got another bunny rendition. She has a very literal translation of the lyrics.

Boy Stuff

Noah is done with his first year of public school! All in all, it was a pretty good year and he enjoyed it. He'll be going to summer school in a couple weeks but I'm thrilled not to have to share him with others for a while. I STILL miss him terribly when he's away at school!

He had some regressions (potty training) but he had many more progressions! We're seeing expressive communication blossom and just in the last month his pinching and self-biting have decreased tremendously! I'm hoping that the decreased pinching is a direct correlation to his increased ability to communicate his needs with words. I'm fairly certain his decreased self-biting has everything to do with his loose tooth! Scroll past the next two photos if you're squeamish at all...

Noah's tooth is super wiggly, but not quite loose enough to pull out. The night we took these photos, he held his mouth open and let me try to pull it.
This was taken right before the nightly teeth brushing so you'll see a little blood on the loose tooth and a little chicken on the neighboring tooth. :-)
For the last month, we've gone to the beach at least once a week. Sometimes twice. The last couple beach trips have had nice weather and calm seas. Unfortunately, the calm waters allow jellyfish to hang out close to shore. Noah got stung pretty badly about a week ago.
But he was such a trooper about it! He barely complained and kept wanting to go back to the water!
The very next day, the rash was SO much better. You can barely tell he got stung at all.
Yesterday, Mike took the boy to the beach (the girls stayed home) and they both got stung on the shins. The rash is much smaller than the one that wrapped around Noah's leg and he hasn't complained about it at all. Mike says the feeling is a mild burning that's slightly annoying, but not overwhelming. I'm hoping that's all that Noah feels, too.

This is one of my favorite beach photos from this year. Noah really enjoys body boarding and has learned to watch for and anticipate good waves.
And I'll leave you with a vid of the boy on a wave!

Don't Drink from the Mouths of Lions

It's been a week since the "incident" so I'm ready to write about it.

Last Tuesday, we took the kids to their dentist. They both cooperated fabulously and have perfectly healthy teeth! Yay kidlets! We celebrated with lunch and the zoo. Okay, so we would have gone to lunch and the zoo if they hadn't behaved so well, but don't tell them that, okay?

Again, FABULOUS behavior from the kidlets! They ate well, sat well, said please and thank you. At the zoo they listened, followed, held hands...model citizens, I tell ya!

And then we stopped for water.
Cute, huh? Looks harmless doesn't it? I though so, too. Until I saw the standing water surrounding the drain. Bacteria-infested, cootieful, stagnant, standing water...

Then the unthinkable happened. The girl put her fingers in the water. I gave her "that look" and sharply told her, "don't touch that water!"

So she looked right at me and stuck her fingers in her mouth. I about came unglued...

And before I could get to her, she DID IT AGAIN!

I did come unglued. "Don't touch that water! Don't put your fingers in your mouth! That is so gross! You are going to make your tummy sick! When Mommy says don't touch the water, you DON'T TOUCH THE WATER! I am not happy with you! I am very angry!"

She cried. I was fuming. I knew that her act of open defiance would cause me grief later...

This is shortly after I read her the riot act.
Daddy was much more sympathetic.
Soooooooooo, fast-forward to 1:45 a.m. I woke for my nightly trip to the potty. Mike woke because he smelled something bad...

Turns out it was Noah. He had a poop accident in his sleep. He hasn't done that in a LONG time. So Mike graciously cleaned up Noah and we all finally settled down.

I had just drifted off to sleep when I heard a little cough immediately followed by that unmistakeable sound of barf hitting the sheets. *insert big sigh here*

I stood by the bed dumfounded. I called it, but wished I hadn't been right. Again, Mike graciously started cleaning up the bed while I hosed off the girl and sat her in a warm tub.

The boys decided to sleep in the other room. The girl barfed one more time before settling down to sleep and I fell back asleep at 4:00 a.m.

Good times. I'm laughing about it now.

Not really.

Name That Tune

I have tears in my eyes and I can't stop laughing!

Last Day - Splash Day

Today was the bunny's last day of her first year of preschool. Needless to say, it's a bittersweet time. Mrs. B has been the most wonderful preschool teacher ever and I am going to miss her dearly. I know the bunny will, too. But I don't think the bunny understands that she won't be going to school on Wednesday...or Friday. And she doesn't understand that when she said goodbye to her friends today, that it was goodbye for a while. She doesn't know to be sad, so I'm crying for her. We'll have play dates, though! And fun summer activities!

So we got a cool front last night and it made the morning temperatures comfortably cool and wonderful. But not so much for a splash day. I don't think the kids noticed. They had fun playing in the water anyway. Mike's daughter jumped right in! Mike, the guy who thinks it's fun to swim in spring water...brrrrrrr!
This one cracks me up!
She's finally starting to get cold.Only three friends made it to class today. The other three were out sick. :( Here's their last snack time together - ice cream floats.
And one last photo because I think it's cool!

First Beach Day

We went Quintana today for some fun, sun, and a little surf action. The boy needed a few tries to get his boogie groove back, but he did stay on the body board for a few seconds so I could get a video. We'll be back for many more trips and you'll see many more pictures and vids!

The neatest thing we saw today was a 6+ foot rat snake. It was on the playground and when we stopped to check him out he took off. He was fast! I found him under the boardwalk and stayed about 10 feet away and got one photo...I had my little water camera that has no zoom, so this was the best I could do:The boys wasted no time in hitting the waves!
Boogie Boo in action!

The girls played happily in the sand.
Noah didn't want to leave the water. He really missed the beach and he was probably thinking we wouldn't come back for a while. Mike assured him that we'll be back again soon.