Happy Birthday Neiv-ster.

My little stinkbug is 3. She just gets cuter all the time.

Weirdos

Abra showcasing her work titled "An Easter Egg on Wheels" and Neiv shoving a magnadoodle pen up her nose. Strange children.

the after-shocks of "fall-back"

Eating a PB&J is completely exhausting.

What a cast of characters....

Aren't they sweet? They are always kissing on each other.

Fall means fun at the Fair!

The State fair is just getting better every year as the kiddos get older. They had a blast this year and the weather was perfect. Alan's Uncle Foster has a big tractor display and tent which is what we use as "base camp." It is like having VIP passes. We are getting seriously spoiled.

The girls contemplating the plight of the farmer.

O was diggin' it.

Oliver's weird "taking it all in" face.

The carousel - always a crowd-pleaser.

For $9, two little girls and their grandma can go in circles for 45 seconds. Who are the suckers here?

My deep-thinkers.
As in, what should we eat next? A turkey leg? An elephant ear? Hmmm.

This was fun to watch - mostly for Anita's facial expressions.

Neiv in her element.

Abra looks scared out of her wits but she immediately said, "I want to do it again!"

Nit was having a blast.

Back to the tractors.

Picture with Alan's cousins' kids (facing the sun of course). Aren't they cute? Sweet kids.

Rather stoic goats.

We were so glad Gingy got to come this year (although we missed Uncle Ben).

Great face O.

Ended the day with ice cream since hot days are coming to an end.

He liked the ice cream.

Some Neiv cuteness

Had the brilliant idea of making short videos of them reciting the Awana verses on the itouch so we can look back over them to review. They love it. And I love their little voices (and facial expressions).

Summer fun

This summer has flown by and I am sad to see it slipping away (although definitely ready for cooler temperatures). Summertime fun as gotten better with each year as the kiddos get older and more independent. It is too bad that it didn't occur to me to buy an oscillating sprinkler until 2 weeks ago. :-) Oh well - we will be ready for next year.

This was at "Acwoth Beach" which isn't even 20 minutes away. The kids had a blast and it was also another late-summer discovery. We will definitely utilize this more in the future. Next time I will also remember all of our bags so Alan doesn't have to go all the way home to get Oliver's swimgear. :-p

We were spraying them with the hose. It doesn't take much to entertain these kids.

Washed their hair in the hose while we were out there.

Sprinkler time

Boy do I love being with these kids all the time.

I miss being a kid

Forts. What a awesome part of childhood. This inspires me to go find some of those tents that you stick on their twin-size beds. Lots of good memories there.

I wish I could build a fort, crawl up underneath, pretend that no one knows where I am, and then read a good book for a couple hours.

Unfortunately the Mulleni kiddos aren't quite old enough to appreciate reading a good book for a couple hours so they make a fort, play inside for 5 minutes, tear part of it down (that would be O's doing) and then come looking for Mommy to fix it. Put this on repeat and it is a recipe for Mommy meltdown.

But hey, they're having fun.

Heard

Here are some recent conversations in the Mullenix house:

Abra has been on a "who eats what" kick lately.

A: Mommy, what do squirrels eat?
Me: nuts and seeds
A. What do birds eat?
Me: seeds and worms
A: What do bears eat?
Me: Hmmm. Honey? No that can't be right. That bear was eating some blueberries in that book but I don't know if that is accurate. I know they eat fish sometimes. And probably other small animals.
A: Oh. What do Alligators eat?
Me: Ummmmm. Fish maybe? And some birds on occasion?
A: How do they get the birds?
Me: I think they wait for them to land close to water and then they snatch them.
A: Oh. **long pause while thinking** Are the birds sad when they are in the Alligators mouth?
Me: Not for long.
A: **long pause** Mommy, What do pigs eat?
Me (relieved): Oh good -an easy one. Slop.

Apparently I need to brush up on my general animal/nature knowledge. Where is a "circle of life" book when you need it?


Yesterday while reading a book about 4 yr olds vs. babies:

Me: Babies make up words because they can't talk yet but 4 yr olds can make up songs and stories.
Abra: Oliver is just a baby - he says funny words.
Me: Yup.
Abra: I think Oliver speaks Spanish.


Last night at 9:30 pm (after two girls took long naps yesterday) heard through the door:

A: Neiv?!
N: Yes?
A: Do you know that Nit had two babies? Their names are Daddy and Uncle Ben.
N: (doesn't get what Abra is saying). What two babies? What their names?
A: Daddy and Uncle Ben.
N: What two babies? What their names?
A: See our Daddy had me, and you, and Oliver. Uncle Ben doesn't have any babies. That's because he doesn't have a girl.
N: OOOHHH.
A: Maybe when he grows up he will have a girl.


This morning while listening to the Jesus storybook Bible:

A: Mommy, Jesus is not right here.
Me: Yes he is. He is with us all the time.
A: But we can't see him.
Me: Right, he doesn't have a body like ours anymore but he is still with us right now, even though we can't see him.
A: Oh yea, because he is just pretend.
Me: No, No, No.... (followed by long explanation with plenty of "what is pretend and what is real" emphasis).

They definitely keep me on my toes but at least I get a good laugh out of them almost every day.

Cute and Crazy.

Abra likes to have her picture taken with good things she has done - artwork, magnadoodle, dress-ups, and writing Neiv's name along with other random letters on a piece of paper. I think the other letters say "Oliver."

Neiv, on the other hand, likes to have her picture taken mostly naked, holding a couple bottles of sprinkles. Although you may be fooled by her belly pooch, I don't let her eat them.

Alan Mullenix P.E.

I keep forgetting to give a shout-out to my husband, the Professional Engineer. He passed his big test on the first try. So he is qualified to stamp drawings now but we still question whether he is mature enough to be a parent.

He is about to flip Mommy the bird if you can't tell. :-)

Slow down child.

It is quite shocking to think that this little boy is going to be 1 in just a couple of weeks. This might have been the fastest year of my life. And the most physically exhausting. That is ok - it was all worth it right? Blah blah motherly sentiment. :-)

Oliver is taking steps now and is as destructive as ever. He has a beautiful smile and a laugh that is exactly like the younger daughter. Actually there are ALOT of similarities between O and the younger daughter. This keeps me up at night.

Everywhere we go people who have been around him at church/playgroup/playdates etc. say he is SO SWEET and they can't imagine how he is a handful at home or ever. Yes if he was so sweet he would value his mother's sanity a bit more. Don't get me wrong, he IS a sweet boy. A sweet, opinionated, physically combative, whiny, and highly reactive boy.

Oh but I love him. I caught Abra pinching his cheeks earlier today and thought it was mighty hypocritical of me to lecture her on not pinching those chubby cheeks when I do it all day long.

He loves the "van tractor." Can't tell you how many times he has become wedged underneath it.

This was such a boy moment. We are in the kitchen, he hears the "beep beep" of a backing up truck and he is at the front door in a flash, terribly excited about the work being done in our neighbor's yard.

Dirt. I have a feeling I'll be seeing alot of this.

I guess it tasted pretty good.

Music and Movement

Alan's cousin Tami got this for the girls a couple years ago and they are lovin it these days. Abra already knows some of the movements that match the music after doing the songs just a few times. Neiv only lasts through a couple but is catching on quick. I love watching Abra do this - so dang cute. The girl loves to dance.

Isn't she lloovveellyy....

I have had that ridiculous song stuck in my head for a week so I took a picture to match it when Juliet came over the other day.

This $2 box of dress-ups is getting some serious mileage....

Thursday thoughts...

These might be the sweetest girls on the planet. Abra and Neiv get along better with each passing day. They certainly have those days when they constantly harass each other but on the whole, they love each others' company. Yesterday morning, Abra got up before Neiv and was hanging out with me and Oliver in the living room. She made a "Neiv is sleeping TOO long" comment and I said she was tired and needed the sleep. I go to start breakfast and next thing I know, Abra prances in saying "Neiv is up!" and poor sleepy Neiv stumbles in behind. Well Neiv had NOT woken up on her own of course - Abra decided she had waited long enough for her companion to appear.

Trouble

This boy is so busy these days. He moves at lightening speed when he wants to and may prove twice as destructive as either of the girls. He has many diverse interests - pulling books off the shelves, emptying the diaper drawer, pulling over all my cookbooks, snatching salad dressing out of the fridge and sucking on the tops, destroying the tupperware cabinet, and eating play-do, crayons, and coloring books.

Don't be fooled by this angelic face.
He will dominate you.