Back Porch Photos (Part 1)

We are LOVING eating dinner on the back porch of our new house.  Its so private and quiet, just the sound of the cicadas to serenade us.  We've had lots of family and some friends over to eat, but last week Nana and Granddad had the great idea to snap a few family pictures after dinner.  And we got some good ones!

The McDonald Clan 2015

Uncle James came down from Chicago for a visit a few weekends ago and we had a blast hanging out with him.  It was the first time for a picture with all eight of us!

If only Sarah hadn't had that piece of candy in her mouth...

August iPhone Photos (Part 2)

On Nathan's first day of school,  we came home and for lunch Sarah wanted a "jelly sandwich" (with sunflower seed butter). And she wanted to make it!  I just usually make lunches for the kids because its easier, but I know I need to start handing over more responsibility to them.  This is a start!

I thought we'd implement a "first day of school" treat, and maybe turn it into a tradition... doughnuts!!  We got to do it again later in the month on Sarah's first day of school, but I seem to have accidentally deleted that picture when trying to make space on my phone... oops!

On Friday (either the first or second week of school), Brian was working late so we stopped by Nana and Granddad's house for a visit after school.  I love that they live so close to school so we can drop by for a visit (and some days they've picked up Nathan and then come over for dinner!)  But this day we ended up spending the whole afternoon at their house playing games and coloring, and then decided to grab dinner at a restaurant together.  I wasn't quite prepared so all Andrew had for dinner was cheerios, but he was plenty happy about that!

Grumpy day...

The booster highchair that Andrew uses has a detachable (and dishwasher safe) top portion of the tray.  He was constantly reaching for the far edge, detaching it from the base part of the try and sometimes even throwing it on the ground!  I finally realized that trying to keep the tray attached was a losing battle and put the top away, and now I have the fun job of washing the big tray by hand... and I am one that avoids doing dishes by hand at all cost (inefficient, I feel, which is why I'm dreaming of the day I have two dishwashers in the kitchen to keep up with all the dirty dishes I create).

I finally realized that Andrew was old enough and stable enough to ride in the basket of the cart.  He's much happier there then he ever was in the carrier on my back, but Sarah isn't thrilled because she still thinks SHE should be able to ride in that seat.  Now that Nathan's in school, we usually run our errands right after we drop him off, and can usually fit in one or two stops before we have to take Sarah to school or come home for naptime. 

Look!  A picture of the inside of our house! This is the family room, where most of our living goes on.  Its also the only room that has had anything done to it - the art and curtains are new since moving into this house.  But since the picture is way overexposed its hard to see.  Anyway things are moving slowly, but they are moving!

More pool pictures.  This expression cracks me up!

Not enough pictures with me in it, so I took a whole bunch until I found a flattering angle for me.  :)

The boys and I were playing while Sarah was napping one day.  Then, to their delight, Princess came to join the fun!  Nathan loves to play Rummikub these days and is amazingly good at it.  He can legitimately beat me!

Watch out Princess!!

Andrew's First Day of Crawling!

I saw him scooting his knees for the first time yesterday afternoon and was able to capture a quick video of his first crawl.  He's definitely making forward progress, pretty slow at this point but I'm sure that the days of Andrew staying in one place will soon be a distant memory!



Now the "fun" begins - trying to keep this house safe for him with two older siblings who love Legos, markers, scissors and a multiplicity of other small and/or sharp objects.