Moments.

Happy 9th Birthday, Audi! Love you so much! ♥

Moments.

♥

Cancelled interview.

He had an interview today, to see if we could get him an audition with Disney. Unfortunately, late last night, I discovered the interview was somewhat of a scam, so we declined last minute.

Before I knew we were going to cancel, yesterday we ran out quickly late afternoon & I took a few shots to take to his interview. He did not need professional headshots, just typical photos. I am somewhat disappointed in how these turned out, but it was SO incredibly cold, this is the best I could do. I was shivering so much, I barely checked my settings (all photos on manual, which is pretty much all I shoot) - I mostly concentrated on holding my camera still.

That said - he is precious! I think his eyes are so mysterious. Love him so much! ♥

Happy New Year!

He's 8! ♥

The Gingerbread House.

Actually, it's a Graham Cracker House. Ü

Gosh. It's been so crazy, I haven't blogged in a week? I need to get some things under control. Can't abandon my blog. :)

My husband was out of town last week, so it 'twas just I holding down the fort. Also last week, I apparently od'ed on caffeine. We think. No one knows. Not even the EMT's. Ahem. I didn't partake in Black Friday a few weeks ago (except for what I bought me - heehee), so basically, I have NO Christmas gifts. Panic mode is in full force. No Christmas cards purchased. No Christmas photo of 4 little cute people because the weather has been gloomy & gray. Did I mention I have hardly any Christmas gifts? I made some (very little) progress today, but it's difficult to shop toting a little 3 year old with me. The three oldest have Christmas parties (yes, Christmas - not 'Holiday') this week, which means 1 book exchange, 3+ different items/products/supplies for fun party foods & 3 teacher gifts. Are you aware Christmas is in 13 days? Am I aware Christmas is in 13 days? I hope this blog post finds you in much better shape than I'm in! Have I mentioned I have purchased hardly any gifts?

Tonight I said forget it all & we had 2 cooked frozen pizzas (but I had my MckDonald's salad) & played games. It was great & relaxing! I think we'll do that more often. Lots more often.

It'll all get done. I always seem to panic because I always wait until last minute (for most things anyway, swearing I'll never do it again) yet always, everything works out perfectly. And I sure am banking on that very thing happening again. Ü

First day of school '09.

August 24, 2009.

A 3rd grader & a Kindergartener. ☺

Audi's photo shoot.

He asked for a "1" yesterday when I got his hair cut. So, a "1" is what he got. He loves it. We got home & Jaguar said "you look balded!". Baha!

The day before Kindergarten. Mom is certainly not ready for him to go tomorrow - he's been with me 5 1/2 years. Big adjustment. For both of us.

He is precious. ☺

Fore!

Bentley actually is really good! ☺



Before it was all over, Audi got smart & began lining all his balls in a row - then when he hit the first one, all three went sailing! ☺



Too cute. ☺

Happy Saturday!

One of these is not like the other.

There really nothing further I can say regarding above snapshot. ;o)

****************************************

Audi to Jaguar: Did you know that our taste bugs change as we gwow? ☺

I've realized Kosh & Audi have a lot in common. The more you rub their head & tell them they're cute, the more they both become complete show-offs! ☺

Big - Sexy - Hair.

My hairspray of choice right now & has been for quite some time. ♥ it.

For some reason, Bentley has zoomed right in on this bright red can that sits atop my bathroom counter. As you know, he can read & he reads well. Audi cannot yet read, so Bentley felt it his duty to inform my little comedian (Audi) exactly what this can, um, says. ;o)

If it's not daily, it's every other day. My Audi. In the most obnoxious, taunting voice he can find, here he comes right towards me -

"Biggggggggggg, Sexyyyyyyyyyyyyy, Hairrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr"

& off he goes.

I ♥ you Audi. Now shut up.

Determination.

A little history, some of you may remember. A few years ago, Audi was very frightened of the water. At our annual July 4th family reunion, while all the other children swam, Audi hung out with the adults in the shade. It made me sad. That said, he was so scared of the water, I made the decision not to push him. Hubby insisted on swimming lessons. I said no way. I won. :) I don't believe in forcing children, I don't believe in tossing them in saying "sink or swim!" or any of that bs. Leave them alone & when they are ready, they will do it. With much less reluctance, to boot. After that July 4th, I came home & blogged about Audi's fear of swimming. The next day, he put on his life jacket, jumped in the pool, & has never looked back. ☺

Hubby got home early today & took the boys out back swimming while the girls & I napped. When I walked outside, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Audi was swimming, without his life jacket! We have been talking with him about learning to swim without his life jacket but again, he was too fearful. We let it go. Today, without prompting, he took that sucker off & again - never looked back!

What amazes me the most is how well, at not even 5 1/2 years old, he is swimming! All across the deep end, completely unassisted (but being watched like a hawk, of course), swimming the width & entire length of the pool, like he had been doing it for months! And it had only been an hour or two, at the most! Ü



Audi's determination is so commendable. When he puts his mind to something - it may be on his terms & not ours - this child takes it to heart & gives it his all. If you recall, Audi has OCD which means when he does something, he's going to do it right. And he does. He doesn't settle for 'almost'. Audi is no slacker & anything but lazy. I am SO proud of him!!

I am excited to see where God takes this child. With Audi's determination & drive, there is nothing that will stop him & get in his way. If he stays with it, & never accepts or settles for less, life will take him further than he can imagine. How fun to travel this adventure with him, supporting him, as he dives straight into life!

Happy weekend!

Bruiser.

Last Sunday I was taking a quick nap & hubby was out cleaning the pool. The boys were supposed to be watching a movie. ;o)

When I got up, I noticed Audi had a red mark on his cheek. I asked him what happened & he said he fell & hit the stairs. Odd I thought, considering the stairs are carpeted. The mark wasn't that bad, so I let it go & summed it up to Audi being Audi. :)

As the days went on, his facial bruising was dramatically increasing. The fall ended up bruising his cheek, & ultimately he even ended up with a black eye! And because Audi is Audi, he was up entertaining Mercedes while she was in her crib one day & he tripped or fell or something, & banged his cheek in the very same spot on her crib rail! Which only made the bruising worse. His eye bruising is ceasing, but his cheek bruise is still very obvious.



On Thursday, because the bruising was so bad, I asked him to show me exactly where he fell. But first he said "well, I wasn't thinkin', & I was running, & slipped & smacked my face here!" as he showed the corner of the bottom step. Which is wood, not carpeted. I still don't know how that fall did that much damage. Only to my Audi, I suppose. ☺

Take time to smell the roses.

Or in his case, Indian Paintbrushes. :)

Happy weekend!



(Photo RAW & barely edited in CS3)

A day with Audi.

Audi: You dropped some butter on the floor.
Me: Yes, thanks, I picked it up.
Audi: You left some.

Audi: This baby has a poop. She stinks!

Audi: So why did daddy climb telephone poles when he worked for the railroad? That makes no sense.

Audi: How does lightning flash? I think when it lightenings, God puts His head down & blinks.

Audi: I'll take some tea, & add some sweetness please!

Audi sniffing.
Me: Audi, are you getting sick?
Audi: No.
Me: You're sniffing.
Audi: My nose is dry.
Me: Your nose is supposed to be dry.
Audi: But there's no snot.
Me: There's not suppose to be snot.
Audi: But my nose isn't running.
Me: It's not suppose to be running. If it is, then you're probably getting sick.
Audi: But there's no snot up there, or down here on the bottom.
Me: There isn't suppose to be.
Audi: Where does snot come from?
Me: God! Now go to sleep!

Me: Audi, do you want to go to school, or do you want to be homeschooled?
Audi: I want to go to school. But I can't write a 8! And I need a nap! I can't make it without a nap. I'll fall asleep in class!

Me: Mercedes is fussy today.
Audi: Well! Maybe she's burned! (diaper rash)

Where are we going?
Whose on the phone?
Why are the crossing arms broken?
What's going on over there?
Who are those people?
What's for dinner?
Are you going to get a coke today?
Are we going to go there tonight?
Whose on the radio?
What time is it?
Is this on there right?
Can I play in the sprinklers?
What are you doing?
Is this broken?
Whose at the door?
Where is the sun today?
Is that crummy garage sale?
Are you paying bills?
Are you going to clean up this mess?
What is that?
Can everyone have a sandbox?
Can we have pancakes tomorrow?
Are you ever going to find a chair for your photography?
What are they doing?
Do you want to drive in the rain?
Is it hot or cold outside?
Do you want me to clean this up?
Who put this there?
Can we go to the carwash today?
When are we going camping?
Do we get to go swimming today?
Did you sleep good last night?
Can I play with that?
Do you want me to get the plates out?
What's on tv tonight?
What is that noise?
Why do you honk like a pig sometimes when you laugh?
Is there a train coming?
Why do those lights do that?
What is his name?
Can I play t-ball again?
Can I play t-ball again?
Can I play t-ball again?
Can I play t-ball again?

Audi: What is that noise in the tree?
Me: Locust.
Audi: No, that noise.
Me: A locust.
Audi: No, the noise that stops & then starts again.
Me: A locust. It's a bug. They live in trees.
Audi: Are they singing?

Audi: Oh my gosh, this is a mess!

Audi: Bentley! Now why would you do that?

School starts, when? ☺

Daddy said not to delete.

So I said, ok. :)

And the one below, just 'cause.



He's so beautiful. ☺

Two spoonfuls of cuteness.

You know I love photography.

And this is why. :)

So can I toot my own horn? Oh come on.

TOOT! TOOT!

Thank you.

Happy weekend! ☺

Kidbits.

Audi had t-ball tonight. In the rain. And while playing in the rain he announced:

"Aw, man! What are we doin'? The Swine Flu is everywhere! We shouldn't even be out here!"

You tell 'em, Audi! :)

Play ball!

I finally made it to Audi's t-ball game! I think I have missed 3 of them. They are all played in the evening time & it's just been too cold & windy and/or too late to take Mercedes. But tonight was the early game & it was beautiful outside! I was so excited to see him play. I'm sure all the other parents were thinking my Audi didn't have a mom. ;o)

It's still a little disturbing, for lack of a better word, to see him out there with all those 'big' kids. But he's so cute! As I stood there shooting photos through the fence (that was interesting), I could hear the other moms whispering "Oh he's so cute!" "Look how little he is!". Ha!

That's my boy. My teeny tiny uncasted boy. ☺

Hubby commented that Audi actually bats better with a cast on. Heehee. Ah well. :)






Ready! (He's the one in the middle bent down, legs ready for runnin'!)



My ball! No? Yes?



Yes! Get it Audi!



So much fun. Next time maybe I'll remember to take off my 50mm lens & put on a zoom. Yeah. That would have worked much better. ☺

The uncasted Cub.

Last Thursday, Audi's cast came off lickety split! I let dad sit this one out. He stayed home with the girls & I ran Audi to the Orthopedist.

Here we are justa waitin'. Thought I'd test the light which was actually pretty good! I must admit, I think he was the cutest casted kid I've ever seen. ☺

Here's the nurse with the little 'vibrating' saw that split the cast. She did it on the top & the underneath side of the cast. He was a little skeptical...

These were like lobster tongs that split the cast apart after she cut it.





Then she took a pair of scissors, followed along the line(s) that she cut in the cast, & cut the 'sock' that was under the cast. Then she just took her fingers, pried a little, & popped that sucker right off!



He's just a little hesitant to move his arm...



As you can see his arm worked just fine - he was Magnadoodling like a champ while waiting for the dr. to come back in. ☺

The last step was a final x-ray just to confirm the new bone was forming properly. She said it's healing better than most! Yippee! This is the cutest x-ray! Look at his little hand! :) On the left, if you look closely, you can still see the jagged break! I asked the dr. about that & she said that will completely dissipate in about 3 months. You can see the new bone growing on either side of the break. Fascinating! I never knew about all the breakage/bonage stuff. ☺

He's just so darn cute I snapped another before we left. :)

When the cast was removed, there was hardly any odor. We were prepared for the stinkies! ;o) His arm was clean as a whistle, too! Just a teeny bit of dirt around his hand from playing t-ball. His arm hair was still there & he had minimal pain. She said he might need Motrin for quite some time but heck, I think I only gave it to him once. By the end of Thursday, he was moving his arm as if it had never been in a cast. His arm was 'peeling' a little bit, kind of like a sunburn, & she told me to lotion it for 2 weeks. Within 2 days the dryness was gone.

Even though he broke his arm, I think he had it kind of easy, which is great! He's a trooper. Staples first, then a broken arm - I wonder what catastrophe will transpire next?!

(Photos taken on manual, no flash. No editing either - I was just too lazy. :)