Quick 5

Ah, summer.

1.  Cow Appreciation Day was a success.  It truly is one of our favorite days of the year.  I like to sit in the Chick-fil-a and shake my head at the people who walk in dressed in normal clothes.  Don't they know how easy it is to get a full free meal?  Sure, you feel dumb for about 5 minutes the first year, but after that it's no big deal.  And it's FREE CHICK-FIL-A.  Our local Chick-fil-a also does a photo contest on their Facebook page.  They take pictures of all the groups that come in, and the one with the most likes gets seven free meals per person in the photo.  I'm not gonna lie...we're really hoping to win.  And so far, unless something crazy happens, it looks like we just might.  The contest ends tomorrow, so we're still trying to keep our hopes at reasonable levels.  But it would be awesome.
**Shameless Plug**  There's still time to vote!  Just go to my Facebook page, scroll down and click on the picture of us dressed as cows.  :)  Make sure you like the actual picture, and not just the picture posted on my page!

2.  The biggest thing of the week has been swimming lessons.  This is Alaina's second year and she loves it, of course.  Joya had a rough couple of days at the beginning of the week, as she was overcome with jealousy.  But swimming lessons start at age 3, so she had to sit this year out.  Hopefully next year I can find a Tiny Tunas class at the same time that Alaina will have class, because there will be war in the camp if Joya can't go swimming next year too.

Bria just chills for the lesson

Waiting for her teacher

Doing bobs

Joya is Phase One of the lesson - eating snack

Joya in Phase Two - playing with toys

Joya in Phase Three - wandering.  She found a friend the other day

 Alaina's teacher is great.  It makes me wish I had taught swimming lessons when I was younger.  I could do what she does...except I'm not always that great with 3 to 5 year olds that aren't my own.  And I would just like to say that I love taking swimming pictures.  They turn out awesome.

3.  We've had a bunny problem in our yard.  I suppose it's not a big deal; they're not really hurting anything.  We've been worried that they'll get in our garden, but that hasn't really been the case yet.  they just annoy us with their brazen usage of our yard.  So Lee borrowed a live trap from his co-workers and set it out.  So far we've caught two bunnies, which Lee has taken away from our house and set free.  I'm not sure how humane it is, since he is setting them free in a place where they will probably get eaten by coyotes or something.  But at least we don't have to deal with dead bunnies.  Because one dead bunny per summer is enough for me.

4.  The Great Potty Training Tribulation is almost over, I think.  Joya is now wearing real underwear during the day, and has only had one accident this week.  I am always surprised when I remember that it's only been three weeks since we started this.  Joya is now at the phase where if she is bored or wants to be out of her room she tells me she has to go potty.  It happens often during room time, and once at swimming lessons.  I get her to the bathroom and she says she does NOT have to go, but can she please be done in her room, or can we go home. 

5.  We're on Baby Watch this next week or so.  No, not for Kate Middleton's baby.  Who cares about that.  My sister is about to pop with her third.  I love this phase of our lives, where I'm excited to hear my phone ring because one of my sisters is having a baby.  Hopefully Baby Watch will only last through the weekend.  I predicted she will be born on the 21st.  Make it happen, baby girl!

:)

Quick 5

1.  I had hoped to get this picture in last week's Quick 5, but the picture didn't happen until Saturday, right before Gramma and Grampa left.  So here you go.

2.  Every morning Bria swings in her swing while we eat breakfast.  She usually falls asleep, and then I just put her in her bed.  It's a lovely morning routine.

Sleeping with a death grip on her star

3.  The biggest news of the week is probably the shift of Bria's schedule.  Since we're schedule people, this was a really big deal for us.  I switched Bria from a 3 hour to a 4 hour feeding schedule.  She handled that like a champ.  There were no tears of hunger at all, which tells me I probably could have done this a couple of weeks ago.  Changing up the feeding schedule meant changing up her napping schedule.  She had been taking four naps a day.  Now she's down to three: a two-hour morning nap, a three-hour afternoon nap, and a 30-45 minute dinner time nap.  The napping thing was a bit harder to adjust to, and by harder I mean it took her a WHOLE DAY to adjust.  That's it.  So now my girls are all in rest time/nap time from 1:00 to 2:00 (Alaina's down from 1:00 to 2:00, Joya's down from 12:30 to 2:00, and Bria's down from 12:00 to 3:00).  So I now have a full hour of kid free time each day.  It's weird.

4.  The Great Tribulation is going relatively well around here.  Joya has her good days and bad days, but the good days seem to be happening a bit more frequently.  I am always surprised and delighted when she tells me she has to go, then actually GOES in the potty.  We're also doing great at weaning off the jelly bean reward.  Mostly she asks if she can have a jelly bean the minute she uses the potty, and I say yes, then we clean up and she forgets about it.  Maybe she just really likes the idea of the jelly bean, and doesn't need the actual jelly bean to feel rewarded.  We'll go with that.

5.  Today is one of our favorite days of the year: Cow Appreciation Day.  We missed it last year because we were in Alaska, but the Kimble family will be appearing at Chick-fil-a in all our cow glory for free food tonight.  Pictures to come.

So there you go.

Quick 5

Oh say can you see?

1.  Gramma and Grampa Kimble have been here all week, and it's been a blast.  Grampa has been making our house better once again, and Gramma has been entertaining the Littles and potty training Joya (who is doing great, by the way.  Maybe one more week and she'll graduate to REAL underwear.)  I should have kept a better list on all the projects Grampa has been doing around the house, because the list is long.  That and all the grilling has made the week excellent.  We weren't planning a vacation this summer, but this week more than made up for it.

Gramma and the Girls

Grampa and Bria

 2.  The girls got a sandbox from Grammy and Grandad for their birthdays this year, and already it has provided hours of fun.  Grampa set it up for them and has even tossed coins in there a few times for them to find.  Alaina proudly showed us her TWO coins one day (two pennies) and I know she felt she got the better deal to Joya's ONE coin (a dime.)  It might be time to teach about the value of coins.  Anyway, the sandbox is a hit, and we've had minimal sand end up in Joya's pants.

Thanks for the sand toys, Aunt Jamie and Uncle Nick!

3.  Grampa also blew up a pool that Grammy and Grandad had given us last year.  That too has been a big hit.  Even when Joya's lips had turned blue and she was shivering like a church potluck jello salad, she refused to get out.  And there were many tears when they were told it was time for dinner.  It's been wonderful to have so many adults around to supervise, since someone needs to be available for Bria while someone needs to keep an eye on the girls. 

4.  We celebrated the Fourth in low-key, Kimble favorite fashion: grilling brats, then going to the Gilletts for more grilled food.  The girls had tons of fun with their friends, and we were around all of our favorite people, including Lee's parents and my parents.  We didn't seek out any firework shows this year, as I'm too much of a fan of getting the girls to bed and Bria definitely couldn't have lasted in any fashion that would have been fun for me.  But I'm not sorry about it.  There will be plenty of years for fireworks.  Until then we'll just make do with our friends (and that's hardly a bad thing.)

5.  These two little girls are growing fast all of a sudden.  Maybe I'll have to rescind my view on kids growing fast.  It's just we were stuck for awhile, but now all of a sudden Bria no longer needs to be swaddled and is on the cusp of sleeping 12 hours at night, and Joya is almost potty trained and acting like a real little girl instead of a needy toddler.  I'm so proud I could bust.

Bria - 4 months

 We're so sad to see Gramma and Grampa go, but so glad they were able to come.  Just six more weeks of normal before school starts, I guess.

Quick 5

Joy is...noticing that the forecast for the Fourth of July calls for 69 degrees and rain.

1.  When I took this picture, Lee asked me why I thought the moment was picture worthy.  I answered that it was because I don't have a picture of Lee and his youngest daughter.  That's a crime.  (Of course, Lee is pretty elusive when it comes to snagging him for a picture anyway.)

2.  Last Saturday we broke out the sprinkler for the girls to run through.  They've never done it, and I was at a loss at how to keep them busy.  Saturday IS our allowed watering day (although we did violate the rule of not watering between 10:00am and 6:00pm.  You can report us if your conscious demands it.)  Clearly you can see that Alaina had a blast and Joya was more than a little freaked out. 

 P.S.  No, that is not the normal sprinkler we use to water the lawn.  We have a much more efficient one for that, in case you were wondering.

 3.  This week was VBS at our church.  Lee took Alaina every night, while I stayed home with the two littles.  I'm a little sad about that, because our church puts on a fantastic VBS.  The decorations alone are incredible.  But since I'm nursing a baby, and the little girls are both down by 7:15, I got to stay home.  Alaina loved it, of course.  Just like she loves every community setting.

Apparently Alaina is the only girl in her group.  Good thing she likes boys "because they are handsome."

 4.  Perhaps the most amazing part of our week happened yesterday day as a part of our Great Tribulation.  Maybe it started on Wednesday, when I managed to catch Joya just as she was beginning to do some serious business in her diaper.  I asked her if she wanted to sit on the potty, and surprisingly she agreed.  Even more surprisingly she actually piddled.  She was handsomely rewarded with a few jelly beans.  That day she didn't manage to have any poop successes, but then yesterday she asked to go potty again, right after breakfast.  She sat up there and piddled like it was no big deal.  THEN she pooped.  Right in the potty.  Like she had been doing it her whole life.  I remember that Alaina was a little freaked out the first time she pooped, but not Joya.  Then Joya was dry for the rest of the day (except during nap time, but that doesn't count yet.)  I put some reusable training pants on her, and she continued to earn her jelly beans the rest of the day.  I feel like this has come out of nowhere.  Sure, she's been sitting on the potty for some time, but to have a whole day of successes after never having actually gone is amazing.  I'm trying not to get my hopes up.  Maybe it was a fluke.  Or just maybe I'll need to save that whole box of size 4 diapers for Bria.

5.  In Bria news, she effortlessly is weaning from being swaddled.  With Joya was had a good four weeks of awfulness as I tried to wean her from it.  But Bria has been a champ.  It makes me wonder if I just caught her at the right time, or if I should have tried this weeks ago.  Oh well.  My girls are growing by leaps and bounds these days.

Goodbye June!  I hope July brings us more rain that you let us have.

Quick 5

"It's a sure sign of summer if the chair gets up when you do."

— Walter Winchell

1.  Last Saturday we went to my parents' to celebrate the summer birthdays.   There are five of them in five weeks: Naomi (5/31), Alaina (6/2), Lee (6/11), Dad (6/27) and mine (7/2).  Toss in Father's Day and you've got a whole lot of celebrating going on.  So we smashed it all into one day.  Right now the little girls are cool with it.  They may not be in the future.

Blowing bubbles at Grammy's.  Alaina hijacked Naomi's birthday helmet.

2.  Father's Day was low-key around here.  But I did get Alaina to do one of those interviews about her dad.  Here's how it went (Alaina's answers in red):

Dad

My daddy's name is Dad

He is 13 years old, 39 inches tall and weighs 14 pounds

His favorite food is Daddy's cereal

My daddy is really good at mowing the lawn

He loves to grill and watch his favorite grilling show

My favorite thing(s) to do with my dad is going on walks

I'm just like my dad because I like sleeping

What I love most about my daddy is he hugs me and pats me on the back when he hugs

It makes Dad happy when I hug him

Dear Daddy, I'm so excited to go to your work.  I've never seen it before.  I remember feeding the ducks and eating on the bench in the little tower.  Love, Alaina

3.  Lee got this idea to take Alaina to work with him one day.  I must admit I was very skeptical about the whole plan.  She's only 5 and sometimes has the attention span of a goldfish.  AND she asks hundreds of questions a day.  That didn't seem like a very conducive work environment to me.  But he planned it for when he would only work in the morning and take the afternoon off.  He packed a bag with crayons and a coloring book, snacks, and my Kindle.  And the morning went just as he planned.  They worked for the morning, then had a picnic lunch and fed the geese that have taken up residence around the complex.  Alaina is already asking how many days until she can go back.

Alaina was proud to have her own desk

4.  Our 9th anniversary passed in low-key fashion too.  I'm absolutely not kidding about this: to commemorate the occasion we made Doggy Mac.  That is, mac and cheese with hot dogs in it.  I threw in a slice of pepper jack cheese to make it fancy.  It's just where we are in our lives right now, and I don't want to forget it (not that I could.)  Alaina was most impressed that Lee and I made the meal together.  Apparently she's never seen us cook together.

5.  I finally got a good picture of all three girls.  Joya is usually the hardest to nail down, but she was feeling especially cooperative this day:

Alaina was perfecting the art of the photo bomb

This might be the only picture I have of just Joya and Bria

 Happy First Day of Summer!  May your summer be filled with thunderstorms, cool nights, s'mores and burgers on the grill.

Quick 5

It's always a sad day when your backyard smells like a campfire, and it's NOT because your neighbor is using their fire pit.

1.  Last Saturday Alaina, Joya and I went swimming as a part of our good friends' birthday party.  We went to the indoor pool at the Ridge, which has one of those zero depth entry activity pools.  There are fountains and slides and the girls LOVED it.  It was the first time I had taken Joya swimming, and the first time that Alaina has gone swimming without floaty gear.  And I have no pictures because it was a TON of work for me.  Alaina did fairly well, gallivanting all over the place, even into the three-foot depth.  That made me a little nervous because I had to stick to Joya like glue, but Miss Leah and Mr. Kelvin were around.  But it was hard work keeping an eye on two little girls.  Joya never went deeper than her waist, but I still stuck very close to her.  I'm sure the girls would love to go more often, but I'm just not up for all that work.  Maybe as they get older and get a few years of swimming lessons under their belts.  (Where was Lee, you ask?  At home, putting Bria down for her nap.)

2.  The main event this week was Lee's birthday.  I told the girls to go tell him Happy Birthday when they woke up on Tuesday, and Joya now seems to think it is the appropriate morning greeting for him every morning.  We had chicken kebabs for dinner (or Chikn Bobs, according to Joya) and I made him a pie that had an oreo crust, chopped brownies and those tiny Reese's peanut butter cups, chocolate pudding, whipped cream and mini-M&Ms on it.  It was delicious.

3.  Speaking of Chikn Bobs, the marinade I used was FANTASTIC.  I need to share it with you, just so you can never say that I didn't share.  (And I'll cite my source so I won't get accused of plagiarism.)

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 1-2 lemons)
• 1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2-4 chicken breasts

Seriously, folks.  Get yoself some chikn and MARINATE.

4.  Next week is our 9th anniversary.  That, along with Alaina's 5th birthday, has made me consider the concept of time lately.  I'll be honest; I absolutely do not relate to the people who crow "Oh, it goes by so fast!" when they talk about their kids ages or whatever.  It does NOT feel like it has gone by so fast to me.  It hasn't crawled by either; it just is what it is.  Yes, Alaina is 5.  It feels like she should be five.  Yes, we've been married for 9 years.  It feels like it has been 9 years.  We've earned every day of those years.  It's an unromantic view, but that's how I see it, I guess.

5.  Look who's getting stronger!

Happy Father's Day to my dear ol' Dad, and to my husband, who has won his daughters' hearts.