August is Birthday Month!

August is the Birthday Month for the Larkins Family.
 

Yep, all 4 of us have birthdays in August.
 

No, we don't have Birthday Cake all month long.
 

This year we decided to have one big party to celebrate the boys' birthdays and picked a Saturday about halfway between the two.  We rented a water slide bouncy house and set up the backyard for fun!  The bouncy house was at one end of the back yard while the pool was at the other end.  We placed the food and cake on the side with chairs grouped near by.  Over all, it was a great day!  The party officially started at 1:00 with a 'come-and-go' feel.  We cooked hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner for those still hanging out with us in the evening.  Everyone seemed to have a good time and the boys loved it! 

 

Putting stickers on the bubble bottles that went into the goody bags.

The 5-n-1 water slide bouncy house

David picked Spiderman for his cake,

Michael picked Batman for his cake.



David used the money he got for his birthday to buy what he wanted.
What little he had left went into his piggy bank.

Michael used the money he got for his birthday to buy what he wanted.
He decided to put what he had left over in his piggy bank!

 

Yearly Check-Up

The boys had their yearly Well-Check on August 7 this year and got great news!  They are both extremely healthy and free of ear wax build-up.  Yes, that last part is a huge answer to prayer since last year was bad with the Great Wall of Ear Wax for both boys (especially Michael). 

David's Stats:  Age: 6 11/12
                      Height: 50" (75-90%)
                      Weight: 53.5 pounds (50-75%)
                      BP: 102/60
                      Vision screen wasn't done since he had his eyes checked by an eye doctor back in June and is now wearing glasses for reading purposes (even though we make him wear them most of the time). 


Michael's Stats:  Age: 5
                        Height: 43.25" (50-75%)
                        Weight: 42.5 pounds (50-75%)
                        BP: 92/56
                        Vision Screen: 20/30 for both eyes

Doc said to keep on doing what we are doing (allergy meds, vitamins, fiber chews, etc) and that they are extremely healthy.  No concerns at this time.

Yeah!!!

Baby Birds

We have baby birds in the nest!!

Mama Bird laid 4 eggs and I think that at least 3 of them have hatched.  There are 2 birds that are in the front area and seem to be thriving.  It is hard to see much because we don't want to bother the nest, babies and Mama Bird.  At least one was chirping when I went out to get this picture today.  We (the boys and I) were able to watch as Mama Bird came to the nest with something in her mouth (hoping it was food for the babies) yesterday afternoon.  Glad to see that she is doing what she can for her babies and the boys were excited to watch from inside the house!

 

Feed Me!!!

 

Backporch Bird Nest

We noticed Sunday that we have a bird nest inside one of our folding chairs.  We are not sure what kind of bird, but it is small (about 5-6 inches tall) and looks kinda like a finch.  It is brownish grey and we have only seen one bird so far.  Yesterday afternoon I was checking on it and noticed that there was an egg inside.  This morning I found 2 eggs inside!  Sheba (our dog) just ignores the chair when she is outside, so we are not concerned with her bothering it.  The boys have been told to not mess with the chair or the nest and so far they are not interested in it at all (which is a good thing!). 

The bird nest is nestled down into the chair with the opening on the side. 

Can't wait to see baby birds hatching!!

 

Yesterday, there was one egg when I took the picture.

 

 

New Glasses

This past year, David has had trouble with reading.  One of our concerns was his eyesight and yesterday he went for his very first Eye Exam.  He did fantastic!  He was very cooperative and responded well to the doctor.  The only thing he was not happy about was one of the eye drops that helps dilate the eye because it stung a little bit.  His eyes look really healthy (according to the doctor) and he only has a slight prescription.  She said that it was up to us if we wanted him to get glasses or not; we chose to get him glasses.  He picked out a really neat pair of Nike glasses that are mostly bright blue with some blue-green added inside the ear pieces.  He is really excited about them and we are hoping that they will help with seeing the letters clearly when reading. 

 

Now, if we can just get him to pronounce words and letters correctly......



Our New Family Toy

Chris and I have been talking about things to keep the boys busy this summer and about getting something for them to play on in the backyard.  Since both boys love water (splashing, swimming, etc), we decided to get a pool.  I've been looking at several recently and this past Saturday, we went to Wal-Mart and got one.  It took just over an hour to set it up and several hours to fill.  It is not huge, but is big enough for the boys to play in.  We got the 12 foot x 30 inches one with a pump to keep the water moving.  Sunday afternoon (late) we went out to try out our new pool.  The water was freezing but the boys had a ton of fun.  Now all I need is a nice reclining lounge chair to sit in while they are playing in the pool. 

 

Set up and filling!!!

Still too short to climb in on his own

Wanted Daddy to throw him in!!

Getting adjusted to the cold!!!

 

See, I can fit

Where's my chair???

Okay, not the most flattering pictures of the adults, but hey, this is who we are!  :)

Spring Break 2013

This year we spent Spring Break at home.  Overall, we had a quiet week; stayed around the house most of the time, spent one day at the zoo, ran errands, had a doctor visit (not sick, just a check-up) and spent time together as a family and with friends.

Monday: The boys and I went to a doctor visit for David.  He has had some major nose/snot issues and we needed to get it checked out.  Long story short, his nasal passages were very swollen and blocked causing the snot back up.  After listening to the doctor tell him about having to blow his nose ALOT and take the nose spray every night or end up going to a special doctor who will have to stick something up his nose to clean it all out, he has decided to blow his nose often (and when prompted) and submit to the nose spray.  So far, the spray seems to be working.  He is less nasally sounding when talking, breathes through his nose more and can chew while keeping his mouth closed.  We are hoping that with all this clearing up, it will help him at school.  He was on the verge of a really nasty sinus infection and I am glad that we caught it in time!  After the doctor, we ran errands and had a fairly good day!

Tuesday: The boys helped Chris crush cans in the garage in the morning and then after lunch, David got to go on a ride around the block twice on Chris' motorcycle.  He really enjoyed it and we are looking to get him a helmet that fits properly soon.  Michael got to sit on the motorcycle behind Daddy, but didn't get to go riding since he has to be at least 5 years old (according to state law).  It is giving him something to look forward to when he turns 5 in August.  We also went to the playground down the street and the boys rode their bikes.  We had a race coming home and both Chris and I were a bit winded from following with the boys (Chris was pacing along side of David and I was pacing/running along side of Michael).  I think we all slept well that night!

Wednesday: We left early to go to the Houston Zoo for the day.  I have learned to pack light (we had one backpack that carried all we needed: lunch, snacks, drinks, extra change of clothes for the boys, wallet, keys, cameras, first aid kit, etc).  We took turns carrying the backpack (I had it for most of the time) and enjoyed lunch while there.  It wasn't totally crowded, but was busy since it was vacation time for many of the people in the area.  We left around 1:00/1:30 and both boys fell asleep before too long.  It was a great day! 

Thursday: Chris had to work, so the boys and I had a relatively quiet day at home.  We watched movies, read books, played games and just spent a mostly lazy day in the house.

Friday: Chris had to work again, so the boys and I had a quiet morning at home before spending most of the rest of the day running errands & grocery shopping. 



Hair Cuts

Chris decided (and I okay'd it) to give the boys short hair cuts tonight as a result of what happened to David earlier this week.

 

Here are the Before and After pictures......

 

Before

Before

 

 

After

After

Not Happy With A Haircut

Today, I got a call from David's Assistant Principal at his school

(the call was just before 3:00 and school is out at 2:40).

Apparently an older girl on the bus to the daycare center that he goes to for after-school care decided to cut his hair without his permission.

He said that he told her not to cut it, but she cut it anyway.

I brought home a pair of my good shears from school to see what I could do to try and make it decent.

I wasn't sure what I would find when I picked him up this afternoon.

It wasn't quite as bad as I thought, but still very upset that the girl did this to him!

Chopped hair (note big empty spot where hair was)

Making a 'not happy' face

Laughing at Michael laughing at him

Second attempt at a 'not happy' face

Not much better, but at least it is mostly shaped up and even after Mama got through.

Rest Time

Sunday afternoon 'Rest Time' at our house is usually pretty quiet.  The boys usually get to watch a movie while laying on their pillows on the couches and covered with their blankets.  Not yesterday.  Both boys lost the movie privilege so David was sleeping on his bed and Michael was on the small couch. 

He eventually fell asleep... 

Sheba likes to sleep on the couch as well.  She also likes their blankets.

 

Ice Skating

This past Saturday, David was invited to attend a Pizza and Ice Skating birthday party for one of his classmates.  Michael and I tagged along.  We had a great time!  Chris had to work, so he missed out on all the fun, but got to see pictures at dinner (we met him at the McDonald's that is in Wal-Mart) and hear about it from the boys.  The boys had never been skating (any kind of skating) before and I haven't been skating since ???????  We all laughed so hard! 
The boys fell quite a lot at the beginning and then David took off and did great!  It was almost like watching someone who had skated several times before!  I think we found a sport that he can do well in.  Michael took a bit longer to get his rhythm, but when he did it was way too funny to watch!  I did good to take pictures while skating on the ice, so I wasn't able to get any video of his style.  It was kind of a penguin waddle, while running on his toes.  I did fine as long as no one touched me and was very proud of myself for staying on my skates the whole time!  I didn't fall, however, I did check Michael into the wall quite a lot when he would grab my leg!
Some of the pictures are dark, but enjoy them anyway!

 

 

Skates are on

David starting out

Michael trying to not fall

Holding on and having fun

'Breakdancing' on the ice
(actually falling, but doing a neat job of it!)
 

Look, I'm skating

Two tired and wet little boys and one aching Mama!
We skated for about 2 hours.

Christmas 2012, part 2 (more pictures)

Setting up lights outside

Helping Daddy take lights out of the package

Helping Daddy take lights out of the package

Starting to string them out

David decided that he wanted to ride his big wheel instead of helping.
Michael was helping pull the lights straight.

Waiting on you Daddy!

Finding the 'corner' of the yard

Michael was telling David to stop playing and get back to helping Daddy!
(David was ignoring him...)

Mostly done!  Lights were also wrapped around the lower part of the tree.

Starting to put ornaments on the Christmas Tree!

Everyone's stocking was hung on the fireplace.
(L to R: David, Rachael, Sheba, Chris, Michael)

Sheba's new toy from her stocking

About 2 minutes later...

4 minutes after getting it...

Taken away after 5 minutes of playing with it!

Grandpa Dave & Grandma Lela came over for lunch and to help celebrate Christmas.

Michael's new slippers

David's new slippers

Opening gifts