Before and After

We were long over due in getting hair cuts for the kids.  Today we finished up our school and I loaded up the kids to go get much needed trims. 

Please ignore the Genius' facial expression...she inherited that look from her dad's side of the family ***and no that is NOT a dig.  They seriously ALL do this in pics, Need proof?  There was not even a flash with this photo.  It was taken on my phone***
The girls asked if this time they could be the ones to tell the hair dressers what they wanted done.  We had some discussions and I gave them permission.  They were both giggly and excited.  I kinda thought something was up.  What was going to be a trim, turned into this!

I LOVE it!!!! They look so grown up and beautiful. 
And not to be left out....The Professor went with clips 4 and 5.  We were hoping to tone down his "rock star" look.

He looks so cute! I swear he looked 3 as soon as they shaved his hair off. 
Do you let your kids choose their haircuts or do you still call the shots?

First Ever

Family Field Day! My husband came up with this idea and thought it would be a fun tradition to start.  He put the Genius in charge of this years field day.  He took her on a date to help her brainstorm and then she took it from there.  We were all given assignments from her and she planned activities for everyone.  Including a family race with the Professor being pushed from person to person in his stroller.  It was a super fun day.  Enjoy the pics!

Our Son's Fortune Cookies

I thought this was hilarious!  We opened our sons fortune cookie for him and this is what it said, "You are a bundle of energy, always on the go."  LOL!

Boys and Girls are Different

Obviously all of us know boys and girls are different.  In school, you hear a lot about nature verses nurture.  I was always convinced it was probably about half and half.  But after having two girls and then a boy (soon to be 2 boys) I am realizing there is a LOT of nature involved.  When our girls were young, we did not want them just having girl toys.  We bought them pretend tool set, doctor sets, cars, trucks, dolls, animals and lots of books.  They would play with everything but the majority of their time (even at the age of 2) was spent with their dolls and animals.  They dolls and animals would play games and even have simple conversations together or sing together.  Fast forward several years to the birth of our son.  Of course we wanted him to have the tools and cars and books.  But we did get him a doll and animals too.  And a doctor kit and pretend foods and kitchen items.  Not to mention the fact that because of his sisters he knows exactly what Polly Pockets and Barbies are.  However, without a bit of prompting on my part (and I am being 100% honest) he will 99% of the time choose his cars and tools.  He walks around pretending to fix everything from dolls to tables.  He loves to play with his cars and trucks.  His cars will sometimes ride with us in the car because he cannot stand to put them down.  Right now he is wandering around driving his cars on my legs, his car track, the windows and the couch.  And let's not forget what happens if you actually SEE a tractor or hear a siren.  My husband and I talk all the time about the astounding differences in raising boys verses girls. 
What about you?  Do you agree, disagree or somewhere in-between?

Movin' and Groovin'

Baby #4 was kind of quiet on Sunday.  I felt him move enough but not a whole lot.  I figured he was having a sleepy kind of day.  Then Monday came and it felt like he had been lifting weights.  His kicks and movements were SO much stronger.  Last night, he was kicking strong enough for my husband to feel it too.  It was such a special moment! 

His older brother, the Professor, is quite good at moving and grooving too.  He finds at least 100 dangerous things to do each day.  He loves to climb, try and jump and do things to make us laugh.  Yesterday he about wore me out. 
Boys are a LOT different than girls...in case you wondered.

A Date and a Choice

Today was just one of those wonderful days.  The weather was awesome! As in....windows open all day and sunny and puffy white clouds kind of a day.  Then my parents agreed to keep all 3 kids and my husband and I went our to celebrate our 11 year anniversary!  We went to see the new Bourne movie.  It is called "The Bourne Legacy".  It was SO good!  I am not too big into action movies but the Bourne movies are all great.  They are relatively clean.  Minimal language.  No sex.  No slamming of Christianity.  We had great seats, great popcorn and the kind of arm rests you can move up...so we snuggled up during the movie.  It was relaxing and tons of fun.  Afterwards we grabbed a quick sandwich from Burger King.  While sitting there we settled on a name for Baby 4!  We let the girls reveal the name when he is born.  It makes it a special moment for everyone!

The Answer......What the Surprise was!

 Well ,this was the big surprise! New, this set costs $799 and we did not even come close to paying that. We felt like we got a great deal. Typically Little Tykes products hold up quite well. Plus we already have 3 kids playing on it and next year our 4th child should be old enough to join in on the fun too! We knew we needed something constructive for the Professor to climb on and jump off of. Knowing he will soon have a little brother was what convinced my husband that we needed this for them. Our girls are super active but….boys are a lot different than girls. Not at all in a bad way, just different. Our girls need time to be active and play outside, but without constructive play our son likes to get into trouble. LOL! Anyways, we are so excited!! We truly do not spoil our kids and rarely get them gifts “just because”. This was great fun for all of us and I look forward to years of watching them play on it.