Just normal days...

Simply put, there's nothing overly exciting going on around here.  We're just livin'.

Playing with flashcards, reading books, swimming in the pool (or mostly playing with the hose), eating our weight in bananas (the kids, not me), meeting new friends, visiting with old ones and maybe indulging in a chocolate chip cookie.  Or five.

Chocolate face!

Yes, yes, I think I like these chocolate chip cookie things.

Monday night we went to "Meet the Jags" night at Chris' school.  All the athletic teams wave at the crowd, the cheerleaders try to teach the audience cheers and the fight song (which is Michigan's fight song and yes, it is horribly annoying) and the band kneels on one knee trying not to look completely bored.  

Which they are.

Aubrey Kate was dying to see Daddy.  He came to get her out of the stands.  (Note to her future husband:  You have some big shoes to fill, dude.  This girl adores her Daddy.)  Rhys was so enthralled by everything going on, he sat snuggled in my lap the entire time.  (Note to Rhys' future wife:  He's like me and not entirely comfortable in a crowd.  Stay close and hold his hand.  You're welcome.)  

The entire loading up of the children/packing enough for a nuclear winter/stressing about losing one or both of them in the crowd was totally worth it for those uninterrupted minutes of snuggle with my little man.    

Eat.  Him.  Up.

Chris managed to convince AK to take a picture with Rosy, one of the mascots.  There's a "Jaggy" too but he was a little too crazy for her.  I know that only because she's been demonstrating how he was jumping around for the last two days.  All the way home, she kept talking about Rosy and "when she joins our family."  

Apparently, we need to adopt a jaguar.  

I'd be happy if she'd accept Rhys as part of the family instead of a temporary annoyance.  

Sigh.

But she is super duper cute in this picture.  Oh my heart, do I love this girl.  

Shy smile...

Yesterday we had a play date with AK's first love, Beau.  His mommy just had another little guy.  

Although Myles was supposed to be a girl.  

They didn't have an ultrasound (she believes they can be harmful and if that's true, Rhys is doomed.) but based on all the old wives' tales and the Chinese birth calendar, Myles was clearly a girl.  

Only, he wasn't.

Took them two days to name him.  Might have taken us a month if AK had come out a boy.  

If Rhys had come out a girl, we would have flipped a coin to decide between Emerson Louis and Reese Elizabeth.  

So yes, Rhys might have been Reese.  

Anyway, we got to love on this chunky, handsome man.  

Um...he's 10 weeks old, y'all.  Seriously. 

AK and Beau played...hard...for two hours.  Couldn't even convince them to stop and eat.  He lives out in the country, sort of.  There are other houses but not many and they are not all that active.  The kids could ride bikes in the front yard without us fearing the worst.  Not a single car went by in two hours.

I wish I had pictures of them playing but that would have required them being still.  And it just didn't happen.

Today was Meet the Teacher day at AK's preschool.  She has been asking for FOREVER when she could go back to school.  One more week, girly, one more week.  

As usual, she was super shy going in.  Didn't speak.  Barely nodded.  But she warmed up a little.  

There was another girl there, Audrey, and she was an older three.  Turns four in October.  And oh my heavens, what a difference!  Size aside (AK's itty bitty anyway), the four year old was writing her name.  

We can spell our name.

As long as I don't ask her to do it.  Spontaneous spelling, I guess.  

This is gonna be a big year, I think.

Y'all, my baby is gonna learn how to write.  

She actually asked for a picture with her teachers.  I almost passed out cold.  Not that it means she'll smile but she stood there willingly and I WILL TAKE IT.

So see.  Just regular stuff.  

Regular stuff is good.  I'll take THAT anytime.