Our very well-behaved week- Henry.

We've had a great week. First, Miss Susan called to ask if she could spend two nights with us as she travels around the country for med school interviews. We were so excited to see her! In anticipation, mama tidied up the house a bit. (No work is getting done now with her condition- constant napping, I mean.) She also managed to marinade and cook up 5 pounds of sticky chicken to add to her freezer stock. The only problem with mama's mass cooking is that after cooking multiple batches of something in a short period, she can't bear the thought of having to eat it. It's going to be a while before she can stomach beef burgandy, even though we have 6 bags waiting to be eaten.

While mama was cooking, we kept ourselves busy. Mama has been busy scanning in my artwork from the past 6 months and decided I should hang up all my letters from the year. Except there were a few we were missing. So we've started recreating the missing letter. The first was C. I got out all the supplies and went to work at my little desk, gluing candy to the letter. Mama was nervous handing me a bottle of glue, but I quickly showed her that I knew just what to do. "Squeeze, drop, stop." We love you, preschool.

June played in the toy room with her Little People while mama and I made banana bread for my class. I am pleased to say I can now perfectly crack an egg without smashing it in my fingers. I think I might be better than mama. While the muffins were cooking, June pulled out her markers, which she is prone to do about 4 times a day. This kid loves to color. And she knows which drawer everything is in. She even picks out different coloring books every time. Mama usually pulls a page out and lets her go at it. Yesterday, she picked out the Thomas coloring book, but gave mama an earful when she saw the page she ripped out. She yelled at mama for 2 minutes before grabbing the book from her, turned to the front cover, pointed at Thomas, and shouted "Woo, woo!" Mama eventually figured out that June not only wanted a picture of Thomas, but it had to be one with steam coming out of his funnel. Girls are so demanding.

On Tuesday, Miss Susan had to go to Atlanta for another interview, but it wasn't until 5pm. Papa very generously offered to take the day off to watch us kids so mama and Miss Susan could spend the day in Atlanta. They went to this hip place called Atlantic Station, ate lunch outside, and went to see Bodies: the Exhibition. You've got to check out the link. It was so cool. They also visited the Ikea, Trader Joe's, and Starbucks.

While they were gone, we played with papa. Juner practiced putting her baby doll to sleep.

And I built a huge marble run.

While I'm at school, June and mama go to the gym. Mama is getting big enough that people are starting to notice she's pregnant, and now they are starting to freak out about her working out. (The doctor says it's fine as long as she's feeling good. They're just jealous that she's still kicking their butts in spinning.) When they get home from the gym, June gets to watch an episode of Dora while mama takes her shower.

She has quite the ritual now. She finds her GG bear and puts it in the chair, then covers both of them up with a blanket. This girl loves Dora.

Today, mama was busy cleaning the upstairs. While mama put away all our winter clothes, June piled her books in mama's bed and read and cuddled under the covers until mama was finished. Then she played with her new Easter People while mama made some apple chips in the dehydrator and granola in the crock pot.

Then June sampled some marshmallows from her campfire set. What a goofball.

After they picked me up from school, we went to the elementary school to visit our neighbor Matt's classroom. They were having a fundraiser, and were reading books to raise money. We tried our best to sit still while Matt read to us.

But June got to wiggly and gave up sitting nicely. She immediately made friends with a friendly man. Luckily, he also lives in our neighborhood (we've met his wife before) and didn't mind a two-year-old demanding hugs.

Papa's pictures- June.

We got home form the zoo so late on Sunday, there was no time to take naps. So we zoned out in front of some Dora for a half hour, then headed back outside.

Here I am on my new scooter. I love riding it! And I never fail to impress mama and papa because i already have more coordination than Henry.

Henry stuck to his too small tricycle. He also rides his bike a lot but the trike is easier to climb on and off of, plus he can really get it going fast around the corners.

Papa got the fancy lens out that always takes awesome pictures. And he got some great ones of us playing.

Mama thinks Henry's face is starting to get a little chunky, but he's still super skinny everywhere else. He's been growing up quickly, and she's had to put away some of his 3T pants. Even some 4Ts are starting to get snug on him. This is a miracle because you might remember that Henry didn't retire some 18 month pants until well after his 3rd birthday.

To show how big he was getting, Henry carried many large rocks over his head, exclaiming all the while: "Look how strong I am!"

I have become quite theatrical about everything lately. Everything is very pleasing or EXTREMELY upsetting.

We really need to get caught up- Henry.

We are falling so far behind on our blog that mama has heroically chosen to give up her daily nap in order to try and catch up. Good for you, but it might turn bad for us, because she gets pretty grumpy without a snooze.

On Sunday, the weather was perfect and we decided to head to Greenville to the zoo. We posed for the obligatory bear picture.

Papa, you're such a goof!

Mama packed us lunch and after we ate all the healthy stuff, she surprised us with Fun Dip!

June dip a good job licking the stick without chomping it.

I chose the rather unorthodox method of licking both sides of the stick and covering it completely with the cool powder that turns from blue to green. Then I ate the whole stick and just licked up the powder. Mama tried her first corn dog and was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. But she still prefers normal hot dogs.

We took a gander at the tortoises. You can sort of see mama burgeoning belly in this shot. At 18 weeks, she's finally admitted defeat and packed up all of her normal clothes and is now wearing only maternity clothes, which she now has a ton of, thanks to her friend Tammy. All mama had in her stock was black work turtlenecks from her previous winter pregnancies. Now she's better prepared for the summer.

We love the Greenville Zoo, but there is one thing thank drives mama crazy (there's always something that annoys mama). It is very well-designed, impeccably clean, and very well-maintained, but EVERYONE feeds the animals. Papa pointed out that it appears the gift shop sells special crackers to throw the zebras, but it doesn't justify to mama that at any time you can spot cookies and cheese crackers in all of the animal pens. Even though there are signs EVERYWHERE that say "Please don't feed the animals." It really drives her crazy. And there are never any zoo employees around to tell people that your oreos probably aren't part of a balanced diet for an orangutan. You're encouraging your kids to disobey rules, and who gives up oreos, anyway? They are the gold standard of cookie in our house, which is why we only get them about once every two years.

That's enough ranting for now. We got a shot sitting on the lions.

June wasn't too happy when I slid down the lion's head right on top of her.

After we left the zoo, we visited the huge playground right outside. We debating whether or not we're going to come here anymore. It's a great playground, but when the weather is nice, there are never less than 300 people there. And the playground is massive and it's very easy to lose track of each other. We got a good example of this when we saw a crying little girl almost run right into the parking lot. Mama caught her before she got in front of any cars. We found her mama all the way on the other end of the playground, almost 200 yards away, searching all over for her.

After the park, we decided to walk around downtown for a while. We visited the waterfall, which was also overrun with people enjoying the beautiful day and even got to visit the general store that sells bins of assorted candy by the pound. We all got a special treat.

More presents?- June.

All week, my birthday kept coming. I got a new doctor set from the Columbus Turners. It's hilarious to see Henry use it, but I still throw a hissy fit at the mention of a doctor's office.

Mama made the mistake of scheduling both of our yearly check-ups at the same time. She did make the wise choice of scheduling them when Grams was in town and could go with us. I was better at this appointment, meaning I only cried about 50 percent of the time. I'm 33 inches tall and weigh 27 pounds- placing me solidly in the 25th percentile for both groups.

Henry was great for his check-up. He was very cooperative standing on the scale and getting his height measured. (37 pounds and 40 inches- 50th percentile-who knew he wasn't a shrimp?) The problems started when it was his turn to get 4 shots. He's read plenty of books about getting shots and talked about it 100 times. And though he's never enjoyed getting shots, he's at least put on a brave face. Not this time. He threw the biggest fit and it took mama and two nurses to hold him down to give him the shots. The nurse actually told mama his legs would be sore because his muscles were so tense that it was heard to get the needle in. Sure enough, his entire right thigh had a light bruise from the trauma. He even told mama later that evening that it probably wouldn't have hurt if he hadn't wiggled so much. Maybe next time.

Back to presents. I got this awesome package from Aunt Molly and Uncle Michael. The presents even came gift-wrapped. How fancy.

I was so excited to find new Little People! Mama wishes that she had taken pictures when she was extracting the toys from the packaging (for 20 minutes). I would run to the package, clasp my hands to my giant cheeks and exclaim "Oh!" I could barely contain my excitement. Thanks, Neiders!

In the past, mama has heard people talk about the art of rotating toys. After Christmas, she finally couldn't handle the sheer volume of our stuff (but refuses to get rid of anything because the new baby might like it one day). So she bought 4 huge bins and started packing up toys. Henry was very intrigued by the idea and helped her pack away things. Last week, he started asking her to get the toys out again. So they hauled out the 4 bins (we love our walk-in attic- no ladders!) and reveled in the "new toys." Seriously, it's like Christmas all over again. I've played with this gear toy for at least 45 minutes every morning. Mama loves that it keeps us occupied and can't wait for next month when we can can do it all again.

After a freak snow storm last week (it was almost cold enough to stick to the grass), it looks like spring has really sprung. The temperatures has been in the 60s and the weather has been beautiful. Inspired by the early spring (though late by South Carolina standards), mama has been busy going through the boxes and boxes of hand-me-downs. We seriously have so much that all my spring and summer clothes don't fit in my dresser. In this picture I'm modeling a Sadie original and pretending to be asleep. And please know, that it is warm down here, but not quite warm enough for this. I had to change to go play outside.

Mama has a few good stories to tell about Henry these days. One day he told her that he really likes dinosaurs, but doesn't look at pictures of meat-eaters before he goes to sleep. They give him bad dreams. Mama told him that's why she doesn't think about gas-powered furnaces or tax returns before bed.

And yesterday, we were getting out of the car when Henry suddenly had many questions to ask about the new baby.

Henry: When the baby comes out of you, are you going to die?

Mama: No, I'll go to the hospital and they will take care of me. I will be sick for a few days, but people don't die having babies.

(She then started worrying about Henry laying awake at night fearing for her safety. But Henry must not have a firm grip on the concept of death yet.)

Henry: Did you die when I came out of you?

Mama: No, I survived.

Henry: Did you die when June came out?

Mama: Do I look dead?

Henry: No, I guess not. Does it hurt the baby to be covered in your blood?

I guess we need to have a talk with Henry about the business of growing a baby and explain to him that it will not pop out Alien-style. He also thinks that all of the babies mama has had are all in there at the same time. He often talks about how he used to play with me in her belly before he came out. I wish he would have gotten a good look at the new baby so he could tell me if its a boy or girl.

Visitors- Henry.

We didn't really mention it previously, but we had two wonderful guests staying with us recently. Grams Cracker spent 8 days with us and Great Grandma Wagner spent 3 days with us on her tour of the south.

Grandma Wagner hitched a ride down to North Carolina with Uncle Larry and Aunt Linda. Then Mister Andy and Miss Christina brought her to us when they came down for June's party. We had the best time because Great Grandma was incredibly attentive to me. She played anything game I wanted, got down on the floor to throw balloons, visited my school, read me books, and even brought a new present for me to open every day, including this new bulldozer puzzle.

Add on that we had Grams with us too, and it was heaven for two kids. Constant attention! Infinite patience! While I was at school in the morning, she and mama had fun shopping, visiting local bakeries (and Mexican restaurants) and even snuck out one night to see that Percy Jackson movie. Once Grandma came, they also got to visit Vice President Calhoun's house and a really old cemetary just outside of town that featured a church built in the mid-1700s that was fortified to withstand Indian attacks. Mama enjoyed the cemetery especially because it had many colorful people buried there, such as a lady who fell from her social standing in New Orleans. Her brother found her there, shot her and her lover and brought her back to Pendleton to bury her. Only the parish wouldn't let her in the cemetery unless he built a stone wall around her grave. There are also many Revolutionary War, Civil War, and both World War veterans there.

On Wednesday, we were said to have to say goodbye to Grandma and Grams. I was so upset by it all that I threw up my breakfast about 2 seconds after this picture was taken. I had been complaining that my tummy hurt, but no one took me seriously. Mama thinks it my have been some kind of reaction to the 4 shots I had at the doctor's office on Tuesday. After I threw up, I felt great and acted completely normal, especially now that I didn't have to go to school.

This threw a wrench in mama's plans because she was supposed to take Grandma back to Charlotte and more importantly, she had a trip to Trader Joe's and Ikea planned. Luckily, papa was able to spend the day at home with me and ultimately Juner as well. Mama got a mile down the road with her and realized what she was doing and brought her right back home to stay with us. Needless to say, she had a great time in Charlotte without any kids.

We've had a rough transition back into life without 4 adults bestowing constant attention. June spent a day looking around the house, asking "Gamma?" Grams and Grandma, please come back whenever you want! You're always welcome!

Juner's 2nd Birthday Party.

As you know, June turned 2 on Sunday. We celebrated with a birthday party with the neighborhood kids.

And what could the party theme be but dinosaurs? Mama baked this volcano cake in a glass mixing bowl and was surprised that decorating it only took about 7 minutes. This is by far the favorite cake she's made yet.

We even had party decorations thanks to the dollar store. For the first time at any Turner party, we had themed plates, napkins, cups, a table brachiosaurus, and even helium balloons (only a dollar!). It was $9 well spent. Henry saw the cake and was pretty excited about it. June saw it and was mad we put her two favorite dinosaurs on it and wouldn't let her take them off.

Mama made Juner a cute dino t-shirt. We'll have to take a picture of the front of it. We also added a tutu to the outfit to give the party a little bit of girl flair. We were so excited about all the helium balloons that we turned on some music and had a dance party.

The party needed a feminine touch because we had only boys. Baby Christopher was the littlest and slept through most of the party.

The big hit of the party was the play-doh volcanoes.

All the kids got a volcano, cups of vinegar and baking soda and an eye dropper. John worked very hard on his explosion.

June poked holes in her volcano until it was demolished.

Matt was the oldest at the party and officially mama's favorite 6 year old. He politely told her that her cake wasn't very accurate because there was no way that dinos would be walking on lava.

After the volcanoes were cleared away (good thing we used trays under each of them- easy clean-up), we decorated cookies. Mason worked hard on getting the maximum amount of sugar on his.

June got hold of a jar without a shaker and emptied a whole jar on her cookie. Immediately following cookies, we had some cake. But we forgot to get the video off of Grams' camera.

Matt waited for his cake.

Mason had another cookie because he doesn't eat chocolate.

John ate all of his.

Henry could barely wait to open June's presents. We had to remind him several times that it was not his birthday and the presents weren't for him. We were surprised to see that Mister Andy and Miss Christina (our cousins from Charlotte) brought down all the Seibert family presents (along with Great Grandma Wagner), so there was a big pile to open.

James helped June check out her new Dora book.

We made the terrible mistake of scheduling they party in the middle of the US-Canada gold medal hockey match. So the grown-ups stayed inside while the older boys went outside to get crazy. Or see how fast they could ride bikes into each other before someone got hurt. John went down first.

Andy used the car to try and avoid any major impact.

It was a great party and we want to thank everyone for celebrating June's second birthday with us!