Camping with the Paytons- Sunday- June.

Our blood must be thin because it was about 48 degrees when we woke up Sunday morning and we were cold. Mama and Georgie were the only smart ones who slept with hats. Luckily, Henry and I were tired enough to sleep all night.

There was no way Georgie was going to be cold. She wore a t-shirt, a jumper, pajamas, a fleece sleep sack, the swaddling blanket and a fleece blanket wrapped around her. Mama felt a little bad that she just put her on the ground to sleep, but Georgie was definitely the easiest kid to take care of all weekend. Everyone should go camping with a 6 week old.

She was so pleased just to be outside that she slept for 3 hours in her car seat after we all woke up at 7am. She even slept through the kids yelling and screaming as the adults sat bleary eyed around the fire waiting for the percolator coffee to brew.

While the grown-ups cleaned up, Gracie sat with George for a good 20 minutes trying to make her smile. She succeeded often.

I wanted my turn too. I sure look rough. My chin is chapped from my nukie and Miss Becky noticed I even had dirt on my eyelashes.

This big kids were allowed to roast their hot dogs over the fire, but I had to stay away.

After lunch, Gracie led us in a noisy round of "fly like a bird" around the fallen tent.

Preschool must be paying off, because I surprised everyone with a rousing rendition of "The wheels on the bus."

Mister Andy was happy to join me when it progressed to the "Cows on the bus go moo, moo, moo" and "The sheep on the bus go baa, baa, baa."

After we packed up, we visited the "living history" farm. I was bummed that it was just old buildings and not an animal farm. We did amuse ourselves by posing George in the cradle.

She fits right in!

Gracie tried on some pajamas.

And we managed to find some chickens to satisfy our desire to see animals.

When we finished the rounds of all the old buildings, we were all in the mood to get our pictures taken. Things sure have changed since we lived in Winston! The crazy, loud 3 year olds have matured into slightly less loud kids, though Gracie still knows how to push Henry's buttons. The babies are now fun toddlers and Georgie makes 5- which means we officially outnumber the adults.

All the grownups agreed that the kids are a perfect age for camping and that we should try to get a few more trips in before Georgie starts walking and things get crazy again.

The Paytons sat for a nice family picture.

And we even got a shot of the 5 dirty, greasy Turners.

The little girls dec

Gracie announced her intentions to marry Henry and asked for a picture of just the two of them. Henry asked Gracie to please stop trying to hold his hand.

Next up, the two little girls. I wasn't so sure about it because mama had to pull out warmer clothes in a pinch (remember, it's still 80 plus degrees down here and this is the first time I've worn pants since April) and she pulled out this Steelers shirt without realizing it was the shirt of our most hated rivals. It was a hand-me-down from a friend and mama assured me that if it ever was appropriate to wear a Steelers shirt, it was too a campground where there was at least a 50% change of getting ruined.

I was so happy, I gave Audrey a big smooch.

Now the original four!

And the Turner kids!

Here's Henry's catalog shot showing off those snazzy acid-washed jeans.

And I cute picture by the parking lot. Can you tell how tired we are? Before we left, we stopped at King's Mountain Battlefield, where we learned about the Revolutionary War battle that took place there.

We didn't even make it out of the park before I was asleep. When we got home, we were so filthy, mama demanded we take off our clothes outside and immediately head upstairs for a bath. A sure sign of a great weekend.

Camping with the Paytons-Saturday- Henry.

We were so excited when mama and papa told us we were going camping with our best Winston Salem friends- the Paytons! We haven't seen them since Easter and were ready for some good rowdy fun!

Mama set up our little tent and designated it as our play tent. Mostly it was an effort to keep kids out of the "sleep tents" so she would have to wash muddy footprints off all the sleeping bags and blankets. Everyone was surprised when Gracie and I spent a half hour working on workbooks instead of running around screaming.

Audrey's attention immediately went to baby George and she was so excited to hold her.

Even Mister andy got in on the baby cuddling.

We tried to pick out a campsite that was out of the way, but close to the bathrooms. And we tried to do a good job staying out of the road.

The main source of entertainment for the gown-ups was the Eastern European family that brought their own power tools and cut their own fire wood. We're pretty sure you're not supposed to to this, but they put in hours of effort and had a warm, roaring fire that made us cold and jealous next to our tiny fire made from fire wood that we purchased for $6 a bundle. Yikes.

There was a huge playground across the campground. The dads took us there while the moms stayed back at the campsite. Of course, babies only choose the most inconvenient times to go through growth spurts and mama spent most of the day in a lawn chair nursing her.

It was such a big day that I fell asleep cuddled up next to Mister Andy when we went back to the playground after supper. Luckily I perked up in time for the nightly entertainment, a local girl with a karaoke machine. We only stayed for a few songs. She mostly sang country ballads and the kids were not interested in listening to songs about "men in mascara." (Turns out the lyrics are really "Men and mascara always run" and the song was not a biting social commentary on hipsters that wear eye makeup.)

June did make friends with a little girl and a teensy little dog and refused to come back as sit with us.

I was pumped to carry my lantern that PawPaw gave me, though I did drop it about 50 times and managed to break all the piece apart once. Don't worry, Pawps, somehow it still works.

We had such a good day that we didn't last long when mama and papa threw us in the tent. I read Junie Backyardigans books until we both fell asleep. Stay tuned for an update on Sunday.

Homecoming week- Henry.

In the two falls we've been in Clemson, Homecoming week means one thing- the end of the drought. Both years have seen the first rain Clemson has had in months. It rained on Georgie on Tuesday and we realized it was the first time she'd seen rain in the 6 weeks she was alive.

We notice this because the two biggest Homecoming events (at least to us) take place outside on Bowman field. The first is the Habitat for Humanity house that is built in one week on a trailer on the field thanks to the help of round the clock volunteers.

The second is the annual fraternity float contest. This year the results were pretty impressive.

We met up with our friends Savannah and Gage (and their parents) for pizza and headed down to check out the floats. They aren't really floats because they are secured to telephone poles installed especially for the event, but we don't know what else to call them.

This one was our favorite. Maybe they should put the fraternities on probation again next year. This display was great!

And it even had a race car and tigers in lab coats.

June did not like all of the big tigers. Especially that one behind her. You could actually walk into its mouth. Needless to say she freaked out when Savannah and I disappeared inside.

This frat got a little graphic when the tiger ran over Miami's "Hurricane" with its tractor. Yikes!

This one sprayed water. Well done, frat boys. And a big kudos to the grounds crew of Clemson. By Monday, they'd torn everything on the field down and resodded (re-sod-ed?) all the grass that didn't make it through the rain. Impressive.

A blogstravaganza!- Mama.

Blog world, it's your lucky day! We've got a week's worth of cuteness loaded into one huge blog post! So grab a cup of coffee and buckle down.
We had to get a picture of George in this little sleep sack. It was Henry's and a serious favorite of Papa's. The giraffe shoes are new (from a consignment sale) and adorable.
Georgie is really getting fun. At about 4 weeks, she actually started looking at us instead of staring cross-eyed at the wall over my shoulder. And at 5 weeks, she started watching us and smiling. You can guess who gets the most smiles. Papa, of course.


I'm not going to kid myself that everyone wants to watch long videos of newborns doing close to nothing. So I tried to keep these videos short. So if you're interested in some serious cute, check out these hiccups!

We're very cautious about declaring the end of Georgie's gross skin. Her whole body has peeled a couple times (especially her hands and feet). With June, I got a big dose of kharma cradle cap. When Henry was a baby, I saw a kid with cradle cap and physically recoiled, priding myself on not producing a child with a gross flaky head. That came back to bite me when June was born and had the nastiest cradle cap ever. So I don't want to say I'm in the clear, even if Georgie's acne doesn't seem too bad. But there is a lot of skin underneath those big cheeks to hide acne on.


Here's a cute video of a sweet baby yawn.


And a little babbling.


After all those pictures, someone was pretty tired and fussy. This is the "tired and possibly dirty" cry. Georgie hates a dirty diaper, loves getting changed, and really LOVES pooping in a dry diaper. That's 20 cents down the drain.
On to Henry. He is super fun these days and very serious about what he loves. Here's the inside of his desk (don't pinch your fingers!). Workbooks, pencils, and a ruler. More importantly, he's got a folder full of cars ripped from newspapers and magazines waiting to be cut out and placed in that red tin for future use. He even stole my blue fabric scrap bag to collect his paper scraps when he cuts out his cars. This kid means business. (Grandma, I think Henry might need you to make him one of these bags for Christmas. I want mine back.)

School has really been paying off. Henry came home eager to explain gravity to us.

He even made a whirly-gig to demonstrate gravitational force. Check out the air under his feet.
And check out that Jay Bruce shirt! Jay Bruce hit a walk off home run against the Astros to clinch the Reds division championship since 1995. Playoffs here we come!

The high point of the week was the boy scouts' bike rodeo. Henry had his helmet and bike inspected and begged me to let him ride over this ramp after he saw older kids jumping it. He was so pumped and never took it fast enough to get an air, so I wasn't too nervous. Old Henry "Rules" Turner loved that they put down chalk lines all over the parking lot to follow and even had traffic signs up to obey. He was probably the only kid there who did follow them. I see many bike 4-H projects in his future. Uncle Kevin, your godson is following in your footsteps. This picture was posted on the newspaper's website. Here's the link to the article.
Since the birth of baby George, we haven't had to do much cooking. After all the family visitors left, the local moms' club set up meals to be delivered 3 times a week for a month. And most of the meals consisted of enough food to feed this family at least 3 or 4 times. I've cooked maybe 3 or 4 times and still have a freezer full of leftovers. Thanks, Mom's Club! We did get the itch to do some cooking last week. I made coconut pudding from scratch and Henry helped cut up bananas to simmer in coconut milk.
Henry has become acutely aware of my inability to remember to return school library books. And because he is the house's official time and date keeper, he took it upon himself to mark even library day until the end of the year on his calendar. He sounded out the word "Libaye" himself.
Finally on to the big girl in the house. June sure does love her little sister. She constantly is carrying around Georgie's blankie and nukie and trying to give them to her (probably because she's jealous that she doesn't get to have hers out of bed). And when the baby isn't around, she's asking "Where's Georgie?" She's very concerned when she cries (hence the blankie and nukie) and today I found her holding Georgie's hand waiting for me to come comfort her.

June is a barrel of fun these days. She must have picked up all the imagination that Henry is lacking. She insisted that I be her horsie in this video- an act that really cracked her up.

Henry and June both love books, but Henry really only wants to read them in bed. June is our avid book reader and you can regularly find her beside a book shelf surrounded by a pile of books "reading" out loud. I walked in to find her narrating her favorite animal book quite loudly. Of course, when I got the camera she noticed me and refused to read it again. But eventually she did show me a few pages.

"Leo-po" is lady bug. And I love that she cheers for herself when she reaches the end.

Last, but not least, is a new recording of June's FAVORITE SONG EVER: "Hold on tight." We still listen to it about 90 times a day. Every time she hears music, June requests "Hold on tight," then throws a fit if you don't put it on repeat. She then drags the step stool over in front of the stove and sings along while performing certain hand motions. It takes about 20 repetitions before she loses interest and walks away. But don't let her hear you turn it off, or she'll run back in and ask for it again.

Glamour shots- Georgie.

Mama found a few more outfits from the "Becky collection" that she wanted to put me in before it was too late.

This is the baptism gown Grandma made mama when she was a baby. Mama was baptized when she was only 10 days old, so she wanted to stuff me in it while I was still small enough.

The arm holes are actually so small that Grandma ripped part of the seam so June could put it on when she was a baby. After this little photo shoot, mama sewed the seams back up. I guess this means she's not saving the dress for any more fat-armed little girls.

There's someone up there, isn't there? Don't let him jump on me!

We finally got a real smile on camera! I had a huge dirty diaper while mama was taking pictures and she was terrified of what yellow baby poop might do to a white 29 year old dress, so I had a quick change. Maybe it's easy to catch a smile on the changing table because I do not like having a dirty diaper and love getting changed into a nice, dry diaper.

Next outfit- mama's tiny little white stork sleeper. But by this point, I was tired and didn't want my picture taken.

Mama had a heck of a time finding this sleeper. She had it out before I was born, but then it got misplaced.

She searched the whole house and finally found it in a bin of Henry's old clothes she put in the attic. She was so happy she found it that I've worn it twice this week.

Don't I look sweet? But don't be fooled. I don't like to sleep on my own without being touched.

The only way mama can get me to take a nap on my own is to wrap me up in my fancy swaddling blanket (it even has built in arm restraints!) as tight as she can get me. This can normally buy her around 5 minutes before I wake up and demand to be held. But on Saturday afternoon, I did sleep for almost 4 hours. Alleluia!

I'll have mine with a side of George- June.

Mama, we know she can't roll over yet, but is this really the best place to keep a baby?

Fine, just don't let her put a foot in my "butter-jelly."

I love playing with my "Een-steins" as the Little Einsteins are known around our house. I line them up and name them: "Leo... Annie..Een-stein...Een-stein." Those two little black-haired girl is also named June, so we have a good deal of Little Einsteins stuff (and mama doesn't find them terribly annoying like some other shows). But I don't like that June has my name, so she is just called "Een-stein."

No new news on my foot. I'm taking my medicine and it's still about the same. It's not bothering me, except that I walk slower.

(Side note: We're not going to complain about a sore foot, because there are some pretty major kid injuries going on out there in the blog world right now. Broken arms, broken legs, braces on 3 year olds?!?!? Take it easy, blog friends!)

Last week, we went out for pizza. Papa fed me a slice without cutting it up. I love it! Then we went to a soccer game at the University. At every meal since, I've requested "pizza and soccer game."

Henry's got a computer game that he plays called "Jump Start Kindergarten." He's played it this summer, but only just recently discovered that there are missions you have to go on that involve earning gems, then using the gems to buy things to accomplish the mission. Some of the things he has to do is earn gems to buy a pet, food, shampoo, and teach it tricks. His pet is a blue pig named Blossom. He also bought seeds, plant food, and a special light and grew flowers to plant in a flower bed. He loves this game.

Where's that baby now? Mama thinks this picture with the bright flash and the look on Georgie's face makes it looking like a shocking celebrity caught in the act of something scandalous. But the only scandalous thing Georgie might do is get the sheets dirty. Get a diaper on that kid!

On Saturday morning, papa took Henry and John to Lowes for the Build and Grow clinic. If you've never been to one, it's good free fun and kids get to build something on their own with great little kits with precut pieces and pre-drilled holes for nails and kid sized tools. I was MAD when I was not allowed to go.

Henry built a little stage and put on a show that featured Lowe's workers and aliens. (He didn't actually put on a show, but had a fun time arranging them on the stage.)

Papa promised them that if they were good they could go out for doughnuts. We didn't know that there would be fire trucks and the fire safety truck on display at Lowes. So by the time they got back from the grocery store, it was almost noon. Mama tried to fortify our lunch doughnuts with some apples, cheese, carrots and yogurt. But guess what was the only item to get eaten in it's entirety? Sorry, Miss Juliet, for sugaring John up and sending him home.

They brought home a doughnut for me too. I took the unorthodox "no-hands" method. Pretty messy for a cream-filled doughnut.

After lunch, I closed myself in the office and read books until mama made me take a nap.

1 month comparison- Georgie.

Part of being the youngest of 3 means recreating photo opportunities so you match your older brother and sister. These were all taken when we were roughly one month old.

Here's the original shot of Henry in his "I love my aunt" outfit. Look at all that black hair!

June clearly wins the chunky baby contest.

I did not want to get my picture taken just because everyone else did it. But besides being the blondest kid with the least hair, it looks like I'm also the smallest of the three of us. That makes mama feel better because she regularly comments on how big I'm getting then starts talking about how maybe she does want 4 kids after all. Don't go down that road, mama. I'm the baby and I plan on staying the baby.