Mud

I have been wanting to get these pictures on here for awhile, but we've been catering to a new visitor. Dave refers to it lovingly as, "The Plague." I was really sick for 2 weeks and am finally getting better after my second round of antibiotics. I can't recall ever being so sick for so long before. This thing really kicked my butt! Thankfully, Dave has been my hero. He stepped in and took care of pretty much everything, including on his Father's Day. A week after I first got sick, the kids all followed suit and they are on antibiotics now too. It's been quite frustrating (and exhausting) that this thing has been such a well, a plague. Here are some pictures from before the kids got sick. I still managed to take some even when feeling so yucky. :)

Benjamin got a new knight costume and he rarely is without it. He just LOVES it so much! It's really sweet to watch him have so much fun. He got a cute horse too (Anna got a unicorn) and he rides around slaying dragons and the like....

And here's Anna in her fairy wings/crown that we got on our girls' shopping trip a while back. She continues to love it too!

Imaginations continue to be on high gear around our home!

Again, Dave was so amazing while I was sick. He did laundry, dishes, wiped bottoms, played with the kids, made meals, and so much more. I'm very blessed to have him and that his boss is so understanding! The highlight of one of my sick days was while we were sitting together eating one of Dave's meals, Collin decided to "hold court" so-to-speak. He would stick out his tongue like this....

and once he had our attention would make raspberries and shake his head no and play drum on his high chair tray.....

It may not sound too entertaining, but as you can see by his audience's reactions, it was sooooo cute and funny......

and I'm pretty sure he knows how captivating he is!

They truly love their baby so much!

And how could you not love this sweet pea?

"Cheese!"

And now for the headlining event.....

I was inside nursing Collin while the big kids were out playing in the sprinkler under the watchful eye of their father. When Collin was finished we rejoined them outside to discover this....

Yeah, Dave had taken the hose and drenched their garden and then encouraged them to play in it. They would go rinse off in the hose....

and before she had barely touched the water, Anna would be off for the mud pit again!

Rinse and repeat.....

It was really something!

At one point, Anna got it in her mouth. I was frantically trying to help her wipe it out and what does helpful Daddy do? He grabs the camera to document of course!

I tried to get it out, but eventually had to send her to the hose!

I joked with Dave that you could really see the personality differences in them while watching them do their mud play. Benjamin was more cautious and didn't get quite the coverage that wild Anna-Banana did!

Their father's next suggestion was to wipe it on each other.......

They were running around and I asked them to give me their best mud roars. (Check Anna out)

Here's a close up in case you missed her in the last shot....

Yeah, I think she was having fun! :)

It was quite the muddy mess!

But, apparently not muddy enough. Dave's next suggestion was for them to roll in it....

And then came the hair mud scrubbing....

My mud beauties...

I don't know that anything has ever been more fun for my cupcake!

Here's Collin as his nose started running as he started getting sick. The poor guy still continues to seem sick and will probably need another Dr. check tomorrow morning. :( He now has both top and both bottom teeth broken through. That's four teeth in a matter of weeks!

Anna and Benjamin can play so sweetly with one another sometimes. Here, Benjamin would tuck Anna into their little couch bed and then climb in and they would cuddle up and pretend to go "night, night" together. He would say all kinds of sweet things to her like what Dave and I say to him when we put him to bed! :)

Anna often tucks her baby in like this before going to sleep at night.

One morning, Benjamin asked if he could try to take some pictures with my camera. As much as I keep the camera in his face, I figure it's the least I can do to let them have a turn. He took a bunch of pictures of me (I was still in my jammies, so I won't post those) and some of Anna and he did so great! He would put his eye right up to the viewfinder and since he didn't know how to use the zoom, he would move his body and the camera until he had his shot. I was really impressed with his four-year old photography skills! (see below)