Catching Up!

In the interest of not letting you miss a single second of our exciting lives I am backtracking to a few recent events. I'm sick and grouchy so my main goal for this entry is simply to get the events in chronological order and not piss anyone off! Wish me luck - I haven't been all that successful at it today!

KK came home to look at houses - Praise the Lord, Alleluiah and Amen - we can't wait for that. The kids were excited about the prospect too and decided to decorate the playroom with register tape and throw her a party. She was appropriately impressed although her 5 minute visit turned into a 2 hour one!

Annie Bananie has a wonderful babysitter, Carey. She loves the New York Yankees, doesn't get why we aren't getting Annie's ears pierced and loved hair accessories. ONce in a while I try to humor her with the hair thing and this was one of those days. She was in love with it but claimed that Annie pooped on her cute little Red Sox outfit five minutes after she got there and so she was forced to remove it! Good thing we love her!

We met Auntie Jane and Julia at Pajamarama and Annie was thrilled - she sat with her all night and refused to come to either Bob or I.
Peter with one of the HUGE stuffed animals at Pajamarama - we were worried that the other kids would think Pete's PJ's were a bit much but everyone loved them. He got to meet his teacher for next year - Miss Kelly. He was very sweet when I pointed her out to him he went right over, shook her hand and told her that he was going to be in her class next year. They chatted for a while and he came over and told me that he LOVES her! That is when I just adore my son and his politician type personality. Miss Kelly came over later and told me how impressed she was with Pete and that he seems like a doll. Little does she know the little charmer will have her wrapped around his finger in no time!

Julia had a blast at Pajamarama - we never even saw her because she followed one of the readers around. She loved listening to all the stories even after most of the other kids had drifted away she stuck to it and finished up her books! She also carried her little dog around all night - very cute!

Molly and Ari enjoying a book at Pajamarama - the kids loved being at school in their pj's and some of the teachers are so dedicated that they even wore their pajamas.

Peter enjoys a reading by Mrs. Cole - our principal. He looks so cute in his footies - amazing that we can still find them to fit him!

Our little citizen of the month got to choose where we would eat dinner on Friday night and our little smarty pants chose the Bowling Alley. We indulged her for her ingenuity in getting a two for one and brought Abby and Tyler with us for a special treat.
Abaigeal is actually quite a good bowler although it takes her ball ten years to make it down to the pins because she throws it so lightly.
Tyler watches his ball make its way down to the pins!
And then does a little dance. He won the entire game - even beat Uncle Bob!
Peter has his own unique way of throwing the ball and it actually worked quite well.


Peter and Tyler wore their matching PJ's to bed last night - they are quite a pair!
We indulged the kids in donuts for breakfast and they enjoyed them thoroughly! Abaigeal had two and a bowl of cereal! Where does she put it?
MY boy loves his chocolate colvered!
Tyler stuffing his mouth with half a donut!
Molly-girl with a chocolate covered face - she had her donuts gone by the time I got the camera!

Annie Bananie got a taste of strawberry apple cheerios and LOVED them!
Katie was not interested in pictures today when I got to babysit for an hour or so but she was too cute to pass up!
Annie Bananie and I had a photo shoot while the kids played at the park tonight - this was her on the swing!
Hanging on the picnic table with me and eating my flip flop!
Bob and I saw this neat cloud formation and when I showed it to Pete he said " Mom, it looks like heaven, do you think Auntie Mary knows we are at the park?"

All in all a nice relaxing day and evening at the park. Auntie Kelly and Uncle Frank met us at the park later and all the kids got to play togethe while Kelly and I gabbed for an hour. I love Spring.

Bob and I are sick of awful TV so we are taking turns picking out old movies for us to watch on the weekends - tonight we are curling up in bed (the only place we have a VCR and not a DVD player - get your minds out of the gutter) to watch Uncle Tut's favorite movie - The Quiet Man.

Molly - Girl's Big Day

Today was a big day for Miss Molly - Dolly. She got her Citizen of the Month Award at an assembly at school today. This morning we picked out special uniform clothes and did her hair in braids. She was very nervous but got to sit next to her classmate, Pedro, who was the Employee of the Month. (The kids are in a microsociety and are all part of ventures so each of them is an employee in a venture.)

Molly and Pedro waiting to be called for their awards. Molly was very excited to see Daddy and I but not as excited as she was to see Annie Bananie!
Mrs. Nelson put her hands out and Annie practically leapt into them. I think Annie still remembers her voice from all of the time I spent in Pete's classroom last year when I was pregnant! Annie was wonderful during the assembly and was so cute when Molly got up on stage she sat in Bob's lap waving her arms like a lunatic and yelping for Molly.
Molly got her award and was so proud. The anouncement for her award said "This young lady is as sweet and friendly as the day is long. She is an extremely helpful, happy and hardworking student. G100 is proud to select Molly Harding for our March Citizen of the Month."
Molly getting a hug from Mrs. Cole - the principal of Noah Webster. The characteristics this month were FAIRNESS and JUSTICE.
Peter is with his class - notice that when they are all standing he is head and shoulders above the other students. He had a rough day today because Mrs. Greenberg was not in school today - her brother graduated from Officer Training School and is headed to Iraq again in a few weeks.

I didn't do a great job getting the video going because Molly was the very first student announced but I thought it was adorable how she raced up onto the stage. She stood up there smiling the entire time and gave me her "I love You" sign from the stage.

And the blog would not be complete without a peek at Annie's latest video. This is Annie eating her fruit and moaning after each bite. It may seem as though she is unhappy but she is simply enjoying each bite - so every meal is accompanied by Annie's sound effects.

It will hopefully be a quiet weekend for us - we need one! I get to watch Katie for an hour tomorrow - and Bob will be at T-ball so I get her all to myself! Yeah!

I missed a few"events" so this weekend I will post more pictures covering the week.

A picture of the 4th Harding-Wheeler Baby!

I had high hopes that without an infected gall bladder this pregnancy would contain less nausea and vomiting and more glowing and radiance. Those hopes have been dashed as the incredible symptoms of my first pregnancy reemerged. Not that I'm complaining - I would endure just about anything for a healthy baby but I would imagine that soon the people closest to me will start complaining. I tend to lose my filter - my ability to be pleasant and nice and hide my feelings when the nausea kicks in. Luckily Bob hasn't had enough time to lower his defenses since the last pregnancy so he is covered - my colleagues at work and friends and family are not so lucky - I am pretty sure I overheard my staff at work bestow a not so kind nickname on me this week.

Here is the first picture of our new little one - all 10 mm of it! The arrow points to the baby and the other little round thing is the yolk sack that will eventually become the placenta. Right now the baby is the size of a kidney bean. KK has a nickname for Annie based on one of her ultrasound pictures so I'm dying to know what she can come up with for this little one! I originally thought it would be a boy but based on the similarities to my pregnancy with Ann it may be another girl - somebody better help us find a girl's name because we are stuck!

I enjoy this blog way too much so bear with me. I thought it would be fun to compare the kids at the age Annie is right now. This is Peter at 7 months - already sucking his thumb and charming everyone with his big brown eyes and adorable smile! Peter was 20 lbs 4 ounces and 29 inches. Peter started using a cup, scooting on his belly and got up on all fours. In Peter's 7th month we found out that Auntie Karla was having a boy(tyler) and we attended a rally for HIV at the Capital. Molly girl at 7 months was a ham and LOVED her tubbies more than any other activitiy. Molly weighed 18 pounds and was 27 inches long. She learned to sit up on her own, clapped her hands and held her own cup. It was in Molly's 7th month that Bob and I started dating unofficially and she was on every date we had until we got married. Molly was VERY verbal - talking away consistently and making everyone adore her!
Annie Bananie loves MOlly's beanbag chair and the kids think she is adorable when she sits with them in it to watch a movie. Annie weighs 20 pounds and is 28 inches long. She uses a cup, does "So Big", claps her hands and responds with giggles and laughter when the big kids are around! Annie went to Papa's topping off ceremony and to Boston in her 7th month! She fits in perfectly with our whacky family.

Amazing how similar the kids are in their development at certain ages. So thanks for indulging me in some history - I find that at every stage of babyhood I think that it is the "cutest" one and then Annie starts doing something else and I think that stage is even cuter. I remeber doing it with the other kids too so it was fun to look back!

Pictures from the Park!

My mom likes when the blog is filled with pictures so I decided to post the pictures from our trip to the park yesterday. When we were getting out of the car Pete handed me my camera and said "I like to skateboard at the park and Mommy likes to take her pictures!" Not sure if he considers that a good thing or not but someday he will realize that my passion for taking photos stems completely from my love of him and his sisters.

Peter and Molly love to bring skateboards to the park - they play a little and then find creative ways to ride their skateboards. Pete could move amazingly fast on his tummy!

Molly needed a push to get going but then figured out how to use her hands to get around.

Daddy gives Molly girl a push on her skateboard!

Annie will only sit in the stroller for so long these days - she likes to be part of the fun!

Our little skateboarder - Peter is amazingly coordinated on his skateboard!

Bob and Ann dressed in red - those eyes just amaze me. (Ann's - not Bob's)

Molly gives Annie a ride on her skateboard. Annie was a little unsure about the whole thing but Daddy was close by just in case!

Peter's turn to take Ann for a ride - he could actually manage to ride around with her on his lap. Bob hovered over them but Pete has a pretty good grip on her most of the time.

Annie took a little break in the hockey net - her own little hammock!


My gorgeous baby girl loves to be outside!


Molly girl rides the firetruck! She just fits on it still!



The big kids on the firetruck together - they could barely get it to move because they were so heavy!


Annie on the ride at the park - she made it bounce all on her own and loved it!


Molly and Annie on the firetruck - Molly was SO excited!


Annie driving the firetruck!


Our girls on the ride together - very cute!


Peter is amazing on the monkey bars and other equipment - he hangs upside down and hangs from his knees. He is a little nervous since falling at Auntie Kate's a few weeks ago but he is getting his courage back. He actually fell from upside down and landed on his head and back - I have to admit to being a bit nervous for a while but he recovered quickly!

Banana learning to put one foot in front of the other! It seems like we brought her home from the hospital yesterday and she already can't wait to get moving!

It is now 8 a.m. and the big kids are finally awake. Most weekend mornings I don't even hear Annie's 6:30 a.m. wake up call because Bob jumps out of bed to get her so that I can get a few extra hours of sleep. Yes, I know I'm spoiled but I revel in it - especially since being pregnant again! This morning I was awake and managed to get Ann quickly enough so that Bob could sleep. He doesn't generally sleep more than a few hours anyways but I did keep him up until 2 a.m. discussing every fear and insecurity I have had since I was five! And Annie in the morning is bliss - she is warm and cuddly and smiley!

When you have three kids having some time with each one is a rare thing but my cousin KK is the absolute best about not only taking our kids at random times but also acting as though we are gifting her with that responsibility! Last night she took the big kids for dinner and fun while Bob and I relaxed with Annie. (And that was after leaving church midway to take me home because I was sick and then running back to help Bob with the kids!) Bob and I laid on the bed with Annie for 40 minutes kissing her and playing with her and teaching her to do "So Big". What a gift to get some time alone with one child. Last weekend Molly and I went gorcery shopping together and to run errands and I found myself stretching that time out just to have a few more minutes with her alone! So the kids came in at 9 pm happy, tired and having been spoiled by KK - she even let them get milkshakes with their happy meals! As an added bonus they went to Papa and Grammy's and hung out with Auntie Karla, Uncle Pat and the kids. I have to admit that Bob and I were a little jealous that there was an impromptu party at my parents and we were the only ones not there but the break was nice. I read 10 chapters in my book - eeeek!