Congratulations Grandma!

Grandma successfully defended her PhD in eduactional leadership today! She is officially Dr. Grandma Davis. We are so proud of you! Upon hearing the news, Jackie said: "Oh no! Grandma isn't a music teacher anymore?" Yes, JBird. Grandma is still a music teacher. Soon she will be an administrator in NC! Yeehaw!

At long, long last...

And at the ripe age of nearly seven, Jackie wiggled her first tooth free!

Seriously, no tooth has ever taken so long to come out.

I could weep.

The Summer of the Lemonade Stand

Since it's still summer weather here, translation 97 degrees!, the lemonade stand continues to be a big hit.

Mini-vacation, mid-school. Why not?

So I got my computer back!...ahem...4 months later. I’ve forgotten how wonderful my computer is! It’s like playing cello again after 10 years. Oh wait. I have yet to play my cello since college. (Sorry, Mumsie.) Anyway, I’ve found never-before-blogged pictures from the spring. It’s like a treasure chest! I will be posting those beach pictures shortly (4 months later.)

This beach trip: We played hookie for a few days and Deane and I took the kids to Wrightsville Beach. I did some work each day, so it was officially a work trip. Wrightsville Beach is deserted this time of year! Probably b/c all the kids are back to school and most adults don’t have to travel to the beach for work. But whatever. As of today, no bedbugs here! Take THAT you little lice fiends!

The water was fantastically warm! Why aren't there more people here this time of year? Seriously, it was just perfect weather.

Wiped out kiddos. Mission complete!

Jackie's Loose Tooth

It's still hanging on. She's...gasp... nearly 7 and this is her FIRST loose tooth. I'm trying to get her to pull it, but she just wiggles it with her tongue and taunts her brother with it. When Cameron came home from school one day  he told Jackie that he had an awesome day. That he didn't cry and he ate all his lunch. Jackie said "I'm so proud of you, Cameron. You get to wiggle my tooth."

Last week, two of Jackie's classmates asked her to be in their club on the playground. Jackie said "No. I can't. I have to work on yanking my tooth out."

Potty Training Update: A Mind of Her Own

Lucy will only use the potty to poop. If she has a poop in her diaper after a nap, she screams bloody murder til you clean her up. It's been like that for a month.

But, she has one pee accident a day. It involves falling down in her ginormous pile of pee and hurting herself. If she has no pants/panties/shorts on, she won't have an accident. But this girl LOVES clothes and insists on being dressed head-to-toe at all times. Hence the pee spill and crash. So we've hung it up for a few months.

So now Lucy tells us when she has to pee and uses all her strength to take off her shorts and diaper to get to the potty. If you tell her to no potty, she goes bezerk. I guess we'll try pull ups. Let's hope that will give us some reprieve.

De-lousing the House: A Family Affair

First came the shampoos. Leave on for 10 minutes, then comb nits out with provided comb. Jackie know's the routine well. She's done it 3 times.

Next came the laundry. Miraculously, not all the laundry is pictured here. Our bedding is still in the overworked washing machine.

Then came the folders. Or rollers. Whatever.

Yes, I know the Child Labor Laws were enacted last century, but, seriously! who wouldn't appreciate not having to bend over all the time to wash off fingerprints and bang on bricks?

Where's Jackie, you ask? Getting nit picked, yet again.

Barbi-licious!

I don't know what these girls are doing but I like it.

(Daddy-o)

Uninvited guests

To our louse friends: We didn't invite you the first time and we CERTAINLY didn't invite you back. Take ALL your little friends, brothers and cousins somewhere else. Because we're really, really irritated with y'all. And don't leave any babies behind. That's all I'm saying!

Serpil the Painter

Miss Serpil is famous for her artistic talent. In her other, non-Nanny life, she's a painter. And her medium is many. We have 2 pieces of Serpil's work hanging in the kids rooms and they get rave reviews by both young and old. 

Today, Serpil's canvas consisted of our kiddos faces. She painted upon request. And these faces (and feet) are some of her live artwork. 

Anna Kate and Olivia show their tandem feet friends.

This was Anna Kate's transformation into a dog. She spent 90 minutes being a dog. This girl will be Mel Blanc's trainee! 

Cameron's snake had a scary side even he was afraid of!

Butterfly, fairy princess JBird.

Hunter, the Packer's Fan!

School Daze

Now that the kids are in school, Lucy gets more attention than ever. First order of business: potty training by Deane the Drill Sergeant. After a rough start this morning, Lu got the hang of it! Rest up for Day 2 of Boot Camp Lu. 

Jackie's potty training advice to her little sister was the same as what she told her brother; "If you squeeze your pinky, the poop will come out." 

First Day of School v 2.0

Year 2 at hopekids preschool has already yielded better results than year 1. No tears from either him or LeighO! Cameron couldn't get into the classroom fast enough and he only let Nanny Fanny drive him home. Who is this boy?

Caps for Sale!

The X Games, Summer 2010

Game #1: Yoga Jeep Wagon pull. 

Last minute prep: Cameron practices his downward facing dog while Jackie fine-tunes Lucy's 125cc motorbike.

Game #2: Barefoot motorcross. Lucy looks a bit nervous, but coach LeighO gave her a pre-race pep talk. The Games are afoot!

Grow old along with me. The best is yet to be!

Ten years and counting! Happy Anniversary baby!