Cousin convention June 2012, part 3

The last day of the cousin convention was so much fun....  It began with an Uncle-Nephew dance party.  First, they had to find Peter's favorite song on the silly farm-themed fridge toy:

Then, they boogied like champs.

We invited Ike over for a sprinkler/pool/water table party.  Petey and Ikey remind me so much of each other that it was really fun to get them together-- we figured that either they would be best friends or they'd fight like cats and dogs.  They were a bit wary of each other at first, but then they had a great time.

Oh, Charlotte....  You are such a funny little girl!!  

If a kid is wearing sunglasses, everything he/she does is automatically 10 times cuter.  I love Petey's shades!

Sonia loves her jungle pool!  And I love that swimsuit....

Warming up in the sun....  Thank goodness for sunblock!

A meeting of the minds in the jungle pool....

PIZZA!!  (Don't worry-- Sonia didn't eat that entire piece all by herself!  I shared it with her.)

Post-lunch shenanigans... Ikey and Petey both put on their cool-dude shades and raced around the house like loons.

Ikey always loves to hang out with cute older girls....

Before Charbunkle and Pizza-Pie headed back to TN, the kids all snuggled up together to watch Huckle Cat solve mysteries in Busy Town.  I love the serious looks on their faces....  Such a funny little group of goofballs.

Cousin convention June 2012, part 2

Miraculously, all 3 kids slept really well the whole visit....  I am so happy we seem to be moving beyond the days of yore when my sister and I were zombies every time we got our kids together because Petey and Sonia would decide that sleeping had gone out of style.  On Thursday morning, the kids started out with a rousing game of doctor:

After we got the kids dressed (via the assembly line, of course), we took them to Monkey Joe's to have a blast, jumping their hearts out.  We didn't bother taking any still pictures there because the lighting makes it impossible to capture anything but blurs.  I still need to edit the billions of short videos we took with the Flip video there, because the world needs to see the wackiness that is Charbunkle, Petey, and Sosini at MJ's.  Somehow, we didn't take any pictures during the rest of the day, either.  Huh.  From what I remember, Petey took a nap, the girls played in the basement, and all was well.

Anyway, on Friday morning, we took the kids to the Willowbrook Wildlife Center.  Sonia and I love that place so much, and Grandma JoJo, Charlotte, & Peter decided they loved it, too.

Peter spent the entire time inhaling Cheerios as fast as he could:

I love this cute cousin picture!

Hey, it's a woodchuck!

The kids would like to make sure the adults understand that the sign applies to the animals, not the kids.

Grandma JoJo and her Pizza-Pie (who is still mowing through Cheerios)!

The kids always love this hilarious little butterfly observation house....

More Cheerios!

The kids loved these little chairs....  Now everyone is snacking!  Good thing, too, because I forgot our lunches at home.  WHOOPS!

After we got home and lunched, Petey went down for a nap and the girls hung out with me & Grandma JoJo as we waited for Niki to get back from Michigan (having made an offer on a house!!).  They thought my light-up 10x magnifying mirror was hilarious....

And they enjoyed making some beautiful beaded jewelry!

After Niki got home, we poured over the 98 (!!) pictures she had taken of the house that she & Corey had decided to buy.  It is beautiful, and I can't wait to see it in person!  Luckily, Niki & the kids got to stay around for another day of fun before they headed back to Tennessee to start the long packing process.  Blog post to come....

Cousin convention June 2012, part 1

I have been a lazy blog poster and have a big backlog of fun pictures and stories....  So buckle up!

As you might have heard, my sister, her husband, and Sonia's beloved cousins (Charlotte & Peter) are in the midst of a move to Michigan.  After their house sold in just a couple of days (!!), my sister raced up to Michigan to do some quick house-hunting.  On the way, she stopped at our house and dropped off the kids so she could hunt a bit more efficiently.  My mother (Sonia, Charlotte, & Peter's beloved Grandma JoJo) flew up to help.  As always, hilarity ensued.

Niki left our house for Michigan early on Wednesday morning, and Peter-Pie & Charbunkle were having so much fun running around with Sosini that they didn't seem to notice.  Petey asked for Niki a couple of times, but it was half-hearted and he was easily distracted.  My mom and I got used to doing "assembly line parenting", lining up the kids and doing things like getting dressed, brushing teeth, and taking vitamins all at once.  The kids are so close in age (Charlotte is 14 months older than Sonia, and Sonia is 7 months older than Peter) that really, the three days without Niki were like one long play date.  On the first day, we had some nice weather to play outdoors.

Super Petey!!

Glamorous lady....

Super baseball-playing Petey!

Charlotte & Petey were totally enamored with Sonia's $10 tee-ball set from Target.

Scootering with the girls!

Sonia loved pulling the maharajah in the wagon.

Ice cream cones!  This picture cracks me up....  Sonia looks a bit pained, Peter is thanking the ice cream gods for such yumminess, and Charlotte is contemplating the flavor.

At bedtime, we did a group story time every night, which the kids seemed to love.

Bobo loved it, too!  Charlotte & Petey didn't get to see much of Bobo because he spent most of the time hiding, but he decided that the kids seemed tired enough that they wouldn't bug him while listening to Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale.

More to come....

Sprinkling Picasso

One hot day in mid-June, Sonia talked me into letting her paint.  I am a wimp about dealing with the mess that painting can create, so it's a rare treat for Sosi to paint at home.

I love this ladybug craft apron that my cousin, Cady Lane, handed down to Sonia!

As usual, it took me longer to set up the easel & paints than she actually spent painting.  ARGH!!!!  After creating her third masterpiece, she wandered over to where I was relaxing in the back yard and asked if she could play with her new fire hydrant sprinkler.

Oh, all right....  I hooked up the fire hydrant (which has a goofy face on it, of course) and set her loose while I cleaned up the painting mess.

Gearing up for the Olympics?

Sonia ended the spring session of gymnastics with a bang....  First she showed off her willingness to walk on the balance beam all by herself:

Then, she showed how she can get her feet up to the bar and hang like a monkey.

Then, she decided to act creepy during the "awards ceremony".  

Ike looks like a champion!

Sonia, who got embarrassed when we wouldn't let her cut in line, started getting all crabby and refused to let Coach Beth put her medal on and pose on the blue block.

Ike?  Champion.  Lily?  Champion.  Sonia?  Pouter.

But, she recovered and ran right over to get her beloved stamps.

On a random note: Earlier this month, we were at the Cosley Zoo, and this horse was playing around with a box.  Of course, he stuck his head in and started wandering around his enclosure.  Sosini and I were highly amused!