So whaddya think?

It's been a long time since I had short hair... I think I'll keep it this way awhile. What do you think?

I Feel the Need... the Need for Speed

Don't you have to be 16 or something to drive one of these quads? Caleb is a little man after his Daddy's heart. And probably after both of his grandpas' hearts too! Someone come revive me when he gets a license! Thanks to our neighbors, the Townsends, for this photo op with their ATV.

Swimming Lessons!

Anna gets help on her breast stroke

Eric practicing his back float

Excited to start the lesson!

Look at my little fish go!

Ice Cream!

We enjoyed some ice cream over at Handel's Ice Cream on Saturday while Chad had to work at a special event at Geneva. Poor Daddy missed out! Caleb said, "Brrrr...cold!" and ate every bit of his chocolate baby cone. Eric and Anna had a harder time finishing their monstrous cones... both wound up half eaten, with some in the trash can and even more on their faces!! Many more fun ice cream days await us with the warmer weather here!

Thanks for the hats, Uncle Brian!

Uncle Brian gave us these cool UnderArmour hats last year I believe, but this is one of the first times they have actually been worn! Today was a very sunny day here in Beaver Falls, and the kids played with Daddy up at Grandma's house so Mom could get some consulting work done. Thanks, Daddy! And thanks to Uncle Brian for such cool UA gear! Caption for Caleb in this photo: "Where's my UA hat, dude?" OR "I need a nap". Take your pick!

Humble Thyself in the Sight of the Lord

So here is a little-known talent of the Baumgartner family: Wild dancing to an old praise song called "Humble Thyself in the Sight of the Lord". You'd think we were a bunch of charismatics instead of conservative Reformed Presbyterians! In our version, you have to dance fast, and with each repetition, you get faster. Usually we sing this with Chad accompanying us on his guitar and that really gets their feet going. Caleb's little toes practically do the "Riverdance" when we get to the end. Note him saying, "Faster!". Do NOT note, however, the horrible singing voice you hear. Also quite interesting is Eric's choice of "booty-shaking" to accompany this old spiritual song. Well, I guess the bible does mention "dancing before the Lord"! For our next number maybe we'll begin working on some Latin rhythms for "Kum Bah Yah"...

Tagged!

I guess I better jump on the bandwagon. I was tagged by a fellow blogger friend, "Two Are Better Than One", to list 7 random facts about myself. There is no way I will be as funny as my buddy at "The Vileation Nation", but I will give it a try!

1. I was once named Athlete of the Month at the local Boys & Girls Club in Tampa where I went to an after-school program for my gymnastics prowess. A regular Mary Lou Retton wannabe.

2. I attended a play at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England in 1993. As the lights dimmed, in walked Prince Charles himself. I kid you not. It was The Tempest. I don't recall a thing about the play. Just that Prince Charles was in the same room as me.

3. Chad and I met in June 2000 and married in December 2000. Yep, still married!

4. I am currently the only sister out of five that has NO tattoos. I will die the only sister with no tattoos as well. None for me, thanks.

5. I am hopelessly addicted to chocolate. Any chocolate will do. I would probably even eat a chocolate covered ant. My dad used to tease me that the Raisinets I was enjoying were really ants. I didn't care then...ate 'em anyway.

6. My two most highly recommended medical procedures: the epidural and gallbladder surgery. Both made more difference in the quality of my life than I can express.

7. I have a tendency to crack myself up (out loud) when telling funny stories. Or even when thinking silently to myself about something funny. My husband thinks this is a riot. Several of our children are exhibiting signs of this disorder. Hehehehehehe....

Pneumonia!

Poor Eric. He has had fevers for a full week, has been much less energetic than usual, and has had a nasty cough. Finally at the doctor today, she confirmed he has pneumonia AND an ear infection. Poor little guy. Now he has that magical "pink" medicine, but his is made purple by the grape flavoring they added. Please pray for him to feel better soon!

Too Tired to Post!

It has been a very busy week... and more busyness to come through the weekend! This picture of Caleb was from our Easter trip, but expressed well my desire to go to bed now and leave this post short in favor of catching some zzzzzzzzs. I will write more maybe Sunday night. We'll have lots of new pictures to share after the weekend festivities-- swimming lessons, a friend's birthday party, a small group meeting, and two families coming over for 2 different meals at our house!

Today, I am thankful for our special babysitters who help us out faithfully each week so I can get some consulting work done, and both have refused to let us pay them. They are college girls and genuinely just wanted to serve and help a family in need. Both of these ladies have birthdays in May, so we are planning a nice birthday dinner out for them to say "thank you"! Flo and Sarah B., we love you guys!

Silly Saturday

There were a few funny moments today... just thought I'd share.

The kids had swimming lessons today and afterwards, the 5 of us all swam together in the large pool. A young woman walked by on the pool deck wearing a bikini, and unfortunately she really did not have the body for it (hey, neither do I, but you will never catch me wearing a bikini in public either). Chad was holding Caleb in the water and Caleb saw this girl, points and says "NAKED"! Chad and I looked at each other, trying not to bust out laughing and said, "Well, he is sort of right!" We hope she didn't hear him. He's under 2... he has no tact yet.

At bath time tonight, I was getting the boys ready for the tub. Eric was in already and I was getting Caleb's clothes off. When I put Caleb in, I noticed something yellow on the ledge of the tub near the shampoo and conditioner bottles. I wiped at it, thinking it was spilled baby wash. No, of course it wasn't spilled baby wash. It had to be pee, from our 4 year old who is too busy playing in the tub to get out and use the bathroom. Why he stood up to pee on the ledge and didn't just do it in the water, I have no idea. Did I run clean bath water? I'll let you guess. How much water is technically enough to dilute it?? How much soap in the water does it take to kill anything germy? Let's just say I tried to find out. Hey, we probably
already swam in plenty of pee in the pool today so who cares!?!?!

This evening at bedtime, I asked Anna to pick the next bible story we would read. She said matter-of-factly, "Madam and Eve". Thankfully I am enough of a bible scholar (yeah, right) to know which story she meant.

Kids say (and do) the darndest things, eh? Tonight I am thankful for the daily doses of laughter that keep me mindful of how much fun parenting is (even when it feels pretty darn hard at times too). Oh, and I am thankful that Chad liked the 2 new business suits I bought him today (his first ones EVER). And thankful that he looked super cute in them too!

Who Says Watching TV is a Spectator Sport?

Fun with Play Dough

Anna's play dough baby and cradle

Eric's airplane and runway

Our Play Dough family (note the baby in mom's arms)

Anna's baby, complete with cap and bottle