Captain Underpants or Diaper-on-Head

I like to put diapers on my children's heads.

I don't know why I do it. Maybe because we have diapers lying around in every room of our house. Maybe because they just fit so snugly onto a small-ish head. Maybe because my kids are good sports and just look at me as if to say, "oh Mama - you have the best ideas!"

I did it to Sawyer too. I have a similar picture of him with a German diaper on his head and a sock hanging out of his mouth. Now Sawyer has evolved to putting underpants on his head on occasion. We call him "Captain Underpants" Could there be any other name?

So here you go. Now Eliza's doing it too with Sawyer's pull-up. And yes, that is a gate at the base of the stairs. She can and will climb to the very top only turning around every couple of steps to see if we are gaining on her.

Kids are fun. And a constant source of entertainment in this house. What good are they if you can't have a good laugh at their expense every once in a while?

And here's a Sawyer quote for the day:
"If you go to jail and you walk on the concrete, you have to take your shoes off"

I gotta say I have NO CLUE what that one means. Any ideas?

Thanks for reading.
-hallie

What I did on my Summer Vacation

I'm learning that the older your kids get the more you have to plan activities to fill their time. I've certainly taken a lot of cues from my sister in law, Paula. I can no longer expect Sawyer to be satisfied with playing around the house and the occasional trip to the library or the park. But he does like those low-key activities too.
We've had a busy summer. In June we went to Earthshine Mountain Lodge with all "the cousins". It was a blast. Here they are in order oldest to youngest Cory, Hannah (accompanied by her friend Lexi), Noah, Rivers, Sawyer, Josh, Caeden and (bless her heart) Eliza. Sawyer and the boys had fun exploring, mining for gems, nature walking, sitting in hammocks, visiting the animals, fishin' and watching the grown-ups fly through the trees on the zip-line. We will definitely make this an annual event! We also went to Wrightsville Beach with Granddad and Mamilene and Mamilene's mom and dad Paqui and Eugene, who were visiting from France. Sawyer and Eliza played in the sand and the waves, gathered shells and built sand castles. Eliza mastered crossing the threshold onto the front porch and she learned to clap. On our last day there Sawyer, Dad, Eugene and Mom visited the Battleship North Carolina. What fun to have so many people to play with! Mom and Dad enjoyed the break too.
Mix in a few weeks at KJP Summer Camp, lots of great play dates, a 3 year old birthday, playing in the pool and on the slip-n-slide and going to the zoo and you've got yourself a great summer.
But now I need a vacation from this summer vacation...it's a good thing I'm going back to work in August!

Mama Turtle

I'm so lucky. A turtle has chosen our garden to lay her eggs! She was hanging out in our driveway this morning and when I came home I discovered she had moved to our garden - right in front of the living room window. She has been there for a few hours digging a deep hole one tiny foot full at a time. She digs down with her long leg and pulls out about 1/4 of a teaspoon of soil, then adds it to the pile behind her. She alternates between her 2 back legs while she stretches back and holds on with her front legs. I call that labor!
Later I discovered that she had covered the hole over with dirt. I assume there are tiny turtle eggs inside. Mama Turtle found a shady, quiet spot under a nearby shrub and she is sitting there now. I gave her a piece of apple.
Sawyer and I made a little border of sticks around the spot where the eggs are. Sawyer has been bringing over little pebbles and mushrooms found in the yard. He says, "the baby turtles will like these.
I don't know much about turtles, but my friend Jim Lee does. Please visit www.bambooturtle.us/

PICTURES!

Just trying to upload pictures of Sawyer and Eliza. I hope you like them!

Daran, thanks for the tips.

Oh Deer

We have occasional Disney moments here in The Trails. There is a family of Deer that come into our yard. A mama, a big brother (with little-boy deer antlers) and 2 cutie-cutie, spotted, frolicking babies! This morning they made their way through our front yard. They sniffed the ferns and moved along. I think they would be less endearing (no pun intended) if they ate my hydrangeas.

Not much excitement in this post. Just an appreciation for the little things.

-hallie

first post

Ok, maybe we were peer-pressured. Or maybe it's us keeping up with the Jones's (or Edmonds' or Wilkens') The Cherry-Montgomery's have decided to create a blog. Something to pass the time between changing diapers, rushing Sawyer to the potty, fishing small chokable objects out of Eliza's mouth and letting Bear in and out of the house.

And yes, we will attempt to post pictures of the younguns. Prepare to be mesmerized by their cuteness. I am everyday.

But I hope you enjoy checking in occasionally to keep up with the goings-on in the Cherry-Montgomery household. We feel happy in this new house, new foundation, new neighborhood...things seem "just right" For now, anyways.

-Hallie