Fun at church with a 3.5 year old

Attending church with a 3.5 year-old can sometimes be a little challenging. Ty's pretty good in general, but we still try to get him as involved as possible to keep him engaged. One of the jobs we give him is to put the money in the offering basket. This morning I continued that tradition, but he added a new twist: as I handed him the money he looked up at me with his inquisitive eyes and said (rather loudly), "Mommy, why do we have to pay for church?"

The first pictures of our 10 kids

For more, click here.

Daddy and the kids

Our future Boilermaker

Thanks to the Shripka's for sharing the shirt and socks and to our friend Tim for the "running" suit.

More free fun

Last Friday we headed back to Jones Beach with our friends and were treated to a great surprise. The Jones Beach Air Show was scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, and little did we know that on Friday they do a complete dress rehearsal including the announcer. It was amazing! And free! Ty loved it (with the exception of the really loud ones). He was particularly excited by a huge bounce house in the shape of an aircraft carrier. I think it was made for kids just a tiny bit older than him (you'll see in the pictures), but enjoyed it anyway.

Simple fun

After dinner entertainment...
(Doesn't her laugh sound like she's in pain?)

Simple fun with a bottle from Teri Schmidt on Vimeo.

Flying away to sleep

Here's how you know Megan's ready to go to bed...she seems to want to fly there.

Flying away to sleep from Teri Schmidt on Vimeo.

Trips to the beach

We've been taking advantage of our proximity to the beach, since we only have about one more month here. Megan, Ty, and I have gone to Jones Beach three times in the last week :). Tyler loves the playground there and also has fun walking on the beach.

Here's Megan's first look at the Atlantic Ocean. For more pictures, click here.

Sibling love

Tyler is so gentle with Megan and loves to talk to her and make her smile. Let's hope the love continues through the teenage years. And no, he wasn't bouncing her like a basketball in the second picture.

My new hat!

Thanks to Granny and Grandpa for making me so stylish. I love my new hat!

Rolly-polly

A few weeks ago, Megan began rolling over all over the place. She also discovered her tongue and started making funny faces, but we haven't captured those with the camera yet.

His favorite part of the day

When Jeff got home from work today, he asked Ty one of our typical questions, "What was your favorite part of the day?" Today, Tyler had a new answer...he responded, "You loving me" and ran up and gave Jeff a big hug.

Nothing like a 3 and a half year old to turn your day around.