"Poor ting!"

The little dude is sick. Sad! He hasn't really been eating the last couple days which is so uncharacteristic of him. This morning, he started puking but shook it off quickly and demanded to go to the beach. He was good for the rest of the afternoon until after dinner (which was breakfast) when he hurled again. Let me tell you, scrambled eggs aren't too cute on their way back up!

So, we had to hose the kid down since he had egg giblets all over his head. I was disinfecting everything with bleach while I chatted with him in the shower. He was playing with a hair clip and started drawing in the steam on the shower door. I was absolutely blown away when I watched him very carefully and deliberately draw a circle and exclaim, "Circle!". Then he drew a snake which looked like a long squiggle. I about melted! I had seen him doodle before, but never specifically draw something with actual resemblance of what he was claiming it to be. Of course, I had to grab the camera! (It's too hard to see though.)

After we got him settled down and all cleaned up, I taught him about puke buckets. However, the puke bucket was quickly turned upside-down and redefined as a drum.

He hung out with us in bed for awhile when he saw this commercial and demanded to see it over and over again while he was chuckling and grinning from ear to ear!


We are in HUGE trouble folks!

Memorial Day Weekend (Part 2)

Monday was so much fun! The weather was finally gorgeous and we took advantage of it. It seemed like everyone else did too because the beach was so crowded! I had never seen the beach that crowded since we've lived here. Also, there was a rainbow circling the sun while we were down there. It was beautiful!

We had an awesome time at the beach and stayed there for a good chunk of the day. When we got home, we did a lowcountry boil and celebrated Lauren's upcoming birthday with a donkey cake. (Miniature donkeys are her favorite thing in the whole world.) It was a bittersweet day knowing they were heading home the following morning.

It was so sad to see them go. Everyone was upset and poor little Ellie even broke down and cried. It was the sweetest thing ever. Wyatt had fallen in love with Ellie the first day they were here and kept pinning her against the wall to give her hugs. He was relentless and seemed determined to make her his first little girlfriend! It was cute and Ellie was such a sport for putting up with it! She kept saying, "Oh no! Here we go again!" It was precious!

Callie also fell deeply in love with Ellie. She called her "Anna" the whole time and never left her side. When they left, Callie told me that she wanted Santa Clause to bring her a shirt with a picture of "Anna" on it. She has talked about "Anna" everyday since they left.

Noah was a champ too and Wyatt loved being able to hang out with another little boy. As soon as Wyatt saw Noah he said, "Hi Boy!" and they had fun together all weekend. Both of our kids were so independent and completely denied all parental affection while the big kids were around. Callie even told me, "Away Mommy!" when I would try and kiss on her. Wyatt rarely even got within a 5 foot radius of me. (Visions of things to come I suppose.)

Hopefully, it won't be too long before we get to see them all again! We miss you guys so much already!

Memorial Day Weekend (Part 1)

We had such a great weekend! We had some friends come in town on Friday night. We were so amped to see them that we ended up staying up pretty late and only getting a few hours of sleep. The weather was pretty crappy on Saturday so Lauren and I used it as an opportunity to dump all the kids on the guys and take off.

We had intentions of going shopping in Savannah but never even made it that far because we had so much fun goofing off on the drive there! We ended up turning around after one of us had the brilliant idea to find a Mexican joint where we could bathe in cheese dip and margaritas! That of course lead to a trip to the liquor sto' which eventually turned into some pretty serious partying and a puking incident or two (for a nameless victim). Te-kill-ya!

On Sunday, the weather looked threatening so we loaded up all the kids and took them to the beach early that morning. It was pretty nice even with the gnarly looking sky. We had a fun time finding clams and crabs and other creepy things in the tide pools. We headed home as soon as we thought it was about to rain but it held off most of the day and long enough for the kids to have some fun in the backyard.

Tomorrow! Tomorrow!

Wyatt handed me a dingleberry (of the kitty persuasion) this morning. I don't know which is grosser... the fact that I had a dingleberry in my hand, or the fact that dingleberries are so readily available for my toddler to grab and pass out as gifts.

I had to go to the dentist yesterday. So much fun. This dude doesn't even use nitrous either. The nerve! I believe that a dentist office should have that stuff automatically flowing through the vents. However, as much as I loathe the dentist, having a panoramic view of the sound through all the poking and prodding made me appreciate where we live again. I can't believe that I sometimes take that for granted.

Before I post this little clip of the kids singing "Tomorrow" from Annie, I should probably explain why Wyatt looks like he is converting to Hinduism. Callie has been insistent on wanting earrings. Honestly, I don't know if I'm ready for it and before it was an issue, I planned on having it done when she was in first grade or something. I was able to discourage her from it for awhile by telling her that it was going to hurt, but she has gradually warmed up to that also and was continuing to push it.

Finally, I figured that we would just go look and instead of getting them pierced, we found sticker earrings instead. It was such an awesome compromise because she's not even old enough to realize that they are fake. Anyway, Wyatt of course felt left out and wanted earrings too. (I only let him wear one since it's a little more boyish?) As soon as Brent saw him though, Wyatt's earring quickly became a Hindu bindi. Wyatt likes it better too since it's easier to see in the mirror! :)

tomorrow @ Yahoo! Video

The Harbin Hermit

I haven't posted this week at all because I retracted into my hermit shell. So much crap has unloaded onto my head over the past week that I'm nothing but a ridiculous, festering Debbie Downer. However, we all have our health (furry children included) and in the end, it's all I care about anyway.

So, instead of reliving all the mess and being a pooper, I'm just going to post some pictures and a video or two. I hope it will motivate me enough to get the ball rolling with blogging again...

A morning at the beach

Wyatt actually got stung by a jellyfish on this trip. He took it like a man too! So proud of my little dude!

Fake boo boos... they just wanted the bandaids.

Our horseshoe crab molted. It's super creepy. We don't even have a name for this dude! Any suggestions?

Kiddie Pool

We are having BLAT sandwiches for dinner tonight. Brent came home with a bouquet of flowers and avocados - my knight in shining armor! (I'm a cheap date...what can I say?)

The kids played in the little kiddie pool this afternoon. I had full intentions of loading them up and taking them to the beach but I got horribly lazy when I realized that would probably require me changing out of my sweatpants and my wife beater. So, I dragged out the blue plastic piece and called it a day. Plus, I drank cheap Fuzzy Navel wine coolers which made hanging out in the backyard even more satisfying. (P.S. - Brent did Callie's hair.)

Wyatt chilled like this the whole time:

Please believe that it's a 6 month bathing suit that just slips right down his booty no matter how many times we pull it back up. Poor kid has no butt.

And I seriously still can't get over how cute our dog is or how good he is with the kids! He's literally the type of dog that would nurse kittens if they needed a momma. And, he can still stomp Brent every time the two of them play rough together. He's the best dog on the planet.

After their bath, Callie collected a plethora of random hairbands and wanted to wear them ALL! Her ponytail quickly became a ponystick and she wouldn't let me take our her ponystick before I put her to bed.

I imagine it would be like sleeping on a broom handle... but, whatever floats her boat!

This blows!

When Callie came to say goodnight to me before bed this evening, I scooped her up and tucked her in really tight next to me while my brain was already starting to focus on what what we were having for dinner and how it was sooooo not the same dinner as the perfectly succulent BLAT (BLT + Avocado) sandwiches we ate last night.

I was about to vent my frustrations to Brent about the BLAT situation and I said to him, "You know what blows?!?!" And Callie immediately blew right in my face!

Honestly, I still forget that they can understand adult conversation. Little critters!

I gave them cereal with milk and big spoons this morning. Wyatt looked like he showered in milk while Callie barely spilled a drop. These are the pictures I took to document the moment.

Gama and Gwapa

The kid's had a fun weekend visit from "Gama" and "Gwapa" Harbin. Grandpa was nice enough to help Brent put together a new swing set for the kiddos which they absolutely love! Even in the heat, the kids played for hours climbing and swinging on it today. I feel bad since they are both a little too sunkissed now. Anyway, it was nice to be able to catch up with them since we rarely ever get to see them. Wyatt wimpered when they drove away this morning. He's such a sweet kid! Little dude.