The waterslide

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As part of my summer slowdown the past few weeks, Im trying to do a few fun things the boys have been begging me to do. One of these is the waterslide. This was the first time we pulled it out this season, and they had a blast! Henry and I sat on a blanket watching the action under a shady tree.

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Emmett soaking wet!

The Action

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Hanging out w/ our buddies Keaton and Carson Spindler.

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There's nothing better then listening to children laughing.

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Emmett entertaining Henry.

Faux-hawk

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Check out Henry's faux-hawk. I think it won't be long before he's going to need a trim. And, Toni....the "man boobs" are for you! :)

Mid-yawn!

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Not a great photo...but check out the teeth :)

Go CNY United!

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Owen's last day of soccer practice was last night. It's been a great year w/ the team. Owen has had a load of fun w/ the players and the coaches and we've had a great time w/ all the parents. Tryouts are next week and it will be interesting to see what happens. There's only three kids who are "true" U8's as is Owen. (and actually this picture is missing a handful of kids....I think there's actually around 25.....some had left before I snapped their photo). So, Owen could technically play for the same team for three years (this year included). Half the players are moving up to U10 and half are going to U9. There's talk that Owen will go to U9 and talk that he will stay U8. I have mixed feelings. I LOVE the U9 families and would be sad to leave them, and Owen LOVES the team and coaches. However, it would be fun for him to play closer to his age level (he would REALLY be a star) and he might not be as likely to get squished. So...we'll let the coaches decide what's best. That's their job, I suppose.

The Brownies

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We made brownies for the team in honor of the last day of practice. If you look closely you can see that we wrote "CNY United" on top. They looked pretty until a gatorade fell on top of the foil that was covering the brownies. Oops!

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Owen and Coach Jon

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Owen and Coach Freddie

Offended?

We've had a really busy day today and it's going to continue to stay busy. Emmett had basketball camp this AM, then we headed straight to his asthma doctor for a check up (which by the way..he's doing wonderful! His breathing numbers are great. Yeah!), then we went to Wegmans (it's a grocery store for those of you not familiar). Anyway, they have a really nice cafe' area where the boys and I like to have lunch. They have a pizza bar, big salad bar, paninis, a deli, a chicken wing/chicken finger bar, sushi...etc. So, we got our food and I took Henry out to eat his food. Then, after eating, we tackled the grocery store. And, I got to tell you, I thought we were doing pretty well. The big boys were wonderfully behaved. And Henry didn't make a peep. I pushed the grocery cart and my big boys took turns pushing Henry in the stroller. The bizarre part is that at least 5 people must have said to me, "Wow! You really have your hands full." Shocking! I thought I looked like I completely had my act together. Really? Did I look that overwhelmed? By the fifth or so time, I was feeling a bit offended.
Left our house at 945 this AM, returned at 3:05. Put Henry down. Now I have to make two pans of brownies for Owen's last soccer practice. Feed the kids dinner and have them to soccer by 5:45. I'm exhausted.

Emmett's Birthday Party

Wow! Birthday parties are EXPENSIVE these days. Emmett wants to have his party at Syracuse Tents and Events, which is essentially a big room w/ inflatables. For the FC gang, think your inflatable jump place....why am I blanking on it's name?, but smaller. Anyway, called today to reserve it....and OMG!.....240.00 plus tax. Does NOT include food, cake, etc. So, I'm looking at a 300.00+ party for 2 hours of jumping. Not sure if I'm going there...I may have to try to talk him into Chuck E Cheese (gag! I know), but cheaper. Sheez! Maybe I could even do a party at my house.

Great day, great neighbors

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We had a wonderful lazy day today. Eddie mowed the lawn, Emmett and Henry napped well, and while they were napping the neighbor boys invited Owen over to play baseball w/ them in the front yard. We are surrounded by preteen and young teen boys and it's such a great group of kids. They spend all summer out front playing baseball. It's wonderful that they are outside as much as possible and not inside rotting their brains in front of the TV or Wii. Anyway, my boys spend a lot of their days watching them and today, Owen was invited over. Not sure exactly how I feel about him hanging out w/ boys so much older...but I think it's OK for brief periods. He had a great time. Then, after Eddie mowed we crossed the street to our great friends and neighbors house and went swimming in their pool. Their boys, Kyle and Brian, are in the photos. The boys LOVE them and their mom and dad, too. We are lucky (yet, again) :)

Kyle

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Sideways diving

Make me smile

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Kyle, (and a friend of his) and Brian having a chat w/ Henry.

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Henry splashing and Owen catching a ride from Kyle w/ Brian making him laugh :)

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Kyle backward flipping....How long will it be before my boys try this?

Owen

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Diving off the diving board...

Henry

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Henry LOVES the water :) He had a great time even though the water was chilly and it wasn't very warm out.

Lucky

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I'm SO lucky! My boys are the best of buddies and have been since Emmett was probably around 20 months. We moved here when he was 21 months and I think because we lived in a hotel for 2 months, and they had no one else to hang out w/ but themselves, they clicked. It also helps that their personalities just mesh. And...it super helps that Owen is and always has been so kind to Emmett. I overheard them in the hallway last night when I was putting Henry to bed.
Owen, "Emmett...did you draw that flower?"
Emmett, "um..yeah."
Owen, "Wow! I think that's the best flower I've ever seen drawn."
Emmett, "thanks, brother."

You can't beat that :)

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Time for our slow down.

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These past two weeks have been crazy for us. The big boys were doing swim lessons: Emmett at 10 and Owen at 1. Owen did soccer camp from 9-12. We had evening soccer practice on Tuesday and Friday. Piano lessons on Wednesday and I still worked twice a week. We literally ran to one place, came home for an hour and went back again. Mom's taxi for sure. This week should be better. Emmett has basketball camp two days during the week and Owen has reading camp every day. Birthday party on Friday. Soccer on Monday and Tuesday. Piano on Wednesday, and I work on Tuesday and Friday. But still..not as crazy as last week.

Poor baby!

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This is how Henry took his naps as we drove back and forth, here and there all week.

Swim lessons

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The boys have spent the last two weeks, M-F at swim lessons w/ the marvelous John and Candy. They are known for getting even the most frightened kids (Emmett) into the water and swimming. They have completely taught Owen how to swim and this year Emmett started. The whole first week Emmett only got his eyebrows wet (once or twice). The following week after Owen's swim lessons (he's the last of the day), she said I could bring Emmett and Henry in during free time. Henry LOVES the water and splashes like a crazy man in it. Seeing how excited Henry was to dip his feet in, Candy took him from me and swam him around. She even put him under water.....twice! And, he was completely unimpressed. He licked the water off his cheeks as it rolled over his head. Candy says to Emmett, "Emmett! Your baby brother is going under water. You better do it next." He said OK, and under he went. From that point on, he went under water many times. By the end of the week, he was learning rotary breathing w/ the front crawl (it wasn't pretty or effective, but he was doing it!) Yeah, Emmett!

Swimming lessons

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Owen's a decent swimmer, but swim lessons w/ Candy and John are work! It was like swim team format, swim the length of the pool down and back down and back GO! GO! They are great teachers, and by the end of his two weeks of swim lessons, he was learning butterfly (which I NEVER mastered) and flip turns (you know front flips up against the wall to turn you around).

Waving bye bye

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Henry waving bye bye to me. Unless you're holding him, he does it w/ two hands. So funny :)

Henry laughing

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Emmett is making Henry laugh by making random noises. He's so easy to please.

8 months

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My baby turned 8 months today. He's still as sweet as he was as a newborn. He just started waving bye-bye, and it's super adorable. He does it with his whole arm (and sometimes both arms). He gets MAD when his brothers are playing w/ something he wants. He'll scream until they give it to him (the latest is a balloon). He's sitting up well and rolling over constantly. He's still not crawling (his brothers were by 7 months) and I think it will be awhile. He HATES being on his tummy and rolls immediately when I put him there. Interestingly, he sleeps on his tummy. I put him on his back and he rolls to his stomach to sleep. Crazy kid. He eats baby food three times a day, but he doesn't love it. Usually I can get a half a jar per feeding down him. He eats some people food, too...chicken, rice, cheerios, cheese, yogurt. The only thing he really seems to love is the yogurt. He still nurses 5-6 times a day, but thankfully no longer at night. Finally, for the past week, he's been sleeping well at night ....11-12 hours. We are a MUCH happier family! He has two bottom teeth. And, everywhere we go people comment on how beautiful he is. Those eyes! Those lashes! Someone told me on Thursday he should be in commericals. He's such a happy little guy.

Finally!

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A shot w/ Henry looking at the camera.

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Laughing at his brother

Busy

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Henry is so busy that I can't catch a picture of him looking at the camera. I spent a good portion of the day trying to do so. Here he's trying to pick up some small seed or something from the ground.

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Brothers

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Owen's hair has gotten so blonde again this summer, and he's adding freckles every day. He sometimes looks like the odd Bauer out, since the rest of the us have dark hair and eyes.

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Henry - 8 months

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Best Buddies

Props

Money magazine just released it's annual list of The Best Places to Live in America. Fort Collins, CO was number 2 on the list. That's no great shock for everyone that lives there. It was given kudos for being an "outdoor paradise". It also scored tops for education and safety. Once again...no big surprise. Interestingly, Loveland, CO (the town right next to FC) was number 33. The town next to the village I'm living in now (or something like that), Clay, NY was number 59. Christa....Cary, NC #16. Sheila....Apple Valley, Minn, #24 and Burnsville, Minn, #43. Fort Collins was also named the #2 best place to exercise. Hmmm.....I love Colorado :)

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Owen had crazy hair day at soccer yesterday. Can you believe he didn't win?

Owen's signature move

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As most of you already know, Owen is COMPLETELY soccer crazy. My mom is fairly certain that his love of soccer borders on being obsessive. Anyway, I tallied up the hours for the week and Owen will spend 22 hours this week playing structured soccer (i.e. soccer camp, practices, and games). Add on at least another 5-10 hours of unstructured play (i.e. in the backyard) and that's enough to be considered a full time job. The crazy part is that for him that's still not enough time. He could spend all day, every day, playing or watching soccer. He knows every team on every league and all of their players. He know soccer history, facts, and random information (i.e. what year did Beckham stop playing for ManU?). He's read tons of soccer books and he spends his inside time watching the soccer channel or playing soccer on the Wii. Beckham was on 60 Minutes last night and I DVR'ed it. Owen has watched it and re-watched it at least 4 times today. His obsession...I mean love....has been going strong for almost 2 years now (it started at 5 years and 10 months). I used to think it would pass, and now I'm not so sure. All the super famous soccer stars have signature moves, and Owen has decided it's time to start working on his. Watch in the video as he kicks the ball one way and goes around to shoot and score. Owen Bauer's signature move.

Yeah, baby!

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Henry has been sleeping SO much better the past two weeks (and now that it's in print, it will probably change!). Last night he slept from 645 pm - 545 AM. And, to top it off, Owen and Emmett stayed in their bed all night! I slept 7 consecutive hours. Yipee!

It's Final!

My husband is now employed by Anheuser-Busch In Bev. No one is quite certain what this means for the company or it's employees. My guess is that not much will change immediately, but I think there will be more change in the next few years. There's a lot of talk about people boycotting AB products in protest. Don't be one of those people. AB still employs a huge number of Americans (Americans who depend of the supply and demand of AB products), and I'm hoping my hubby keeps his job :)

Rochester Soccer Tournament

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Owen's soccer team, CNY United, had a soccer tournament in Rochester this weekend. We decided not to go the Hershey, PA one earlier in the year, so Owen was psyched about going to this one! We played two games Saturday and we have one more Sunday morn. It was quite an experience. There were vendors selling all sorts of soccer gear, bounce houses, and even Starbucks set up a tent. Yum! The facility was super nice and had a playground. Emmett and his buddy spent a most of the day climbing dirt hills w/ his buddy, Chase. CNY lost both games. Big bummer, because they could have won :). Some of the teams were a bit much....see below!

Our opponents

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A photo of the first team we played from Montreal. They drove a team bus...for real!....the 7-8 hours to get to the tournament. I'm talking a charter bus w/ carpeting, bathroom, etc. The nicest bus you can get w/ their team logo imprinted on the side. They had 6 coaches for their 14 players (WHAT do you need 6 coaches for???). The had a team flag they carried around. The made posters, signs, and not only had matching uniforms but also matching hats (for the parents, too!). They chanted during the game. And all their fans made a bridge w/ their hands for the players to run under after the game. Seriously??? All for 8-9 year olds. A bit much, I think. Oh....and they all spoke French :) And, we lost 3-1 to them. If CNY was playing better, we would have beat them!

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Henry asleep in the arms of Terisa, one of the MANY moms who fuss over Henry at the games.

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Don't let these girls sweet faces fool you. Kirsten and Addison play some serious soccer!

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Sweet baby Henry feet

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Some of the soccer team yelling, "CNY United!"

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One cool dude!

Andrea's gone

Andrea left today (boo hoo). We had a fabulous visit, although I've got to believe that she might have been just a little excited to go home back to her quiet, calm, did I mention quiet? house. It was really a great time. It's been three years since we've seen one another, but it felt like nothing had changed. Those are the best kind of friends.....
It's been 22 days since we've had no visitors in our house and it's going to feel different for a bit (anyone else wanna come?). I'm going to post some more pics of our visit w/ Andrea over the next day or so.
BTW...tooth #2 arrived today! My baby is getting so big so quickly.

Chittenango Falls

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Saturday we went to look at some nearby waterfalls. We hiked to the bottom of the water fall and the kids threw rocks in the water to their hearts content. Henry cried about being in the back pack (stinker!), so we had to carry him most of the time.

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Henry...looking like such a big boy!

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Family photo

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Finally!

A tooth! A tooth! Henry FINALLY has a tooth (this time for real....remember my false alarm 3 months ago?). It's so cute (but doesn't feel super cute scraping along my nipple...I digress...). I'll try to get a photo of it soon :)

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Waiting for the fireworks to begin....

Andrea's Here!

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Our great friend from Fort Collins is visiting us for the Fourth of July weekend! Yahoo! She was Owen's very first babysitter in FC and morphed from there into a great family friend. We spent holidays and other special occasions w/ her in FC. We really miss her. Anyway, we went to see fireworks at the Syracuse Fairgrounds on the Fourth of July. We played Apples to Apples until they started and the boys even talked Eddie into letting them sit on top of the car. Henry didn't make a sound, but Emmett was frightened. He was afraid they were going to burn him.

Update.

I can tell it's going to be a super busy summer. My mom is here, but leaves tomorrow (boo hoo) and despite her help we still didn't get everything done that we wanted! Times are super busy w/ three kids (a warning for you all exploring the option...). Owen and Emmett started soccer camp this week. I tried to talk Emmett out of going (it's expensive!), but he wanted to go w/ Owen and they have had a great time. Although, Emmett seems to be taking more breaks then anyone else and he's ALL about the Gatorade I let him drink when he's hot and sweaty. My mom went to pick him up on Monday and just as she came to the field she saw him say something to the coach and walk to the bleachers. She asked him what he told the coach and he said, "I told him it was time for my snack." Of course, EVERYONE is still playing. Oh well.
Henry has a horrid case of diarrhea (now he's up in the middle of the night because of that!). I think it's because he's been on antibiotics the last 26 out of 30 days. And, the ENT can't get him in until September 30. Seriously??? My pediatrician is going to try to get him an earlier appt. More later...