mock YEAH ing YEAH bird YEAH

"Yeah! Yeah!  Mockingbird... Everybody, have you heard..."
"You can't triple stamp a double stamp.  You can't triple stamp a double stamp.  Lloyd! You can't triple stamp a double stamp."

I totally forgot how funny this movie was until just now.

So I found a nest in one of my rose bushes.  I googled the eggs and have concluded that we have Northern Mockingbirds residing with us.  I wasn't exactly surprised when I read the description.  Especially the part about how males are obnoxiously loud to attract females.  And I've been watching a bird (or two) flapping laps around our carport but just assumed it was confused and the poor thing would find its way out eventually.  I don't even notice the songs anymore and was a little surprised to see a nest so low to the ground (as in like 3 whopping feet).  Not to mention, since Mati went on a baby bird killing spree not even two weeks ago.  Nasty dog.  Seemed like we were finding dead fledglings every time we went for a walk around the house.

On to the fun part.  My three years at Harding are still haunted by the dive-bomb attacking birds that would come out of nowhere every time you walked around specific parts of campus.  So my concern now lies with Elayna's & my safety.  Wikipedia indicates these birds become protective of their nests, fearlessly attacking larger birds and mammals.  (Rachel, I'm sure has wet herself by now and made a promise to never visit my house again.  All I have to say to that is, "suck it up sista.")

Part of me hopes the nest is abandoned now that we've found it.  I know that's hateful, but I don't exactly welcome this feathered family.  I'm not as psycho-crazy-afraid of birds as Rachel, but the only purpose they serve for me is eating insects. And frankly, they're not doing that great of a job.

I'll post pics as soon as I take some.

Cross your fingers

She pottied!  Twice out of the half dozen times she requested to.  And granted, she was in her swimsuit and her toilet was actually a bed of rocks... but still a potty nonetheless. 

I debated whether or not to even resume our potty training after several people stated Elayna would probably revert once Cora was born.  But when I moved the last of our things from the old house to our new, the pink potty was among them.  Ryan & I have made a kinda-agreement that he'll change Cora diapers and I'll change Elayna.  I'm very motivated for her to use the big potty now.

Keep your fingers crossed that her odds get better!  And any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Loved a Visit!

Elayna got this talking, moving Elmo from her daddy many many months ago.  When we first got him out of the box she was scared to death of him.  Now, she likes to "walk" him around the house and pinch his nose to make him talk and tell jokes.

Great-Grandma & Papa were here last week.  Although they could only stay two days, we had a ton of fun.

Oops, sorry this one's crooked.  Forgot to rotate it.

"Elayna, where's your eye?"

"Nose?"

"Chin?"

"Belly?"

The A-Team

You NEED to see this movie.  It's HILARIOUS.

Inner-tube Fun

All Done... NOT!

Elayna's so funny.  She thinks that she can be tricky and as long as there isn't any food on her plate, then she must be done.  So she'll move the food around and off and then exclaim how she's finished.  What a ham.

Little Bit

Grandmother showed up today on her horse, Little Bit.  Of course we had to let Elayna ride.  To say she loves horses is an understatement.  This girl lives horses.  Breathes horses.  Dreams horses.  I doubt it will be much longer before she has her own.  Seriously.

She's constantly straddling Mati and yelling "giddy up!"    (and I'm sure Elayna's the only one Mati would let do that too.  She's very partial to our EV.)  Or she'll climb on me while I'm down, grab a handful of my shorts and start bouncing around like she's riding a horse.  She's got an overstuffed husky that she drags around the house and then will climb on periodically, and again proceed with the bouncing.  And don't get me started on her toy horses.  I carry a few small ones in my purse so I can whip one out wherever we are.  She's got a nostalgic bouncy horse at her grandparents that she's always wanting to ride.

Good grief.

So here she is with Grandmother and Little Bit.  This was her first official ride.  Every other time she's been on a horse has been in an arena, where we're not doing much but leading the horse around while Elayna sits on someone's lap.  Today's ride was about 20 minutes, she got to hold her own "rein" (it was an extra rope on the reins, she had no control over the horse), and Renee took her around the yard and through the fields around the house.  Elayna LOVED it and threw a holy tantrum when she had to get off.

Joseph: From Prison to Palace

Melber's Vacation Bible School theme was Joseph and his journey in Egypt.  The kids had tons of fun and the adults were beyond exhausted by the last night.  When Melber puts on VBS, Melber puts on VBS.  Everyone goes all out and it's a huge production.  This year, all the children got to wear tunics like Egyptians and decorate their own dress collars.  They also played tons of games and learned the story of how Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers and rose to become a very powerful man.

Here are few pics.