Days With the Duerksens

I think it's safe to say that Delaney is finally "a walker!" She finally prefers walking to crawling and takes just about every chance she can to walk long distances. I think she enjoys the clapping and hollering from us when she makes it to her destination! She seems pretty proud of herself at times!! I think I have video of this somewhere, but for now, pictures will have to do! She walks the best with her hands in the air - it's really quite hilarious!

On Thursday evening, the kids and I were outside getting ready to hit baseballs. I had to go do some watering in the garden (of course) before we could get started. I didn't get very far with that project because all of a sudden Cambry began screaming! I knew it would be bad because I figured a bat had been involved - and it was pretty ugly! Cambry's figer had a gaping wide gash in it by the fingernail and one fingernail was bent backwards. Chelan was not home. He was on his way home from a work trip to Nebraska. I am not good in these situations. I do not know what requires immediate care and what doesn't. I'm not even a very good consoler. There is a reason I am not a nurse. Our good friend Pat is, however. And here's a plus, he's practically our neighbor! He was kind enough to come take a look at it. He did a great job of cleaning it up and bandaging it nicely - we decided not to go in with it, especially since Chelan wasn't around....

I think if anyone wants recipes for zucchini, I've got 'em and I've tried 'em! It seems like there are always new ones ready when I finally use up the ones I've got in the fridge! I even have about 20 cups frozen. Most of the recipes I tried this summer came from "Simply in Season." Here is a list of the zucchini recipes I tried (some were new to me): Zucchini Chocolate Cake (2 kinds) Zucchini Muffins (about 3 times - my grandma's recipe) Summer Squash Bake (a yummy, creamy casserole) Zucchini/Basil Salad (with julienned zucchini and summer squash) Zucchini/Hamburger/Rice Skillet Zucchini Yeast Rolls (these were really tasty) and Stuffed Zucchini (got a picture of this one)

In just one short month, our little Delaney will be a 1 year old! Holey Moley - how the time flies! She's taking steps - usually 3 or 4 at a time, but crawling is still preferred because it's much faster. She doesn't stay still for more than 30 seconds at a time (unless she's eating)so we're constantly on the move - it's exhausting! Since it continues to be HOT, we fill her little wading pool up now and then, and she LOVES it! She loves to crawl in and out of it and splash around. I'm so glad she likes the water. At the beginning of the summer, I didn't know how she would handle swimming. Every time she got splashed there was crying. These days, she could care less about someone splashing her. Yay for cold water to play in! Our new favorite game: "SO BIG!" I thought this picture was funny - "Look at my muscles!"

We don't see this much at our house - the kids sitting so close to each other and reading?? I had to get a picture. They weren't bugging each other, they weren't hurting each other, they weren't talking to each other. Just reading! I love coming home from Story Hour at the library. It's like Christmas every week!

Cambry had her kindergarten check-up on Thursday. Caiden also had a check-up, and I ended up taking Delaney along to get her ears checked. It was quite a morning - I wouldn't recommend taking 3 children all at once. Along with Cambry's check-up, she got shots and had blood drawn. I hadn't mentioned those things to her in advance because I knew she would be scared for much longer than she needed to be (and I had completely forgotten about getting blood drawn - also a reason not to have 3 children along). She did really great, although there were a few tears. These well-child visits always include parenting handouts, and usually I don't read them. However, this time, I glanced at one and started reading. The article is titled "Equipping Your Children for the Real World" from Focus on the Family , May 2000. Here is an excerpt from it: In my early days of parenting, I had this mistaken notion that childhood was a kind of child's carnival, where ou...

We finished another year of swimming lessons this last week. I'm always excited for them when they start, but by the end of the week, it's always good that they're done. Especially this year - they were from 5:00-6:00, right when I would normally be fixing supper. Anyway, we made it work, and it was fun to see the kids in the water working on their strokes! The big accomplishments this year: treading water for about 1 minute (Caiden) and getting the rings with her hands and her face under the water (Cambry)! Pictures coming sometime.

This year's Fourth was another fun one! We went swimming in the late afternoon at my parents' house with some friends. Then, we met those same friends and some others at James and Shari's house for supper, chatting, playing, and fireworks. This, of course, was Delaney's first 4th of July - she was a little under the weather and was sleeping by the time the fireworks got going! Caiden had a super time because this year, he got to light a few of the firworks (with supervision). He thought he was pretty big stuff! The smoke bombs are his favorite. Cambry had picked out a fountain at the fireworks stand, and she enjoyed watching Chelan set that one off. Lots of fun - thanks Wiens Family! Cambry reloads her hands full of "pop-its"- the ones you throw on the ground real hard. Notice the blue smoke? Caiden had just lit a blue smoke bomb. Jenna wasn't a big fan of the loud firecrackers - you might notice the large ear muffs on her ears. She LOVES De...

The 4th of July must have taken a lot out of Cambry. When I went upstairs this afternoon, I found her like this - her solution to the HOT upstairs!