Swimming

Yesterday was the 1st day the kids got to go swimming at Papa and Grandma PJ's house. They were really excited and hyper for this event! :)


1st of all, a picture of Nathan in my favorite outfit of all time. :)


Samuel did not care to get in the big pool again this year. He did have a lot of fun playing w/the turtle pool, water table and fountain. He fell asleep after supper and slept all night long so it wore him out!


Nathan hung out pool side for awhile.


Hunter, Lily and Brian in the shallow end--which didn't last long. They love to go to the deep end and jump in.


Nathan trying out the water. He didn't seem to care so I guess he liked it. He loves his bath so I thought he might do well. He was shaking by the end so I think it was cool by the time we got him in (we had to wait for shade!).


I was there!


Just a picture of Hunter's jump. Hunter did so well getting right in the deep end this year. He can be a little fearful of water at times--even in the bathtub--so it was good to see him get right in there and have fun!

5 Months Old

Nathan is 5 months old today! He sat in the high chair for the 1st time today so that was fun--it reclines so he did great. We are still trying to get him to eat cereal--he doesn't care for it so we may just move right on to baby food! He sleeps great--day and night. He loves to play in his jumpy thing and roll around on the floor. Most of all, Nathan is really becoming interesting in what his siblings are up to. He just stares at them until they pay attention to him. Hunter likes to get him up in the morning--not lift him up but greet him and take his sleep sack off for me. All the kids love to talk to him and help me out with him. He's a pretty relaxed baby--easy going like his Daddy, I think! :)

Kindergarten Graduation

I love the clothes the kids wore--this picture is just for that reason.

The kids w/Aunt Nikki. Samuel is busy eating cookies w/Papa.

Hunter and Lily with their beloved teacher, Mrs. Yount. She rocks!

Us.

Having fun with bubbles.

Tonight was Kindergarten Graduation. I didn't even cry!! It was a very sweet time and it was actually pretty fun! The kids had a good time after the ceremony just hanging out with Aunt Nikki and their friends. I went outside once and Nichole was surrounded by various children--she just attracts them! :) I do feel a little sad about this passage--I just struggle w/change and watching my 1st (and 2nd) born get older and older--and worry about whether our parenting has been okay thus far--I take great comfort in God's grace in this area!! :) They are sweet, sweet kids--so loving and sensitive and enthusiastic. I heard Mrs. Pilling tell Brian that she wonders what God has in store for Hunter (you would know why had you seen him in the performance--ha!) and it is fun to see their individual selves develop. My babies--boo hoo!!

Last Day of Kindergarten

I can not believe how fast time flies. Today was the last day of kindergarten!! Tomorrow is graduation so it will probably sink in more then. But, I was reminiscent all day long. The aide works hard making scrapbooks for all the kids of this special year so they brought that home today (that's where I got that class picture)--that was so fun to look at! They have grown a lot this year and I think their 1st year of school was great. They had a great teacher, teacher's aide, school and classmates. I can't wait for graduation tomorrow--I will probably cry! :)

Umbrellas

On a recent rainy day, Grandma PJ got the kids umbrellas while we were shopping at Target. They are thrilled and use them in the house all the time--that's probably why umbrellas always end up broken at my house. Anyway, I thought it was funny to see Lily shielded by her umbrella while she slept the other night. :)

New Beds!

Today did not go as planned. The plan was to clean after church/lunch because Samuel has a playdate here tomorrow. However, somehow the topic of a "bigger boy bed" came up and Samuel was totally enthusiastic about the idea. It was a miracle! Brian didn't want to waste the moment so he dragged him out to the store to pick out his bed and then I dragged him out to Target to pick his bed stuff. Samuel is still super excited to have a bed like Hunter and Lily. And I am super excited to finally have a crib for Nathan!! Yes, he's almost 5 months old and we have not had a crib set up for him. We had extra cribs but no mattresses and I just hated to buy a new crib mattress when Samuel would need a twin mattress soon. I am so happy this all worked out without drama. :)


Nathan checking out his new bed!


Samuel wanted the same kind of cars set that Hunter had (Hunter has the same theme but the quilt instead of the bedspread) for his bed but he had to have Spiderman sheets with it! :)


A room with 3 boys.

Garage Sales

Saturday, my Mom and I hit some garage sales. There were tons and we were too exhausted to do them all but here are some of my great deals:


Groovy Girls Doll w/Sleeping (and yes, the doll came w/a skirt but it's been removed): $3


Nesting blocks w/ABCs and 123s: $0.50


Play table w/reversible table top and rolling drawer: $20


Quilt Rack: $3

Ode to Twins in Toddler Beds

 

This post is for my wonderful friend, Jessica. No other explanation needed. :) These pictures are just a sampling of what we endured for years--YEARS!!--some of you may recall I had a calendar made of these types of pictures. The twins partied all night and just crashed. Yes, we tried it all. No, we were not victorious over them. I am confident Jess and her hubby will nip their same-but-different situation in the bud but in the meantime, I do understand. Click on the collage to see the pictures better! :)

Here's Lily chatting it up with her dance class. They performed their recital dance at a nursing home tonight. Donna has the 3 year olds-Kindergarten classes do this to practice being in front of a group. Lily is doing well learning her dance--even though she already dreads the 3x/week practice her teacher asks of the class. :)

Nathan, Samuel, Hunter and Lily on their Dedication days (the twins' pictures may be a little off but it was around that time).

Motivation

Dedicated

Nathan was dedicated today on Mother's Day.  What a fun memory that will be.  I clearly remember the last 2 Mother's Days and I was so ill on both of them.  Today was a refreshing change!  Both sets of grandparents were able to join us at church and the twins loved showing off their classroom.  Samuel did not care to go into his room and I was actually paged back to his room.  They offered to keep working w/him but he had been crying nonstop and I just couldn't force him to be in there when the Grandparents were there today.  Nathan did start to fuss once we were up front but he did okay.  He was also quite a bit--I mean, noticeably-- bigger than the other 2 babies being dedicated and they were all 4 months old--it was funny.  After the service, we had some more family over to the house for a lunch and cake to celebrate and that was fun, too!!  Otherwise, highlights of my day: a nap, hearing Brian tell the kids "Don't do that!  I just swept!" and having Samuel tell me "When I go nigh-nigh, you put your glasses on and you look really purty.".  :)  So happy to have a fun Mother's Day with family.  So happy to be a Mommy!!!

Pizza Delivered

Hunter and Lily came out of school today delivering special pizzas for Mother's Day.  Each pizza box and 4 plants in it: oregano, basil, green pepper and tomato.  How cute is that?  And w/their hats...they looked adorable.  I thought it was the cutest idea ever.  They also made me a card--drew a picture of me (Hunter even added earrings, which I appreciated!) and wrote what they would like to give me.  Lily said she'd like to give me a dog and a cat (typical Lily!) and Hunter would like to give me a red rose.  :)  It should be a great weekend!

 

That's my Mom in the background and on a side note...she talked to Nathan while I was holding him and Nathan actually leaned towards her!  She took him and when I smiled at him, he leaned toward me.  Too cute!

SWAGGER WAGON

My sister sent me the link to this video and I thought it was too funny!

Secret Agents

 

Secret agents with and without the help of "Mystery Girl"

Big All Around

That's how our doctor described our bouncing baby boy.  Big all around.  He weighs (get ready...) 18 lbs, 9 oz!!!  At 4 months old.  Hilarious.  So, he's 95th% for weight and 95th% for head (as were all our children--we are just super smart) and 75-90th% for length.  Definitely our biggest child so far.  I get a lot of comments but I don't feel badly about it.  He's so cute and such an angelic baby.  I love him!!

New for Nathan

Today is Nathan's 4-month appointment so more on that later.  For now, here are some pictures of what Nathan is up to...

Polka dot central...I love them!  No more swaddling for Nathan and he's sleeping great!

Everyone gathered around for the new toy attraction (it was Samuel's but they don't remember it).

Nathan started to enjoy it once he got over the shock!