Life's Been Good

We've been keeping busy the past few months. Here's what we've been up to:

Eating new things (he loves shaved turkey and fresh fruit):

Crawling around, chasing big brother and sister:

Having fun in the bath tub:

Pulling up and cruising around:

Having fun at Valentine's Parties:

Humoring Mommy by taking silly V-Day pictures:

Here's my littleist Valentine (his first):

Bear, showing off his favorite shirt ;) (he wasn't feeling well, at all)

Having fun at Kiddie Acres with friends:

Having fun bowling with friends:

Playing after school (the kids love to play on the rocks after school - I love that all they need is a little nature and a few friends to have a blast!)

Playing with Daddy:

Dressing up and pretending to cook:

Playing in the snow at Pappy's:

The expression on his face is priceless!

Sweet Pea LOVED the snow! She played in it for hours - even after making snow angels and getting her clothes wet!

Bear wasn't a big fan of the cold, but he couldn't pass up the chance to help with the snowmen and to play with sticks!

Daddy took the kids for a ride in his new bike trailor on Sunday (then we all went swimming in the hot tub):

And here's our back yard on Tuesday:

Poor baby A - Mommy made him take a lot of pictures in the cold snow:

After all of that playing, we all need a little rest :)...

10 Months

My sweet baby boy is 10 months already! I took him to get pictures taken on the special day. He did great, as always.

He is still a dream baby, for the most part. But, he has finally shown a flaw - he has recently decided that it is not very fun to sleep. He doesn't like to nap and he doesn't like to sleep at night. (I have to admit, it may not be entirely his fault - our glider completely disintegrated, so we haven't had a way to rock him to sleep). N was out of town the other night and A decided to wake up from 12:30 to 2 and then he woke up, for good, at 6. I guess I can't complain, I had some great snuggle time :). But, otherwise he is still a doll.

He is crawling (military style) all over the place, he loves to pull himself up to a stand, he can walk behind his walker, he loves to clap and to grab your hands and make you clap, he giggles at almost anything, he loves playing with all of his toys and he is babbling a lot - and after hours and hours of practicing, he can now say "Ma Ma"! Oh, how it melts my heart to hear those sounds. He is also enjoying Sweet Pea and Bear and they are enjoying him, as well.

At his nine month appt, he measured 50th percentile in height, 25th in weight, and 95th in head circumference! We are trying to cherish every second with our sweet baby. We know all too well how fast they grow up! I can't believe it's already time to plan his first birthday!!!

Baby A is Eight Months

I'm over a month late, but I couldn't skip it...

We had family pictures taken just in time for me to double up with his milestone. I started with Sweet Pea and have continued the tradition of taking pics of the kids every two months until one year. It's a little tougher when there are two other kiddos running around!

Our friend Kathie took the pictures and I have to add that Baby A was in a bit of a mood. He was hungry and tired, but still such a sweetheart!

Here he is with his big sis'. She is always loving on him like this:

I think this is just a preview of the years to come:

To Infinity and Beyond...

I had been searching for the Toy Story DVD (thinking that Bear might love it, and in turn, love the characters at Disney World), but I couldn't find it anywhere. So, when I found out it was because they were showing it in 3D at the theaters, we thought it would be a fun family outing. Sweet Pea has seen 2 movies, but we had never taken the boys. Needless to say, we were a little nervous...


Well, the kids did great! The boys fell asleep 1/2 way through Toy Story 2, but Sweet Pea lasted through both and even asked if they were going to show a third! And N and I were just excited to go see a movie! I think we have seen 4 in the past 5 years. Who would've thought that the more kids we have, the easier it would get? Have I mentioned what a good baby, Baby A is? Does this mean a fourth would raise itself???

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch... Twice

A couple of weeks ago I took Sweet Pea and Bear to the pumpkin patch with a group of friends. It was organized as a field trip, so the kids got to do a lot of fun things in a short amount of time (they went on a hayride, went through a corn maze, had wagon races, painted pumpkins, fed goats, ate homeade ice cream and picked flowers). They had a blast!

Then we decided to go back as a family to pick out our pumpkin. Daddy found a good one...

And we tried to get a good pic of the kids, but Baby A was tired and Sweet Pea and Bear were preoccupied with finding the biggest pumpkin (thanks Daddy ;) ). But we had lots of fun and Bear even fed the donkeys.

Little Mia... Or maybe not?

I had one of those "love burst" moments a few weeks ago (I have had SOOO many of them lately)...

It was a Saturday morning and Sweet Pea was running around in the grass chasing after a soccer ball on the soccer field. I don't think she actually touched it, but it didn't matter, my little girl was playing soccer. If you know me, you know I am crazy competitive. But ever since I had kids, everything has changed, especially since my kids are usually on the sidelines when I play. Anyways, there isn't a competetive bone in my body when those 4 year-olds take the field. I cheer when they run towards the ball! I honestly don't care if she ever plays again, I'll never forget the times she did!

She has played in 3 games now and she gets better and more interested each week. She is so proud when she kicks it and she looks so cute doing it! This past Saturday a parent from the other team told me her dancing on the field was the best part of the game :). I wish I had more pictures, but it's impossible for me to take them since I am running around the field with them. And Daddy is pretty busy with the boys.

Here she is with her "after game treat".

I have to add that I am growing so attached to other kids on the team. They are so fun and adorable!!!

Has it Been 6 Months Already?

Baby A had his half birthday last Friday. There isn't much I can say about this angel baby that I haven't already said. He continues to be an unbelievably fabulous baby. At his 6 month check-up, he weighed 17.5 lbs and he was 26.5 inches tall (and that's from exclusively nursing for 6 months). Here's how much he has grown:

We fed him rice cereal for the first time last night and he gobbled it down! Sweet Pea and Bear were so excited to feed him, he had two spoons in his mouth a few times :). At one point he was even feeding himself!

I read in his 6 month check-up papers that he shouldn't need a feeding in the middle of the night, so I am guessing he doesn't need 2. We are going to try to get him to make it through the night without eating ~ we'll see how that goes...

A friend of ours came to our house and took a few pictures on his actual half birthday:

I love the look on his face in this one: