May Your Days be Merry and Bright...

Another holiday season is upon which means holiday pictures to share with you, our family and friends. I'm quite happy with how they turned out having 4 young kids who definitely do not like to sit still for long. However, they were able to behave pretty decently for a whole hour so we could get some great shots. Hope you all enjoy!

All the kids...

Andrew...

Austin...

Aaron...

Alexis...

Trick or Treat...

This year for Halloween I thought it would adorable to do a theme with the kids like we did a few years back. One of my friends dressed her kids as Thing 1 & Thing 2 last year and generously offered the costumes to me. I gladly accepted and was able to find Andrew a Cat in the Hat costume on-line. The boys looked great and we got so many rave reviews on our Dr. Seuss theme. Here they are all ready to go out trick-or-treating at the mall.

I wasn't sure how Aaron would be with dressing up and having to wear a wig all day/night, but he surprised me and did wonderful! And he was even happy to cheese for the camera!

I TRIED to find Alexis a fish costume to go with our theme, but couldn't find one small enough for her. Shortly after that, I was in the mall and happened to come upon the cutest costume ever... a flower! She looked absolutely adorable!

In the evening we took the kids to downtown Richland where our church along with a few other businesses in the area teamed up to put on a night of "trick-or-treating", games and all around family fun. Even though it was quite chilly, the boys did really well and had a blast. Here's a pic of them at the end of the night with smiles still on their faces.

Alexis pretty much slept through most the activities during the day/night but did pose for a picture with me.

It was a great Halloween and I can't wait until next year!

Gossip Girl...

Alexis absolutely loves chatting these days. Whether it's with me, her older brothers or even the animals in her crib, she loves talking everyone's ears off! I was finally able to get her on camera striking up a conversation with the butterflies in her crib and thought it was far too cute to not post! Enjoy!!!

Carving out Memories...

This year, the boys and I had the pleasure of doing our pumpkin carving with my bestfriend, Tammy, and her 3 boys. We all got together at my house the Wednesday before Halloween and had a very nice pumpkin carving party.
Austin's favorite part of carving pumpkins is definitely opening it up and pulling out the guts. He's always been my "messy" kid, and loves feeling the pumpkin goo all over his hands while sorting out the seeds. I do all of the cutting for him right now, but he likes to help punch the pieces out once they are carved. He does quite well, too!

Andrew was more interested in the carving and did a great job! He sat there the whole time working very hard on making his cuts precise. He loves doing little projects like this, and I rather enjoy watching him!

Aaron even attempted to get in on some of the activity with his buddy, Nolan. They weren't very keen on pulling out the insides, nor did they help with the carving, but they sure liked to take the top off and on. They were so cute together!

After a good hour and a half, everyone was finally done carving their creations. Andrew did great on his silly face pumpkin and Austin loved his ghost pumpkin. All in all, it was a grand old time!

Gull Meadow Farms...

Every October since Andrew was 6 months old, we've taken an annual family

trip to Gull Meadow Farms for donuts, cider, pumpkins, hayrides and all around fall fun! It seems that we always manage to go on a sunny day where the weather is perfect too. Even though we've gone there for the past 7 years, we still manage to always have a blast! Every year it seems they add one or two new things to make it even better. This year the newest addition was a giant rocking chair. I was able to get the boys to climb on up and take a great photo. I rather liked this picture because they were all smiling happily which is rare these days!

I also like seeing how much the boys have grown since the last time we visited and they don't mind it either. I can't believe how fast they are growing! Aaron unfortunately wouldn't cooperate at this point, but I will take what I can get.

After playing around in Pumpkin Lane, we finally made our way over to the greenhouse to pick out our pumpkins. We usually get one for each child, but since Alexis was sleeping the whole time we were there, only the boys got to do the picking. They picked some great ones too that I can't wait to help carve!

By the end of the afternoon they were all tuckered out and ready to go home. They were almost too tired to walk to the car, but they soon got kicked out of the wagon so our pumpkins could enjoy the ride.

This is one of my favorite family traditions and I can't wait til next fall!

Kicking off the Season...

Along with the start of a new school year, Andrew and Austin also started AYSO soccer. Every Saturday morning you can find me cheering on the boys during their games. We have been fortunate so far this season to have each of their teams playing at different times. Andrew played last year and was able to jump right in this year. He's enjoying it a lot more this year because they actually have positions, and play for a full hour. They also have a designated goalie, which he always volunteers to be. He's still too afraid to actually step in and try to take the ball from the other team, but I know in time he will get the hang of it!

Austin, on the other hand, was very hesitant. In his first game he got right in there and played. The second game was a complete no-go and he sat on the sidelines with us the WHOLE time. At his 3rd game this past weekend, I was finally able to convince him to play the last 2 minutes of the game (out of 30). Hopefully this week will be a little bit better and he will play the whole time.

School Days...

It's official, summer is over and the school year is well under way. This year, 2 of my little munchkins are enrolled at the G-A Primary. Andrew started 1st grade Sept. 8th and Austin just started preschool yesterday.
Andrew was quite eager to get back to school after a long and hectic summer. He cheerfully got on the bus the first morning back and has been excited to go everyday since. He loved his new classroom and teacher, and has even made some new friends. Unfortunately his best buddies (Noah and Robbie) aren't in his class this year, but they are both on his soccer team, so he has been able to maintain some old friendships that way. Here Andrew is all geared and ready to go like a pro with his new Transformers backpack...

And him running into the house after the bus ride home...

Austin, on the other hand did not want to start school. His attitude reminded me a lot like Andrew's when he was getting ready to start preschool. I'm sure it has to do with the fact that I have always been a stay-at-home mom with them and since I watch extra kids, we rarely go elsewhere for playdates and such. We had talked to him all summer long about starting school and how much fun he would have learning new things and meeting new friends. For a minute we even had him convinced to go. And then yesterday hit and his stubborness kicked in full throttle. I first had to persuade him to get out from underneath the kitchen table when it was time to go, con him into putting his shoes and coat on, and then literally hold him down in the car to get his seatbelt on. Once we got to the school, he was happy to go in and "visit" his classroom, with the exception that I stay with him. I got him in his classroom and even got him to put all his stuff away in his cubbie. After that I slowly tried to sneak out the door, but he kept walking after me. Finally I hid behind some other parents and snuck out the door with them. I did hang back to see what he would do, and sure enough he started walking out of the classroom to come find me. His teacher quickly stopped him and sat at the door with him a good 5 minutes trying to convince him to sit at a table, all the while with him saying "I'm not going to school EVER". After a while I finally left and headed home. Well, I am not quite sure what she said to finally get him in his chair, but he came home off the bus happy as a lark, excited to go back today. Here is a good shot of Austin ready to go to school with his Spiderman backpack before his little meltdown...

And him coming home on the bus happy as can be...

I'm very excited to see what the school year brings for each of them. Andrew is such a quiet, yet eager learner while Austin is more of a free spirited child with a lot of energy. It's just nice to at least have the two of them in school so I can focus on the 2 younger kids and get some quality time in there. With how fast they seem to be growing, it won't be long before they are all in school and I will no one left to snuggle with during the day :(

Smiling Baby...

Alexis hits the 3 month mark in a few short days, and it's hard to believe she is already a quarter of a year old. It seems like just yesterday she was still hanging out in my womb and I was anticipating her arrival. Today I was FINALLY able to pack up all her newborn clothes and get out her 0-3 month clothes. And that is not a typo - she is JUST starting to fit into the 0-3 month size. It amazes me looking at pictures of when she was just born and seeing what a long way she's come. She actually has a little bit of baby chub to her and barely any hair - totally opposite of when she came out. She loves to kick her little legs in excitement and has started cooing within the last week. She also smiles, a lot! She loves playing in her bouncer and swinging in her swing. You can definitely tell she is the princess of the family because when she doesn't get her way, she screams her head off. The boys absolutely love her and I think she is beginning to recognize them. Austin finally held her for the first time a few weeks ago (he didn't claim her as his sister when she was born because she didn't have "white" hair like he did). I'm very anxious to see what the next 3 months have in store for us as she begins to roll and hopefully crawl. As for now, I don't mind her being my immobile cuddle bug :)

Waves of Fun...

I was FINALLY able to get out of the house and spend the day boating on Gull Lake with my dad, sister and neices. I didn't think I would be able to go boating at all this summer due to my pregnancy, but because Alexis came early, I at least got a couple chances to head out on the water. We spent an entire afternoon tubing and cruising the lake. It's definitely one of my more favorite summer activities and can't wait until the kids get old enough to join us on the tubes!

Courtney and I posing with my dad...

Courtney and I battling it out...

Megan and Courtney enjoying the ride...

Courtney and Audrey gliding over the waves...

My dad and Audrey relaxing on the water...