Thanksgiving

Over the river and through the woods to the grandparents house we went! We spent Thanksgiving in Lake Chelan at my dad and stepmom's house. AND...my sister just had a precious baby girl so we got to spend the holiday meeting holding her and kissing her.
Of course what holiday is complete without pie? NONE! I baked my heart out making two pumpkin, one mile-high apple pie and a big pan of dark chocolate brownies. Yummy!
Of course I was first in line to hold my new niece. Scrumtious I tell ya!!

My gorgeous sis with her new sweetie. Check out the little ballerina outfit.

Uncle Cam had to get in on the baby action too. We do love a newborn. I'm sure you're all wondering if this made us want another baby. Ummm...she is the sweetest and I loved holding her but I was happy she was going home with her Mama! Yep, I take that as a sign that we are done...with babies at least. ;)

Sis was thrilled with her new cousin. Finally another girl to play with....and shop with...more on that later.

Mr. P was up next. What a precious pic. Love it how my kids all love babies.

Grandma got to have some fun time with Sis...AKA Wild Woman.

On Friday the girls all went into town for some shopping. The boys played in the snow.

I'll write more about shopping. It deserves it's own blog entry. Here is Sis having the time of her life!!

Tuba got lots of snuggle time with Grandpa.

And more snuggle time with baby. Tuba is not happy that we are done having babies...he'd like a new addition each year. He is giving her Eskimo kisses.

The gang...about to break the couch. What a houseful.

And....Busy Guy too got his turn to hold the babe. It was like getting double turns if I held my kids and the baby too! :)

We had such a nice time. It was a real winter wonderland with snow. Beautiful. The kids had a blast and we ate ourselves silly. I'm thankful for so much this year. The top of my list. Cam being done with school, Cam's new job, and Tuba's lack of seizures.

Snow Day!

Today was a snow day....NO school!!!!!! Yipeeeee! The last time we had snow was two years ago. The boys remembered our fun sledding time then. Cam had to go to work so it was up to me to pull out the sled. It is freezing cold out and I really didn't want to...but in the end it was SO much fun!! Getting 5 kids in the snow gear....UGH! That's enough to wear me out for the day. So far I've done it twice today...and it's only 2:00 pm. We have the best driveway for sledding. Mr. P is old enough now to be a look-out for cars. So, he and I traded turns taking the kids for rides and being the look-out at the bottom.

I was so surprised that Baby George wanted to go out. He loved it.

They are so cute! A friend has given me all these snow suits and coats! Love it!

Mr. P was so sweet to big brother Tuba. He got him all situated on the sled...which is kind of hard work.

Then.......Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I love to see the look on their faces as they whiz past me.

One of me too....no make-up...and I really need a color touch up...don't judge too harshly. ;)

Oh, and Little Miss Wild Woman....didn't so much like the fast ride on the sled. She went one time and did smile the whole way but that was enough for her.

Bad Bump

Sweet Baby Boy got a big black eye...courtesy of his Sis! Ouch. Sis ran into his eye with the top of her head. On purpose?? Well, she did run into him on purpose but the owie factor wasn't on purpose. She felt REALLY bad, first when she was sent to bed (because she had just been told not to do it) and then felt even worse after seeing her brother's eye.
The next day I took the photo of them with my cell phone. We were at the school to pick-up Mr. P and BG was asleep. I laid him in the wagon with his head on Sis' lap. She was so nice and caring....rubbing his head.

Baby Boy

What a beautiful boy! I can't imagine my life without this sweet amazing baby. Thank you God for this gift.

Update on Baby George:

My baby boy is getting so big. He outweighs his Sis by about 5 lbs. He is solid. The kids like to call him Tank. He isn't chubby but just solid. He loves food!! Cam laughed and commented the other day that every time he looks at BG there is food in his mouth. :) It's true he doesn't miss any opportunity to eat.

Baby George is thinking about potty training. Some days he wants to...some days...NOT. He does like to wear big boy undies and can stay dry for long periods of the day when he is wearing them. He'll do it soon. I'm seeing dollar signs...$$$. No kids in diapers...amazing...soon!

BG is the snuggliest loviest guy. He wakes up in the morn happy to cuddle. Often during the day he asks to go sit and cuddle too. He is the best hugger. He wraps his little arms around your neck and then pats the back of your neck. Precious! He also melts my heart by saying "pleeeeease" in the sweetest of ways. Even when I really mean no my heart just melts when he asks so nicely. "pleeeeease can I play with your cell phone". Oh! Such a sweet boy.

He likes to sit and look at books and has become part of my nighttime book sessions with the older boys. I can no longer send the wee ones to bed 1/2 hour before the big kids. Darn it! They just cry and fuss because they know the big kids are up. So, now it's a very full bed of kids to read with. BG sits very still and listens to the story and looks at the pictures...his Sis...ummmm, not so much.

At prayer time BG and Sis are both doing a great job saying the Lord's Prayer. They can do just about the whole thing. Amazing. BG requests Jesus Loves Me each night at bedtime and often if he wakes up at night he'll ask me or Papa to sing it again.

He is the baby and all the kids call him precious. They laugh at the things he does and says and they run to help him and attend to him. In the morning when he wakes up the kids will go in his room and I can hear them saying, "good morning precious...come on, Mama's down in the kitchen". Love it.

Sissy's Turn

This post should be called, "Why we are NOT getting a kitten anytime soon!". Little Sis loved this baby kitten. He is super friendly and sweet. But, within 3 minutes of being Sishandled (chased, caught, hugged half to death, kissed, squeezed, suffocated, and loved on) the kitten arched it's back and hissed at her! The sweet kitten then thought he would be safe under this barstool...um, not so safe. I love how the look on Sis' face is pure delight. She didn't have a clue that the kitten did not want her to touch him.

I had our dear friend Mary step in to save her kitten. :) Check out the kitten's head. Hurry Mary!

One last pic of pure delight...getting to hold a squirming kitty.

So now I'll do the update on Sis.

Sis will be 3 at the end of next month. Wow! She is getting and she is so independent!! In fact...I had to stop typing this entry and run upstairs because she was using a knife to cut some cheese!! Oh! She does everything herself. She is all potty trained...has been since the week we started. She wants to wipe herself...but mean mom wants to help her. ;)

Her favorite thing in the world is clothes! Favorite!! She gets up in the morning and strips of pj's, and begins to pull ALL of her clothes out...out of drawers, out of closet, out of folded laundry basket! Not my favorite thing. She then changes her clothes no less than 10 times a day. She comes up with some crazy outfits too. Most of her ensembles consist of tights...2 pair, socks, 2-3 pair, swimsuit 1-4 at a time, and maybe a tutu or dress over the top and then some jeans on for good measure. I have a hard time in the morning with this because 1. I'm in a hurry, 2. I'm a control freak and I don't want her going out in these crazy bag lady outfits, 3. well...I'm just not that fun. ;) So, the morning rule is this. RULE: We pick the outfit together and then it MUST stay on until we come home again. Most days she follows it but sometimes just as we are ready to leave I look over and there she sits in her undies...again. Ugh! Shoes are her next favorite and we go through quite the discussion in the am over which ones to wear. Um-hmmm. Luckily, she loves to have her hair combed and fixed! She will even tell me which style she'd like...pony tail, piggy tail, clips, etc.

Sis and Baby Guy are both sleeping in big kid beds now! They are both doing really well about staying in bed....most of the time. If BG gets up Sis will yell, "I'm a GOOD girl Mama!". Of course she doesn't yell that if she is the one out of bed. :0

Sis is very good at singing. She can sing so many songs that I can't even count that high. She loves to listen to this Kids Tunes CD we have. Aunt Sara bought it a few years ago and it has 3 discs with about 50 songs on each disc. Many of the songs are really old ones (from the 20's-50's) and lots of nursery rhymes too. It's fun to hear Sis sing them all! Her favorites are Lazy Mary, Small World, and I've Been Workin' On the Railroad.

Sis is busy! I should change her name to Busy Girl and get Busy Guy a new name!! Really! She does not nap and goes full speed ALL day long!! She loves to play dollies as well as swords too. She and Tuba will sit and stack blocks or build with Tinker Toys for fun. But, if she had her choice it would be clothes...if that is a game?? I asked her if she wanted pretty pants (her new favorite...meaning jeans with sparkles or designs on them) or a doll for Christmas and she said, "Pretty Pants!!!!". That's my girl!

Whoa

This morning I got up, got ready and started our usual Monday routine. I took the kids to school, went to the gym, worked out for over an hour and didn't notice my shoes until I was stretching! Sheesh! Then I started laughing and couldn't stop. So in case you hear about the mad woman at the gym in unmatched shoes sitting on a mat and laughing alone....it was me!

Busy Guy

Busy Guy is loving pre-school. He goes 3 days a week and is making new friends and having a ball. His teacher tells me that he is always kind to others and is such a fun, good friend. Nice! He really misses Mr. P and spends a lot of his day asking me how many more hours until Mr. P comes home. How sweet. But, he is finding out how to play with the younger kids now. The dynamic has changed and now the 3 little ones are playing new things together. It's especially great at night before bed when Busy Guy asks Baby George if he wants to read a book. Then they both go sit on Baby George's bed and Busy Guy "reads" him the book.

Soccer season is over for Busy Guy. He loved it. I think he truly loved practicing with Mr. P's team the most. He got right in there with the bigger boys and loved it. We are deciding what sport to try next. The boys are all interested in Tae Kwon Do.

Busy Guy has been drawing a ton. He will go get out pens/crayons/pencils etc. and sit and draw. He is making great pictures and it's fun to hear about what he is drawing. He also likes to draw on the chalk board and play with play doh too. He has been showing a real artistic interest. Also, he LOVES music. He is constantly rocking out...playing air guitar, air drums, and rockin' it. He also plays his toy Ukulele from Hawaii and tries to make it like a guitar. He fingers the strings and copies what he sees guitarists do. He of course learned it all from Cam. A real mini Cam! Busy Guy wants to play guitar and have lessons but I think it's probably a bit too early....and advice is welcome, leave it in the comments or email me. :)

Mr. P

As I type Mr. P is upstairs lying in my bed watching cartoons. He came home from school yesterday, laid down on the couch, spiked a big fever and then slept most of the evening. Poor baby boy.

But, other than being sick today here is how he's doing. Mr. P started 1st grade this year. He LOVES going to school all day. His favorite things are having lunch at school and getting two recesses. :) I just went to his conference last week and it was a raving review. The teacher told me he is very well liked and is always on task. Wow! Good to hear. He is doing very well in reading and spelling too. Each week they have a spelling test. He gives me a hard time about studying for them...but obviously it's paying off. I was excited to hear that Mr. P is excelling in math. He tested much higher than the average 1st grader in math. Also, it's his favorite subject. I miss him during the day and so do his siblings...especially Busy Guy. It's so fun when we come to pick him up at school and everyone is hugging hello. :)

Mr. P is playing soccer (one game left) and Cam and Grandpa Keith are the coaches. They have a really fun team of boys. Mr. P really stepped out of his shell and is playing more aggressively this year. He scored a goal in last week's game!

Mr P is growing like a weed and growing up so much. I'm sad thinking that soon he won't sit on my lap or hold my hand in public. He is already getting shy about hugging/kissing us goodbye when we drop him off at school. :( Whaaaaaa! Oh...well, for now I'm enjoying it while it lasts. I'm going to go upstairs now and cuddle my sick little guy while he watches cartoons.

Tuba

I love, love, love this photo of Tuba. It was taken at the OR coast this summer. What a beautiful boy we have. Tuba loves the ocean and you can see it in his expression. He dances back and forth to the waves.

Time to update on the kids and what each of us has been up to. Tuba started high school this year! He is doing really well. I love his teacher. She is a first year teacher and is wonderful. Tuba has an aide that rides the bus to and from school with him...in case of a seizure. The high school program has many great programs for Tuba. Each week the kids get to go swimming, go bowling and they also walk to the local grocery store and Starbucks gives them a free drink! Hey, I might sign up for high school!! He has had some challenging behavior issues with the adjustment but he is working hard and the communication between his teacher and home is great!

Tuba's seizures have been okay too. We are seeing about 1 a week. We are slowly weaning him off of one of his seizure drugs. I hope some of his sleepiness and crabbiness goes away once the medication is gone. He will still be on other meds but the fewer the better.

Tuba of course still loves church. When we pull up on Sunday morning he is unbuckled and practically jumps out of the moving car so he can beat feet inside. We could all learn a thing or two from Tuba! No matter how long the service lasts he is thrilled. At the end of the liturgy more prayers are read out loud. Tuba runs over to stand next to the reader and will not leave until they are all completed. Prayer time at home is just as exciting for him. He hollers for the candles to be lit before we begin. Love my sweet boy and his heart for the Lord.

Halloween

We hope you all had a wonderful Halloween! We did!! Captain Hook, Snow White, Transformer Optimus Prime and muscle man Spiderman had a great day.
Tuba loves this hat and wears it every year!

We went to our friends' house for dinner and some trick-or-treating. There were 16 kids...age 14 and under!! Whew! You won't catch me hosting any time soon. ;)

The kids ate WAY too much candy, I ate WAY, WAY too much candy. We had a long and busy weekend with dinner out, soccer, church auction (cam is auctioneer), Sunday service and then Halloween. We were so tired...and still are catching up. NO more candy tomorrow...for any of us!!