Happy fourth birthday Evelyn!

My little brown eyed girl is four! How can this be? Where does the time go? Oh Evelyn, you challenge me every day. You are so, so smart. You LOVE lip gloss and make up, shiny things, cothes, dresses, dancing, anything that is pink! You have THE BEST reactions to any situation. You are full of life. You love playing with Ben and Addy, Emmett is just little enough to mess up your stuff still, but I'm sure that will change. You are a good big sister and always help him if he's crying. You love your dolls, especially the American Girl doll you got for Christmas this year.

Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you. We pray for you every day. It is our hope and our prayer that you will grow into the wonderful young lady God has planned you to be. You are a joy in our lives and we love you so much!

Happy Birthday :)

Happy First Birthday Emmett!!

My sweet little Emmett...We love you so much. You are funny, and sweet, and sometimes naughty! Your favorite toy is any kind of truck, especially if it comes with a remote. You love to run around and play with Benjamin. You are Chewy's favorite, and when we ask you "where's Chewy?" You say, "gog!"
You've grown so much and you are smart. This year you got your first (and hopefully last) stitches..right on your face! :-( Ouch! You are a snuggly babe, and LOVE sitting with Mommy and Daddy. You have been a blessing to our family and we all love you.

I pray that this next year will be good for you, that you will grow and learn and do the things that toddlers do!

Happy 5th Birthday Benjamin!

Happy Birthday Ben! You are such a cool kid. I love hanging out with you. You are funny and you always make me and daddy laugh. You are very kind hearted, you love animals and making up games to play with your sisters.  You are also very patient and willing to teach your sisters things, I really love seeing that!

Your favorite activities right now are playing Mario Kart on the Wii, racing your cars, drawing, and swimming. Your favorite things according to you are, mommy loving you, cleaning up, and playing trains. I think that's the parent pleaser talking...but I'll take it!

I love the little boy you're becoming and I can't wait to see what your 5th year brings! We love you so much! 

Happy Birthday!

Here comes Emmett in a baby carriage!

Eight months old!

We love this baby :) 

And ya know..it's perfectly normal for a baby carriage to be in a field. ;)

Another One Bites the Dust...

I don't know how I always let a whole month go by...busy busy...my latest feats include selling a bunch of stuff and doing 17 consecutive loads of laundry. I am slowing trying to take back my life. The move really jacked me up. Emmett turns 8 months tomorrow. I am going to try and attempt a mini photo shoot. We shall see.

Kids are all doing well,

Addyson has decided to be a total Mama's girl. All the time saying "hold me, mommy." She always asks to sleep in our bed and is really trying to be a buddy to Emmett. I love that. It's sometimes like I only have two kids..EveyBen and AddyEmmett. Lol.

Ben is really just turning into a kid these days. He will be 5 next month. I can't believe it.

Evelyn is the mini mommy, she is helpful, but her independence also gets her into trouble! We're working on not labeling her though.

Emmett still has no teeth, he's cruising furniture now, and crawling around all over the place. I think he'd rather walk, but he just can't yet. Ben thinks it's hilarious how fast Emmett can crawl. He is very vocal. He's big for his age, and wearing 12 month clothes now.

Richard is enjoying his class (mostly), and in his free time has been working on his remote control cars, golfing, playing soccer, and playing xbox with his brother. All things he's longed to do, but from the time he deployed until the time we moved (about 2 years) he had no extra free time at all. So I think that's been great.

I have been trying to keep our smaller house in order, but it mostly feels like our Washington house puked up our AZ house...lol. nothing fits, storage is lacking, and we just have too much stuff for this littler house. I've been able to do some photography, and that's been nice.

Anyway, I will try to keep up, the kids say funny things that I want to remember daily, so I really need to be better at blogging since I really don't have time for journaling right now.

Until next time... =)

Back to School!

Well..I guess play time is over! 

Husband went back to work today. He mostly sat in meetings all day, and tomorrow his actual schooling begins. He was made a squad leader, I'm guessing because he's so awesome! ;)

I know he's going to do well, but a few extra prayers couldn't hurt if you think about him!

Good job, babe! I'm proud of you!

Happy Mother's Day!

 My sweet Addy cakes!

 Here I am reluctantly watching Addy feed Emmett a cracker..

 And here I am skillfully clearing said cracker from Emmett's mouth so he won't choke..

All my babies! ♥

Mother's day was pretty laid back around here. In the morning we joined friends at church for the baptism of their youngest son before they are off to grander adventures in Japan! Then we came home, had lunch (leftover enchiladas (yum.)) and then spent the afternoon swimming in the backyard. Overall, a nice relaxing day! 

Evelyn made me a very cute card, and Ben brought me flowers. My kids are sweet. 

On Mother's day this year, I want to remember what I love about each of my kids right now...

Ben - always sweet, such a tender heart, always takes care of his siblings. He is growing up into a big boy and learning so much. He can count to 100. Knows all his letters and numbers, he's very smart, and inquisitive. I love that about him, he's always learning. 

Evelyn - Loves all things girly, always smiling, very helpful, a mini mommy, loves taking care of her baby dolls, and Emmett when he will allow it, she loves to dance and sing, and has just recently started being more of a cuddler. 

Addyson - repeats everything, my recent favorite repeat is "no roaches, here!" it just sounds so cute coming from her...she just recently started liking her hair being done and always asks me for a "pretty tail." ♥ She LOVES Emmett and is always hugging on him. When she gets wet or dirty she always says whatever it is followed by "up." For example, "mine dress, pee'd up" "my shirt, popsicled up" "mine shim shuit watered up." I love it. She loves to follow around her "EveyBen." and has also recently started being extra clingy to me. I like it. 

Emmett - adorable smile, quick learner, laid back, easy going, happy. I enjoy him so much. He's precious. I love hearing his cute baby sounds, I love that he knows his name and smiles when we say it to him.

Emmett is 7 Months!

My, my, time sure flies. I am surprised it's been a whole month since I last blog. My little babe is now 7 months old and he is doing many new things! He is babbling more, waving, pulling himself to standing and beginning to cruise the furniture, he protests hugs from Addy by screeching, and he likes looking upside-down. Cracks me up!

I am making my own baby food, and I really enjoy it, it's easy, it's fast, and it's fun. I know he's getting healthy food. I bought a baby magic bullet from a local mom's group, and I have really enjoyed using it. Emmett has moved on from the watery purees and now prefers solids and chunkier things. Tonight he had whole cooked peas and a piece of bread. He's really got his pincher grasp down now!

In other news, Ben and Evey will be done with preschool in a few weeks. I am kinda bummed, bc I think they really enjoy the social time they get at school, and I love my time with Addy and Emmett. Summer will be fun. We have the pool set up and it's warm, and there are many covered parks to play at around here. 

Rick has really been enjoying racing his RC cars around, tinkering with stuff in the garage, and finished up all the many projects we had going. They are all done now! Kind of just in time, because it's hot every day now.

He start's class on Monday, I'm sad and glad. Sad because I've enjoyed all this time he's had off, and glad because I'm ready to move on from Arizona!

Dresser Re-do

 Before

After!

When we moved, we realized this new house lacked the storage space of our Washington house, so I went on the hunt for a dresser. I ended up finding one for sale in a local buy/sell group (no one seems to use craigslist down here!) So I scored the above dresser/night stand combo for $75. It's solid wood, so I thought it was a great deal! We chose Behr - Polar Bear white for the paint color and the handles are from the Martha Stewart collection at Home Depot. So for about $130 we got a totally custom dresser that I love. It's now being used as an entry table since there really isn't room for it in the kids' bedroom, but it works well where it is, and I don't have to look at 4 laundry baskets full of clean kid clothes any more!

Emmett is 6 Months!

My little guy is 6 months old today! I can't believe it! He is "talking" a lot now, he can roll both ways, and get from his tummy to sitting, and he reaches for me now, which I love.

He is working on crawling and we just started giving him baby food this week. I decided to skip the nutritionally questionable rice cereal this time around and nurse exclusively until he showed interest in food. I'm glad we did.

Emmett is such a sweet baby. He's happy and content most of the time and really only cries when he's hungry or tired. He loves playing with his brother and sisters and watches their every move. He's teething now, but isn't too terribly cranky yet.

He is snuggly and sweet, I can't really complain. I've been blessed a with a beautiful blue eyed boy, and we all adore him.

Happy 6 Months E!

Happy Birthday to Me!

28...just two years between me and 30..I'm not worried about it.. :)

I had a really nice birthday, thanks for all the birthday wishes!

Trauma!

Today...I decided I wanted to get a group photo of my kids, I haven't really taken one of them all together since Emmett was born, and now he can sit, so I asked Rick to help me gather them up and go to a location I'd driven past a few times...He gladly obliged, because he's good like that. :)

Anyway, photo shoot completed...Addyson freaked out almost the entire time because of the "pokeys," and Ben was a little bit whiney and kept wanting to get back to the truck.

Well..I got a few cute shots and we headed back...While Rick was checking for his keys that he'd left in the truck, and I was putting my camera away, Ben was trying to lift Evey onto the tailgate of the truck..it didn't work out and they both fell..There was much screaming, and much blood, but both are fine..Mommy and Daddy are fine too..but I will say it's kind of unnerving to see blood gushing out of the front of one kid and the back of the other..We remained calm and got the job done. *high five*

It's Chocolate.

So, we have a phone like the one pictured above, I think it used to belong to my sister, Emily, then it belonged to my sister, Katie and somehow it ended up in one of our suitcases on our way back to Washington...anyway...

Tonight, the husband was looking at it and he said, "what? this is actually a real phone?" and I said, "yes, it's an LG Chocolate.." Addy came over and picked up the phone and started licking it..Rick was confused..but Addy? She thought it was chocolate.

:0)

Happy Birthday Addy Cakes!

We had a fun day with our little 2 year old!

We had a mini party with just our family with cake and presents. She got a doll house from us this year, and all three of the older kids really loved it. They played with it all last night and this morning. It's funny to watch how they make the people interact with each other. i.e. "No Evey, put the mommy in the bed with the daddy. Mommy and Daddy always share their bed together!"

*******************

Dear Addy,
You are a beautiful little girl. We have loved watching you grow from a baby into a little girl. You are very smart and have lots of opinions these days! You are strong, you never let Ben or Evey push you around! You know so many words and now speak in short sentences. You love to run, color (sometimes on the walls...), play outside, and dance. I love your dance moves! You are sweet, and loving, and when you're excited and happy you make everyone around you smile. I love your eyes.

Sometimes you can be a little bit naughty too. In the past month, I think you've flushed 11 entire rolls of toilet paper...and you put one roll into the bathtub, which made quite a mess! You love to play with soap, and water, and I think the bathroom might be your idea of play land! But it's okay, we know it's a phase..and as the song says, "it won't be like this for long."

Soon, we'll miss the naughty little two year old with a smile that could melt hearts! We look forward to the coming year, and can't wait to watch you learn and grow!

Happy Birthday little Miss, Mommy and Daddy love you more than you know!

Tidbits

"See Evey, we have to vacuum a lot now..because this house is not like our Washington house..we had only wooden floors there. Now we're living in a rug house."

Yes...the new house has carpet ;)

Things that happened today - An entire bottle of shampoo dumped on the bathroom counter, 3-5 red pepper packets opened and scattered across the kitchen table, 5 lotion bottles emptied into the bath tub...FYI, lotion cannot wash hair.

Where was I, you ask?

Well, for the shampoo, I think I was outside, I don't actually know who did that, or when it happened, no one is talking.. number 2, same deal as number 1, and 3, I put the girls in the bathtub in my room where I was nursing Emmett, and I thought to myself, how nice they are playing in the tub and talking to each other...until I heard the screams of terror of lotion getting in someone's eyes...It was a horrific scene..thankfully I have a husband who swooped in to clean it up, because this mama was gonna lose it.

What a day...

In other news..I gave Emmett his first taste of real food today. Bananas, that I mashed for him myself. I only gave him a little taste to see if he was interested in food, and he seemed to really like it. Maybe more tomorrow...

Tidbits

Upon seeing a bra in the trash can -

"uhh hey mommy? Why you throwin your boobs away?"

Emmett is 4 Months!

In just this past week, he laughed for the first time, started rolling from his back to his tummy, and he found his feet.

He's still a very easy going baby, full of smiles, and his siblings love him.

At the doctor today he was 16lbs 1oz. Still a robust baby, and I adore his chunky legs.

Emmett, babe, you're a keeper.

New View

From our new home, on a new street, in a new state.

Success.

Flying with four kids? Piece of cake. Especially when you sit next to someone's Grandpa Tim. ;)

But seriously, my kids are traveling rock stars. I'm sure it can be chalked up to the fact that they've traveled so often, but they were so great. Addyson slept a bit, and Ben had fun coloring and talking to me about the view out of his window. Evey sat across the aisle next to Grandpa Tim, who had just come from Alaska where he was visiting his grandchildren. He entertained her, helped her with her snack, and even held Emmett for awhile when I took the other kids to the potty. He was great. Made sure I got off the plane alright, and then came back to check on me to see if I needed any help with our luggage.

My mom is an angel who sent her friend to help me gather luggage and get a rental car, and that was a huge help and a burden off of Rick to find a way to get back to the airport in time. Thanks Mom :)

Leavin' on a Jet Plane...

Today is the day I fly alone with all four children...Wish me luck.

Memories...Sweet Memories...

Today, I walked out of my home of the past 3.5 years for the last time. I cried. It's sad to me that our kids probably won't remember the first place we've ever really called home.

When we moved to Washington, we only had Benjamin, and he was 13 months old. A baby. I was pregnant with Evey and we were worried about so many things..but God really took care of all our needs and placed some amazing people in our lives.

We found our house..the last house that we looked at..our first home buying experience...We grew our family in that house, we made best friends, we found a great church family, we settled in and felt at home..It's so hard to just walk away from that! If it weren't for the Army making us, I'm pretty sure we would have stayed right there.

I know people will say, it's just a house..and "home is where the heart is"...well...part of my heart is still in Washington.

p.s. yay drama. ;)

Loaded up and Truckin'

Today, the penske truck full of all our belongings drove down our street and out of sight. Rick's parents came to help us with the move, we were very grateful to have the extra hands.

See ya on the other side!

No Power and Lots of Snow!

We've had quite the adventures over the last week or so..first, much of our area was hit with a "snowpocalypse!" Too much snow came too fast and since we rarely get any snow that sticks, no one was ready for it! We had a couple good days of snow, but as the snow melted, freezing rain came, and with freezing rain on top of snow, trees were snapping like twigs all around us! Power lines went down everywhere and we were without power for 5 days. Thankfully, we did have hot water, but everything else in our house is electric, so as soon as it got dark, we would venture out for dinner and something to occupy our kids until bedtime. After the kids went to bed, Rick and I played scrabble by candle light, which did prove to be a nice quiet time to talk..but both of us agreed, we would rather not be pioneers!

Because we had no heat, the house got really cold (even with a gas fireplace going 24/7), and our whole family got sick with yucky colds. We're all still fighting off the lingering coughs.

In other news, Emmett is 3 months old, he's "talking" some now and smiling a lot. He's a really great baby, and like the other kids, just kind of goes with the flow.

Rick's parents will be here tomorrow, they are coming to help us move. We did what we could with the power being out, but when your kids are tired and cold and sick, it makes for very little productivity. We hoped to have more packed by the time they got here, but it is what it is..and we still have some time..

Moving stinks.

2011 in Review.

January 2011
Finished up a wonderful Christmas visit with my entire family. How fun that they could come to us for once! We celebrated Evelyn's 2nd birthday.

February 2011
Evey got her very first real haircut, a very cute bob, and we found out from the Dr. that Emmett would join our family in October!

March 2011
Addyson turned 1! We went on an Army sponsored marriage retreat to Suncadia Resort (beautiful!) and I started babysitting a little boy named Matthew.

April 2011
We took a family camping trip North to see the tulip fields. Truly spectacular, so glad we decided to go. Oh..and I turned 27 this year!

May 2011
We took on the big project of leveling out our back yard. It was fun when we started, and we LOVED it when it was finished, the in between? Meh.

June 2011
We continued work in the back yard, our kids are hard workers! I got to fly to Florida and meet my brand new niece, Jordan! We also had a fun camping trip with our church small group in Westport, WA, and Richard got the illness of his life with some mysterious stomach bacteria!

July 2011
Benjamin turned 4! Richard turned 30! He got a new truck, and we used that truck to pull our pop up camper down the Oregon coast. A fun, but rainy Summer vacation.

August 2011
Summer vacation in the actual Summer. We headed to Ohio, we got to spend some time in Ohio's lush, green, mosquito filled paradise. :) It was fun. I miss hot Summers, but I don't miss the bugs!

September 2011
A new first for our family - Ben and Evelyn went to preschool! They absolutely love it and get so excited each week to go. We also went on our first family train ride, the kids really enjoyed that too.

October 2011
We proudly welcomed Emmett James to our family on October 12 after a long labor, which included Richard getting a stomach flu! I hired a birth photographer for the 2nd time. She was fantastic, I love having those images to remember the day!

November 2011
I got a haircut :) We had Thanksgiving at our house with some friends. Oh, and we got one teeny tiny snow fall!

December 2011
A turbulent month filled with Christmas activities, like gift giving, puking, flying, and taking a ride on the polar express. Overall a fun time spent with family and friends in Washington, Ohio, and Michigan!

Overall, 2011 was a great year, filled with travel, fun times with friends and family, and tons of new memories. We added another healthy baby to our *not so* little family, and we know we have been blessed beyond measure. We look forward to seeing what God has in His plans for us in 2012!

Happy New Year!