happenings in november

Somehow we managed to have two children get goose eggs within 24 hours of each other. Six weeks later and Evangeline still has a remnant bump there :-/

The kids had such a fun time at Monkey Joe's on Ari's birthday. So thankful for the gift card we had!

AJ took the kids down to our friends property.

They hiked.

They climbed.

They sat in a boat (some reluctantly).

They rode 4 wheelers (not like that!)

They shot some guns.

And had a blast!

Our time with cousins are few and far between since they are in school now. But that hasn't changed their friendship one bit.

 

Evangeline told me one night that she didn't want babies but wanted to be a doctor. I went on to explain that she didn't have to choose and could do both. She said "Hm...I want to be a doctor-mommy. One that works in the hospital, not in a dr.'s office." 

Ari has also mentioned to us that he isn't going to get married. He is going to live with Lincoln forever. Unless Lincoln decides to get married, then he will get married too. :)

I love seeing a glimpse of the things that roll around in their minds :)

This particular day was very warm so we took a walk--with Hello Kitty backpacks and dog purses of course. Selah found a few "blowers" (dandelion seeds) on the way.

These two are just enamored with each other, Lincoln starts kicking his legs in excitement and will grab her face if she is within reach. They won't leave each other alone if they can reach each other.

Each year we have to venture in to other neighborhoods to enjoy the piles of leaves. Our trees drop leaves so slowly that they don't accumulate enough to jump in.

We hit the jackpot this year!

7 years {Ari}

I've been putting this off mostly because I just can't believe he is 7. What do I say about my little baby who no longer needs my assistance (for pretty much anything) and goes off to school most days? *tear*

I miss him terribly when he is gone, but this time away has stretched us both in ways that have helped us grow. If you ask him how he likes school he usually says "I like recess, lunch, and gym class. But don't really like schoolwork". :) He never complains about his schoolwork though. We have seen remarkable growth in his reading and is pretty independent in that area now. He asks us all the time what (insert lots of letters that spell a large word) means. He is eager to know them all.

For his birthday I was able to bring in a birthday treat. He wanted lemon cake pops. His teacher said really great things about him and also prayed over him - something that I really appreciate about his school.

He had lunch with nanny that day. And of course he wanted a cheeseburger - his favorite! He is our least picky eater, will pretty much eat anything you put in front of him, but one of his least favorite foods is Chick-fil-a. Wha?! One thing I still appreciate about him is that when he does eat things he doesn't like, he doesn't complain. He will most likely just offer it to someone else to eat. Or if we do happen to go to Chick-fil-a, he will just ask that I bring him a sandwich from home.

We were able to celebrate after school at Monkey Joe's since we had a gift card to use. Then off to Cracker Barrel for dinner - another favorite for him!

But he was pretty tired after all the activities that day.

He is getting tall (compared to me!) My guess is that he will be my height in just a few years. However, he is still only 25% for height and weight for his age. We didn't figure we would have tall children, but hopefully he will be taller than me! :)

And yes, even though it's the end of October he still must wear shorts and no sleeves. *sigh* It's definitely been one of the hardest adjustments for him at school now that it's getting cold out. I had a talk with his teacher about not being a "bad mom" for sending him in shorts still. She was very understanding.

He wanted lemon cake for his party at home. Do you see a trend here? He loves lemon! And food!

Here are a few things that come to mind when I think of Ari at this stage:

As of now his favorite colors are yellow and camouflage.

He is squeamish when it comes to minor things like splinters.

He is the first to run and get an ice pack for the girl's boo-boo's.

He asks us all the time "what if" questions that are really random and bizarre.

He has the most contagious belly laugh.

He is very literal - if you joke with him you usually have to explain it's a joke :)

He has a sense of style of what he thinks is "awesome" - which has included his camo boots, shorts, shirt, and safari hat (I should have got a picture)

He is very particular about his hair - first thing when he wakes up he runs to the bathroom, turns on the water, and wets down his hair.

He has a very tender heart and is sensitive to things he hears and sees.

He loves to swim and towards the end of summer was really in to diving down to retrieve toys.

He still loves to save the worms - when it rains he is out there throwing all the worms back to the grass :)

He loves to race AJ in the morning when he is leaving for work - he can run 10 mph!

He is an excellent shot - I can't believe how well he does!

8 months {Lincoln}

Well time isn't slowing down around here and before I know it this kid has another month under his belt.

He is the happiest little guy and we all enjoy his giant smile. I would say he is pretty laid-back (except when it comes to sleeping).

The big kids give him so much attention - I love to see how they interact with him which includes bringing him toys, randomly running up and kissing him, playing peek-a-boo when he is in the exersaucer, and always volunteering to feed him.

His doctor had him come back in at 8 months to check on weight. He still dropped down in the scale (from 5% to 4%) so he recommended one feeding a day be supplemented with formula or pediasure. We are also increasing solids to a degree to see if that helps as well.

And as far as sleep goes...he still wakes up at night. He will have a few terrible nights then a run of "better" nights. AJ and I have a running joke on what great infomercials we saw in the middle of the night :) I haven't had to watch many lately so I think we are making progress.

But with this little face I can hardly be upset that I don't get solid sleep. :) We are seeing more and more personality each day. He loves to wave. And sometimes will just keep waving and waving when someone is talking to him. He has also started grunting, which I've noticed when he is off playing in the exersaucer and decides he wants some attention.

He is interested in rolling back and forth to reach certain things on the floor, but hasn't showed any signs of crawling yet. He hasn't mastered sitting up on his own either (see photo above) so we are working on strengthening his core. 

You'd think after three other ones we would have night times, feedings, and growth progress all figured out by now :) But I guess that is the beauty of parenting. I'm so thankful to have this joyful little babe.

Evangicasso

We have an artist in the making :)

Does anyone else see a striking resemblance?!

Fun in October {Part 3}

Our annual tradition to Appleworks continues...

Our first stop was the pumpkin patch. Which actually ended up being more like a pumpkin graveyard.

Normally it's "pumpkins as far as the eye can see", but this year with all the rain earlier in the summer the pumpkins didn't do so well. My brother found a few decent ones and the kids ran around and picked onions and weeds. :)

It's so fun having new little ones join each year.

Next year there will be one more in the mix! I will have another niece in the next month or so :)

It was tricky getting enough pumpkins gathered around for them to sit on. But maybe not as tricky as it was getting them all to look and smile :)

After the kids ran around the pumpkin patch, we headed over to see some animals.

The kids loved feeding the animals.

They also loved playing hide and seek in the maze.

The big kids just ran the whole time so I only caught an action picture of them.

Then off to the bumpy slide and pile of hay. They were being goofy!

This was pretty far up there (made me nervous!) but even Selah liked being up high to see everything.