Center of Attention

This little guy is almost 14 months now and we love him to pieces.  This smile and his laugh just make you melt.  He has become the center of our attention, even for his older siblings, and he loves it.  It is such a blessing to be his parents.

Birthday Boy

This week we celebrated Kade's 4th birthday.  This little guy really struggled when he was first born, and according to the doctors he should have been a classic SIDS case.  Thankfully, God had other plans for him.  This last 4 years with him has been such a blessing.  And it's even more special that his birthday is shared with some other important people in our lives.

 it's very rare that I get a normal picture of him

we took a trip to the aquarium

we also enjoyed a birthday party with family

Random Laugh

Due to the remodeling projects in our house we are currently sharing 1 bathroom as a family and with the different construction workers.  Today I discovered another creature sharing our bathroom, and let me just say she was in there for hours this morning using the toilet, I did finally have to kick her out. =)

Weekly Hi-light

There is never a dull moment in this house.  Here are a few hi-lights from this week:

KRISTIN

This week she informed me that when I die she will becomes Kade's mother.  Not sure if I should be concerned about the fact that she is planning my death or concerned that she is trying to find ways to completely control her brother.

I was out running errands and came home to find these yummy cookies that Luke & Kristin baked together.

KADE

He informed us this week that he can make fire with his eyes.  I have yet to witness this but if my house burns down anytime soon you will know why.

Kade asked if he could put on some of my chapstick.  Little did I know that my red chapstick would do this.

KYLER

It brings me great sadness to report that my sweet baby boy has been corrupted.  He can now say poopoo and butt and also finds both words hilarious.

Kyler also discovered this week that he can take his socks off.  He finds his toes very fascinating.

Nutcracker Here We Come

Kristin had her 1st official dance class this week.  This little girl has been asking to take dance for a few months now, so last month I finally took her to a class just to make sure she really wanted to do this.  I didn't want to spend money on something she hated.  Well of course, she loves it.  Although she's not taking dance just to have fun, this little girl has a goal when it comes to dancing.  Her goal is to someday be in the Nutcracker and be snow princess of course.  Looks like we have many years of dancing ahead of us if she sticks to this goal.

CAUTION: May Take Hours to Play

I love playing games and I'm super excited about the fact that as my children have gotten a little older we are enjoying less preschool type games.  Although this week I was reminded that some board games can drag on for what seems like an eternity.  This game took us 3 days to play.  Not all day of course, we played for about an hour each day, but even that is a long time for a simple board game.  They really should put warning labels on these games.

13 Months

Our baby boy is 13 months old today.  I feel like time is just flying by.  We have been home with him for just over 3 months now.  He is a very busy and energetic toddler, and if you have ever met his older siblings you know he fits in perfectly because they are just as energetic.  He loves his big brother and sister dearly and gets very angry with them if they aren't including him.  Kyler is definitely full of personality, and he is not afraid to let you know how he is feeling.  We all have so much fun with him, he loves being the center of attention.  He is an awesome sleeper and eats everything you give him.  He has been walking for a little over a month now.  But I've decided walking just isn't challenging enough for him because he likes to carry something much larger than him while walking or he likes to walk around with a blanket on his head.  Love this little guy, he is so completely irresistible.


Here are some pictures of him walking around with a blanket on his head.  His does this on his own and laughs hysterically at himself. =)

Snow Day

Today we are getting some much needed moisture (snow) today.  The warmer weather has been nice, but it is still winter.  On this snowy day, we decided to start our garden, inside of course.

The kids loved helping.  Nothing better than playing in the dirt, even in the winter time.

They were convinced that they saw the seeds growing.

"You were born to live a great adventure; You were created with a divine destiny; You are called to fulfill a great mission.  You were designed for a unique purpose...  Now you are called live it out.

- Erwin McManus

Farm Show

This week we took a field trip to the Farm Show.  My kids loved it, especially the fact that they were able to climb onto all kinds of gigantic tractors.  Kade loves tractors, so seeing the look of excitement on his face when we walked into a big room filled with tractors was priceless. =)  I did learn myself that next time I need to brush up a little more on farm equipment.  My son wanted to know what many things were, but I certainly wasn't much help.

Trend Setting

Many days (when we don't have a whole lot planned), my older children pick what they wear.  I never know what this may look like.  Some days they look completely normal and match quite well, other days they look something like this:

Kade wanted to wear pajamas and Kristin is wearing a dress with leggings and another skirt underneath.

1st Piercing

Kristin got her 1st piercing this weekend, just under her lip.  Of course this was not at all by choice.  Her and Kade were playing on the swings and she was hit in the face with a swing, which then caused her tooth to puncture a hole just under her lip.  I wasn't going to do anything about it until I realized that it went all the way through.  Never a dull moment around here.  So thankful for urgent care, we went to a new one and I loved it, they were awesome!!!  Kristin also did awesome, a little skin glue and a diet of soft foods fixed her right up. =)

Daily Randomness

Here are some random things you might see if you stop by our house.



You will definitely see a large quantity of art projects.  Kristin's newest obsession is drawing, coloring, and creating things out of construction paper.  She does this every day for hours.

You will also see homeschool in action.  Again Kristin will attempt to color anything, even her school work.  She loves journaling.

she loves birds, so lately her journal entries have been about birds

You will also see my little helper (aka my shadow).  He loves to be a part of anything I'm doing.  He really likes it when we do projects with tools.  Yesterday he decided he'd measure some random things with my tape measure.

This creepy thing continues to startle me.  I know it's fake, but my kids put it in the most random places and when I see it I tend to jump.

You might also find yourself being attacked by Darth Vader.  Pretty sure Kade is trying to harm me with this lightsaber.

You will also see this sweet heart leaning in for lots of kisses.  Anytime we say kisses he leans his head in so he can receive them, not give them. =)

 You will also see Kristin smoothering Kyler in lots of love.  She is very nurturing to him.

 Finally, you just might see some very interesting fashion statements.  Kristin chose to wear all 3 pairs of slippers the other day.  I guess this makes your decision process less stressful...

Cutest Baby Ever

I am a bit bias because I am his mother.  But isn't he just the cutest baby ever.  Love this little guy!!!

Serious Cuteness

1st Birthday

This weekend we celebrated Kyler's 1st birthday.  This little guy is such a blessing to us and we all love him dearly.  He's such a happy little guy who loves to make you laugh.  He has gotten to be a pro at walking.  He loves to dance.  He loves noises and enjoys banging toys on everything (a drum set might be in his future).  He is still smitten with his daddy and runs happily to the door when Luke gets home.  He's super smart and figures things out daily (new words, sign language, etc.).  He loves to mimic his siblings.  We also discovered that he LOVES cake.  He's an awesome sleeper and eater (this of course took time).  He's grown drastically in the last couple months, his weight was only at the 5th percentile and now he's at the 24th percentile.  This list could go on, but here are just some of the hi-lights.

Happy New Year

This last few months has been a complete blur.  So much has happened that it's extremely overwhelming to even reflect on it.  And as I attempt to look back, I see God's hand guiding us through it all, because without Him I would have lost sanity somewhere along the way.  So, instead of reflecting on 2011, all I can say is that I look forward to what this new year brings.  Each of our kids is an amazing blessing from God and I look forward to all the fun times we will share together in 2012.  Hope you all had a great Christmas and Happy New Year to you!!!