Maggie is 2 and a half!

This beautiful little girl is two and a half, and she's a great one!

 She loves her baby sister Caroline (but not when that sister touches her hair!) Maggie brings her toys when she is crying and says "that's okay if Caroline chews on my little bunny"

is really patient with Caroline

 and has a great sense of enthusiasm

 Henry is her buddy, and she misses him like crazy on preschool days and gives him big hugs and kisses. She also says "you're a good boy Henry" 

 She's cuddly and snuggly, but equally wiggly, especially in the morning

 We love her to pieces!

Read more...

First Day of Preschool 4/5s

First day of preschool in the 4/5s class!  He got himself all dressed, breakfasted and teeth brushed without even being asked. (except he needed a reminder for socks - too many days of just shoes or sandals in the summer!)

 Maggie was all ready to go with her backpack too.  When they got out of the car, Gabe said "yay 4/5s!" and Maggie said "yay 2s!"

Found his locker no problem, and no problem at all with drop off.  He was pretty excited, even though he mentioned he was a bit nervous in the car on the way over.  His best friend Lucy was there to give him a hug right at the door.  It had been a long summer for those two to be apart!

 This is the first year his classroom faces the front of the building and parking lot, so the kids can way goodbye from the window.  His blue shirt is on the left of the three kids.  

And our picture in the circle

                                  2013                                                                           2012

                                                                      2011

(gosh does this three year old look little)

It was a great first day! He sang the Hello song for us, was running on the playground when I came to pick him up, and he said he and Lucy played Peter Pan, their favorite game from last year.  "Mom, I was Peter Pan and Lucy was Twinkerbell!"  Too cute, Twinkerbell.  We followed up a great first day with a picnic with Chick Fil A on campus and home for a long (hopefully) nap!

Read more...

Caroline is 6 months today!

Happy six months to our littlest sweetheart!

It is amazing how fast this little girl is growing and changing.  Caroline is so happy, almost all the time, and is a crawling machine.  She's mastered the army crawl like nobody's business, and can get across the room in no time.  She loves to swing and be outside.  She loves to be held, but mostly wants to move around and play.   She loves sucking on her fingers, sticking out her tongue, making a "motor running" noise, and is getting better everyday at solid foods.  Love you Miss Caroline!

Read more...

Henry's 5th Birthday

I cannot believe this little boy is 5!

Five is a big deal birthday for me.  Seems soooo much bigger than four.  It's a good thing Henry's not going to Kindergarten this year because I would be a puddle on the floor in need of a mop.  He is our crazy, fun loving, sweet, kind, energetic, excited about everything, sensitive big brother who adores his little sisters.  He is a great example for them....most of the time!  

With so many little sisters, Henry has yet to have little Legos in the house.  He loves his Duplos though, so we thought it fitting to have a Lego birthday party.  And that we did.  

Henry was very excited about this party, for the first time really, and talked about it for about a month before hand.  He made these Lego streamers almost all by himself as a project while the little girls napped.  And he painted the little Lego jars that held a few Legos for each kid.  And Dad got to get out the big bin of Legos and play a little bit too.  

 Anticipation :)

 lighting the Lego cupcakes

 We made little chocolate Lego minifigures out of a mold we had.  It was my first experience making chocolate, and it went alright, getting better as we went along.  

 Lego Duplos holding the candles....these guys would eventually be on the cupcakes, but were on the silverware holder to begin with.  

Henry did get some little Legos to play with for his birthday, along with some good guidelines about when and where he can play with them.  He's done a really good job of making sure they stay up high so sisters don't find them.  I might be kicking myself later for introducing this choking hazard, but so far so good.  

Watch out world, we have a FIVE year old in our family!

Read more...

Caroline's baptism

Catching up a little bit....

Caroline's baptism was a dual baptism - Caroline Marie and Allison Marie were baptized July 7 in the Log Chapel by Fr. Paul Kollman, with parents and godparents serving for one another!

 Miss Caroline was a sweetheart in her Daddy's baptismal gown

Welcome to the church baby girl :)

Read more...

Caroline at 4 Months

It's hard to believe 4 months have passed by so quickly!  Caroline is doing well and getting bigger and bigger.  We had her doctor's appointment this past week, and she's a bit of a bean pole at only 11 pounds 13 ounces, and 24 inches, but she's giggling like crazy and smiling almost all the time.    She loves riding like a big girl in her stroller - but tends to slump over hence the blankets.  She never much liked staying in the car seat, so it is nice that she can ride in the stroller, although she is doing much better in the car overall.  Gabe has been taking Caroline running in the evenings, which she seems to like until she falls asleep!

 She's always loved tummy time, and is inchworming a bit and rolling across the floor like crazy.  She can make it all the way across the room if you let her!  

Lately she found her lower lip, and has been sucking on that occasionally.  She sucks her fingers to calm herself all the time now - hurray for no more pacis! 

Henry and Caroline have a sweet bond between them, he loves snuggling her all the time, especially before nap.  Maggie likes lying next to Caroline but likes to have a little space.  

 Reaching for toys and getting them in her mouth 

 This third baby has spent lots of time in the carrier.  She does well, although is not quite tall enough to see out just yet, so she pokes her little head down to see what is going on.  And then falls asleep.  We've used it a lot with swim lessons and such.  

 Chewing on everything!

 Almost too big for the bouncy seat!

We can't believe how fast it is going and wish time would slow down a bit - anyone invented a slow down time machine yet?  We've been enjoying summer and up next is Caroline's baptism!

Read more...

strawberry picking!

 We woke up bright and early this morning, made the trip up to Michigan, and picked some strawberries!  The kids have been really excited about picking fruit this year...and have asked about what kinds of fruit they will be able to pick.  We really love it, so strawberries were our first stop.  

Maggie did a great job finding red ones, and she really had a blast.  "I see a red one, I see a red one!" 

"Look how full my basket is!"

 "I've got more" "No, I've got more"  It always has to be a contest 

 Caroline got some snuggle time and took a good nap in her carrier. 

 All while sporting cute strawberry pants!

 Henry was also really good at finding the strawberries that were perfectly red, making sure that no greens were picked, and deciding which ones were good to eat.  He filled his bucket many times.  

 Maggie got bored with filling her bucket and found quite a few that were good to eat.  Pretty sure she ate her weight in strawberries.  

 The final haul!  

We'll be making some jam, strawberry pie and some delicious other strawberry creations for the next couple of days.  Wish I could bottle up the smell as you walk into my kitchen, it is deliciously sweet!

Read more...