Week 12!

March 19, 2011

Today my sister-in-law became very ambitious and ran in the Canal Caper fun run.  First of all there is something wrong with the last sentence.  I have yet to know why these things are called "fun runs".  Do you know?  If you figure it out let me know.  This whole adventure started yesterday when I called Crystal to talk and mentioned that I forgot to see if she wanted to come run the Canal Caper with me.  The thoughts that crossed my mind at that point were:

-She lives 1 1/2 hours away she won't want to come to run tomorrow.
-I had good intentions but it is okay if she says she can't come. We will do it next year.
-Am I crazy the farthest I have run within the last couple weeks at once is 4.5 miles.  I would have to run 6.2 miles.

So anyways we continued to talk and sure enough she volunteered to come run it with me.  Really??? I was hoping she would say no so then I could pretend that I just had no one to run it with. 
So sure enough we ran it and enjoyed ourselves.  We ended up finishing the 6.2 miles in just over an hour so that was good considering we walked at least 1 mile of it.  In the end it felt good and it also meant that I could eat whatever I wanted for the rest of the day.  Yea for working out.

March 20, 2011

This is Maycee's new favorite toy.  She loves the fact that she can pull herself up on it and dance to the music.  She has really started to get brave with trying to get up to her knees and feet.  Needless to say we have a had quite a few bonks in the last couple weeks from her thinking she is a big girl.  It happens too often that she tries to put all her weight on this and it ends up on top of her on the floor.  The good thing is that she is kind of expecting it now and not so afraid of falling over and ending up on the ground.  Just some of the stages of getting bigger.

March 21, 2011
 This mornings pictures really cracked me up. I was getting Ethan ready for school and he wanted a piece of toast to eat. So in the hustle and bustle of getting ready I gave him his toast and asked him to watch Maycee for me. I checked on him and everything was going good and this is what I saw. Ethan sitting with his arm around his baby sister. Cute right? I loved it. He is such a good big brother and loves being in charge of her and taking care of his little sister.

With that said the funny part was yet to come. I have said before that Maycee is quite the little piggy.  She doesn't let any food get away from her without it getting in her mouth.  Anytime someone is eating she thinks that she needs to be eating.  So this is what I found next. 

 "Hey Ethan that toast looks pretty good are you going to share with me?"

"I spit by binky out give me a bite of that before I get mad and "tell" mom."

I thought it was too funny that I had caught her actions on camera.  Everytime someone has food this is exactly what she does. 

 

March 22, 2011

Little Miss Maycee is up and going these days.  She is getting so big and is now starting to sit up.  I can't believe how quickly things go. 

 

March 23, 2011

 

 So whoever invented those toddler graham cracker bar things obviously never had children to clean up after.  As you can see she absolutely loves it but she was a complete mess.  I think the worst part is cleaning between those fat little fingers.  I am amazed at what gets stuck between those things. 

 

March 24, 2011

Sorry it's another picture of Little Miss.  I swear there are other people in this family but usually my day is spent chasing her around and I think with her changing so fast I don't want to miss anything.  As you can see she thinks that she needs to do anything I do.  I was laying on the floor working on the computer and she wiggled her way over to be able to try it herself.  She loves to be right in the middle of whatever is going on.  She was totally fascinated with the screen and the pictures.

March 25, 2011

Sorry for the horrible picture quality.  Maycee and I got to spend some time with Auntie today.  My kids love their Auntie.  She has always been a big part of their lives.  It is always a good time when Auntie comes around.

 



Week 11

Playing catch up.  Hopefully I can do it.

March 12, 2011
Today we went bowling for a friend's birthday party.  The kids love to bowl and were so excited when they found out we were going bowling for Colin's birthday.  It is so funny to watch them bowl and how excited they get to watch the ball roll down the lane.  I would have to say Cooper was the funniest to watch because he showed so much excitement just to hit one pin down.  Cooper is getting ready to throw the ball. See that perfect form? He was adamant that he throw the ball himself. It landed pretty hard sometimes but he was able to do it all by himself.  The following pictures show his anticipation and reaction to such a great roll.

How could one not enjoy that reaction?  I just love it.  I also love that Ethan is coming to celebrate with him.  They had so much fun.

March 13, 2011

We have a semi-mobile baby on our hands.  I have been not wanting this to happen because it means my baby is growing up.  I will admit that the first few times she started to try and move I picked her up and sat her back up so she wouldn't start crawling.  I am not ready for my baby to grow up.  I remember with Ethan I was so excited for him to start doing everything so early and now I want time to stop so I can have them little forever.  She was so excited to be chasing after this ball.  She loves being able to move where she wants to move.  She is still trying to get the hang of full out crawling but she still gets around pretty well. 

Taking a little break.  This crawling stuff gets a tiring for little people.

"Mom I am ready to go again.  Watch me."

March 14, 2011

Okay those of you that know me know that I LOVE basketball.  And the best time of the year with basketball season is MARCH MADNESS!  We got a little crazy this year and made our bracket for the NCAA tournament life size.  I saw this idea on a friends blog and knew that I had to have one of my own.  I told myself that it was for Brian but deep down I am pretty sure that I was a lot more excited about it than he was.  It was a fun family night putting it up and placing all the teams into their spots.  At first we were going to let each kid pick their winners but that became way too complicated so we just ended up filling in the games with the winners.  The boys really enjoyed finding different teams and the mascots.  The favorites mascots had to be the Spiders, Gators, Bulldogs, and the Jayhawks.  Each time those teams got to move it was a fight who got to put up the sticker.  I think that this will definitely become a yearly tradition.  Heck maybe it will become permanent and be painted on my wall someday.  HAHA   I love basketball but I am not that crazy.

March 15, 2011

So the reason I took this picture is because I think that Maycee is SOOOOO super adorable.  Well I do think that but that isn't why I took this picture.  I went and grabbed a bib out of Maycee's drawer just like I usually do when it is time to eat and Ethan couldn't believe I would put this on her.  I didn't understand at first because I was working on something in the kitchen and not looking but when he finally said "Mom, Maycee isn't a man,"  I understood completely.  Don't judge me for making my daughter use a boy bib, I am too cheap to purchase new ones just so they can get food all over them.  What the heck she can't read anyways.  I don't think that a bib with boy stuff on it is going to hold this little girl back from any meal.  She does like her food.

Later on in the evening it was beloved bath time.  We actually really like bath time around this house.  Everyone seems to have a good time in the bath.  Even I like bath time because I love to listen to the happy giggles and sounds that come from little kids playing in the bath.  Maycee is really starting to enjoy being in the water especially since she can move around and isn't just stuck on her back.  This toy that she is playing with is her very favorite bath toy.  The boys got Patrick from a burger king meal and he made his way into the bath.  I am pretty sure that Maycee is the only one that plays with it.  I don't know if it is the bright colors or what but it is the first thing she grabs when in the bath.  She even makes sure to bring him with her when it is time to get out.  It makes getting dressed a lot easier if I just let her play with Patrick. 

Another pic for the night.  This is post bath and I couldn't pass up a picture of all of her rolls.  How can anyone not love a "rollicious" baby.  I love the rolls on her thighs, ankles, arms, wrists, etc.  She seems to have them everywhere.  I love my chubby baby and hope she doesn't grow out of it anytime soon. 

March 16, 2011

Sorry so far this week it has been a lot about Maycee.  Oh well!  Get over it.  I promise the other kids will be on here before the end of the week.  This was my craft project for the day.  I have really been wanting a bow/hair clip organizer for all of Maycee's hair clips.  I have been looking at them online and all of the ones that I liked cost $30-$40.  I am too cheap to spend money on something that I know I can make.  So I put my creative juices together and got to work.  This is what I came up with.  I really liked the way it turned out.  I might have to make some adjustments because her clips already fill it all up.  It totally matches her room (it is on the living room wall in the picture) and all the colors tie together with her bedding.  I was pretty excited with the way this turned out.

March 17, 2011

I told you that it wasn't all about Maycee.  This is Ethan and his classmate dressed up for their class presentation on family night at school.  They put on a class skit about America.  With them we "explored" and learned about the Statue of Liberty, Mt. Rushmore, the Liberty Bell, the bald eagle, and a few more.  The kids did a wonderful job. 

March 18, 2011

This is the extent of plants within our household.  I will admit right now that I don't have any amount of a green thumb.  In fact I usually kill anything that I try to grow in the house. Now if you put me out in the yard or garden I don't do too bad but household plants don't have the same luck.   Cody and Cooper planted these while we were at MOPS a couple of weeks ago and this is the progress they have made.  Both of the boys are so proud of their plants and so excited to water them and watch them grow. 

*Note:  Since I am a little behind in getting my weeks posted I will update on the plants.  They are DEAD!  I told you I usually kill anything that I touch. 

Another week in the books.

Week 10

Second post for the day.  I am on a roll!

March 5, 2011

I love this picture.  Today Brian and I had an adult meeting to attend at church and Maycee got to accompany us.  It probably isn't great to be taking a picture at church but I couldn't pass this up.  Maycee was very deep into singing this song with her daddy and grandpa.  I just loved how she was actually looking at the book and checking out what they were doing.  She never once grabbed for the book or tried to rip the pages.  She just sat there and loved hearing the music.  Maybe she will love music as much as her mommy and the other kids. 

March 6, 2011

Sorry it's Maycee again.  She is such a happy baby all the time.  I am very thankful for that.  She was just laying on her blanket after I changed her for bed and she couldn't stop smiling.  I just love the way she smiles at me if I smile at her.  She is always willing to share her smile with anyone.  She especially loves to smile and giggle at her brothers. 

Cooper had to get in on the action too.  He loves to get in the pictures whenever I am taking one of Maycee.  This isn't the best picture but I still had to put it in.

March 7, 2011

This is what we did today.  We took a trip to the library.  My kids love reading and getting "new" books from the library.  I am grateful that all of them enjoy reading a book together.  I have read to them ever since they were little and they have always enjoyed it.  I love the time that we get to share together while we sit and read a book.  They enjoy helping me by reading along or taking part in the book.  It seems like one can never read too many books.  They are always asking for one more book or to keep reading.  This pile didn't last us long.  Ethan had them all read within a day.  Oh well the library has an endless supply for us to borrow. 

March 8, 2011

My sister had called me a couple days ago and sent me to this blog to check out a craft.  She wanted me to try it out and let her know how it went.  So this is what I made today.  I really enjoy crafting because I love seeing the end product and also because it is a little ME time.  Don't get me wrong I don't send my kids away so I can craft but sometimes I do put them in front of the TV.  On this craft I printed off some church pictures and mod podged them to the wood and then used my vinyl cutter to cut out the text.  It was super easy and didn't take any time at all.  I ended up giving this away at a church meeting.  I think I will have to make another one for myself.

March 9, 2011

This is what the little Miss Maycee has been up to lately.  Yep she is crawling.  Well she has been scooting around for about a week or so but today was the first day that she got up on all fours.  She thought it was pretty fun and got herself rocking away.  I do have to admit that I am not ready for a mobile baby.  I remember being so ready and anxious for my first baby to start moving, crawling, walking, etc, but with each additional kid I have wanted them to stay little longer.  Part of that being I still want babies around and part of it is I remember how much more work a mobile baby is.  I am constantly checking the floor for little pieces of garbage that my kids leave laying around or pieces of paper or rubber bands.  Well you get the point.  It is fun to watch her grow and discover new things.  She can go wherever she wants now and she is loving it.  Now it is time to get the baby gates out on the stairs.

March 10, 2011

Cooper has always been very fond of his little sister.  And for the most part she enjoys having him around.  There are times that he takes her binky or pokes at her that I think she wishes he wasn't there but over all they are pretty happy together.  Tonight we were getting ready to go to eat as a family and Maycee was getting crabby waiting in her seat.  Pretty soon I noticed that she wasn't crying anymore and this is what I found.  They were busy playing together. 

A lot of times I think that he is too close to her and all up in her face but tonight she didn't seem to mind it too much.  She was enjoying that someone was paying attention to her.

There were lots of smiles!

March 11, 2011

I just couldn't pass this picture up today.  Maycee has been really loving her highchair lately.  It was pretty funny today because she was sitting in there having fun watching me in the kitchen and I soon realized that it she had gotten quiet.  I looked over and this what I saw.  She had cuddled up with her blanket and went to sleep.  She has had a little bit of a cold so I think being upright actually helped her sleep a little bit better.  I don't look forward to the day when my baby won't sleep anywhere.  I love this stage and that she will just crash out whenever and wherever she pleases.  If she feels the need to sleep she will no matter where she is.  I am going to miss it when she grows out of this stage.

Only 2 more weeks until I am caught up.  I think I can....I think I can.... Maybe if I keep thinking about it, it will get done. 

Week 9 and a little behind!

I am way to far behind on this darn daily picture weekly blog thing I got going on.  I am still taking pictures but am having a hard time finding time to get my blog posts done.  So bear with me as I try to catch up sometime before the weekend. 

February 26, 2011

Hello this is Mr. Independent-aka Cooper.  He is becoming that 3 year old that wants to do everything for himself.  At times I really like this at other times I am sad because I want him to ask me for help.  Also the hard part is that he won't let you help him until he gets completely frustrated and usually it turns into a meltdown.  This happens with shoes, coats, clothes, seat belts, etc.  You name it he wants to do it and some of the stuff he can do completely by himself but most of it he still needs just a little bit of help.  But one thing to know it that you are not allowed to help him unless he asks.  If you try to help him before he asks you are in big trouble and he gets SUPER mad at you because you think he is a baby.  He will make sure to let you know that he isn't a baby anymore.  He will let you know that he is 3 now and can do it himself.  The funny thing about this is that there are still somethings he is adamant that be done for him.  He hates walking into different places.  He demands that you carry him and when you tell him he is a big boy that he is 3 now he will try to tell you that he is only 1.  What a stinker huh?  He already knows how to play the games.  In the above picture he demanded that he put his own coat on and didn't want any help.  Well this is what he came out with.  Of course I helped him zip it because it was just too darn funny.  The funny thing about this is that he thought everything was good and this is how it is suppose to be worn. Well that was until this...

and this...

He didn't understand why it was coming up over his face.  It finally started to make him super mad and we had to switch it around.  It was fun for the time being though.

February 27, 2011

This is one of my favorite pictures.  My kids are blessed to have one of the best Aunties ever.  She lived here in town when Ethan was little and was always around him and she was his favorite person besides mom and dad.  I was sad when she moved away because I wanted all my kids to have that special Auntie that they love being around and that they were around all the time.  Well she moved but it didn't change a thing.  She makes it a point to make sure that she stays involved with the kids and get to as many as their activities as she can.  The boys also love traveling to her house so we do it as much as possible.  She loves having the kids down at her house and makes sure to always make it a fun time for them.  I think there are many times that they would rather live with Auntie then at home.  She keeps teasing us that she doesn't need any of her own kids right now because she has four of mine. 



She even loves being goofy with them.  I love having you as a sister in law Crystal and you make one of the best Aunties ever.

Maycee agrees!


February 28, 2011

This is my new crazy addiction.  Well I wouldn't say this is my only addiction but it is one of them.  Part way through January I made a goal to become healthier and start working out more.  I am the type of person that loves to workout once I start doing it and after I have done it but finding the time to do it has become a problem.  I finally have decided that working out is now a priority in my day.  I made a goal of working out at least 5 times a week and have been able to stick to it.  I am usually a pretty motivated person so once I set my mind to do something I will usually stick to it.  My workouts consist of Jillian Michaels 30 day shred DVD, running, or P90X.  I love having multiple options especially since some take more time than others.  Now that I have been working out for over a month now I feel so much better and have a ton more energy to get through my day.

March 1, 2011

This is the picture that you all get treated to today.  haha  This is what happens when I realize at 11:00 after all the kids went to bed that I haven't taken a picture yet today.  So I thought I would show you our beautifully goofy faces.  It actually was kind of hard to convince Brian to take a silly picture with me.  He thought I was being too stupid and didn't want to do it but I suckered him into it.  We are crazy sometimes but isn't that what life is all about?

March 2, 2011

I hope the willingness to help out around the house never leaves this child.  I do have a feeling it will in about a year or so though.  Cooper loves to help out doing dishes.  Whenever he hears me open the dishwasher and start emptying it out he comes running and wants to help.  I absolutely love it.  The best part about it is that he sticks around until I am completely done unloading and loading it back up because he loves to put the soap in and start it back up.  He is in charge of emptying out the silverware and unloading all the cups on the top rack.  Then he loads back up the dirty silverware and like to load up the plates.  I appreciate all the help that he is when it comes to dishes.

March 3, 2011

Maycee has been teething and kind of fussy so I decided to try something new tonight.  They boys were all having popsicles and I sat down with one in front of her.  She then decided that she needed one too.  I knew that it would probably feel good on her gums so I let her try it.  She loved it.  She kept getting mad when I would pull it out of her mouth.  I didn't want her to get a brain freeze but she didn't want to take it out of her mouth.  It must have felt pretty good after all.

March 4, 2011

Tonight we were sitting around watching tv and just hanging out.  Brian, Ethan, and Cody were all spread out on the sofa and Maycee and I were in the recliner.  Cooper was pretty upset because he didn't have anywhere to sit.  It didn't take him long to find a seat and he was pretty proud of it.  He found this empty storage bin  and thought it was a perfect fit for him.  He was really enjoying having something just his size.  Sorry about the bad picture it was taken from my phone.

Another week down.  I hope it isn't too long before I can get another one posted.



Week 8

AHHHHHHHHH!  My goal tonight is to get caught up.  Hopefully it happens.  Life has been super crazy the last few weeks with basketball.  It has finally slowed down so hopefully I can catch up on many things including our blog.

February 19, 2011

Okay girls you made my photo journal.  This is the varsity basketball team at EHS where I coach.  This is not my team but it is the team that I have been helping with for the last couple of weeks.  We are into the post season now so I get to sit back, relax and have lots of fun oh and coach too.  These girls consume about 1/3 of my daily life for about 6 months of the year.  If that just made any sense.  Pretty much we spend a lot of time together during the season and in the summer.  We have a lot of fun times and memories together.  I hope that someday Maycee can build memories with her coaches like I have with these girls.  Thanks ladies!  Hoo-Hah Tigers!

February 20, 2011

Doesn't this look so DELICIOUS and healthy?  Okay maybe not healthy but it was super YUMMY!  Today is my birthday and for my birthday Brian decided that we would have a night away in Seattle.  Since it was a long weekend we were able to get away for a night without me having basketball.  I think this is the first year that we have been able to actually do something for my birthday since before we had kids.  Yikes!  It was  a lot of fun though.  We spent the day shopping and wandering around downtown Seattle.  We decided to go to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.  I have only been there once before but the last time I went I didn't get any cheesecake so I had to go back so I could have a piece.  I am not a huge cheesecake fan but this Chocolate Cake Reese's Cheesecake was delectable.  It was very rich but SOOOOOOOO delicious.  Oh and I am sure there were only a few extra calories in it.  Oh well I ran the next day.  It was overall a fun night away.  The kids had fun at Grandma  & Grandpa Black's house and they didn't want to come home.  Thank you G&G for watching the kids for us so we could get away. 

February 21, 2011

So in the above post I told you I went shopping right?  Well if you know me very well you know that I have a hard time shopping for myself and usually just spend all my money on my children.  In fact Brian told me before we left that I couldn't spend any money on the kids but that went by the wayside the instant I went into the mall.  Kids clothes just seem to be so much cuter and a lot more fun to spend money on.  Well this is my pile for Maycee.  Let me tell you I LOVE shopping for a baby girl.  I told Brian when we had Maycee that we might be poor now because there are so many more girl clothes out there and they are so much CUTER!  Needless to say I found my new favorite store.  It is called Pumpkin Patch.  Good thing the closest one is Seattle because if it was any closer I would definitely not have anymore money.  (But did I mention they have an online store-don't tell Brian)  They had the cutest stuff in there and they were having some awesome sales, so I stocked up on some clothes for next fall/winter for the little princess in the house.  I was super excited.

February 22, 2011

Maycee has gotten quite the personality as of late.  She is such a happy baby.  I cannot complain at all.  I was kind of afraid of having another baby because the more we had the more cranky my babies became.  Ethan was an angel baby, Cody was okay but just fussy sometimes for no reason at all, and Cooper seemed like he just couldn't find it ever.  I do admit that they never cried constantly but the were progressively getting worse with each new baby.  So when I found out I was pregnant with another I was really worried.  But Maycee has been a super happy baby.  She is right up there with Ethan.  I have decided that fat babies are just happier babies.  At least mine have been.  Lately she has started to giggle at me.  If I make goofy sounds at her she thinks it is hysterical and starts laughing.  She is also very ticklish.  In this picture I was giving her the boogity, boogity, boo and she just couldn't stop laughing.  At times it sounded like she was crying because she was laughing so hard.  I love this little girl and don't know what I would do without her.

Just another happy pose.

February 23, 2011

We still haven't had a birthday party for Copper but Brian and I found this basketball for him while we were shopping in Seattle and I knew he would love it.  And sure enough we brought it home to him and I don't think he has let it go since then.  He loves his HUSKY basketball.  It is just the perfect size for him.  He loves to dribble it around the house and shoot it into various things including the high chair, baby swing and also the bouncy chair.  I am just glad he waits to shoot it into those things until his sister is out of them.  He absolutely loves basketball and is so happy that he has his own ball now.

February 24, 2011

Today we had some friends come play at our house.  I had a friend that needed a babysitter for the day so I told her to drop off the kids because I knew my kids would love it.  She has a little boy that is right between Cody and Cooper.  So the boys didn't have any problem playing together.  I know you probably look at this picture and think what in the heck did she take a picture of her laundry baskets for?  Well these laundry baskets were the center of the entertainment for the majority of the day.  There is a little boy under each basket and they were having the most fun ever.  As you can see below they really are under there.

Along with the baskets we spent some time out playing in the fresh snow.  Yep you read that right FRESH SNOW! The kids were so excited to have some new snow to play in.  They also loved having more  kids out there playing with them.

Here Cooper is busy trying to fill up his bucket so he can help make a snow castle.  He was having so much fun playing out there and helping his friends build a castle.  It wasn't long though that he got frustrated with having to fill this bucket over and over to make the castle.  So he decided that this one would be better at the job and he would have to fill it up only once. 

Pretty smart kid huh?  Ethier that or just a really lazy kid.  I don't know which one yet.  What do you think?

February 25, 2011

So the basketball team made my blog twice in a week.  They better be happy now.  :)  Today was the first game of state for them.  These girls have had an up and down season but came together at the right time and earned themselves a trip to the state tournament.  I am so proud of them and the hard work that they have put in.