Max's First Haircut

Today was a milestone for Max...his first haircut.  He was fabulous! Seriously.  No tears (at least not from him), no squirming...nothing but smiles.  Parker and Carter went first while Max watched them sitting in the chair.  He seemed to know exactly what to do when it was his turn. 

Before

Looking so big!

During

Sitting so still!

All smiles!

After

Thanks Ms. Crista!  You did a fabulous job!

Soccer Saturdays

There is no other place I would rather spend my Saturday mornings than at the soccer field.  Where else can you buy giant pixy stixs and airheads at 8:30 in the morning?  Just kidding...We love cheering for the boys on game day!  It rained a lot overnight Friday and right up until game time on Saturday.  We all know that soccer + rain = a great time (at least for the boys)! Here are a few photos of them in action.

Carter does a great job keeping the ball under control.

Carter taking a hit (from a teammate)...ouch!

Carter passing the ball to Sophia.

Carter moving the ball up the field.

Good game, good game!

Parker and two of his teammates from school.

He is such a cutie!

Look at him go!

Good effort!

We've really enjoyed our season of Upward!

February Flashback

Feeding our feathered friends is always something that our boys enjoy.  During the summer, they love to wake up, grab a few slices of bread, and sit on the front porch while tossing small pieces onto the sidewalk.  It's always a few minutes of peace and quiet during our busy day.  In the winter, they always make sure the bird feeder is filled with seed and sit patiently at the window with binoculars.  Sometimes they like to make the birds a "gourmet" treat.  Here are a few photos...

A little help from dad.

Carter covering the ice cream
cones with peanut butter...

...and taking a bite for himself!

All the necessary supplies.

Parker successfully placing his cone in the tree.

Only 14 more school days until our morning bird feeding tradition resumes, but who's counting?

February - April Recap

Life has been very busy that past few months. It seems our little family has constantly been on the go lately...work, school, soccer, and weekend getaways have consumed most of our time. I think all of us would agree that the weekend getaways have been our favorite activities.  We haven't had much down time, but two of the three boys are napping on this rainy, Saturday afternoon so I thought I'd share some photos.  Here are some of the highlights from the past few months:

Legofest

Lego Ninjago

Lightning McQueen

The boys and Batman

Parker & The Hulk

We also met my cousin Laura and her sweet family in Indianapolis for a few days over our spring break.  This was a mystery trip for our kiddos.  They didn't know where we were headed or what we would be doing when we arrived at our destination.  Our two families pulled into the hotel parking lot within 2 minutes of each other...kind of crazy considering we were each driving 4-5 hours from opposite directions with kiddos in tow.  Parker was so surprised when their car pulled up next to ours.  He said, "Hey! That's Jack, Clare, & Lily.  What are they doing here?"  Fabulous surprise!

Here are a few photos from our afternoon at the Indy Children's Museum...

We explored the dinosphere!  The kids loved
digging for fossils.

We went scuba diving on a coral reef!

We gazed at the Fireworks of Glass display while laying
on a revolving platform.

The view from the platform.

We also checked out Bumblebee.

Bumblebee

 
...and our day at the zoo!

The kids checking out the sea otters.

How do we get to the roller coaster?

We were mooned by the giraffe!
Carter thought this was hilarious.

Ray & Carter watching the elephants play in the water.

Max was such a trooper!
I'd travel anywhere with him...seriously!

The entire crew.

We stayed until they made us leave!

The zoo was fun, but I'm pretty sure all the kids liked swimming at the hotel more than anything!

We can't wait until our next getaway.  I wonder where our travels will take us?  In the mean time, the sun is now out and the kiddos are awake so we're heading outside to play!

2012 Bucket List

Every year I make a New Year's resolution and every year I break my resolution...usually within the first week.  I've actually had the same one for the past three years - to send birthday cards to each of my family members on their birthday.  To be fair, I come from a very large family and I'm doomed from the start because three birthdays fall within the first week of January.  This year, I decided not to make a resolution.  After all, resolutions are made to be broken.  However, a bucket list sounds promising!  Something I can check off after I've accomplished the task.  Oh yes, I think I can do this!  Without further ado, my 2012 bucket list

• Learn to sew, crochet, and cook.  I am embarrassed to say that I cannot do any of these things.  I can't even sew a button.  Meme did teach me a bit of crocheting when I was younger.  I don't remember any of it, but I think it would be fun to give it another try.  My husband added the last one to the list and not one I'm thrilled about trying to accomplish because I really dislike cooking.  Baking I can do!  Cupcakes, cakes...not a problem.  A meal...that's a problem, but I have nowhere to go but up.

• Frame all of our beautiful portraits from Julie Thacker.  Yes, all of them!  I do have a few matted and framed, but many of them are still in the box she packaged them in before giving them to me.  

• Date night at least once a month.  This shouldn't be too difficult, right?  We've already had a date night this month - that makes us 1/12 of the way there!

• Blog more frequently.  (This also shouldn't be difficult since I only average one blog a month.)

• Become proficient with Photoshop.  I'm actually very excited about this one!  

• Play more.  Stress less.  No explanation needed.

I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Happy Birthday, Carter!

Our family celebrated Carter's fourth birthday this past week. Can you believe it? Time goes so fast when you're having fun! Here's a look back at the week we welcomed him into our family!

Carter

Parker, Carter, and I at the hospital

Carter (4 days old) and Parker

Carter has grown into the sweetest little boy with the most AMAZING manners. I love how he greets me at the door each day after work and says, "I missed you today, Mommy!"  He is a bit shy when he meets new people or when he is in a new situation, but when he's home he is a bundle of energy!  He loves playing with Transformers, board games, and reading books.

Here are a few questions that I asked him on his birthday along with his replies.
1.  What is your favorite color?  Purple
2.  What is your favorite toy?  Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, and the Transformer Firehouse
3.  What is your favorite fruit?  Stawberries
4.  What is your favorite t.v. show?  Olivia
5.  What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?  Meme's Chicken Salad and Lunchables
6.  What is your favorite outfit?  Parker's Optimus Prime Costume
7.  What is your favorite game?  Pop the Pig
8.  What is your favorite snack?  Popcorn
9.  What is your favorite animal?  Horses like at the farm
10. What is your favorite song?  The one on my guitar upstairs (It's a Paper Jamz that plays Heaven Let Your Light Shine Down)
11.  What is your favorite book?  Curious George
12.  Who is your best friend?  Sophia
13.  What is your favorite cereal?  Lucky Charms
14.  What is your favorite thing to do outside? Jump in a flatable (translation:  Inflatable)
15.  What is your favorite drink?  Chocolate Milk
16.  What is your favorite holiday?  Christmas
17.  What do you like to take to bed with you at night?  My big puppy dog
18.  What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  Pancakes, sausage, eggs, syrup, and chocolate milk (And yes, he usually eats all that for breakfast)
19.  What do you want for dinner on your birthday?  I'm not going to eat dinner tonight (Typical Carter response)
20.  What do you want to be when you grow up?  A Dad (How sweet is that?!?)

Happy birthday, little guy!  You brighten my life with your smile and laugh! 

December Days

Where has this month gone?  It seems like I was just counting down the 15 days of school until Christmas break.  December has been a very busy month for our family.  We finally finished decorating our Christmas trees!  We have a few theme trees in our house, but my favorite tree to decorate is our Hallmark tree.  As a little girl, my grandma always sent me a Hallmark ornament each Christmas.  It is a tradition that Ray and I continue with each other and our children.  We always open the ornaments on Christmas morning, but with all the excitement of new toys the kids aren't as excited about an ornament.  This year we decided to change it up a little and exchanged ornaments on the night we decorated our tree.  I hope this becomes a tradition that our children cherish as much as I do and one they continue with their families.  Here are a few pictures of the festivities.

My sweet boy decorating the tree.

Even Lexi is ready for Christmas.

Our new ornaments. (Ray's ornament was not a Hallmark
this year.  It is an ornament of The Bluegrass.  I think it meant
a little more than a Hallmark this year...it was where we went
on our first date.)

We had several events at work and school to get through before our break started.  Four of my students participated in the Student Technology Leadership Program (STLP) regional Fall Showcase this month.  Their project and interview with the judges earned them a trip to the state competition at Rupp Arena this coming March.  Whoohoo!

VMS Safe Patriot Booth

Parker had so many fun events at school!  He had his class party, school-wide party, and Polar Express (pajama) day. 

Slow and steady wins the race!

Parker was ready for Polar Express day!

We made treat bags for his classmates.  They
have an elf on the shelf named Rudolph
in their classroom. 

Parker also had his tonsils and adenoids removed this past week.  It was not the best way to spend our first week of Christmas break, but it was necessary and hopefully he will be feeling back to his old self in no time!

He was such a brave little guy!

Carter also had some fun school events, but since he does NOT like having his picture taken (unless it is his idea) there are no cute pictures to share! Instead, I have recorded him singing and reciting Christmas versus.  I love the sound of his sweet voice.  For your listening pleasure...

Max turned seven months old this month.  He is changing so much each day!  His newest accomplishments are pushing up (I have no doubt he will be crawling soon and honestly, I am just fine with him staying in one spot), the arrival of his first tooth, and saying "da-da."

This Christmas has been a little extra exciting with the arrival of our elf on the shelf, Jingle.  However, he doesn't usually stay on a shelf...he is into EVERYTHING! The boys have had so much fun going on "Jingle Hunts" each morning to see who can spot him first.  He always seems to make a bit of a mess, but nobody complains about cleaning it up because he's a pretty funny little elf.

Jingle hiding in the ceiling fan with a "snowball."

Snowball fight with Buzz and Rex.

Jingle, is that a marker your holding?

Oh, Jingle!  You made Parker look like Ray!

Carter thought Jingle did a lovely job making him
look like a reindeer.

Toilet paper garland.  Compliments of Jingle.

Curious George and Jingle having a midnight snack of s'mores.

Jingle got the house ready for Santa's arrival
and Jesus's birthday!  (He's sitting on top
of the curtain rod if you can't spot him.)

We've had so many laughs with this little elf!  I know the boys are going to be sad when he leaves tonight to head back to the North Pole.  We'll be looking forward to his arrival next year!  And you never know, he may just drop in and peek in the window sometime this year!  We hope each of you have a Merry Christmas!