Super Baby!!

She looks like she is flying right?!  :)

Cousins on the couch!

My sister-in-law, her husband and their adorable new baby boy were up this past weekend so we took the opportunity to try to get a picture of all the cousins on this side together.  Six kids ranging from age 5 to 2 weeks old :)  Not too bad of a picture, if I do say so myself.  I had to laugh at all the other pictures I too, because in each one of them at least one of the big kids was making a goofy face.  Silly kids!

From left to right:  Leah, Hannah, Caedon, Gabe, Cole and Connor

Gabe holding Cole.  He held him for about 3 seconds and then he was done :)

I love this picture of my big girl holding her tiny cousin.  This kiddo LOVES babies!  She told the other day while we were driving to get groceries that she though we should have 10 kids.  LOL, not so much :)

We tried to get a picture of Leah and Cole together but neither one was super impressed.  They both started to cry, so that was the end of that.  Holding a two week old makes Leah seem so big.  It is crazy to think that she was that small at one point :)

Like Father Like Son

When Nick and I first got married we made a deal about doing the dishes.  Our deal was that I would cook and that Nick would clean up after supper every night.  And I would say that 95% of the time we stick to that deal.  It is FANTASTIC!!  And now, it looks as though Nick is passing this tradition down to Gabe :)  I am sure that his future wife will appreciate this someday :)

 Scrub, scrub, scrub!!

Way to show him how it's done daddy!

5 months old

I cannot believe that my baby is 5 months old already!  It is crazy how quickly the time goes by, and I am amazed at how the past 5 months have literally flown by.  Leah is growing like a weed and doing all kinds of new things every day.  She is sleeping through the night on a pretty consistent basis (YAY!) and takes 2-3 naps a day.  She still really likes the baby carrier, and she also likes the exer-saucer.  She nurses every 3-4 hours during the day now, and I think she is getting close to being ready for solid foods.  She is much more aware of what is going on around her now and she is easily entertained by her big brother and big sister :)  She also really likes her mommy and daddy and will even start to reach out her arms when she wants to be picked up.  We love you Leah and watching you learn and grow is such a blessing!!

Cutie Kiddos :)

I think that my kids are pretty cute :)  Rotten sometimes, but most definitely cute :)  

Sir Gabe :)

For Gabe's birthday this year one of the gifts he got was a knight costume, complete with a sword and shield. He absolutely loves it! He loves to play that he is "Link" a character from one of Nick's Wii games that he plays. This afternoon Gabe and Hannah were playing in the yard and Hannah was pretending to be the princess and would hide behind a tree that they pretended was a dragon. Hannah would yell for help and then Gabe would run out and whack the tree/dragon with his sword. Then he would "save the princess." It was so cute!!

The knight in action :)

How he wears his sword...this is so cute!

Future Farmers of America :)

While my sister was in town we let the kids go over to the garden at mom and dad's and dig and play.  They loved it!  Who knew that playing in the dirt could be so much fun :)

Sera getting busy with the shovel!

Team work!!

Hannah especially loves to work in the garden.  She loves playing in the dirt and helping Grandpa in his garden.  Someday when we have a bigger yard I will know just who to ask for help with the planting and picking :)

Cousin time :)

One of my favorite things about when my sister and her kids come to visit is that my kids and her kids get to spend time together as cousins!  Love, love, love watching our littles play together :)  Sunday evening we got to take them to the park with grandma and grandpa and it was a blast!  So thankful for our time together as a family!!

 Me and Leah at the park.  Since she is in the carrier most of the time she tends to get left out of the pictures :)

Gabe driving the car :)

Best buddies!!

 Me and me sis!  I love this picture :)

 Feeding the ducks!

 Bella!  Oh this child has the most beautiful eyes!

 More duck feeding :)

Grandma and Grandpa with all the kids, lol :)  This was the best picture we could get and I took quite a few. I guess with 5 kids age 5 and under this is pretty good :)

Gabe is 3!!

I can hardly believe that my little man is 3 years old!  My sweet, spunky and energetic Gabe :)  Mommy and daddy love you so much!  You challenge and stretch us in many ways, and help us to see what parenting is all about.  You are so full of life and your wonderful grin melts my heart a thousand times a day.  You give the best hugs and kisses and snuggles at bed time.  You are so sweet with your baby sister and even though you and Hannah fight sometimes, you are also the best of friends :)  I love you to the moon and back and am so thankful that God gave me you as a son!  

So someone at our house is rather obsessed with Mario.  So when I asked Gabe what kind of birthday party he wanted he shouted, "MARIO!!!"  This is the cake that I came up with.  It was my first attempt at fondant and I used home made marshmallow fondant.  It's far from perfect, but he loved it and that made me happy :)

Awesome birthday banner made by my sister Steph!

My mom and dad with Bella and Leah.  I am so thankful for my parents and for cousin time for my kids and Steph's :)

Guess who is 3?!?!  Gabe is!!!

Can you tell he LOVES this Mario hat :)

Water balloons!  We won't mention that mommy bought regular balloons instead of water balloons and that they may have been a bit hard to break...ahem...

Cuteness!!

Blowing out the candle!

Super fun water play set from Aunt Krissy :)  And kudos to Daddy for blowing it up with a hand pump!

This picture is sooooooo very Gabe :)  Love you buddy!!

Bible School Songs

As anyone who has kids who attend Bible school, or anyone who has worked at bible school knows, the song can get seriously stuck in your head.  This is a great thing for the kids who are learning about Jesus :)  Here are my two little performers :)

From the mouths of Hannah and Gabe

Me:  "Gabe, eat your supper.."
Gabe: "But I don't like this boo-kini (zucchini) momma."

Hannah:  (As she looks through Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe)  "Daddy what is Aslan doing?"
Nick:  "He is taking care of bid-nass!"  (Aslan is jumping on the white witch.)
Hannah:  "Daddy what is bid-nass?"

This next one needs a bit of background.  At VBS the kids got balloons in craft time.  Hannah broke hers on the way home but kept it and cut it into pieces.
Me:  "Hannah what are you doing?"
Hannah:  "I am playing with my rubbers mommy."
Me:  "Your WHAT?!?!?!"
Hannah:  "My pieces of balloon...balloons are made of rubber mom."
I almost peed my pants laughing at this one :)

Gabe:  "I am bigger than you mommy."
Me:  "Sorry buddy, but you are not, mommy is bigger than you."
Gabe:  "No mommy, I am BIGGER than you and I am a boy!"

My kids make me laugh on a daily basis with their innocent and open take on life.  What a wonderful reminder they are of taking joy in the simple things :)

Bible School Program

This past Sunday was the bible school program at church :)  Hannah was a little bit nervous at first...she was singing, but not doing the motions to the songs :)  

 She warmed up pretty quickly though and before we knew it she was singing and dancing with the rest of the kids :)

 Love this picture of her sitting and listening to Pastor Beau :)

The theme for VBS this year was trusting God no matter what.  I love that Hannah was able to memorize scripture and learn about people in the Bible that trusted God no matter what the situation.  I pray that she commits these lessons to her heart and that they will come to fruition later in her life.  So proud of my little girl!

Next to impossible...

It is next to impossible to get a picture of these three all looking at the camera and all smiling at the same time.  :)  While this picture isn't quite there, it is pretty darn close, so I am going to call it a victory.  Hannah's crown is from Bible School and she doesn't want to take it off...ever...    She even wore it to the grocery store this past week :)

I have been trying really hard to get a picture of Leah smiling, because she has the most precious smile :)  Even though this picture is off center, I love it!

Pool Time!

As you can see, these children LOVE to swim!!  My two little fish I call them :)

Playing on the floaty :)

 Cheese :)

 Thumb sucker!!

Best daddy ever!!

4 months old!!

I can hardly believe it, but this little stinker is 4 moths old!  It is crazy how fast the time has gone.  Leah is doing wonderful and continues to be a really calm and content baby.  She is still nursing every 3 hours during the day, but only wakes up once, if at all, to nurse at night.  She rolls from her tummy to her back like no ones business, and has made it from her back to her side several times.  She loves to sit in the bumpo and to be carried in the Beco.  She takes 2-3 naps a day.  She is is 3-6 month and 6-9 month clothes.  She is also a drool machine, so I am suspecting a tooth will be poppin through sooner rather than later.  We have her 4 month apt. next week, and I can't wait to see how much she has grown.

We love you so much Leah Grace, and are so thankful that God has blessed our family with you!