The Illusive Thumb

Ava wants her thumb SO bad!! Every once in awhile she finds it & slurps away...then something will happen & she'll lose it again & it's a sad time.

You know, before I had four kids, I was adamant about no thumb sucking. Yeah, now here we are & I'm thinking 1 out of 4 isn't bad odds!!!

Notice the super cute socks Ava is wearing that I won from pioneer woman


Now...where did that thumb go? I had it a minute ago...

New Talents

Lily has weighed the options and chosen sides-she's joining the blankie ranks (instead of a stuffed animal like her sister). She's always liked this blankie, but has just recently started wanting it with her other than to sleep with.

But, on to the new talents...first off, and most annoying, is that Lily has learned how to crawl up on the couches. I HATE it when the kids learn this-for some reason it is the funnest thing on the planet to climb up & then jump around, causing all adults to constantly be in a half sit, half stand position ready to grab her when she falls off the couch & onto the coffee table. We have started the (screaming) process of reminding her that the couch is for sitting & if she won't she has to get down-that doesn't make her happy. And, for as easy-going as she has been, the girl has a deep-down red-headed temper (no offense). Not to mention she is extremely bull-headed, which she clearly gets from her father (he..he...)!

When you ask her what she has in her mouth (which is frequently), she gets an ornery grin, says "I don't know!" & runs. She can also now answer you with a "un-huh" (yes) or "naw-o" (no) to let you know how she feels. She's very much a Texas girl-has the accent down pat. It's also "Hi-ya!" & "Biiii" (bye).





And, she can play Mozart perfectly...

Bat Girl?

I love the paradox of the Batman mask with pigtails.

A Day at the Water Park, sorta

For the last week or so of summer, we tried to squeeze in some extra fun. We made it to the zoo (& froze if you can believe it!), went to Chuck E. Cheese, and had some play dates to name a few. On this day, we turned the backyard into a water park (as Macy put it) & invited the Melbans over. Not only was it lots of fun, it was a chance for Keri to sit & not have to chase kids (too much!)-she's having baby Reece (#4 for her!) pretty soon!

Jack's skills at sliding on the Slip & Slide have improved a little, but mostly he slides just by chance. The kids always love to go flying down the wet slide & land in the pool, I'm not sure how safe this is! Cannon preferred playing with cars most of the afternoon to swimming & Lily snoozed pretty much the whole time-she woke up in time for a cookie!

New Posts!

It's been too long since I've posted! Catch up with our family all the way back to July 4th (that makes 9 entries for the day)...needless to say, the laundry & dishes didn't get done today!

Seeing the cousins

We went to Nana & Bop's house for the day to celebrate my grandma's 86th birthday. My brother and his family got to come too, as did my uncle and aunt from Colorado. It was a fun celebration!!! The best part...we took a picture of ALL the grandkids! They are lined up in age order...


Jack loved being out with the big boys, helping them throw clay pigeons.


Bop and Lily-she has him wrapped around her little finger!!!


This is Ava & Landon...Landon was born in February.

Catching up...Macy

Macy turned 7 this past month...every year I can't believe how big she's getting! We had a fun party for her, taking her friends to our local ceramics shop for a painting party. Probably the biggest surprise was that her friend Emma (who moved to Houston a couple of years ago) got to come! We loved getting to see the Stewarts! Every year except for one, Macy has picked some animal theme for her party (in true animal-lover fashion!)-this year it was a jungle cake that the bakery did a fantastic job on!

And on another note, Macy in one day held Ava for me, entertained her brother for an hour (without fighting!), and changed Lily's diaper...I say, my work here is done!! Time to find another occupation! Haha!! She's also good at folding laundry...you know, I may have to check child labor laws after posting all of this...hmmm...she really has become quite a big help around here.

Last summer we worked on riding a bike and this summer she has become very proficient! She is fast and no longer afraid of getting hurt, she can turn corners (finally!) and even do some tricks. We have really enjoyed riding bikes this summer.

She says she's not ready for school, only because she doesn't want to have homework. I think she's going to love getting back to her friends and the routine of the year. I'm praying that God will watch over her while she is away from me and that she will learn what she needs to this upcoming year. Even though they have fought a lot this summer, thinking of her being away from me all day again is hard to swallow...




A picture of me with my friends! :)

Catching up...Jack

Jack...ah, Jack, what do you say? He still keeps me on my toes and you never know what he's going say, but he is so full of life! He amazes us sometimes with the things he knows, especially since it seems like he's NEVER listening! He has told us things about God or about church that I can't believe he knows and it really confirms that God is going to use him in a special way.

He's fast approaching the big 4 (& will tell you every time that he has to get shots on his birthday!) but still has a few toddler "Jackanese" words that I just love. Macy tries to correct him but I want to hold on to them! I'm sure his first grade teacher will really appreciate it!!! One of the words he came up with is a bird "mess" instead of nest. I actually have to agree with him-they look more like a mess than a nest. He also calls his tennis shoes "ice-keys" (they are Nikes) which have followed his old shoes that were "ice-sketchers". I don't know where he came up with it & he can't tell you what it means.

Jack will be starting Montessori this year, and to get ready he needed a new backpack. He is also all about super heroes right now, so when we found this one, he was ALL over it!! In true Jack fashion, he wanted to sleep with the backpack & left it on for a nap.

Catching up...Lily

Lily continues to make all of us laugh...she is just to that precious age where so much of what she does is so comical. While she still loves Ava with all her heart and is so sweet to her, she has become a little jealous of me holding her and throws fits when I'm not able to hold her. She has become very interested in babies and proves to be quite a good little momma-she loves her babies, pats them, covers them with a blanket & gives them a bottle. She is a very loving little girl-giving everyone lots of hugs and kisses.

Jack has had some issues with being scared to be away from us, so we started playing "Marco Polo" when he leaves the room...well, Lily has clued into this and will yell "Polo" back at him when he leaves. She has also started putting her hands together and says "Amen!" for prayers at mealtime and bedtime. She's trying to learn words finally, but most of them sound the same...we know what she means!

We had to baby proof the house because of this little stinker, she was just getting into everything when I was tied up feeding Ava...it has been a really big help. Lily isn't afraid of being by herself, even in the dark, and can wander off and "entertain" herself for long periods of time. I know this will be a blessing when she gets older...right now it's tricky, wondering where she is and what she's into!

Catching up...Ava

Ava is doing really good...we've had some normal newborn rough patches, but she is adjusting to life and we're adjusting to her personality. She is getting into a routine and thankfully stretching out her nighttime feedings some. Her biggest accomplishment thus far is smiling and it is beautiful! It just lights up her face when she smiles.






This is the most recent picture of our littlest sweetie.

Hikers

The big kids LOVE to hike and they are quite the little troopers too! They can hike miles and still want to go for more. It's a fun activity for our family to do together, whether we're in the mountains or 'valleys'!


Jack always picks flowers for me! Such a gentleman...