Meet Bucky!

No Franklin, no Bucky...Trevor can't make up his mind!  Anyway, meet the newest member of our family.

He is the first pet we've had since having the boys and they are so excited!  My dad found him and brought him over today. 

Trevor likes him pretty well...



But Ethan is crazy about him!  I asked Trevor if Papa can take the turtle home and Ethan screamed out "NO!"

The boys made Bucky/Franklin a really nice home.  I hope he stays with us for at least a few days!



Yay for Summer!

With today being warm and the forecast for the week, sunny and in the 80's!  I think summer is FINALLY here!

Slather on the sunscreen...

Put on the hat...

Pull out the sprinkler... 

Grab a swing...



Shoot the water gun...

Let's have some fun!  Yay for summer!!!

I'm 2 Years Old!

I can't believe Ethan is already 2 years old (and a couple months)!  :)  I love this age when everything is so innocent and new (well, sort of on the innocent part)!  Ethan was a little slow starting to talk, but he's catching up now!  It's so cute to hear him try to put sentences together and repeat what I say.  He was telling his papa to "be careful" tonight when he was leaving. 

He's still a mama's boy and I LOVE it!  I don't want that to ever change!  He likes to help me cook, clean, and wash dishes (sometimes a little too much).  He has finally learned to walk down the stairs instead of going down on his belly, which makes me a little sad - he's growing up!  He can almost count to 10!  His favorite song is "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and he gets emotional whenever he watches these videos before bed - Andrea Bocelli sings Elmo to sleep and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

I've been wanting to take all my kids to a professional photographer, but the logistics (good moods; no bug bites, bruises, etc.; getting to and from; trying to pick out pictures while keeping the little ones happy) are so complicated that I keep putting it off.  So I decided I better try to take some before he turns three!  It's so much harder to get pictures of kids once they become mobile!  He woke up before Trevor so I had a chance to chase him around the house with the camera.  

I love this little guy so much!

Pictures

I've been a little obsessed with taking pictures lately...I got a new camera for Christmas and I'm just now getting around to learning how to use it (although, I still have a way to go, learning how to use a camera is seriously like learning a foreign language).   

I took these two pictures of my mom with Addison and I have to admit, I'm jealous!  I wish I had pictures of me and my kids like this.   I am glad that I have these pictures though (and I bet Grandma is glad also)!

Here are a few more I took of Addison today.

This is my favorite!

I'm 4 Months Old!

Addison is growing so fast!  I really wish I could slow time down because I'm really enjoying her at this age.  She is such an easy baby (most of the time).  She can entertain herself for a while without fussing and she falls asleep pretty fast for naps and nighttime!  She's sleeping about 9 hours at night, eats, and then sleeps for another couple of hours. 

(I love her chubby little legs!) 

One of her new favorite things to do this month is stick out her tongue.  

Her other favorite thing to do is to suck on her bottom lip.

She's pretty happy most of the time.



and a little serious...

 She does have her little drama-queen moments... 

 and she's given me a glimpse into her high school years (can we say lil' miss attitude)...

but most of the time, she's super-sweet and I thank God for her everyday!

And yes, I have an obsession with baby feet!



Squirt Bottle Fun

First of all, my thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by the tornado in Joplin, MO.  I cannot believe how much damage it did!  We had sirens go off here late on Saturday night and I thought to myself, "should I get the kids out of bed?"  We did and thankfully the weather wasn't that bad, but after seeing pictures of the damage from the Joplin tornado, I will never ask that question again.

In between all of this bad weather, we've had a few nice days.  Our Parent's as Teachers lady (who is awesome) suggested getting the boys water bottles and letting them squirt things outside so I did and they LOVE it!

They squirt everything... 

...including themselves... 

and at the camera (little stinker!)!

 If Ethan's over there, whose squirting me??? 

 Even the big boy had to join in on the fun!



Hanging Out with Papa!

Hanging out with Papa (my dad)...

Something we don't do nearly enough!

The boys loved it!

Happy 5th Birthday in Heaven

A letter to my daughter Jordan Marie, who left this earth before I got to meet her one week before her due date. 

Dear Jordan Marie,

Happy 5th Birthday in heaven!  I can't believe you would be 5 years old today!  Time has gone by so fast!  I still think about you everyday and wonder how life would be different if you were here.  I wonder what you would look like.  I picture you looking like me as a little girl - blond hair and blue eyes, although, I'm not sure why because you looked JUST like your daddy when you were born, even more so than your brothers and sister!  I also picture you being a little bossy.  I guess because that's how your little brother Trevor is.  He thinks he rules the house!  It could also be because that's how I was growing up the oldest of four kids!  :)  I bet you would be a little mommy right now to your sister Addison.  I can picture you picking out outfits for her every morning.  You would have been a great older sister and big helper!

Anyway, just thinking of you and wishing you were here so we could celebrate together today!

I love you and miss you!

Mommy (or probably just "mom" by now!)

Fun Day Today (or well yesterday)!

As Trevor says "we had a fun day today" and I have to agree with him!  We went to a gym and the boys got to burn some energy.  Steve worked from home today so he watched Addison. 

While I was taking turns pushing Trevor and Ethan, these little helpers came over and started pushing Ethan!

The boys loved this double caterpillar swing.  I tried to find one online, but it's been discontinued and the ones on ebay are way too expensive - sorry guys!

Later that evening, we went to Red Robin.  I love this place because it's loud and the boys noise just blended in!

Trevor is starting to look so grown up!  What happened to my baby???

On our way home, we stopped by Target.  The boys found some dolls to entertain them while I did some shopping - ha!  Addison is such an easy baby now!  She's pretty content just looking around and watching all of the craziness!