Coleson-buddy

He's our funny man! We LOVE just listening to him tell stories, make awesome sound effect noises, and getting HUGE hugs from this dude!He is adorable and he KNOWS it! There is never a dull moment with this big guy! Each day comes with a new surprise...like when he got dressed and put on these bad boys:these days any accessory he is wearing has something to do with being a SUPER hero. So, when I found him wearing these one morning, I asked what they were for--"it's my mask to help me see better" (he strikes a pose, while singing his own theme music: du-nu-nu-chowowow---kinda like Kronk on Emperor's New Groove). Then he starts "walking" (more like posing/dancing/who knows what?) out of the room and SLAMS into the door jam, haHAhaHA! Apparently VERY dirty, too-small-so-they-squeeze-your-eyes-together, funny goggles probably aren't very good at being a "super hero mask that helps you see better" because he REALLY couldn't see very well!

And here he is ready for "goin' out to help daddy do tuff work." He LOVES when his daddy is home, and usually, when his daddy IS home, he is doing work. So, Coleson is more than happy to go out and join him (but he usually gets "SUPER tired and sirsty" quite quickly)...

twisted shorts, Sunday socks, shoes on the wrong feet, super HUGE grin...I'm guessing he is going to be EXTREMELY helpful out there!

Ally-ooper

This little miss is growing up in leaps and bounds. Just in the past few months she has lost all of her toddler cheeks and babyish looks to become this grown-up little miss! We LOVE this girl! She is ALL personality and spunk! And she is USUALLY bouncing off the walls, literally, bouncing! Even though she is always BURSTING with all that energy, she has been the most loving and tender big sister. She has become a protective mother to Beckett (and to Coleson, which I don't think he really loves all that much!). She is constantly begging to hold "Beckett Boy" so that she can rub her face on his fuzzy head, read him stories, and give him lots of kisses!
She is constantly with "the boys." Not only at home is she surrounded by boys all day, but, she is also the only girl in her primary class. She has learned to use her cuteness and gender to her advantage. She can talk Coleson into doing ALL kinds of things for her. The other day I heard her tell Coleson--"You need to go searh and search for that bouncy ball while I stay here. There is a baby in my belly so I am VERY sick and I can NOT do any work. So, GO! SEARCH buddy!" She is constantly talking the boys into doing things for her, giving her their treats, or making a car and "sharing" it with her :), etc... We LOVE our "ooper!"

Kinzie-doodle

Oh, how we love this toothless wonder!She spent LOTS of LONG days at school---sometimes bored to tears and other times enjoying every moment. She's still a BIG smarty, but now she's even more confident and has become even more chatty (if that was even possible??). She's a good sport about coming home, doing homework, practicing piano (ok, she's not such a good sport about those), and then spending her free time playing with little ones.

Not too often does Beckett get very grouchy (usually while I am trying to fix dinner), but Makinzie has found him like this:And helped him calm down to snuggle and talk with her, like this:

Which she is VERY happy with herself when she can make that magic happen! It's so fun to see her grow, become more and more independent, watch her little brain ALWAYS churning, but, still have her call to us so that we can see her big accomplishment, hug her when she's feeling sad, or chat (and chat and chat) with her about ALL that's going on in her little head!

OH, Mother's Day

See that BEAUTIFUL butterfly??? I was given that the morning I went to "Muffins for Mom." I took all 4 kids to school that morning (dressed and ready at 7:30), to "enjoy" muffins and juice...by the time we left the school (only an hour later) Beckett was hungry and not too happy about being in the wrap any longer, the other two had made crumbs EVERYwhere and had attracted a LOT of attention, and I actually never was able to eat a single piece of muffin or drink any juice...Yup, gotta love holidays geared to make "mom feel special." But, at least Makinzie felt good knowing her mom came and being able to give me the awesome butterfly she had been working on! So, although I am SUPER grateful for all of the nice presents and sweet cards I was given, I am not a HUGE fan of this holiday, can you tell?--I do see the goodness of it for adult children to take a day to recognize their mothers and all that they have done for them, but for young children to try and make one certain day (out of 365 a year) special, on a Sunday of all days, it seems to really stress me out just watching the energy going into it all, so it's not too enjoyable and it's not my favorite idea...but I won't go too far into that.
I am grateful for the reminder of how much I do love and look up to my own mother. Now that I am a mother, I recognize the amount of hard work, sweat, joy, tears, and sacrafice went into raising me and I could not be more grateful to her for all of her devotion and love. I hope to one day be a wonderful mother like she is!(about 2 months)

I am also very grateful to be a mother. I could not imagine how different my life would be without these 4 little ones. I feel incredibly honored and blessed to be their mother. I am learning everyday how to adapt and be better; I am so grateful to see how the Lord's hand has molded and shaped me into a woman capable of handling motherhood. I may not handle it well all of the time, but I know I am constantly guided as I try my best to teach and rear my children day to day. I LOVE them, and I really do LOVE my job! (even if I may have complained a time or two...;))

2 WhOLe months

He is so curious, happy, always double fisted, snuggly, grunty, enjoyable, squirmy, chubby, cute, easy going, yummy smelling, and the list goes on and ON....

Oh how we LOVE this fun little boy! He has SOOO many adorbale faces!

He has even perfected the "evil eye" (usually given by Ooper) and the "Mowgli half grin" (a Tank favorite).

a TRIP...

...around the house! ...we got a pic of the new storm door Ty got and installed for his Birthday...

...the backyard looking greener than EVER! can you believe this is the same yard as it was 2 years ago?

and a picture of what walking around the house in 98 degree, humid weather can do to you! (and our trip was literally: out the front door, take 3 pics, come back in the back door, but this little man was red and limpy!)

PREschool's out for summer!

WooHoo! As much as I am grateful for groups of moms that will trade off teaching preschool with me, I could not be more excited to be DONE teaching preschool for awhile!

My last week of teaching we learned about transportation...so we made these vehicles (which took a VERY long time):
And then, YES, we did sit in our vehicles to watch a magic school bus movie about how airplanes fly!

Luckily, Beckett was little enough that he did a whole lot of this: And this:while I worked with the other kids...sounding out letters, working on mazes and dot-to-dots, reading stories, whatever would pass the time.

Measured in at...

SURPRISE!

A whopping 12.5 lbs and 25 inches long! Plus a 15" head circumference! (his 2 month check-up was on the 15th, so he really was just barely 2 months and had shot straight up on the charts)
Look at those bright blue eyes......and that RED hair!?! He's trying to catch up to Coleson's size as fast as he can.
He's big, but not quite THAT big yet!