MLK Day and more

We got to start MLK Day on Jan. 19 with a quick grocery swap. Our little group has expanded a lot since our first days of swapping our oldest 2 kids--now we've doubled to 8 when the big girls are home from school! We just love the T family and are so glad they are our friends.

After our swap, we headed up to The Woodlands to visit my childhood friend Kat and her boys.  It was a bright, warm day and the kids had fun playing.  Kat and I had fun catching up on each other's lives and families.  I'm so glad we live close enough to get together from time to time--she's one of my favorites :).

Most of the kids:  Megan (7), Kaden (7), Brooke (5), Candy (3) (not pictured are Jack and Logan, both 1)

Dan getting some snuggles from his girls after church on Jan. 25

Candy and her little friend Eva were just too cute dressed up and playing tea party--I had to snap a few pictures on Jan. 27.

Candy was killing me with her big blue eyes in the afternoon on Jan. 27.  Her serious face cracks me up since we see it so rarely in real life.  It's been so fun this year to have Candy as my big helper during the day.  She has a lot of spunk in that little body and she keeps me on my toes.  She is so sweet to Jack and just loves to be with any of her siblings.  She is such a light in our home.

Chores, Jumping, and Friends

Few things warm my heart like watching my children do manual labor.  I'm only half kidding.  Candy is learning to do the dishes and she's actually pretty good at it!   (Jan. 14)

After Candy finished the dishes, we got to go to playgroup at a local jumping place.  Jack and Mal were pretty funny crawling around.

And even though it took some coaxing, Candy finally tried the tallest slide--and loved it!

That evening Megan and Brooke got to attend a free gymnastics class offered to all the elementary school kids.  It was hard to get good pics, but they LOVED it.  It's a little pricey for us to do all the time, but I'm glad they got to give it a try.  (Jan. 14)

Candy was a little jealous but I reminded her that she got to go to the jumping place and they didn't.  After that she relaxed a little and had fun watching them.

That week was our week for babysit swap.  After a messy lunch, Jack and Candy helped me with the pizza.  (Jan. 16)

Cuties...

After making the pizza Jack retreated to his office in the corner cupboard...

I have 3 wonderful friends who have helped me by giving Megan rides home from school this year.  So on Fridays, if we can, we have friends stay after drop-offs to play while their Mom runs to pick up their brother from his school.  The girls have so much fun :)

Jack really loves "looking" at books lately.  As in he picks it up, opens it, slams it closed, and doesn't let you read him any of it.  But he sure has fun doing it. (Jan. 17)

Back to routines

Almost.  After the fun and excitement of the holidays, I was looking forward to returning to our regular routines.  But I forgot that the kids got ONE MORE DAY off of school.  So I got to take all four kiddos with me on my weekly grocery trip.  I usually swap kids with my friend Ashley while I go to the store, but they were busy that morning.  It was actually pretty fun to bring them all with me since it's not a regular occurrence.  And they were so happy when the bakery gave them free cookies.  It kept them occupied for a while! (Jan. 5)

 

My cabinets were in sad shape, so I did some purging and re-organizing.  It felt so good!

Before:

After (Jan. 8)

Lest you think my cabinets are always in good shape, Jack keeps me grounded.  This is before family night on Jan. 12.

We made popsicles from bananas and orange juice--Brooke's turn for treat.  She was so excited to share them.

New Year 2015!

Here we are in the wee hours of the new year.  That makes 2 years in a row of staying up til midnight.  I guess having good friends to party with gives us energy :).

My sister Jamie and her family were in town for a few days, so we spent the day with them and Dad and Sally on New Year's Day.  And Grandpa and Giagia were so kind to share their stash of noisemakers with us--they made the girls SO happy.  Unfortunately, they "disappeared" within a few days of bringing them home with us (wink, wink). 

I love the New Year.  I just like the feeling of having a fresh slate and setting goals.  This new year also marked the return of 9 am church--YAY!! I really love 9 am church, especially with kids (and being in nursery).

Our cute Jack on his 14 month birthday, Jan. 4.  He is still a crawler for the most part these days.  And I LOVE him all dressed up in his shirt and tie. 

3 cutie girls.  They are growing up fast and it is exciting to see who they are becoming.

Megan (7), Brooke (5), and Candy (3) on Jan. 4 before church

December Randoms

So Candy has been asking to have her hair up in 2 buns a lot lately.  It's adorable and it keeps that crazy curliness contained for a day or so.  I let her leave them in for two days and brushed it when I took them out on Dec. 5--hilarious!  Her hair was HUGE!! 

 She was pretty excited about it.  I love this girl.

I've always loved nativities at Christmas and as a little girl I remember collecting and organizing all of my Mom's nativities when they were out.  I'd have all the Mary's conferencing in one corner of the room and all the Joseph's in another, etc.  So I'm not surprised that my girls are always playing with the nativities they can reach.  Brooke was feeling very creative on Dec. 6 and build this manger out of tinker toys for her doll (complete with some of the tree ornaments and a few random nativity pieces under it).  I thought it looked like a spit for roasting a whole pig and thought it was so funny.  I'm weird, I know, but there you have it.  Our roasting manger.

There was a time when I bathed all of my children all at once all the time.  But that time is no more.  So I thought I should document the four little cuties all together in Mom's big tub on Dec.  7 for a before-church bath.  They had a great time.  And splashed like you wouldn't believe.

This lovely drawing was what Candy drew when her joy school class made cards to pass out when they performed the Christmas story at some nursing homes.  I told the kids to draw their very best nativity scene.  Candy drew this and when I asked her about it, she mentioned it had a rainbow, a boat, and some water.  "Okay, but where are Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus?" I asked.  "Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus are not in this picture," she responded.  We decided to let her classmates' more traditional pictures grace the cards we actually handed out and saved this one just for our family.  I love 3 year olds (another classmate filled his entire paper with black marker and orange streaks and told me it wasn't Jesus, it was a garbage truck...his didn't make the cut either!)

Megan had her very first piano recital on Dec. 12.  She had been practicing hard and performed "Jingle Bells" beautifully.  It really is amazing to see how much she's learned in just a few months of piano lessons.  She doesn't always love the practicing (and especially the theory pages), but she loves making music.

 Brooke was hamming it up and I had to take a picture of them together before she'd let me do some individual shots of Megan.

And Candy (never wanting to be left out) then insisted on her own picture.  Squinty eyes and all.

Tree Decorating 2014

We were on the ball this year and got our tree set up for family night on Monday, Dec. 1. 

Jack quickly reminded us that having a busy 1 year old at Christmas time means a tree that is bare for the lower 1/3.  

The tired almost 13 month old...

The girls were so excited to decorate.  We put on Christmas music, talked about Christmas symbols a little bit, and decorated away. 

Brookie (5 1/2) got to put on the star this year...

Candy (3 1/2) was too focused on her task to look up for a pic...

Megan (7) enjoyed directing where all the ornaments should be placed...

Brooke...

Jack is so happy when Daddy gets home each day.  He crawls as fast as he can and pulls up on Dan's legs and waits for a hug.  He was being the sweetest snuggler on Dec. 2.

The night Jack kept crawling over by the fireplace and so I made the girls go sit by him and grabbed a quick picture.  These four sure do love each other.  And I love watching them play.