our halloween costumes arrived . . .

when the door bell rang with a ups package, we knew the costumes were here! :) i got everyone on-board with the whole "it'll be so fun if you all match" idea, figuring this may be the last time i can do that! :) so, we're going with a pumpkin theme . . . our little pumpkin patch! :)

the girls' outfits are all very girly and each picked one that they just loved . . . kam's is called pumpkin pie . . . a sweet little pumpkin fairy! :) mck's is pumpkin princess . . . a light up foofy dress that is sooooo "her"! and ken's is called pumpkin spice . . . okay, i call it "hootchie pumpkin", but it actually looks a lot cuter on her than it did on-line! (i threatened to return it if it didn't look okay!) :)

so i had to capture the images of the girls tearing into the package and trying their costumes on and checking themselves out in the mirror! :) their excitement makes everything soooooo much fun! :) i just love it! :)

(don't worry! b.c has a pumpkin outfit too . . . his was hanging in his closet and he was sleeping when we were taking pictures! :))

visit to the firestation . . .

we took a field trip the fire station for fire safety month with our playgroup! what an awesome time! :) we'd been before, but always in a huge group . . . it was nice to be up close to the firemen and have plenty of up close time with the trucks! we all got fire hats too . . . thanks to ms. j., the awesome organizer, and firehouse subs! :)

we'd been looking forward to this for a long time! :) kam was so excited to be able to "drive the baby fire truck!". we listened to the firemen talk about safety and put on the safety gear . . . both girls gave him "five" when he was dressed up . . . pretty good for them, because they look kind of scary! :) b.c. was awesome and just chilled in his seat! :) he even gave out a few smiles! :) the little guy already loves trucks!

in the middle of their talk they got a call, so many of the firemen left . . . on the "baby" firetruck. kam was devastated . . . but i told her we could get on the big one . . . well, what do you know, they got a call just as it was kam and mck's turn to get up front in the firetruck. we all had to leave the station and they took off! it was neat for the girls to see them in action . . . and all the way home (after kam's minor meltdown!) they talked about how the firemen were going to "help someone in trouble"! what a cool morning!

my bouncing baby girl! :)

kam, b.c., and i met some friends at the local bouncy house! usually we do these kinds of things with ken and mck, so this was the first time for her to be on her own . . . she was awesome! :) she did everything on her own . . . climed into the bouncies, went down the giant slide, held her own by the big kids! she did so well! on the way home i was telling her how proud i was of her and what a big girl she is now . . . her only response was, "i'm not big. i'm your baby!"

kicking off october . . . countdown to halloween!

okay, so halloween is one of my favorite holidays! (second only to christmas!) i love all of the fun traditions we've created . . . and the new ones we seem to add each year! :) so, october 1st was the big kickoff! a breakfast of bat wings, mummy guts, and boo juice and then kam got to open the first door to the haunted house! :) all the girls were decked out in their halloween tees (b.c. was asleep . . . but had one on too!) poor kam was convinced it was halloween day and wanted more candy when the girls got home. . . kam and i made the snack for the afternoon . . . boo brownies . . . have to admit, they came out pretty cute! :) the girls loved them! :) we had a cool dinner . . . okay, it didn't come out looking exactly like the picture, but i'll do better next time . . . it was supposed to look like a pumpkin . . . sloppy jacks! :) (i found the cutest little cook/idea books in the dollar section at target . . .) they were actually pretty good! :) even my picky eaters ate them . . . after a bit of protesting! :) okay, if a thursday can be this much fun i can't wait to see how much fun we have 30 days from now! :)

first "real" bath

when bailey and i went to give b.c. a bath tonight i realized how far out of the mesh sling he was hanging . . . his feet weren't even close to the water . . . so we took it off and gave him a "real" bath, sitting in the baby tub! he loved it . . . just a little old man enjoying a tubbie! :)

lunch with my first grader!

kam, b.c., and i headed up to have lunch with ken at the family cookout . . . still can't believe my baby is in first grade. all the first graders look so much bigger than the kinder kids . . . can't believe it's going by so fast . . . ken was so happy to have us there! :) kam and ken LOVED their hotdogs . . . and the cookie! kam really had fun sitting next to ken and her friend g . . . and acting like a big girl. b.c. snoozed until recess time and then decided to freak out . . . so we had to head out before the end of recess . . .

i'm two months old!

wow. two months old. already. time is just going by too quickly. you have stolen our hearts. you really are such a sweet baby. your smiles melt my heart. you are starting to "talk" and really look as though you are holding conversations with us! you watch everything so intently . . . and love when your sisters talk to you! mck loves to give you hugs, kam just loves to touch your head, and ken is so good about trying to soothe your cries.

you love your paci, although i am convinced if we let you become a thumb sucker you would! you love to have your special blanket right next to your face . . . and you love to be held! you are spoiled . . . no, really spoiled. you like to be held by me more than anyone . . . you seem to calm almost instantly when i hold you. you're a mommy's boy already!

you are becoming so strong - holding your head up and looking around at everything. you love your bouncy and will occasionally settle for some time in the swing. you are a big fan of your play mat and smile lovingly at the light-up star!

you are filling out all of your clothes and will soon outgrown your first set . . . at your two month appointment you were 10 pounds 14 ounces and 22 and 3/4 inches long! wow, how you've grown!

we love you little guy! :)

a family loss

we lost codger, bailey's dad on sept. 17. this is a huge loss for our family. bailey was so close to his dad and his dad just adored the kids! we were lucky enough to have 2 visits with him in the past 2 months. he even got to meet bentley twice! codger was a pretty amazing guy. he truly took care of his family before himself and will be so missed. it was amazing to see how much he touched other people's lives. everyone wanted to share a story about how he had helped them, made them smile, or encouraged them. what an amazing man.

they had a really special event for him at the ball fields. . . bailey took some beautiful pictures of the girls.

weekend at grammy and grampy's

we had a great time hanging out at grammy and grampy's this weekend. . . the weather, despite some rainshowers, was great! the girls loved playing in the pool and just having fun! :) b.c. had a weekend of firsts . . . his first roadtrip and his first "dip" in the pool (okay, only his toes touched the water, but it was a first!)! the girls also enjoyed a little bit of time with "baby sophia", whom they just adore! :) we had a great cookout and some yummy dessert before heading home on sunday! :)

a weekend with corduroy

ken had her first school assignment this weekend . . . hanging out with corduroy! :) on the first day of school the kids had a scavenger hunt for the bear . . . then each kid gets to take him home for a few days! :) well, corduroy got to travel to grammy and grampy's with us! we enjoyed letting him in on some pictures! :)

family visit

we got to visit bailey's mom in the hospital this weekend. the kids hadn't seen her in a very long time and she had yet to meet b.c. it was a great visit! she is doing sooooo well . . . a miracle really! she was anxious to hold him! it was great to see mama and bill, and for all the kids to see each other again!

mommy time or music time?

i was so excited to take kam and b.c. to a music storytime at the library . . . b.c. was crashed in his carseat the WHOLE time, so i thought kam and i could have some time together . . . i guess she had the same idea. she spent the whole time sitting on my lap or being carried while i sang the songs and did the motions! so not her normal spunky self. i thought she had gotten nothing out of it . . . then we got in the car to go home and she started singing several of the songs! :) what a crazy girl! :) she just wanted mommy time more than music time! :)

kk's 10 year celebration

kk has become like family to us! our kids have been going there for almost 6 years! :) they celebrated there 10 year anniversary with a family party . . . face painting, balloon making, bbq, bouncy house, and lots of fun! :) the girls had a great time . . . ken loved checking out her "old stomping ground", mck loved showing us the things she likes to play at school and seeing her friends, and kam thought she was super cool hanging out where her big sister goes! :) b.c. was content to hang out in his carrier sporting his "i am NOT a girl" hat! :) what a great saturday! :) we are so lucky to have such a wonderful place to send our kids! :)

first spelling test

ken insisted on wearing this shirt to school on friday . . . in honor of her first spelling test! :) yes, she is a dork just like me! :) i love every bit of her nerdiness! :)

is it sad that i was sooooo excited to see her spelling list come home? sadder that i was excited to give her a practice test at home? :)

she did great on her first test . . . "100"! :) go ken!

bye, bye baby girl!

ken rode the bus this morning. i was so flustered i only managed to get one shot of her. she sure looked tiny walking up those stairs. she was totally excited . . . so happy she finally got to ride the bus! i can't take all this growing up!

back to school

we started off our way to early morning with donuts, lucky charms, and cookie crisp! (yep! nothing like several cups of pure sugar to get you going!) we had some shoe issues . . . ken's sparkly silver shoes didn't fit, then she realized i wasn't going to the store to get her other ones, so she wore them because none of the other ones matched . . . and mck's sparkly silver shoes fit fine the night before, but were a source of about 10 meltdowns in 5 minutes, so she was forced to pick another pair . . . but other than shoe issues, the way-to-early morning went well . . . the girls grabbed their backpacks and gathered their treats from the "backpack fairy" . . . books and back-to-school p.j.'s! :) (ken was disappointed when she realized there wasn't a backpack fairy when i signed the notes "the backpack fairy"/mom" . . .) we started piling into the car and realized we forgot to take pictures! so everyone got out of the car and headed to the front door for their picture session. i am proud to say we were all in the car and pulling out of the driveway at 7:20 . . . did i mention that ALL of us were dressed? yes, all 4 kids were dressed . . . i even had a shower! :) i felt like a champ! :) (then, driving to ken's school i realized that 7:20 is the latest we would even need to leave the house . . . we have to head to the bus at 7 . . . but i tried not to dwell on that for too long! :)

ken heads to first grade!
ken was so excited this morning! she popped right out of bed and got dressed! she wasn't nervous at all . . . a new school where she knows only one kid . . . you'd think she would have been a LITTLE nervous . . . she didn't get that from me! :)
she let us (all 5 of us!) drive her to school and walk her to class only because i convinced her that everyone else's mom would be walking them to class . . . okay, i lied a little, but I needed to walk her! :) she posed for a few pictures, hung up her bag and took her seat to start on her work. she didn't even turn around to get a last look at us before we left . . . yes, i teared up again this year, but i didn't cry!
she had a great day . . . the highlight begin a scavenger hunt for corduroy! she was chatty, new lot of new friends, and was really happy! :) we can hardly wait to see the amazing ways ken grows this year!


mck heads to pre-k!
after dropping ken off kid's kottage was our next stop . . . they are like family there! mck has the same teacher as last year (a family friend!) and was feeling really cool because she remembers when ken was in pre-k! she got to see all of her old friends and old teachers . . . but bless her heart, little mck teared up a little. (and to be totally honest it was kind of nice to know that someone was goign to miss me!) mck headed out on the playground with to catch up with her friends and we headed home. holy crow, the car was quiet . . . we lost half of our "bunch"!mck had a wonderful day too. the highlight for her was paint stamping with a strawberry (she liked that they got to eat half first!) we know this will be a great year for mck! :)


kam and b.c. head home!
kam was looking forward to some mommy time! we enjoyed some quiet time watching . . . of all things, DORA (i swear, she is an addict!). we had lunch together at the kiddie picnic table . . . she always insist i sit at this little table with her, so that was a treat! then we made cupcakes for the girls. kam loved being able to surprise them when they got home! there aren't any pics of b.c. because . . . well, because i was holding him pretty much all day . . . he decided not to take a break from being high maintenance! we're working on that! he enjoyed lots of mommy time while kam took a nap and even decided to sleep for 15 minutes and let me get a load of laundry done! :) we're looking forward to lots of quality time together . . . just mommy and the little kids! :)

summer evening at the splash park

we met our bffs for a picnic dinner (well, if mcd's and pei wei qualify as a picinic . . .) and let the kids run around in the splash park. in case you haven't heard, we are in a MAJOR drought situation here. no rain. period. and even if there is any rain it hasn't been enough to make a difference. well, wouldn't you know we get settled in at the splash park and see some pretty ominous looking skies behind us . . . only to be followed by thunder and lightning . . . so, our stay was short, but the kids still managed to have fun. mck enjoyed being a "bucket head" and playing in their usual mud hole! ken just ran around like crazy getting soaked! mck loved pouring water on herself! and little b.c. didn't get wet but enjoyed sporting his super cool swim suit (yes, i know he'll hate me for it later on, but it was too cute!). can't believe we have to start waking up at the crack of dawn in a day . . . the end of summer stinks. :(

my little puppeteers!

this was the BEST craft kit EVER! 5 martha stewart puppets . . . no glue or scissors required! ken and mck completed theirs on their own and kam only needed a little bit of help! one hour of fun for 3 little girls for $3! can't beat that! ken and mck even put on a puppet show from behind the couch when we were done! :)

i am one month old today!

hard to believe a month has already gone by. it has flown by . . . okay, the nights aren’t exactly flying by, but the days are! you have already changed in so many ways . . .you are less wrinkly and scrawny . . . more filled out! you are easier to calm now – or we’ve just figured out what works! you look right at us and are starting to follow objects. you smile . . . you listen to my voice, look at me, and smile! it melts my heart and makes me so happy! you love to listen to your sisters voices too! you are not affected at all by them screaming, fighting, yelling, or making any sort of loud noise . . .it’s like you knew what you were getting into! you are still eating every 2-3 hours, but we’re chalking it up to the fact that you’re working hard to grow! you are just starting to outgrow your newborn clothes and fill out your 0-3 month clothes. you fit right into our family. it is already impossible to imagine our family without you! we love you, little bentley cole bailey!

a wonderful wednesday!

We had a wonderful day on Wednesday! Bailey took the day off to spend with us . . . one last day full of fun before we start school next week! We got an early start and headed downtown to the big top candy shop . . . an old fashioned candy store. The kids were so surprised and LOVED picking out their candies from the bulk candy section! Bailey and the girls enjoyed checking out the bug candy too . . .crickets, scorpions, and ants . . . all ready to eat! Ewwww! We all shared a cherry limeade from their old fashioned soda fountain, got a box of candy cigarettes (ken’s comment was “it’s okay mom, I know smoking is really bad for you!”), and each of them chose a giant lollipop to save for home! It was great!


after we got our fill of sweets we headed to jo's - a great sandwich place. their fries are delicious too! :) then we walked over to the children's museum and played for 3 hours! the girls loved that both of us were there so they actually got to create things and explore! mck and ken even sat for a very lengthy story time . . . 30 minutes! :) ken loved that the slide was open . . . we tried to send mck down, but she was too short!
at around 4:30 we went to the car . . . only to find that the girls had left the lights on in the back (they were playing in the car while i was nursing!) and the battery was DEAD. nice. so we're in a parking garage with 4 worn out kids and a dead battery. thank goodness for a really nice guy who helped us out!
when we got home we filled up all the pools (despite the drought!) and made a picnic supper and hung out outside until 8! the girls dug in the dirt, put it in the pool, and then swam in it! lots of dirty fun!