dressin' up b.c.!

mck was so proud of the way she dressed b.c. up . . . as a hair dresser! :) i'm sure he'll appreciate this later on! :)

exploration at the museum

the kids had so much fun exploring the children's museum with or bff's! what a wonderful way to spend a wednesday! first we hit our favorite restaurant . . . jo's! YUM! b.c and kam were so darn good . . . i actually sat and ate my whole lunch and had some conversation before they started to get antsy! :) then we ran in the rain to the museum!

b.c. and kam had a great time in the baby area while the big girls went off to play in the kitchen, check out the train, create crafts, and play! all the kids enjoyes story time too! (gotta love listening to some new books!) it was a perfect way to spend a rainy day . . . friends (the best ones!), fun, and play!

ballerina baby!

kam completed her summer ballet/tap classes with a little performance! she danced to a ballet song about puppies and to "shake your groove thing" from alvin and the chipmunks! she was too cute! she would do a dance move and then check out her neighbor . . . do another move then check herself out in the mirror! too fun to watch! :) can't wait to start classes in the fall!

allowance pays off!

the girls ordered dolls on target.com with allowance money they've been saving . . . and ken ordered a really cool bunk bed for her dolls too! sooooo much excitement when the packages arrived! :) it was like christmas! :) yea! we love on-line shopping! :)

a royal tea party!

the girls have been planning a tea party for weeks . . . so i finally hopped everyone in the car to head to heb for their list of ingredients! they had picked out recipes from a fancy nancy book and knew everything they would need to make some fancy sandwiches ("nancy nibblers"!), fruit kabobs with fancy whip cream and sprinkles to dip them in, lady bug cookies, and a fruity punch!
they made place mats and decorations too! and before we made all the food we each made a crown and a wand! :) the girls picked out their own outfits (the dresses that have matching dresses for their dolls!)! what a fun day! they literally ate EVERY scrap of food . . . including all of the fruit! we may do this more often!
the tea party fun literally lasted 4 hours! i was partied out! after telling me i was "the best mom ever" they all asked what we were going to do next! ahhhh! :)

a camp "in"!

the girls had a great time setting up their tent and having a camp "in" in the playroom! :) we even had s'mores for dessert! :) b.c. loved climbing in and out of the tent . . . and messing up everything the girls tried to set-up in the tent! :) won't be long till we'll have to set up two tents so there's enough room! :)

movie in the park!

what a fun evening! all four kids and i headed to the splash pool for fun and a picnic dinner! (gotta love free swimming!) we drove home to get baths and p.j.'s and put the babies to bed . . . then ken, mck, and i headed over to the park to see "where the wild things are"! what a perfect evening! it was really kind of breezy . . . no bugs . . . not very crowded! the snacks were super yummy, the movie was great . . . and it was just me and my big girls! we can't wait to do it again! :)

sleepy babies!

poor little kam and b.c. have been trying to keep up with the big kids this summer and are always taking little snoozes here and there! :) tooo cute! :) one little snooze and they're ready for more fun! :)

b.c.'s birthday day!

what a wonderful day! b.c. woke up to a crib full of blue balloons! he was so excited! :) we had sprinkle donuts for breakfast and some presents in the morning! we took him to the splash park where all the kids played for 2 hours and had a picnic lunch! in the evening b.c. feasted on mc donald's chicken nuggets and fries! :)
we finished the evening with lots more presents and a buzz lightyear cake (picked out especially for b.c. by his 3 big sisters!). he had a great time feeding himself cake and icing, but when he was done . . . he was DONE! and it was straight upstairs for a bath! :)
he had such a wonderful day! he is in love with his trucks (especially the one that makes loud noises!) and the music station with a real microphone! it's so cute to see him "rockin' out"! happy birthday little guy! we love you!

and here's the cake pictures . . . (especially for you grampy!)

i'm ONE today!

my sweet little guy! where did the year go? you are soooo big now! so hard to believe we met you only a year ago . . . we can't imagine life without you! you keep us crazy busy and always on our toes! you are into everything . . . our own little explorer! you are making it so clear what you want . . . and get frustrated when we can't tell right away! you are walking/running everywhere and climbing up the stairs anytime we aren't watching! you love to play . . . and get into your sisters' toys! you are only taking one nap a day . . . and just started sleeping through the night all the time . . . (let's keep that up!)

you love to eat . . . and love all kinds of food! most meals you feed to yourself . . . and don't want any help! you are soooo attached to me - almost too attached - and freak out if i walk away and you can't catch up fast enough! you have an amazing smile! your whole face lights up . . . it melts my heart. you have a wicked laugh! we will tickle you just to listen to your laugh! you love your cowey sooooo much! it is your favorite thing! you lay in bed waiting for me to hand him to you! :)

you hate to get in your car seat . . . but the girls will distract you and make you smile and then you relax and let me buckle you! you love to be outside . . . you walk around like you know exactly what you're doing! you love to ride in your car and have just started getting rides on the little four wheeler! (yes, the pink one!) you are an amazing little guy!

you have three sisters and a mommy and daddy who love you sooooo much! try not to grow so fast this next year! happy first birthday little b.c.!

b.c. july 20, 2009

6 pounds 11 ounces

b.c. today

your well-check stats . . .

good news! :) congrats to daddy!

in the midst of all our bad news lately . . . there is a bright spot! :) bailey got a call (in the hospital on the day he was discharged!) that he has an offer for a management position that he has really been wanting! :) he'd be moving back over to sales . . . but is really excited! congrats, daddy! we are so proud of you! :)

taking care of my teeth!

b.c. made it very clear that he needed a toothbrush of his own after grabbing mck's and refusing to let go! we got him one today . . . and he went crazy! standing on the step stool brushing . . . and then actually pretending to spit! it is the cutest thing you've ever seen! he doesn't quite get the fact that everyone has their own toothbrush . . . and that we don't share . . . we're working on that! :)

where we've been . . .

after the fourth, our lives took a small detour! daddy ended up in the hospital for 9 very long days! he had some swelling over the weekend of the fourth . . . and then on wednesday got a call from the dr. that they had examined his lab work and his kidneys were failing . . . so he headed straight to the hospital. after several tests and a biopsy the dr. determined that strep that he had a month ago had caused his body to attack his kidneys and cause kidney failure within a few weeks . . . this is really rare . . . in fact, the dr. has never seen it - only read about it! so, after lots of sleepless nights and many stressful days, daddy got to come home . . . we are waiting now for weekly lab work and dr. visits to determine what will happen from here . . . this week we are working to get back to as much "normal" as possible and saying lots of prayers that daddy gets better soon!

a little fun in the sun!

the kids, grammy & grampy, and i headed to have a little fun with the kiddos to the rec center pool! this is a fav of our family! it is the perfect pool for the big age spread we have! :) everyone is happy for a very long time! :) it was so wonderful to have a few extra sets of hands! the kids had a great time splashing, swimming, and sliding! the only thing missing was daddy! can't wait till he's all better and can join us!

happy fourth!

what a wonderful day! :) the weather was perfect (no more rain!!!) and we headed out early to enjoy the g'town festivities! the girls had so much fun in the petting zoo, okay, i did too! it was soooo awesome! lots of baby pigs to try to catch! i think we stayed in there more than our fair share! :) the girls did a few activities and had fun! then we all walked in the hometown parade! the girls all did great riding their bikes and were so proud of their decorating job! :) we walked around for a bit then headed to the house for relaxing and dinner!

we got the kids bathed before the fireworks and then headed back to the park! the g'town fireworks were awesome! the girls loved every second of them and b.c. was really content to watch them . . . especially when he head the loud booms! what a great end to a fabulous day! it was quiet, but nice! :)

preparing for the fourth!

what a great day! :) the girls set of fireworks with daddy, decorated their bikes for the parade (themselves!), got their fingers and toes painted "patriotic", and we munched on red, white, and blue cookies! :) after b.c. went to bed we headed outside for some more fireworks and to watch the neighbors' fireworks too! what a great day! can't wait until tomorrow! :)

check out my new ride!

we finally put b.c.'s stroller together and had him give it a try! :) he loved it . . . i think he felt like a big boy in it! :) it'll be great for times when only b.c needs to be in a stroller . . . that sit and stnad can be a pain to push around . . . especially when all 4 kiddos decide to try to pile on! :)

i'm 11 months old (a few days ago!)

okay, so we didn't forget that you turned 11 months, just couldn't seem to get pics! you were sick . . . or in a bad mood . . . or just plain tired almost every time i tried to take them! so, finally we managed to get your 11 month pictures! soooo bittersweet. the big ONE is right around the corner! oh my goodness!

you are into everything! you are becoming so independent . . . not wanting to hold my hand when you walk or let me hold you when you're in the pool. you love to "talk" on the phone or play with keys! you are all over the place. . . exploring everything all the time. you are a lot to keep up with, but sooooo amazing to watch! you have the brightest smile and are just such an amazing kid! you cry when someone goes outside but forgets to take you! (too cute!) you love to play outside and walk around or ride in your car. you are making it clear what you want now even more! :) we're STILL working on the sleeping through the night thing . . . hoping one year will be the magic number for you little guy! i love you so much! you are an amazing part of our family! :)

end of swimming lessons for mck and kam

we had a rainy, but successful end to swimming lessons this year. mck and kam both did great . . . both working on many of the same skills, but at very different levels! the girls were little water bugs . . . loving every day they got to go to lessons. ken was a great sport this week . . . hanging out on the deck with b.c. and me. . . actually she got to color and play games while i chased b.c. around and kept him from eating other people's snacks and shoes!
today, our last day of lessons was crazy. at times, pouring down rain! the girls loved swimming in it and b.c. loved playing in the water. what a fun end to the two week session! both kam and mck passed their levels . . . i was almost wishing i had signed them up for another one later this summer . . . almost! i think having the rest of our summer days free will be great! :)

loving movie nights!

we had a toy story movie night tonight! b.c was actually interested in it. i have only seen him looking at the t.v. a handful of times, but her was really into watching the movie! (okay, maybe only for five minutes, but it was still cute!) after he checked out the movie he tried to steal snacks from everyone! such a boy! bailey swear he was interested in this movie because finally we weren't watching a "chick flick"! sorry boys! :) kam kept saying, "i don't like this movie. i want to see the pig. he's pink!" okay, bailey may be right! :)
in another year we'll have 4 little sleeping bags lined up for movie nights . . . and even bigger fights about what we get to watch! :)