BIRTHDAYS!!!

The summer is the time for birthdays around here. 1 in April (o.k. technically spring, but around here it's quite warm and lovely in April). 1 in June and 2 in July. Lo's and Meg's birthdays are only 5 days apart. We thought we would have a little combined party today for them. It was such a great day. Friends, happy kids, and on and on. :) Here are a slew of pictures from today. :)

Look at these two birthday buddies!!!

Here we go. Can I get all FIVE candles out????
Meg wasn't sure what to think about the candle. . .. She was very mannerly while eating her cupcake. :)
She was so fascinated with everyone watching her, so I had a hard time getting her to look at me. :)
All right!!! All candles are blown! Time to EAT!
This picture cracks me up. Z stuffed his whole cup cake in his mouth at once. Look at J's face watching him. :)

happy birthday to ME!!!!

YUMMmmmmmmm!!!

awwww!!! I needed some milk with that.
Heavy, Heavy Hang over!!!!
A very cool, "make your own bouncy ball" kit!! :)

Very awesome squirt gun!

Hey! What's in here?

Oh, don't I look pretty!
I LOVE the paper!!!
Meg's very first heavy, heavy, hang over thy poor head!
cute, cute doll from Grandma!!!

D reading the book to Meg and Z!!!

I can't believe my baby is one!!! I remember bringing her home wondering how I would be able to take care of 4 children. Well, we have officially made it a year and it just keeps getting better! I love you, Meg. You have been my happy spot so many times this year! I can't wait for another year and many more happy spots to come! :)

p.s. one funny note: Last night I accidentally woke Meg up because I turned on a light that was too close to her room. She was up for a while in the night. Oddly enough it was right around 11:30 to about 12:30 or 1. She really was SO excited for her birthday she HAD to welcome it in in party style! :)

T-ball. ... and a lot of dirt!

Soo, I love letting my kids explore things they like/don't like. This is a first year for t-ball/coach pitch for our kids.

this is what I've discovered.

There is a lot of this. . .

even more of this....

and this......

and this.....

lots of high fives....

and a few occasional bursts of this. . . . .

this.....

this.....

and this. .... .. .. .

overall, it's a hurry up and wait kind of game, but the kids are exploring and enjoying themselves. :) (except J got stung twice today.... sorry J.)

My Babies!!!

I'm quite ashamed that it has almost been a year and I've just now added cute Meg to 'my babies' photo. I made this with J, Lo, and Z after Z was born and it is one of my favorite things in my house to look at. So, now it's complete. I've added my sweet girl on the end and now I get to look at all my babies each day. I can't believe each one of them started out this small and have grown so much. I'm amazed at how time can go so fast (and yet some days seem really slow!) I've never experienced a harder job in my life than being a mother. I've never felt so tired and exhausted. But I've also never felt as happy when I see them happy.

So, I love you my sweet babies! :) I'm so glad each of you came to my house!!! :)

I'm so tired. . . .

. . . . . .I'll crash just about anywhere!!!

That is pretty much how we have all felt the last few days. After quite a few late nights with cousins and friends recently, we are all pretty tired. Cute Lo runs and runs and runs and then CRASHES!!! Today he was building blocks, then decided to read a book on the floor. I went to check on him and this is what I found! :) :) I let him sleep for a few minutes, but knew I would be in trouble if I didn't wake him since it was almost 5 p.m. :) Luckily Popsicles help us wake up a bit happier! :)

Cousin Camp

We had such a fun beginning to our week. My sister that lives in the west came to stay for a couple of nights while traveling through on their vacation. It was soooo fun to see her and her cute, cute family. We also got to keep cousin L for a few days to have a little cousin camp. She is such a great girl and a wonderful example to my kids. We had so much fun going to the jump zone, swimming, out to eat, making necklaces, etc. :) We had SUCH a great time. We love, love family!!!!

4th of JULY!!!!!!

We had a fun time with family for the holidays. We played, ate, watched fireworks, played some more, swam, ate more, etc. :) It's always fun to be with family. :)

here is a picture of the cousins that were here..... plus two baby-holding volunteers!! :)

Meg picture!

I took a few pictures of meg today. I can not believe she is 11 months old and sooo close to being ONE!!! This year has gone by fast in some ways and SLOW in others. It has definitely been a challenging year, but I'm soooo glad I have my sweet Meg with me. She has been a bright spot in my days and is a great little addition to our family. :) She really does make my heart smile!