Look Who's 7 months old!

Another month older and I can hardly believe how time has flown by (AGAIN).

Here is our sweet boy on his 7 month birthday.

Greeting his trusty friend Goober with a Man Pat- he really is all boy.

 Ready to take a bite (just a small nibble)

 The face of a Heart Breaker- NOT

 Goober kisses

 Deep and insightful conversations with his best friend

 Finally, a taste of Goober's nose

 Mouth full of fur (just kidding- but check out those cheeks)

 Happy Boy

Here's to another month of adventures.

Valentines Prizes

Happy Valentines Day!!!!

The kids enjoyed a few special treats and surprises to celebrate the day (along with parties at school and exchanging cards and Valentines with their friends.

Here are a few highlights (or at least what they were willing to let me take pictures of).

A new dressed (made by Mommy) for Lillian- it even has pockets!

 Sibling snuggles in Mama's big chair

 Valentine Milk for Cooper

 and some extra Mama snuggles

 New Dolls from Alaska

 Clothes, books and bears

Plus a ton of candy. Our children are loved (and a bit spoiled).
Thank you for the Valentine treats and surprises.

Kitchen Fun

There are just times in life when Rules are Meant to be Broken!

That is exactly what happened Monday night while I was cooking.
Our normal house rule of No Toys in the Kitchen was lifted for the evening- it was too cute to pass up.

 Lillian and Cooper "played" together for over 30 minutes while I made dinner and set the table. What a big help it was to have Lillian to entertain Cooper.

Thanks Big Sister Lillian for playing with Cooper and all the laughter and giggles.

Father and Son

Rough housing with Daddy...

My boys- I love them!

Camping

The girls asked to "camp" last Saturday and I was happy to oblige.

So up went the tent in the family room and the girls snuggled in for the night.

This is what I discovered when I went to bed...

 Lillian on the left and Daddy monkey (I mean Madi- yup she is under there) on the right.

Both girls said it was awesome (even if it was a zoo) and want to do it again!

Super Bowl comes to Indy

It was hard to pass up the opportunity to see the festivities around down town with the Super Bowl in town.

 It was really neat to see the transformation of downtown and the familiar sites crowded with out of town visitors.

Cooper enjoyed being snug as a bug in his buggy sack riding around downtown in his stroller. He slept the entire time.

It was very crowded but I am glad that we went- at least to catch a glimpse.

Valentines Sneak Peek

The girls have been busy making a few Valentine surprises for their teachers...

 (They were so excited by their creations that they had to give Miss Shannon at the office her's early).

Here is just a peek of their hard work and creativity.

Rocker Boy

Pops refinished his childhood rocking chair as a Christmas present for Cooper.

Now that Cooper sits on his own, he is really enjoying his own chair (with very close supervision)

 He has even figured out how to lean forward to make the chair rock.

 One happy boy.

Lids 4 Learning

As part of a service learning project for Girl Scouts, Madison collected plastic lids.
The idea began from Madison's desire to use a non-recyclable item for something that could be used for good. She decided to create Lids 4 Learning.
With the help of her trusty side kick Lillian, the girls spent an afternoon creating their first learning sets (to be donated to Lillian's preschool Pre-K class).

 First set, Numbers 1-10

 Even Mommy helped (sealing the lids with Mod Podge)

 2 more learning sets, Upper Case and Lower Case Alphabet lids

Sets complete and ready for delivery!

(Since beginning the project, Madison made the very difficult decision to  quit Girl Scouts. It was too hard to juggle her many activities and commitments. Madison felt it was important to finish what she started, so she got in contact with her troop leader and spent some time explaining her idea to other girls in her troop and now they are continuing the project. Way to work together!)

We are so proud of Madison, Job Well Done!

Oh I wanna be a dog!

A recent school assignment, a weekend take home essay about Which Animal You Would Be and Why?.
Madison's writing never ceases to amaze (and entertain me).

 If I could be one animal, I would be a dog. I would be a dog because they're athletic, they don't have to do chores, and of course children scratch behind a dog's ear and back. Being a dog would be fantastic,  because you see things from a different perspective. Dogs are cuddly, warm, and playful, too! They run and play with children a lot, too!
   I want to be athletic. A dog is athletic. So if I could be a dog I could run super fast, do a frisbee contest, and do amazing tricks. I could compete against other dogs! Also I could chase my own tail.
     Of course that's not the only thing. Dogs make big messes! They don't have to pick them up. Dogs don't have to do chores. This would be incredible because most children don't like doing chores. So I would be a dog to get out of doing chores.
   The third and final reason is children scratch behind your ears and back. That would feel fantastic. Children would pet you and throw balls for you. Dogs like children!
     In conclusion, I would be a dog. They're fast, fun, and friendly. They love people, children, and baby's. I love dogs! They're awesome!


By Madi

One Exhausted Mama

Having 2 sick kiddos last week (Cooper had croup and Madison had a sinus infection and upper respiratory infection) meant that

Mommy was exhausted!

Glad to have everyone on the mend. 

Movie night with Nana

When Papa and Daddy are away, the girls will play.

With warm, full tummies (we had taco casserole) and large snugly blankets,we assembled in the living room for movie night.

Now playing, TANGLED!

We finished the evening with Chocolate delight (a chocolate chip cookie/Oreo/brownie dessert) and ice cream and then headed to bed.

Sweet dreams.

Children's Museum Fun

As a last hurrah before returning to school from Christmas break, the kids went to the Children's Museum with Nana and Papa.

 It was the last weekend before the end of the Jolly Holidays exhibits.

 Skating in Winter Fun land

 Spins and twirls

 Lillian Moose Ears

 The girls were THRILLED to participate in the snowball fight (we have never been there at the right time)

 Lillian scoping it all out (and hoarding a few snowballs for later). After a bit of observing, she joined right in. I guess she was just establishing her strategy.

 Heading to see more exhibits.

 The latest (and newest) exhibit is the Frogs. The girls thought they were AWESOME.

 Waiting for the Jolly Holiday Slide

 Racing to the bottom

 (Papa wanted to race too)

 A final ride on the carousal before one more exhibit and then home. Lillian is so excited to be old enough to ride and Up and Down pony

 Barbie exhibit is an all time favorite for the girls. Here they are answering calls, just like Mommy (who was stuck at work while the kids played at the museum)

 then on to the run way. Fashion diva Madison and photographer Lillian (I love there facial expressions)

Another successful adventure.