My Valentines!

We did Valentines for all 4 kids this year, and the 2 little guys were so excited to be included! We had coffee with some friends today, so they got to bring their friends valentines! Weston wasn't too happy about giving his candy away, but he was okay with it when the time came. They also made some for a few other friends, their grandmas and their cousins. Ava and Carter both had Valentine parties at school, and came home with way too much candy.

Picture suckers in their hands...

Hope your Valetine's Day was HAPPY!

West and Cole at 3 1/2

Weston at 3 1/2- He is such a sweet and helpful boy, but can also be quite a little sassy pants! He is 9 pounds lighter than his brother, but he is the aggressive one that is always beating his little 'big' brother up! Weston helps me unload the dishwasher every morning, and is always by my side when I'm cooking or baking. Weston isn't afraid of anything. If our puppy tries to bite him, he grabs him by the nose and yells "No bite Marley!" He loves to say his prayers at dinner time, and they usually go something like this: "Dear God, help Coleson not be naughty, and please keep us safe and healthy, and help my dog not have to go to the dentist, a be with Jessica and Jensen. Amen (He prays for Jessica and Jensen because Ava and Carter always do. :) ) Weston has his big sister wrapped around his finger, and those two really adore each other. He can always get what he wants with Ava! Weston is already a perfectionist. He cleans their room daily (all by himself) while Coleson is off somewhere getting into trouble. If I ask him to do something, he listens and rarely argues. He is still my little mama's boy, which I just love!

Coleson at 3 1/2- Coleson is still into everything, and keeps me running and pulling my hair out. He still has trouble listening, which can be really frustrating. Just when I think I am at my limit with him, he will wrap those little arms around me and look at me with those big, beautiful eyes, and all of my frustration melts away. He is the most social of all my kids and has friends everywhere we go. At Ava's basketball games, he has about 6 different groups of people that he visits, and he always goes to the ones that give him candy first. :) Coleson gets left out with the two older kids alot because he usually gets himself into trouble with them quickly. If they try to play a game with him, he will throw the pieces onto the floor for no reason. If they try to color, he will break the crayons or color in their books. If they take him outside, he will run away from them and not listen. Coleson tells me every day that he wants to be a UPS driver when he grows up like Josh (my cousin). He tells me that he is going to have an orange truck and bring boxes to my house every day! Funny boy!

Resolution accomplished...just a little late!

Well, for those of you who remember my post a few years back about my 2010 New Year's Resolution, (catching up on scrapbooking and getting a book printed by the end of the year, which didn't happen) I have an update for you (finally!). Scrapbook #1 for Weston is completed, printed, packaged, and is making it's way here right now! I know that MANY of you have completed and printed scrapbooks, but I've been a little busy for the last few years :) and am now working very hard to play catch up. I ordered a 12x12-100 page book of Weston's 1st year. I am so excited to have all of those pictures and memories organized and documented! Tomorrow I'm going to start working on finishing up Coleson's first year book, and maybe I can get all the kids caught up this year. Wouldn't that be amazing!

Five Years of Christmas

I copied and pasted this blog post from last year, and added this year's picture at the bottom. Sorry this is so late, but I haven't had time to go through Christmas pictures until now.

2007

We found out 3 days after this picture was taken that a baby would be joining our family.

We found out 3 weeks later that it would actually be TWO babies! Ava was 5 and in preschool, and Carter was 2 1/2.

2008

I remember being so overwhelmed at the blessings that we had received that year. We had been quite worried about the health of the twins on several occasions, and to see 4 healthy kids in front of our tree was truely a gift from God. Ava was a big kindergartner, Carter was 3 1/2 and the twins were 5 months. 2009

The fun had just begun last Christmas. These 2 little trouble makers had just started walking, and you might notice that our tree was in a different room due to their destructive behavior. I remember being surprised at how they were all kids now, and there weren't any babies in our family anymore. 2010
I love that my kids love each other so much! Do they fight? YES! But they would do anything to protect one another. I love how Carter has his arms around Coleson and Ava, and how big sister has her baby brother on her lap. We are so blessed! 2011

We did Christmas with our family on Christmas Eve this year, because Nick was on nights and was sleeping Christmas morning. We emailed Santa at SantaClause@thenorthpole.com and asked him to stop by our place a day early, and it worked! The kids were thrilled!

Showing off their new puppy!

We brought the puppy to school today so that both of the kids could show their classes. Ava is "star student" this week, which means she gets some special privileges like bringing a show and tell and having a bulletin board with pictures of herself, and facts that she wants the class to know about her. Carters usually does his show and tell on tuesdays, but we did it a day late so that Nick could come.

Marley was pretty excited to get so much attention. The kids kept on letting him chew on their sweatshirts, so sorry if any of your kids have tattered sweatshirts. :) I tried to stop them!

This is probably Ava's coolest show and tell since this one in Kindergarten.

Carter was pretty excited to show his friends! The kids were all full of questions like: "Where did you get him?", "Is it a girl or a boy?", "How big is he going to get?" and "Do you play with him and take him for walks?" It was very cute, and Mr. Carter was so proud and full of grins! :)

Meet Marley

The kids are in love, Nick's happy, I'm speechless.

Ava's a big 9 year old!

We had a great time celebrating Ava's 9th birthday this year. I always love girly themed parties...so much fun to plan! We had a family party on the Sunday before her birthday. Gotta love the chaos with all of the little friends and cousins running around!

We kept Ava's friend party low key this year, and she got to pick two friends to have over for a sleepover. Hailey and Sydney are always so much fun, and they had lots of fun paining nails, playing dolls and giggling. :)

Both of these girls love the little guys...I think Ava gets annoyed sometimes because all of the attention from her friends isn't on her. :)

Goofy girls!

Are you smarter than a Kindergartner?

Carter this morning-

"Mom, when I was born you TOTALLY spelled my name wrong. It should have been c-a-r-D-e-r. That spells Carter."

Don't you love it when they get into Kindergarten and think they are smarter than you!

This man

This man was up all night working in the dark, cold rain, while we were cozy and warm in our beds. This man has made sacrifices...for us. He works hard, never gives up and strives to do his best...because of us. He will miss out on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day....because he will be working to provide for us. I spend so much time gushing over my kids and ooing and awing over their accomplishments, that I forget the guy who is usually behind the scenes, making it all possible. Sometimes I forget how much he has on his plate, and I need to remind myself, and the kids, how fortunate we really are!

These guys are pretty lucky to have a daddy that is so crazy about them...and they are equally crazy about him! Daddy had been working nights, and it was time for them to wake him up. I can't think of a better way to be woken up. :)

Cowboys and Indians

The kids were looking forward to our annual harvest party for weeks! This is definitely the highlight of harvest for our kids. My aunts, cousins, grandma and mom work really hard to make this day special for the kids.

Coleson, the brave Indian Warrior :)

Cowboy Carter
Running after his next clue in the Scavenger Hunt

Pumpkin Bocce Ball

Daddy helping the kids with their clues

Ava Jean- the cutest cowgirl around

Checking out the goods!

Our other little indian brave, Weston

Having so much fun!

A cowgirl needs accessories too!

What are we going to do with this kid?

Big sister and her sweet little brother...these two are such good buds!

The cousins- all nine and under