Happy 4th of July!

Better late than never, right?

Happy Independence Day!!!

The 4th of July has always been one of my most favorite holidays! We spent our day relaxing at home, then going to the pool, then going to a family BBQ! It was a great day spent with the people that I love most!

Love these kiddos!

31

It happened...I had another birthday! I have always enjoyed my birthday, and this year wasn't any different. I'm so thankful for such wonderful people in my life that made my special day so great. I guess getting older really isn't all that bad...especially when I have these wonderful people to share my days with :).Noah shares my love for birthdays, and he wanted to make my day very special. When we woke up in the morning, he came in and gave me a huge hug and told me "Happy Birthday!". Then he walked out of the room pretty quickly. I took my time and made my way to the kitchen...I saw Noah and he looked at me and said "Get back in your room, Birthday Girl!". Oh my! I quickly turned around and went back in my room, wondering what he was up to. A few minutes later, he came in my room with a tray and my breakfast! My little boy made me breakfast in bed! That, alone, just made my day! And the look of happiness on his face was the absolute best! I really thought it was the sweetest thing EVER! I've never had breakfast in bed before, and this was best yet!After relaxing at home all morning, we finally got ready and headed up to my parent's house. We hung out there for a bit, then my dad and I went to get Doug so we could go see Spiderman. We took Kate with us, and she was so good! Love that girl! Afterwards, we headed back to my parent's to have dinner and some cupcakes! It was more than I could have asked for on my special day!

Leah was so excited to sing to me!Hanging out after dinner! Noah took this picture of me and Doug :).

And we ended my birthday the same way we do every year...with fireworks! The kids absolutely LOVED watching the little fireworks and were in awe of them. It was great to hear them clap after every one :).Thanks, again, to everyone for making my birthday super special! Here's to a great year!

Kate ~ 3 Months

I blinked and this precious angel turned 3 months old! Man, oh man, I can't get enough of Kate! This month Kate...

...has started smiling and giggling so much! We seriously can't get enough of this happy girl and hearing that happiness warms my heart every time!...has found her hands and can't stop looking at them. Whenever she's sitting by herself, she'll just find her hands and stare at them in awe. Sometimes she starts laughing at them, which is just hilarious!

...does NOT like to be alone. If I lay her down for a minute, she'll be alright if I'm close by, but the moment she can't see me she starts to sob. SO SAD! I've learned my lesson and I don't leave her alone anymore cause that cry just breaks my heart. That said...

...loves to snuggle and be held. She definitely prefers to be in our arms and she totally gets her way. It's an easy solution cause I love holding her :)....is doing SO much better in the car. We moved Leah so she sits by her now, and I think that's what did it. She knows and loves having her sissy around, that's for sure!...is still a great sleeper. She takes great naps and sleeps good at night. She has her moments when she will wake up around 4 in the morning and will NOT go back to sleep! Ugh! Not fun for me, but it's hard to get irritated when she's so happy and giggling....still has tons of dark hair! I kind of expected it to fall out, but it hasn't at all. I still get strangers saying "look at that hair!". Gets me every time!

...has blue eyes! Yay! Hope they stay that way!...is gradually starting to like being on her belly. Noah, Leah, and Isaac all liked being on their tummies when they were this age, but Kate doesn't. She is a belly sleeper, and she's good with that, but she doesn't really enjoy it when she's awake. I've been putting her on her belly more during the day so she can get stronger in her back. Baby steps :)....is so, SO, loved by each one of us. Doug and I secretly love when the big littles go to bed so we can have some quality time with Kate {which is hard to come by in this house!}. We can't get enough!

Big Boy Bed

Just this week, Isaac discovered the joy of getting out of his crib (click here to see him in action). No matter how many times I put him back in, he'd get out! Doug and I weren't planning on putting him in an actual bed for a while, but that all changed this week. So, yesterday we took down his crib and set up his bed! He went right to bed last night, so I thought this transition would be easy. Well...at nap time today, he would NOT go to sleep! He'd just lay in bed with his eyes wide open and laugh/talk to himself. I wasn't feeling 100% today, so I laid by him for one hour, and he still didn't go to sleep! So frustrating when he's never had a problem taking naps before. Finally, after 2 hours, he fell asleep, and slept for 4 hours! Hopefully he starts falling asleep more quickly...I can't handle this every day!

Kate ~ 2 Months

Our sweet baby Kate turned 2 months on May 20th. Here stats from her appointment were:

Weight ~ 11.16 pounds {58 %}

Height ~ 23.25 inches {81%}

I know that she is my 4th baby, but I have seriously forgotten how fast these babies grow when they are little. She is growing and changing each and every day and it's an amazing thing to watch.

~ She really is such a happy little girl. She really started to smile and giggle this past month, which is just awesome!
~ She does not like it when we set her down and walk away. If we lay her down and she can see us, then she is alright. But as soon as she realizes that she is all alone, she will start crying...and her crying is so, so sad! She is definitely spoiled and gets her way by me holding her pretty much all of the time. That goodness for the Baby Bjorn!
~ She is an excellent little sleeper. She sleeps through the night and takes two wonderful naps every day. She definitely cherishes her beauty sleep :).
~ She does NOT like her car seat, just like Isaac didn't when he was little. Makes for some fun car rides.
~ She absolutley loves taking a bath! As soon as we start undressing her, she gets so excited and smiley. She smiles during the entire bath, but the moment we take her out she starts to sob. It is the saddest cry ever and it breaks my heart every time! She is fine as soon as she's all dressed, but she does NOT like the time between the bath and getting dressed...poor baby.
~ She is so adored by everyone in this house. Noah, Leah, and Isaac can't get enough of her and I so cherish the moments that they sit together on the bed talking to Kate. It's so sweet to watch!
~ Her eyes are blue! I was secretly hoping that I'd have a blue eyed baby, and here she is :). I sure hope they stick :).

We love you little one...even more than last month :).

Isaac ~ 2 Years

Isaac has grown SO much this past year. He is such a precious little guy and I always look forward to what he is going to learn next!

~ He absolutely loves sports and balls and is constansly playing with them. And the thing is, is that he is actually good! Doug and I are always amazed when we watch him kick the soccer ball, or throw the basketball...he's right on almost every time!

~ He is a great little talker. He can pretty much mimic everything that we say, which can be so cute/funny at times. Sometimes Doug and I will be having a conversation and Isaac will come out of nowhere and start repeating whatever we're saying. He is definitely my earliest talker and I love the fact that I can talk to him and he can respond back. It definitely makes my life a little easier when he can tell me exactly what he wants.

~ As Doug's mom put it, he is very agreeable. If he wants something that he can't have, instead of throwing a tantrum when we tell him he can't have it, he'll just say "OK" and move on. Sometimes I'm ready for him to get upset with me, but instead he just agrees with me! It's crazy because Noah and Leah were SO not that way. It's definitely one trait that I love about Isaac :).

~ He loves to be outside and play with Noah and Leah. He is also very good about listening to me when I tell him that he needs to stay by the house. I have yet to see him wander away on his own {knock on wood}. He just loves riding his little tricycle around and helping me in the yard.

~ He is very good at playing on his own. No, he doesn't play by himself often, but when he does he is totally fine with it. If I'm busy feeding Kate, and Noah and Leah are out playing, he's totally fine with going in his room and playing without a fuss. I also love sneaking up on him and watching him play...it's so sweet to watch him talk to his animals and make little car sounds by himself. So sweet!

~ He is NOT a good eater. At all! I try not to let this get to me, but it really does drive me nutty! He is horrible when it comes to eating actual food, but he will never, EVER, say no to anything sweet. No surprise there! BUT he can't just have sweets...I mean what kind of mom would I be if that's all I gave him ;). Thank goodness he's a big milk drinker, so at least his getting some good calories from something! We're working on it...baby steps.

~ He is getting potty trained and is doing GREAT! I just started to train him a little over a week ago, and I am amazed at how well he is doing. GO ISAAC! I'm SO excited to not have to buy diapers for two kiddos! Hooray!!

~ He is an absolutley wonderful sleeper...he always has been, and I love it! He takes great naps and sleeps really well at night. The only change is that he has *just* discovered how to crawl out of his crib. I think we might be converting to a bed here very soon ;).

~ He has a great sense of humor! Doug and I love this about him and we love that he will laugh at the littlest things without any encouragement from us. The kid is hilarious and we are always looking forward to what he is going to do next to make us laugh :).

~ He is such a loving boy and is always telling us that he loves us and giving us hugs and kisses!

~ Teething has not agreed with Isaac, and he can be very grumpy when he has teeth coming in. Not fun for mommy, daddy, or Isaac when we have to deal with this. We are all very excited once a tooth finally comes in so that Isaac can be back to his happy little self!

~ He has become VERY clingy to Doug and I as of late. I know that this is totally normal for his age, so we are always comforting him whenever he wants to be with us.

~ He loves the movie Rio, or any movie that has good music. He loves to dance around and sing the songs and prefers to only watch those parts in the movie.

~ He is really good at working our Apple devices. It is quite funny watching him move around from page to page to find what he is looking for...and then actually playing a game. His current favorite is Angry Birds, but he also enjoys practicing his ABC's with Starfall.

~ He does NOT like to be messy! He hates having his hands covered in food or anything sticky and he'll just whine and whine until we clean him up. He's definitely my clean kid :).

~ He absolutely LOVES playing in the water. Whether it be playing in the tub, or in the water in the backyard, or going to the pool, he just loves being in the water. I have noticed that he doesn't enjoy splash pads as much though...something about water splashing here, there, and everywhere does not mesh with Isaac. But other than that, he'll take it!

~ He can count to 10 {in English and in Russian (with some assistance)} and he can almost say all of the ABC's. He plays with this app on the iPad called Starfall...I totally recommend it! He has learned not only his letters, but he also can say most of the sounds. Doug and I love to watch in amazement as he plays on that app :).

Isaac is definitely a pretty special little guy and he adds so much to our family. We all love spending time with him and love him to pieces!
How cute is that??!?! ;)

Noah ~ 6 Years

It's hard to digest that Noah has been in our lives for six whole years. This kid means the world to me and we kind of *love* having him around. Here are some facts about Noah at six years old...

~ He is such a lovable little boy. Not a morning goes by when he doesn't come in and snuggle with me. He knows how much I love this time...and I think he does too! We have had morning snuggles together since he was just a little guy. It's kind of our special little moment to be with one another before the day really starts {and the chaos begins!}. Noah's known for coming up to me throughout the day and giving me big hugs and telling me that he loves me to the moon and back. I cherish every time he does this...it's the best!

~ He loves being outside! He'll manage and play inside when he absolutely has to, but he definitely prefers playing outside with his friends, or even by himself. He LOVES to ride his bike around and to shoot hoops with his Daddy. He just loves to run around and play hard...something that's a bit hard to do inside!

~ He is still the most amazing eater. He's really not that picky and he will pretty much eat anything...even salads! He's always telling Doug, who hates salad, to try it cause it's SO yummy! Good luck with that, little buddy! I've been trying for years with no luck ;).

~ He is great big brother to Leah, Isaac, and Kate. He and Leah seem to butt heads a little more than I would like, but Leah's one tough cookie and hard to reason with, so I don't blame him for having a hard time in that department. BUT, when they are having fun, they are having FUN!! I love listening to those two play together! He is also so, SO, sweet with the two littles. He is becoming a lot more patient and will spend time kicking the ball around with Isaac, which is something that Isaac LOVES! He also absolutely adores Kate...he seriously loves her to pieces. I can see those two having a very special bond! He is constantly telling me how cute she is and he is always asking to hold her.

~ He is a very sensitive little guy. He has such a sweet little heart and he will respond to anyone if they are hurt or feeling bad. He is especially like this with Kate. Kate does not like her car seat as of late, and she will cry and cry when we are driving somewhere. Listening to Kate cry just tears Noah apart and he feels so badly that we can't do anything for her when we're driving. He'll even get teary eyed himself because he so badly wants her to be comforted. It breaks my heart when this happens, although it makes me feel good that he cares about her so much in that way.

~ He is not into trucks very much at all anymore. He enjoys creating things with legos and play-doh. He also likes to build forts in our basement...definitley his favorite thing to do! Another thing that he thoroughly enjoys is playing games...board games, outside games, games on the iPad...you name it. He is also a really good sport when he looses, which is something that he has had to learn to handle ;). Doug and I have been pretty impressed with his game playing skills and there are times when we can't beat his score! Makes for a friendly competetion around here :).

~ He LOVES school and learning. There have been a few times this summer when he has told me that he misses school and is excited to go back. I responded by asking if he's getting bored at home, to which he said "no, I just like to play with my friends at school" ;). That made me smile. I'm glad that he enjoys all of the social interaction that he gets in school. I'm also very impressed with how much he has learned and how receptive he is to what he's learning. I think it's safe to say his favorite subject, thus far, is Math. He is really good at calculating and understanding numbers. I've been impressed with how well he has done with math this past year. He is also getting better each and every day at reading. I think the hard thing this summer has been reading every day. Of course, he would rather play outside than read...it's a work in progress.

~ He is a wonderful helper around here. He is getting really good at making his bed and cleaning up his room each day...and the whinning about it hasn't been that bad lately. I've been pretty strict with him about his chores and trying to help him understand that we need to work together as a family and each of us needs to do our part in the "chores" department. He definitely doesn't like the fact that if he complains about doing a chore that he has to do another chore. This is one thing that I always follow through on, so he is learning to just get his chores done with a smile on his face so that he can go play. There are actually times when he comes up to me and asks me what he can help with...I love those moments and take full advantage of having him help me out!

~ He is a wonderful sleeper and usually falls asleep within minutes of hitting his pillow. He finally stays in his own bed all night...yay!

~ He is such a silly little boy. He is always trying to make us laugh, and I love to see what he is going to do in order to do so. He can be so goofy sometimes and it's just hilarious to watch. I love his developing sense of humor ;).

~ He has such a wonderful imagination. He will come up with some fun ideas and will be very determined to accomplish them. Lately he has been wanting to have a Carnival in our basement. I told him that it was a great idea and that he needed to set it up the way he wanted...so he did. He set out all the board games, made an area to shoot darts and basketball hoops, made an area for the kids to play, created a library in Leah's room, and turned his room into a place to make art. He also made little signs that said what everything was and taped them to the walls. I'm excited to see what he is going to come up with next!

~ He is getting more and more interested in sports and how games are played. He has been on a soccer team this past year, and during that time he has learned so much about the game. He also played on a coach-pitch baseball team, which was a lot of fun. I know that Doug is excited about his growing love of sports and I look forward to where it leads him :).

~ He is full of questions about anything and everything. I love how he is always wanting to learn more about one thing or another. He loves to learn the specifics about how things work, or how things are made, or why something is one way and not the other. I love watching his little face when we give him answers to his questions...it's fun to watch the wheels turn in the little head of his and take in all that he hearing.

~ He is an incredibly thoughful little boy. He loves to make people feel special and do things for us that isn't expected. He especially likes making cards for us on birthdays and other special days...he sure knows how to make us feel good!

Noah is an amazing little boy and I thank my lucky stars every day that he is ours. We sure do love him...to the moon and back :).

Isaac is TWO!

Mr. Isaac had a birthday! And let me just say that this little guy was SO excited to celebrate his special day. He woke up knowing that it was his birthday, and he was ready to have a wonderful day! He woke up to a few little presents to hold him over until his party that evening. Isaac is totally and completely obsessed with balls, so he was thrilled to get a new sippy cup that looked like a basketball, as well as a new orange ball :).

He also thoroghly enjoyed his birthday breakfast with his pancake that looked like a "2"! He gobbled that thing right up. Yum!Most of the day was spent at home playing and having a good time. The only down fall to our day was when we went to Chick-fil-a for lunch and Isaac was scared to death by the COW that was walking around. I'm not kidding when I say that the kid was absolutley terrified! Not good! We hurried home after the "incident" and put Isaac down for a well needed nap. When he woke up, he was ready to party!While he was napping, I made his birthday cake. Alli sent us the idea, and I'm so glad that she did! He was so excited to eat his Basketball Cake...it was goood!Isaac and I before everyone arrived......and Doug and Isaac :).We loved having all of the family over to celebrate Isaac's birthday! All of Doug's family was there, which was great! Doug's sister, Suzi, and her family were in town and we were so, SO happy to have them there to celebrate! After eatting, we opened gifts and Isaac was spoiled by everyone! He sure is loved! He especially liked all of the new balls that he got and started playing with them the moment he opened them :).
He also LOVED having everyone sing Happy Birthday to him. He is such a sweet little guy and was grinning from ear to ear while everyone sang. He also did a wonderful job blowing out those two candles :).And as soon as he was done with his cupcake, he was off to do what he does best...It was really a wonderful day! Isaac is such a special little guy and we sure love having him around!

Happy Birthday, little man! We love you SO much!!