a little four month sweetness

Here is sweet Kella! She was four months old on the 29th.  I can't believe 1.how fast time has gone and 2.how big she's getting.  We took her to see our favorite doctor today, and she weighs 15 pounds 11 oz and is 26 inches long.  That puts her in the 90th percentile for weight and 97th for height.  Her head circumference came in at 25th percentile-just like her brothers-big bodies, little heads.  But, as our "dainty" girl, she actually is a smidgen shorter and weighs less than any of the brothers did at this age.  The boys had at least a quarter inch and almost a whole pound on Kella at four months. Guess she is our "little" girl!

I tried taking her picture while Glee was on.  She was very taken by Kurt's singing.  She loves to be sung to!

Kella is still pretty easy-going.  She does not like to be cold or to be tired.  She hasn't figured out that if she would go to sleep, she could fix the being tired thing.  She chews on her hands and Andy's fingers.  She likes to sit up straight and likes being in the walker.  Not a lover of tummy time, mostly because she grabs the blanket underneath her and it gets all scrunched up in her face.  Our doctor was testing her strength and Kella can kind of be propped up in a tripod sitting position.  Very exciting-I guess that's a 6 month old skill.  She sleeps through the night-but, she doesn't fall asleep for the night until 11pm.  A couple times she's slept a good 12 hours and I bet she would do that more if we didn't have places to go almost every day.  It's tough being the 5th.  Her hair is calming down into a comb-over 'do that's got some body to it.  Kind of like she's got a bump-it in underneath that hair.  She loves, LOVES to be talked to and there is usually at least on brother willing to entertain her.  In fact, pretty much anywhere we go, people like to talk to her.  Favorite song:  any, favorite toy: soft ones she can grab.  Favorite color:  mommy does dress her in a ton of pink still.  Favorite food: not yet.  So sweet!

let the scouting begin!

We started a new adventure on Wednesday-Marcus and Cale joined Cub Scouts!  We've been thinking about doing this for a while and signed them up for the pack that meets at our church.  It's not the closest group to our house, but it's the one that works best with our schedule since we already have Wednesday nights blocked for church.  When we first told the boys we had signed them up for Scouts, Cale was excited.  He likes to be part of a group and to get to wear a uniform to make him look special was an extra bonus.  Marcus, on the other hand, promptly told us that he hated Scouts and did not want to do it.  He hated everything about it and it was the "worst day of his life" (exact quote).  We kind of ignored this outburst (okay, we just ignored it) and didn't bring up the subject again for a couple days.  I guess that didn't matter, because the next time we mentioned it, again, major drama.  In fact, I was a little worried about how Wednesday night would go until I saw Marcus and Cale comparing their handbooks yesterday morning.  No tears, no drama.  That afternoon, he willingly put on his scout shirt.  In fact, he was happy to go and had a blast at the meeting (probably because they practiced bike safety in the pouring rain and then got to ride the bikes in the gym).  You know, that is just Marcus's personality.  He has to be given plenly of warning before a new activity starts.  Now, he will probably have lots of fun and really enjoy himself. 

And, Cale?  Well, I think Cale had some fun too.  Turns out, I got slightly guilted into being the den leader for his group-the Tiger Cubs.  I agreed to do it because they had no one signed up to do it and I was told it was a lot of delegation of activities to the parent helpers.  (I do like to delegate).  We didn't do as cool as an activity as bike riding, though.  Our topic was family and we worked on starting a scrapbook :-).  Last night, I had three Tiger Cubs in my group, plus Ewan, Liam and Kella (my honorary scouts).  The meeting went okay and after some remedial scout counseling by one of the pack leaders, I am starting to have a clearer picture of what I should be doing.  And, Andy is helping as he can-which I am thankful for. 

This should be a fun year!

preschool work

 Here is some of the first work that Ewan and Liam  have brought home from preschool.  The first 2 pieces are Ewan's homework.  Every week, he gets a folder to bring home with 2 things to do.  This week (and the for first semester) one of the things will be working on writing his first name.  The other paper focuses on a skill, like tracing.  It was a little rough to get him to do his work.  Ewan did not want to sit down and do it at all!  But, as you can see, he did well for a homework "first-timer".

Here is work that Liam did in class.  Looks like they are working on learning about farm animals and colors.  Today was the color red.   I think he did okay coloring in the lines.  Pretty good for a 2 year old.

*editor's note

Oops! The day after posting that Cale lost his first tooth, he corrected my by saying that he had lost another tooth before.  Now I remember that Cale lost a bottom tooth last school year.  Actually, Andy pulled the tooth because the permanent tooth was growing in behind it.  That tooth was loose, but need a little coaxing to come out.  It all makes sense now because I would have thought that Cale would have lost at least one tooth in kindergarten.  So, I guess this is his second tooth.  The second of many :-).

first lost tooth!

Cale lost his first tooth yesterday!  I think it was a combination effort between Cale and the school nurse-a lot of wiggling and a little pulling.  He brought it home in a little, plastic, blue treasure box and was excited to leave it for the tooth fairy.  The tooth fairy was very generous-Cale got a dollar and a note.  Cale has at least 2 more teeth that could come out soon.  He'll be making some $$ in the near future!

new things for Kella

Baby Kella is doing some new things!  After weeks of effort, she had finally managed to get her fingers/hand into her mouth.  She's not a pacifyer girl-maybe she's moving in the thumb sucker direction.  She fell asleep a happy baby.

Then, today, I was inspired to get out the walker to see if she would fit in it.  Kella likes sitting upright and looking around.  She's got pretty good head control, too.  Guess what-she loved it!  I know she likes being tall and seeing things from a new vantage point. 

 The boys thought it was neat, too.  Cale sat there for about 10 minutes just spinning the toy on the corner of her tray.

 Wait a minute-jealous much?  Liam was very happy to see a new toy to play with!

Let's see what Liam says about the walker...

Well, I guess that says it all!

another apple orchard field trip :-)

Ewan's preschool class took their annual trip to Farlow's Apple Orchard.  We were counting up the number of times we've been on this trip and came up with 6.  This time was no different.  The kids got to see a model of a beehive, see where they sort the apples, get a ride in a wagon and get to pick an apple.  Exciting for a preschooler.  Andy went with Ewan (I guess every kid had a parent with them-great adult to kid ratio)-I think Andy's been on this trip 5 of the 6 times.  I think he goes for the cider :-).  Ewan had fun.  He's proud to share with his brothers that he got to do something special.

Which should he eat first?  I think the red one is Andy's-Ewan said that he (Ewan) ate a yellow apple.

last week in pictures

Nothing too exciting happened last week, but I thought I'd share some of the photos that I took.  First up, Kella's crazy hair.  This is an all-natural "up do". 

 Then, poor Marcus was sick all last week with some kind of stomach bug.  He felt miserable the first 3 days and then was just really tired.  The nurse in me thought he need an IV and some fluid for his mild dehydration, but the doctor convinced Marcus to drink lots of fluids.  He was finally getting back to his old self on Sunday and went to school today.  Can't wait to see how much make-up work he has to do.  We did have him read while he was home and he finished 2 Magic Tree House books-his favorite books right now.  So far, no one else has gotten sick (fingers crossed). 

 Liam, doing some of his favorite things-singing and dancing.  He was twirling around on the patio singing "God is so good", wearing his very favorite VBS tshirt and a lanyard with ducks on it that he hijacked from Cale.

 Ewan, with 2 of his best little friends.  They play together as much as they can.  I think this picture is from Friday night-they played outside until it was dark.  It stinks to think that outdoor playtime is winding down with the start of earlier nighttimes and cooler weather.

After 4 years, we have finally started to hang pictures on our wall in the family room area.  Here's the first one-a replica of a bicycling poster, clearly from 1947.  It takes so long for me to decide what I like-hence 4 years of naked walls.  The upside is that when we repainted, we didn't have to take any pictures down or cover any nail holes :-).

Ewan had his 5 year check-up this week.  He's lookin good and the doctor was excited to see him.  Ewan even showed her a cartwheel.  I'm sure she was impressed.  His growth is in the 75-80th percentiles for height and weight-44 inches and 45 pounds.  He's holding pace with hie brothers who were 45 in/50 lbs (Cale) and 48 in/63 lbs (Marcus) at this age.

We did other stuff too-karate, gymnastics, library, playing, preschool-normal weekly things for our family.

That's it.  Just a normal week for us.

Karate demo

Today Marcus, Cale and Ewan were involved in a karate demo at an event called the Tipton Pork Festival. Their dojo but on a demo and talked about different skills and their bullying program they will be doing (how to stand up to bullies, not to bully). The boys were so cute up on stage and serious. They did their kata with the whole group, got to kick (and break) and very thin piece of wood-like plank and participate in sparing (Ewan and Marcus) and hold escaping (Cale). Kella enjoyed being held by Andy and Liam was grumpy and whined almost the entire show. The kids were disappointed we did not stay to enjoy more of the pork festival, but I didn't feel like trying to feed them there (fair type food-overpriced). I did make the mistake of mentioning possibly getting Subway for lunch, but then recinded the offer after some melt-downs in the car-big mistake. But, they all recovered and manage to enjoy the rest of their day.



Marcus and Cale are up front in blue-getting ready for a kata demo

Cale, front and center



Marcus kicking



end of kata

Ewan, getting ready for sparring-no contact, very cute

Marcus getting ready to spar

Cale, in a self-defense demo, escaping

start of preschool

Preschool started this week. Our school year schedule is finally coming into focus.  Here are some pictures and comments on Ewan and Liam's first day.

Liam before his Bumblebee class.  He was excited to go, but reluctant to leave the church nursery, where he had been playing.  He liked his shirt.  He wasn't too excited to go into the classroom.  But, with encouragement, he went right in to work on some puzzles.  His class is full, with 7 students.

 Ewan before his Pre-K class.  The class is also called the "Pickles" class.  He wasn't too excited for me to be taking his picture-too bad.  He was excited to go to class and see some of his classmates from last year.  There are 14 kids in his class.  I have to laugh everytime I see the class lined up to do something.  Bathroom break time has got to take, like, 20 minutes easy.

The boys before going in for the first day of preschool.  Ewan is sporting his new backpack and Liam has a backpack that has made it through 3 years of nursing school, several years of preschool and Cale's kindergarten year.  They each had to bring a stuffed animal-I guess as a comfort object in case they had some seperation issues.  Liam brought his blankie (of course) and Ewan brought his husky dog Webkinz.  They each had a great first day and were tired by the time they got home.  Ewan will go 3 days a week (M/W/F) and Liam will go on M/W.

blankie went AWOL

We had some tense moments here Tuesday with the disapperance of Liam's beloved blankie.  Andy had taken Ewan, Liam and Kella to Walmart that morning and thought he remembered seeing blankie in the car on the way home.  When it came time for naptime-no blankie.  We looked all over the house and car and could not find it.  Andy laid Liam down for his nap with no blankie.  Liam was very upset, crying and crying.  We got him out of bed and I let him stay up while I looked again every place I could think blankie might be-hamper-no, under bed sheets-no.  I called Walmart and it was not in the lost and found.  At this point, I tried to lay Liam and Kella both down for naps so I could get one too (I had worked the night before).  After 40 minutes of a fussy Kella, a sobbing Liam and a no-napping momma, I made the executive decision to load the kids in the car and head to Walmart to search for blankie-clearly it was no where to be found at home.  We got to the store and cruised the parking lot-no luck.  I called Andy to find out exactly where they had gone in Walmart so we could retrace their steps.  We entered through the garden center-no blankie with the plants.  We walked past the clearance rows-BLANKIE! There it was, laying in the aisle!  An answer to prayers put up by at least this momma and Grammy Pammy. We left the store with a very happy, content little boy.  One day, blankie won't play such a big roll as Liam's comfort object.  Thankfully, it did not have to be that day.

A little more of Ewan's birthday

Ewan was a hard little boy to plan a birthday for. Every time I asked what he wanted for his birthday, his answer would revolve around what he had just seen on tv-same for the birthday theme. I finally took him to the store and had him pick out toys that he liked and I took his picture with them so I would have a shopping list. That worked pretty well and he was excited and happy with what he got.  One of the things he liked was this "ninja castle".  Honestly, I think it's pretty cool too.

Ewan is a sweet little boy who loves to play and has an incredible imagination.  His uncle has said that he would like to see a tv show about what goes on in Ewan's head.  Ewan is so gentle and loving with Kella, it is sweet to see him talk to her.  He wants to be included with his older brothers-it's hard to be the middle kid sometimes.  He loves time with his Daddy and really enjoys the fact that Andy is home in the mornings to hang out with.  He is in gymnastic and karate, and is getting better at both.  I think the classes help Ewan to learn to pay attention and focus.  I would say his best friend right now is our next door neighbor's girl-Delany.  They play together as much as they can.  So sweet and kind!  We love our Ewan James!

A picture from Ewan's birthday get-together.  I had Ewan's friends over that live on our street.  We played a couple quick games, had some cake and ice cream and then the kids played for a bit before going home (it was a school night, after all).  It was crazy and fun!

Ewan is 5!

Ewan James.......then.....

From 2006

........and now!  Happy 5th birthday!

Kella 3 month photo slideshow

Kella 3 months - free slideshow

We got Kella's 3 month photos taken yesterday.  We took her to a Portrait Innovations studio.  I think the photos turned out great and we got the photo CD along with a ton of pictures.  I'm just saying, having a little girl to do "costume changes" with is so fun!  Andy was very nice about not teasing me about it.  Enjoy the slideshow.  I didn't put all the pictures on it-just tried to get a nice assortment.  It was surprisingly easy for a not-tech-savvy person, like me, to do.  :-)

Kella at 3 months

Kella was 3 months old on Monday! She is a very sweet, easy-going baby most of the time.  She loves to be talked to and will coo back and tell you all about her day.  We can get her to laugh occasionally, but she really likes to just watch and take everything in.  Her brothers are very interesting to her.  She loves to be held and likes to sit straight up in our laps.  She even doesn't mind to be passed around to her brothers-Ewan especially loves to hold her.  Naptime isn't too bad.  I'm starting to see a pattern emerge.  And, she is sleeping for 6-7 hours in a row at night.  Fantastic!  People love how her hair looks and are surprised to find out that it is all natural (the sticking-up).  I keep saying it, but she is just such a good baby!  We are so lucky to have her!