Will at 6 months

I can't believe that this little man is 6 months old!!!  My heart just melts every time I see him.  It has been SO much fun to have a little boy, especially this sweet thing.  Will is constantly smiling, laughing, and having a good time AND also loves to cuddle and give lots of love

The absolute favorite game of choice is peak-a-boo.  I can throw the blanket on Will and he will just stay under it laughing at me as I tease him about taking it back off.

The tender side of Will...he will just lay his head down and chill on the floor

Will loves to have blankets over his face while he sleep

A crazy viral rash...I don't know why all my kids like to get weird unexplained rashes out of no where

Will taking down the fort....I guess he's too big for the play mat.  At 6 months Will is rolling everywhere

Will LOVES Max and I love that Max senses the love and will crawl in bed with Will at night

Will is loved and adored by his 2 big sisters and they love that they can finally include him while they play.  Will you brighten up our house and melt your mama's heart!

April In Pics

One more month has flown by and here are the random happenings captured around the house on the Iphone cameras

Allie found the biggest strawberry ever in a container from the store.  We also made our first and not last batch of fruit leather.  The girls, Blake and I loved, loved, loved how easy and yummy it was

We are officially asking for....2 front teeth for Christmas.  Allie is loosing teeth like crazy and she has 2 more that are wiggly on the top.  I love her toothless smile but it's a little sad that the baby teeth are leaving because that means my baby girl is growing up

Sophie has stayed busy cutting the grass which is a great activity for this girl.  She loves scissors and there are endless amounts of blades of grass.  She will be out in the lawn for extended periods of time trimming up the lawn.  I'm sure Blake appreciates her hard work:)  

The girls had some friends over and were playing nicely in the play room.  I poked my head in to check on them and discovered Will's new bottle of teething tablets laying on the carpet; I had used them only once.  The bottle lay open and empty on the floor and I immediately asked who opened the bottle.  My honest little Sophie pipes up and says, "I did!  They were yummy. I ate them all gone."  In my panicked state I read all over the bottle and there was not one word about ingesting these pills and calling poison control. I called up Poison Control anyways because Sophie had literally ingested all but 3 of the 130 pills.  To my relief the lady said this is the one medication kids can ingest all of and walk away unharmed.  Thanks for choosing that right bottle to get into Sophie.

Allie created a temple one day after school.  The yellow q-tip is Angel Moroni.  I love how it was spelled "templ".  Allie realized she forgot the "e" later on and added the addition to her masterpiece

Loving these three lately...they are all having so much fun together.  Will is in love with his sisters and laughs as soon as he sees them enter the room....apparently they are really funny in his little world

Allie ran a fun run with her school

I had to snap a shot of my big girl in the waiting area of the Dr.'s office.  I looked over to find Allie reading a magazine and thought "when did you get that big and grown up?"

Allie is inhaling banana's by the bunch.  She eats them soft and frozen.  I love opening up the freezer to find her baggy's of bananas.  The way kids spell words makes me smile:)

I absolutely LOVE this age and this kid!!!  Sophie is so much fun lately.  Two things you can see Sophie with constantly are her oinky and sunglasses.  One thing this kid wants to do all day long is ride her balance bike.  She flies down the driveway on it and cruises around the neighborhood with the big kids. 

Here's to hoping for another fun and busy month with my kiddos!

Will's 6 month Birthday

I can't believe it...you are one baby I am sad to see reach 6 months.  I have enjoyed having you around every minute.  You have been the best baby for me and you have been so snugly with me it just makes me love having you around even more.  A few things you have tried over the last few weeks prior to turning 6 months

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Rice Cereal and Oatmeal....yum!  You love your cereal and gobble it down.  I never got close to getting through a box with your sisters and we are already on your second box of cereal

You are very close to sitting up and can sit up for a few minutes at a time before toppling over.  You love to be where the action is and since it is mainly always in the kitchen you spend a lot of time in your bumbo and love it.  

You love to have stuffed animals and blankets near or on your face.  You also love your binky and when your binky comes out during naps you usually find something else to put in your mouth

You love looking at books already.  When Sophie and I are reading books before naps and bedtime you always grab them out of our hands.  Now I've started to give you your own pile to look at:)

Your 6 month appointment went well.
You weighed in at 17 lbs 5 oz-45%
Height was 26.5 -50%
You are growing well and we love you so much!!!

Art Winner

Allie continues to amaze us with her art work.  She continues to say how she wants to be an artist when she grows up.  When she is at home she will start to draw and then go through multiple practice papers before she gets the final product she is pleased with.

At Allie's school there is the hallway of art-one child from each grade gets to have their picture displayed for the month.  I was in Allie's class volunteering one day when Allie headed to the bathroom.  On Allie's walk back to class she discovered her picture had been hung up and she was so excited that I was there to see it.  She came back to class to tell me about it and we snuck back into the hallway to get a picture. Way to go Allie!  All your hours of hard work have paid off; you are one talented artist!  We can't wait to see all the work you create in the future!

Black Bean

Sophie, thank you for always bringing excitement into my life as a mother.  While I was prepping the food for dinner you started to scream and when I turned around you were digging with your finger up your nose.  It took me a minute to figure out you had grabbed a black bean out of the bowl and shoved it up your nose.

After sending Allie to get me tweezers and using all my strength to pin you down we finally avoided another ER visit and were successful at getting the bean out

Hopefully a lesson has been learned; NOTHING goes up the nose.  

Stay At Home Mom and Lovin' It!!!

What couldn't put a smile on my face more than these three squeaky clean kids!  I have made the decision to be a stay at home mom and I am so thrilled about it!  It was a hard decision to come to grips with.  After having Will I just didn't feel right about returning to work.   I had such a hard time accepting that it wasn't the right thing to do.  "Ya But" I would say in my prayers....its only twice a month, it's bringing in some extra money, it's helping kids who are sick, it makes me appreciate my kids more...."  I went on and on and could have come up with a million reasons but every time I knelt in prayer and pondered this decision it didn't feel right.  I had a pit in my stomach until the day that I decided to call it quits.  Because I worked so hard in school getting my degree and because it was so easy I thought it would be so right.  I was wrong and sometimes it's hard to accept the fact that our plan isn't Heavenly Father's plan. 

So, here I am... a stay at home mom.  I love my kids to death and I am so glad that I get to spend every waking second of my day with the three that I love the most.  Is it hard????  You bet it is;  the hardest thing I've ever done.  Some days I wonder what in the world is going on and where our day went. Between the balancing act of playing with the kids, enjoying meltdowns, trying to get kids to nap, nursing a baby all day, helping kids to read, trying to teach hygiene, teaching about Christ, how to say prayers, making meals, shopping for food, looking presentable for the Mr. at the end of this crazy day I wonder why I'm tired.  Weeks fly by and I wonder if it's really Monday again and I am once again greeted by all the laundry.  We wash clothes, pay bills, make meals, plant a garden, drag 3 kids through the stores; sometimes with all 3 in tears but I love our fun times together and love the times we get to play play play.  I heard some wonderful wisdom from a wise seasoned mother who told me to enjoy my time in the trenches.  Sometimes I feel like I am definitely in the trenches and its a war around me but I am grateful that I have this chance to stay at home; to raise these 3 kids that have been given to me from Heavenly Father and have taught me so much in the 6 years I have been a mom.  Allie, Sophie, Will you guys are the best!!! I'm also so grateful to my wonderful husband for his support in this calling and providing relief and back up when I need it!