Fun with cousins

About a month ago, we had my sister and her family in town while she went to a conference here in Houston.  The kids LOVED having their cousins around... as they always do.  We enjoyed going to a park we hadn't been to before and the kids (and some adults) really loved the large slides they had going down the hill.

 Uncle Ryan was a trooper and took all the kids down the slides on top of him!!

 Griffin

 Kyra

 Owen

 Addy

 Elise

Maggie

Uncle Evan joins the NAVY!

 Earlier this year, my baby brother left me and decided to join the military.  It was bittersweet for me personally.  I mean, I am glad that my brother has found this path that he is so excited about and is making a future for himself, but also I am quite sad that he won't be around all the time because he is my partner in crime.  We often go out for wings, he plays with my children and watches them willingly and he is just a fun guy to be around.

The day he left, we took him out to Fogo de Chao and he was able to get a couple last minute texts in before he had to give up everything he owned and fly to Illinois (where bootcamp is).

 After several long weeks... Uncle Evan graduated from bootcamp!

Now Evan is busy in school studying to learn his job in the NAVY.  Couldn't be prouder!  And you can't see it in the picture, but those are actually bell-bottoms folks... I would have killed to be there and harass him about those. :)

He's a Marathon Man!

 The last weekend in January, Daniel ran his first MARATHON!!!  It was so impressive to watch and he always astonished me with his dedication to training for this huge event!!  Dan ran the Houston Marathon which is HUGE!  I mean, it was CRAZY.

 Daniel is somewhere in this crowd.  I looked crazy standing on benches trying to find him just to show him that we were there watching him!!  I don't think he saw us but we spotted him just minutes before the race started!

 Owen came along with me to support his dad in the race.  We stopped around the half way point to wait for him and were both really excited when we saw him come by.  Since the race, Owen makes random comments about going to see Dad run and how he ran for a REALLY long time!  He did.

 This is Owen waiting on the home stretch for Dad!

 Here's Daniel running his heart out!  He just looks so beat!  I would be too, I am sure.

 It must be said, when he ran by to finish this race, I could not have been prouder-- even though the weather conditions... a little rainy, very humid... were less than ideal, he gave it what he had and he FINISHED a MARATHON!  That is just so huge. 

At the end with his medal.  I realize this was really a bucket-list item on Dan's list and it was just something he wanted to do to say he did it.  I hope I can talk him into at least another half with me one day.  But I can count the number of times he has gone running since this day... Zero.

Long time No post

 Hello all!  Well, we haven't fell off the face of the earth or anything, but yikes, I can't believe I haven't blogged since January!!  Eek.

In February- Owen, Daniel and Papa went to the Monster truck show (sorry no pics:()  Since that was a fun "guys night out", us girls (myself, grammy, Ellie and Maggie) went out for a girls' night.   We took the girls to Sweet and Sassy which is a little hair/dress up parlor that the girls got all dolled up at.  We told them it was their princess night so they were able to pick out their hair dos for the evening and get their nails done.  They were in heaven!

 Maggie picked her hair style and it sorta turned out to look like horns.  It was pretty funny, but still cute.

These princesses enjoyed their evening and I am continually asked when we are going back... umm, not for awhile! 

Getting older and cuter :)

The kids are getting older and that is making me sad and happy.  Owen weighed in at the doctor the other day and is now heavier than Ellie weighing in at over 60 pounds (Geez!) and he is such a smart kid.  Magdalyn is talking constantly... almost non-stop and Elise reads so well that I can't believe she is only 5.  

Of course I am happy about their achievements and it makes me feel good that I am doing at least a couple things right.  I can cope a little better knowing that a baby boy will be joining our family in a few months.  We think we will name him Mason.  He'll certainly be cute and sweet and we will love him dearly.  Thinking about having a baby makes me think about when my other babies will small and makes me miss them as babies.  Ugh, I want them small and I want them big.  It would be nice if I could just choose each day how old I would like them to be that day.  That sure would be nice.  Unfortunately, that's not how it works so I will just have to try and soak up each age as it comes and cherish the times that I now get to look back on.  Of course, there are lots more memories and love to be had.  Looking forward to that.

We have a new niece!

We have a new niece!  Yippee!!!  Steve and Lindsay added #3 to their mix and have their first daughter, Natalie Grace.  Congrats!

New Camera Shots

I had a very good Christmas and received both a new netbook and also a Coolpix P100 camera.  The camera is a kind of "in the middle" camera that is more than a point and shoot but not as complex as a true professional camera.  It has lots of features for me to learn and hopefully I can get some decent pictures from it.  I haven't figured out most the features, but have just used what the automatic settings are and come up with a few pictures that turned out alright.

 This picture is a litle creepy now that I am really looking at it, but it was really cute this morning as the kids all climbed up on a single stool and started washing the windows together.

I will get better but it is a fun thing to play around with and learn about, plus I don't mind my subjects I get to practice on!

Christmas Pictures

It's been a great Christmas this year for our little family.  We had lots of family in town and enjoyed celebrating with loved ones that we don't get to see too often.  We still have family in town so I will spare some details.  We also had some pictures taken...these are not the professionals, but I think we have some good ones just from a regular hand-held.

As you can see.. we have made a few beautiful children...speaking of children, we found out that #4 is a boy!  We are stuck on names.  Dan likes the more traditional names and I like something a little less common.  So hopefully we figure out a name before too long.  We are excited to even up the numbers and have our two girls and two boys.

The Bug Parade and Lunch with Ellie

A few weeks ago, Elise starred in a the bug parade at school... all the kindergartners were bugs and her class were all lady bugs.

Above is Ellie's teacher, Mrs. Gehring who she LOVES.  

After the parade, I stayed and had lunch with Ells... she eats lunch at 10:15... seriously.  Which explains why she comes home and just about eats everything in the house.

She loved having mom come to the school and have lunch with her.

Happy 4th Birthday Owen!

My baby boy turned 4 years old today.  That seems so old to me but also seems a long time coming as well.  Poor guy was up all night getting sick so it wasn't as lively of an event as I am sure he would have enjoyed had he felt better.  Last year we had a big ol' party for him so this year we played things low key.  All he wanted to do was "play Wii with the boys" (which meant his dad, his papa and his Uncle Evan).  He was happy with the presents he received... a couple of Wii games, a couple of CARS things, a couple Toy Story things, a baseball T, some race tracks and a flashlight.  All a boy could ever want.

 Some things to know about Owen:

• He's a big boy... I think he will be one of the biggest kindergartners ever
• He is a cuddler.. with his momma
• Even though he is big he can be very gentle and sweet
• He loves cars
• Owen is an observer at first... he likes to watch how things work before trying them out for himself
• He has a great smile

• He thinks Tom and Jerry is hilarious
• Owen is an independent kid... he could play by himself all day
• He is scared of his room and likes to sleep by mom whenever he can
• He loves two foods:  milk and hot dogs... he subsists primarily on the two
• Owen is a great big brother... this has become more obvious as Ellie is now in school and Owen can now take care of Maggie more
• He is sensitive... those alligator tears he has make me tear up every time
• I love his half smile that he gets when he is amused by something
• Owen is very stubborn-- an easy kid until you want him to do something that he doesn't want to do
• loves the dentist
• has huge feet... how many 3/4 year olds wear size 13?

• likes cupcakes and muffins
• loves to play and watch others play the Wii
• thinks Uncles are the cat's meow
• will follow any older boy... he wants to be one of the guys
• likes to climb, throw things, swing things around and by rough... I guess that's just a boy for ya
• He is very smart
• He has a curious nature
• Is a big time momma's boy
• loves his puppy, Lucy... sometimes too much
  
• wears size 6 clothes... almost size 7
• Owen is really cute when he gets excited!
• He thinks he is hot stuff when he gets to have "stud gel" (styling gel) in his hair
• could take a bath or shower for hours if I would let him
• can swim on his own
• loves water slides... unless they're dark
• has a sweet tooth
• likes apples
• loves his grandparents... a soft spot for his grandmas and is in love with his grandpas
• likes to feel like people are proud of him
• finally potty trained at 3 1/2... hasn't had an accident in months... still working on night time
  
• always leaves the house with fistfuls of toys to bring in the car with him
• responds more to one on one/eye to eye interaction and calm talk than being yelled at... it frazzles and frustrates him
• will share his toys willingly as long as other kids are playing with them the way he would play with them

• is my most comfortable kid to lay with
• still rubs on mom's upper arm for comfort
• really loves both Ellie and Maggie-- genuinely
• is quite computer savvy 
• enjoys being outside and being adventurous
• is both the easiest and hardest child

Oh my sweet boy, there is so much to love about you.  Even though you are four already, you are still my baby boy and I love you very much.  We are so lucky to have you in our family and have the opportunity to share each day with you. Happy Birthday Owen!