William is 9!

Look at this boy! This Is the morning that he turned nine. He has been such a good helper with Louise. He loves to hold her and gets so sweet and quiet when he is around her. 

He says he doesn't like being the oldest, but his siblings sure are lucky I have him as a big brother. I warned him that since I would have a new baby we would have a low key birthday. On his birthday we had grandparent and Connie come over for gifts. 

Here he is with the Lego set Connie got him. He was pretty excited about that because I told him he has too many Legos and I won't buy him anymore. 

He got a pocket knife from me and used it to open other presents. 

Grandma C made cookies (that I could NOT stop eating) . Looks like someone was sneaking some. 

Then grandpa stayed to help him set up his whole set. I wish I took a picture if the finished product. William was so happy about it. Then that Saturday (thanks to groupon) we got a good deal and took some of his friends to celebrate his and Joe's birthday. 

I couldn't get any good pictures cause everything moved so fast. 

I think they all had a really good time. They are a fun group of boys. 

Grandma H made his favorite peach for dessert for Sunday dinner that week. 

So even though we kept it low key we got to celebrate a lot. Then we tried to take pictures of Kasey and Louise. 

With such floppy babies its hard. 

Then Loulou had a blowout and got poop everywhere! 

So back to William and the fact that he is 9. The other morning I went to wake him up and stopped and stared at him for awhile cause he looked so much like a teenager! It was weird. These years have flown by and been the hardest most rewarding me my life. What a privelesge it has been to watch him grow.

Halloween 2013

I am lucky to have a husband who can mimic a picture from my Pinterest for the kids lunch while I nurse. 

I was also so glad that my kids were okay with keeping things pretty simple this year. 

Gracie was Rapunzel from Tangled after her hair is cut. Which meant she wore a purple dress up dress and I straightened her hair.

William really wanted to be a Pharaoh which was going to be more complicated but my mom swooped in and made him a costume.

And I found this monkey costume at a thrift store. Joseph looked so cute I giggled every time I looked at him. Once when he was putting it on him he said, "does this make me look fat?" He is such a funny kid. 

During the day on Halloween we took them to Main Street to trick or treat and that was fun.

That night Russ took the kids Trick or Treating through the neighborhood. Connie came over to watch Lou so I could go too but she ended up needing to eat so I stayed there with her. The kids had a great time and got way too much candy. And this is the only picture we got. Awesome.

I was just so glad when the whole thing was over. 

JoJo is 3!

Two days after Louise was born Joseph turned 3. It was a low key day. We had tried more than once to take him to Amazing Jakes before the baby came to celebrate his birthday but they were closed. Talk about a let down (we did end up going later). For his birthday we invited Grandmas and Grandpas and Connie over for dinner and dessert. 

He loves his Sword of Omens. 

And his bike he got from grandma Huston. He hasn't mastered riding it yet but he will get there.

Grandma and Grandpa Christensen brought dinner for all of us and our friends the Hatches brought cup cakes by that we used to celebrate.  

Here he is bringing me flowers and wearing his new Batman shirt Connie got him. 

Joseph is such a fun kid. He has us laughing all the time. I need to do a post just about him soon, cause he says a lot of funny stuff. 

Happy birthday to my Joe Boy! 

pigeons at the park

Gracie has watched her Dad and William be successful at catching pigeons and she really wanted to do it to. I took her and Joseph to the park on a day that was cool and breezy and we just couldn't stay inside. She brought some bread and guess what, she did it. Twice even. She got one for her and one for Joseph. 

It is kinda gross that they are holding those, but look how happy they are. And I had them wash their hands right when we got back.

last date as his only daughter

Russ wanted to take Gracie out on a date before baby sister came. They went to Water and Ice for some tigers blood and then went to ride the pedal boats at Tempe town lake (something Gracie had wanted to do for months). 

I am so glad these kids have such a fun dad. He is so much more fun than I am (I am trying to work on that). I think they had a good time. 

The Bunny

One day we got a call for our friends Clint and Angela that they had a bunny on their front porch and they wondered if we wanted it. I told the kids there was a surprise there and we went to get it. On the way there Gracie said, "I know it's not a bunny." That made me laugh.

Sometimes we let the kids bring it in the house to hop around. When it is inside it lets them hold it but if it is outside it is really good at running away and very hard to catch.

Russ was kind of bugged that I went to get it without asking him but look at him with it. He loves it. We named it Honey Bun but mostly just call it "The Bunny".

September Randoms

My mom, Connie, and I spent some time going through old pictures and look at this picture I found of my grandpa Joe. He is the one on the left.

My mom found this picture of my great great grandmother Mildrer Gertrude. She thinks I got a lot of my looks from her and I agree.

We went over to the Carter's house one day to visit and see their 10 puppies. Sadly they all ended up dying from parvo. It was so sad for everyone.

What my hair looks like after a head massage from Russ.

Little sillies making lollipops out of raspberries and pencils.

One of the last swims of the seasons in our pool. 

It was petty cold but they had a good time.

Russ fixing my Grandma's rocking chair before the baby comes. Something that has needed to happen for a long time.

This is a really bad picture of all the kids at Ballet Under the Stars. It was a lovely night, the weather was perfect and we were there with Connie, Melissa, and Gavin.

William being contemplative early in the morning.

This is a scene we often see if we are coming home too late. Usually from Sunday family dinner.