4-year-old SPY

A year ago, as a way to try and assuage some of the high energy (some call it contention) in our home, we purchased and hung a boxing bag on our patio, complete with special boxing gloves. 

Although Hash is never, I repeat NEVER, a source of contention in our home, he likes to go at it regularly with the boxing bag. Just to practice his awesome, super-hero, steam-punk moves. 

Our neighbor, Ethan, took some video footage of him and created a movie trailer. I was amazed! He did it in about 10 minutes. Take a gander and bask in the awesomeness of my young son!!!

He made the video on his ipad with an app named iMovie. I think I may need to get it because it turned out so great and the kids had so much fun putting it together. What a fun activity for summer!

And here is another picture of my resourceful hero. Always prepared. He found the perfect way to carry his cars with him where ever he went. Genius!

Words on Love from Hash

I found this picture on my phone. I think it was taken by HashBrown. It is no surprise that this picture is blurry. I think it is very indicative of the way he might see his world. He is such a busy, happy, active little boy and is always on the run. His days are full of one adventure after another.

 

 

A few days ago during dinner, Hash decided to teach us all a little about love. Without any provocation, he just started talking. Of course, we had to start recording him and keep him talking. 

 

I just love his dirty little hand in the last shot. :)



Bedtime

BEDTIME at our house.



Enough said.

HashBrown on film

Camille is a great dancer. She has a lot of coordination and rhythm. She was trying to teach Hash some dance moves and I don't know, but, I think I may another dancer in the family. Feel free to watch this again and again and really take in the brilliance of the dance moves and facial expressions.




Bryce came to me the other day with these pink glasses and was so thrilled to show me how awesome they were. No matter where he wore them, on his nose or his head, it was always awesome!!!

Bryce

So this is HashBrown and he cracks me up. He is one of the happiest kids I know. And I just have to tell everyone that.

He has been in speech therapy for a couple of months now. He is making progress and now I am starting to miss some of the things he used to say that are being replaced with correct speech.

For example -
Now he says: Yep
He used to say: Yah. And it was the cutest thing. Always so expressive and enthusiastic, just with one word.

Now he says: Kay
He used to say: Done. Melts my heart. Bryce, get a diaper. DONE. Bryce, put away the ball. DONE. Bryce, give me a kiss. DONE. I wish I had recorded it but it was always so spontaneous and he never would have done it if the camera was out. Oh, how I miss that one word.

His vocabulary is growing all the time and I try not to get discouraged or compare him to other children. It's hard but I have to just enjoy him for who he is and his own unique talents and gifts, which are many.

For example:
This kid has incredible balance. Look at him on this little bike. He is also a great problem solver and entertains himself with cars, balls, bikes, singing to himself and talking himself to sleep.

AND I don't want to forget his blond, blond hair, especially just out of the bath.

Bryce is growing up so fast. Too fast. All my kids are. When I look at the train from the caboose, I wonder where the time has gone and miss the sweet, tender moments of early motherhood that are behind me now.

 

I love being a mom to my 5 beautiful children. I couldn't ask for a more challenging and fulfilling calling in life.

Without Kimber

Remember when cousin Kimber came to stay with us for a few days during the summer? Well, we got a little crazy one evening and went to the park with a video camera. This is the final result of that escapade.

We miss you Kimber!

3, 4, 2

Rachel learned how to ride her bike! I always love to watch my children learn how to ride a bike and to be a part of that learning process. It is so rewarding for both of us. I enjoy the struggle of learning to balance and figuring out how to start the bike moving. The frustration of falling and falling again. Then the pure elation when they finally take off and pedal and pedal and can't believe they are pedaling. They can't stop smiling and they can't stop riding, back and forth across the cul-de-sac, up and down driveways. Ahh, the freedom. It's a beautiful thing. I love being a part of it.

Here is Rachel's video. It's a little long but it's fun. Watch for:

 

Rachel struggling to get started.

Bryce running to his trike and hamming it up for the camera.

Bryce riding his trike Flintstone style.

The difference a day makes in Rachel's confidence.

How black are Rachel's feet?

Sydney making a cameo appearance.

My reaction when a car pulls into the cul-de-sac at the end.

 

 

Sterling's birthday

Sterling was treated to a delightfully entertaining performance by SC company in our basement for his birthday. If you have never seen SC perform before, its a must see. Sydney and Camille will often tape up posters around the house for performances they have written and practiced. Sometimes we have to pick up tickets and even have reserved seating.

Sterling was definitely in for a treat when we found out SC company was doing a performance in honor of his birthday.

After the performance, Sterling opened his birthday present from his brother, Grady. It is something that will be cherished, loved and well used.

Pictures: 2011 dec templebdaycmas

random December happenings

Here are some random things that happened this December. The girls made snowflakes with sparkly glue. They were supposed to be window clings but they didn't work. So we put a string through them and put them on the Christmas tree. They were cute and added a little sparkle and a homemade touch.

Sydney and Camille participated in the Reflections contest at school. The theme was "Diversity is..." I'm sorry I don't have a picture of their submissions but here is a picture of the group of kids that participated. It was a small group this year and rather unorganized. I remind myself, don't complain if you're not willing to get involved yourself. Maybe its time to get involved.

Here's a funny picture of Bryce. I went in to check on him one evening and found him slouching. I'm positive he was laying down earlier. He must be practicing waiting up for Santa.

And this video gives me hope that Sydney and Parker will eventually be friends for longer and longer periods of time. This video is of them performing a Tango they made up and practiced. They had fun and it warmed my heart to see them having fun together.

A word about Carolyn

While we were gone on the cruise, lots of neighbors, family and friends helped care for the children.  What blessed angels they are.  Everyone of them.  I don't know how we could have done it without them.

Our niece, Carolyn, watched the children almost every evening.  She would fix them dinner, spend the night and get them off to school in the morning. That's a big job. She even had to deal with a sick baby one of those nights and I've heard that she wasn't even feeling well one of those days. Anyway, she's a champ.

She also left some big shoes to fill.  The first night we were home, we were informed that there was a special hug after the prayer.  You hold hands with the person next to the person next to you.  Get it?  Then you raise your hands over your heads and behind your backs all at the same time, which forces you all to lean in and hug.  Its fabulous.  We are still doing that hug to this day.

Then the kids all lined up where the carpet meets the linoleum and it was a race to bed. Genius.  Why didn't I think of that. Once they were all in bed, I was instructed to tuck them in, snug as a bug.  I was directed to tuck the covers under their arms and legs so they couldn't move. And it didn't stop there. Then I had to do an earthquake check or something like that where I bounced and jiggled the mattress to make sure that they truly were snug as a bug.

Yes, Carolyn left a legacy in our house, to be sure. The most surprising thing was that in the next few days I started to hear the children chanting something about a llama. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what in the world they were saying.  Finally I asked Sydney and she ripped off this cheer so fast I couldn't understand. Then Camille did the same thing, just a tad bit slower. After teaching me and talking about what a fun cheer it is, we realized that it fit our family quite nicely. 

So Carolyn, this cheer is for you and all you do - You are AWESOME!!!!

Team Goalie

We have now joined the masses of parents who enroll their children in city sports.  Parker played t-ball when he was 5 but that is the only organized sport he’s participated in.  I’ve not been very pro-active because I know it’s a huge time commitment.  But the time has come.  He needs the opportunity to run and be loud and aggressive on the field.  I’ve come to find there’s a correlation between getting the aggression out on the field and his energy level at home.  As far as I’m concerned, it’s a win-win situation.
With that being said, here are some pictures of his first game.  His coach was impressed with his agility and placed him as goalie.  It made him feel special at practice but it sure was a lot of pressure at the game.

I have to say, my proudest moment was at the end of the game (they lost) when Parker was just as thrilled to be playing soccer as he was when he started the game.  He was excited to high-5 the other team and didn’t dwell on losing.  Hopefully, those are the kinds of lessons he will learn from  playing organized sports.

By the way, Bryce seems to have picked up a few skillz, watching Parker's games.  We may have another soccer player in the making.

100 years - things I can do

One evening, I took the kids outside before bed and we tried to do things 100 times, in honor of our 100 year birthday.  We jumped rope, hoola hooped, and jumped the hoola hoop.  We skipped and tossed balls and had a grand old time.  And here's your chance to watch some of the things we can do 100 times!



Our celebrations are almost finished. 

Mother's Day

cute little thing

When did this cute little thing ....

...become this cute little thing?

Images of a ballerina

Sydney's ballet studio performed their spring ballet, Coppelia. She was a flower girl at the wedding in the final act. She did an awesome job. So beautiful and poised.

Well, see for yourself. Isn't she a beautiful ballerina?

p.s. Thank you Tracy and Kim for doing Sydney's bun. I couldn't have done it myself.

Announcing

We are pleased to announce...














... that Parker will not be the only boy in our family anymore, (besides his Dad, of course). But he WILL still have 3 sisters.

And we have come to realize that Camille is in a unique position. She is the middling (see this heartbreaking post) and this makes her quite special. Now she has a big sister and big brother AND a little sister and little brother. Pretty darn cool, if you ask me.

Without further ado, may I introduce the bouncy baby boy in my tummy.

Happy Birthday Sterling

Ster's birthday was this week. I am more and more amazed by this man as time passes. He is a wonderful father, husband and friend.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

For lack of anything new

Nothing new is happening around here. NOTHING! Seriously, I don't even have any cute, random pictures to show off. Except these leftovers from Halloween. A critter invaded our house.

So to save this blog from death by boredom and to keep ALL you readers ("all" in jest) I decided to put together a video that I took on a rainy day, sometime in June. I rather enjoy "rainy days". Sometimes. At least on the days I feel creative. Like the day Sydney and I did THIS. Anyway, this particular day, Ster was working in the basement and we had the neighbor boys over and decided to act out "3 Billy Goats Gruff. The kids did a pretty good job and I wasted way too much time today editing it.

Sydney's birthday

Sydney turned 9 years old on Tuesday!!!

That means we only have one more year in the single digits. I'm a little sad about that. Double digits seems so old, so close to teen-ager-dom. But at the same time, she is growing into such an amazing person, its kind of fun to see who she is becoming.

Tuesday morning, she looked at the lunch menu and proclaimed, this is the perfect birthday lunch! So I met her at the school for lunch and we dined on chicken nuggets, jojo potato wedges and broccoli. Mmmm.

The feast continued that night with her chosen dinner: Pot roast, egg noodles, more broccoli, rolls and Kool-aid. Dessert topped us off with a store-purchased cake and rainbow sherbet.

Somewhere inbetween dinner and dessert, we sat down as a family and came up with

9 Things We Love About Sydney

1. She defends me when people are teasing me. (Parker)

2. She plays with me. (Camille) And she really does, all the time. I love how Sydney and Millie are such great friends.

3. She's easy to talk to. (Dad) Sydney loves to talk, not only talk, but listen. She frequently asks how our day has been or what Dad did at work.

4. When I'm hurt, she helps me. (Camille)

5. She is quick to say "I'm sorry" and give a hug. (Mom) This is one thing I really appreciate about Sydney. With 3 young girls in the house plus a mom, there are a lot of emotions that run high. And Syd is at an age when emotions can come out of nowhere and totally get the best of her and me. We both get blind-sided. But she is always quick to apologize and give me a hug when she knows she's been out of line. I really love that about her.

6. She shares sometimes and sometimes she gives me bubblegum. (Camille)

7. She helps me do my chores faster. (Parker and Camille)

8. She helps in the basement. (Dad)

9. She is a great leader in the family and with neighbor kids. (Mom) Sydney has the gift of leadership. She has the ability to organize and motive her siblings as well as other kids. Its fun to see her take charge in both situations. I'm looking forward to seeing where this skill takes her.

And finally, this is her birthday video.

Yay for Sydney. We really really really love her and are grateful for her spirit and contribution to our eternal family. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Birthday girl

Happy Birthday Rachel!!!

2 years old!!!

To celebrate, we had a nummy dinner and then we gathered around the tele.

and watched Rachel's birthday year-in-review video.

Then Rachel opened her present from Grandma and Grandpa. A baby and stroller. This baby and stroller then had to be no less than finger's reach from her for the rest of the evening. In the next video, you will notice that the stroller had its own chair at the table because leaving it on the floor was too far away, not an option.

Some of my favorite things about this video:

*Rachel blows out the candles at the beginning of the song, then tries to blow them out again at the end.

* Rachel joins in at the end of the cheer.

* Camille plugging her ears during the singing.

* Rachel says two and shows it with her pinky and ring finger.

2 things about RACHEL:

#1. Rachel has always been a cuddler and I love it! Love Love Love IT!

#2. Rachel loves to read books, or "book-ies" as she calls them. She really gets into them. She points and talks and explores every page, over and over again.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY DOLL

ps. I really really really want a new camera. Any suggestions?