Nathan is 4 Months Old

 Nathan was 4 months old yesterday! And since he is already wearing 9-12 mo. size clothes, sadly, it is really feeling like he is quickly passing the Newborn stage.  His personality is starting to show more now. He studies all new things/people with the same intensity that Jen used to when she was a baby. A 17 pound cutie!!

Blue Beary Pancakes and more...

Last Saturday, Jill and Marcus left early to go work at a March of Dimes fundraiser, so I arrived early (6:30) for breakfast duty. We fixed Isa's favorite: Mickey Mouse blueberry cinnamon pancakes! Yes, I know the pancake in the picture looks like a bear (that's because bears are MY favorite, and it was the only one left for the picture when we were done eating!).  Our family tradition is to cover the pancake with peanut butter and add syrup.  Mmmm, delicious!

Also, I'm pretty sure that every pancake is Cade's favorite.                                                              

                                                                                                                  I also took care of Amelia and Nathan this week. If I'm really quick, I can get a photo of them together but the chance only lasts for one brief second or the opportunity is lost.

 Cade and Isa with Isa's good-buddy, Jenna, at church.                                                      

Easter

Egg decorating has taken on a new dimension as our babies get bigger. Last year it was just Isa and the process was pretty mellow, but now Cade and Amelia have joined the party. After Cade, or was it Amelia, spilled one of the dye cups on the table this year, I reminded Jill of why her Aunt Patrice and I used to decorate eggs out in the yard when we had the 6 of our babies together.

(Ok, I just spent an hour looking for a picture of the outdoor egg-decorating but mostly just ended up with a huge mess dragged out of the closet and NO picture. Organizing those old photos has got to be placed on the Projects list!)

The approach to decorating by the 3 participants was vastly different. Isa stayed with it to the very end and all the eggs were gone. Cade was done after about 3 eggs, and the spill, and decided he would rather go play with Grandpa. Amelia liked the decorating, but thought pulling on the table cloth and making the dye cups and eggs come closer to her was the most fun, or maybe it was because all of the adults would make noise and grab for things. So I guess it was Steve that didn't last very long at the table, since he was the one holding her.

Easter lunch and egg-hunting

Amelia really wanted to pick up 3 eggs at once 

Some Favorite Pics

This is my first new post since I discovered that I needed to update. I didn't know I was using an old version. So here goes with downloading pictures....

Oh, what a difference!!! Adding pictures is so much easier!

Nathan (2.5 mos.), Cade (21 mos.), Isa (4.5 yrs.), Amelia (18 mos.)

Another B'day, Another Cheesecake

WWS (Women With Shoes) celebrated another birthday last night. This time it was Colleen's special day--or should I say "days" since she seems to be having multiple celebrations. We had great fun at Frugatti's with lots of laughter, and more delicious cheesecake. This time it was yummy raspberry (......and peanut butter/chocolate......and triple chocolate). Well, it was only supposed to be raspberry. We were using Lisa's complimentary free dessert coupon that she found in her purse; then the waitress said since it was Colleen's birthday she would get a free dessert. We couldn't waste the free coupon, so we decided to "taste" a peanut butter/chocolate one also. Who knew that the waitress would come and ask how they were, we would give honest reviews that the pb & c one was too dry, and that she would then bring us a triple chocolate cheesecake that was guaranteed to be better! And, yes, it was!!
BTW, just for the record, Colleen claims that she has bought more shoes than she ever has since the time we first all counted our shoes....(Like it's our fault). She was just a little bit smug about having the least when the count was first taken. I wonder if a recount is in order...???
The sign that Colleen is holding:

A Day With the Grandbabies

I love saying yes when my kids ask me to stay with my grandbabies. So, when Marcus called and asked me to stay with Isa and Cade the next day while he went to the dentist, I jumped at the chance. And then Jen called and asked if I could watch Amelia and Nathan. I said, "Yes! I'm sure I can handle the 4 of them now. No problem." Who could say no?

Well, I arrived at Marcus and Jill's the next day, collected my hugs and kisses from Isa and Cade and then Jen arrived with Amelia and Nathan, and I collected more hugs and kisses. GrandbabyBliss! Jen said Nathan was ready to go to sleep so I'm still thinking this will be a breeze. Hmm...the breeze picks up. Sweet little Nathan decides he's not ready to go to sleep and he doesn't want to be put down, and Cade and Amelia start fighting over wanting the same toys. The breeze turns to a slight wind.... Nathan is now serious about wanting to go to sleep but there is too much commotion going on around him (translation...he's crying). How long has it been? Oh, probably a half hour! Hey, I was just glad that Marcus hadn't even left yet! The dentist's office had called and asked him to come an hour later. So, after hunting down and putting on everyone's shoes, Marcus took the 3 older kids outside while I got Nathan to go to sleep. It only took about 5 minutes!

The rest of the morning actually went great. Marcus left and the kids and I played outside with the dogs and on the swings, slide and trampoline until Jen returned. Cade and Amelia are learning to share and Isa is fantastic at keeping everyone busy. And Grandma is ......happy and tired.

Frustrations!!

I'm beginning to think that perhaps I need "posting" lessons. With the last post about my birthday I reached my limit of patience and just deleted most of the pictures. Every time I would add a picture it would enter from the top of the post and wouldn't budge from that spot. There must be some trick that I haven't learned on how to move text and pictures.



Here goes on adding a picture......will it go above or below the text????

Ok, so it entered above the text and I was able to drag it down. But when I had four pictures and wanted to move them up...nothing.

Btw, aren't the trees in our front yard gorgeous!!