The Horn Family

January 27

2012-01-27T14:36:00.000-05:00

When it comes to potty training, Lucy likes the underwear and that's it.

Oh and she wants the underwear on the outside of her clothes, with a diaper on the inside.

We're slowly working our way to potty training.

January 26

2012-01-27T14:32:00.000-05:00

Yes, I still let my kids play with cans of food, after Ben injured his toe.

Really, though I can't keep them out of the food. I warn them lots of times to be careful and watch out for their toes. Lucy lately just likes to organize them. Obviously she doesn't like the way I have it organized- beans on one shelf, veggies on another shelf, fruit on another shelf, breakfast foods on another shelf.....that's not right or something.

They did this for over 45 minutes yesterday.

There were so many giggles and screams of excitement.

January 22

2012-01-27T14:22:00.000-05:00

I am doing a bit of catching up from the week.

First and last time to wear this jumper.

She's a bit leggy!

2 hours of nursery really tires a kid out.

And this poor little guy was just not feeling well on Sunday, but he looked so handsome.

Oh what fun, oh what joys, oh the stories

2012-01-24T21:54:00.000-05:00

So Friday Josey had her 6 month appt with the pediatrician.

Yesterday Ben went to the pediatrician and he has Croup (for real this time,not because of his acid reflux).

Today I received a phone call from Ally's school nurse saying that she had thrown up and was now unresponsive. I loaded the kids in the van, drove to the school, got there and she started having a seizure. The nurse was in there, the principal and her teacher. They were all so great. After her seizure finished, her principal carried her to the van, buckled her in and rode with us to our house, to make sure we got there safely. I met my mom at our house. I offered the principal a ride back to the school, but he said he'd really enjoy the walk back. So I got Lu and Ben dropped off with Grandma and headed to the ER with the girls. (I had called the ped. while I was in the nurse's office). They got us right in. Matt met us there. Ally was def. not her self. So I don't write an entire book about this.....she has a uti, which triggered the fever, which triggered the febrile seizure. She is back to herself now. Her teacher is so awesome. Her principal is so awesome. We are so blessed to have both of them part of Ally's life. The nurses and Dr. were great. It wasn't nearly as awful as when we went to Riley. We were in and out faster. Ally just wanted to get home and was quite grumpy. The girls and I got the other 2 picked up, picked up McDonalds (2nd night in a row, thanks to the dr. last night w/Ben.)

OH and Ben slept w/ us last night since he still had a fever and was trying to break it. Ally had a slight fever last night and was screaming and crying in her sleep for quite awhile. Ben finally broke his fever. Josey was in and out of our bed to nurse. Ben thrashed around and beat on Matt most of the night. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep and we didn't get very good sleep.

So Ally had her principal and teacher quite worried. I'm thankful for them and the love that they show to Ally. Ally loves both of them and adores her teacher. She thinks her principal is hilarious.

January 20

2012-01-21T13:57:00.000-05:00

Today was 100 day in kindergarten. Each kid was given a qt size ziploc and asked to bring in 100 of 1 item and it had to fit in the ziploc. At first we counted m & m's but they started looking gross from being handled. So we switched to plastic beads. She came home with a bag of snacks and was very excited to share with Ben and Lucy.

Such a happy girl.

Miss J had her 6 month appt yesterday.

She is 21.8 lbs and 27 in tall. According to the Dr. she is WAY over the 100th percentile and on her own little (big) chart. He's not worried though because she's hitting her development marks and is obviously growing fine. He's all for her only breastfeeding until she's 1, if that's what Josey chooses to do. Right now she has no interest in food other than if I'm the one providing it. I figure it's cheap, always available and I won't get this time with her again. I love breastfeeding and the bonding time I get with my babies.

These 2 are either best buddies causing major chaos together or extreme enemies waging war on the other.

January 19

2012-01-21T13:44:00.000-05:00

The kids were finally allowed to go out and play in the snow. And this was a pretty light snow that we had gotten, but nonetheless they had fun. They've either been sick or getting over being sick when we've gotten the few other snows. Ally keeps hoping for a HUGE snowstorm, as does Matt. They'd like about 2 feet or more! Those of you that have snow to spare, please send it to central Indiana.

It was quite cold out, so we were only out for about 20 minutes. And poor Josey had to stay inside and she was MAD about that.

Where's Lucy?

Lucy is all about the adventure. Anything that seems like it might possibly be dangerous, she's going to try it.

Isn't my hat/glove tree cute? I love it.

Big sister showing little sister how fun it is to play with food.

I love this girl so much.

So sweet.

Such a fun girl with lots of determination.

January 18

2012-01-21T13:24:00.000-05:00

My sweet Benson boy. He tries really hard to help mommy. He LOVES and adores Josey. Such a sweet boy, loves to cuddle and give hugs and kisses, and his energy seems to get in his way quite a bit. He has so much built up energy he just needs for us to live somewhere warmer, so he can go out and run it off all the time.

January 18

2012-01-18T14:34:00.000-05:00

Josephine is 6 months old today. She is sitting on her own. She is pushing up on all 4's and rocking back and forth. Army crawling wherever she pleases. And she is still only breastfeeding! Oh and last week at the pediatrician she weighed 21 lbs. She'll have her 6 month appt. sometime soon ( I just have to remember to schedule it!)

January 11 and 15

2012-01-18T14:20:00.000-05:00

Yep I still let the kids go around topless in January.

Josey girl

Miss Lucy was TIRED.

Ally was TIRED.

Josey was happy as a clam.

She was still happy after Lucy decided she wanted to wrestle.

Ben was TIRED.

But he was still looking quite sharp.

My newest tv junkie. She is lovin her pink sparkly shoes from Gramma and Papa.

January 10

2012-01-11T14:27:00.000-05:00

Josephine is such a good baby. She can play by herself for about 45min-1 hour before she starts to want some attention. She'll just crawl around the family room exploring every part of it.

Yesterday, cousin Lilly came over to play. Maybe in a few more months there will be more playing on her end, but for now, she gets rolled on and crawled on by Jo.

Josey and Lilly are 3 months and 1 day apart.

Last night as I was trying to find info on how to fix a refrigerator, Josey decided to explore the kitchen floor. Unfortunately I hadn't swept it yet. Don't worry it is now swept and mopped and very clean, that is until the kids eat dinner.

January 8

2012-01-11T14:18:00.000-05:00

She would not hold still long enough for a decent picture.

I love love love these shoes.

Such a happy baby.

Do you see the food in her mouth?

Sharing with daddy.

She's found her toes!

January 6

2012-01-11T14:12:00.000-05:00

Is it really January..in Indiana? You can't tell by the weather, thats for sure. In the last week, we've walked to pick Ally up from school 3 times. I still bundle the kids up with a hat and coat, but then they get hot. It's crazy how we've had April weather in January. We are taking FULL advantage of that and playing outside whenever we can.

Ally LOVES riding her bike.

Lucy has a great time just wandering around, exploring.

I pulled some reeds out of my flower bed and showed Ben how to use them as swords (smart, I know). He got upset when they broke.

Lucy will do the hand on cheek, OH NO!

Do you ever feel...

2012-01-10T21:24:00.000-05:00

like you just can't get ahead? Lately I feel like I am telling Matt about a repair or something that will need replaced. Today was the icing on the cake. The refrigerator is not working...as of this morning. The freezer and refrigerator are not cooling, so we need to order parts for it, and Matt can fix it. All so we can save about $100. Because we have other things that are in need of fixing, its all about saving as much as we can. Matt and I were talking the other day about how we need to save more and Matt said, "so if the refrigerator goes out, we'll have the money to fix it". Next time Matt use a different example, "if the kids need bigger shoes..or something cheaper"...thanks! I will say I am SUPER grateful for coolers, small refrigerators, my deep freeze and AWESOME neighbors that were willing to let me store some things (mainly yogurt) in their refrigerator.

Oh and Josey is all over my kitchen...I guess it's time I sweep and mop the floor for the day. Lately I've taken the attitude that it's just going to get food on it when they eat at the next meal, so why sweep it after every meal. Time to go back to sweeping after every meal.

I am SO grateful for Ally. She is so willing to help and do what's asked. She's great at playing with the kids and reading books and coloring with them. I love listening to Ally. She's so excited about school and everything she does at school. She wants so much to make mommy and daddy proud. And boy are we proud of our Ally. She's beautiful, talented, loving, charitable, compassionate, a friend to everyone and a great sister.

January 6

2012-01-06T14:43:00.000-05:00

Fun, loving, energetic little guy. Every morning (for the most part) he wants Cocoa Krispies. Lunch is a PB&J.

If I ask Ally what she wants to do, color is almost always her response. If you ask Lucy what she wants to do, color with Ally is her response.

When Lucy woke up from her nap today, the first thing she asked was "Where Ally?" She was quite bummed to say the least that Ally was STILL at school.

Love this girl! She is so fun to cuddle and kiss on.

January 5

2012-01-06T14:36:00.000-05:00

Yesterday the weather was great...well for January in Indiana it was great. The high yesterday was 49. As soon as Ally got home from school, I got our homemade pizza in the oven, so we could play outside after we ate. The kids ate all their dinner and we ran off lots of energy. Miss Jo enjoyed being outside in the comfort of the high chair. This way, if and when there was a breeze, she wasn't feeling it.

Ally swang the entire time we were outside. She LOVES swings.

In true 19 month old style, she ran from one thing to the next.

Finally gave me a smile.

He is really enjoying the swings as well.

There was even time for playing in the sandbox.

Baby giggles and snorts are the best sounds.

We came inside and thought painting would be fun.

But first the girls wanted to color with crayons and Ben wanted to decorate himself with stickers.

Aunt Kim, Uncle Phil and Pete got Ben a Curious George water color book. I LOVE this book. Our library gives the kids these during the summer, so they knew what to do.

5 ear infections and 4 kids

2012-01-04T15:12:00.000-05:00

The kids all had nasty looking noses. And by nasty I mean they were all red and scaby. Come to find out they all had an infection on their nose, as well as ear infections. Ben was the only one with a double ear infection. I really think my kids try to get sick just so they can get a sucker. Thank goodness for FABULOUS insurance.

January 2

2012-01-04T15:08:00.001-05:00

We headed back up north on Dec. 31 in the morning. We had a good day and I think this is the first year I purposely stayed awake until midnight. Well this year it ended up being later than I planned because Lucy ended up waking up. New Years Day we celebrated Christmas with Grandma Lich and Aunt Kate. I am so hit and miss with pictures lately. Unfortunately this was a miss for my camera. The kids had fun. They got some fun dolls, jewelry, pjs, cars and a Zoo Membership.
Aunt Kate had made a bunch of scarves and let us each pick 1. Ally, Matt and I love our scarves.

These are the cute hats that Aunt Kim made for the girls.

On our way home...she did have 2 dolls, but I think Ally ended up babysitting 1 of them.

Does she look tired? Surprisingly she made it home without falling asleep.

December 29

2012-01-04T15:01:00.000-05:00

Lucy got a purse from Grandma and Papa and loves wearing it around the house.

She sported a mohawk one day.

This little fish is Choo Choo.

And this is Princess.

I let the kids finger paint.

Josey hung out in the family room.

While they were painting I walked a few steps into the family room to take some pictures of Josey.

I walked back into the kitchen, just a few steps from the family room and found them like this.

The next night I let them paint with the same paints in the shower. Much easier to clean up.

December 28

2012-01-04T14:34:00.000-05:00

December 25- Christmas at Grandma Julie's

2012-01-04T14:26:00.000-05:00

This year we started with a white elephant. I thought it was fun.

Something else we changed this year was that we drew names. I really enjoyed this part.

For a short moment Tiffney thought she got some breast pads. This was part of the white elephant (there was a different present in there).

Lucy likes babies, but not so sure about sharing Grandma with them.

Tara got a santa in the white elephant.

I had Tara's name. She got a volleyball, among other things.

We got grandma a fisher price town.

Tara and Jeff got the kids a playhouse that you color.

My visiting teacher made me a special towel for your wet hair. I thought my sisters would like it, so I shared the idea with my mom and she ended up making them each one.

FYI: if you sit across from me when I have a camera, you'll end up getting your picture taken...A LOT.

Grandma got Matt a waffle maker.

The kids got books..lots of them.

Matt got Tahnee and Max a lantern, cooler and sleeping bags.

Grandma got Ben a laser gun.

We finished the day off by talking to Travis on skype. Matt set it up so we could do it on our tv. Isn't technology awesome.

Church

2012-01-04T14:04:00.000-05:00

A lady Matt works with gave Ally this dress. I thought it was super cute.

Josephine can crawl across the floor, but can't sit up. Go figure!

Merry Christmas!

So I am SUPER excited that I can finally get Lucy's hair into pigtails.

Church ended up going like 40 minutes over. Lucy fell asleep on Matt's lap. Josey fell asleep 2 different times.

December 25- Horn house

2012-01-04T13:55:00.000-05:00

Ready to open presents.

Santa brought duplos and built things with them.

He also brought some books and movies.

Ally got a game from mom and dad.

Lucy got a doll with a backpack on wheels.

She would not let go of the apple that Santa left in her stocking.

Josey woke up an hour or so after we opened presents.

December 24

2012-01-04T13:47:00.000-05:00

We did Christmas with Grandma Angie and Grandpa Mike on the night of the 23rd. Woke up and did Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Horn, Kim, Phil and Pete on the 24th. Ben was SOOO excited about presents. He'd open one up, check it out and say "more presents". He loves opening presents. Lucy wasn't quite sure what to think about the whole thing.

Aunt Kim made the 3 girls Hello Kitty hats. They turned out really cute.

Ben got McQueen and Mator Geo Trax Cars for his track.

Daddy got a Roku. Mommy got an IPOD touch.

Lucy got a magna doodle.

She stopped to take a pretend phone call.

Lucy got these adorable pink, sparkly shoes.

Making fun music.

Cousin Pete

Construction worker Ben

After we ate lunch, we headed back home. The kids played for a bit, we ate some dinner, read the Christmas story, set out carrots for the reindeer, cookies for Santa and made sure the house was mildly picked up. Then the 3 older kids went to bed. Jo stayed up with Mommy and Daddy. Mommy got things picked up around the house and daddy built Ben a COOL train track (that mommy forgot to take a picture of). Jo played on the kitchen floor for a bit and found Ally's slipper and spit up on it.

December 23

2012-01-04T12:55:00.000-05:00

So she was obviously tired.

And put herself down for a nap..at the bottom of the stairs.

Mr. Stinker woke her up.

But it was just enough to make her happy again.

So the plan was..Matt was going to work until 12 and come home and we'd drive to Gramma's and Papa's house and the kids would take naps in the car. Since Miss Lucy took a short nap, Ally fell asleep watching tv and Ben was in need of a nap, I had them all sleep in their beds for naps before we left.

When my kids really open their eyes for pictures...they are AMAZING. I love their eyes.

On our way to Grandma Angie's and Grandpa Mike's.

December 21

2012-01-04T11:41:00.000-05:00

Ally had her Christmas party at school. So I had her pick out a Christmas dress (she had 4 to choose from).

December 20

2012-01-04T11:38:00.000-05:00

Choo Choo and Princess

2011-12-27T22:28:00.000-05:00

Well...we have fish! The 3 kids love them. Ally's fish LOVES to eat and is a very active swimmer. Ben's fish is so lazy...we keep thinking he's dead. He likes to hide under a rock for long periods of time and doesn't eat nearly as much as Princess. Princess will swim to the glass and try to interact with you. Choo Choo hides from you if you are looking at him. We'll see if they both live much longer.

How do you know if a fish is sleeping? Just wondering...

2 new additions...

2011-12-26T21:49:00.000-05:00

We have 2 new additions to our family...their names are Choo Choo and Princess. 1st- Can you guess who named them? 2nd- What are the new additions?

December 19

2011-12-19T12:37:00.000-05:00

This little girl is a ball of crazy. Right now she's going through a mean streak (probably because she sees Ben play so rough everyday). Right here though she's being super sweet. Todays been a good day for her.

Ben's development therapist is letting us borrow this fun trampoline. Ben has found other things to do on it.

Ally is picking up reading really well, but it seems that math is going to be her strong subject. This morning she informed me that she loves math and thinks its so fun. Obviously she's gotten that from Matt, seeing as how I have always detested that subject.

December 17

2011-12-17T15:18:00.001-05:00

Ally told Santa she wants a fish. (check)

Ben wants a choo choo. (check)

Lucy wants NOTHING to do with the guy.

quick shot of the kids

They had a bounce house, crafts, cookie decorating, games and hot chocolate. All FREE. All fun. The kids had a great time. Radio Disney was there.

Ben is slowly warming up to the bounce house thing. He went in with Matt and was fine until they got to the slide.

Ally did it 3 times.

Josey ate a stroller strap and Lucy just watched everything going on.

December 15

2011-12-17T15:10:00.000-05:00

Slowly but surely this girl will have enough hair for me to do a decent ponytail.

Ally is a great big sister. She has lots of fun making Josey smile.

Matt and I had gone upstairs to put the older 3 kids to bed and when we came back down, we found Josey like this. She had gotten ahold of an ornament that Ally had colored with marker, so it made a fun mess on Josey.

December 14

2011-12-17T14:52:00.000-05:00

Lucy also likes to entertain Josey. She prefers showing her dolls and taking them away from her.

She also likes to read to her dolls.

December 13

2011-12-17T14:48:00.000-05:00

Ben LOVES LOVES LOVES Josey. Aside from kissing her all day he likes to read books to her and show her pictures.

Look at that chub. LOVE HER.

December 11

2011-12-12T11:42:00.000-05:00

Last night before bed the kids wanted a snack. So I opened up the lemon buddies for us to snack on. Lucy reached over to try to help herself to some and dumped the bowl all over the both of us. Luckily it wasn't too messy to clean up, I just hadn't planned on mopping the floor last night. She was upset about the situation after it happened, but once she realized there were pieces on the floor she went to town.

December 9

2011-12-12T11:38:00.000-05:00

Ally's teacher was taking everyone's picture next to the Christmas tree, so we made sure Ally was looking nice. I gave her the option of 3 dresses and she chose this one.

The joys of being a mom

2011-12-09T14:02:00.000-05:00

This morning after dropping Ally off at school, the kids and I were going to do a bit of couponing at the local grocery store (they are doing triple coupons right now). We were literally 1 minute from the store (the gps told me so) and Ben said "mommy I spit up"..."just a minute Ben we're almost there"..."uh maa...blahhhh (he threw up)". So I pulled over...not even in the grocery store parking lot...changed his clothes and had him sit in Ally's booster seat...and home we returned. And since taking apart, washing and putting back together a car seat is SO much fun I thought I'd do all 4. And then rearranged the carseats. Cleaned all 4 bathrooms. Folded 2 loads of laundry. Swept the kitchen floor. Mopped the kitchen floor. Unloaded the clean dishes from the dishwasher. Fed the kids lunch (although I was having serious concerns about giving Ben food). Naps for 3 kids. Cleaned up the van a bit. And I have been contemplating the life of a baby and how to make them stop progressing for a bit longer. Josey is seriously moving around way too much. She army crawls across the floor and I want her to stop growing..well for at least a few more months. I want my immobile baby back. My days are flying by too fast and I can't find enough time in the day to enjoy all of them. I am just incredibly thankful that I have the opportunity to stay home with my kids and watch all of their milestones..even if they are flying by in the blink of an eye. Ally is reading and doing math and loving school. Ben is a jabber box and will talk your ear off if you give him the time. Lucy loves playing mommy, coloring, following Ally around the house, trying to boss Ben around, sitting on Josey and poking her in the eye and helping mommy. My kids are growing up too fast and I want time to slow down. But at the same time the faster time goes, the sooner I get to be reunited with Sette. And man do I miss that girl. She and Lucy would be great buddies. She'd be starting kindergarten next fall. She'd be my helper. I miss all her many facial expressions she could give you. She was such a fun little girl and could so easily make me smile. She had this love for Matt and everyday couldn't wait for him to come home. We'd stand at our bay window and watch for him and sing "daddys homecoming". Oh well...enough writing I guess. I need to get back to "life".

December 8

2011-12-08T19:33:00.000-05:00

Don't worry...he's still quite manly.

dolls and trains have been the big thing here lately.

My little guys slice of heaven right here. He's going to love Christmas!

December 7

2011-12-08T19:29:00.000-05:00

Josey got her first taste of food last night. She had peas and did really well eating them. Lucy loved them as well..YUCK. Lucy finished the rest of Josey's peas today at lunch.

December 6

2011-12-08T19:16:00.001-05:00

December 4

2011-12-08T19:14:00.002-05:00

December 3

2011-12-08T19:10:00.000-05:00

Ally is improving greatly at riding her bike without training wheels.

Ben is all about the rough play, playing outside, throwing balls, swinging bats...being outside.

Lucy is experimenting with different tastes...following big sister around and poking little sister...so in general she's just doing her job as middle sister!

Josey is very patient with pokes from Lucy...very patient with kisses from Ben...and tolerable with Ally when she wants to hold her.

December 1

2011-12-01T14:02:00.000-05:00

Matt participated in "No shave November". He and a co-worker decided to start December off with mutton chops. Don't worry it's a today only thing (thank goodness).

While watching Ally walk to the neighbors house this morning, this is what my 2 partners in crime did. Unfortunately this happens all the time at my house, I just don't normally think to take a picture of their destruction.

OH Miss Lucy turned 18 months on Sunday (yeah officially nursery age).

She had her 18 month well check on Tuesday and is in the 100% for height (36 inches) and is in the 96 % for weight (29 lbs).

November 30

2011-12-01T13:56:00.002-05:00

Matt got me a breadmaker for our 7 year anniversary (Nov 27).

I've made 2 loaves so far and really enjoy it. I haven't gotten daring with it, so I've only made a traditional white bread.

November 28

2011-12-01T13:54:00.002-05:00

November 27

2011-12-01T13:51:00.000-05:00

My mom got us a donut maker for our anniversary. She knows how much we like donuts. So this was our dinner. It made 31 donuts and they were yummy.

Ben's had nutella and sprinkles on it.

Ally tried frosting on hers with sprinkles.

I thought they were good dipped in strawberry yogurt.

November 21

2011-12-01T13:44:00.000-05:00

November 20

2011-12-01T13:36:00.002-05:00

November 19

2011-12-01T13:33:00.000-05:00

Lucy FINALLY has just enough hair to make a little ponytail. And little is very understated. It was quite hard to get enough hair in the same spot, but I DID IT.

And she pulled it out.

Then she found a long lost friend that she had fun entertaining.

We hosted a baby shower at our house for my sister.

Here is my sister Tara holding my cute niece Lilly (her mommy is opening that yellow gift).

Sharing food with Aunt Tara.

November 18

2011-11-18T17:14:00.000-05:00

Today was Indian Day for the kindergartners. Ally LOVED it.

She had so much fun.

Miss L is teething: 4 molars, 1 eye tooth

Miss J is 4 months today. She is 17.9lbs and in the 100% for weight.

Josephine did great for her shots. Hardly cried. B & L did great during the appointment. I had several conversations with Mr. B about J getting shots and how she would cry, but it was going to be okay. Last time, he kinda freaked and almost attacked the nurse (very protective of his sister). He did great and was okay with the shots.

November 18

2011-11-18T16:54:00.000-05:00

Watch out people, I'm a rollin'.

During dinner the other night, the kids were really silly.

Especially Lucy.

Matt wasn't home for dinner that night, so we had a bunch of stuff that normally wouldn't go together. Pizza rolls, marshmallows, pineapple, chips, carrots and applesauce.

November 13-the rest of us

2011-11-18T16:43:00.000-05:00

Miss Lucy is such a determined little girl. If she doesn't want to do something, there is NO talking her into it.

November 13

2011-11-18T16:30:00.000-05:00

If you were wondering where Matt was on Sunday...he was watching the Colts play. He and Trent were 9 rows up and had really good seats.

November 12

2011-11-18T16:24:00.002-05:00

November 10

2011-11-18T16:22:00.000-05:00

This might have turned out a bit better had Lucy had on clothes and Ally looking at the camera.

November 9

2011-11-18T16:19:00.000-05:00

Can you see the storm moving in? I could tell it was going to storm, but it was nice out and they were saying that the next few days were going to be wet, so outside we went. It was insanely windy, so we didn't stay out too long, but long enough to get lots of wiggles out.

A fun day

2011-11-11T22:53:00.000-05:00

Mr. Ben and I ate lunch with Ms. Ally today. Ben loved it. He was too cute. When we were signing in, the principal came over and talked to Ben. He got down on Ben's level and Ben stuck out his hand and said "nice to meet you". It was THE. CUTEST. THING. EVER. I don't know where he learned that, but boy am I proud. He was very well behaved.
After lunch, B and I came home. He and Lucy went down for a nap. I got Ms. J fed, so she'd be able to make it 3 hours w/o me. I headed back to the school and helped in Ally's class. Ally was beaming the entire time. I was excited to be there and able to help where they needed me. I was telling Matt that I can see myself doing something like that later on when the kids are all in school, but I could NEVER be a teacher. One of the things A's teacher had me do was put papers in the kids folders to take home. She warned me that some of the folders "Important Folder" had never been emptied from the parents. SAD SAD SAD is how I felt. How awful for those kids. How does that make that child feel. How inconsiderate. It just tears at my heart to see that or to hear kids say that they don't have a hat/mittens or a coat w/ a hat. If I was a teacher, I don't know that I'd end up taking much money home, I'd want to help those kids that "don't have". The little girls that look like they haven't had their hair brushed in quite awhile. My day was fun. I am so proud of Ally and the great girl she is. She loves learning, great at listening to her teacher, a friend to everyone, wears her heart on her sleeve, deep desire to be obedient, loves her siblings and has an incredible relationship with each of them. Love you Ally.

November 7

2011-11-07T12:45:00.000-05:00

Our morning routine: wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast, finish up homework if we didn't finish it the night before, read the scriptures, read a chapter from a chapter book (right now we are reading Charlottes Web, we've already read Heidi and Pollyanna), brush our teeth, get our shoes on, watch Curious George, put coats on and jump in the van. The kids seem to do well with the schedule. And if they are ready really early, I'll let them watch Martha Speaks before Curious George comes on. Lucy is starting to get a hang of tv.

November 6

2011-11-07T12:41:00.000-05:00

I think her legs are growing faster than the rest of her. She's growing out of pants due to length. Thank goodness for adjustable waist.

Miss Lucy is now going through that awkward smile phase.

My 2 adorable partners in crime.

Luckily she can't reach the doorknobs yet.

Ben starts to feel left out when it comes to brushing his hair.

Miss J is so loveable, cuddly, particular and great. She LOVES to be held. I told myself that if she's the last one, then I will treat her as so. So when she cries, she gets picked up. If she wants something, she gets it. VERY SPOILED.

BIG

2011-11-04T14:15:00.001-04:00

I did a major update. Enjoy the pictures. I didn't write much, but you can at least see what we've been up to.

October 31

2011-11-04T14:14:00.000-04:00

We went as lumberjacks and Josey was our chainsaw.

Lucy didn't know quite what to think about the paint on everyones faces.

Ready to trick or treat.

Miss Lucy wore a headband with a flower, so you could see that she was a girl. The guy across the street still thought she was a boy. Really? She looks so feminine.

We got the other kids to bed and then Matt and Ally got busy with Ally's homework. She had to come up with ways to sort her candy. She had to count it and had to find the candy she had the most of. Fun assignment.

In the future, I'm not sure we'll do face paint. We were getting ready to ring a door bell when a man was leaving his house. He had a cream colored sweater, 2 polos and a pair of pants. Well Ben touched his sweater as he was walking past him and Matt and I both noticed that Ben got some brown face paint on the mans sweater. OOoops.

October 30

2011-11-04T14:04:00.000-04:00

Miss Cinderella

Ally had the primary program on Sunday and did a great job.

October 29

2011-11-04T13:55:00.000-04:00

October 27

2011-11-04T13:50:00.000-04:00

When Lucy wants a bite she opens her mouth wide and says "ahhhhh".

October 26

2011-11-04T13:48:00.002-04:00

October 25

2011-11-04T13:45:00.000-04:00

October 24

2011-11-04T13:42:00.000-04:00

October 21

2011-11-04T13:40:00.002-04:00

October 20

2011-11-04T13:32:00.000-04:00

October 18

2011-11-04T13:25:00.000-04:00

Hey guys, I'm 3 months old today.

Lucy thinks everything is a phone, even the baby monitor.

October 15

2011-11-04T13:22:00.000-04:00

October 13

2011-11-04T13:21:00.000-04:00

I know

2011-10-30T08:33:00.000-04:00

I haven't updated the blog in quite awhile. I have been quite busy with 4 crazy kids. After Ally goes to school Lucy and Ben go from room to room destroying and I follow behind picking up the pieces. Makes for a fun day, really. Yesterday was out of normal for us. Matt took the 3 older kids to the zoo, I stayed home with Josey and cleaned the house. I had 2 1/2 hours of quiet time and I chose to clean the house, and boy did it need it. Ben's therapist came over for speech, Ally and I went out to the orchard to pick up some yumminess, and then someone came out to check our tv (we've been having a few minor problems). Lucy was up last night, I think she's teething. The kids have had diarreah and coughs. I tell ya, loads of fun at the house right now.

There's my update.

October 11

2011-10-13T13:33:00.000-04:00

My little bookworm. She is loving that there is now a table to read her books at.

According to my kids...this is what daddys are for.

They are here for you to use as trampolines and to jump off of.

Crash into, jump on, and fall on.

And he's a good daddy because he lets them. And he enjoys it just as much as they do because he knows that he will miss these times in 10 years from now.

October 11

2011-10-13T13:14:00.000-04:00

This is how I spent naptime the other day. Ally and messed up the train tracks and so I promised Ben if he took a good nap I would fix it. I had to keep that promise, even though I REALLY wanted a nap.

yep, even mommy has fun with the trains.

October 9

2011-10-13T13:09:00.000-04:00

This little girl has been the biggest stinker lately. She is the sweetest little girl all day and then come the middle of the night she is out of control. Well, the problem is that she just won't sleep or doesn't want to or that I just don't know what her problem is. I thought her problem was teething, but motrin doesn't seem to help. We've tried playing music and having a fan on and that didn't do anything. We've tried letting her scream it out and that didn't do anything. I think she might be trying to show her independence. I just wish she'd pick a different time to do this. Mommy and daddy are tired and exhausted. Our new plan (because we try something new every few days) is to lower the crib in the nursery and have sleep in there. Raise the crib in Ally's room and have Josie sleep in there (since Josie sleeps better than Lucy). If this doesn't work it's on to plan 146. Looking at the bright side: she has EVERYONE (except mom and dad) fooled into thinking that she's a sweet, quiet little girl. At some point I'm expecting a knock at the door about a screaming child. I have gone out to my mailbox during naptime and you can hear her screaming. Which only means that if the neighbors have their windows open at nightime they should be able to hear Miss Lucy screaming, since its quieter when it's dark.

Remember: I will miss this at some point. Sleep is only something I think I need, like chocolate!

October 7

2011-10-13T13:00:00.000-04:00

Ben has grown so much since Ally started school. He is talking A LOT more and is more independent. He is my helper and my little buddy.

Oct 6

2011-10-07T14:18:00.000-04:00

She's feeling a bit better. Her throat still hurts, she's still whiny and tires easily.

This little girl goes through burp rags and towels like she goes through my milk. I can't keep up with the cleaning of the towels or the feeding of the baby.

Hi Bruiser! This is what happens when you play with your brother or maybe just Ben.

I need to preface this: her butt is not really that big. She has on a cloth diaper that makes her butt look HUGE. Her belly though, it really is that big.

In Lucy's world, if you are going to read books you have to take down at least 20 books and spread them across the floor.

October 5

2011-10-07T14:08:00.000-04:00

I love when they start grabbing onto everything that their little hands touch. Even if it's mommies hair or nose!

October 4

2011-10-07T13:56:00.001-04:00

Lesson learned: When trying to get all 3 kids to look at the camera, don't say where's mommy's head?

If he knew that she spit up while he was holding her, he would have been very upset.

Lucy likes to play with Josies things every so often.

Ally came home from school on Wednesday and was just so tired and everything kept upsetting her. She ended up taking a short nap, eating a pb & j and going to bed. She went to bed with a fever and the fever hung on till mid morning on Thursday. She tested negative for strep but has all the symptoms, so she is on an anibiotic and it seems to be working.

Miss Lucy saw the opportunity to read to her little sister. Josie sat and listened. Lucy would even grab her hand and point to things. So cute!

October 2

2011-10-03T13:56:00.000-04:00

There once was a dancing princess who liked to dance for a train conductor.

In this magical world there were dancing princesses and pantless train conductors.

The dancing princess dreams of dancing through life wearing the most beautiful of clothes, rainbows, pink everything and friends galore. The train conductor eats, breathes and sleeps trains. Whenever he gets to cross a train crossing, he gets excited. Whenever the vehicle he is traveling in has to stop for a train, he drools. If only everyday could be filled with dancing princesses and pantless train conductors. What a world that would be. Ben is incredibly serious about his trains. And Ally is serious about her princess/dancing. These 2 are so fun together.

October 1

2011-10-03T13:44:00.000-04:00

September 29

2011-09-30T14:45:00.000-04:00

My girly girl. Loves her dress shoes and looking pretty. Loves attention and wearing headbands with big pretty flowers/bows. Loves to be told how cute she looks. Must be a girl! Although this outfit doesn't scream cute, she was feeling it with those shoes on.

Look Mom, no hands!

Tricks on the swing.

Ally and her friend were making a bird nest in the bucket and left it unattended long enough for Ben to come by, stir it and dump part of it out.

Matt is now home from Boston (well as of last night). I am POOPED. The kiddos have yucky noses, nasty coughs, no fever and are part grumps.

September 28

2011-09-30T14:27:00.000-04:00

So cute in her leg warmers.

Getting all clean after getting all dirty outside.

Loving the coloring thing.

Sooo excited to have someone to color with now.

September 27

2011-09-30T13:18:00.000-04:00

Partners in crime.

The above picture makes it appear that Josey has a big head...really she doesn't. Her head measures in the 31%. Little head, big body. She's long, long and has some cute little rolls. Did I say she was long? She has now grown 5 inches in the 2 months since she was born.

September 21

2011-09-30T13:12:00.000-04:00

My beautiful girls.

Love her smile and laugh. It's too cute.

She is turning into such a girl. Purses, dolls that need blankets, and coloring for extended amounts of time.

September 18

2011-09-30T09:22:00.000-04:00

After church we drove up to St. Joseph, Michigan and had a picnic lunch, played on the beach and took a walk along the canal.

He still very much enjoys chasing the seagulls. Even had fun trying to do surprise attacks by crawling after them.

Cute picture!

It's a bird!

WARNING!! If Lucy sees you laying down, she WILL climb on you. You laying on the ground tells her it is time for her to jump/climb on you.

Watching the boats come and go.

On our way back to grandpa and grandmas house. They are zoning on tv, but you see everyones faces.

September 17

2011-09-30T09:05:00.000-04:00

On our way to Fort Wayne for the Johnny Appleseed Festival. It was fun, but way too crowded for me.

Busy BUSY

2011-09-23T14:55:00.000-04:00

Matt left for Las Vegas on Monday afternoon. He gets home this afternoon. The kids are excited to have him home. So far their plans for Matt include wrestling and making brownies...I'm sure the list will get longer. I was quite productive this week and it feels great. The down side to Matt being gone all week is that I had to do all of the evening clean up by myself. Which would normally be no big deal, but when Josie wants to eat or be held, it takes even longer. So most of my nights were late ones, that included 2/3/4 am wake ups from Lucy or Ben or both. Ally and Josie slept through the night the whole week (totally normal for them). Last night I was up till 12:30 updating baby books (I'd been putting it off for quite a while). Ben woke up bright eyed, bushy tailed and as energized as the energizer bunny at 5:30 this morning. I am pooped! Oh and I have dealt with more than enough poop this week. It's been one of those yucky weeks at our house. So I have pictures I need to upload, but since I was busy trying to be productive, I decided updating the blog was not included in my productive list. Hope you all have a great weekend, I know we're looking forward to ours.

Oh Ramona

2011-09-14T18:33:00.000-04:00

Often times I feel like Ally is trying to imitate Ramona Quimby. Her imagination is often times like that of Ramona's. Today she tried to dress like a "fireman". She wore her pj bottoms under her capris. Didn't notice this until she got to school. What a silly girl. Before she leaves for school I often times check to make sure her shirt and shorts are not on backwards. I guess now I need to make sure she's changed out of her pjs.

Exhausted and cranky

2011-09-12T12:49:00.000-04:00

For those of you that have noticed, I think 3 of the 4 kids are trying to make mommy and daddy crazy. The kids will be fine all Sunday morning. We get them fed, dressed and to church, then once Sacrament Meeting starts, they go crazy. We have never had to take them out this much, EVER. They are totally ganging up on us. Yesterday Ben was VERY tired and took a nap during Sacrament meeting. When he woke up he was crankier than ever. Lucy refused to take a nap, so she was cranky. Josey prefers to be held, rather than layed down when we aren't home, so after Matt said "lets go home" during sunday school, I didn't give it a second thought and said "ok". Ally rode home with Grandma, so at least she was able to get something out of church. Maybe once Lucy goes into nursery, church might be a bit easier, MIGHT. And maybe if we can get them to take naps before church instead of wrestling with them during church to take a nap.

Way to go Jo

2011-09-12T12:42:00.000-04:00

Baby Josey slept for 8 hours straight last night. I woke up at 6 and was sore and needing to feed her, but wanted to let her sleep. Finally an hour later, she woke up, ate (relieved mommy), and slept for 3 more hours. She has only been completely awake for an hour so far today. I think she's going through a growth spurt.

September 10

2011-09-10T23:33:00.000-04:00

I was trying to get a good picture of Ally and thought, what the heck why not all of them. I am NUTS!

Ally is still going through the phase of trying to figure out how to smile without looking like a goofball.

This was what I got when we tried to sit Lucy down.

Much better on her own.

Finally I threw in the towel and we headed home. Maybe I should pay someone to take pictures of these crazy, active kids.

September 9

2011-09-10T23:22:00.000-04:00

Just for comparison: big baby vs. big baby

Josey is quickly catching up to Lucy.

I love Lucy's eyes.

He wanted to show me his ouchie. Do you see it under/next to his pointer finger?

While waiting for Ally to get home, we played outside and enjoyed the nice weather.

September 8

2011-09-10T23:13:00.002-04:00

Snack before bed. Since we eat breakfast at 7am, lunch at 11am and dinner between 4:30-5pm, we have to have a snack at 6:30pm.

September 7

2011-09-10T23:10:00.000-04:00

Lucy is starting to get into the whole "dress up" phase. So fun. She loves headbands, purses, tiaras, shoes, and of course clothes. Such a fun time with her right now.

I'm starting to think that Ben is just going to be smitten with Josey for life. He is quite gentle with her and loves to lay next to her and talk to her. Today while laying next to her and touching her face he said "oh love you baby Jo". It was so sweet. Look at the smile on her face. She is starting to enjoy when Ben comes and lays next to her. The tiara is Lucy trying to share with Josey.

While taking this picture, you could hear me say "gentle, gentle, be soft, DON'T SIT on her".

September 4- Josey's blessing

2011-09-08T12:11:00.000-04:00

Trying to get 3 little kids to look at the camera, proves to be quite hard. Let alone looking at the camera with a decent look on their face.

September 5

2011-09-07T13:11:00.002-04:00

September 4

2011-09-07T13:10:00.002-04:00

September 2

2011-09-07T13:08:00.002-04:00

August 31

2011-09-07T13:07:00.000-04:00

She fell asleep helping Ally with her homework.

Enjoying a hot day outside.

Look at those cute buns.