Cruel and Unusual Photography

That's what Andrew calls it, but I just think Max the Elf is cute!

Happy "White Bread Rolls" Day!

Some people think Thanksgiving is about turkey or being grateful or some other such nonsense.  My kids have it all figured it.  It's the rolls!  Fluffy white bread with butter: mmm, mmm, mmm!

First Food

Smax is joining the ranks of big kids everywhere.  He's sitting in a high chair and eating food.  His meals was rice cereal mixed with sweet potatoes plus some banana chunks scattered in front of him so he could chase them around instead of trying to steal the spoon.

Jumperoo

Max has finally figured out that you can jump in the jumperoo, and boy does that kid jump!  It's by far his favorite thing to do these days.

It's Snowing!

So of course you should wear a short sleeved princess dress and sandals.  Ask Claire; she'll tell you it's appropriate for all social situations.

Claire ran outside and spun around in the two minutes of very light snowflakes we got today, but she had a great time celebrating the arrival of winter.

Food Friends

Some days I'm amazed at how easy it is to entertain my children.  We picked up our Bountiful Basket this morning, and as usual there were some questions over just what the food was.  Fennel was the mystery object this time.  Owen was so excited about the watermelon, and claimed it as his so I drew his face on it.  Then of course, all the other fruits and veggies wanted to join in.  

Six Months Old

It's hard to believe the Sugar Smax has been around that long!  He's becoming a lot happier as he figures out how to make the world work for him.  New things this month are tripod sitting, two bottom teeth (Oct 29 and 31), reaching and successfully grabbing things including his beloved feet, and gargling.  Yup, I really said gargling.  For some reason, Max loves to make that noise.  He still loves chewing on his hands and rolling whenever you try to put him in one place and he's working hard on crawling motions, but he can only get the back half or the front half moving at one time.

It's Halloween!!

Halloween is always such a busy day.  Between partying, pumpkins and ToT, it's hard to do anything else.

Ella and Owen on their way to school.

Baby in a pumpkin.  Everybody say, "awwww."  He was so not happy to be put in there, but his face is hysterical.  I think this will be a classic that we pull out every Halloween.  He eventually got fascinated and was having a great time checking out his pumpkin and the leaves.

Princess, Dragon and Knight

All five kids on their way to trick or treat.

Sunday: A Day of Rest?

My Sundays have been a whole lot busier since I started working in YW, but also a whole lot more fulfilling. I've been occupied by projects like this lately.

Grown Up Halloween

For the first time in years, I got to go to a Halloween party that wasn't just for littles.  It was a lot of fun seeing everyone in costume.  Andrew and I just stole the big girls' costumes for the night, but now I'm trying to think of good ideas for future years.

Cousins and Shelly

We were so excited to have Shelly and Kevin in town with the twinsies this week.  Bryn was head over heels about these little girls and couldn't believe how much they'd grown up since we last saw them.

Crazy Hair Day

Did you know that it's crazy to do drugs?   Owen and Ella got in on the drug education with their Halloween styled hair.  Owen was a ghost and Ella wore a spider.  These were super quick hairdos, because as usual I had great aspirations and then forgot about crazy hair day until the morning and had to go with what worked in 15 minutes.  Colored hair glue and googly eyes can do wonders.

Claire did not want to be left out of the action and also wanted a spider on her head.  Hers was a teeny little bun with only two legs, but she was happy with it.  Poor bald Max didn't even get a chance to participate.

Halloween Carnival

We went to the 4H Halloween Carnival tonight.  The kids had a great time, and I liked have one more chance to take Halloween pictures and see the kids dressed up. Max was a party pooper and wore his Halloween clothes instead of a costume.

Smudges and Nursery Teachers

Claire got to visit her nursery teacher today.  She had the best time since there was a kitten named Smudges, chickens, raspberries, tomatoes to pick,  and eggs to gather.  She was really confused by the end since the Smudge's mom is named Amy and her mom is Amie.  Then her teacher is Hanna's mom, and her mom is Hanna's teacher.  It's a lot to wrap a three year old head around!

Hairdo

Bryn has hated having her hair done since she was a little tiny thing.  I have to talk her into it even now, and then take pictures to show her the torture was really worthwhile.  I'm guessing teenage-y-ness will take over soon and there will no shortage of time spent on her hair, but it's still a rare thing right now.  (And I am not one to talk since I look exactly the same all the time. Pot: kettle.)

Reach for It

My baby is so dang talented.  He can reach for things and actually get them!  It's probably at least as exciting for me as it is for him because it means he can be entertained all by himself now.  And that means I can get something done.  Score one for Mom; score one for Max!  Actually, score two for Max, since he gets cuteness points while doing it as well.

N, n, n , n , n ,n n nuh....BatBaby!

Something like that.  Smax is pretty cool stuff, rocking the Batman onesie covered in drool.

Grampa and Smax

I love this picture.  That's all.

Silly Face

Owen is trying hard to be the funny man lately.  I think it's working for him.

The Cuteness is Too Much!

Halloween-y!

I love Halloween.  It's my favorite holiday.  There's no pressure and stress, no major meals to prepare.  You just have fun and get candy!  My new plan is to become a Halloween decorating fool, and skip Christmas (though the kids just might object to that one).

Soccer Mom

Today I fit the stereotype, except there was no soccer.  Instead there were three drop off and three pick up times for school, baptisms for Bryn, violin for Ella, wedding brunch for me and the little kids, activity days for Ella, volleyball for Bryn, dance for Ella, and then the regular homework and other things.  Poor Max got fifteen minute catnaps in the car.  It turns out I forgot to feed Owen any lunch.  And then dinner was microwavable frozen foods.  And Claire, well, she was found eating whipped cream off her hands. Oops!

New Toys!

Max found some entertaining new toys, and best of all, they're permanently attached!  He can play with them anytime he wants to.  Turns out that means ALL the time right now.  I guess feet are a pretty exciting discovery when you're a baby.  I love this age and seeing him learn new things all the time.

Great Wide Wonderful World

I love it when my kids are happy.  Big O had a tough day at school and came home a serious grumpy pants.  A hot shower, Wii time, pizza and some time outdoors made him a much happier boy!

And a few more shots of the day: weedy flowers, Claire in the ripped out hostas and the view.  Life is good.

Feels Like Fall

Somehow decorating for the season makes it real.  That makes no sense, but it works and now it feels like fall to me.

Max thinks so, too.

Last Minute Homework

In an attempt to turn Owen into my clone and teach him how to procrastinate until the last minute, I had him do all his homework for the previous week on Sunday night at 8 pm.  That's practically midnight in five year old time.  It's probably bad that I find this method more practical and easier on all of us.  Guess it's time to Mom up and teach proper study habits and obedience to teachers.  (Eyeroll, eyeroll, crabbiness, etc from me.)

In Which I Wax Poetic Over Vacuum Cleaners

Or not, because I like to spare the world from reading too much about it, but I do so love, love, love my new vacuum.  And I don't just love it because I really needed one.  It works and has all these snazzy features, so go watch a Shark infomercial in the middle of the night and buy one!  And if that doesn't convince you, my children are ASKING to please vacuum (even the stairs!)  See, it really is wonderful :-)

King of Kindergarten

Today was my first day volunteering in Owen's Kindergarten class, and he was chosen as King for the day, and the letter of the day was O.  You wouldn't think the day could get any better, but then Nana and Grampa picked him up after school and he got to spend the afternoon at their house.  While there he got to pick giant pumpkins from the garden to bring home.  Then Ella let him wrestle and win.  Practically a perfect day for the big O.

Sugar Smax Vs the Exersaucer

So far the saucer is winning.  Max just stares, then drools, then cries to get out.  Someday......

Five Months Old

How did this happen?  My little baby is trying to grow up.  (*big giant momma sigh*)

Kindergarten Kid

Owen comes home from school with the best kindergarten stories.  There was the bad guy who came into his class and threw pans at his teacher.  O caught the pan, rescued the teacher and chased the bad guy away.  He got paid a dime for this service.  His class also has half time outs.  That's where you put your hand in a box and it magically opens up and sucks you in down a hole.  Then you stay in the bottom of the hole for half an hour.  Half an hour--that's why it's half a time out.  Clearly, we can't quite trust his version of events, so I never know exactly what happened at school. I love the imagination and how interesting he makes things, but I can't wait for volunteer time to start next week so I can get the real scoop on K.

Today was the first treasure box day where they traded in tokens for prizes.  Here's O with his haul, his apple glasses and a pose ("Mom, did you get my elbow in the picture?  Make sure you have my elbow.")

Gee-gee, Softie, Fuzzy and Pinky

It turns out I didn't take any picture today, but Owen did.  Pretty impressive subject, composition and lighting, right?

This is Owen's blanket named Fuzzy.  Owen's name comes from the Kevin Henkes book, and that Owen has a fuzzy yellow blanket he takes everywhere.  Bryn just had to find Owen a yellow blanket when he was born so he could be like the Owen of the book.  It seems to have worked since he does love his Fuzzy.  

The big girls also have their loveys.  Bryn's is a striped fleece blanket my mom gave her as a baby called Gee-gee.  Ella has her Softie which took her at least a year or so to fall in love with it.  Claire has always slept with a soft blanket, but doesn't have a favorite.  She's recently decided it's not fair that everyone else has a named blanket in their lives, so she's taken to calling her blankets Pinky.  It works well for all of them since they all have pink.  "Pinky is really special to me, so I need to hold it," or, "Pinky is really special so don't let Max drool on it."  I wonder if Max will claim a favorite and name it?

Mini Golf

I totally won even though I had a wiggling 17 pound handicap on the first eight holes and a sleeping-so-don't wiggle-too-much handicap on the back eight.  Owen was a little disappointed, but he did beat Bryn.  (Shhh!  Bryn doesn't want that one broadcast to the world.) 

The School Carnival

My kids love these things.  I have to admit it's good cheap entertainment and goes toward a great cause. The popular items of the day were hair dos, candy, bounce houses and pizza.  And Max even behaved, which made all the difference for me.  It's so weird to think that last year I didn't know I was pregnant.