June 20-26, 2010: Running Here, There and Everywhere

Happy Father's Day!!! The boys worked very hard on their Father's Day gifts this year. As part of Fun Friday last week, we made bracelets and talked about patterns and letters. Jaden wanted to make one for Daddy and Xander suggested for Father's Day. So they each made one for him and gave him a card to go with it.


This was a melt-my-heart moment so I had to take a picture and tell the story. It had been a rough morning with Jacque and I was trying to get everything ready for swim lessons. Jacque cried every time I tried to put her down. So Xander offered to hold her while I got in the shower. She was screaming when I left the room and when I came back, this is what I saw: Jacque sound asleep and a beaming proud brother!


It was a crazy week of swim lessons and baseball games and the first week with a new baby that I had so much scheduled. By Wednesday, I was already worn out so I declared it to be pajama day and we all stayed in our pajamas for the entire morning.


Since Jaden had such a hard time at swim lessons this week, Heidi kindly invited the boys over to swim in their pool. It turned out to be a great thing for Jaden because no one was making him put his face in the water so he had a great time!


Then all of the boys tried on the goggles that they had there and decided that this was something they needed to have. I love Rohan here in adult-sized goggles. He looks like such a serious swimmer!


Another shot of Rohan batting at his T-ball game. But the difference in this one is the fact that this was the first time that he hit the ball that the coach pitched to him instead of hitting off the T. Yeah Rohan!!!


We have such awesome friends and had several people offer a swing for us to borrow. It took a few weeks but Jacque has finally gotten used to it and it gives me those much needed breaks during the day. She has a funny look on her face because even though she is asleep, she doesn't like the camera flash.


This is one of my favorite dresses that was given to Jacque by her Aunt Katie. So I couldn't resist taking pictures! And then, I was able to capture one of her first smiles! So cute!!!

I Don't Want to Put My Face in the Water!

This was the first week of swim lessons. It was Jaden's first time in lessons and he was so excited that he had been talking about it for weeks. All three boys were in different classes so we were there every day for two hours. Xander went first, then Rohan, then Jaden. And unfortunately, there were a lot of kids in Jaden's class that were terrified of the water.


During free time between lessons, Jaden sat on the steps watching his brothers swim, he played basketball, and he held his own during the first half of the first lesson. Then he started to look around at the other kids and started to lose it. By the end of that first day, he was in full panic mode about putting his face in the water.


By Thursday, I talked to Terry, the teacher, and decided to trust the process. She also spent a great deal of time with him that day building his trust during free time and his lesson. So we will see what next week brings.


Rohan has always been fearless when it comes to swimming. In fact, I remember putting him in swimming lessons when he was 2 because I couldn't keep him out of the water. He kept jumping in while we were there for Xander's lesson. Here he is kicking across the pool with a kickboard.


There are two favorite things to do in Terry's yard when you are waiting for your lesson. One is the trampoline, which tends to be very hot to the touch. The other is the famous tetherball pole, which happens to be the inspiration for the one that Budge installed in our backyard.


This year, Xander has been learning several strokes. Some are easier for him than others and I'm sure that he will need to practice. But it gives him a good base for swim team next year if he chooses to participate.


This is Xander's crazy hair. This is pretty much what his hair will look like for the entire two weeks of swim lessons. Can anyone say haircut?

June 13-19, 2010: On Our Own

So it was our first week on our own. We were so grateful to have family that was able to come and help out for the first two weeks. But this has been a nice week of trying to find our new normal. This first picture is of Jaden in his new "green" shorts. About a month ago, we went shopping for shorts. He insisted that he wanted green shorts with white stripes. We could not find any. So we went home empty handed. Then a couple of days ago, we were walking down the isle at a store when he gasped and stopped. And there they were... green shorts with white stripes! He knew they were out there somewhere, we just had to find them!


I also bought some alphabet flashcards last week because Jaden has been wanting to learn his letters. This one is "I is for..." and Jaden's answer was "Polar Bear House". So close! But I like his answer better!


I was all too ambitious but I knew that I needed to try and keep kids busy somehow. So I bought "summer homework" books and this was a picture of our first day of homework. It may not be a daily thing but we will see how it goes.


This is also a familiar sight these days. Jacque seems to be rather colicky, so she cries a lot, even after we have done everything we can think of. And poor Jaden with his tender little heart, cannot stand to hear her cry. It is very distressing to him. So he covers his ears a lot.


I still love that Jacque likes to be in a little ball. It still seems so strange that this is how she was inside of me and it is comfortable to her.


One of Jaden's favorite things to do lately is choose Jacque's outfits for the day. I have had so much fun with all the little girl clothes! It's like I have reverted back to being 6 years old and changing my doll's clothes 10 times a day! And Jaden is joining in on the fun with me!


Jaden and the "game" he invented and drew with sidewalk chalk. I am still unsure what the rules are but he had a lot of fun showing it to me!


This is the first game of Xander's that I was able to attend. He is still doing machine pitch and his batting is improving. He is starting to put a little more power behind it instead of just hitting the ball.


This was "Fun Friday" and the treat that we had. We did a lot with shapes in the homework this week so we made Smores and talked about all of the different shapes. Rectangle crackers, square chocolate, cylinder marshmallows that turn into a sphere when they melt. Cheesy, I know, but lots of fun anyway!


Another fun outfit for Jacque. I was rocking her when Jaden came in and talked to her and made faces at her. She showed just the hint of a smile but none of the pictures of the two of them came out.


Jacque and I had the morning to ourselves while the boys went to a birthday party at the Janda's house. There was a face painter there and both Rohan and Jaden came home looking like tigers. Rohan washed his face before I even had a chance to see it but I got a picture of Jaden. So cute!!!

June 6-12, 2010: Sleeping and Watching the Birds

This week was kind of a blur. My parents left to go home on Monday and we were all tuckered out after the baby blessing. Especially Jacque.


This is Rohan making puzzles with Grandma Jill. It is one of his favorite things to do when they come to visit. I love how many he has finished and lined up on the table!

Grandma Janell stayed all week and was very good about taking the boys somewhere fun every day. But because I was at home resting, I didn't get any pictures of all of the fun they had together. The pictures I did take were of the Bluebird family (Sorry, I don't actually know what kind of birds they are.) living in our neighbor's tree. They spend a lot of time hopping around our backyard and I love to just sit by the window and watch them. Here are my favorite pictures of them.

Once again, Jacque sleeping. The two of us did a lot of sleeping this week. Maybe not at the normal times, but it was sleeping nonetheless.

It was also the first baseball and T-ball games of the season and I was not able to attend. So here are the boys in their uniforms. Looking good!

Jacquelyn's Blessing Day

We blessed Jacquelyn at church today. Yes, she is only 6 days old but we wanted both sets of grandparents to be there and so it worked out to be the best time. We thought about blessing her at home like most of our other kids, but I was feeling well enough, surprisingly, that we decided to do it at church where many of our good friends could be there as well. I ended up having my mom take a quick picture of Jacque and I at church.


Because of the circumstances, it was hard to get the pictures that I wanted. And I don't have the best pictures of the beautiful blessing dress that Grandma Jill made, but this is what we have.


Grandpa Bruce and Grandma Jill with Jacquelyn.


Budge and Grandma Janell with Jaquelyn. Grandpa Mel was at the blessing too but he left before we were able to take pictures.


I love this picture of Xander holding Jacque. He is so excited that he is the only brother that I let carry her around so he does it every chance he gets.


And yes, this really is the best picture of all four kids. I can tell that it just gets increasingly harder to get a good picture the more children you add to the mix!

Jacque's Newborn Pictures by Julie

My sweet, talented friend, Julie Mulkay did Jacque's first photo shoot. Jacque was only six days old and I have always wanted to do pictures like this. They all turned out so great! These are a few that she posted on her blog and gave me permission to post as well. For all of you locals, check out her website at juliemulkayphotography.com. She is one of the most patient people which is great for young children. And I promise you that you will be happy with the final product. The hardest part is having to choose the photos you want because they are all fantastic! So that's my plug for Julie. Call her!

If You Build It, They Will Come...

We decided a few months ago that we needed to spruce up the backyard and add a few new things for the kids to play with so that they will not feel couped up all summer while we get used to having a new family member. The first was Budge's idea of a tetherball pole that can double as a batting practice pole. It actually fits into a sleeve that is cemented into the ground so that he can remove it for mowing the lawn or to open up that space when we need it.


All of the boys have had fun using it, especially Xander and Rohan as they practice batting for their games. But Jaden surprised us all with how quickly he picked this up. Look at the determination on his face, and his stance isn't half bad for a 3-year-old.


The next project was my idea and it took us a while to find a playset that we could buy in pieces and sort of custom build to fit our small backyard. And Grandma Jill and Grandpa Bruce were nice enough to put it together while they were here.



So here are the various stages of building. It took most of the week and they were troopers out in the hot sun most of that time.




But in the end, they said it was worth it to see the kids having so much fun. So thank you Grandma and Grandpa! It's a tight fit and when Jaden swings he says, "Am I getting splinters in my feet?" as he aims to touch his toes on the roof of the patio cover. But it works and they love it!