7 months old

*I thought I had posted this... months ago!

This little girl turned 7 months (March 21st) She is so much fun and really spoiled by everyone. Her brothers can't really get enough of this giggly, joyful girl.

 This past month has been a little rough for the little doll. She has had several ear infections and we discovered she shared something more than this dress with her big sister... she is allergic to penicillin.

 Within a matter of hours she was covered from head to toe in hives. She handled it pretty well, happy regardless of the hives. We will be attacking ear infections differently from now on.

The Life of Joseph



Joseph just turned 4 years old, so instead of boring words about how much he means to our family, here are some pictures...



 

We took this at the 2012 USC spring game a couple weeks ago.  We sat behind the band and Joseph couldn't keep the boogie out of his body.  Unfortunately, this isn't a video, but we was loving the fun. 

 

 

Joseph introduced the family to his alter ego - Mustache Joseph.  This phenomenon caught on with the other boys.  Joseph found that he could say things with a mustache that would multiply the humor factor.  For example, after listening to Beasite Boys, Mustache Joseph kept saying, "Yo baby what's up". 

 

Perhaps Ella knew she wouldn't be around to protect her "Joseph-boy", so she taught him how to be tough.  He can hold his own with his brothers.  I think pushing the opponent's head into the ground is a 15-yard personal foul.

 

I don't know what is going on here, but swim goggles+bicycle helmet+toy gun= a great pic.

 

We went to get a paper notarized at our lawyer's office and Joseph found a packet of peanuts, water bottle, and got cozy in a chair.  He is wearing his favorite Buzz Lightyear hat that his friend gave him.  He even sleeps in it!

 

On his birthday, we went to Red Robin and his mom arranged for him to get his very own birthday sundae.  This is the look of a super happy boy. 

 

 

sweet

I don't have a picture for this post. I know. Annoying. But, I just had to share this before I get distracted by all the things I've been working on today [2 boys with stomach bug, canning beans, baking rolls, cleaning house, laundry, race director stuff... just to name a few!] I just couldn't wait for my camera to upload all the cute pictures I took yesterday. Hopefully I will make it to that part of my list tomorrow.

Elliana had been taking her [longer] nap for the day and I hadn't heard a peep from her. I knew she would be waking soon, but didn't want to rush her, I had plenty to keep me busy. I stepped into my room, barely peeking one eye around the corner. I was expecting a quietly slumbering baby, but instead, from across the room I was met with a giant grin and a wave. A WAVE! And then a giggle. It was so adorable. I wish at that perfect moment of sweet babiness I could replay what I saw and share it all with you. This girl just melts my heart. Over. and. over. 

Happy Birthday Tanner!

It is hard to believe that the little boy that started our family is turning 11 years old today.  We couldn't be happier with the boy he is.  His cautious temperament compliments his brother very well and keeps them evenly balanced.  Being the oldest, his younger siblings look up to him and follow his example as is evident in the below pictures. 


(Ella is watching Tanner out of the corner of her eye)

He doesn't complain (much) about being the big brother even when it means he has more chores to do or is asked to watch his little sister for mom.  Making his younger siblings is very important to him.  Joseph often waits anxiously for Tanner to get home from school and asks Tanner to play Legos with him.  He is even willing to play dolls with his sister(s), but may not approve that proof was taken or that it is being shared with the world...

While he is a great soccer player and a brick wall keeper, we are most proud  of his strong faith.  Saturday night he quickly came down with a laryngitis-type illness that caused pain and difficulty in breathing.  His first request was "Dad, can I get a blessing?".  Of course, he isn't perfect and is a champion teaser, but he is definitely perfect for us!

Happy Birthday Anson!!

The boys in front of a Palmetto tree

Today is Anson's 9th birthday, so we thought we should share a couple stories of what makes Anson special to our family. 
Friday afternoon, our neighbor asked Anson if he would help him with a "really cool special project".  Anson asked permission and then went back outside to go help him.  An hour later, he came home and reported that the neighbor had been hunting quail and wanted Anson to help him clean the birds.  Dad asked Anson what he thought of plucking the feathers and cutting open the birds.  He said he told our neighbor "I don't think my church would let me do that"!  But he hung around to watch the process anyways.  We never thought our church could be an excuse in such a way!  Our neighbor was very nice about it, but Dad went outside and clarify anyway.  In fact, he gave Anson some quail meat!

Another recent event in the life of our brave Anson...
A few weeks ago, we didn't have any plans on a Saturday afternoon so Tanner, Anson and Dad threw the bikes in the truck and went downtown to ride bikes.  We started at the SC State House and rode through the USC campus to Williams-Brice Stadium where the Gamecocks football team plays.  A roundtrip of about 6-7 miles.


The boys are on their bikes by the gate

On the way back, Anson's bike lost control of him and the handle bar jumped up and got a piece of his cheeck.  Tanner was more concerned than dad and rode back really fast to help his brother.  Before long, the blood and tears made for a great photo.

 

Then, a few minutes later, his bike lost control again and Anson went down on his arm.  More blood and a little more pride in this photo.

 Fortunately, Mom was going to see our favorite Dr. Max that afternoon, so he took a look and let Anson experience acupuncture!

After the pain went away, Anson wanted to make sure that the bandages on his arm and face were very visible for church and school.  He wanted to wear a short-sleeve shirt and didn't want to change the bandage on his face because the one he had showed a little blood still.  He loved the attention he received from his friends and probably hopes his scars never go away.  That is our Anson Call!

Has it been awhile?

There are many times in the last few months I have sat at my computer to write. I have thought about updating the blog often enough, but finding the time, or patience has been difficult. After SEVERAL attempts at uploading multiple pictures on a very EXTREMELY slow internet connection, I gave up. completely. I refused to do it, until I had internet that would upload faster than a turtle stuck in molasses in the middle of January. I just didn't have time to sit at the computer all day waiting for those pictures to upload. So, we finally bit the bullet and broke up with our satellite/phone/internet company. We had a love hate relationship from the beginning, they loved my money, I hated their service. It wasn't always terrible, but I was annoyed with them more than I would like to admit. So it was time to call it quits. Thankfully we are now able to stream video, upload pictures and all that fun stuff without constant connection problems. Now, I should be all over this blogging thing like white on rice, right? Well, I guess there still is the issue with finding the time/prioritizing it in. AND if you know me, you know I love to have way more to do than humanly possible in the amount of time I have. But it makes life more interesting, right? Well, I will try better. To prioritize the blogging. At least for the dear grandparents that anxiously await pictures of their most adorable granddaughter that is now 1/2 of a year! WHAT?! How did that happen already?! Where are the pictures you say?! Less talk, more rock?! There is no way to completely update you without a terrifyingly long post (or multiple posts) so I will just add some highlights of what has happened recently. I may try and go back and post some missed events, but in all seriousness, I probably will just go from here on out.

Here are 2 of our trees (yes, only 2. Apparently I have a Christmas tree obsession, as I have multiple in various sizes. Is that not normal?) The pink/purpley one is our Ella tree. It is by our front door and decorated specially for our Angel. The big tree was our main tree. This year we decided to cut a tree down, which is always a fun adventure. Trees here in the south are very different than ones of my youth. This was a Leland Cypress, which I am pretty sure everywhere else in the country uses as shrubbery. I think my parents have these in their backyard (of course shaped differently/smaller) I was skeptical at first, but was amazed at how much I grew to love it (after laughing for several days at the thought of a shrub in my living room.) Once decorated it didn't lose needles, was very durable and looked very full. It even had a nice smell.

 Joseph became obsessed with mustaches, and we took a little trip to Great Wolf for a night. Completely unrelated to each other. :)

 

Baby girl developed a funny trait of sucking on her fingers. It was never the same from day to day as one day she would suck on her pinky, the next her first two fingers... very occasionally her thumb. Here she is 4 months old

 

  We enjoyed the lights before Christmas at the zoo... but after Christmas. We decided we will make this a tradition, as it wasn't crowded AT ALL. The boys loved that they had fire pits to roast marshmallows. Tasty.

For New Years, we stayed home and cooked over our fire pit and roasted marshmallows. After our bellies were full and faces were warmed, the boys camped out in our backyard and the girls slept indoors.

A few days later, we had the pleasure of a visit from this little cutie pie. Oh, and her parents too :)
The boys loved having a cousin to play with.

 This cute boy loves being a big brother. He also loves to have his picture taken. Can't get enough of this smiley face!

  This was Elliana at 5 months. We all just adore her and can't get enough of those chubby cheeks. She is quite delightful!

 

 

Oh, how she grows!

 This baby girl is growing like a weed... a very cute weed. At her 2 month check up (Oct 31st - actually a bit over 2 months) she was weighing in at 13lbs 11 oz and was already 2 ft tall! She is smiling up a storm, but doesn't like to smile for the camera yet, in fact as soon as the camera comes out, she stops smiling. So, it's sometimes hard to share how smiley she is. It might also have something to do with when the camera comes out, her brother jumps right in and climbs all over me, and her trying to "help" her smile. She also giggles! It's so much fun to see all the new development that occurs in such a short period of time. She loves to be talked to, and will talk back, carrying on a conversation of gaaahs, goos and coos. She has such a soft and beautiful voice. Generally she is a pretty happy and calm baby. She truly is a joy to have in our family. We are loving this little girl!