blake's 1!!!

Wow, I can't believe he's already one. He still seems like my little baby ... maybe because he is so little! He had a great party ... we just had a couple family friends over and Grandma Gotcher. It was nice! Here are some pictures from the event. The kids came up with the bathtub theme, since that's his favorite place to be!

Oh, and he got great joy out of throwing globs of frosting all over the place ... he didn't really care about eating it, but the throwing was so much fun!

Blake - 11 mos. (or so)

So, again, I'm behind. But, just in my defense, Blake is the worst client I've ever had (ask Katelyn ... she was my witness). He doesn't listen well at all :)

At least we caught him standing, which is his new "thing" ... but fortunately, no walking!! He's getting pretty fast at the crawl. He can be in the bathroom playing in the toilet in no time at all!!

He now has two teeth on the bottom ... but he wasn't willing to show those, possibly next month!

the boy loves to play UNO ...

Max has been playing UNO for quite a while now. Since Katelyn taught him his numbers (1-10) and he already knew his colors, it was pretty easy for him to learn how to play. Of course, Grant always gets mad because I don't play the "real" way with the "mean" cards, but I figure he can learn about those later.

He loves his little card holder, but it does take some patience on my part to wait for him to fill it all up ... and no, he won't let me help him (trust me, I tried!).

Oh, and the cards make really great flying things, like airplanes, helicopters, etc. :)

fishy face

I'm so glad I finally caught Blake with one of his infamous faces ... he has been doing funny things with his lips since birth. When he was born, he kept his lower lip tucked under his top one. It was so funny! He also makes what we call the "old man, gummy face" and has now started his fishy lips.

What a silly boy!

an ode to the binky

Well, I don't really know how to write an ode, so I guess this won't officially be an ode, but maybe more of a eulogy. 13 days ago, Max had to say "good-bye" to his binkies forever. Now, it's very obvious that most people don't think older children (like 2 and 3) should have binkies. They usually share their thoughts on it right away, and I was one of those people. I couldn't stand it when I saw kids talking with a binky in their mouth and told myself I'd never let my child do that. But, then that time comes, and you find yourself in a totally different spot.

As a mother, to see something so little and so harmless bring such joy to a little boy ... it's hard to break their heart and take it away. Max loved his binky... probably more than he loves his mom (just kidding). You should have seen his face when he would find a binky that had fallen behind the bed or under the couch. It was like a treasure of gold! His face would like up and he'd scream "BINKY"! When he was sad, it would comfort him; when it was bedtime, it would lull him to sleep.

But, it was time to let it go. The first two days were really hard. I won't even say who was ready to give it back to him (and it wasn't me!). It's hard to see them so sad about something. But, it's day 13 ... and he only mentions it once in awhile now. Usually in saying, "No more binky for Max" very matter-of-factly.

Bye-bye binkies. You were dearly loved. May you rest in peace.

What happens when Uncle Bob sends us silly computer games ...

The whole family gets into it! First it was Daddy and Max and then Grant had to have a turn. Max gets to push the button to launch the missile! I think Daddy has the high score on that game. To play the game, go to:

CANNON GAME

nuthin' better ...

then licking frosting off the beaters! We made some homemade cupcakes and frosting the other week for a friend, and even though it made quite a huge mess, it was a lot of fun and tasted really yummy!! Max thought so too!

is it summertime?

Well, I feel a little bad for having such nice weather, when it seems like other parts of the country are buried in snow. Of course, that is for a fleeting moment, and then I go back to enjoying the warmth!! :P It's been in the 70's off and on this last week, so we had to get out and enjoy it. Blake had his first experience with bubbles ... and had fun! Not too fond of the grass on his legs, but was able to get past that enough to enjoy the bubbles.

Max loves it outside. If he could, he'd probably live outside. He is always busy playing with something and hates it when it's time to come in!

no greater joy ...

At this point in my motheringhood (is that a word?), there really is no greater joy than to see my children laughing together and enjoying each other's company. While it is easier for them not to get along, I truly appreciate it when I get to see these moments. Being an only child who wanted so badly to have brothers and sisters, it is hard for me to see them be unkind, disrespectful and rude to each other, and I try hard to teach them it's unacceptable, but it must be something about being a sibling that I just don't understand.

Fortunately, Katelyn and Max have had a great connection since the day Max was born. She takes great care of him and always spends time with him when he asks. If anything, he is the one that can be a little mean to her, but she loves him anyway.

I am so happy I caught these moments on film (guess not film, but on memory card? that sounds weird! LOL!). The two of them were goofing around in the kitchen; Max being his regular ham and giving Katelyn some crazy looks! I love Katelyn's smile ... so real!

some fun with the wiggle racers

So, Steve will probably never go back to a home and garden show. We just went for shower cleaner and left with some wiggle racers. I mean, come on, they are good exercise! And we couldn't get Max and Grant off of them, so we added them to the collection in our garage. Seriously, they are fun, though. We've had some crazy races in our kitchen. Here is Grant showing me some of his stunts. Oh, and if Grant tries to tell you that he beat me at our 3-lap kitchen race, don't let him embellish the story ... it was only by 1 second! I will be back!

can it be?

That Blake is already 9 months old? It just doesn't seem possible! He's such a fun little baby ... and such a peanut. Those that knew Katelyn, Grant and Max as babies are probably wondering how come he's so tiny, especially being born at 9 lbs., 10 oz.!! Crazy! And he eats like a horse! It's hilarious ... loves his food!

Here he is ... just some quick shots, because I was behind on his 9 mo. pictures (shhh, don't tell!).

little drummer boy ...

Well, it's Grant that wanted the drum set, but I think he'll have a little competition with Blake! Blake was having a blast with the pots and lids that I pulled out for him to bang around with. Can you tell he's teething (still haven't gotten one tooth!!).

County Spelling Bee ...

So, Katelyn was one of 17 kids that made it to the County Spelling Bee (out of 50,000), and she did an amazing job. Much to her dismay, she didn't win, but did get 10th place! Woot woot for her!!! It was an exciting night, and what a great experience for her. We're so proud of you, K8!! Great job ... you'll get 'em next year!!

it's been awhile, hasn't it?

So, I guess I've been a slacker as far as the blog goes. I've missed a couple key events, like this one ...

introducing our newest family member ... Cocoa. He is Izzy husband!! Well, they're just in the getting-to-know-you stage, but are soon to be married ;) LOL! He is super sweet, and NOOOOOO it wasn't my idea. I woke up one morning and the kids and Steve were discussing it, much to everyone's shock, I'm sure! But, I love him to pieces. He follows me everywhere and is sweet as birthday cake (I don't like pie, so it's cake for me!). Izzy wasn't quite sure about him at first, but now they tear around the house wrestling and playing ... it's so good for Izzy!

Isn't he cute!!!

OK, so once is not enough ...

Katelyn decided she needed to win the Regional Spelling Bee too! Wow, what an exciting, nerve-racking hour!! Every time she got up to the microphone, I kept hoping it was one she knew! Funny, she got two words that she had been having troubles with ... ominous and hygiene. Now she heads to County!!! After that, Nationals! Woo hooooooo!

My favorite photo ... The Lone Speller



With her trophy:

Winner, Winner, Winner

As Grandpa would say, "Winner, Winner, Winner" ... Last week, Katelyn competed in the District Spelling Bee. It was extra special, since Grandma and Grandpa were in town visiting, so they could watch her take ... 1ST PLACE!!! Woo hoo! I'm glad Grandpa drilled her the day before the Bee.

Here's the winner!

(Grandpa made the cool banner for her on the fireplace!)

Gingerbread houses

Grant was begging me to buy a gingerbread kit. I found one at Costco and surprised Grant with it. He was so excited and had fun putting it together! Max had fun eating the candy off (along with the other kids!)

grant & izzy

Steve needed some pictures for his new office, so I had to take some new pictures of the big kids. I don't get many of Grant not goofing off, but when we added Izzy to the mix, Grant was elated (Izzy's his baby!). I loved this one of the both of them. Grant definitely needed a hair cut, but oh well!

Blake and the mirror

We're getting ready to paint our living room/kitchen area, and so I had one of my mirrors down against the couch. We were looking for Blake and found him here ... entertaining himself (giving himself kisses). It was so funny ... he was having fun with that little baby in the mirror!

Blake - 8 months

Well, I kind of missed it by a few days, but seeing as he's been sick (along with the rest of us), I didn't think a runny nose would be too attractive in a photo, so we took them today. Since he was 8 months on Christmas Day, we put him in his Christmas pjs (and he didn't have anything else cute to wear!).

This is the look I get 90% of the time! He's done this since birth, but lately I think more because he's teething.