Throwback Thursday

Group Time-out

Jackson was finishing a time-out the other day when Liam came over to see what he was doing. Liam just walked right around Jackson and sat right next to him on the floor. Guess he still needs to learn that it's not always best to do everything big brother is doing.

Practicing for the dentist

Liam showing off his new teeth.

Sleep declared "winner"

Matt and I were watching TV in the living room late one night when we heard snoring. We got up to see whose room it was coming from and found Jackson in this position. I'm guessing he tried to get up to go to the bathroom, but drowsiness overcame him and he only made it this far. Too funny!

Parenting Song

I love this youtube video so much. I haven't heard it for over a year now probably, but I think about it often. It just so perfectly describes life with children. If you haven't seen it before, try to stick it out until the very end. It always makes my eyes fill with happy tears.

Throwback Thursday

The words on the television say it all.

Bike Sound Effects

Jackson discovered that if you put a stick in the spokes of your bike, you get some really cool sound effects. You have to turn the sound up pretty high to hear it, but the look on his face is priceless. That sound brought back some great memories of Chris and I riding bikes as a kid. I definitely remember the cool sound of the stick hitting the bike spokes. So much fun to see my kids making these memories.

My little nerd

Matt recently had his eyes checked and was right on the border for having to get glasses. He decided to give in (since he is getting so old, you know) and get some. I had to tease him a little bit since one of his nicknames for me is "my little nerd." I don't think they look nerdy on him at all. I think he looks pretty handsome.

The Little Mermaid

Matt's mom and I took Jackson and Mia to see "The Little Mermaid" Friday night performed by the middle school at St. Barnabas. Roberta, a family friend, got us the tickets as she thought the kids would enjoy it and her daughter Regina was a dancer/choreographer in the production. Roberta made the mermaid chorus costumes and asked Mia's measurements so she could make her a mermaid costume as well. Mia wore it on Friday to the musical. I didn't get the best picture of the entire ensemble (I definitely will later, though), but it was so adorable. She got lots of attention, which she totally loves. So sweet of Roberta to make it for her! Regina did a wonderful job dancing and Mia and Jackson couldn't wait to give her a rose afterwards. I was also pleasantly surprised by their behavior...they really did pretty well overall. So much fun. Thank you so much to Roberta, Regina, and Kathy. Definitely something the kids will talk about for days to come.

Race for the Cure

Our family participated in the Susan Komen Race for the Cure yesterday in celebration of my Grandma being a 10 year breast cancer survivor. It was Grandma's first time at the race and I think it meant alot to her to have us all there. We all really enjoyed ourselves and did so for a good cause. I'm sure it will become an annual family event!

Enjoying some "Tea"

We attended the Indianapolis Tea Party on tax day. I had to work that night, but was able to go for the first hour. We both really wanted to go so were very thankful Matt's parents helped us with the kids. There was a pretty good sized crowd there. Having four little ones definitely makes me think about their future and our country's future. Glad we were able to participate.

Ladies and gentlemen

Jackson's preschool class performed a circus yesterday for the older 4 and 5 year old class. The kids could pick anything they wanted to dress up as related to the circus. When I asked Jackson what he wanted to be he said, "I want to be the person who says 'Ladies and gentlemen!'" I thought this was so cute and great that he wanted to be the 'leader' of the circus. Ringmaster Jackson. Matt's mom had made Matt a dracula costume when he was little and gave it to us to use for Halloween sometime. We used the pants and shirt from this costume and I made a top hat out of black poster board and felt. Matt's mom also contributed with the megaphone/microphone. Jackson really liked it and had a great time. His teachers said that he did a great job, although they did say they thought he looked a little like Lincoln (I did make the top hat a bit on the tall side). I kind of thought he looked like a magician, but hey, it works. One of his classmates was a firefighter. I thought that was a little odd until Jackson said, "Mom! Somebody has to put out the ring of fire the animals jump through!" Duh, mom.

Throwback Thursday

Six month old Jackson obviously exhausted after a mean round of swinging.

Must get outside!

We are all really hoping the weather gets warmer soon. Since the basement got water in it, it is not back together entirely so we haven't been able to give the kids a change of environment. They really need to be able run around and burn off some energy. One day last week I just put their coats on them and we played on the deck just to get out of the house for a bit. It was chilly, but it gave us all some sanity!

Easter Pictures

We had a great Easter. I think the kids are still coming down from the sugar-high! Hope you all enjoyed yours!

Happy Easter

Season Opener

Matt took Jackson to the Indian's season opener Thursday night. Our friend, Ryan got the tickets for free so his little boy, Owen and Matt and Jackson all went together. I played psycho-mom for a second beacause of Jackson's peanut allergy and gave Matt the run down on the EpiPen and had him take wipes to wipe down the seat if necessary. Matt reminded me that it was the season opener and the seats would be fresh and not full of peanut particles. I relaxed and sent them on their way, with an EpiPen packed just in case. They actually stayed for most of the game, but Matt said he didn't pay much attention. He did have a soft pretzel and got to hang out with Owen, so I think Jackson had fun. Matt got some fun pictures I thought I would share.

Easter Craft

Yesterday we made sun catchers with contact paper and tissue paper. All of the kids liked doing this since it involved ripping paper and something sticky! You just put one piece of contact paper (sticky side up) on a table (secure it with scotch tape) and rip pieces of tissue paper to stick on it in any pattern you like. When finished, you simply put another piece of contact paper on top to seal. We cut crosses out of black paper to make it more Easter-themed, but it looks cute alone as well. I think we will definitely do this one again!