Coloring!

I love that my kids are finally starting to love to color!  They all do such a great job!  I am amazed at how well Aliyah stays in the lines.  She is so careful and particular!  Samuel can do a really good job if he takes his time but often he colors with all one color really quickly. :)  Hope also does a great job (for some reason I don't have any pictures of her today) - she loves to color with lots of different colors and make multi-colored pictures. It makes for a bright and beautiful picture! 

Duplos and Baby Jesus

The girls made a duplo creation tonight with Mary and Joseph and Baby Jesus along with some wise men and shepherds.  Joseph was riding an elephant and Mary was riding a dinosaur . . . but it sure was cute and creative!  From there, it turned into Hope re-enacting a lot of the story of Jesus' life on earth complete with phrases like "then He went to the garden to pray . . . " and "the disciples were together in a locked room when suddenly Jesus appeared".  The memory that Hope has for Bible stories, catechism answers, and prayers and songs absolutely amazes me.  They also made a cross out of duplos and I heard many sound affects as they were nailing Jesus to the cross.  They had 3 nails and Hope reminded me that the soldiers weren't nice to Jesus at all. I wish that I could have heard more of her acting it out but if she knows we are watching/listening she will get embarrassed and stop playing.  I also wish I would have gotten a picture of the whole set-up but by the time I got around to it, most of it was taken apart. I just love how Hope has such a heart for Bible stories and Jesus.  It makes this Mommy's heart happy!

Kalamazoo Holiday Parade

My Mom and I took the kids to the 2013 Kalamazoo Holiday Parade this morning.  The weather was beautiful but the wind was a little chilly so we were really thankful to find a place to sit where we were pretty much completely out of the wind.  The kids really enjoyed the parade!  When it was over, Aliyah asked if we could watch it again.  Hope's not a big fan of the cooler weather but she said she enjoyed herself.  Karys had a quick nap during the beginning of the parade and then was content sitting on Grandma's lap watching the parade go by.  Some candy was thrown out but most of it was candy my kids couldn't eat - I love how they don't argue at all when I tell them they can't eat a specific type of candy because it has red 40 in it.  Samuel did collect tootsie rolls and kept them in his pocket until we got home.  He was so proud of himself for not eating a single one until he got home and could count them all.  Such a sweet boy!!  Daryl stayed home and raked the yard to get ready for our Open House tomorrow!! :) 

Fall Fun!

We finally had a nice enough day that we could go outside and jump into the leaves!  The leaves were a little wet but it was pretty much today or never!  The kids didn't care and they had a blast.  Aliyah's pants are supposed to be gray . . . . I'm not sure they'll ever come clean!!

Rosie's tree is beautiful in the fall.  I had a little bit of a panic attack when I realized we'd be leaving her tree behind if (when?) we sell the house.  I decided to take a picture of it and frame it to put up in our new house.  I wonder how much it would cost to transplant it . . . . ;)

Smiles for Samuel

I was trying and trying to get Karys to smile and she wouldn't even crack a little one for me.  All Samuel did was walk into the room and this is what she did for him:

This sweet girl loves her big brother!!!

Yummy Toes!

My Mom is trying to take my 6 months pictures . . . but I'd rather eat my toes instead!

They are pretty tasty!!  Why look at my Mommy and smile when I can be chomping on this yummy goodness!!

Hmmmm, I wonder if this foot is just as good as the other one?!

Oh yeah! Maybe it tastes even better!!

Karys Alexandra: 6 months

Karys Alexandra,
You are 6 months old!  Halfway to one year old?!?  That doesn't seem possible.  What have you been up to this past month?

• You are wearing size 6-12 month clothes right now.  You are wearing size 3 diapers but I'm about ready to move you up to a size 4!  
• You are 21lbs 6oz and 27.5" long
• You have two teeth - bottom front
• You sit up all by yourself.  You will still tip over occasionally but you are getting better every day.
• You roll from your tummy to your back but not from your back to your tummy.  You don't like being on your tummy at all and you will roll over right away whenever we try and do "tummy time".
• You absolutely love Samuel.  Mommy couldn't get you to smile when I was trying to take pictures tonight but as soon as Samuel walked in the room you were all smiles and giggles.  You do things (like bounce in your exersaucer and squeal) to get a reaction out of him.  You'll stop and look at him and wait for his reaction.  He'll laugh or talk to you and you will squeal and start bouncing and squealing again.  Mommy loves watching the two of you play like that!
• Aliyah loves holding you or sitting next to you in a chair and playing with you.  She is very attentive to your needs and loves to give you toys, put a blanket over you, or give you your pacifier.
• Speaking of pacifiers, you are my first baby that really loves your pacifier.  You will sometimes fall asleep with it and you love to play with it and pop it in and out of your mouth.  You are also a random thumb sucker but we've seen that thumb in your mouth more lately!
• Hope loves and adores you.  She is always wanting to give you hugs and kisses.  You love pulling on her little braids and she is very patient with you!  Hope loves sitting next to your exersaucer and playing and talking to you.
• You still nurse 4 times a day.  You will nap for about an hour in the mornings and 2+ hours in the afternoon with sometimes a little evening snooze to keep you going until bedtime.  
• We have started feeding you baby food but you haven't been too interested in it.  You make disgusted faces and tonight you even started to cry and turn your head away after a few bites.  So far we have tried applesauce, pears, bananas, and rice cereal.
• You love your baths!  You kick and splash and wave your hands all over the place.
• You aren't scared of strangers yet.  You don't always smile for them and sometimes you reach for Mommy or for Daddy, but you don't cry . . . . yet. :)
• You sleep flat on your back and you love to pull your crocheted blanket up over your face. :/  You always have your finger and your feet intertwined in the holes of the blanket.