Summer's End

It's that time of year again: APPLE picking time! For the 5th year in a row, we've picked apples with Blueberry and her family! And over the years we've kept adding kiddos to the trip... We started with two little babes, 5 years ago, and this year we had FIVE kids between the two of us. It was a good time, making fun memories, and spending time with GREAT friends! :) Here are some of our fun photos:

And just to show how far we've come..... (2007)

A Camping We Will Go

For labor day weekend we went trekking through the woods and camped with our kiddies. It was quite the adventure. We saw many (creepy) bugs--I even showered with a wasp (seriously)-- and many cool bugs, too!  We hiked. We made fires. We sat (and relaxed!). We climbed. We biked. We visited an abandoned town and a haunted rail tunnel (separate post to come, on that) We enjoyed being a family! It was the first time, in a long time, that we were able to relax as a family (of FIVE!), without distractions, with little technology, and just US. It was amazing!


Here are some of my favorite photos, from the trip (I took over 200!):

This is "Sherman" the giant caterpillar

My girl smiled the WHOLE time! She loved being outside!

I love this photo! :)

(This is our second ever family of 5 picture!)

Matty and Daddy! Matty loved climbing the rocks-- alllll of them!

Adam and the sign. He had to sit with the sign! 

I can't believe how big my babies are getting! These pictures are just proof that they really are growing up!

Dooby-Dooby-Doo an Update or Two.

Since I've been MIA for so long, I figured I should catch ya'll up on what's been going on in our house. Is that ok? Ok, good. And I am going to do it in a list-kinda-sorta-way. Why? Because it's my blog, and I wanna. :) 


Here we go: 


1) The house is off the market. It just wasn't selling. My nerves couldn't handle it. And I needed to know where Adam was going to go to school this year. So, it will be back on the market at the end of winter. yay-hoo!


2) I am entering my last TWO semesters of school. E V E R. I can't wait to be done! Sadly, these are going to be two very rough semesters. 


3) Adam starts Pre-Kindergarten in just a few days. I can't wait. Am I terrible or what? I can't wait to have a little downtime... a little time with just TWO kids... quiet. nice. and. quiet. 


4) Matty is NOT starting pre-school this year, as he could. His asthma has just been too bad lately. We are on all new meds. Besides them turning him into a steroid-raging maniac, he's doing GREAT! ;) (Seriously... roid-rage is a real thing, people! And in a THREE year old, it's like watching the Exorcism, in real life)


5) We're going on vacation at the end of this week! I cannot wait. Camping here we come! :)


6) The husband and I are addicted to Rock Band, for the Wii. I am not a game person. Not at all. And well...this...this is stellar! I kinda get into it, too... dancing and all. It's awesome. 


there has to be more.... hmmm.... 


7) Oh. yes. Chloe has two nice bottom teeth, now! :) She's been cutting them both (at once) all week. It's been a drooly, snotty, and fevery week! Not fun. And she's kinda dramatic about it. The boys were never this dramatic. GIRLS are dramatic. but not me. 


8) I just realized that I really can't stand it when two people put their hands into a bag of chips/pretzels (whatever) at the same exact time. It's uncomfortable. 


9) So, I have to get a job once I graduate. You know, those student loans don't pay themselves. I think they should. But alas, they don't... so I have to... boo. Anyone need PR? Anyone? Anyone at all? A communicator? Marketer? Anything? :) 


10) Little sister Ashley went back to college. Junior- in college. Is that possible? She turns 20 in less than a week. Is that possible? Little sister Emily is 17. She is a Junior in High School. And the youngest...Trevor... a Sophomore in High School. How does this happen? Who said they could grow?! :(


Well, I think that's all. I have no new photos. Shame on me. I will get on that, for this week. I promise! :)

Just Some Photos :)

It's feeling like fall around here.... I kinda want summer to stick around. I am not a fan of cold weather...or the dreaded "S" word... snnoo..... I can't even say it. And I won't. Maybe it will miss us this year? Maybe? :)


We are gearing up for Adam to return to school next week! A new school! :) We can't wait, and we feel very blessed that we were able to find him such a wonderful school. 


Want to see some pictures, like I promised? Of course you do! :)


Here are my babes (if you're my FB friend...you've seen these...so... just pretend you haven't!): 

8 Months

As you can see, having three kiddies has made it impossible for me to keep up with blogging. I am hoping once Adam starts school, things will calm down a little and I will have more time to blog. 


But...


It's a big day!


Chloe is EIGHT months OLD! :) 


Can you believe it? 


Me neither. 


She does so much:


* Crawls


* Cruises (will she be walking by 9 months, like Adam? Maybe?!)


* Talks


* Eats everything in sight!


* Signs "more" when she's hungry


* Loves her brothers


* Loves her "mama" and "dada" 


* Plays with toys


* Likes watching the boys rough house


* and has PERFECTED being CUTE! :)

I love my girl! :)

7 Month Chloe

So much has changed in the last month! So many milestones met! My girl is amazing. She is beautiful. She is sweet. I love her more than I could EVER imagine. I DO love having a girl. 


Here are some of the new things Chloe is doing:


* Eats real food! (She loves carrots and peas) She won't eat pured food (as I found AFTER I made a ton of "baby" food). She has to have food just slightly mashed. Let me tell you, this is a pain in the tooshy, but I do it for my princess anyway! :)


* She is crawling faster and faster (it's an odd little hopping crawl, but it's a crawl nonetheless)


* She pulls herself up


* She cruises two or three steps


* She says "boo!" 


* She puts things over her face, pulls them away fast, and waits for you to say "boo!" or react


* She says "MA!" but only when she's mad


* She loves her brothers SO much. They just have to look at her, and she smiles.


* She gets very excited to see her daddy, too! :) She is a daddy's girl. 


Chloe is a blessing and such an amazing addition to our family. God knew what He was doing when he gave her to us, after the two boys. We are smitten. :) 

I love you, Princess Girl, Sister Bear, Miss C :) Happy 7 Months! 

Matty is THREE!

My Dearest Matthew- 

Oh, Matty, my dearest little man. What a year it has been. I can't express enough how blessed and honored I am to be your mommy. God gifted mommy with you, three years ago, today, and little did I know the impact you would make on my life...all of our lives. The love, the laughter, the frustration...it's all worth it. 

Day after day, you awaken with a smile. A smile that could melt the coldest of hearts, and shine bright enough to fill the darkest of rooms. A smile that sometimes is a little bit naughty and makes mommy wonder what it is you've done! :) A smile that I can't imagine my life without. 

Your health has been up and down, this year. You were in the hospital, last Fall, and we are still trying to get you as healthy as you can be. You're tiny. Sometimes you have a hard time breathing. And sometimes you scare mommy, when you say your "'bellwee' hurts" (aka- his chest is hurting). I am so thankful for the medicines invented, to keep you healthy, and to help you breath. I pray that you continue to grow strong, and that someday you will be able to breath without having daily treatments and medicine. 

Matthew, you are amazing. I love how you love to play on the computer and watch dinosaur videos, on YouTube. I love how you could build "Firecar" (Hot Wheels) tracks ALL day long. I love how you try to act like your brother, but add your own twist to things. I love how to hug me and tell me you love me, out of nowhere. I love how, at bedtime, you say "big hug! little hug! big kiss! little kiss!" before we are allowed to leave the room. I love how you tell me I am pretty, when I put on my makeup. 

Matty, there are so many reasons to love you. You are an amazing little boy. May God BLESS you this coming year, and help you grow stronger and stronger. 

WE LOVE YOU, Matty! :) 

Matty's first ever breathing treatment! Who knew we'd be doing these everyday?!

I was in love, the moment I saw him!