Works like a charm

This was our first official "kid" DVD. Sesame Street Sings Karaoke was a hand-me-down movie that Olivia fell in love with at the ripe old age of 1...maybe 11 months old. Anywho...this particular DVD has really made the rounds, thoroughly entertaining the Gerdes children (our kids' cousins) and now all of ours. I resorted to a showing of it tonight, when I couldn't bear the thought of coming up with one more activity for the kids. I'm totally wiped, and the littlest one loves it just as probably EVERY 1 year old would. I pick this one when it's Mommy's choice for a few reasons.

1. There are absolutely NO fairies or princesses in it.
2. It's short, relatively speaking...about 40 minutes long.
3. It has mostly singing, with catchy tunes that are age appropriate.
4. Elmo makes kids FREAK.

Joey couldn't get enough of Sesame Street Karaoke...he "raced" to the TV, as close as he could get anyways, and proceeded to squeal and bounce. ADORABLE!

It comes highly recommended by mamas and children alike:)

PARTY!

We got to celebrate with the family, those who could make it, on Saturday. I made everyone pile into one corner of our home and used the timer on my camera to get a shot of everyone in attendance!

What kid birthday party would be complete without a pinata? We had a tough time breaking that thing. Everyone got several blind-folded whacks at it, and then we let them line up and take their best swing. It finally broke and the kids scrambled on the floor for goodies.

Joey got another chance to get messy, with a football cake this time. He didn't care for it and mostly just made the "yucky" face and whimpered until we took the cake away.

After feasting on walking tacos and snickers salad, the birthday kids opened their mountain of gifts. Next, the whole crew headed over to the hotel for a swim. We all "conveniently" forgot our cameras at home for that portion of the party:) Finally, we gathered back at our house for pizza, cake, and ice cream. Olivia posed with her cake before she helped me cut and serve the first piece.

Look at the colors in that rainbow cake!

Thanks to Mom Fitch for assisting with the cake creations.

Our 5 year old

Our little O on her "birth" day. What a precious site. I'll have to blog a post on her birth alone...amazing!

Speaking of amazing, look at that child. Her personality was in full bloom already, at only 1 year of age. You know, she used to flirt with the wait-staff in restaurants, throwing things on the floor just as they were walking by, in order to get their attention, then proceed to charm them with her adorable smile that could light up a city block!

A bonified princess at age 2! She must have been petite, hard for me to recall details, but I know Joey wore that same green fleece sweater last fall.

What a doll, Olivia was a trying 3-year old, but she has become the sweetest, most considerate, caring, and encouraging child. We see it on a daily basis in the way she is with her younger siblings.

Ah, 4. Yes, that is when she started to mellow out a bit, and we all began to enjoy each other more and more.

And now here we are with our 5 year old. We just can't fathom how the time has flown by. Time can certainly stand still anytime now:) We're so proud of you Olivia.

Check out a follow-up post on the February birthday kids' celebration that we're having TODAY!

Not waiting anymore

Only a few days ago, I posted how we were going to be working on making Joey's few steps into many consecutive steps, remember? Well, waiting no more! Joey has decided that walking is good and something he really enjoys doing:) He is a brave boy, wobbling all over the place, but determined no less. It's so different from when the girls really took off with their walking. They both waited until there was very little chance of falling before the braved the "open floor", so we saw very little wobbling. This boy of ours is much different indeed. He takes off before he's even gotten his balance, and daringly stumbles and veers off to the side, with little to no fear. Even after he falls, he mostly just squeals and giggles and attempts again. It's hilarious and soooo fun to witness. I'm declaring TODAY the day that Joey began walking. As his Mommy, I get to do that:)



In this one, he was a little bit more steady.

Some things never change

My apologies for the sporadic posting this week. We've been heavy in thought and prayer, especially regarding planning for the future and the possibilities of relocation. Please continue to be with us in this.

With all this talk of change, between Matt and I at least, the girls are up to their familiar antics...and of course dressing up on a daily basis. It's fun to watch their outfits evolve, so I snapped a pic of them yesterday, in full make-believe garb.

I'm a big boy now

"Look Ma, no hands"

Joey really is growing up way too fast. All the kids are for that matter. The girls are currently at the dining room table making bracelets and necklaces for Matt and I. Joey is trying to take a nap, a very difficult task for him at times. Last night, after he went down easy at 7:30pm, we heard him crying/screaming/throwing T-total fit at around 9:30pm, 11:30pm, 4:00am, and 5:30am. The child just has trouble with sleep:( We checked in with Dr. Jill today for his well-child visit, and she recommended we get him on a good sleep routine and stop responding to his middle-night cries. Now the real question, can I do it? He is growing amazingly, weighing at 24lb. 8oz, 31" long-between 75th & 90th percentile in both categories! In the next few months, we'll be working on getting those few steps he's taken into many consecutive steps, as well as getting Joey to speak some recognizable words. Just to clarify, we're not worried about his development at all, but it's good to know what to expect in the coming months:) Joey is a real charmer and we continue to enjoy his company every day.

Kiddos

We have soooooo much fun with this little boy. Just look at him "ham it up".

Never a dull moment:) Speaking of dull, our girls' musical numbers are anything but! It's a quick one, so if you have to watch it more than once, check out how Barbie is playing the electric guitar...and poor naked Ken is facedown "upstairs".

Happy 1 year Joe!

This little guy has us quite smitten! He has such an easy going demeanor, our singing and candle blowing didn't throw him off in the least. He just went along with it and "performed" as usual.

Instead of a cake, we went with a cookie with a thick, blue frosting and sprinkles. It supported the one candle just fine.

While sissy and I saw the doctor and fetched antibiotics, Joey, Olivia, and Daddy played with the birthday boy's new dump truck. I'm sure he'll be hauling Barbies and princesses in it before long:)

Keeping you "posted"

In true birthday fashion, someone fell ill today, which was supposed to be Joey's big party night:( So instead of having the family celebration that was planned, one 3-year old and myself spent the evening at the pediatrician's office and hospital pharmacy. Details, regarding the fun we DID manage to have, to follow. Nighty night.

Happy for the noise.

I can't even tell you how many times Matt and I have complained about our very noisy dishwasher. What a couple of ungrateful wrecks, huh? Pretty much if you think about it in perspective to all the people in the world without dishwashers, and dishes, and food for that matter! Well today I say "THANK YOU JESUS" for this wonderfully noisy dishwasher. You see, I've been struggling with my patience with the children lately, remember? So I've been praying continually for God to help me through those tough times throughout the day when I feel like pulling my hair out, or worse. I even commented to Matt this weekend how I wasn't sure how God was helping me through this because I kept getting frazzled time after time. One of the really difficult times is when putting Joey down for nap, he often cries and cries, and screams and fits. So just now, after laying him down, the crying began and as I sat down in the living room for my own "quiet" time, ready to have a fit of my own, the dishwasher started up...loud as ever, and I found relief! I could barely hear Joey crying! Now, 20 minutes later, the noisy part of the wash cycle is over and the baby's sleeping, and I didn't have to TOTALLY LOSE IT:)