Beach Trip 2009

We had a fabulous time at the beach again this year. The kids were super on the way to and from WV to SC....only a few little outbreaks which is always to be expected. We spent our days at the beach or in the pool depending on what the kids wanted, which was usually the pool. The weather was great....hot and it only rained a few times in the evening. I'll go ahead and cut to the chase and show off some of our pictures.

Nolan on the beach.
















Nathan looking extremely COOL in his shades.













These two loved playing in the sand.

Nathan saying, "Oh Mom-my,"

Nicholas sitting on Matt's shoulders....he had been trying to sink his teeth into Matt's head.

Enjoying some pink ice cream.

Nolan's bright ice cream turned his lips blue.

Nathan is really into the Build-A-Bear scene.

Natalie anxiously awaiting her turn to stuff her Hello Kitty.

Natalie and Nathan taking a ride.

Matt and me at the amusement park.

The kids loved this ride as it whipped them around the corners. Nolan and Nathan rode in a car together, and Natalie and Abby in another car (you can see them in the back).

Riding the little Ferris wheel.

Pops and Nicholas.

My blue-eyed boys.

Makayla and Natalie in the pool.

Nicholas fell asleep while Hannah floated him around the pool.

Mom-o and Nolan.

Matt and Natalie.

All of Mom-o and Pops' grand kids.

Cousins.

Mommy and daughter...the sun was really in our eyes.

Our happy family.

Matt and me.

Just our babies.
.

The entire crew.

Doctor Day & Family Night

Today was Nicholas' 6 month check-up (one month behind schedule). I had to take all the kids with me, but thankfully Matt was able to meet me at the office and keep the older 3 kids in the waiting room while Nicholas was in the exam room. He is as healthy (and as big) as a horse. He is in the 90th percentile on both height and weight....definitely our biggest baby at this point. He handled his shots as well as could be expected. He had quit crying before we left the exam room, though probably because I brought a bottle for him.....I'm aiming for the 100th percentile in weight, LOL!

Nolan suggested that after the appointment we eat dinner at Ruby Tuesday since it was Tuesday, naturally. But, Matt suggested we go to Chick-Fil-A for Family Night (held every Tuesday), and hands down the kids all chose Chick-Fil-A. We have only been to Family Night once, sometime last year I believe, but I think we should really start going more often. For every adult meal one buys, one gets a free kid's meal....so it's pretty cost efficient. There are door prizes every 15 minutes, games to play to win coupons (free fries, drinks, ice cream, etc...), the play room, and a clown named Miss Tea Cup who paints the children's' faces. Nolan had his face painted the first time we went to Family Night, but Natalie did not. But this time Nolan, Natalie, and even Nathan all got their faces painted. They just looked too cute for words.

So what started out as just a typical trip to the doctor's office, turned into a really fun evening for the kids....especially since it had been raining and they had been couped up during the day.


Natalie the cat. A lot of her paint had come off by the time we made it home.














Nathan....AKA Spider-man.

Nolan got a spider and web on his cheek.

Preschool Graduation!

Nolan's last day of preschool was June 4th. I was able to attend his graduation with the kids and I'm so glad I could make it. All the preschoolers wore makeshift caps and received diplomas. They entertained us with several songs that they sing daily at school. Nolan was singing and smiling the whole time....it was so wonderful!!! Here are some pictures.

Here's Nolan right after they marched in. I think he's pretty happy to see his family :) I wish Matt could have come too, but work had other plans for him.

This was a super cute song. It involved a lot of body parts....at this point they have their "bottoms up."

Nolan receiving his diploma from Miss Lu and shaking hands with Miss Aimee.

Some boys from the class.

This is a picture I took of the slide show....a picture of Nolan with his diploma. Miss Aimee said the class had been practicing for some time to get ready for the big day. I also learned this is where Nolan picked up on "alphabetical order," as the kids received their diplomas in that way. And yes, he totally gets the concept and now uses it quite frequently.

Another picture from the slide show.

Nathan just couldn't resist having his picture made too. He's certainly saying, "CHEEEEESE!"

Our New Pool

We put up our new pool yesterday. It's almost identical to the one we had for the past two years. Nolan had a t-ball game last night, but I stayed home with Natalie and Nicholas while Matt took Nolan and Nathan. Natalie was more than ready to get in the pool, so after I gave Nicholas a bath, we headed to the back yard so she could swim.

Natalie doing a "trick."

Doing the crab walk.

Nicholas was very content to hang out in the walker.

Nolan got in the pool after his game

Nathan was only in the pool for a split second. The water was much too cold for him :)

A Few Pics

We had a little impromptu cookout on Saturday with our neighbors. The kids, of course, enjoyed the sandbox. One neighbor, originally from PA, referred to our backyard as a West Virginia beach....a sand box and a creek :) But it makes for a fun childhood!!!







Morghan, Nathan and Natalie playing in the sand.



My big boys. Nolan had his arm around Nathan one morning, and I had to get a pic of the two of them being so sweet.






Just a cute pic of Nate.

T-Ball :)

Nolan has had his first, second, and third t-ball games this week....Thursday, Friday, and today. Matt and I have had an absolute blast thus far watching him play since we both are baseball enthusiasts. It brings back so many childhood memories for me being at the field as my childhood was pretty much spent on the ball field from birth! Here are some of the pictures from the week...ENJOY!

First game....just got his jersey and hat and lookin' so good!

Nolan up to bat.

He and his buddy are really into the game here....messing around on second base.

Hangin' out in the dugout.

Daddy and Nolan.

Mommy, Nolan, and Natalie.

Sand-tastic!!!

Matt built our new and definitely improved sandbox on Sunday. It's 10 x 8....almost the size of the bedroom I had growing up (10x10). The kids absolutely love it, and it's in a nicely shaded part of the backyard. It's a perfect spot for the kids to play in the morning and evening when the sun isn't beating on it.

Each one is doing his or her "own" thing....so peaceful during these rare moments!!!

Our Easter!

Easter was a blast this year. The kids were so excited to see what the Easter Bunny had brought them.


Nathan got a ball similar to the ones that Nolan and Natalie already have. But he was mostly excited about the candy.





























Natalie got a Dora doll.












Nolan got a "Moon in my Room". We have it mounted on the wall in his room now, but this was a pic of Nolan in the dark bathroom looking at his glowing moon.






Nicholas got a super soft puppy dog.























The weather wasn't extremely warm on Easter, but it was nice enough to get in the sandbox that Matt set up for them. They had a blast playing in it.



It's such a tight squeeze. Matt is considering building a sandbox instead....but this will do for now.

Nicholas is a bit too small to get in the sandbox, so he stayed inside and was perfectly content.

Nolan's Book

A couple of weeks ago, Nolan glued several pieces of construction paper together. He decided it should be a book. He wrote the title on the front by himself. It says "Mayan Emperor's Puzzles Book", by Nolan Cook. He asked that he be the author and I could be the illustrator. It's taken me a while to be able to sit down with him to help him write the story. But today, I finally was able to help him write it....though I've yet to do my illustrations. So I thought I would share the text of his book on this blog....in case I ever lose the hard copy (you I know I'm gonna keep his "first book"). Nolan told me the story, and I wrote it. I usually had to change a little phrasing, but some phrases are exactly how he said them. I think it's pretty good myself, though it has absolutely NOTHING to do with a Mayan Emperor or Puzzles in any way :) ( I do realize that Emporer is spelled incorrectly....and I take full responsibilty because I told him the letters to write...Oops!)

So here's the story:

Once upon a time, there was a king named Nolan. He was the king of Asia.

One day, King Nolan went outside and played with his ball. He threw the ball in the air very high. King Nolan couldn't catch the ball, and it rolled down a hill and landed in a cave.

King Nolan wasn't afraid to go into the cave. He thought the cave was empty. But it wasn't! There was a bear inside, and it put its teeth in the ball. The ball lost all its air.

The king took the ball back to his palace and fixed it. He used his air pump to put in new air, and he used tape to patch the holes from the bear's sharp teeth.

King Nolan went back to the cave where the bear was. He showed the bear that he had fixed the ball. The bear smiled at King Nolan. King Nolan smiled at the bear.

King Nolan invited the bear back to his palace. He told the bear, "Don't forget to wipe your feet on the rug before you come in."

King Nolan asked the bear to stay for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

The bear loved the king's palace and wanted to stay forever. But King Nolan explained to the bear that he could only stay for one night.

The bear was sad, but King Nolan promised to visit the bear's cave every day. And he did.

THE END

An Evening Out and Outdoor Fun!

Yesterday, Matt and I and our neighbors were supposed to drop all of our kids off at our neighbor's baby sitter's house so that we adults could have a trip to the bowling alley. The plans didn't work out, however. My neighbor called yesterday morning and said that her little girl was sick, so we had to take a rain check on bowling. It didn't bother me at all to reschedule, but when I told the kids that they weren't going to get to go the baby sitter's house and play, they were devastated. The kids had never even met the babysitter other than once last year when she was at our neighbor's house helping her with a yard sale. So after talking to Matt, I decided to call my neighbor and see if her babysitter would still watch our kids so Matt and I could have an evening out together. Sure enough, the babysitter (Marcia) was up for it.

We dropped the kids off around 6 o'clock. Nolan and Natalie were so excited when they saw all the toys she had. They had no problems at all with Matt and me leaving. Nathan was fine until later when he couldn't figure out why Mommy and Daddy were no longer there. Marcia said he had a little meltdown, but after she gave him some pretzels, he was fine. Nicholas, on the other hand, started crying immediately. Marcia was rocking him, and trying to get him to take his bottle, but he just wasn't having it. I had brought one of his toys from home, and that got him to calm down a little. When we left, he was still crying a bit. Marcia told us that he was very cranky and cried hysterically when he looked at her (poor Marcia). He finally took a 15 minute power nap, and then when he woke up, she said he was giggling and smiling and finally enjoying himself.

Matt and I didn't do much. We went to Olive Garden to eat and then to Target to shop a little. We were able to pick up the kids at about 8:30. I thought it worked out pretty well, and hopefully we'll be able to do this more often. Marcia even offered to watch the kids at our house sometime if we ever planned a late evening out. I think having an occasional baby sitter will really be a wonderful thing...especially since the kids had a blast and are already asking when they can go back to her house!

Here are some picks of the kids playing outside today.

The "big boy" bike.

They're looking for bees.

Posing for a pretty picture.

Ready for a wagon ride....a bit of a tight squeeze.

Still looking for bees.

Pictures!

The kids were sort of up to having me take their pictures this evening, so here they are :P

Lying on the floor.

Look at all these toes!!!!

As pretty as they come!

My sweet boy.

Well, he thinks his bear smells good (LOL)!

Nicholas has had enough....but Natalie says, "Bring it on!"

A New Computer....At Last!

We finally have our new computer.....and what a blessing it's been already. Natalie is really into playing some games on here now. So she's been really occupied with the computer, and I've been able to do a little more cleaning than usual. I'm sure by week's end, the novelty of the computer will probably wear off a little, so I'm doing what I can now to "Spring Clean" :)

We also bought a new digital camera. I haven't taken many pictures yet, but when I do, I'll post them. It's been over a month since I've really done much blogging, and I know I need to get some pictures of my little munchkins on here.

The kids are all doing great. Nolan is really maturing these days. He likes to have his "alone" time away from Natalie and Nathan.....I think he much rather prefers playing with kids his own age right now. He's still loving school and has begun reading on his own. When I say he's reading....I mean he is seriously reading. He read an entire book from his school library which contained words like..."triangle", "thought", "which", "wrapped"....and he only needed help with a few words such as "tidied". The kid just amazes me with his learning ability!

Natalie is really growing up too. She absolutely LOVES to help me do household chores and take care of Nicholas. Last night at dinner, she saw some spilled milk on the floor and used her paper towel to clean it up. Then, as she was wiping it up, she would turn to look at Matt and me to make sure we were watching. She would grin from ear to ear as we told how what a big girl she was. That's the key with Natalie right now....she wants to be big, so all we need to do to get her to be agreeable, is stress the "big girl" factor.

Nathan is also on the fast track to becoming a big boy. He has started using the potty some. He'll even poop in the potty without much of a struggle. It's so funny cause Nathan's favorite word is "poop". If he doesn't know what something is, he points to it and asks, "Poop?" Then we tell him what it really is. But when he actually poops, he calls it "black"...such a funny little guy. He's definitely the jokester in the family.

Nicholas is nearly five months old now. He cut his lower two front teeth late last week and is constantly drooling and shoving everything he can find into his mouth. He was supposed to go to the pediatrician yesterday for his 4 month check-up (yes, we're behind), but the doctor's office called around noon and said that the doctor was not going to be in for the afternoon, so we had to reschedule his visit. That's okay with me.....delay the shots a bit, I don't enjoy watching my little ones get stuck with needles, so waiting another week is fine with me.

We're Still Here!

I just wanted to let everyone know that we're doing okay. Our computer is down, so I'm using Matt's work computer. I'll try to do an actual post sometime later, but I just wanted to check in to let everyone know that we're doing fine :)