365Project.2014 | Weeks 10-12

The year Marches on ... literally. It hardly seems possible that we have nearly completed 1/4 of 2014 already! Other numbers of note include the fact that we have only 34 days of school remaining for this year and at 21+ weeks, Jenny has more than passed the half-way point of her pregnancy! So. All things considered, time seems to be flying by! :) Here's a glimpse of the last few weeks in our neck of the woods ... 

62. It's fun to see each child's development, even in something as simple as a get well card. Matthew (3) is happily coloring the picture of his choice--staying significantly closer to the line boundaries than he was a few months ago. Peter (6) is carefully copying the note he dictated ... in pencil, on dotted handwriting lines. Hannah (8) is writing her own note in cursive on lines that she drew lightly in pencil so that she could later erase them. 

63. We got new phones!!! And we are VERY pleased with them! If you're interested in saving money on your monthly phone bill, check out Republic Wireless! (And I just learned that they're coming out with a second phone option that's only $150 instead of $300!)

64. My boys are LOVING the trampoline that Hannah's piano teacher has in her backyard. :)

 65. The ever popular K'nex ... this time it's a crane, connected to the bed frame ...

66. A very common early morning view for Mommy ...

  

67. It was fun to celebrate our friend's birthday at the Children's Museum!

After cake and such, Hannah went off to explore with her friends and their parents, Peter and Daddy learned how to land rockets in the simulator, and Mommy and Matthew hung out in the construction zone. :)

68. And this Sunday was a day of rest for Mommy ... Daddy was super sweet and picked up her favorite treat. ♥

69. My young lady collecting daffodils ... ♥

70. Daddy's crew was super excited when he pulled in JUST in front of Mommy after Good New Club on Tuesday. Of course, they took advantage of the opportunity for a fun ride to the top! :)

71. Fuse beads! Some things are cyclical ... we won't see hide nor hare of these for months on end, and then we see them EVERYWHERE for a week ... till Mommy decides it's time for them to go away again for a bit. :)

72. Excited for the warmer weather!

73. More alterations! :) I LOVED the color of this $1 shirt ... the shape? Not so much ...

Quite a bit of fussing and trying and trying again yielded what is now my favorite casual maternity shirt. :)

74. And here's Mommy and Baby at 20 weeks ... :)

75. Sunday morning conversations ...

76. If one must fold laundry and lots of it (this was just the first few of many loads ...), it's nice to do it with sunshine and fresh breezes flowing through open windows. :)

77. In honor of the beautiful weather, the kiddos changed their desk arrangement ... to facilitate looking out the window. ;)

78. Matthew has been on a "model and remote control" coloring kick for weeks now. Mommy finally got smart and just saved the file on the computer. Now we simply replace the "model" (i.e. some form of airplane) and the rest stays the same.

79. Celebrating the first day of spring with lots of errands, cheerful, sweet kiddos despite lots of errands, and a special treat at Rita's as a well-earned reward. :)

And even better for Hannah? Her friend Eliza joined us for a few hours while her brother was at baseball practice. :)

80. Another beautiful day and continued energy for Mommy = our first day at the park for a LONG time! :) My crew chose a park with trails for hiking over a park with an incredible playground set. I can't complain there!

And though they were running ahead of me most of the afternoon, they obliged me for a quick photo on the bench they had claimed while they were waiting for Mommy to catch up. ;)

 Watching the ducks. :)

Just a few minutes on the playground after our hike ...

And then our friend and the most awesome babysitter EVER had an evening with the kiddos while Mommy and Daddy enjoyed an evening of uninterrupted conversation. Win-win situation in our books! :)

81. When did this young man grow up on us?!? He reveled in his work day with Daddy ... including driving the tractor to pull fallen trees out of the woods ...

and supervising the bonfire.

 ♥

And that's that! Our ultrasound is tomorrow, so Lord willing, we'll know whether we're going to even things up around here or make them even more lopsided. :) 

365Project.2013 | Weeks 18–19

Continuing to try to catch up ...

Somehow life has not slowed down one iota in the last month .. or has it been two? Not sure, but I'm thankful for pictures that capture the moments I'm pretty certain would simply get lost in the shuffle.

 

Day 120. Matthew enjoys cutting making confetti. He's also learning to clean up his mess creations. Nuff said. ;)

Day 121. Peter and a soccer ball continue to be a very. common. scene. around here. :)

Daddy doesn't mind the excuse to get out and play. :)

Day 122. We were so glad that Chris's brother and his family were able to come down and visit! :) They were mostly here for Janie's sister who was graduating from college, but we enjoyed spending time with them in between the ceremonies and parties associated with such events. :)

Aunt Janie enjoys reading books as much (if not more!) than Mommy does! :)

And Uncle Bryan will build with anything he can get his hands on. :)

Why yes, yes, that is my very. flat. tire. Rock–1 Tire–0. Hissing is not such a good sound to be hearing from the driver's seat. ;) Thankful for road hazard insurance and a hubby and brother-in-law who had the spare on in the time it took me to get Matthew up from his nap.

Day 123. We did it!!! We finished out first year of homeschooling, and we now have a 1st and 3rd grader in our midst! Great job, Peter and Hannah! :)

Day 124. Aunt Janie introduced us to Sneetches ... and What Was I Afraid Of? ... which quickly became Matthew's new favorite stories. :)

Day 125. The Heroes' Club did a great job with their end of year performance! :) So thankful for their teachers!

Day 126. With graduation and parties over, we saw a bit more of Uncle Bryan, Aunt Janie, and Kathryn. :) While the littlest people were sleeping, Uncle Bryan gave instruction in martial arts ...

And Aunt Janie introduced Hannah to homemade cinnamon rolls ...

Day 127. As well as knitting. :)

 Day 128. And just for Grandma, here's a picture of the cousins. :)

Day 129. We were very glad to be able to join our friends at the zoo the morning that Uncle Bryan and Aunt Janie had to go back home. It helps make the transition from "family visiting" to "just us" a little bit easier. ;)

Matthew really enjoyed seeing the giraffes, and hung out here a bit longer than the rest of the kids.

Day 130. And who can believe it's been ten years???

My hubby blessed me with this morning treat as he had already left for work when I got up ...

And then came home with this amazing arrangement as well!!!

However, in sickness and in health definitely reigned, because my hubby spent most of the evening and weekend pretty well wiped out with a spring cold. Thankfully our special plans were for the following weekend and not this one!

I delayed giving his gift till he was actually well enough to enjoy it. He's been wanting a music stand for quite a while and was quite excited! :)

Day 131. And then, since Mommy and Hannah were still going strong, we decided to move forward with Hannah's 8th birthday party. Hot dogs, Doritos, and watermelon were the fare of choice. :)

After lunch, gifts, and cake, the girls enjoyed an afternoon of hiking. :)

Day 132. We saved some of Hannah's gifts for her "actual" birthday. The kids were quite excited to see Grandma's puzzle completed and learn that they had once again gifted us a pool membership for the summer. :) Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa!

And along with some books and clothes, doll accessories were the theme for this year, including a doll living room refurbished by Mommy from a $2 garage sale end table. :)

And here's Mommy with her crew since it was also Mothers' Day. :)

Day 133. And then the fun continued with Grandma and Grandpa's arrival. Matthew was SO excited to see the John Deere on the trailer behind Grandpa's truck. "Mommy!!!! He brought it HOME!!!!" (We're still working on the concept that it actually belongs to G&G!) :)

And so the adventures continue ...