Bliss & That: July 2008

Monday, July 28, 2008

Isabella is FOUR!!

Isabella turned FOUR on Friday! It's hard to believe that my "baby" is four already, but I wasn't too sad surprisingly. She was so excited and counting down the days of course. I had given her a couple of options for where to go out to lunch, but knew what the answer would be... Chuck E. Cheese! :) The kids had a great time, and it wasn't too bad for Mark and I either! After naps at home, we had a little Princess party with just the four of us. Mark grilled, and then we had cake. Isabella got her first "big girl" bike, a princess one of course! (She's had her eye on it for quite a while now, but knew she had to turn four first!) She's already a pro at riding it, and Lincoln and her love to ride around the kitchen table. (Him on his four-wheeler of course...) Here are just a few pictures from the day!

You can imagine how excited Lincoln was to see Bob and Scoop at Chuck E. Cheese. It seemed like half of our tokens went to this ride! Here, Isabella is riding on Scoop like Bob does. :)

Posing with Chuck E. himself!

Right after Daddy wheeled her bike in!

Princess cake for everybody with a lot left over for Mommy! :)

Big Stuff! (She also got the proper safety equipment!)

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Lincoln's Breakfast: Round Two

Okay, this is now at 9:45 this morning... I ran upstairs to clean the toilet while the kids were watching "Bob the Builder" in the other room. (They didn't even notice that I had slipped away!) I came back down a couple of minutes later to this...

Not only butterscotch chips this time, but paired with mini fruit-flavored marshmallows. Is this how the whole day is going to go? Needless to say, I wasn't quite as understanding with Lincoln this time around. (And not just because the remainder of the marshmallows and chips that weren't in the bowl were on the floor...)

Lincoln Got His Own Breakfast

This morning Lincoln came downstairs before I got out of bed. I'm not stupid, so I knew that I only had a minute or two to get downstairs to spoil any plans of destruction that he had. He met me at the bottom of the stairs holding this...

... a bowl of butterscotch chips. He had already gotten up on the counter, into the baking cupboard on the top shelf, and poured himself a bowl. I said, "Lincoln, is that your breakfast?" "Yes", he said with a smile.

Monday, July 21, 2008

35 Weeks and Counting...

Sorry there haven't been pictures of giant 'ole me sooner. I missed a month since the last set... Well, these should make up for it, though! This was yesterday, 35 weeks and 1 day. Mark keeps wondering if my due date is off. Now why do you think he wonders that!? :) I'm still feeling good, but suddenly can sympathize with why some women might not completely "enjoy" the last couple of months. Simple things like walking and bending seem to be a challenge lately! This one is definately more active and seems bigger sooner. All in all, I still love every moment of being pregnant!

Who Needs a Sister??

Every once in a while Isabella recruits Lincoln to dress up with her princess style! He's a very good sport, and actually somewhat enjoys it, I think. On this particular day, he especially fancied the red ballet flats! :)

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Botanical Garden Trip

We took our first trip of the year to the botanical gardens last week when we had a little bit of a cooler morning. Mark got a family membership pass for Father's Day since it's one of his favorite places to be with all of the plants and hostas! It was an absolutely beautiful morning in the 70s. We were able to be there for a couple of hours, eat lunch on their outdoor patio, and be back home by naptime! Bella and Lincoln love it there just as much as we do, especially since they have one of the country's only children's gardens. It's an amazing place for the kids to explore with little houses, a big sandbox, gardens, caves, a treehouse, bubbling fountain, and a couple of fish ponds with bridges and stepping stones. Isabella is going back next week for a BotaniCool Little Spuds class for 3-5 year olds. We also love the Glass House with the butterflies. There are so many that they actually land on you sometimes so you can touch them! If any visitors are ever interested in going, let us know! We love visiting there and would be glad to take you! :)

"Ribbit" in the children's garden

The fountain in the children's garden

A beautiful fountain near the entrance

Posing in the Japanese garden

Crossing a bridge over a fish pond in the children's garden

Lincoln exploring one of the caves

Another bridge in the children's garden

Daddy {Mark}

Both my high school and modern-day sweetheart {he claims he's loved me since seventh grade}, Daddy’s the reason we’re on this awesome journey around the U.S. {Truth be told, the kids and I would happily follow him anywhere. We’re pretty fond of him…} So hardworking, he's always busy putting others to sleep. Huh? You see, he really is quite an interesting and diverse person, it's just that he's now an Army Officer schooling in anesthesia. :) For enjoyment and down-time from school and being at the hospital he loves to cook. {What, Honey? You want to make supper? Uhm... okay!} In addition to cooking, he also enjoys hunting and gardening. {See, diverse...} He’s doing a wonderful job already teaching our young boys what is expected of them to develop into a good man and our only daughter what it takes to avoid those good men for the next 30 years or so.

Mommy {Kate}

I'm Kate, spending day and night molding precious lives and trying to keep up with the laundry and dishes. I'm always wondering how I could do things better at home, trying to learn through grace to be the best wife and mother for OUR family, even if others think I'm off my rocker. :) This is still a big work in progress, though, but I'm just so thankful to be doing the only thing I've always wanted to do- be a wife and mama! My newest label other than Army wife is being a homeschooling mommy. I find being in charge of my children’s education just as daunting as being in charge of their haircuts, and I always joke with Mark that I’ll take care of the English if he’ll help out with the higher level math and science. {He's intensely brainy. Yes, the whole package...} Little by little, I'd like to pretend I'm doing ok with teaching them and figuring it out s-l-o-w-l-y. My will-power is next to nothing when it comes to Dr Pepper, spoonfuls of homemade buttercream frosting, my husband's cooking, and a good home décor magazine. I dream of a little hobby farm with a big garden, clothes line, goats {love!}, pasture, and chickens {again} one day...

{Isabella Grace 8}

Our four little ones keep us busy, happy, frustrated, inspired, tired, and loved. Leading the pack is our first and only daughter, Isabella. We should have known from the start that she'd always be our loud and bubbly one, arriving as a tiny peanut four weeks early, surprising us all. She holds her own quite well to say the least with the boys, and is many times the mastermind behind trouble. Her loves are reading and cooking, but not in that order. Bella is turning into quite the beautiful young lady right before our eyes, and is a natural leader and big sister. It’s wonderful to have a big helper at home now too, as mommies of all little ones know how tough it is without “of-age” helpers. We now also find ourselves calling her "Little Mommy" to the boys very often.

{Lincoln Noah 6}

Next there's oldest of the brothers Lincoln, who makes parenting seem way too easy. :) Lincoln’s a lover of monster trucks and sports, though not in that order either. He also recently got bit by the hunting bug, and just got his first compound bow, much to Daddy's delight. Always counting down the years, he can’t wait until he is old enough to be in charge of mowing and “pooper scooping” on our future farm, which is great, since he's a natural at driving. He's also the most affectionate, soft-spoken little boy, always hugging and kissing us while saying, "I love you in the whole wide world."

{Brigham Isaac 4}

Brigham, Little Brother #2, is just a riot lately, and has Mommy and Daddy wrapped around his little finger. {Part of that may be thanks to the fact that he has possibly the longest eyelashes you will ever find on human or beast. We affectionately call them his face blankets.} There's no possible way that he's four years old already, but with that, he has emerged this year as the "class clown" of the family and is always cracking himself or us up with his antics. He is in love with being a big brother to Little Brother #3, but man, can they argue over toys already! His new love is riding his bike on two wheels after getting rid of those nasty training wheels that slowed him down too much. :)

{Griffin Silas 2}

In September 2010, God blessed us with another little boy in our family, who was born at home- a waterbirth. {Loved it!} Griffin's been such a joy and wonderful fit for our family since the beginning. Riding out the gallons of spit-up and thousands of overnight wakings during the first year have all been worth it, and we are enjoying his full-speed approach to toddlerhood now. He keeps up amazingly well with his older siblings and is still at the cutie-patootie age where nobody can stay mad at him. His fluffy blond curls and perfect kisses may have something to do with that. We are all anxious to see how Finn's personality takes shape, making up the sixth piece of our family puzzle.

Bliss & That