Cute Clicks of Caleb

What's not to love????

Nancy

Not Me! Monday

So, this is week two of Not Me! Monday which can be found on MckMama's website here.  This week.....

I did not make my sweet hubby a grilled tuna sandwich without the tuna.  Nope, not me!

I did not almost let Justin stay home from school on Friday because it was cool and rainy and I SO did not want to get out of bed to take him.  Cooler heads prevailed, though, and he made it to school on time.

I did not cheat and eat a very itsy, bitsy piece of cheese pizza because it sounded so good and I really, really wanted a taste of pizza!  (For those of you who don't know, I am not supposed to have dairy products because my sweet little baby has a dairy allergy.).

And, finally, I did not promise myself all day that if I finished my cleaning, I could post my Not Me! Monday post.  Well, I almost finished.  :)

Nancy

Apple Picking Pictures (Finally!)

Aaron loved picking apples!!!

All of the boys had a great time picking apples!  We picked some Galas, Granny Smiths and Jonagolds.  While we were picking, the boys each ate two apples - I think it's the first time that Aaron has ever eaten an apple without me cutting it up.  In the last week, they have eaten more apples than they have probably eaten in the last month!  As you can see, even Caleb had a great day!!  :)

Nancy

Sandbox

The kids were thrilled to help Drew build a sandbox today!  The sandbox was a birthday gift to Justin from Papa and Nana, and today we were able to put it together.  As you can see from the pictures, Justin (and Zachary and Aaron) was thrilled with the results!  Aaron was so disappointed when we had to clean up the toys and come in.  Through many tears, he finally told us that the sand had to go "night-night."

By the way, Aaron and Caleb both have colds this weekend.  Aaron kept telling us today, "My nose keeps running out."  :)  

Nancy

Friday Night Fun!

This is what Friday night fun looks like in our house!  Drew and the boys (mostly Drew) have patiently built each of their Lego City sets so they could set up their Lego town.  It never fails to amaze me how Drew can find a specific tiny piece among 1000's of Legos.....

Meanwhile, what the picture did not show was MY Friday night *fun* - a huge mountain of clean-but-not-yet-folded laundry!  So, that is what I will be doing tonight.....

Nancy

P.S.  Kudos to anyone who can define "sunrising" as depicted by the Lego people Justin arranged on top of the fire station.  :)

Happy Birthday, Justin!

Well, we now have another boy that has reached the five-year-old mark!  Happy Birthday to Justin!!  He is so excited to be five now.  Justin helped me make his birthday cake, and he thought it looked like yellow dirt!! On his birthday, Saturday, we went with a group of friends from church to Sky Top Apple Orchard to pick apples.  That is one of the boys' favorite things to do in the fall, and this year the weather was beautiful!  Grampy and Grammy also came with us and we left with bushels (!) of apples.

On Thursday night we met at the park with the Gazaways and Florences (Sara Kate's family) to have cookie cake and ice cream for Justin's birthday.  The kids all had a terrific time playing, and we all enjoyed the beautiful fall weather.  The rain held off so we were able to spend an enjoyable two hours playing.

We have seen Justin grow and change so much in the last year.  Not only has he been growing (finally!) but he has matured so much that sometimes it surprises us.  Justin is becoming a very loving and giving little boy.  He is so protective of his brothers, especially of his younger brothers.  Justin also loves to share and works hard to include his friends at school in what he is doing.  One of his best friends is Sara Kate, and it has been fun to watch their friendship grow in the last year.  We are very proud of the big boy Justin is becoming, and we are looking forward to watching him grow even more this year.

Not in Trouble

After hearing some noise on the stairs, I went to investigate....and this is what I found!  While I thought he was in bed, Aaron had dumped his stuffed animals down the stairs to the landing and brought his pillow to join them.  He was so cute, I just couldn't be upset! :)

Not Me! Monday

Okay, so one of my favorite blogs in the entire world has just started a "Not Me! Monday." It's a great chance to tell all of the things we did (not) do for the previous week.  I have laughed so hard at some of the posts already, and it's not even Monday!  :)  You can read the original "Not Me! Monday post on MckMama's website here.

I did not spend almost all week trying to clean my house only to start all over again tomorrow.  

I did not let Aaron run around the house with his toy gun AND no clothes on so I could get a picture of him "bare" hunting.

And the winner this week, I most certainly did NOT put only 4 candles on my now-five-year-old son's birthday cake and bring it to the table, only to have my 6 year old NOT tell me, "Mom, you forgot one of Justin's candles!"

Nope, not me!

The view in my living room.....

It's overcast and sprinkling outside and what do my children want?  To play camping!  So, Mommy obliged and erected a tent in the middle of the living room.  We have had hikes, bear hunts, and campfires all from the comfort of our home.  J and A are loving playing in the tent, and Mommy is actually getting some ironing done (or I was until I sat down to write this post)!

Z had a really great day at school yesterday!  It was the first day that he completed all of his classwork correctly and received a sticker and a Skittle.  He was so excited and so were we!

Back to my ironing....I just wanted to share our morning activities! :)

Justin's First Day of School

Today was Justin's first day in K-4. Mrs. Butler is his teacher (she was also Zac's K-4 teacher). Justin's best friend from K-3, Sara Kate, is also in his class. Justin had a terrific day. He was able to play on BOTH playgrounds today, and he thought that was the best! He also said that he got to "marker" his name (write his name with a marker). Justin was excited about calendar time and learning about putting the date on the calendar. He said that he played with Sara Kate and RJ, building blocks, playing with Legos and playing in the kitchen center. All in all, he had a great day!

Monday

Happy Labor Day to all! We had a busy day around here. Zac had school today, so we were up for school at 8:00. Justin and Aaron enjoyed playing this morning. Actually, they had a very brother-bonding moment. I was upstairs, Drew was busy with Caleb, and Aaron decided he needed to go stinky. So, he went and when he was done, he called Justin to help him wipe. My boys are growing up!

Tomorrow is Justin's first day in K-4. He is so excited to be back in school. Of course, part of that excitement stems from seeing his friend, Sara Kate again. They will be in the same class again this year.

That's about it for now....tomorrow will be here before I'm ready!