Preschool Pumpkin Patchin'

Yesterday, we took our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch! It was so beautiful and the boys had a blast playing, being loud, playing in the dirt and corn kernels... And Miss D just went along for the ride! Taking it all in - such a girl!

Random pictures

Just a few random pictures of the Fabulous Four!!!

Noah and Jackie Visit VA

Last week my girlfriend, Jackie, and her son Noah (11 months) came to visit! Delaney loves Noah and the feeling is mutual :-) They were super cute together! I loved catching up with Jackie and snuggling little Noah. Man! Things sure have changed since our ZTA days!!!

Visit from FL

Yippee! A visit from Nana, Papa, and Uncle Steven! It was just what we needed - a few days with some of our favorite people! Wish Christmas would hurry up!

Preschool days are here again!

Okay - so preschool started way back on September 14th! But preschool days ARE here again! And the boys are loving it!

Jack is in his last year of preschool :-( He is in love with 2 little girls but still insists he is marrying ME and Ava! And, as always, loves playing rough with the other boys. You'd think he'd get all his energy out there but I think his energy has no end!

Reed is enjoying his new classroom and all the cook new toys! His favorite day is music day! He's starting to memorize notes and words to new songs and likes playing the instruments. Reed has even told us that he now plays with other kids! That may seem silly but he usually likes some time to himself (I wonder why?!)

We are so lucky to have such a wonderful place to send our boys to! They are loved and treated so well! Also, learning more and more everyday! AND Mommy and Delaney get some alone time!!!

Our first baby is a 1st grader

Today our Camden started 1st grade! It was a little scary (for us, not her) but a little easier than last year! Last year I was a mess! Today, even Jack got a little teary. I think that's so sweet! Here is our girl looking as "girly" as she possibly can!

"Free Fall" Camden

Chesterfield Co. Fair

Last week we decided to take a trip to the fair! We wanted to do some special things before school started back and I thought this would be great! It was terrific! We saw animals, rode the barrel ride, saw a train exhibit, rode kid rides, and ate fried oreos for the first time. Jack and Reed loved the car rides. But Camden loved the bigger, scarier stuff! Her favorite was the "Free Fall!" I am so lucky to have such fun kids!

Build-a-Bear

At the beginning of the summer, we promised the kids we would take them to Build-a-Bear as an "end of the summer" treat. Well, they are running a special until the end of August so we took them over last night. It was the boys first time making one and they all had a blast! Reed made a wolf ("Wolfie") and dressed him as a firefighter. Jack picked a red, white, and blue puppy ("Frosty") and dressed him in karate gear and sneakers. And Camden picked a pink bear ("Courtney") and dressed her in a bikini and sandals. Perfect choices for each of their personalities!

And don't worry! We are making a special one for Delaney for her first birthday (we've got a little time on that!)

Visit to MD

Last weekend we were able to spend some time with one of our favorite families, the Yunker's! We've known Lee and Mike since college (we were in the same sorority and fraternity and introduced them!) Our kids are all very close in age and had such a nice time together. Plus, the Mommies and Daddies got some time to catch-up, too. especially since we haven't seen Mike since he returned from deployment. We visited the Baltimore Aquarium, went to a fancy dinner at a Japanese Steakhouse (or as the boys call it "The fire restaurant"), toured the Naval Academy, and played til they dropped! We can't wait til the next visit!

Little D crawling

Delaney learned some new tricks!

You know how when you have your first baby you can't wait for them to do everything? Like sit up, crawl, stand... Well that is not the case with your fourth child!!! I would be beyond happy to let her wait for all of those tricks. But... She had other plans! So 2 weeks ago, Delaney decided to sit up and sit herself up. Okay! Cute! But last week she started crawling, actually moving from one rrom to the next! And on the same day, she pulled herself into a standing position! Seriously? Why are my children always in such a hurry? It seems early? No?

Party People

On Sunday, we celebrated Landon's 3rd birthday at the park! We have known the Goodwyn's (and the Cooper's and Henry's) since we met in lamaze class 6 1/2 years ago. Since then, we've added a couple more kids to the mix (haha) and they have a blast together!

A blast from the past

Earlier this week we spent a couple of days with some old friends. Our friends since high school, Bobby and Chris, came from NY and GA to spend a few days with us. And we got to meet Bobby's new fiance, Becky, who is terrific! We played at the kid's museum, visited my parent's vineyard, and ate too much food (maybe even drank a little, too!) Our kids loved them, we had a great time, and they even survived a few days with our wild and crazy kids! Can't wait to see them again!

Reed is ready to be a big boy?

Well! Look who finally decided he was ready for underwear? My Little Man!

But be careful because he still wants to be a "baby" sometimes, too! He is so torn! He's fiercely independent 90% of the time but clingy the other 10%. I guess I'll let him be the (3 year old) baby boy!

Delaney Drew - 6 months (almost 7)

Not sure how it's passing so fast! We've been trying to enjoy every minute of our last baby, to no avail! She just keeps growing and changing on us! It's so fun to watch her change though :-)

At her 6 month appt. she topped the scales at 18 lbs. 9 oz. and 26 inches! That's our little chunkster! She is sitting up now and up on her knees rocking like she's ready to crawl. It will happen in no time! She's eating baby fruits and veggies at night and starting to have some at lunch, too. Her favorite is Gerber fruit puffs! They are a great distraction for her to play with while we eat!

Little D's sleep (at night) is returning to normal. She has been sleeping through the night since 8 weeks but at 4 1/2 months it stopped. So Mommy finally decided to do something about it! Last week we started moving her to a pack-n-play in the toy room when she woke in the middle of the night. Gotta keep everyone else asleep! It's working like a charm! She wakes at 4:30 am and we move her. Within 5 minutes she back to sleep. Not sure what took me so long to do this!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot! Our Delaney grew herself 2 teeth! Her bottom 2 have popped through and are slowly becoming visible. See? I told you it's going too fast!

More vacation pic's

Vacation to FL and the HEAT

It's been 2 weeks since we got back from vacation and it already seems like forever. Why can't it last forever? I digress...

We had an AWESOME visit with Nana and Papa!!! We took trips to the Kennedy Space Center, had a "Cowboy Cookout," went to a Cubs baseball game, had a "cousin's" playdate, went to the Jacksonville Zoo,... It was a busy week full of fun-times with Aunt Lee, Uncle Roy, Cousin Lincoln, Uncle Steven, Nana, Papa, the Pickens, Aunt Heather, Cousin Charles, Joey, Stacey, Baby Landon... The best group of people - we have an awesome time! Next year, 2 weeks!