Christmas is Here

Every Thanksgiving the kids get their new ornament from Gibba. They love opening a little present early and then getting the tree ready. Those new ornaments are hung exactly where the kids can see them.

We put the tree and decorations up on Friday. It is very nice to have older kids as they can do the tree almost all by themselves. I just wish Kathryn would stop reorganizing the tree everyday. I am worried we are going to lose a few ornaments if she keeps this up.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was very mellow and low key this year, just what I needed. We went to Rob's mom's and the kids enjoyed playing with toys, games and watching The Grinch. We all had a great time and Emme loved eating real food with the family. I have so much to be thankful for and I feel so loved by all the family and friends that we have.

Girls Day

The girls and I went to the aquarium for a girls day out. We were sick of being at home all day. It was a ton of fun and I love how every time we go Emme is more interested and loves the fish more and more. Kathryn actually touched the Sting Rays this time and liked it. Kat is also fascinated by the spiders and snakes. My girls are getting so big!

The boys had a day of their own, they were able to go skiing with Grandma Bonnie for the first time of the season. They had a bast and loved being with grandma. I am so glad that my boys love to ski and that I get to go this year:)

Reflections

Robbie's reflections piece is moving on again this year. He did a piano piece and I didn't have to help at all. I love that this kid motivates himself and does the extra stuff. I am so proud of him and all his hard work. I am hoping that he is learning that if you go above and beyond that it is worth it. SO PROUD OF HIM!!!

Family Pictures

We went and had our family photos done at fotofly this year. It was a nice change and they got a lot of good shots. It was a rough sitting as the kids where acting up but we were surprised that they were able to get the great shots anyway. I don't usually pay attention to the number of kids I have until we get our photos done and I am always shocked to see that we really do a have a lot of kids. They are so fun but it is hard to get a good picture with five little kids.

Orchastra

Robbie decoded that he wanted to be apart of the school orchestra this year. He wanted to play the violin and has really put forth a lot of effort to learn to play it. He gets up early every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to go to school for orchestra. I am proud of him for the work and discipline that he is showing. The kids all did a great job on their performance and hopefully Robbie will get loving the violin.

Silly Girl

Kathryn's new thing is to dance and sing around the house. She makes up a lot of her own songs, we have heard several about going potty. We all get a kick out of her, Rob is just amazed by the energy, noise level and dramatics that she adds to all her dances.

Stink Face

(She wasn't a fan of the lettuce she helped herself to.)

Emme has been doing this face for a while now. Rob calls it her stink face, it started out as a face and noise she did when she was mad. She still does it when she is mad but she also does it now to make you laugh. We can do it to her and she does it right back. I have a feeling she is going to be a character, we are in trouble!

6 Months Old

Can't believe this little lady is 6 months already. She is such a happy baby, she always has a smile for you. She loves food and would rather eat my dinner than her own. I don't think we will be doing baby food for to long. She loves to jump and rolls all over the floor. We hardly ever hear her cry but she does this snorting thing when she is getting mad. We all love having her around and she is an amazing addition to the family.

Jump Jump

We got the jumper out for Emme to see if should would like it. None of the other kids loved it, they would spend a few minutes in it and then they where done. Emme loves it!!! She could spend all day jumping! She has even fallen asleep in it, then when Charlie woke her up with his barking she immediately started jumping again. It was so funny to watch.

Rub a dub dub....

TWO GIRLS IN THE TUB!!

It is so nice that we don't have to use the baby tub anymore. Plus it is so easy to get both girls washed at once. Emme loves being able to kick and play. Kathryn likes showing Emme all the fun bath toys.

Parent Teacher Conferences

The boys had parent teacher conferences last week, I am happy to say that they all did very well. I love being able to go and come home and feel like maybe I am doing something right. The kids are all super good and handling the work well. I love that I have passed on the love of reading to my kids, I think it has really helped them in school. Wes is doing well in Chinese and his teacher kept saying Wes so smart, he can do it" They are going to start trying to challenging him a little more because "he can do it". I am so proud of my kids and after the hard month I had with them in October it was nice to start November out on a good note. Hopefully they will keep doing well and keep loving school.

Halloween

Wes was a ninja.

My little munchkins

The yummiest Strawberry ever! I had a hard time not nibble on her cute little cheeks.

Tanner was Harry Potter

Robbie was a ninja.

Kathryn was a "pink princess flower"

Our Halloween festivities consisted of the Ward Trunk-r-Treat on Saturday. The kids loved going and being able to get lots of candy in a short period of time and then play with all their friends. On Monday we had a busy day. We went to two school parades, luckily their was one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Later that night they went trick-r-treating around the neighborhood. They had so much fun going with friends and stayed out for over an hour and a half. I finally had to go track them down to come have dinner. The kids got way to much candy which means I will probably put on some of the weight that I have lost, and have wild crazy kids for the next couple of weeks. I am glad October is over and hope that November will be a calmer more relaxing month, because I really need a break.