Decking the halls

We all know there is alot to do to get ready for the holidays.  Luckily this year I had some extra help or I never would have been ready in time. 

Drew was in charge of polishing up the mirrors.....


Drew and Brady worked together to clean out a few drawers.....


Jude and Ada helped put up the outdoor lights.  Here, they are taking a break so they could throw a few things over the bank......


Ada thinks Santa should be a girl.  I agree.


Jude and Ada helped trim the tree......


Brady supervised the changing up of the display in the dining room......


It was a big job and required a nap.  What a face.


And we can't forget the Christmas baking!  Ada is INTO it!


It was one hilarious day and did I mention Steve Jobs stopped by?


Aunt Kathy and Jen should have a cooking show:)


And here is the picture of the week before Christmas.  The little Santa (above Ada's head) would kick his feet and splish splash, he's taking a bath.  Jen turned it into an exercise class and everyone joined in:)


We may have thought the Christmas season was fun BEFORE, but it was nothing in comparison to a season filled with wide-eyed little action-packed cousins.  We were living large these days and the best was yet to come.  Next up:  Christmas weekend.  Fasten your seatbelt:)

Girl time

Last year, I was lucky enough to spend every Thursday with my little Ada.  It was a highpoint in my week to have her all to myself for a whole day.  It did require some ungodly early risings on my part so I could hurry to get on the road in order to sit there in the morning rush.  Funny they should call it "rush".   But this year, believe it or not, Ada is going to SCHOOL.  It's a small parent-child cooperative and Ada is in the Toddler Room.  She loves it.  That's all well and good, but isn't this all about me???  I miss our days together. 

It seems like the boys dominate my blogging moments, so this one is for you, Ada. 

I still see her as often as possible, but rarely do I get her all to myself.  Plus, her brother has this new trick whereby he puts on the sweetest face he can muster and says, can I please please stay please for a sleepover, Nini, pleeease?  I so enjoy having only one child at a time (pick one, any one:) and of course, I cave in to his request.  So in comes Jude (happily) and out goes Ada (happily)!  No doubt she loves the attention of both parents when Jude pulls the fast one:) 

Ada has changed so much in the past couple of months.  This shot was taken in August when we were all together at a family party at Aunt Ginny's house in Cannon Beach.


Ada did get to come for a sleepover by herself one weekend.  I remember it so well, it was September 8.  I can't recall why Jude wasn't here as well, but whatever the reason, we had the most wonderful time together.  She wasn't saying real words at the time, but that didn't stop us from chatting it up all weekend. 


It was a really warm morning so we took our coffee and the newspaper and went outside in our jammies.  Nobody was around to throw balls or sand or rocks at us and we just sat there for the longest time.  Ada is the best kind of company.


Ada, sending an email to her "Dat".


Here she is in October, so pretty in her new school clothes.


November:  Her hair grew out, she learned to say real words, and in this picture she's actually singing a song she learned at her school. 


Here is Ada trying to jump into the kitchen sink for a bath.  She loves her baths and will luxuriate for the longest time before she gets the wild and crazies and tries to see what the kitchen will look like under water:)


And here we are last week.  She was tricking me and was quite pleased with herself. 


Ada is a kick.  Plus, she's beautiful and boyant.  The boyant part she had to learn, being in the company of her rowdy brother (and dad) most days.  But she's so different from the boys.  Don't think for a minute I don't love my little boys to pieces.  I raised only boys so I'm accustomed to their antics.  I enable their soft moments and encourage their active times.  While Ada is a combination of both soft and active, she's different because she walks and talks and plays like a little girl. 

She wakes up slowly in the mornings and I love listening to her on the monitor.......chatting happily for the longest time.  I could coffee up, shower, shave and read the paper before her little party in the crib is over.  It's the sweetest thing to listen to her and I hesitate to interrupt before she calls for me. 

Ada's communication skills have erupted in the last 6 weeks.  She says everything, and I'm not kidding.  Everything!  She is now doing that "repeating" thing, which can be fun and dangerous at the same time.  Her older cousin, Brady, was a great repeater, so I've already had to put the skids to my potty mouth. 

Ada doesn't play defense around her all-boy competition.  She's right in there scrapping, (when the mood strikes, that is).  She has definite ideas about what she likes (or not).  I look forward to the day I can catch her long enough to make some little pigtails in that spun gold hair.  Clips slip right out, almost before she can rip them out.  I look at other little girls in the toy store or at church or in the grocery store and when I get the chance I ask their mothers how did you make that ponytail?  I seem to always get the same response:  "It's not easy". 

Not to worry, Ada.  We'll figure this out. 

At this writing Ada is 19 months old, well on her way to being two.  Her brother, Jude, was hell on wheels as a 2-yr. old and I can only hope Ada wasn't watching! 

Crazy Days

It seems there is no end to the constant craziness of our days.  With all four kids now up and running, it's a race against the chase when they are around.  They jockey for position and attention and often need something right NOW at the exact same time another one needs something right NOW.  Sometimes I think I need a clipboard and a whistle, not to mention track shoes. 

I'm including some fun shots from the past few weeks that were begging to get out of the camera.

This is Brady, the day after Halloween, looking a little worn out in his beautiful Mickey suit.


Jude, Ada and Linden out terrorizing the neighborhood


Tired looking Drew just out of the tub and wrapped up like the little gift he is:)


This game is called "inside-out".  One boy is inside the crib and the other one tries to get in.  And if you think these guys are fun in the daytime, stick around for a sleepover! 


Brady is the teacher and he's making Drew be the student.  The lesson today is all about Disneyland.


Here is Jude on a little 4-wheeler.  It only goes 1 mile per hour but he managed to hit every car in the driveway.  He was a danger to himself and others until he managed to high-center on a pumpkin! 


Ada calls this face "sprise eyes".  It's hilarious and she wants everyone else to make the face, too:)


Brady is a little worker boy.  I suppose one day soon I'll have to pay him.  One time I tried to give him a dollar, but he didn't need it because he said he already had one.


It's a good thing Brady likes to work because there's alot of it  -


And I'll leave you with the PICTURE OF THE WEEK - no explanation required:)

Autumn, and other things Fall

Fall is such a glorious time of year, isn't it?  My sister gave me a great wooden sign several years ago at Christmastime:  IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR.  I immediately hung it (in case she dropped by) and do you know what?  I've never been able to take it down.  Every season holds such joy and potential for change.  After spending the past few months working at keeping everything clean and green, the trees decided to dump mountains of leaves.  Aren't they pretty?


Brady loves to rake leaves, although his technique resembles a golf swing:)



Drew likes to pick up apples, and take one bite out of each one:)



Jude is a master in the kitchen and loves to help.  Here he's making apple crisp.  The only thing he doesn't like to deal with is eggs.  I did something really bad with an egg one time, Nini.  I didn't ask:(



Ada doesn't have time to rake leaves or pick up apples because she's so busy looking cute!



Jude wanted his picture taken with this huge branch that fell on him!



Kissing in the tree fort???  I'm only 3!!



Jude, back in the kitchen, this time making applesauce.  I only assist, because, by golly, we're doing it his way!


I love this picture, especially the way Brady is holding onto Drew so he won't fall out -



This is Drew playing in his own yard, peeking through the lavender.


This guy was LOOKING IN THE BATHROOM WINDOW one morning last week when I got out of the shower!!!!!!  He was HUGE.  By the time I got my heart going again and grabbed my Brownie, he was heading over the bank.  That was okay with me:)

Fall:  The tank tops and flip flops fell by the wayside.  The sweaters and jackets fell out of the closet.  The leaves fell off the trees to make a big mess and remind me I'm not the boss of everything.  The time fell back one hour, and whazzup with that???

Updates in the stairwell

It's been three months since I updated the pictures in the stairwell.  These kids change so fast, and I think Ada made the biggest leap this time.  Here she is, focused and looking rather calm.  Perfect face, perfect hair, huge blue eyes like her dad.  When this picture was taken, she must have been temporarily out of harm's way:)


Jude had just gotten a haircut and he was all spiked up with product.  It was okay with him because the gel they used smelled just like candy. 


Happy little Drew in the bathtub. 


This was taken as Brady was running in the field.  It's a beautiful picture of him. 


So there you have it.  October, 2011.  The gallery is open:)

Happy Birthday, Brady Michael!

Brady is three years old today and I can't imagine ever enjoying him more than I do this day.  Brady is money.....in every way.  He has the most beautiful face and a personality to match.  He is interested in everything and continually interjects a new twist on an old idea.  He is a combination of serious and silly, with the silly winning out most of the time. 

My own grandmother used to say that I could not walk across the room without making her laugh and I feel the same way about Brady.  I often think if I could video a whole day with him it would be a box office hit!  It doesn't help matters that we seem to share the same sense of humor.  This can be dangerous (and often is!)  If something is totally ridiculous or slapstick, we laugh even harder.  All it takes is for him to jump out from behind a chair and yell something like sugar pod peas and it's all over for both of us.  There's no explaining it.

I love the days he comes to spend with me.  He bursts through the door with legs and arms flying every which direction and I'm a goner.

This is the new photo of Brady displayed in the stairwell.  What a face.


I can't remember Brady ever walking.  He went from crawling to running.  He runs everywhere with perfect form and his little legs flying.  Here he is having a footrace with himself in the field.  He won. 


Brady is such a good brother to Drew.  He includes Drew in every conversation and every piece of news.  Drew man!  Yook!  All the dice are in the toiyet!  Drewey, yook here!  Here they are going for a swim in the kitchen sink. 


Here they are in the sand boat.  Brady is burying treasures for Drew to dig up.  Drew man doesn't exactly GET this game and actually hinders the progress but this only causes a minor setback for the project manager.


Brady wore this hat for one whole day.  It cracked me up.  The look on his face is the one he gets right before he makes up a new word or a new angle to the game.


He plays "backenball" by the hour.........


We have a tree fort, a sand boat, a basketball court and a playroom, but there is still nothing better than a puddle.


Here is the face I love.  Brady will do anything to tickle my funnybone so we can collapse (again) in a giggling fit.  I think I'll sit in the kitchen drawer and see if this will do it........


Brady is very timid and wary of new situations.  Recently his dad signed him up for a soccer team and he was very nervous before the first practice.  What is soccer team, Ter Ter?  What does soccer team do?  What will I do at soccer team?  He was out in the field that morning at 8:00 a.m. running wildly and kicking the soccer ball all over the place.  Since it was early in the day, the shadows were long and it was a sight to behold.  Me without my Brownie, but I will always have the picture in my head.  He was so cute.  And so determined.  I think I puddled up. 

Brady is a book boy and it's an experience to read with him.  He can spend the longest time on one page, talking about the story and the picture.  He notices the eensiest weensiest wee little details in every illustration and he has more memory than this computer.  Sometimes it seems as if he can read, but I know he simply remembers the words on each page. 

Brady frustrates easily but recovers quickly.  He is very law-abiding and knows right from wrong.  If the terrible 2's are a real deal, child development experts would claim this little boy had the mildest case in history.  I wonder what changes I will see in him as a three year old.  So far, things just keep getting better.  I do know this:  if lightheartedness was a marketable thing, Brady's piggy bank would be full. 

Happy Birthday, Brady!