Birthday Recap

M had a fabulous birthday. She has been waiting on her tutu. (She knew she would be getting one similar to C's. Thank goodness Mom was anticipating her thoughts.) She had to put it on immediately, along with C.Then she kept opening presents. I let her choose how many she wanted to open, gently reminding her that "when they're gone, they're gone." She didn't stop until they were gone.



Thanks M for the chocolate covered doughnuts for breakfast! She also requested lasagna for lunch and Chili's for dinner. What fun!

Happy Birthday!

Guest Blog: Daddy, Andy

Happy Birthday M!

Today your are a very big five years old. That means five spankings M! This is a very special day for you, but also for me, because today is the day that I celebrate one of God’s very best gifts to me in the whole world – YOU! I’m so proud of you, my M. You have grown to be a very sweet, gentle, funny, and obedient little girl. I love taking you everywhere and showing you off to the world. The Bible says that God makes each of us very unique and special, and I’m starting to see more and more of your uniqueness. All of your brothers and sisters love to tickle and play rough with me, but not you. If I want to tickle you and play rough with you, I have to be crafty and catch you at just the right time. You’re much like your mother in that way. She doesn’t like to tickle and rough-house either. You also like to be funny. You like to make others laugh, and I like to laugh, so that makes us a good pair. Lately you’ve really enjoyed dancing for me. You like for me to sit on the couch while you dance around the living room. And I like it, too. In fact, M, I’ll always enjoy watching you dance. I love you very much, my little angel.

Daddy

New Bed!

We've got a new bed! A has his very own big boy bed! It's a trundle bed that Andy built especially for him, and he loves it! He's doing such a good job staying in bed - that is until he falls asleep. At some point during the night, he ends up kneeling on the floor. It must be those midnight prayer times. My sweet boy.

Animal Fun

We were surprised with a very special treat - TONS of Beanie Babies! A DeRidder friend began collecting the animals several years back, and they have since been living in a big box under her bed. When she saw the kids at church Christmas Eve, she realized the bears could be put to great use. And boy are they! The kids love them! A likes to wear the snake. M likes the angel bear. J likes all the dogs. C enjoys the rooster, and E enjoys chewing on any of them she can grab. We sure are having lots of fun!

A Prays

A is suddenly talking up a storm. Here he is praying.

C's Birthday Video

A Builds

With so many siblings, the kids don't get very many opportunities to be alone. So I really try to create "alone time" for each of them. It's during these times that I can assess their individual abilities, and they can play with what they want, how they want. I was surprised to find A building with the Legos. Sure, he's played with Legos tons of times, but never alone, and I was quite impressed with his creation. Way to go A! Build away, my boy.

Kids' Christmas Pic

You win some... you lose some. Merry Christmas!

Oh Boy!

C is teaching A how to do the dishes!My C is such a great helper. Many nights after dinner, she asks if she can do the dishes. Up until recently, I would allow her to rinse the dishes and load the dishwasher. But we've taken it up a notch. Now she washes the pots while her helper rinses! And I'm amazed at how well she is doing. I wasn't expecting the dishes to be clean, but they are spotless when she gets done. She truly is a hard worker, and I am so thankful for her. What an amazing example for the rest of her siblings. God is so good.

C Reads!

C is thrilled to be able to read books. We're having so much fun learning!

She eats ... and eats ... and eats

Here's our little J, finishing off the third plate of the night. This girl loves when we have fish!

She finished her first plate, which wasn't an easy feat in itself. I know she loves this meal (tilapia, corn casserole, and a couple veggies like squash and broccoli) so I give her ample portions. But after cleaning her plate, and seeing C was finished leaving fish and corn casserole, she asked to have C's plate. After that was done, she noticed M wasn't finishing all of her food either. Round 3! Andy had to go back for thirds just so he wouldn't be outdone by his little girl!

Nativity Set

This afternoon we made a Nativity Set. I was planning on taking pictures of the kids coloring and taping, but I was too busy cutting. I was struggling to keep up with them, but it was a lot of fun. We were able to sit and talk about baby Jesus, the Christmas story, and Nana's train with the waving Santa. We can't wait for Christmas!

A Friendly Snack

Last week was a rough week of naps. I was out of the house during naptime 3 days in a row, and the big girls didn't handle my absence well. So we're still getting back on track this week.

J fell right asleep today, so when she woke up I treated her to some special time with Mom. She also got to snack on Dad's leftover lunch crumbs. As she was eating, A got up from his nap. J said, "Great job A! I'm so glad you awake. Now you can eat wif me. Come. Come share this snack wif me."

When Dad's in charge...

...kids will dance.

Love it! And the snorting is from A.

New Holiday Outfits!

We got a package in the mail today! The kids were flustered with anticipation as I opened the box to reveal the Christmas gifts. Of course the first question was "Can we open it now? Please?!" I said, "Not yet." But then I found a letter complete with instructions to open 4 gifts immediately. (And the crowd goes wild!)

The big kids sat by the tree and tore into their packages. My divas (A included) were thrilled with the new holiday outfits. "Can we try them on Mom? Can we put them on now?!"

"Sure. Let's go for it."

Thanks Uncle Tom, Aunt Lou, and Great Gran for the fabulous treat. We love our new clothes, and can't wait to wear them for real! And we'll play dress-up with E when she wakes up!