Friday, May 31, 2013

Playing with Light (AKA Photo Dump)

You know those photographs that are really stunning and artistic and all that.
Well, that is not what I would call these.
But she has such a cute scrunchy little face!
And check out that hurricane/cow lick!  Just like her siblings...
Love the happy girl :)

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Easter Dresses

While we were up in VA for spring break, Nana offered to buy the kids Easter dresses. 
We got busy and it just didn't work out, but she sent me home with the task of finding some on my own.  Since it was technically past Easter, I got some pretty sweet deals on some pretty cute dresses!
We wore them on the first Sunday after we got home, and I tried to take pictures after church before they took them off.  As you can see, it went well :p
No smile, dude!
Almost the same expression, but somehow it turned cute instead of scary.  I actually really love that color teal/turquoise on him!  Such a handsome fella!
This dress totally reminds me of the 80s!  Like, totally!  However, it is also completely, totally, 100% Kaitlyn.  It looks adorable on her.  And she wore it for 5 Sundays in a row before I made her take a break last week.
Kari's is highly stylish and pretty cute and trendy.  It even came with the necklace!
I will have to try to get a picture of Kelsey in her outfit(s) when she is not screaming.  For now, thanks Nana (and Pop!)

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

All Grown Up

When they are this young, they make changes in leaps and bounds.  Kelsey (in the very cliche sense) seems to be growing up right before my eyes.  She is my most veggie loving kid, up to and including sweet potatoes, asparagus, green beans and broccoli.
Of course, it never hurts to be followed up by some chocolate!
I can't believe she is already getting her lady hormones enough to like chocolate ;)  Sniff...  They grow up so fast!  (Just kidding :)
I put her in her first grown up pair of jammies, this precious little night gown.
Then she crawled up onto this chair all by herself.  And was so happy!  For the record, we now have to keep them overturned, or she will stand up on them in the middle of the room :p
She even thinks she is ready for school.  She packs her lunch...
...and practices her homework.
She is so environmentally conscience too!  Litter detail on this day.
And her little baby mullet is slowly growing.
I know the original poem talks about a girl with a curl right in the middle of her forehead.  So what kind of redneck are we raising when she has one in the back?

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Finally!

One day she started letting go of things she was standing next to. 

A few days later she started standing up by herself in the middle of the room.
 
Within a few days, she had taken her first steps.  This is what she busted out probably 1 day after that.

It took her about 3 days to decide she would rather walk then crawl, and she hasn't looked back since.  Makes me more than a little bit sad, since she doesn't really want to sit still and cuddle any more and she gets into even more things than she did before (if that is even possible).  I would have another baby right this minute if I didn't think it would grow up into a drama inducing, money costing teenager....  Any body want to rent me their cuddly, relatively immobile tiny baby for a few hours a day?

Monday, May 27, 2013

Three Musketeers

Dylan has some friends that he loves to play with.
They could go everywhere together with him (since all us mommies are in the primary presidency together).  Even to his imaginary "school".
On this day, they were having a play date before Matthew moved away.
He still asks to go and play with Matthew...  Moving is a hard concept for kids!
Its a good thing they had guns.  Never know what could be lurking in those drainage ditches!
Hello Harlee!
They are such good friends, they even dress alike!
Bye Matthew!  We'll miss you (and your mom)...

TX is lucky to have you!

Friday, May 24, 2013

In Bed

Dylan and Kelsey have a special bond.  It includes everything from playing together, to falling together.  He went through a phase where he wanted to have Kelsey in his bed to cuddle before he went to bed.  Kelsey finds this fun sometimes...  On this particular occasion, she was awfully wiggly, and I kind of love that I got this picture right as she was falling out of his bed....
Dylan was quite upset that she didn't particularly feel like getting back into it with him.
We tried again a few days later and got some really cute ones.  
Please note that Kelsey is now on the INSIDE of the bed :)
Love the colors in this one.  Also love her little teeth :)
Aw...  He loves his sister.
Even if he does occasionally push her over.
Dude just doesn't know his own strength.  Or her lack of balance :)

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Soccer

Last spring, we signed Kari up for softball.  This year, she decided to do soccer.  I tried to get Kaitlyn to sign up for it too, since she is a really good runner.  But, she didn't want to try it until she had seen it...  What can I say?  She is her mother's daughter.
Again, Kari went all at it, holding nothing back, and has had a really good time.
She started as defense, and has advanced to midfield and occasionally plays forward when our star forwards aren't there.
If you haven't watched soccer at this age, it is mostly about getting the kids to spread out and remember their position (and what it entails).
We had to work with her a little bit to be aggressive and actually go get the ball, instead of waiting for it to come to her.
But she really did pretty well, and had a lot of fun!
Their only defensive strategy: The wall.
Run Forrest!  Run!  Also, I love the big kid in the background sitting in the obviously too small stroller :)
The other kids have done a pretty good job as well.  During the games and practices, they use the soccer ball and practice themselves.
While Kelsey played with her "other" parents, her weekend/church parents, whose children have games on the same fields as Kari did.
See?  I told you she would have been really good at it!
Dylan got bored occasionally.
But he likes to yell, so he came around to the games once we started "coaching" (translation: yelling) from the sidelines.
The Broncos had a pretty good season!  They actually made it all the way to the championship, which I will detail later :)
Go Broncos!