Happy 7th Birthday, Jacob!

Bummer for him, he was home sick!  He actually missed four of five days of school the week of his birthday!  We knew he felt pretty sick, though, because he didn't even get out of bed or really worry about his special day.  The biggest concern was whether he'd get his full size bag of Skittles from the school office for his birthday.  Once he was assured he could get it when he went back, then he was just fine.  Never did I plan to post this so late, but I'm really starting to doubt my ability to keep up with blogging these days.  I guess I can say I'm "living in the moment."  But, Mr. Jacob turned 7 in December and he is basically the same size as his big brothers.  He's really grown a lot lately.  He sometimes gets mistaken as a twin as he & Leyton resemble each other more than Leyton & Nathaniel do.  He is doing great in first grade and sometimes it's easy to forget his actual age.  Luckily, he reminds us with his silly 7 year old boy actions.  He still loves his Legos, enjoys the Wii when he gets a chance to play (limited around here), and is a great reader.  I would say his favorite books to read are his saint books.  I'm sure he knows a lot more saint facts than his parents with the variety he reads about.  I have enjoyed getting to spend time with him at school, too, when his class comes to Catechesis of the Good Shepherd each week.  His favorite sport is basketball followed by baseball.  He still keeps his silly grin and a good level of mischief.  One of his other favorite things is playing with his siblings.  On any given day, he'll pair off with a different one of them and they'll go on their way to play.  I love to see his relationships with each of them.  Genuine and sweet, and sure doesn't keep his feelings to himself.  We love you, Jacob!


I am trying to upload a picture, but at this moment am fearing that since he was sick, that I didn't even get one?!  I'll post it if I find it.  Otherwise, here's one of him with Catherine from a little later.

Happy 5th Birthday, Leah!

We celebrated Leah's 5th birthday in October.  As she is older for her class, she is also one of the tallest.  She is head and shoulders among some of her classmates.  We've also figured out she's kind of an "old soul."  She looks forward to being a mom and seems to really enjoy being a teacher when she's playing in her room.  She's picked up on reading pretty well for her age and is also a very imaginative girl.  It is not surprising at a party with adults and children that she wants to hang out with the adults.  She's a playful girl at home, but still sticks pretty close when venturing out.  She does like to be in charge, which is sometimes a good thing and other times leads to a few tears.  She plays dolls, does TONS of paper crafts, has become quite a little helper around the house, and a great big sister for Anne & Catherine.  We love you, Leah!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Anne!

Why not celebrate her at her half birthday this month, too?  Well, we also celebrated her on her actual birthday, of course.  Little Anne turned 3 in July, and I am sure the word I think of most when I think of Anne is JOY.  She is just the perfect example of a joyful little girl.  You can often watch her prance around the house dancing to her own tune or requesting I turn on music for her to dance.  She loves to wear dresses every day, whether they are in season or not.  She is very playful and loves to do puzzles, dance, play Legos, Play-doh, and many types of imaginary play.  She enjoys Dora and Minnie Mouse quite a bit.  She and Leah are becoming closer friends and it is very fun to watch them interact.  It is clear that Anne really looks up to her big sister.  Her brothers are always looking out for her, too.  I cherish the time I get to have with Anne every day.  She will mostly consider herself a "big girl" except when the idea of school comes up.  Then she says, "I'll stay with you, Mom, 'cause I'm just a little girl, right Mommy?"  Sure love her!

Happy Birthday to...

...well, all my children.  It seems I missed posts for all of their birthdays except I caught Catherine's first.  SO, time to catch up.  We'll get Anne, then Leah, Jacob, Leyton, & Nathaniel.  We are into our odd year of ages.  Anne turned 3 in July, Leah 5 in October, Jacob 7 in December, and Leyton & Nathaniel 9 this month!  Wow. 

Twas the night before Christmas...

What a lovely evening.  Mass at 6:30 (which wasn't over packed, so it was wonderful), then home for snacks and bedtime.  Anne went in to brush her teeth and I had to enjoy: "Goodnight Santa who's watching me."

Our joyful little three year old.  Merry Christmas!

Fwew...can you say VOMIT?

Well, everyone but Catherine has been talking about it here, but she has been doing it! Well, of the kids, Nathaniel is the lone healthy kid this week. Starting last Saturday, we have pretty much had daily occurrences or at least someone feeling like they need to! Jacob will hopefully be back to school Friday. I have pictures to post from his 12-12-12 birthday, which he was sick for. Just crazy. And to think that we went in last Friday to get FluMist for the boys...was that the cause, an unfortunate effect, or a result of sitting in the waiting room too long? I was hoping Leah was going to be lucky and miss it, but it caught her tonight and got Anne again, too (it started with her last Saturday).

Here's to hoping for a healthy weekend without sick parents! To top it off, by the way, today was Patrick's last day at his job. The new one is supposed to start Monday, but I think (well I know) he's going there early in the morning.

Beware of back posting...

So in my attempt to catch up, I may post some past events under that date rather than have, say, the kids' Halloween pic on December 1, it may just be posted as Nov. 1 to eliminate too much evidence of late posting.  So, hint, I did get that one up.  That's the only one I've done so far, but hope to get back to Leah's birthday, first day of school, Anne's birthday, summer activities, and more pictures of Catherine growing up.