Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

So on Tuesday of this week, I packed away all the winter snow gear and gloves, hats, etc.  And what do you know?  It snowed more today and may this weekend.  Yikes.  I am ready for spring!!!  We had a couple of heavy snow storms in mid-late February I guess it was and the kids really enjoyed playing in it.  I think Anne enjoyed it the most actually.  We even got Catherine out there, which was lots of fun.  I think we had about 10 inches one time and then the next storm was more (and the first wasn't gone yet).  The kids had 4 or 5 days off school and I enjoyed a break from the routine of running around as much.  Sometimes it's nice to have a good reason to just not go anywhere (and enjoy that no one is sick, either!).  We were home and played and they actually are past the phase of bundling up for 5 minutes then coming back in.  What a nice treat for everyone!  They would stay out longer this year.  The surprise was that there was no interest at all in sledding.  Oh well.  One other funny thing was that after the snow was here a few days, I shoveled the patio and wouldn't you know, we had kids out shooting baskets with the snow piles to catch the loose balls.  It worked out pretty well.

Happy 1st Birthday, Catherine!

A year seems to go by more and more quickly.  And with my lack of time to note things on here, I fear I'll forget some of the cute things we've had happen or all the little cute things Catherine is saying these days.  She is really saying a lot these days.  She'll say, "-Eah" for Leah, "Hanks" for thanks, and when she wants something & I've said no, she'll say, "peez?"  It is so much fun when you don't expect her to respond and then she does with a fitting comment.  Her highest frequency word is probably, "NO!"  I can't say how it really sounds, but it actually has quite a bit of inflection and sounds enforcing.  She most often says it when others are really showing their "love" to her in ways that she maybe doesn't prefer.  But, she's a great baby.  She sure looks a lot like Leah did.  Hard to believe that she's heading toward 16 months already.  She's a good sleeper, loves to mosey around the house and see what everyone is doing, likes to look at books, and loves sitting in the little rocking chairs we have around.  She is another blessing - we feel overwhelmingly blessed in this house.  How did we get so lucky?   

Hmm, birthdays..

So now that I've finally noticed I have all the birthdays up & thought - there we go, 1, 3, 5, 7, & 2 x 9.  But then I realized - I haven't posted the "1".  Sorry, Catherine.  I'll get that up soon.

The girls on their recent "wedding day"

Little girls.  So much fun to catch their little moments.  We had some flowers recently and they decided to dress with heels on and carry flowers around and say that it was their wedding day.  Precious girls.

Happy 9th Birthday, Leyton & Nathaniel!

Unbelievably these little twin baby boys turned 9 somehow this year!  They sure have grown.  They are becoming very nice young boys.  Nathaniel enjoys reading, basketball, baseball, Legos, cap guns, listening to music, and helping Dad.  Leyton enjoys basketball, Legos, Wii, studying and reading (well, just kidding about the studying and reading), and listening to music.  Leyton LOVES seeing Catherine each day.  He can't wait for her to wake up in the morning and always spends extra minutes after school visiting with her.  They both really help out with their younger siblings.  Nathaniel will read to Anne and this morning he was doing puzzles with her.  He has such a gentle way of talking to her and it is sweet to hear.  It is crazy that they will soon be headed to 4th grade.  KU, Miami Heat, and St. Louis Cardinals are easily their favorite teams to follow.  They both work hard at school and are very responsible about getting their homework done pretty much on their own - a new change in this household!  We are very blessed to have such nice young boys and this year will be another fun year to see how our oldest boys grow and change.

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!