Zoey's Creations

Zoey is already finding ways to keep herself busy this summer. She loves creating things and I always love to see what she comes up with. I think she is a pretty crafty little thing.

Helping Olivia play the drum set she made.

 She made this house using printer paper and tape.

 Even put stuff inside it. You can't see the top but there is a chandelier hanging from the ceiling too.

 She was waiting and waiting for there to be a Luvs diaper box to use for her drum set. She ended up covering it in paper and decorating it too. The band name is The Light of October.

 This is her bedroom wall above her bed. I like the speakers she put on the left and right.

Naughty Naughty

I caught this little naughty red handed. She found Zoey's purse and unloaded it, and also helped herself to the sucker she found. This sweet, big eyed, adorable little girl is a monster in disguise. A really really good disguise.

Quads

Look at Zoey's babies lined up on the couch. I kinda think the one on the far right is the cutest.

Zoey's Best Friend

Zoey has been talking about Marissa for quite some time now. Not all year but for a few months. It took forever for me and Marissa's mom to finally get them together. It's a huge bummer too because Marissa is moving to California in mid June. I am so sad for both of them because they have such a great time together. I know Zoey will find someone to be close to next year but we sure wish Marissa didn't have to go.

Just to give them something fun and yummy to do I made cupcakes for them to decorate.

 Olivia decorated one for herself too.

 Of course the best part is always eating your work.

 They decorated one for each person in Marissa's family so she could take them home and share the tasty treat.

No Longer a Kindergartner

Noah has officially advanced from Kindergarten. We really enjoyed the songs all the kids sang at the celebration. Every single kid sang and they all knew the words and they were all so into it. After the group stuff we went back to his classroom and Mrs. Wilson had awards to pass out. She also talked a little bit about her class. This was her 5th year teaching but her first year at Estes. She spoke so highly of all the kids and about how wonderful the year was with them. I felt my eyes well up with tears a little as she spoke and got emotional herself. You could just tell how incredibly much she loves each of those kids. She had also put together a cute slide show of pictures throughout the year from just playground time to field trips and water days. Not only that but she also put together a small scrapbook for each student. It has record of some of the fun things they did during the year and also shows the progress they made over the school year. I just can't say how much we love Mrs. Wilson. I truly feel we were blessed to have Noah placed in her class. She embraced him from day 1 when he was so terrified and struggled to be away from home. She is so kind and loving and wonderful to those kids. We will miss her greatly next year but are so grateful for the year we spent with her.

He can always spot his mom in the crowd.

 Singing "You're A Grand Ole Flag"

 Singing "This Little Light of Mine"

 The best Kinder class ever.

 Him and his bestie.

 We are so proud of Noah. He has grown up so much since the rough start of the school year. He made lots of friends, worked hard every day, and was a good example to his class. 

Way to go Noah. We love you so much!

Noah Lost Something

Noah lost his first tooth! He even managed to squeeze the loss in just a couple days before the end of his Kindergarten year. He is so excited.

Scriptures with Jenn

Olivia loves to read scriptures with Aunt Jenn. Jenn will even let her "read" a verse by having her repeat it back word by word. Too sweet!

4 Months

Aiden is 4 months today. It has gone quickly and though 4 months really isn't such a long time it still feels like he has been in our family forever. My favorite thing about this little man is that he has become much more happy and content. I don't go through a day without many smiles and sweet conversations with him. He loves me and I can tell by the way he looks at me. He's a fun age now that he is becoming more interactive. He has started rolling over just a bit and he's starting to try to reach and grab things. I love this age because his personality is coming out more and he's more interactive but he can't go anywhere yet. I also love the way he talks. I sometimes call him gurgles because that is what he does. Sometimes you can tell that he is working hard, deep from the tips of his toes to get those gurgles out. I just love this little guy, we all do.

Still Sweet

I find that even as my children grow older I still find them so sweet and innocent when I see them sleep. Getting closer to 8 years old and as I saw her sleeping the other night I was reminded of how small Zoey still is. She has always been so grown up for her age but I love being brought back to the sweetness of her youth. 

In Not Out

The little 2 year old monster just recently figured out how to climb into her crib. The funny part for me is that she can't get out. Actually none of our kids so far have ever tried climbing out of their cribs. Olivia is pretty brave so she might try it eventually. For now though, I get to have a little laugh when I hear her yelling for help from her bedroom.

 Mickey Mouse was saying cheese so I figured I better snap his picture.

She's Flying

Just having some fun playing with Aunt Jenn and giving her a leg workout at the same time.

Just Plain Cute

 She was showing me the airplane flying above.

 I see you Mommy!

Baby Reading to Baby

Mother's Day

I had such a fantastic Mother's day. It started out with the big kids behaving in the morning and Mommy being able to sleep in. We all got up and moving and the kids did some skits they planned while I was still sleeping. One was about them being wizards and doing spells and the other was them jump roping 7 different ways. It was cute and fun. After the show Jay and the kids made a cake before church. They made a from scratch dark chocolate cake with homemade chocolate butter cream frosting. I couldn't wait all day to dig in to it. We all got dressed for church and went to church. When we got home Jay and the big kids got started on dinner. They made the most delicious baked potato soup. It was so incredibly tasty. That with the Rhodes rolls we baked dunked in it was so yummy. After dinner Jay cleaned up and then before bed we dug into the cake. It was so yummy! This has definitely been one of the greatest Mother's days yet. It was so nice to just relax and enjoy the day. 

Thank you to my wonderful husband for his patience and letting the kids help make the day so great. I love my family so much. I am so grateful to be a mom and especially to get to stay home and take care of my kids every day. I know I am truly blessed and I continually try to be grateful for the blessing of motherhood and for my wonderful kids. I can't imagine my life without any of my 4 little crazy yahoos. 

Zoey made this sign while I was sleeping this morning. There was no way I could miss it when I walked out to the living room. Love it!

 Look how happy they are making dinner for Mommy. I should let them do it more often. :)

 Aiden just hung out in the high chair while we ate dinner. He's just so darn cute.

 The kids set the table and made place cards for everyone. Very cute!

 My delicious soup, rolls and milk. 

 I would say this is a good indication of just how good it was.

 My wonderful hubby frosting the cake.

 This by the way is the very first time in 9 years together that Jay has ever baked for me. It's so not his thing doing all that measuring but he sure was successful. 

 The place cards.

 Here is Jay apparently torturing our daughter by forcing her to eat chocolate cake. He wasn't really but that's what Olivia made it seem like. Too funny!

And of course I need to mention my mother. I am grateful for her and for all the things she taught me in life. She taught me how to cook and bake and how to do laundry and about keeping a clean home. She took me to church and made sure I was raised with the gospel in my life. She has always been supportive and loving. She has helped myself and my family out so much. She cares about me and would do anything for me. And one of my very favorite things about her is that she is a wonderful grandma. I am very grateful for the mom I have been blessed with. Happy Mother's Day Mom! Hope you enjoy your magic cookie bars.