Mabel

Our puppy is here!! She is so sweet. So far, she's a very mellow dog and very good with the kids. Her name is Mabel Minnie. We wanted something old-fashioned and Mabel is the name we could all agree on, well almost everyone. Chloe didn't like Mabel so we told her she could pick out a middle name for her! Minnie is the one she chose- like Minnie Mouse. It's kind of funny because this dog is not going to be very 'mini'!

The kids love her, of course. I think there will be some sibling rivalry for a few days about who gets to hold her and play with her and scoop up her poop. I'm sure that last one won't last longer than a day! Benny is so cute with the puppy. I need to get a picture of it, but Benny holds her face in his hands and says in a high pitched, baby talk voice, "Ohhhh."

We are so glad to have her as part of our family now! I just hope I can teach her how to be a good, well behaved dog. With three kids around distracting her it might be harder than I thought!

Snow and Cold

It's freezing here!! (still not as cold as Vermont, but close!) We have so much snow and I bet I could count on one hand the number of days the sun has been out. Not much has been happening around here, it's kind of a boring time at our house. Bennett has been sick twice. Poor Niah has had about four different bugs in 2 weeks. Chloe is still holding strong and hasn't had anything yet- cross our fingers! She complains of a headache or some ailment when she sees me give the other kids medicine (she loves medicine). The other night she said she had a headache and Bryan said, "I think the best thing would be to just go to bed." Chloe replied, "Dad, how do you know?" He said, kind of sarcastically, "I'm a doctor. I know!" Her answer was, "Dad, you don't know headaches!" We've had a couple of snow days and I never thought I would say this, but I'm sick of snow days! The girls get so bored and then they just fight all day long. I've been trying to keep them busy by playing lots of games, coloring, playing neighbor, learning about a new topic each week, and making cookies. We (okay, maybe just me) are in survival mode, just trying to make it through the rest of the winter.

One of my brilliant boredom busters was to get the kids and I all dressed up and go take some cute Valentine pictures for Bryan. We all looked pretty in our matching reds and blacks. I love snow pictures because the lighting is beautiful and they seem to always turn out. Anyway, we got to our picture spot, unloaded the kids, snapped a few shots and within minutes they were all crying because they were so cold. This was probably bad planning on my part and maybe not my best mothering moment! I think the total photo shoot, including travel time, was about 20 minutes. The picture below is the best one I got of all of us and the one up above as the title picture was the best one I got of all the kids. Sad. So much for that idea.

The kids have loved going out to play in the snow. I bet there is four feet of shoveled snow along our driveway. Our mailbox is barely visible.

The kids have fun until someone gets snow down their boots. That will ruin your day!

Chloe's showing me the snow she's about to eat.

Bryan and the girls went out one day and were out playing for three hours! Bryan built them a slide, a fort, and a tunnel. The girls were in heaven!

This is the sledding hill, or slide as Chloe called it.

Benny was napping when all these shots were taken. I need to get some more of him out in the snow. He looks so cute in his snow pants and big fluffy coat. He likes to help Daddy shovel the driveway.

I shouldn't wish away my time, but I sure hope spring comes VERY quickly. Deep down I know it probably won't.

It Happened

It actually happened! Bennett is old enough to go to nursery at church now. Crazy. He seems to like it, I'm not really sure if he likes it! When I snuck a peek at him on his first day he was laying on one of the leader's shoulders, looking like he might fall asleep. Sunday they said he was a little grumpy, but cuddly. I guess it will take him a couple of weeks to get used to it. Here are some pics of him on his big day! :) Yes, he's playing with a fairy from the Tinkerbell movies. That's what happens when you have two big sisters around.

And the thing that Niah has been wanting to happen for a year now actually happened- two days after her sixth birthday. She lost her first tooth!! It had been loose for a couple of weeks. Niah was complaining and whining that it hurt from her playing with it so much, so I took a tissue and told her I was just going to feel it wiggle. Well, I actually pulled it out instead! She was mad at first, but then through her tears she started laughing when she saw the tooth in my hand.

She couldn't wait to show her teacher at school! She looks really big now with that hole in her mouth. I remember losing my first tooth- it's so exciting!

I had to put this up just for fun. Chloe is a Sunbeam at church now. She loves singing time and

can pick up on the words to songs very quickly.

My kids are so cute! I want them to stop growing up now.

Puppies

We pretty much have puppies on the brain at our house! The girls have taught Benny how to crawl around and bark like a puppy. It's pretty funny. I have three puppies at my house!

Benny has even climbed in our puppy crate to play.



Today we got to go pick out the puppy we want! It's a three hour drive to the breeder we found, so we decided to make a trip out of it. The kids enjoyed watching TV this morning after our morning swim at the hotel.




There were four female dogs for us to choose from. It was hard! We decided on this one. She was so sweet and didn't seem to mind the kids passing her back and forth and fighting on who got to hold her next and for how long. She is only four weeks old now, we'll get her when she is eight weeks.

She has a cute blocky head, the perfect amount of curl, and a mellow temperament. She was also the biggest female in the litter.

The breeder fed them some food while we were there, so she has a messy face!

We can't wait to get our puppy home! We can't come up with a name that we all agree on. We all liked Darla, but then today when we saw the puppy it didn't seem to fit. Some names we are thinking about... Lucy, Molly, Millie, Daphne, Penny, and some others that have left my mind at the moment. I'm glad we have some time to think about it! I think I will dream about puppies tonight! :)

Six Years Old

My sweet, precious Niah is six years old today! It's hard to believe. (I think I always say that!) Niah is such a joy to have in our family.
I love that Niah has a funny sense of humor. She makes us laugh every day with the things she says and does. She understands the 'adult' world and is very aware of what is going on around her.
She is very smart and mature (minus a tantrum here and there) for her age. She loves school and loves to learn.

She loves to dance and loves music. She is an awesome big sister and really takes care of Chloe and Bennett. She loves to play with baby dolls, Barbies, and she loves to be outside.
Niah has an adventurous side to her! She is not a morning person. Getting up early for school is rough, but she does it, most days, with a grin and a good attitude.

I am so lucky to be Niah's mom. She brings me so much joy and I love having her around. I love you Niah Marie and hope you have a wonderful, totally awesome birthday!

New Addition

After much anticipation and waiting, one of these cute girls will be joining our family in February! We can hardly wait. Now, if we could all agree on a name...

Disneyworld: Part Two

As promised, here is part two of our Disneyworld trip. I had so many pictures and my sisters took a ton, so there were too many to choose from. The collages were much easier than doing ten posts! The photos should speak for themselves.

The picture from the dinosaur ride cracks me up every time I see it. The 'big' kids went back at night to ride some rides at Animal Kingdom. After going on two windy rollercoasters, the Dino ride, and then Everest for the second time I got really, really sick. I had to book it off the ride and find a garbage can. Luckily, the puke never came but I was sick all night and the next day on our flight home. I'm getting old. Oh, and someone may or may not have peed their pants after the scary Dinosaur ride. In case you are wondering, it was not me!

I've said it before, but I'll say it again. We had such a great time!!! Thanks to my Mom and Dad for making it possible for all of us to go on such a wonderful, awesome, memorable trip. We will never forget it!