Half Birthday!

Today my baby girl is 6 months old -- unbelievable! We took her in for her check up this morning and everything looked great! She's tipping the scales at 11 lbs 13 ounces and is 24.75 inches long. That puts her at the 20th percentile for height, but still < 5th for weight. One of these days her body will hopefully catch up to her cheeks! She's a little behind where her brothers were at 6 months developmentally, but she is rolling over consistently now and pushes up pretty well when on her tummy. We're working on sitting up, but still a little ways off. We're having our friends from Tiny-K (the early interventionalists) come over tomorrow to help me start her on some solid foods. I'm nervous about it, but hopefully she does okay. I'm getting excited to be able to take her on some rides in the stroller and just be outside in some warmer weather!

Here is her 'bear picture' for the month (you can compare to the previous 5 if you go back to last month's posting). She hasn't really changed a whole lot, but still as cute as ever!
I'm hoping to get some 6-month pictures taken this week. I'll be sure to post when that happens! Wish us luck with the solids tomorrow!

Hosanna in the Highest

"All Glory, Laud, and Honor. . ." Today is Palm Sunday and the kids did great participating in the church service. First, though, Oliver's Sunday School class re-enacted Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Each child took turns being King Jesus riding on the donkey while the other kids placed their coats down and waved their palm branches. (Oliver is wearing the crown in this picture, and Russ was a very good sport as the donkey. He even continued as the donkey for all of the other 2-year olds--what a good man!)

Oliver and Daddy hanging out in his classroom after the lesson was done.
Then it was time for church. The kids all got the real palms and prepared for the processional. Wait, where did Calvin go??

Oh, there he is!

Oliver wasn't sure what to think about the palm branch. . . He basically dismembered his poor branch rather than wave it.

Getting ready to go!

After church, there was a potluck and the kids sang a song they had been practicing. Doesn't it look like Calvin is really doing a nice job singing?!? (I think he's the only one out of this crew that was making any noise at all; not sure if that's good or bad, however.)

With Palm Sunday, Holy Week begins. Despite the busyness of life, may you all have time to reflect on what this week means.

Family Night Out

A couple of years ago, we started getting my parents a "Family Night Out" as part of their Christmas gift. They redeemed their night this weekend, and as always, we had a great time. We met for a late lunch at Mimi's Cafe, where we enjoyed some yummy food.

As soon as we were done eating, we headed to the Embassy Suites, where the kids wasted no time getting into their swim suits. They have been looking forward to this "vacation" (i.e. anyplace that has a pool) for weeks! Sydney is such a good helper with Oliver. . .
. . . even when he's splashing her!

Oliver also had fun swimming with Brynnie.

Kyle gave plenty of rides around the pool to the kids.

All of the kiddos (minus Violet) hanging out in the hot tub. . . They could have definitely stayed in the pool area all afternoon.
As always, one of the favorite parts of staying at the Embassy is the Manager's Reception in the evening. The kids think they are so cool with their kiddie cocktails (cherry sprite). And they ate PLENTY of popcorn and chips.
Calvin & Tyler felt right at home in the hotel room by making a "fort" out of every single pillow they could find. These boys are forever making forts. . . never seems to get old. (If you look closely, you'll see their little heads poking out the back.)

Since we ate a late lunch, and enjoyed the snacks at the reception, we made some delicious appetizers to enjoy in the room while we watched basketball. Chocolate fondue, spinach dip, fruits, veggies, cookies, yummm!

Even though KU wasn't playing, there were still some fun games to be watched.

Not sure what kind of fashion statement Oliver is trying to make. . .

Ahhhhh, what a beautiful sight! These kids played hard!

Before leaving in the morning, I tried to get a picture of the kids in front of one of the beautiful fountains. I'm really figuring out that it's next to impossible to get all 3 of them to look cute simultaneously. . . the boys look okay in this one, but Violet is looking a bit annoyed.

And once Violet started warming up to the camera, the boys were DONE. Oh well, we'll try again next weekend.

What a fun night out -- I'm pretty sure the adults have as much fun as the kids on these "vacations"!

A COLD Day for the Easter Bunny

Saturday was Eudora's annual Easter Egg Hunt. I had promised the boys I would take them, but I wasn't sure if it was even going to take place with the yucky weather we were having. It was cold and a little bit rainy as we drove downtown. . . Once we got there, the rain picked up and even began hailing! Sounds like perfect weather for hunting Easter eggs, right?? We met up with Tyler & Brynn and all huddled under our umbrellas until it was time to start.

Oliver reluctanty put a few eggs in his basket. He was NOT as excited about being out in the cold as Calvin was.

Calvin raced around and took advantage of the smaller-than-expected numbers by filling his large basket to the brim!

Just a couple more. . .

"I just want to go home, Mom!" I was feeling pretty bad by the end of it, but I really did think he was going to end up having a good time. Not so much.

Brynn was right there with Oliver.
Violet enjoyed her first visit to the Easter bunny, at least! We'll have more opportunities for hunting Easter eggs next weekend -- hopefully, the weather will cooperate a little more!

On the Market

As of today, our house is officially "For Sale" -- kind of exciting and scary all at the same time. Exciting because it is one more step towards building our family home; scary because of keeping the house in showing condition with 3 kids age four and under!

Where will we live if our house sells before our new one is done, you ask? The kids think this would work just fine:
I'm not sure how well daddy would fit in this one, however.

If you know of anyone looking to buy, send them our way!

Don't Mess With Me!

Last week, I went with my friend Grace to a self-defense class sponsored by T.A.K.E. (The Ali Kemp Educational) Foundation. They gave us a ton of great information to avoid being a victim, and then taught us what to do if the unthinkable happens and we are attacked. There were some camera men there, and it was mentioned that we might be on the CBS News. I was watching for the story on the Channel 5 website, but never saw it. Grace just called, and said it was on the CBS Evening News. . . That's right, NATIONAL news, not the local Kansas City variety! So click on the link and don't blink around the 9 second point of the video. That's where you'll see me putting a hurt on the "Bob bag."


http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6305536n&tag=related;photovideo

It was certainly an informative evening. The take home message is "Don't Mess with Me"!

Let the Madness Begin

With the Big 12 Tournament this past weekend, and the NCAA brackets revealed yesterday, March Madness is officially upon us! To help cheer the Jayhawks on to yet another Big 12 Tournament championship, Violet put on her littlest (yes, she has them in several sizes already) cheerleading outfit. And boy did she look cute! As a perfect compliment to the outfit, Grandma Cheryl made her an adorable Jayhawk bow. I've always wanted a daughter to dress in little cheerleading outfits, and at this age, she can't object!

I'm pretty sure she's in the middle of "Roooooock Chaaaaaaaalk, Jaaaaaaayhaaaaaaaawk. . ." here -- She's already getting the arm motions down! I'll have her doing the rest of the fight song in no time! My proudest moments of the evening were watching her intently watch the game with her daddy. She just LOVED watching the 'Hawks beat up on some Wildcat for the 3rd time this season. With two older brothers, I'm guessing she'll probably be playing basketball when she gets older, not cheering on the sidelines. But you never know, she may be in the band, or be a manager, or really not like basketball at all! It's so fun to think about what she will be like when she gets older. . . At any rate, I just LOVE this time of year! Rock Chalk Jayhawk!!

Land of Opportunity

So this picture may not look like much to you, but this is the home of our FUTURE HOME! After several months of looking, we finally found the perfect place to raise our family. The county folks came out this morning to take soil samples and make sure the ground was suitable for a septic system (exciting, I know), and the surveyor will be out next week (hopefully). We've got our builder hired and our floor plans all drawn up. We are getting really excited to start the process -- I'll keep you posted on the progress!

Violet & the Boys

Violet is SO loved by the men in her life. This is how you'll usually find Calvin when he's holding her:

Calvin is the self-appointed "protecter" of Violet, which is usually a good thing. You just never know what Oliver is going to try! Under supervision, he's a pretty good brother. His exact words whenever it looks like he's getting ready to do something he shouldn't: "I'm being careful AND gentle with Violet." Of course he is.

And her favorite man is Daddy. I think he's pretty sweet on her, too. Lately, "airplane" has been their favorite game.

Up. . .

. . .and SMILE. . .

. . . and back down. . .
. . . and smile. This is so much fun!

What a lucky lady she is!

5 Months

Our baby girl is 5 months old! I know I say it all of the time, but I can't believe how fast it goes! Without further ado, here are her 'bear pictures'. . .

1 month (somewhat scary frankenbaby):

2 months (sweet frankenbaby):

3 months (pin-free!):

4 months:

5 months: Isn't she looking so much older? And balder? Thank goodness for headbands. . .
Here's another 5 month shot. I just love how her eyes get completely swallowed up by her cheeks when she smiles!

She weighs almost 11 pounds (10 lbs 14 oz) now, and still continues to be the best baby I've ever been around. She takes 3 naps a day and sleeps at least 8 hours at night (except when we have to wake her to feed her, but even then, she doesn't really wake up). When she's awake, she smiles and coos and tolerates the antics of her brothers much better than her mother does. I'm so glad she wasn't the first baby, or I would have been in for a rude awakening when we had a "real" baby! Our Violet Joy is such a blessing!