Our Journey to Ella

Christmas 2011

2012-01-11T10:19:00.000-08:00

we had a wonderful Christmas this year!

we decided several years ago that we were not going to travel on Christmas...with little ones it is just too hard and too overwhelming to spend the day traveling...

yammy and papa and grampy are always here in the morning to watch the littles unwrap their presents and then my sister and her family come over for a Christmas dinner.

although it is unfortunate that we can't see our extended family this really works for our family and i am happy for that.

Santa came!

and filled all the stockings!

i love this picture. the girls had to wait for yammy and papa so here they are eyeing all their goodies. look at abbie's precious face.

once they were given the green light they were like little mice scurring from one thing to the next...i love a house full of littles!

then i realized i forgot to get the annual "stocking picture" so i quickly gathered them for a photo (levi wasn't having it so i didn't even bother).

and then within 30 seconds they scurried away yet again...

sophie with her walking moxie doll horse.

levi had fun opening one present and then he was done.

ella with her DS...she was soo thrilled!

cowgirl jessie

sophie went over to feed her goldfish, lila, and found that santa had left her a new goldfish...who she later named "shiny"....she was beyond thrilled.

i had to snap this picture of ella nicely organzing all of her presents...oh how i wish her organization skills woud rub off on the rest of the littles (and mommy!) :)

i was pretty sure santa didn't leave this mess...but who would of??

do you know, levi?

the babies playing in levi's new tent.

ella trying out her new makeup.

momma and her abbie.

the next....??? i really don't follow basketball so i can't put in a name right there...oops. the only nba players i know are from when my brother followed nba when i was like 10...spud webb, larry bird, dennis rodman, isaiah thomas...are you impressed scott?? :)

we had such a great Christmas spending it as a family. we are so blessed.

happy birthday, Jesus.

Christmas Eve

2012-01-10T08:51:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve was spent relaxing and having fun.

i told myself that i was not going to get stressed this year and guess what...i didn't.

yay!

we started off the day by making our annual gingerbread house
apparently ella was pretty excited.

while the girls were busy making their house this little guy was supposed to be napping (don't pay any attention to the fact he was still in his jammies at noon!)
but apparently he was too excited to take a nap...i hear ya little guy-mommy was excited too!

then the girls helped me make these yummy treats

oops...those big huge sodas in the background just reminded me that the day actually started off with a sonic run...i think i may have a problem! :)

here we are before heading to church.

even this picture of all the littles didn't stress me out...
ok...so maybe it did just a tiny tiny bit. :)

these two are so cute together...they truly melt my heart!

after church the girls discovered new jammies that santa had left.
thanks santa!

and here is the whole clan right before heading off to bed

of course i can't end this post without sharing the story of this...

my poor little abbie pulled at a stocking that was hung from a very heavy iron stocking hanger on the mantle and the very heavy iron stocking hanger landed right on her big toe. the poor thing was in so much pain. she called it her "bleedin toe"...

poor baby can't cut a break on christmas eve.
two years ago she was sick on christmas eve and we didn't know until this happened during the church service

oh my sweet little abbie.

december days...

2012-01-04T10:21:00.000-08:00

so what did we do counting down the days before Christmas you ask?

saw snow for the first time

and was so excited that we had to share it with sissy...

and yet another sissy.

spent time reading books to our little brother

found Glee in our candy dish

and was so happy that we wanted to
eat breakfast right next to Glee

we
spent time playing "rapunzel meets rudolph" with a cute lil cousin

we
took a bubble bath

with three giddy girlies

we
spent time just being cute

and being silly

and lovin our blankie

we
spent time in mommas lap when we weren't feeling well

we
started a new tradition
an ornament from mommy that reminds me of each child
Sophie-a starfish (reminds me of this past summer when she found one at the beach)
Ella-a guitar (she has been asking for a guitar all year!)
Abbie-a spunky little puppy dog (abbie has been FULL of spunk this year!)

and a car for levi because my little boy loves his cars!

we
fell asleep watching polar express for the 1, 546th time

and this is how the whitacre's spent their days
up until Christmas eve.

Holiday weekend!

2012-01-04T08:29:00.000-08:00

i love to enjoy all the fun things that go along with the Christmas season. our village is just the cutest around Christmas time (well all the time...i love our village!) they even play Christmas music through the PA system all month long:)

holiday weekend is just so much fun. it starts on friday night with the tree lighting and welcoming mr. and mrs. clause. sadly, i could not make it to this event because my dear abbie was sick but my sister sweetly offered to take the littles...thanks keekee!

then on saturday morning there is breakfast with santa. my dear abbie was still sick so my mom stayed with her while we took the others for breakfast.

levi was not having it. sorry levi.

we then headed over to the baptist church for some crafts. the girls had so much fun.

kenzie says ella is her bff...join the club kenzie...everybody loves ella! :)

sharing a story about the true meaning of Christmas..

sophie won this nose and was just sooo excited...look how cute they are!

we are so blessed to live in this village. i am so thankful that people around here still say 'Merry Christmas' and that we have a manger scene set up in the front lawn of the library. may none of us forget the true meaning of Christmas!

Christmas tree hunt

2011-12-15T08:06:00.000-08:00

in true whitacre fashion we set out to find the perfect christmas tree the saturday after thanksgiving.

it was a beautiful day..a little too beautiful for my taste. this momma needs some snow when hunting for a christmas tree! however, it was kind of nice not to have to bundle the littles.

the girls were off as soon as we got there

as was levi.

and he even found a couple trees that tickled his fancy.

as did abbie

soon the littles got bored with mommy who was saying no to all the trees they were picking out
so they started to play hide and seek

and just when momma was getting bored and ready to settle for a small little dinky tree i caught a glimpse of the whitacre 2011 christmas tree.

sadly it was not this tree. this tree was our tree's stunt double since our tree was actually a precut tree that was leaning up against a big maple tree. i tried to get daddy to lay down and pretend he was cutting down our precut tree but he wasn't having it. poor sport.

and since i am not used to buying a precut tree i was quickly thrown into a tizzy and forgot to get a family picture at the tree farm. apparently it doesn't take much to throw me off.

i did remember to get some pictures of the littles enjoying their cocoa though.

and don't you think for a second that i could close this post without pointing out the fact that abbie had the SAME boots on that the girls had worn three years in a row!! yes that's right...4 years of wear out of these boots! the best part you ask? i bought these emu boots for $10 four years ago!

year 1

year 2

year 3

year 4 (and this vest the same one Sophie was wearing in years 1 and 2!) it's all about the hand-me-downs!

Thankgiving.

2011-12-12T08:31:00.000-08:00

we had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year with lots of food and family and much to be thankful for.

i didn't really take any pictures but that's ok because it means I was able to enjoy the moment! I did have to get my camera out to capture a cousins pic though.

is this couch exploding with cuteness or what?

I love that all these littles are all 6 and under and i love that they all can be divided into BFF pairs...Kenzie and Abbie (3 months apart), sophie and ella (1 month apart), and levi and brayden (1 month apart). how much fun!

and here are some things i am grateful for this year

-the fact that i have a God that loves me more than i will ever be able to comprehend

-my amazing hubby that will sometimes surprise me with a sonic soda when i get home from work...and since i mentioned sonic i have to say i am thankful for happy hour at sonic where i can get huge flavored sodas for me and my hubby and slushies for each of the littles for under $5! oh yeah!

-thankful for my four little gifts from God

-thankful for our health

-thankful for our beautiful home

-thankful that my sister and her family live in the same village so we can visit on a daily basis

-thankful that my mom does so much for our family!

God is so good and i have to be better at giving thanks everyday for all the blessings He bestows upon us...

Ella's 4th Gotcha day.

2011-11-30T09:29:00.000-08:00

ella has officially been part of our family for 4 years now.

i say officially because if you ask this momma she was part of this family as soon as i laid my eyes on her referral pictures.

oh those sweet sweet referral pictures.

I look at those pictures with such joy thinking back on how God took us down that path of "special needs"...

the path we were not comfortable going on.

i remember purposely not checking that box on our initial application that read "willing to adopt special needs".

it just wasn't for us.

besides WE know whats best for ourselves, right?

oh please.

God lovingly started to plant the seeds in our heart for special needs soon thereafter we neglected to check that box.

but even though we began to explore special needs we had decided we were not going to do cleft lip and palate.

we knew we wouldn't be able to handle everything that went along with that. the surgeries. the scars. the taunting she may receive when she gets to school.

nope too much for us.

God had other plans. His plan.

God began to lead us in the direction of adopting a child with a cleft lip and palate.

go figure.

just want we decided we weren't going to do.

Si Ping was the one of five children that were on a special needs list that came to our agency in march of 2007.

however we could not inquire about those children because i was not yet 30.

the following month we received a newsletter that there was one little girl left that needed a forever family.

i had turned 30 the week before i opened this email

the next day we called the agency and told them that Si Ping was our daughter.

i can't even begin to explain how much ella irene ping has blessed our lives. her litle scar above her lip is part of her...a part i would not change.

she has a love for God that still brings me to tears

she will often pray to God telling Him that she wants her daddy to baptize her.

my sweet ella.

she will be the first to give up something of her own so that others won't have to experience sadness.

my sweet ella.

she will pray every night for the needs of others...rarely does she ask for something for herself.

my sweet ella.

she is the first to help you out no matter what she may be doing at that time.

my sweet ella.

not too long ago she told me that she was so happy that God picked me to be her mommy.

my sweet ella.

she loves with her whole heart and when she knows somebody is upset with her she grieves with her whole heart.

my sweet ella.

many people will say how blessed ella is to have us. they couldn't be any more wrong.

and this is why.

if ella was still in that orphanage she would still be that same ella with that same huge heart loving and helping all those around her.

we did not teach her that.

God blessed her with that.

WE are the ones that have been blessed...

we are blessed that we are able to love on this little gift from God every.single.day.

thank you God.

ella turns 6!

2011-11-02T11:58:00.000-07:00

ella is 6!

it pains me to see how quickly my little chickadees are growing.

i wish they would just slow down...just a little.

ella started her day with some doughnuts...just as us whitacres do on our birthdays!

poor ellie has a hard time with the flash in the morning.

and then it was off to school (but not before mommy got a picture of her little birthday girl)

look at that smile. she really was that happy!

at school she got recognized at morning program. she loves being front and center. :)

then after school it was time for presents

and finally time for cake.

we had a such a great day celebrating ella's birthday.

happy birthday, sweet girl.

halloween

2011-10-31T10:46:00.000-07:00

the littles had a great time trick or treating this year. it was a little colder than it had been in Halloweens past but still a beautiful night considering. levi actually made it the whole time we were out. what a little trooper.

mommas lil sweets.

momma's lil stinker.

i could totally eat this lil stinker right up with a spoon!

ella helped mommy out and pulled levi most of the night.

and uncle jeff helped momma out by pushing my 6-year old in a baby buggy! this reminds me of the scene in the grinch (Jim carey version) when the grinch stole that tiny car and drove off through whoville.

levi starting to figure out what halloween is all about.

and then throwing a fit after momma told him no
more candy.

what a fun night.

Neverending birthdays

2011-10-30T08:47:00.000-07:00

The girls had their first "friend party" this year. we usually just do a family party but now that the girls are becoming little social butterflies i figured it was time to bite the bullet and allow them to have a little girly party. the girls invited 20 of their sweet little girlfriends and all 20 came. :) we had it at the bounce house which was so much fun. everyone had a great time and mommy enjoyed seeing her girlies have fun.

being silly.

wow. that's a lot of little girls!

time for presents.

Ella was so determined to read every card word for word.

so sweet.

so cute!

and then right after the group shot they scattered like ants and took advantage of every last second they had.

i love that sophie and ella have the same group of friends. i love that they have fun with each other. i love that they have each other. i can't imagine either one without the other!

fall days

2011-10-23T10:07:00.000-07:00

just some pics of my littles enjoying the beautiful fall weather.

Disclaimer: these pictures were taken after church not during "play time". this momma is way too high strung to let her littles play in matilda jane. i know many mommas do but i am so not one of those mommas. :)

peek a boo.

hanging out being cute.

get set. ready.

throw.

levi joining in on the fun.

Big day for sophie

2011-10-14T11:59:00.000-07:00

my little sophie lost her first tooth today on our way to family fun night at our church.

i can't believe it.

I actually got a little emotional.

I can't believe my baby is old enough to lose her teeth.

wow. they are growing up way to quick.

Apple picking...

2011-10-10T08:32:00.000-07:00

We had a great time apple picking on our day off from work and school. it was a gorgeous day and we got to spend it together as a family. does not get much better than that.

levi was so excited when he realized

he could eat these yummy "balls" as he calls them.

this is pretty how much how he looked for the next hour

what a cutie.

seriously. I would rather eat him that that apple. oh he is just so cute.

Pumpkin patch 2011

2011-10-08T09:44:00.000-07:00

once again we headed to Tim's pumpkin patch to find the perfect pumpkins for the littles. the search was a little harder this year given it was a bad year for pumpkin crops but despite the challenge we still had a great time. yammy and papa joined us this year which made the littles as happy as clams.

here is levi last year...i can't believe how much he has grown

levi loved all the pumpkins

daddy with a wheel barrow full of cuteness.

and they are off

Sophie found hers

levi making sure sophies pumpkin is wheel barrow worthy

ella found hers

abbie found hers!

levi found his

and like his sissies he was going to pick it up and
put it in the wheel barrow all by himself

or maybe not

or maybe yes

nope...he decided to just sit beside his pumpkin and look cute

yes there it is folks...another sad attempt at a group shot of all the littles.

abbie and her papa

what a great day.

Sophie turns 6

2011-10-02T08:42:00.000-07:00

Wow

my first born has turned six

where does time go

here are some cute little things i want to remember about my sophie at this age

she still loves horses

and any other creature that moves.

in fact she pretty much spend all summer catching any living thing she could find.

still says a couple words a little "funny" like purt for put and brefkiss for breakfast. mommy loves it!

can play with anything
Here she is playing with random sneakers and shoes (and a play blender) she found around her...they were having conversations and everything. :)

she is sooo girly. her summer uniform usually consisted of a ruffly skirt with a glittery shirt.

but don't be fooled. she would also go and tackle her sister in her ruffly skirt and glittery shirt.

she can go from sweet

to sour
in a matter of seconds

she looves stuffed animals and will often try and get mommy to buy one for her wherever we go.

oh how i love my sophie! she has captured this mommas heart. happy birthday to my sweet 6-year old sophie.

birthday cont...

2011-10-02T08:26:00.000-07:00

sophie had a great time on her actual birthday.

of course she started off with some donuts.

then she was allowed to open one present before church (a big box of squinkies)

then after church we opened the rest of her gifts. she opened her presents from Grampy while waiting for daddy which explains her wardrobe change. she loved her new horse shirt and twinkle toes!

here she opening her favorite gift.

a fish bowl with a promise that we would go to walmart and she could pick out her own goldfish. she was so happy!

and here she is with Lila Whitacre. i love to see the
excitement in her smile!

happy birthday to my sweet little sophie.

and here is a picture of Levi enjoying his sissy's cake. i always laugh when i look at this picture. it looks like he is wearing a flipper in this picture! (which I know from watching toddlers and tiaras. :)

Cute lil girls

2011-09-26T08:28:00.000-07:00

Just some pics of some cute lil girls in their cute lil school outfits (and pajamas)....

here is our little picture crasher.

and our picture crasher once again.
Poor Ellie had a stye (I think that is how you spell it) in her eye.

Love this picture.

i wish i could remember what they are laughing at in this picture.

i had to laugh when we had two littles crash this photo shoot. levi just walked right up to the fireplace and stood beside sophie. and then of course abbie was right behind him. i love my babies.

so cute.

Field Hockey

2011-09-25T08:32:00.000-07:00

The girls are playing Field Hockey this year and all I can say is...wow. People around here take field hockey pretty s.e.r.i.o.u.s.l.y!
I started out the season complaining that it was going to take up the next 6 Saturdays (and two days during the week) but I ended the season wanting more. Who knew 6 year olds could actually play field hockey...and not only play but play well! Ella just loves it while Sophie ...well it's a little too much for my little Sophie. here are some pics of their first tournament.

ella is all business out on the field.

sophie getting a little pep talk from coach michelle

sophie putting coach Michelle's pep talk into action (or so mommy like to think)

mommy loves her little field hockey players

Apple Fest 2011

2011-09-24T08:22:00.000-07:00

Since the normal location of our apple fest had just been under 15+ feet of water the village decided instead of cancelling the event they would hold it up on the hill...yay!

The girls had a great time painting pumpkins and getting their faces painted and mommy had a fun time shopping for crafts. The apple fest is just another thing I love about our village!

how cute are they with their apple boots? i actually bought these several years back from
gap for like $8!

before leaving i wanted to get a picture of all three on the hill...little did i know abbie that a horrible mood was starting to brew inside my sweet little abbie.

so instead of smiles I got this.

and this.

so mommy removed the sour lil crab apple and got this

very cute.

Rhode trip

2011-09-15T12:20:00.000-07:00

We were able to take one more family trip to the Rhode Island coast and had such an amazing time. although traveling with 4 little ones is not easy I have to say i just loove our little family getaways. i love that i have nothing else to do but spend time with my family. i have so much fun with my hubby and my babies.

one morning we headed to newport, rhode island just to drive around. the girls loved going over the big bridges. we found a little beach with lots of shells and let the girls and levi have at it. they loved it.

I thought daddy looked so cute i had to snap a picture...he wasn't thrilled.

the best i could get...sad, i know.

after lunch we headed to the Mystic Seaport Aquarium.

abbie attempting to feed the bird from her stick...she was a little apprehensive about it. ella wanted no part of it and waited outside with daddy and levi.

sophie loved it. of course.

levi loved watching the fish.

this guy was so funny. apparently this teenage beluga whale has been known to get a bit sassy.

he would go from being a good boy like this

to this

to THIS.

to THIS!

we all thought it was funny so we would laugh but apprently miss beluga whale lady from the acquarium didn't . she told us not to laugh at him because he was putting on a show for us. oops.

so we would keep quiet and he would go back to this.

silly whale.

the girls were allowed to pick out a small toy at the gift shop. of course sophie picked out a stuffed animal. ella picked out a note pad (ella looves to write sentences and words)

and abbie picked out this thing. i tried to convince her to get a cute little stuffed animal but she was all about this biting beluga whale thing. oh abbie (don't mind that long piece of hair in the middle of her face).

on saturday daddy had a show to work at so i took the littles to the beach. we went to a near by grocery store and bought beach toys and a beach chair for 75% off (yay!) and spent the day relaxing at the beach. it was a beautiful day, too cold to swim of course but beautiful nonetheless.

sophie was so excited when she found a starfish had washed ashore (mommy was pretty excited too!)

and here is the picture right before Levi was consumed by a big wave...not a mother of the year moment...but levi forgave me!

and he was on his feet again in no time...just a little wet.

the girls loved running away from the waves.

then abbie joined the fun.

sophie liked it until she was caught by a wave.

saying goodbye to her starfish.

and then i got to look at this cutie

doing this on our car ride back to NY.

can you blame him? look at those little fat feet.
i would eat them too!

what a great weekend. i am so blessed.

My cute little First Graders!

2011-09-07T09:17:00.000-07:00

Sophie and Ella are officially First Graders.

oh my.

where has the time gone?

I swear just yesterday they were my sweet little 2-year olds?

and now they are my sweet and sassy First Graders.

say it ain't so

Abbie always has to crash her sissies pictures. but i don't mind because she is just so cute.

and of course in true whitacre fashion we had to pretty the girlies up on "first day of school eve".

and of course miss abbie had to partake in the pampering.

Here they are in their classroom. I don't think there will be many more years in which they (they being Sophie and Ella as well as the school) will allow me to photograph the girls every move on their first day of school...is mommy a little over the top, perhaps.

Of course the first day of school took a strange turn when all the schools in the area dismissed early because of terrible flooding that was happening in our area as a result of a hurricane. We ended up having the rest of the week off due to the devasting floods.

We tried to make the most of the rain by playing in our flooded yard while daddy kept pumping 4 feet of water out of our basement.

and the next day we played some more.

We were definitely spared from the devestation that others in our community had to face. The worst part is these poor people had to deal with this 5 years ago when the first "100 year flood" hit our village. We never dreamed it would happen again several years later.

It was awesome to see our community come together and help all those families in need...we are so blessed to live in a village made up of so many loving and selfless people. We are blessed.

Sophie hearts horses.

2011-09-03T09:36:00.000-07:00

Sophie looooves horses. I am pretty sure that she developed this love while spending time with her babysitters daughter, Sarah, who loves horses so much I remember she would be galloping around on her knees every afternoon when I would pick Sophie up after work.

Her first toy horse was purchased while we were in Hilton Head when Sophie was 2. I remember it so vividly. I told her she could go pick out a toy if she could put her face under water. I remember going to target and Sophie picked out a Schleich horse which she named Kalum (pronounced Kaylum). No idea where that name came from. I wish I could find a picture of Sophie with Kalum but unfortuntatly my memory stick broke with all of those pictures on it (sniff, sniff). However, I did find this picture from that same vacation and low and behold look what is in her hand...a stuffed horse (apparently we bought her 2 horses on that vacation, ohhh the days of only having one child).

Her love of horses continued to grow...
she would be soo happy when she had a chance to ride on a horse!

Here she is at 3 years old.

And here at her 4 year old pony party!

4 years old at the Apple Fest

So you can just imagine her excitement when Mommy and Daddy told her we enrolled her in horseback riding lessons.

She was so ready.

And handled her horse with such ease.

and confidence.

She paid full attention to the teacher

and loved

Every second of it.

The rest of the clan came along to cheer Sophie on.

I have to say.

we have found Sophie's thing!!

And we couldn't be happier.

Playdate with the little ones

2011-09-01T08:42:00.000-07:00

While Sophie and Ella were having a special day with their Yammy and Papa, my sister and I decided to bring the little ones to the lake one last time before it closed for the season. They all had a fun time as did mommy and keekee.

Levi taking a stroll

State Fair 2011

2011-08-29T08:54:00.000-07:00

Once again we made the trip to the Great New York State Fair. It is so wild to think that I have gone every year for the past 25 or so years! The NYS fair time is always bittersweet though...although it is lots of fun it is also a reminder that another summer is coming to an end...which also means back to work for momma. Boo.

3 years out of these $10 etsy cow dresses! Go Momma!

Watching a momma pig feed her piglets.

I really think this pig was annoyed that I was taking her picture. Maybe she hadn't lost all of her baby weight yet and wasn't up to having her picture taken...I can relate momma pig. sorry.

Levi loved the goats.

Thanks to Uncle Scott and Aunt Emily the girls got to go on some rides. Momma is usually to cheap, I mean frugel to let the girls go on rides but their Uncle gave them ride coupons! Yay for cool Aunts and Uncles!

Relaxing in the horse tent.

And Sophie's favorite part of the fair...holding baby chicks. She was in love with this little guy.

But she was able to move on once we told her she could go pet a horse in the horse barn.

The Whitacres Heart the NYS Fair.

Abbie's special day

2011-08-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

Abbie chose to go to the bounce house for her special day. I knew she wasn't going to have much fun at the bounce house by herself so she agreed to share her special day with her sissies and her BFF (and cousin), Kenzie.

Fun was had by all!

I have no idea what that is going down the slide with Ella...I am guessing a stuffed animal Sophie must have brought in.

Mommy loves you, Abbie!

dinosaur eggs

2011-08-26T08:15:00.000-07:00

A while back I had posted about our trip to Salmon River Falls and having lunch by the lake after. It was a very rocky coast and the girls loved throwing the rocks into the lake.

While we were looking for rocks I began to call the very smooth oval shaped rocks "dinosaur eggs". The girls quickly began to scoop up some of the "dinosaur eggs" to take with them in the car. Actually one "egg" turned into a weapon when Abbie whipped it from her seat to the front seat during a tantrum (luckily it just missed Daddy's head...Abbie's dinosaur egg was then confiscated for the rest of the trip)...but that story is neither here or there. Anyway...the girls played with their "dinosaur eggs" when they got home but never did it go in the direction that it did a few weeks later.

I think it began by the girls starting to "pretend" that the eggs were real. Then Sophie took it a step further and began to "believe" they were real (I'm blaming the show Dinosaur Dan for my daughters distorted view of reality). Sophie thought they were hatching since some of the rocks had little valleys in them. So Sophie set up this little contraption before going to bed...

In the morning she had sworn that one had hatched and it was loose in our house...by the middle of the day she had moved on.

Oh how I love to watch the littles play...I really do wish they could stay this age for just a little longer.

one last trip...

2011-08-24T10:02:00.000-07:00

For our last trip of the summer we once again tagged along with Daddy to Rochester. Most people would never consider Rochester as a vacation destination but hey as long as there is a hotel with a pool then the Whitacres will vacation there...that's how this family rolls! :) It all honesty though it ended up being so much fun (with the exception of a visit to a walkin due to a major bout of mastitis...ughhh!).

We had so much fun hanging out by the lake after dinner one night...the weather was gorgeous!

I love when I can actually catch their real smiles.

And here it is folks...the next two pictures were my attempt at capturing all four littles...

this first picture captures their personality so well

Sophie-being annoying to Levi by playing with his ear

Abbie-just kind of there..not sure which way to roll at this point...a meltdown could be very near but so could a beautiful smile...who knows.

Ella-taking this picture very serious b/c she knows how moody her momma can become if she doesn't get a good shot...trying to contain Levi with grace and determination

Levi- Mr. Grumpus pants who could care less

And two seconds later I had this...
oh. my.
At this point I put my camera away.

The next day we took the kids to Seebreeze...we used to go there as kids so it was neat to be able to take my littles.

This was their first ride...Abbie had no idea it went this fast so it took her a while to recover from this one...

She was much happier on the boats...

I loved this ride when I was a kid so I was thrilled when Sophie and Ella went on it with me...

Sophie loved it so much she wanted to go right back on it with Daddy.

From there we headed to the waterslides. I can't beleive how much Sophie looks like Abbie in this picture.

Abbie wanted so badly to go on the kiddy waterslide but kept chickening (is that a real word??) out when she would get up there...then she finally did it.

AND...

LOVED it!

Levi wasn't sure what to think of the water shooting up from the ground.

So he gave it a try.

And then went to find mommy because he had enough.

love this shot of ella and daddy.

Sophie really wanted to go on the pirate ship..oh my...I really felt like we were all going to fall out. I was scared and laughing throughout the entire ride-I felt like I had lost my marbles. Look at those boys in front of us...apparently we should of chose those seats.

The train was much more enjoyable!

We had such a fun time...the girls are still talking about it. We are definitely hoping to come back next year.

life

2011-08-18T09:50:00.000-07:00

On days we weren't tagging along with Greg on a little trip we were usually home trying to think of fun stuff to do. I only worked 1 day a week during the summer so I was loving the opportunity of spending most days with the littles.

I tried to take pics of not only the "posed and pretty" shots but more of the littles doing things that I wanted to remember...like this one...

Sophie tore apart an insulated box that came to our house with Daddy's work stuff inside and made this outfit! Oh how I smile when I look at this picture. She was so proud...as was Mommy...look out etsy!

and this one

sisters just hanging out watching the rain

and this one

my dear Abbie playing with strawberry shortcake dolls and my little ponies that used to belong to her Mommy when she was Abbie's age

I would still capture the cuteness of the "created" shot because there are certain outfits I just love on my girls

this being one

but I really tried to get more of those "everyday moments" since I know these moments are the first to fade in the busyness of life.

and I want to remember these moments...

even these moments.

because before long all my littles will be all grown and I want to be left with more than just the pretty posed pictures.

Beach Days

2011-08-16T08:42:00.000-07:00

We have a beautiful park that is about half an hour away that I love to go to in the summer. Levi stayed home with Daddy while mommy and the girls sneaked about for some fun in the sun...ofcourse we had to invite aunt kee and kenzie since they are both girls!

our day started out with a picnic lunch...

then some playing in the sand...I love this pic...they remind me of an army of ants working on a project. however i really think ants have more of a plan than kids do when they play in the sand...have you ever noticed when kiddos play in the sand there is a lot of digging, pouring of water, moving of piles but there is rarely a finished product. :)

some picture taking

some memories being made...

and some serious 3-year old bonding...how cute is this picture~

poor Ella was cold so she decided to hang out in the sand.

The mountains

2011-08-10T11:41:00.000-07:00

I have always been a down south vacationing kind of girl. However, ever since we starting going up North with Greg when he is traveling for work I have to tell you it is really growing on me! Now don't get me wrong I would still looove to travel down south but since it is quite expensive traveling with our clan I will take our Northern getaways! This trip we headed to the mountains in New Hampshire. It was sooo pretty.

Before heading to the hills we first made a stop in Maine so we could hit up Kids Night at Bob's Clam Hut. Now I have to tell you Kids Night gets this momma sooo excited. Not only are the kids entertained with face painting, prizes, etc. but they also get to eat for $1....AND get this...the drink is included!! Oh yeah! That's right four kids...four kids meals...$4! I H-E-A-R-T Kids night! :)

Not sure what Ella is doing with her eyes...

We stayed at a hotel right by the aiport...the girls loved that! They would always run to the window when they heard a plane taking off...

We stopped the Lost River for some sight seeing but we were SOOO not prepared. When we pulled in we saw people decked out in their big backpacks, sneakers, hiking boots...you get the picture...

we were decked out in Matilda Jane and sandals. We did visit the gift shop where the girls got some binoculars...they were happy.

The next day we took a little train ride through the mountains...the girls loved it!

We even had a picnic lunch on the ride...AND they served Diet coke...yay!

They had a guy dressed as a hobo come around and make the kids balloons...the girls loved it!

After the train ride the girls wanted to play on the playground outside of the station...

we then took a drive even further North to check out the mountains ...it was just beautiful.

The following day we headed to the beach...

Look at his little nose.

And then of course we wrapped up our little trip with the most amazing lobster rolls! Look at this thing...and this was just half...I had already ate the other half (yes I know one person should not eat that much and no that was not my mac and cheese on the side...that was Levi's!)

Cute pics of the clan...

2011-08-04T08:13:00.000-07:00

just some cute pics of my little cuties.

after the first pic i decided ella should be in the middle...can you guess how sophie felt about that?

decided the scowl is not the look i was going for so i decided to let them run to see if i could get some smiles...

better...cute face but crazy arms....hmmm...what else could this momma use?

levi...of course.

just perfect.

Ella's special day

2011-08-03T07:51:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned before, each of the girlies got a special day just to themselves during summer vacation. Ella had first decided to go minature golfing but unfortunately it began to rain before we made it there so we had to change our plans. She then decided to go to the Discovery Center. We had a great time and since she didn't have any of her sisters with her she made me play with her...which I am happy she did! By the time we left the sun began to shine so she was able to play with the fun stuff outside too!

Going back...

2011-08-01T08:54:00.000-07:00

Growing up we never had a lot of money. My mom was a stay at home mom and my dad worked as a long distance truck driver who unfortunately never had much time to be home since he was busy supporting a family of 6.

We never went on vacations to Florida or Disney. In fact my toes never even touched an ocean until I was 14 when I traveled to North Carolina with a friends family.

Am I complaining. No. My parents had a way of coming up with fun things to do that didn't cost a lot of money.

One of these places was Salmon River Falls. It was never a trip that was planned out but rather a spur of the moment decision always initiated by my dad.

When we would get there we would scurry through the woods until we could get a glimpse of the falls and then carefully walk down a little embankment to get to the top of the falls. And I can always remember my mom yelling at us to get away from the edge (even though I am sure we were a good 50 feet from the edge). Then my dad would get out his hammer and chisel and start chiseling out the date we were there underneath the name "Potter" which he had chiseled into the rock several years earlier.

So I was thrilled when we decided to take a little day trip to Salmon River Falls over the summer. I was just as excited as my girlies since it had been a good 15 years since I had been there. I really wanted to find the Potter rock! I knew it was still around since several years ealier my brother proposed to his wife at the Potter rock!

I am trying to make more of an effort to find fun things to do with the kiddos that don't involve lots of money....I really want to instill into my children that family vacations are not about where you go but rather spending time as a family.

I brought plastic cups so the girls could try and catch some minnows.

Love this shot.

Admiring their minnow.

After we left the falls I had to be sure we stopped to get a sip of the natural spring water...just like we did when we were kids...the only difference now was there was a sign reading "don't drink the water."... I saw a local filling up a bottle right before we stopped so I figured it still must be safe..I was right! :)

From there we drove another 40 minutes to eat dinner at a little restaurant on lake Ontario...I remember loving this place as a kid so I knew the kiddos would love it too...and did they ever!

We spent about a half hour throwing rocks into the lake and then we went and ordered our fish sandwiches and had a family dinner at a picnic table overlooking the lake...I was so happy.

I had such a great day with my family and thinking back of all the fun I had as a kid. This little trip made me miss my dad more than ever as I just know how much he would of loved to come with us. I think it is so easy to get caught up in the idea that the only way to vacation is to go all out...and I will be the first to admit that it is a mindset I fall into all too often. But a day like today just helps me remember that if I am with my little family then that's all I need!

My sisters wedding

2011-07-30T11:55:00.000-07:00

On July 30th my little sister, Keekee got married! It was just so perfect in every way. She opted to go more low key without all the expenses and hoopla that are usually attached to a more "traditional" wedding and I have to say it was just amazing!

But most amazing is she and her now hubby decided to do it Gods way and she and Kenzie lived seperately from Jeff for a month prior to the wedding. Yes they still spent time with Jeff but at night they would pack their bags and come on over and stay with us. It was so awesome to see how God can work in peoples lives! Here are some pics of my lil family on Keekee's big day. I really can't post many of the wedding pics b/c Keekee hasn't even posted them yet but I will sneak in a few of my family by the amazing photographer, Annie Jane! :)

Sophie's special day...

2011-07-26T11:17:00.000-07:00

As I momma of 4 little ones I do struggle with giving each of them the attention they need and desire. So during the summer each one of the kiddos got to spend a day with Momma going to a place of their choice. Sophie picked the Butterfly Emporium. Sophie loooves nature. She loves any little creature she can find! It was definitely not my kind of place but it made me happy to see how much Sophie was enjoying it!

Mommy and Sophie before our "date"

Then Kennie needed to be in the picture...

And then Ella...

Then before you knew it every girl in a 10 mile radius was in the picture...

It was such a great day with Sophie. Of all my little ones she is definitely the one that gets most jealous that she has to share her momma... it was soo nice to have a happy Sophie to myself for the day!

My lil guy and his blankie

2011-07-18T10:41:00.000-07:00

I LOVE how much my baby boy loves his blankie.

He is my first baby to have a "blankie" and I just think it's the cutest thing. I love to watch him just dive into it when he sees it on the floor

Just another thing about my sweet lil Levi that makes me love him even more!

Summer fun

2011-07-15T10:49:00.000-07:00

The Whitacre (and Soto) clan enjoying the summer heat!

Here is the "Soto" part of the equation...sweet lil kennie

Sophie catching some sort of bug...she certainly didn't that love of bugs/insects/butterflies/rodents from her momma!

Oh my...I'm not kidding I could really eat him up with a spoon!

Oh how I LOOVE summer!

Levi's first hair cut...

2011-07-14T11:55:00.000-07:00

Levi's First Haircut!

He was such a good boy just hangin out in momma's lap as Melissa was busy tranforming him into a clean cut little man!

And there he is with his new do!

Momma loves it!

HOLD THE PHONE!!

2011-07-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

Yes folks it is true...my dear little Abbie has said Good Bye to her beloved binkies. Before heading to bed Abbie nicely packaged her binkies into a plastic bag

(leaving one to suck on until the binkie fairy arrived of course!)

...At approximately 11:32 PM EST the Binkie Fairy landed at the the Whitacre household and only several minutes after landing she flew away into the night with a baggie full of Abigail's beloved binkies... but not before leaving her a stuffed Nemo and some squinkies.

Yes that is a bowl full of Dunkin Donut munchkins...this momma had to do something to help subside the ever so powerful binkie withdrawal!

love...

2011-07-06T10:47:00.000-07:00

I love that my sweet little Abbie is as happy as a clam that she put her flip flops on all by herself...

And I love that she has no idea how wrong it is.

Yes...mommy fixed it to avoid blisters...those middle toes aren't used to a flip flop thong between them!

4th of July

2011-07-04T10:46:00.000-07:00

Some 4th of July cuteness!

Lovin Daddy!

2011-07-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

Levi loves to ride on the tractor with his Daddy...but not as much as Daddy loves spending time with his little boy!

A family trip

2011-06-27T11:09:00.000-07:00

As we have done for the past 5 years we headed up North for a little vacation to celebrate the end of the school year. We headed to New Hampshire and Maine and had a wonderful time. I love little getaways with my cute little family!

Daddy knew of this cute little beach on a lake in N.H. The girls loved it!

I think Ella was a little cold...poor thing has no body
fat to keep her warm!

Momma and her little ducklins...

We got a little bored one morning waiting for Daddy to come back from a meeting so I took the girls outside to run around...or sit around as in Sophie's case. :)

The clan waiting for our food at Bob's clam hut. I have to tell you that outdoor seating is perfect for our family...I don't get so embaressed when the kiddos start to get a little loud..it's so much more relaxing for momma~

Levi having some fun at the pool with his Daddy

We took the kiddos to a local zoo and they had so much fun!

Sophie was in heaven with all the animals...my earthy little girl loves her animals!

Can't wait for the rest of the summer!

oh Levi...

2011-06-24T08:58:00.000-07:00

Where Levi goes...trouble will follow.

Oh how this little guy melts this mommas heart in so many ways...even his naughtiness! :)

Last day of Kindergarten...

2011-06-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

Sophie and Ella just finished up Kindergarten. What a great year they both had! I am so proud of them both and look forward to spending the summer with them!

Sweet little Sidney had to spend the night due to flash flooding in our village. When I was picking out the girls clothes for the next morning all the girlies put in a request that they wanted to match...I was able to find three shirts with the same print (dont ask why I would have three shirts in all the same size with the same print)...how cute are they? And no, Ella was not driving to school as the keys in her hand suggest...just helping momma out! :)

Sophie and her wonderful teacher, Ms. Poirier...it was her first year in Kindergarten and she did wonderful! :)

Ella and her teacher, Mrs. Livingston...she had just come back from having a baby...Ella was happy to have her back!

Fathers Day 2011

2011-06-19T11:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Fathers Day to the best Daddy in the world.

We had a great time hanging out with Daddy on his special day

We had a day filled with loving on daddy...

Riding our bike...

More loving on Daddy...

Opening gifts

reading home made cards

Being cute

Playing on the swing set

Jumping off the swingset

Playing in a box

Catching Ella

And last but not least...hanging by the fire and eating smores!

I HEART my family!

Happy 1st Birthday, Levi!

2011-06-18T10:09:00.000-07:00

Happy First Birthday, my sweet Levi~! I still can't believe you are 1...it feels like just yesterday I was waking your daddy up at 4 in the morning to tell him his baby boy was coming! And here you are today turning one year old...We love you so much, little boy! I tell you, you have wiggled and squiggled your way into a little spot in this mommas heart that only a little boy could!

Your sissies love you to pieces too...they were so excited to make your birthday cupcakes!

We spent the afternoon at Dairy Days so that you could check out the big tractors and animals...of course you loved it...my lil country boy!

Of course you were too young this year to enjoy feeling all the cud inside the cow with the big hole in his belly...(yes she is alive! She is part of Cornells research department)

Then we headed home for presents and cake...I think you liked your new trucks and cars that you got!

Then we sang Happy Birthday and ate yummy cupcakes

Happy Birthday, Levi.

Love, Daddy, Mommy, Sophie, Ella, & Abbie!

Levi Hearts trucks

2011-06-15T09:57:00.000-07:00

I love love love having a little boy around the house...it is the cutest thing to watch him push his trucks around the house and yard... a nice break from princesses and horsies!

Cute pics...

2011-06-12T18:59:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of my cute lil family on a lazy Sunday afternoon in June...

Abbie and Levi's tractor party...FINALLY!!

2011-06-11T09:32:00.000-07:00

This year we had a joint party for Abbie and Levi...their birthdays are only 3 weeks apart so we figured it would make more sense to have one party for mommy's two little babies! We went with the tractor theme and I must say it turned out soo cute...

I wouldn't expect anything different out of my dear Abbie! :)

Levi with his Papa.

love that the big girls did this all on their own.

there is the little boy that melts this mommas heart.

present time.

cake time

oh how I could just eat this little boy up...even more so than the cupcake!

pinata time

mommy and her abbie.

and the "every occasion" pic of the baby boys...love how they are just checking each other out.

First T-Ball game

2011-06-07T11:03:00.000-07:00

The girls did a good job with their first T-ball game...Ella did a great job hitting the ball and playing the field

And Sophie did a great job.... chatting up the 2nd baseman

Catching up with the boys...

And oh yeah...actually paying attention to the game. Oh sophie...my little social butterfly...

And of course Levi and Abbie did a great job with keeping themselves occupied so this momma could take pics of her little t-ball girls...

Memorial Day 2011

2011-05-30T11:27:00.000-07:00

Our town had their annual Memorial Day parade so the Whitacre clan got their walking shoes on (well cute sandals actually) and headed to town...

And just like that it was over and we were headed back...small town parades don't last very long! :)

Time for the pool party!

Love Sophie's face.

FYI-Sohie is sucking in in this picture! No need to be concerned...she eats! :)

Abbie was a little apprehensive about going down the slide...

but she decided to give it a try...yay Abbie!

And then she was D.O.N.E!

It was a great day. I love small town living.

Abbie's birthday

2011-05-27T10:36:00.000-07:00

Mommy took the day off of work and took her sweet Abbie, Abbie's BFF, and baby bro to Chuck-E-Cheese for a couple of hours before her dr. appt. The girls had a great time.

Of course before heading to Chuck-E-Cheese Abbie had her bday doughnuts

All Abbie talked about when she found out she was going to Chuck-E-Cheese was riding the school bus...I lost count how many times she actually rode it.

Levi heading out of dodge...

This boy loves cars and trucks!

Abbie and Chuck (yep I am on a first name basis with Mr. Cheese)

Abbie and Chuck having a moment (a germ infested moment at that, I'm sure!)...

Abbie is starting to like horsies just like her big sis. I always hear her around the house yelling, "Ni Hao horsie...Yah!" Not sure where she got that saying but It is just one of those things I want to remember.

Mommy and her birthday girl!

Abbie and Kenzie with their balloons...they were pretty excited as you can tell by their faces!

When we got home it was time for presents and cupcakes...yay!

Abbie loves her Woody doll!

All four kiddos playing with the Rapunzel castle

Oh my poor Abbie has the hardest time blowing out candles...I don't think she can round her lips very well (as you can tell in the picture)...I sure hope this has nothing to do with her love of the binky!!!

We love you so much, Abbie Grace!

Happy 3rd Birtthday, Abbie Grace!

2011-05-26T11:38:00.000-07:00

Dear Abbie,

Happy Birthday to my little princess! I can't believe you are already 3! Where did the time go? I feel like it was just yesterday you were just a little baby...

Although we have gone through some trying times together I just can't help but smile when I look at you!

You melt this mommas heart!

This past year you have really changed from a baby sister to another playmate for your sissies! Mommy loves to see my girls playing together and loving on each other!

I know they adore you...even when you come up from behind and grab Sophie's horsies and run away just for the sake of teasing...she still loves you...

Levi also loves you very much...you have learned to be very gentle around your baby brother which makes Levi and Mommy very happy!

I love how you need that time to be held in the morning and after naptime...and if that holding time doesn't happen well you turn into a little beast...but a cute little beast at that!

I love when I catch you having conversations with your binkies...I know you are way too old for a binkie but in the grand scheme of things I am not too worried...although your future orthodontist may disagree...

I love how your eyes get all squinty when you smile!

And I love the bond you have with your sweet lil cousin, Kenzie...and although you two get into some crazy little kitten fights I think you both would be lost without the other...you truly are two peas in a pod!

We love you so much, Abbie...and are so excited to see how you blossom this year!

11 months...

2011-05-18T09:45:00.000-07:00

Happy 11 months to my sweet little guy! I can't believe you are almost 1!! You certainly are on the move these days! These photo shoots are almost impossible!

So Mommy decided to give Woody a try...but all you wanted to do with Woody was eat him!

So then Mommy decided just to plead with you....PLEASE Levi help Mommy and sit still for one second so I can get a picture...AND you gave me
THIS!
Beautiful!
Mommy Loves you, Levi!

Thank you, Abbie!

2011-05-09T10:19:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my previous post my dearest Abbie won the award this year for giving Mommy the most Wondefulest ( I know it's not a word...but it should be) present a momma could ever receive. Yes I loved the flowers and pictures Sophie and Ella brought me home from school but Abbie topped the cake with.....

...DRUMROLL....

GOING PEEPEE ON THE POTTY!!!! Yay Abbie!!!!!

My dearest Abbie wanted nothing to do with the potty until this day...and in true Abbie fashion going potty on the pot had to be on her schedule...NOT mommas!

And yes after only 3 days with only a couple of accidents my dear Abbie is officially pottytrained!!!

I am officially a one diaper wearing child Momma...and couldn't be happier!

And like the potty it took her a few days to master the undies! ;)

Now bring on the binky!!!!

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-08T11:49:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful Mother's Day (which is a given since becoming a Momma!). After a great church service we went and had some lunch at Cracker Barrel. I have to say Cracker Barrel is so perfect for our family...it is a big restaurant that tends to be rather loud which is a perfect match for this family of 6 with four chatty patties (plus when its nice the kiddos can play outside while waiting for a table)! And then after lunch I got to go home and relax with my four beautiful babies and their wonderful Daddy...AND open my card...inside my card was a gift certificate for a mothers ring...YAY!
However, the best present anybody could ever give me was from Abbie and that is a whole post in itself!

Playing checkers while waiting for our table...

The checkers lasted for about 10 minutes and then Momma had to pull out the big guns...I let the girls take pictures with my camera (me holding the camera of course!)...They wanted to take pics of the other showing a "face"...this is Sophie's "happy" face...

THis is Ella's "mad" face.

I don't know why but this picture makes me think I have like 50 kids! Please pay no attention to my dear Abbie picking her nose...

It was a such a wonderful day...I am truly blessed.

T-Ball

2011-05-06T12:12:00.000-07:00

The girls have joined T-ball this year and on Saturday our town had a "baseball" parade in which the village shuts down Main Street and the t-ball, baseball, and softball players march up to the Lions Field for a day of Little League games. It is days like these that makes living in a small town so enjoyable...

Sophie and her BFF, Sidney

Levi along for the fun...

I love how Sophie and Sidney are holding hands...

And there you have it folks...half of our town marching up a big hill towards the fields!

Ten minutes later we arrived...

And Sophie looked like this...poor Sidney.

Sleepover

2011-05-06T11:53:00.000-07:00

The girls had their first sleepover a couple weeks ago. It is just so cute to see the girls forming friendships and having fun with each other. All the girls are in the same two classes at school and go to church together... At one point in time we had 8 kiddos in the house (including our own)...wow....that's all I can say! We all had a good time and I have a feeling this is just one of many more sleepovers to come~

Abbie and Shane preparing for a grass fight

These two are so cute together...do I hear wedding bells?

Watching Tangled

And of course with every sleepever there is a dance party...

Soon after the dance party they started to drop like flies...Sophie and Ella were first...

and about an hour after Sophie and Ella-Sidney and Emma couldn't fight it any longer and crashed around 11 giving this momma the green light to go to bed herself~ :)

My girlies are growing up...sniff sniff...

Outdoor days...finally!

2011-04-30T10:29:00.000-07:00

We finally have been able to get outside and enjoy some sunshine the last several weeks...it is wonderful to be able to open the windows in the house and get outside to enjoy some of that fresh air...here are some pics from our outdoor days~

Levi figuring out grass...

realizing he can find some neat things in the grass...

And then realizing he can still crawl away from his momma in the grass...

But since he loves him momma so much he decided to stop crawling long enough to pose so momma could get a picture...thanks Levi!

When Levi went down for a nap I took the girls to the school to play on the playground...Sophie and Ella thought they were so much cooler than Abbie since this is where they go to school...silly girls! :)

Oh Abbie...

Look at that face! :)

LOVE this pic of Ella...she takes amazing pictures when she's not trying to pose...she's just so cute! :)

I was on the other side of the teeter totter...and YES they still needed more weight on their side to make it even...I guess it's time for more kiddos! :)

This "spinny thing" goes soo fast!

Can't wait for more outdoor days with my babies! :)

EASTER 2011

2011-04-24T10:41:00.000-07:00

Decorating eggs on Easter Eve

Abbie would of rather sat in a bin and rub on all of her binkies...which is a whole other post...until she saw how much fun her sisters were having...

Then she decided to give it a try

This picture reminds me of a game of Twister...look at all those arms! :)

Mommy got to sneak down and take this picture right after the Easter Bunny hopped out our front door...

Since the girls don't really get any toys other than on their birthdays or Christmas the Easter Bunny always leaves them an outdoor door on Easter...

Easter Morning...look at Abbie peering downstairs at her baskets! Soo cute! :)

Hunting for eggs...

Ella was as happy as a clam when she saw the Easter Bunny had left her lipgloss! :)

We let Levi sleep in a little on Easter morning...I love this pic..look at his sleepy eyes...

Levi's First Easter...

Look at how happy Levi was to find puffs in his basket!

Here he is making sure they were the right flavor...

This is the best I got of the 4 little kiddos...not bad! :)

EAster Egg Hunt (in the rain)...

Kenzie finding an egg in the stump...I should have hid a couple of eggs in her curls! Look at all that hair~ soo cute! :)

Coming inside to see what was inside their eggs...

By mid afternoon the toddlers had enough...Kenzie and Abbie both crashed...

Levi and his BFF (and cousin) Brayden...

Grandma Moebs saying good-bye to Levi...

We had a wonderful Easter and although we enjoyed all of "stuff" that we associate with Easter...the candy, eggs, gifts..our only TRUE joy comes from our Lord Jesus Christ and for the fact that on Resurrection Sunday he conquered the grave...and lives today!

10 Months...

2011-04-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

Happy 10 months to my little man! Oh how I love this sweet baby! This month can only be summarized as busy! This little man has been on the move...so needless to say the photoshoots are becoming much more difficult~

LOVE his face on this last pic...I think he enjoys the stress he gives his momma during these monthly photo shoots... :)

Spring Break 2011...Maine

2011-04-11T10:52:00.000-07:00

Once again we tagged along with Daddy on a business trip during our week off and headed up North. I wasn't sure if I was up to it this year since traveling with 4 kiddos (1 being a baby) is no easy task and I didn't know if it would be worth the hassle but low and behold we had a great time and everyone did great (yes "great" is very subjective I know...I am sure some onlookers would not of classified Abbie's behavior as "great" as she was experiencing a full blown meltdown in the middle of a store...but that's neither here or there). We were able to play on the beach (bundled of course), swim in the hotel pool (which we had to ourselves...good thing because a family of 6 kind of takes up a large portion of the pool!), jump on the beds, eat lobster (yummm!) and of course enjoy time as a family (my favorite part!). Here are some pics from our fun little trip!

Jumping on the bed to kill time until Daddy gets back from his meeting

Levi enjoying the show from the front row...

My little Abbie just being cute...

Pool time...
Levi is not having it...

Unless he's in Daddy's arms!

Daddy snapped this pic...while I was nursing Levi they all lined up to watch t.v.

Our annual trip to the lighthouse...

Sophie was all about getting her picture taken this day! :)

Then off the beach...

Sophie found this snail that she decided to keep as a pet...Hoping this did not break some sort of DOC code...if it did I am sorry!

Playing tag...

and then back to the pool for another round of swimming ...

We had a great little vacay! LOVE my family!

oh my...

2011-04-02T10:50:00.000-07:00

I could just eat him up with a spoon!

9 months...

2011-03-18T18:05:00.000-07:00

Happy 9 months, little man!!! What a busy month you have had!!!

You have learned to CRAWL and mommy and daddy were so happy

Until we realized you would crawl your cute little fanny into trouble...like this...

And This...

And last but not least...this.

But lucky for you-you are as sweet as pie and we just can't get mad at you!

And since you have learned to crawl you are definitely not into your "baby" toys anymore...which makes this momma kind of sad...so mommy took down your jumparoo and put it away in the garage..sniff...sniff

Not only have you learned to crawl but your two bottom teefers have made their appearance in the last month...

and of course in Levi style..even your teefers are adorable!

You also have been able to spend some time outdoors...finally! You love driving Abbie's pink car...just don't let Daddy know his baby boy is driving a pink car! :)

and then of course you spent the last month getting even cuter....We love you, Levi!