Max is 7 months

Max

You,

realize who strangers are and cry

laugh instantly when you see Hannah

try hard to sit up but fall over

love baby food

love your mom!

weigh 18.5 pounds

cry when I lay you in your crib

have grown out of most 12 months clothes

are happy 99% of every day

have grown more hair, short underneath, long on top

still sleep in mom and dad's sitting room

wake up once a night for a bottle

Everywhere we go people comment on how big your eyes are and those that know Will say that you look exactly like him.

"talk" a lot and very loudly

We are so blessed to have you in our family!

Circus

Saturday night Laurie and I took Will, Hannah and Olivia to the circus. Jack went to a slumber party-birthday party so he was having his own fun!

They liked the dogs, tigers and clowns but after about an hour and a half they were spending more time talking to each other than watching the show so we left. They played with their light-up toys all the way home and declared it a good night!

I am now trying to catch up on the 3 Greys Anatomy's that I am behind.

Wrestling Tournament

We were told that last night during wrestling there would be a "little tournament" so I took Will and Darrren went somewhere with Jack. When Will, Max, Hannah and I arrived at the high school, the parking lot was half full and we discovered that this was a big tournament with other schools. It was in the main gym and the bleachers were full. Will was pretty surprised to see such a crowd. He looked at me and said "mom, you told me this would be a little tournament". I put Will's shoes on him and went to the "parent's side" of the bleachers to sit. I looked back over and Will was sitting with the 5th graders. You could tell that they were trying to get him to move to the Pre-K section of the bleachers but he wasn't going anywhere. I had to get up and walk over and explain to him how they were all divided up. He said "OOHH" I get it now.

There were 6 matches all going on at once. On each of the kids' hands they wrote their grade and weight. Will was one of the 4 youngest and lightest kids wrestling. He lost his 1st match but did a great job hanging in there. He really did not know what he was doing. He needs another year in order to gain a better understanding. He won his 2nd match and was very proud of himself. He did not pin(is that the right term?) the other boy down but I guess he did more things right to get more points. I know nothing about wrestling. The parents were all laying by the mats yelling. It was quite an experience!

Will got in the car on the way home and announced "mom, that was awesome!" I don't know if he will try it again next year but we are proud of him for trying it and sticking with it!

Broken Finger, Basketball and Max

Last week Will made these flowers for me at school and brought them home. He kept telling me that they put special powers in them so they would live longer and today is day number 8 and they still look as good as they did last week! He also came home from school with the sad news that Twix died. Twix was their class rabbit (or was it a hamster?). I am not sure what the teacher told them other than that but he did look concerned and sad for a moment. He then said that it is up in heaven playing with Sam and Shelby and Great Grandma and I think he felt better.

Will also got his finger stuck in a small metal chair last week and broke his thumb. He cried more over this event than he did when he broke his wrist. It did look painful when I hit the latch to release the thumb from the chair. He begged me to take him to the hospital so they would make it feel better. I knew it had to hurt if he was saying that. He also mentioned that he needed a something to bring for show-and-tell letter X and that if they did an X-ray of his thumb that he could bring it. It all worked out. His finger feels better and now he has his show-and-tell. Needless to say, our insurance has already had a workout this year.

Jack has 1 basketball game left and he is doing such a great job. He is awesome at defense and is great at dribbling down the court. He takes a lot of shots each game and really is starting to pick up on "staying in your position", rebounding etc. I hope he sticks with it because I think he could be really good.

Little Max is not so little anymore at 19 pounds! He is starting to sit up on his own and eat baby food. He hasn't rolled over yet but thinks about it until someone comes to meet his every need. He is starting to get hair again and has grown out of most everything. He is beginning to dislike his carseat and really watches me when I leave the room. Hannah can make him laugh so hard it is adorable. I need to get it on tape. He just lights up when she starts talking to him. I tend to find myself rocking him longer and holding him longer because I realize how fast he is leaving the baby stage. I am trying to soak up all of the cuddling, sleeping on my shoulder and smiling as he sleeps that I can. It will be gone far too soon! The 10 loads of laundry that sit on the floor to be folded day after day will be there when he is 2! I try to remember that!

Hannah

Hannah is growing up so fast. After turning 4 in December, she looks and acts so much older. She told me last week that her room is not "cool". She said that if it were black and hot pink that it would be cool but pink and green are not cool. She likes to look through my clothes and jewelry and ask me why I haven't worn something that she sees and likes. She wants a hot pink and black bikini to wear to the pool this summer and has decided that she only wants 2 pairs of shorts and the remainder of summer clothes to be dresses.

Just her and I were hanging out one evening last week and I told her how excited dad and I were when we found out that she was a girl. I told her that we loved her so much and how excited I was to put bows in her hair. She told me that when she has 7 babies that she will be excited too. I love the fact that she looks forward to being a mom someday and that she has such a nurturing side to her. I love that she likes to do arts and crafts and that she loves to dress up. I love that she loves to be with me and that she loves shopping. I love that she loves Darren and all of her brothers. Watching Hannah grow has been so amazing. I never thought we would have a daughter and the joy she has brought us is more than I can explain.

We had her conference at preschool over the weekend and they said that she is a "rule follower" (Yea!), plays with the little girls and tells secrets! She knows all of her colors, all shapes but the diamond and rectangle and can count to 26. She can recognize 3/4 of the letters of the alphabet and will write her whole first name only if the teacher is there watching her. The boys want to sit by her and she is not interested in playing with them. She is very cautious and thinks about what she does before she does it.

I look forward to all of the years to come with her feel so lucky to be her mom.

Sledding

A look of terror
Looks Dangerous to me!

Just slowly gliding
Avery

Crazy Willy

About to wipe-out

Hannah getting a lift up the hill

I have been promising Jack that I would build a snowman for a few weeks now but I have been putting it off because I hate to be cold inside let alone rolling around in the cold.

The guilt has been getting to me so on Sunday morning it was sunny and rather warm at 25 ish degrees. I told Jack that we needed to build that snowman. It must have been quite an event for mom to go out because Will, Hannah and Darren all decided to come out too! Max was sleeping.

The snow was not cooperating and even Darren agreed that rolling the snowman's body was not working so we decided to just sled. I have to admit that it was really fun but I was not fond of the "bumps" that Darren created to add that extra flying action towards the end of the slope.

We all went down in different combinations and Hannah loved it! She talked about it all day. Darren of course decided that sitting or laying down wasn't enough and decided to put the kids up on his shoulders and go down. I couldn't watch. I think I have said before that I am for "safety" and Darren is for "thrills". Good thing that we are at both ends of the spectrum or the kids would never experience anything on the risky end!

I will definitely go sledding more often. It was a great morning and Max did his part by sleeping the whole time!

Valentines Day

Will's Iron Man Valentines
Hannah's Hello Kitty Valentines
Jack's Sports Valentines
Max all gussied up

Jack finally joined us for a picture

I am not sure why Max looks terrified

It has been a busy week around here with 3 Valentine's Day parties.

Hannah picked out Hello Kitty Valentines (that was a shock) and had her party Tuesday. She was so excited. She really wanted to wear her new shirt she picked out online and her legwarmers. Most days now she gets to pick her outfits. She is very into layering and mismatched socks. There are a few occasions I overrule, but for the most part, I have let go and saved myself the morning fight. I also promised to make her Valentine hair ties so lets just say it was a late night on Monday! She had a great time at her party and came home to read all of her Valentines. She still doesn't understand why the boys would not give her "girl" Valentines. She gave all the boy valentines to Will.

Will chose Iron Man valentines. I thought that was a weird pick since he loves all thing Spiderman and Batman but it was his choice! His party was Thursday.

Jack choose "Sports" valentines. He wanted to put gum with his so we did and now we just need to make a box for him that his teacher requested. He was very sad after the Colts defeat in the Superbowl but is still going with the Colts v-day box!

Max tearing down his mobile
Will showing off his muscles before wrestling practice

Hannah making faces for the camera

Hannah loving Max

Will's "kind-of-tough" wrestling look

Max's chubby foot

Last weekend the kids and I hung out while Darren was hunting. We took Will to wrestling, Jack to his basketball game and the kids went bowling with grandma. I painted Jack's (previously Will's) room and Jack went to a friends house to play.

Jack is getting a new "Football" room. Specifically the Colts and Will wants "Spiderman/Batman". I painted Jack's room "silverish" grey and Colts blue. Will's is next and he wants blue and red. He asked many times for black but I don't think I have ever seen a room painted with black. I told him that people don't paint rooms black. He said "they would if they liked batman!"True I guess but it was still a No.

Hannah told me that she wanted her room hot pink and black. Her new favorite colors. I told her she is stuck with hers until she is 6 or 7.

Jack was not a willing participant in taking pictures last week!