"Little house" fun

Today we went to West Virginia. Our neighbors/friends invited us out to their "little house", their home away from home. We had loads of fun doing... nothing much. That's why they like their second house so much.

Ian was trying on grandmom's sunglasses:

I tried awfully hard to make a face with Enoch's inspiration and help. It's a little fuzzy, but I think you get the gist. Haley served us coffee made with his new eSpresso machine. My guess is that those cups hold about 32 oz. They were HUGE!

The kids enjoyed hot chocolate. This is Lily:

And this is Joel: (they're twins)
Carol and two of mine playing a game:

Tabitha and Seth running into the house:

Patricia:

Seth, cutting himself on barbed wire:

Joel gives everyone rides on the Kubota. He is a great driver! You should see him reverse:
Enoch and Haley on four wheelers. Enoch was not comfortable on that thing. I also gave it a whirl. I could drive it, but I did not feel safe. I concluded that it was not my cup of tea.

Grandmom and Ian:

Ian pics

My mom thought this one was Patricia, but no, it's just Ian with his long hair. I'm waiting until he gets his 6 month picture before I cut it off.

I couldn't pick between the next two. I love his smile in both. His upper cheeks are so extra smiley.


These next two were taken by my sister-in-law at Tabitha's birthday party. Two cute expressions if I do say so myself. :)


He's five and a half months old now.

New year, new leaf? Maybe

I know it's been a while since I've posted. Maybe I can get into some sort of habit now. We'll see.

Anyway, today, August 24th, is Tabitha's first day of 1st grade. Can you believe they started that early this year? Here is last year's post.

Isn't she just too cool?


Her new backpack:


Patricia kept insisting that she, also, was going to school. I asked if Seth was going to go. She said no, because he doesn't have a backpack. Notice she has hers.


All four kiddos. Yes, Ian is getting big. He's already 5 months old. Strangers think he's a girl because of his long locks and eyelashes. I'm waiting until his 6 month pic before I cut his gorgeous hair.


Her teacher is in the background. Tabitha is putting her things into her desk.


Yes, her school has lockers for all grades.

Monumental Event

This monumental moment happend to take place two months ago, but I think it's still worth blogging about. Ian Joseph joined our family on March 11, 2009. He weighed in at 7 lbs 10 oz.


Sleeping like a baby.

I still have fun with the others, too!

Tabitha, big sister, little mom.

The parents!


(Hanneke, I finally got it done!)

Monumental Event

It's a little hard to tell, considering Tabitha's front gap is just about as big, but TABITHA LOST HER FIRST TOOTH!
She didn't even need the dentist's help ;). She noticed it was loose Tuesday night right before bed. And then in the morning it was suddenly in her hand. She said there was no pain and there wasn't even really any blood.
I enjoy telling my kids the truth about things. Immediately Tabitha started talking about the tooth fairy. When Seth asked if the tooth fairy lives in the stars I replied, "Well, since he's fake, he can live where ever you want him to live." Tabitha pouted and said that he isn't fake and I was hurting people's feelings by saying that. Later Enoch told me that I should just let her be a kid.

I did put a dollar under her pillow (is that the going rate?), and I will "allow" her to believe, but I can't bring myself to say he's real.

Do NOT try this at home...

Many of you are aware of the "100th day of school". It's the latest thing to celebrate. Usually children bring in a project of some sort. Maybe 100 pennies glued into the shape of the number 100, or 100 pieces of candy. Well, for Tabitha I came up with this brilliant idea (I'm being sarcastic here!) to take photos of her trying on 100 different outfits. When I started I didn't realize how time consuming of a project this would be. Today was the day. Here she is holding her complete album. She told me she didn't have to smile for this picture, because the album did it for her.
The following are a few of my favorites. Oddly enough I don't think they're my favs because of the clothes, but because of Tabitha's personality which shines through! Enjoy. :)








If you do dare to try this at home, I must ask: What are you doing with 100 outfits at home?? Maybe you should consider downsizing. :) We did most of these photos in store changing rooms.

Happy Valentine's Day!

True love: