Ouch!

This is a catch up post too.
One day Joseph was crying and Liam went to check on him. He had hit his head on the very very corner of a super sharp corner of a bookshelf and poked a near perfect hole in his head. Well, you know how heads bleed. The hole was teeny-tiny but it was gushing blood and well, Liam FREAKED out. He was crying and shaking and carried him in full panic mode to his Dad. We put a band-aid on it only to stop the bleeding there was nothing to stitch or glue back together.
He was the cool brother for a day or two as he had the Obi-Wan band-aid on his forehead. :)

Karate on the Court

This was a while ago - about two months.
Mr. Lopez invited students to appear on the court of the San Antonio Silver Stars. They did a mini class on the court before the game started. We had to buy tickets (cheap) but the boys felt like Silver Stars themselves. They have been to the AT&T center many times, sat in second row seats or in the box - they have had impressive experiences for how young they are. But they swooned about this experience and being "on" the court. I think they will remember this for a long time.

Hooded Towel

I made this hooded towel as a gift for a friend having a baby girl. I have made hooded towels before but on this one - I added the pompoms. I have to say - I liked it. (And how lucky am I that my four year old is willing to model a pink towel!?

the birthdays

Joseph and my Mom share a birthday.
This is them on their birthday this year.
Too Cute.

Snarky Housewife

So Sweet Sarah had a birthday so her so sweet friends had a party. Lucy had the idea for a retro-housewife theme and it was a hit! Guests dressed up in skirts, pearls and frilly aprons or gloves. The food was so delightful, beautiful and yummy. The decorations were elegant and the favors were useful and sparkly.


The invitation

The guest of honor

Pretty food

And there is this...
This can't be faked. (Doug I am writing to you!) We were having such a great time, chatting, eating, oogling over gifts...gasp! It's 5:30 and the guest of honor was supposed to be an hour away for dinner with the in-laws at six. Sarah became frazzled and hurried as she tried to get out the door... but it was too late. She was late. No one gave her a time machine for her birthday!

Food Allergies

We got the results back for Joseph's food allergies.
I have taken for granted three kids that don't have them!


(The blotches above are from eggs - that he didn't eat, only touched)

All allergies should go away by age five.

No eggs for one year - we will retest each year/birthday and hope his allergy is "better." But for now, no eggs, even baked in things. (cookies, cakes, pancakes, etc)
Dairy - he can handle some dairy, like cheese, but milk and yogurt and too much cheese makes him throw up. A Lot. No joke. Massive amounts. Volumes.
Wheat - He seems to be able to handle the refined wheat better than anything whole wheat. This is most mild allergy and the doc wasn't too worried about it. but again, he does throw up. And there is only so much one family, one Mom can take of throwing up.

So at least he can eat meat, potatoes and fruits and veggies.

Noble right now

Noble is growing up into a Young Man

We got lucky having such a great kid as our first. He is a wonderful example to his younger brothers and takes that role seriously. He has a tender heart that doesn't like to disappoint anyone, especially himself. He can be hard on himself sometimes. He still loves to read and memorize facts but he also likes silly things like how many grapes can he squish into his mouth (see pictures in top collage). he is brave and enjoys adrenalin tasks - like standing on the ledge of the Grand Canyon (giving his Father a heart attack). He is growing and changing daily in front of our eyes and become quite broad in the shoulders recently. He likes to wear his Fedora hat because then he doesn't have to deal with his unruly hair - and he looks cool.

William right now

William is happy and handsome.

William is complex. He isn't the oldest nor the youngest and is almost always in a constant fight (mostly with himself) about his place in the world and our family. If he would only stop long enough to see he is masterful at being himself! As you can see he has an amazing smile and he also really enjoys making people around him not only happy but comfortable. He is talented and gifted at knowing how to talk to people. He has an intensity about him that drives him in succeeding at whatever he attempts. He likes to figure things out and know how things work - even if he makes it up. As long as there is a story to be told, he will tell it, even if he doesn't know it. He is strong in mind and body and will accomplish much in his life!

Joseph right now

Joseph captures our hearts!

Joseph has had an eventful first year! He talks and really gets happy when you know what he is saying. He loves balls and dogs and cars. All boy! He walks and tries running, but usually falls - but he can walk backwards just as well as forwards. He likes to be where his family is and doesn't mind sitting next to someone while they watch TV - be it College football or Dora the Explorer. He dances when he hears music and doesn't like to sit in highchairs. (he prefers to be held.) He shakes his head no, nods his head to acknowledge someone and doesn't like to lay his head down to sleep!

Hewy right now

Hewy is all personality. All the time.

Hewy lives a unique life in that he has older brothers so he likes big kid things like Star Wars but he also is still four years old so he likes little kid things like swings. He also likes mischief, but I don't think that's a little kid thing, I think he will always be mischievous. He makes faces and can go from happy to mad pretty quickly. He loves out of the ordinary things like his yellow shirt with Yoda in sunglasses and trendy things like silly bands. He almost always has on his yellow crocs and will either wear the same shirt everyday for a week or change his shirt four times in one day. He's cool like that. He is a smart cookie and has fantastic self esteem. He regularly will say things like, "I'm awesome!" or "I made a great call!" or "I am just so darn cute!" We do love him so!

Joseph's First Birthday

I cannot believe my baby is One Year Old!
We celebrated Joseph's birthday at home with family and friends. We had lunch and cupcakes and balloons and presents and fun fun fun!


Joseph - again not so sure why we were singing.

And he was not-so-sure about the cupcake. We were persistent with him - who doesn't cake? But he was just as persistent that he wanted nothing to do it. Not from Daddy, Grandpa - no one! And you maybe able to see in the top left picture - he then starting breaking out in hives. We have since learned that he is allergic to eggs! We should have trusted that he really didn't want any! :(

The Guests.
Grandpa and Grandmama, Auntie Anna, cousins Henry & Lizzy, and the Roberts family that are close enough friends to be family - Sister Roberts, Samuel, William, Ben and Afton. And his parents and brothers of course. :)

Everyone but Joseph enjoyed the cupcakes.

Arizona Early Birthday

While we were in Arizona with Alec's parents we celebrated Joseph's birthday a little early so they could share in the joy that he is to our lives!


First birthday cake - he wasn't sure why we were all singing.

We took the chocolate off and he ate the cake and pudding from the Boston Cream Pie.

Seems to be pretty happy - but seriously, this kid is adored, what's not to be happy about!

Opening presents.
A Jack in the Box like Alec used to have.

Simple Things

We saw some beautiful parts of the world on our Arizona trip this summer. There was more than once that the country song, "I saw God today" came to mind. But most of all it was the down time that I loved the most. A step out of our normal crazy paced life where we had time to be together and laugh and play and enjoy each other. This is what memories are truly made of.


Random fun and joy in Pinetop, Arizona

City boys learned to play horse shoes.

No video games led to playing childhood games like hopscotch.

Tether ball made us all laugh and play and jump more than we had in months.

The boys were also introduced to Volleyball, which Noble especially liked. I have pictures, but I have to say - pictures of Volleyball are not that good or exciting.
Noble and Liam also went bike riding with Alec's parents almost everyday and really enjoyed that.
Alec's parents also brought several card games like OldMaid and Go Fish that they all enjoyed playing.
I enjoyed playing throwdown with the boys in the swimming pool - someday they actually will be able to throw me down, I better be careful!
The bonfire was a hit - fire and my boys!  We made S'mores almost every night.
There was also a meteor shower that was nice to witness in the mountains away from the city lights.
And the gameroom with pinball, air hockey, billiards, ping pong and arcade games - it was a return to simpler times and simpler things, and we survived and had a great time.

Vacation Alec

You all know by now that I love and adore my husband.
We just celebrated our 16th anniversary and I am happy to say that I am still head over heels in love with him. He makes me happy. He makes me laugh. He is a fabulous husband and wonderful father. We live very busy lives and still make time for each other everyday - but I have to say, spending time with him on vacation is a gift in itself. We frustrate each other a bit, because we are not used to being together all day everyday, but that is far outweighed by the joy and fun we have together. Looking back through Arizona vacation pictures I loved the pictures that I have of him - Vacation Alec.


Relaxed and happy Alec
Serious and thinking Alec

"I've never seen a baby so attached to his Dad." -Alec's Mom casually said one day. I would like to add to that, "I have never seen a Dad so attached to his Baby."
It is clear that Joseph prefers his Dad to anyone and he rarely was not in his Dad's arms during this vacation.

Although I have many happy memories from the Arizona trip, the memory of Alec and his Dad playing tether ball is one of the most treasured. Seeing them both play together, laughing and competing and truly enjoying themselves together, was a rare glimpse of them both relaxed and not burdened with other things.

Alec does so many things in his life well - but as a father he truly rocks four boys worlds! The boys had so much fun playing with their Dad on this vacation. Ping pong, billiard, air hockey, horseshoes, tether ball, swinging, swimming, exploring, volleyball, hopscotch and so much more. what lucky boys!

Painted desert and Petrified forest

On our trip to Arizona in addition to visiting the Grand Canyon we also visited the National Parks; the Painted Dessert and the Petrified Forest - which are connect to each other. The other really cool thing is that the weekend we visited all three National Parks - was free weekend at the National Parks!


The pictures of the painted desert do not do it justice. It looks like the landscape was painted in pastel colors. Very beautiful.

The Petrified Forest was a great learning/school visit. The boys learned so much about how the earth was formed and where petrified wood comes from. I still catch them talking about. I just love it when they are excited about things they have learned.

Petroglyphs
Made me wonder if I had to spend hours and hours hitting a rock with a smaller rock to leave my mark on the world... what would I "draw?" A family? A crown? A gourmet meal? :)

The boys each did the required work to earn their Honorary Junior Ranger badges - this is them being sworn in by a National Park Ranger.