Babies in Diapers

Lincoln and Evan hammed it up for the camera a few days ago.  Or, at least, Lincoln hammed it up.  Evan was just busy taking in the whole experience!

 They had some comical expressions, I've tried to limit my choices of photos here so as not to overwhelm my audience... even though I could look at subtle variations in outtakes all day long.  :) 

 I will present you with just 2 outtakes for your enjoyment.  

Evan with his dazed look:

Lincoln with his gleeful look, and Evan with his perfected pursed lips look:

They're gorgeous, right?  Lincoln is a wonderful big brother.  He fetches diapers, pacifiers, burp clothes, blankets, and bottles.  He gives kisses and hugs (and affectionate thumps, although not too many thankfully!).  He has handled the arrival of baby brother very well with his usual good nature!  I look forward to seeing their relationship develop as Evan becomes a bit more interactive; I know they're going to have lots of fun together!

The Tree Is Up!

I like to put my Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving. Even though Kara grew up in my home, she isn't of the same philosophy. Now that the children are old enough to help, it's easy to get the tree up early! They are enthusiastic helpers which I really appreciate. Last week I told the children we could put the tree up on Friday. Bentley was very excited, but then we had a glitch in the plan. Viva was not home on Friday. She had spent the night at Grandma Karen's and didn't come home until after 10PM when The Nutcracker Ballet was over. Bentley was not happy when I told him we had to wait until Saturday.

Then on Saturday Viva woke up feeling sick. More than half the household had a mild case of stomach flu during Thanksgiving weekend. Viva slept all day, but felt well enough in the evening to help out with the tree. By Sunday when we finished putting ornaments on, she was back to normal.

We have a fake tree (*sigh*), so we have to unflatten all the branches. 

Viva worked on the bottom of the tree.

Jake worked on the higher up branches.

Lincoln has now joined the party, but he's not much help at this stage.

We are still pulling apart the branches.

Peek-a-boo!

Bentley loves decorating the tree.

Lincoln loves standing on the step ladder.

Work, work, work!

Fun, fun, fun!!

Sleep, sleep, sleep.

The trio is back at it the next day.

I've asked them to put most of the ornaments out of Lincoln's reach.

Jake

Viva

Bentley

Lincoln admiring all the work done during his nap.

Lincoln back on the ladder where he can has better access to those ornaments.

"Who's been moving my ornament?"

Hair Care Tips from Lincoln

Want your hair to look this good?

It's simple.  Combine some organic applesauce with some butter (from your noodles, of course) - rub gently through your hairs, then let dry.  Voilà!  Sculpted waves via all natural hair care products.

Do you think this is Lincoln's attempt to convince me he doesn't need a haircut?  I've been thinking he's looking a bit scruffy (albeit cute), but after his self-styled hair tonight he has me thinking all we need is some hair gel, forget the scissors!

Twin Love

So stinkin' cute!  And I love the fact that pictures are like having a mute button that allows one to better appreciate small children... silence is golden, on occasion.  :)

Viva and Jake were my cookie helpers the other evening, and they were having a grand time giggling and plotting and chatting up a storm on the counter.  Their good times digressed (of course) into a poking match, and before someone ended up pushed off the counter and onto the floor I told them it is better to kiss and hug than to poke and push!

So they hammed it up for me with the kissing and hugging.  I love these kids!  

Lincoln the Bed Tester

I've been wanting a king size mattress for a while, but until recently the desire for a new bed has been smaller than the desire to bury my head in the sand regarding mattress prices.  :)  Recently, however, my gimp leg has been bugging me more than normal.  On a quest to do what I can to not limp around like an old person we actually made it out to the mattress stores this past weekend!  Matt and I took Evan on our first trip to the stores, and Lincoln headed out with us for round 2.  He had a grand time!

He took off his shoes and plopped right on down:

Is it strange we were hanging out taking pictures together?  I think not!

After all - doesn't this cute smile DESERVE lots of pictures?!??

We did eventually exhaust our help:

He was a trooper!  As usual, he was full of good natured enthusiasm.  

Thanks to our bed tester we were able to make a final decision on a new mattress.  Which I am sitting on (and loving) at this very moment!  Thanks for the help, little man!

Date Nights w/Grandma Karen

I don't often discuss all the fun the kids have with Grandma Karen and Grandpa Tim, but that's not because it doesn't happen but rather because it DOES happen all the time - it's such a part of our normal schedule that it never gets the mentioning it deserves!  Every Sunday, when they are around, the kids and Matt head up the hill to spend Sunday night with Tim and Karen.  The kids spend the night up the hill often too, and this fall they've also been enjoying special "date nights" with Grandma Karen.

Last month Bentley had the chance to go see Shrek the Musical when it was in town. He had a great time!  Then, last week, Genevieve checked out the Nutcracker Ballet with Grandma Karen.   Here's her mug shot from when she arrived home:

As you can see she was quite excited!  She picked out Grandma Karen's outfit to match her new dress, but unfortunately I didn't get a picture snapped of the two of them together in their coordinating reds.

And what about Jake's date time?  He's going to take in Mary Poppins in the spring!

Thanks for the fun adventures, Grandma Karen!

Thanksgiving!

In our home we are all very thankful this year for the safe arrival of baby Evan. We are thankful that he did not have to spend any time in the NICU. We are thankful that he is healthy. We are thankful that his siblings love him.

(These photos were taken 10-07-2012 when Evan was six days old. He's now seven and a half weeks.)

Photo Dump

I'm cleaning up my desktop and dumping all the leftover photos into one long photo post. You'll notice that most of the photos are of the babies. They are awfully cute. The older children aren't as easy to capture on camera doing adorable acts.

When B wears his dog pjs, he requests that we put L in his matching ones.

J and the cat bonding. Or not.

B and J in their super hero pjs. I purchased one set that contained both outfits, but it wasn't a good fit for B, so I had to go back out and purchase a second set in a larger size. 

It's J with Legos. Are you surprised?

It's L doing what he does best: looking super adorable.

V doing an art project. That girl loves to create.

It's me and my buddy.

It's opa and his buddy.

Here E was at 4 weeks. Isn't he strong?

He took a rest after his hard work.

Then he took a nap knowing he had done good.

Another top performer ready to show off his stunts.

J with his favorite puzzle.

L wearing a slipper for a hat. He is, as his shirt states, dog gone cute.

Group hug fest.

The cat napping with E. 

Here is Mr. Dog Gone Cute again. I just love the diaper and suit jacket look.

It's not a look that most guys can carry off, but our guy can.

We have been slacking off on the photos of The Well-Dressed Princess.

Brotherly Love

The Bible talks a lot about brotherly love. It's a good thing. Usually. Last Sunday Lincoln climbed on our bed to spend some time with Evan.

First he gave him his pacifier. Then he gave him a hug. He patted him on the butt. (See L's hand in motion?) He held his hand. Lincoln tried very hard to make Evan happy. He's a good big brother.