The Hat

Just when I think

these baby shots 

 couldn't get

 any more precious

 she melts my heart again

and again.

Six Months

Dear Laina Rose,
I cannot believe you are six months old already!  Where has the time gone?!  Here's what you've been up to lately:

• You eat every three hours still but have added Puffs, cereal, fruits and veggies into your diet.  You think you're really big stuff when we put you in your highchair!
• You weigh 15 lbs. 15 oz. and are in the 50th percentile for weight
• You are 24 1/2 inches long and are in the 10th percentile for height
• You are such a good sleeper!  All you need is your pacifier and to be swaddled tightly and you're out like a light!
• You wake up from every sleep with a big smile on your face.  I treasure every one.
• You have found your voice and babble at your brother and sisters
• You are especially enthralled with Cole, who can make you laugh at any moment just by giggling with you
• You have been sitting up for about a month now and you practically refuse lay back to play
• You have a smile that lights up the room.  Today at your check-up, you were smiling at everyone in the waiting room, the nurses and your doctor.  I can't even count how many people called you Miss Smiley today!
• You are recognizing us as your mommy and daddy and we are LOVING it!  I think you save your most special smiles for us.  :)

We love you, Laina!  I can't wait to see how you grow and change in these next six months - but am still praying they go by a bit slower than the last!

Where've We Been?

I really think I need to dust off my computer keys since I haven't been on here in such a long time!  The last I left, I was rambling about how busy we would be. Honestly, we've been doing so much that I figured just a little photo album would be enough to fill you all in!  So - what have we been up to?

We've been decorating Easter eggs

and fighting over who got to hold the bowl - (notice all of the hands at the base and Hayden telling me, "Mine!"  :) )

We've been celebrating our friends' marriage

We've been celebrating Christ's resurrection

We've been hunting for Easter eggs

We've been celebrating all the cuteness!

As I post pictures and write, it seems like we haven't been as busy as I've felt!  I should have more to show for all of this time away!  Really, though, we've been on the go and life is just starting to ease into "normal" life.  I'll post more on that later!

Just Wondering...

Don't we just look like the family you'd LOVE to have as neighbors?  Calm, loving, collected...

Okay, maybe not - but we're a TON OF FUN!!!

Cake Time!

We picked Jake up at the train station on Thursday morning (did you notice at all he wasn't with us this whole time?) and it was so wonderful to be reunited again.  We got going on the plans for the girls' birthday party which was just a bit of grocery shopping left.  All we needed next were the Roszkowskis and we had ourselves a party!  Here is Kelsey Paige before the party - isn't she the sweetest?

I had really been craving grilled chicken, especially with the nice weather we were having.  My sweet hubby was happy to fulfill this need in my life so it was marinated grilled chickies with cheesy potatoes and salad for dinner.  Let me tell you - I ate a load of food!  I don't think we had leftovers of anything!

The girls' cake was made by a good friend from church, Laura Smith.  Doesn't she do an amazing job?  The twins are really into Veggie Tales right now, hence the theme of their birthday.  I got them Veggie Tales birthday shirts too but I'm pretty sure you'll only see Hayden's in these pictures because Maurah covered hers in ketchup - a very Maurah thing to do!

Singing "Happy Birthday" to the very special birthday girls!

Ready, set,

BLOW!  I'm pretty sure she really was blowing here, even though it looks like she was about to eat the candle!

What kind of birthday princess are you if you can't sneak some of the frosting?

AJ and Cole were fans of the cake too!

Pardon this shot - it's the only one I have to show of everyone there!

YUM!  I'm pretty sure Hayden liked it.  What do you think?

Visit to Michigan - Stop 3

Continuing the birthday celebrations...

Our third and final stop on what is now lovingly known as the birthday tour was at my parents' house.  The kids didn't sleep one bit from Grandma's to my parents', so I wasn't sure how they would do the rest of the evening.  Apparently, if you have a yard to play in, you can make it through anything!  The kids LOVED being outside again.

 They went for wagon rides,

 played "tag" with Grandpa,

 went down the slide,

showed off some sweet tricks,

 and just enjoyed some good, old-fashioned running around.

Oh, we also checked out our shadows!  Okay, so I was the only one who cared, but do you see how long my legs are?  For once, this shorty can say she sported some long, lean legs - and I wasn't wearing heels!  Ha!  Honestly, with all of this fun, we need to get ourselves a yard!

Next on the to-do list was to open Cole's birthday gifts from my parents since they wouldn't see him on his actual party day.  Being the controlling nut that I am, I wanted to be sure that his gifts didn't interfere with the girls' gifts - because I guarantee they would develop a complex from their second birthday being shared by their brother and the therapy bills would leave Jake and I homeless.

I'm sure of it.

Maurah dressed up for the occasion.

The birthday boy opening a fun new game - and really, it is really fun!  I'm glad to be getting out of the baby games with him and playing real games like Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land and now Cariboo Island!  I might lose every time I play with him but that's another story for another day.

This is the "Mom's making me pose and I don't really know how to" picture.  :)

Hayden's turn for the shades - this girl is too cool!

Waiting for Daddy

Visit To Michigan - Stop 2

The second stop on our Tour de Michigan was to Grandma Janet's house!  You can read more about Grandma Janet here.

Lately, we've taken to calling her Grandma "Jamet".  Cole started this trend and now we all love to refer to her this way.  I have to tell you that I was a bit nervous about taking all of the kids to Grandma's apartment all by myself but the visit went beautifully!

Grandma made special lunches for the kids of pb &j's with M&M's on top, Goldfish crackers and cheese cubes.  Then, we left the dining room and retreated to her apartment for some more spoiling of strawberry ice cream.  Yummy!  It was so nice to have someone two generations older than I to remember what kids like for lunch and to remember what it is like to be with kids all by my lonesome.  I get so frustrated when people just expect things from you and don't take into account how much work it is to tote my four beauties around!  Okay -  I'm off of that soapbox now!

I was surprised and so grateful for how much the kids remember Grandma's apartment.  Cole basically walked in as if he owned the place and the girls warmed up really quickly too!  Cole said before we walked in, "I'm glad we're at Grandma's.  She's fun!"  He makes me smile.

Here are the kiddos with Grandma:

And before we left, Hayden climbed up to steal some more snuggles from Grandma.  Pardon the finger in her nose - I told you she was comfortable!  Ha!

Visit to Michigan - Stop 1, Part 2

We celebrated the girls' birthday with the Manne clan while at their house.  With a Chocolate Texas Sheetcake and presents in hand, we got our party on!

The girls knew as soon as we started singing that this party was for them.  They loved it!  I was so proud too, because they actually blew out their candles!  We've been working on blowing and spitting in this house - but that's another story.

Opening their first gift together....

Fleece blankets from Grandma Tammy!  It was so funny too because they picked the ones that she had designated for them in her head.  Maurah went right for the darker stripes and Hayden for the brighter trees and polka dots!  I love how their personalities shine through even in their tastes for blankets!

This year the girls got lots of "girlie" things.  It was so fun to see them open their own purses, tea sets and cake decorators.  Our house is turning from "baby" to "big kid" really fast!

I love this picture of Hayden in a cascade of tissue paper and that it's clear enough to see the freckle on her nose!

Hayden went straight for the M&M's in her purse....

...while Maurah went straight for the phone.  Once again, if you know their personalities, you know this fits them perfectly!

We had a great time at the Mannes' but had even more partying to do!  Stay tuned for those posts tomorrow!

Michigan Visit - Stop 1

***WARNING - More pics on these next few posts than any blog should have!***

We are home!  We had such a wonderful time in Michigan and got to see so much of our family....actually, we got to see everyone in our family with only the exception of our brother-in-law!  And how sad that we missed him by only one day?

Our first stop was to Jake's parents - you know, the other Mannes!  

The weather was WONDERFUL and we spent much of our time outside.  Here are Leto and Cole riding the tractor with Grandpa Dave.

Leto taking over!

We played many rounds of Duck, Duck, Goose, only for Cole and Leto to pick each other every time.

Seriously.  Every.single.time.  I guess those smiles were worth it.

I love this picture of Leto in deep thought as to what he should draw.

And to work he goes!

Maurah was LOVING Ring-Around-the-Rosie.  (Anybody else have trouble singing that without thinking about the plague?  I'm finding more and more children's songs to be really demented!  Really - just sing "It's Raining, It's Pouring" and you'll see what I mean!)

Lexi and Hayden watching a movie with their beddy buddies.  Both have such sweet cheeks!

Favorite stories of the trip:  **Hayden said "Poo-pah" for Grandpa and kept asking where "Poo-pah" was.  It cracked me up!  She has already learned how to say "Grandpa" where it sounds much more like it, but I won't forget "Poo-pah" any time soon!  Ha!

**Maurah absolutely refused to go to bed one night.  She plays this game with Jake's dad where she's terrified of him and won't go near him.  Still, she would NOT go to bed without saying goodnight to "Bumpa".  Finally, "Bumpa" came to the stairs and said goodnight to her and she went to bed without so much as a fuss.  Now we know her secret that she's just playing hard to get!  

**It's a joy to see Cole and Leto playing so nicely together.  Granted, it doesn't happen all of the time and there are many instances that we need to interfere, but the boys did so well considering their ages especially!  I was so proud of both of them asking each other what they wanted to play, if they could play together, or if they wanted to play alone.  I look at them and can so quickly go back to the first year of their lives where they spent so much time together.  They have such a special bond that I hope never fades.