The Kids

Christian will turn 3 April 21st.













Nika turned 5 March 26th

















Kyle turned 1 March 2nd. (The bruise on his head is from Nika opening the door into his head)

Kyle eats Oatmeal. Yeah.

Boy do things change. When I was feeding my kids food for the first time they recommended waiting until 6 months. But taking Kyle to the Peditrician last week they gave me the go ahead to start the solids. He really loves being at the big kids table.
Sunday Uncle Josh made a fort for Christian. It was so sweet watching Kyle trying to get into the fort with Christian. No he doesn't crawl, but if he was close to crawling he would have been in that fort. Can't wait until he is crawling.

Time Off

Matt took last week off from work to accomplish several things around the house. The kids really loved having Dad home to play with. Here you see Matt and Christian doing some yard work.

Now a Level 2 Swimmer

Last night Nika pasted from a level 1 to level 2 swim group. We were so excited, so we celebrated with cookies. Nika is crazy about swimming. She talks about it non-stop. For those interested, passing level 1 can be a little hard. Some kids really fear putting their face in the water. Nika had to do 10 bobs (holding on to the edge of the pool and dunking yourself under), of which Matt said she easily did 13. To add to the excitement, Nika had only been in the level for less than a class and a half. Now next challenge, Level 2. In Level 2 she has to do back and front floats. Yeah Nika!

Christian is also taking Parent-Tot swim lessons with me. I believe is also a natural. He has been working on doing bubbles in the water, and I believe by the time his little arms are able to reach the edge of the pool he too will be bobbing away.

Group Birthday

On Wednesday Nika had her Fourth Birthday. Yeah. We didn't get any pictures. Booo. On Sunday our Sunday Night Group got together to celebrate all the kids who had thier birthdays in March and April. We again forgot our camera, but our friends managed to take pictures of mine. Below you see Nika (4), Nathanial (soon 1), Keiton (soon 1), Karis (1 yr 6 days), and Christian (soon 2). The party orginally was just for the one year olds, but I was so blessed to be included. I can not believe that all this kids' birthdays were packed into less than a month.

For those without babies, the cool couples get pregnant in mid-summer.

Happy Birthday Me!

March 7th 28 years ago I had my birthday. Embracing my inner child I picked out a Tinkerbell Birthday Cake. It was a wonderful time. My mom came and made me Chicken Cordon Bleu with Scalloped Potatos. For dessert we had Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream cake.

Photo Shoot

We gave Nika our old camera. She has taken over 150 pictures on the camera (good thing the card will told another 350). I took a picture of Nika taking a picture of Christian. He loves having his picture taken and say cheese, so the two are quite the pair. Nika demanding him to stand next to the tree and Christian saying cheese to ask for his picture to be taken.

Hair Cuts

Christian got his hair cut on the 13th of the month. I think it makes him look so grown up. He was such a big boy. He stayed still and seemed to really enjoy the experience (I think he thought it was neat.).

I really like Nika's Hair cut too. Grandma Kay did it yesterday. It really makes her look less like a toddler and more like a Little Girl.

Storytime

Since Kiley has been with us, we have made it a habit of reading one book to each kid before bedtime and naptime. Here you see Storytime before bedtime.

Camping

We went camping the weekend of July 26-29th with some of our close friends. The ratio Adults to Kids was crazy 8:8. Next year I think it will be even crazier, because three of those were under 5 months. Next year all eight will be on foot.
We all took our bikes and bike trailers. Since we had three (Kiley, Nika, and Christian) we bought another trailer. It is way cool, a chariot.
All the kids had fun rolling around in the dirt, throwing rocks, going on rides, swimming (in dirty lake dorina), and eating junk food.
I really enjoyed camping with these guys. Everyone feels comfortable enough to kind of keep an eye on each others kids, giving us a lighter load.

More cute pictures @ The Bowmans', the Lundes' and the Rowles'.

First Zoo Visit

Katie went to the Zoo with us with little 3 week old Alexander Joshua (AJ). It worked out well. Most of the time Katie pushed the Boyz in the stroller while I had the girls in thier Monkey and Puppy Packs (Leashes). AJ did great. He fussed a bit, but calmed down. I think Mom and Baby did wonderful for their longest trip and quite possibly thier first public appearance.

Laundry

Christian really got into helping me with the Laundry the other day. I don't think it was really the desire to help, but the light in the machine that got him into the job.

Grandma West

Here you see Grandma west with four of her six grandkids

Five in the Family!

Our Neice Kiley is now living with us. Last night all the kids decided it would be fun to hang out on the couch with thier blankies. There are the three who are bring so much joy to out lives. Kiley is two months older than Nika and the daughter of Matt's oldest sister. Her brother Kenny was living with us earlier this year. We are unsure how long Kiley will be living with us, but I am having a lot of fun with another girl to play with. Getting out of the house hasn't been perfected yet, but with time I am sure I will master it.

The Favorites

As always the bears and the sand are a favorite. It was so cool to see this Grizzly Bear taking a nap. And this was Christian's first time in a sandbox. He was unsure at first, but warmed up to being able to play with out Mom yelling at him to not get dirty.

Climbing Buddy

Up Close and Personal With Bears

Black Bear

Black Bear

Polar Bear

We Love the Zoo

So Sleepy