There is alot of wonderful stuff going on in our house these days. The big kids are doing great in school - adjusting to all of the new rules of each of their grades and finding their way through the maze of testing, making friends and figuring everything out. Noah Webster remains a constant amazement to me. Molly has her same wonderful teacher from last year - Miss Kelly. She is bright, energetic, loving, brilliant and - Oh, yeah, single! The kids are desperate for her to marry Uncle B or Uncle Ed so she can be Auntie Jen and be in our family forever. I get the distinct impression that she is such a staple in our lives we may just claim her anyways! Peter has Ms. Frazer and I have to admit - we had some concerns in the beginning that he would have difficulty. Instead he is happy, adjusting well and seems to fit well with Ms. Frazer. She is defintely in tune to Peter's particular brand of quirkiness and is proving to be incredibly engaging and nurturing! Once again - God has provided for our family in amazing ways. The kids get on the bus at 7:30 every morning and get to school with 10 minutes to spare before school starts at 8:10. In the afternoon school ends at 2:50 and they are home and doing homework at the kitchen table by 3:30.
These are just some cute pictures of the three big kids - because technically Annie is a big kid!
Molly had a hat on from grammy and so she had to go in and grab one for Annie - she always wants to be like her big sister!
Wow - it doesn't seem possible that she is three already!
Molly is so much fun to have as a daughter! We all know she loves fashion but she is also just a spunky little girl who has fun with everything - even posing for pictures for mommy!
Last Friday Auntie Kate, Grammy, Papa, the three big kids and Mommy all headed off to see the US National Women's Basketball team play at the XL center. My parents decided to come at the last minute and ended up sitting a few rows away so you can guess where Annie ended up - right where she always wants to be - on Grammy or Papa's lap! She looks like she was lacking in attention - doesn't she? When I was putting her to bed that night I asked her what the best part was and she said "Grammy found old treats in her purse for me!" It reminds me of when my grandmother used to drag out her purse and find a 2 year old Hershey kiss in the bottom of her purse for me when I was young - they were the very best tasting kisses ever because they came from my Gram.
Auntie Kate brought the kids some chocolate covered pretzels - I do believe that she thought she might share them with the kids but when she turned around they had eaten them all. She totally underestimated their affinity for snacking! Peter loved the game - his favorite player, in case you didn't know is Maya Moore.
After half time Auntie Kate and Molly snuck down to the reserved seats to get a closer look. They were so cute - they thought they were such rebels!
This is Molly thinking I'm blowing their cover and going to get them kicked out of the VIP seats!
The game was followed by a late night visit from our two favorite little monkeys - Lila and Brendan. Meg is so incredibly good about bring the babies to our house and letting the kids really know and love their cousins. It was always my theory when our babies were born that we needed to let them have some real time with the babies - holding them, loving them and feeling responsible for them. Meg has given them that same gift with their cousins and I am amazed at how close they feel to the twins. Molly loves holding either baby and even took Lila from Papa - yikes - that is one brave little cookie!
Brendan was so darn cute! He was wide awake and entertaining us all with his coos and big toothless grins!
This is just a series of pictures of Molly with Brendan taking care of him at Meg's house one Saturday morning. I love that she refuses to give him up even when he gets fussy. She is such a natural with the babies - kissing and loving them until they calm down.
This was Molly's - "See Mama, I told you I could get him calmed down!" face!
Molly Girl started soccer last week and she loves it. It is so gratifying to watch the kids get involved in something and really get joy from it. Molly makes the weekly 2 hour practices and Saturday games so much fun to watch!
Bob is Molly's coach and is predictably complimentary of her soccer skills. I love watching Bob in this role because it reminds me of why I love him so much. There is not a day when Bob is not exhausted from all of his duties around the house, with the kids and at work and he is so loving and patient with the kids. He beams when Molly begs him to go out in the yard and kick the ball around. For her part Molly loves having her Daddy as her coach. The first day when I asked how he was doing she responded with, "He only embarrassed me once the whole practice!" I guess that's high praise from a 7 year old!
We have the added bonus of having Tyler on our team. That means that when we go to the games we get to watch both of the kids play and Uncle Bob gets to spend a little time with tyler during the week - a real treat during the school year!
Taking a well deserved break!
Pete watching his sister and cousin kick some butt!
Could Katie get any cuter? I don't think so!
My talented nephew! So cute!
The coach with his 2 star players - Molly and Tyler! I think Bob feels some pressure coaching Tyler since Karla is a true soccer star but she lets him do his thing and stays on the side cheering!
High five for the coach!
My handsome nephew takes a break from the field!
Uncle Ed happened to come over on his birthday after the 1st UConn game so we threw together a quick birthday party. It was treat to be with my brother on his birthday and celebrate the day that he came into the world. The kids just love hanging out with their Uncle and all of the other people who came to celebrate him.
Annie loves any excuse to be with her godfather!
Notice how I picked up the house in honor of the party!
Tea party - the only takers Annie could get were her sisters, Uncle Ed and Auntie Eileen.
Katie picked out this big monkey for Uncle Ed.
Happy Birthday to Uncle Ed.
My girls love their cake!
Annie helping Uncle Ed open his gifts!
What a lucky girl Annie is to have Uncle Ed for her godfather. He showers her in love and attention and she loves to be right next to him - or better yet, on his lap!
Lizzie looks so old lately.
Believe it or not - I still have about 30 pictures but this seems like a nice place to stop. Every time I blog I am struck by how blessed our family is - from parties, to soccer games to regular every day things my kids are surrounded by people who love them and give up their time and energy to be with them. Every single day my kids have amazing examples of God's love in their lives. We are so blessed! Last night when we were saying grace Peter had had a particularly good day and when we asked him to thank God for something I loved his response. "Mom, sometimes all you can say to God is just a really big, really loud, Thank You and that's it!" I kind of agree with him! GNM - ILY!
