Easter Sunday Pictures

In an attempt to be a "good mom"  I bought new Easter clothes for the kids this year.  And in an attempt to be a "good mom"  I sat them down for pictures.  This was the result:

Everybody hold still

Sit up straight and smile!

Look at me guys!

Look at the camera and Say Cheese!

Come on!

Seriously?!

Can't we have just ONE good picture?!

Nolan, leave your clothes alone.

Nolan!

Good enough!

Preston 5 years old

Nolan 3 years old

Tyson Almost 9

Lila 6 Months

A Hard Lesson to Learn

The morning of the City Easter Egg Hunt I told the boys to hurry and get dressed, get their chores done, and put their shoes on.  One little boy listened and obeyed.  Two bigger boys did not.  As a result, one little boy made it to the park on time to hunt for eggs.  Two bigger boys did not.

A Ham is Born

Nolan is such a ham.  Sometimes all it takes to turn a frown

into a smile

is for me to pull out the camera.

Itty Bitty Sports, Round 178

Dan and Tyson weren't the only ones to enjoy basketball season.  Preston and Nolan spent the month playing basketball at Itty Bitty Sports.

Nolan turns the big 3!

Honestly, Nolan is such a happy-go-lucky kid that he doesn't fixate on things or get too obsessed with many things.  So when it came time to chose a theme for his birthday party it was difficult to get him to pick something.  We finally settled on a Dino theme.  We had an easy dino-themed dinner at our house with Family.

Happy Birthday Nolan!

Don't Blink

It's doesn't seem like it was so long ago that this little one

was her age.  

I love these two babies of mine.

A Girl and Her Boys

At Least I Tried

There was this one day in December when I actually thought everyone was healthy.  I though, "Quick, lets hurry to the mall to see Santa!"  Lila and I got dressed up cute.  The boys, although in dire need of haircuts, put on their nicest sweaters.  We were in the process of putting on shoes and coats when Nolan started to cry.  

"I don't want to see Santa!"  

Uh, this is new.  

Then he laid down on the floor.  

"My tummy hurts."

Oh no.

"I'm tired."

He suddenly looked pale and just as quickly fell asleep on the floor.

"Nevermind boys.  You can take your coats off.  We aren't going anywhere."

I picked Nolan up off the floor and carried him to his bed where he slept until the next morning.

There was no trip to see Santa this year (for the first time in 8 years!), but at least I took a picture of my cute little Gift with a big bow on her head.

A Giant Snow-person

We've had no shortage of snow this winter.  One snowy day Dan, acompanied by the three boys and several neighbor kids, built a giant 7 foot snowman.  (or snow woman.  Dan tried to convince me it was a girl.)

He, or she, had a fire bowl for a hat, sunglasses for eyes, a carrot for a nose, and pumpkins for a mouth.

Caleb, Tyson, Eli, and Nolan

Dan and his new girl friend.  She gave him the cold shoulder. 

Say Cheese

Nolan loves to be near his little sister.  And he loves to hang out with me.  So, what's a boy to do when mom and baby sister sit on the couch together for 20 minutes every 2-3 hours?  

Pose for silly pictures, of course!

Nolan {Hearts} Lila

Nolan loves his little sister.  A lot.  He tells me multiple times everyday.

"I love her eyes open."  

"I love her feet"  

"I love her hands"

He does not love her eyes "pwosed,"  only open.  I have to beg him to let her sleep.  Because sometimes I really need her eyes "pwosed."

He doesn't say his 'Ls' very well.  So he calls her 'Wya.'

First Snow Day

We woke up one morning to snow.  And no one was more excited than Nolan.  He begged me to build a snowman with him.  I kindly deferred his request to his father.  I happily dug the snowsuits out of storage in exchange for Dan being the one who took the boys outside.

They had to haul a lot of snow from the back yard but they were able to build a pretty decent snowman (which I failed to take a picture of).  And by the afternoon their snowman was the only snow that hadn't melted.  

Meeting the Brothers

Lila was born early Friday morning, just has the boys were waking up.  Of course they wanted to come meet her right away.  We compromised by letting them come right after Tyson got home from school.  This gave Lila and me a chance to rest and recuperate   I attempted to take a nap.  But I was on such an adrenaline rush that I only slept for about 45 minutes that whole day.  

The boys were immediately smitten with her.  

"Don't worry Mom.  I have experience with babies."

He wouldn't stop smiling.  He loved holding her.

Nolan wasn't hesitant at all.  He wanted a turn to snuggle her too.

Our first photo as a family of 6!

They loved their new Big Brother T-shirts as well.

In addition to their new t-shirts, Lila brought the boys presents.  Legos, coloring books and a new movie.  Three rowdy boys don't last long in a small hospital room, so they didn't stay long.  As they were leaving Tyson said, "Thanks for my new present, Mom"  

"The presents were from Lila, not me." I told him.

"Not those presents." he said.  "Thank you for my new sister.  She's the best present of all."