construction

As part of Landon's architecture class he needed to build a building with Popsicle sticks. He created a jail for  his playmobil guys.

hugs

Harkin loves giving hugs to people. Lately he has become very attached to Landon. He asks him to help with everything and play with him all the time. He is such a sweet little guy and just adores his big brothers. They are sweet in return. This is one of the many benefits of homeschooling. Forming a good bond between family members. If the boys were at school all day Harkin would miss them terribly and be lost without them. I love that they have this time together.

keeping busy

What my big boys do to keep themselves entertained and active during the bitter cold days of winter.

good news

Eric's brother and girlfriend came for their yearly visit. This time there was cause for celebration! They are now engaged. Yeah! So there will be a wedding in our future. The boys are very excited about it all. We had a fun visit, although it was so quick.

the newest sweater or house coat

I finished this sweater/coat for Harkin just last week. It had been slow going, since I started in August. I kept taking breaks. For the holidays, the baby and such. He absolutely loves it and wants to wear it every day. I was afraid it would be too small when in actuality it is a bit big. It falls off the shoulders. I think I will add another button closer to the top so it stays on better. It will be good for a spring type jacket, but for now we are calling it his house coat. An extra layer while the temps are below zero is always nice.

sunday smiles

tub time

Both babies are loving the tub. Harkin has a blast in there. Swimming and pouring, while Issabelle was still and quiet. Just "soaking" it all up.

this little lady

Our sweet girl is 3 weeks old already. She is weighing in at 10 lbs 12 ounces. And she is starting to outgrow the 0-3 months clothing. We are all getting adjusted to the lack of sleep. She loves to be held all night long, but will sleep in her bed during the day. It will work itself out one day.

She currently is being treated fro reflux, since she was spitting up so much and it kept coming out of her nose. My poor baby.  The Dr. says that she will outgrow it eventually.

The boys are loving her dearly. They get very concerned when she starts to cry. They love holding her and giving her kisses. Jaxson is a bit indifferent to her. Just another monkey he thinks.

Mama and Daddy are so in awe of her and love snuggling with her late at night when all the big brothers are sleeping. Her tiny hands and sweet smell are just a joy. So grateful that she decided to join our family.

good times with grammy and grampy

We had such fun with G & G. Lots of games, reading, playing and hugs all around!

friends who knit too

It is so nice to have friends who knit.  While I love to knit, I am knitting for four kids and have virtually no time at the moment, so this little sweater in the mail yesterday was such a wonderful surprise. It is a beautiful lavender color and fits Issabelle so nicely. She will be wearing it regularly. It is much easier to put on her than the sweater I made her since there are no sleeves. Thank you so much Kim!!!

visiting with Grammy and Grampy : the first day

Grammy and Grampy like to be sneaky. They arrived at our house late at night. The boys were already asleep, so the next morning it was a nice surprise. Everyone was up early as the boys were heading out to ski for the day. They hated to leave as they were so excited to see Grammy and Grampy. They skied a half day and then came home to have fun, fun , fun.

Gifts and surprises were given out. Games were played. Lots of showing off of all our toys. It was a great day. And there were so many more to come!!!

projects, projects

The boys kept Grampy busy, or Grampy kept the boys busy, with lots of projects while he was visiting.

First there was a wooden cradle to be put together for Issabelle. It isn't quite finished yet, but that is OK since she won;t be playing with it for a bit. Grampy is going to put the finishing touches on it and then bring it back the next time they come visit. It is a doll cradle fro when she is really onto that whole thing.

Then there were some broken toys to be mended.

And one of the things that the boys had been waiting patiently for Grampy was to whittle and make sling shots. Grampy came prepared with some cool rubber,  leather pouches and marbles to shoot. Lots of fun was had by all.

It was great having Grampy to help the boys with all these projects, especially since the temps were in the single digits and Grampy's blood had gone thin from living  in Florida :)

building robots

The Dr. that my mother -in- law works for is so generous and sent the boys this awesome kit to make with their grandfather. It builds 11 different models. Today they decided upon a bulldozer. It was fun to watch them all interact and work together to build and solve problems that may have encountered. Then they were able to make it move with a remote. It actually pushed things around. The boys think it is pretty cool and are thinking about what they will build next. Unfortunately, it will have to be without their Grampy's help.