Happy Halloween!!!!

I hope everyone had a fantasic day and all the kids got lots of goodies. We had a super busy day that started off with conferences for Jadyn and Taryn. Kolin dropped Brennan off at school. After picking him up, the kids and I headed over to a Halloween party. We stayed where we were all day and then went out trick or treating. We had about 16 kids on a trailor and they had an absolute blast. Ryanne enjoyed her first Halloween falling asleep in my arms as soon as I sat down on a chair on the trailor.

2 month check-up

Ryanne had her 2 month check up today....yes, she's already 2 months old.

Weight: 11.5 1/2 oz (gained exactly 2lbs in the last month)

Height: 23 1/2 inches (grew 1 1/2 inches)

Head Circumference: 40 1/2

Of course with it being her 2 month visit it was time for her shots. She cried and I wanted too. She's definitely feeling the effects and just wants some extra lovin' time which she is getting.

Quite the look for mom today....

Aren't these cute?

Brennan and Karis got these in their stash this morning. I thought they were super cute and needed a pic by themselves.

Karis' playgroup Trick or Treat walk

Karis' playgroup had a trick or treat walk this morning. They go through the facility and see the administrative workers and residents. Brennan went along with us this morning and got his fair share of goodies too. Some people were even giving Ryanne treats.

Here is the loot that we brought home. We've literally got a little bit of everything and everyone was VERY generous. The white bags had pudding snack packs and applesauce in them...with spoons. =)

Between today and the trunk or treat we went to on Saturday, the candy bucket is FULL.

I'm thinking that the kids don't need to go trick or treating on Friday, but I know that I will be out voted by Kolin and the kids.

Starring: Brennan The Boy Wonder

This costume is almost 30 years old. Kolin's grandma made it for him when he was 7. For your viewing enjoyment you'll find a picture of Kolin wearing the costume below.

Imagine my surprise when Kolin brought up letting Brennan wear it this Halloween. We made sure it fit him during our last trip to visit grandpa and grandma.

Saturday we took some pics of Brennan wearing the costume.

We must not forget Miss Karis who had to try the costume on as well.

Snuggled Up!

It's been cold the last week or so, but really cold the last couple of days. Miss Ryanne has many layers on and stays nice and toasty. She will literally sleep for hours all cuddled up.

Pictures!

We recently got Jadyn and Taryn's fall pictures back. Our fall pictures usually turn out horrible and retakes are usually even worse. Yes, it's been that bad.

This time around the pictures turned out REALLY well. Both girls are smiling and they are good smiles.

Now to find the time to get them up on the wall and the others mailed out to family and friends.

We saw flurries tonight

On the way home from a Halloween party in the suburbs today we came across snow flurries.

YUCK ICK YUCK ICK!!!!!!

It's October and I'm just not ready for the nasty weather to begin.....

Check out the gloves

I love taking pics of Karis when she's sleeping. She's got the longest eyelashes ever. So long that they sometimes get stuck underneath her bottom eyelid and whenever I catch it I freak out thinking something is wrong with her and then realize her lashes got stuck again. DOH!

Don't mind the road rash on her upper lip. She bit the dust this afternoon while playing outside.

8 Weeks Old

Such a sweet baby girl. Ryanne is starting to coo and I received my first REAL smile today. She loves to cuddle. The 8 o'clock naughties sometimes get the best of her, but she's a keeper for sure. She loves to suck on her fingers. The more control she gets over her hands, the more you see her fingers in her mouth.

Karis' Field Trip

Karis' playgroup went on a field trip Tuesday morning. Brennan and I decided to tag along. It was a great day to be out with just the little big kids.

Instead of a sandox we got to play in a corn kernel box. I'd much rather have corn kernels falling out of my clothes when we're done then sand anyday of the week.

The bunnies were beyond cute. Especially the one above with a little 'hawk.' I was almost tempted to sneak him home....almost but not quite.

Overheard this morning...

Karis, come here. Baby Ryanne smells like marshmallows.

Our family of 7 WOW!

Keepers!

Us

One tired baby girl...

We had Fun!

Jadyn & Ryanne

Doesn't it look like Jadyn is holding a doll?

Pictures...

I've got almost 400 pictures to go through from our picture day yesterday. A certain little boy thought it would be super cute to stick his tongue out and make funny faces in a lot of the family pictures. I think I've found 'the picture' though that will grace our walls. We got a lot of other great pics too.

Pictures of Kolin, Jadyn, Taryn and Brennan together turned out awesome...they were striking their own catalog poses. Karis decided she didn't want to participate and have fun with everyone else at one point. Kolin and I were able to get her smiling again, though we do have our fair share of Karis NOT being happy pictures.

All in all though, I have no complaints and the pictures were fun to do. I think it'll be even more fun next year when Ryanne is toddling around and she can participate in the pictures more.

We're having

family pictures taken this afternoon. Wish us luck! I'm hoping to get at least 1 really good picture of all 7 of us.

7 weeks and stuck in a cup!

Big Blue Eyes

Brotherly Love

Little Snort

With a "Lollipop" tune.....

Little snort, little snort...little, little, little snort
Little snort, little snort...little, little, little snort

Over and over and over again.......

Little snort happens to be the newest nickname for Miss Ryanne. Her little snorts constantly remind us of her grandma Deanna. =)

Ever been to an Elk Farm in the rain?

As of yesterday our answer would be a resounding "YES!"

What was supposed to be a fun filled day with a picnic for lunch turned into a 'let's just laugh about it wagon ride in the soaking rain' morning. We figured the rain wouldn't kill us or the kids. Lots of parents came along...even Kolin (who I'm sure wished he would have stayed at work.)

We all climbed onto a wagon with bench seats...we had garbage bags to sit on and umbrellas to cover us. (We put Ryanne in her wrap and she was a happy baby) In the middle of the field were two teepees. We all huddled into one of them and learned all about elk. It was actually pretty interesting and I wish we could have actually heard more than we did. Were were able to see the #2 ranked Bull Elk. His antlers were HUGE! We saw a couple of babies.

Kolin and I decided that we'll be going back for some pumpkins.....on a NON rainy day.

6 week feet

Taryn's Shoes....

Taryn's never been interested in learning to tie her shoes. We go back and forth with her on the subject and had decided to just let it go for the time being. I've never personally met anyone who was an adult and couldn't tie their shoes. I figure at some point she'll be interested in learning.....hopefully.

Today after school we were in the car on the way home. Out of no where Taryn starts crying. I asked her what was wrong.

Taryn: I don't like these shoes! (They are really cute)
Me: Why not?
Taryn: They won't tie for me.
Me: Well maybe it's time to start learning how to tie them. We'll work on it later this afternoon.

I'm hoping she'll be up to a little tutorial once she finishes her homework.

Then who will marry me?

Brennan got quite upset with Taryn the other night when she told told him that she wouldn't marry him. He then started to cry and asked "Then who will marry me?" He was soooo upset that Taryn wouldn't marry him. Kolin and I tried to explain that brothers and sisters can't get married and that there are plenty of other girls that he could marry when he gets older. He then wanted to know who......

Geez! Kolin and I are started going through a list of little girls that he could possibly marry once he's old enough. We got to about #12 when he lit up at the sound of a friend's younger sister. He's now decided that he and Leah are going to be married when they are older.

Twilight: The Movie

I've read Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse. I've had Breaking Dawn since it came out, but have yet to break it open.

Twilight (the first installment) is coming out in the theaters next month and I'm really excited. Some friends and I are going to get together and go see it. Can't wait!

Bummer..

I knew it was going to happen sooner rather than later, but I was hoping we wouldn't have to deal with Ryanne having her first cold for a little bit longer. All in all she's doing alright, but her poor little nose is all sorts of stuffed up. She hardly slept yesterday. I finally put her in her carseat with her favorite blanket and she feel asleep and stayed that way for a little over 3 hours.

Spike the Brontosaurus

What more could a 4 1/2 year old little boy want then his own 2 foot Brontosaurus that would scare the crap out of his little sisters and cats?

He walks. He blinks. He growls. He roars. He's the ultra dinosaur! The dinosaur can walk forward, turn left and right, open its mouth, blink its eyes, stand up on its hind legs, and even throw a boulder. The neck on the dinosaur will rotate around similar to the neck on the mega t-rex, and when the dinosaur stands up, spikes down its back will light up.

We've already got ideas for Mr. B for Christmas, but more than likely (if we can find it) he just might get Spike for his birthday.

"You've got your hands full"

I swear I've heard that phrase more in the last 6 weeks than I'd care to admit. The funny thing is that when it's said to me I only have Karis and Ryanne with me. I usually just smile and wonder what they'd think if they saw the other 3 kids with us as well. Sometimes when I have an 'extra' second or two I'll mention that I've got 3 others that are in school at the moment just to see the look on their face(s).

6 weeks old today!

Can you believe it? We certainly can't. Everyone tells me that she's getting bigger and while I don't want to acknowledge that fact it's the truth. =) She's holding her head up with just a little bit of bobble and wobble. We're waiting for some real first smiles. We've gotten some super cute ones already, but can't wait for the first one that she really means.

The older bunch are in love with her. Karis loves to hold her, Brennan loves to try and wake her up, Jadyn likes to stare at her and Taryn loves to sing to her when she's upset.

Her next appt. is in a couple of weeks and we'll have to deal with the much dreaded vaccinations. If I could make them painless I would in a heartbeat. I just hate that she doesn't know what's coming and why she's getting hurt.

Even though Ryanne already has a fave blanket, I'm hoping that this one will come in as a close 2nd. A friend of mine had her mom make it for Ryanne and I just love it. Super light weight, great color and perfect baby size. She'll be able to drag it with her every where.

It's a favorite already....

Ryanne has already found a favorite every day blanket. It goes everywhere with us. If I forget it, I run back up to the house and grab it. If little miss is cranky I wrap her in the blanket or throw it over her and she usually calms right now. It's gotten to the point that I'm actually going to go buy a second one so that we can switch it out and wash them without it causing any problems. I've never had to do that before.

Mr. Attitude & Velvet

If you can't tell Morocco was less than thrilled that I took his picture. In doing so I woke him up and that's torture to the cranky ole cat. Velvet is a sweetie. She'll put up with just about anything from the kids and doesn't mind it one bit.

EEG Appt

I got Brennan's last (hopefully) sleep deprived EEG scheduled this morning. We'll have it done on November 11th bright and early in the morning. The kids are out of school that day and it'll be much easier not having to figure out how the bigger kids are going to get to school etc while we need to be at the hospital.

I'm hoping it goes as smoothly as possible and that the results will be normal when we see the neurologist a couple of weeks later.

We've got candy bars!

Brennan is doing a candy bar fundraiser. They are $1 each. We've got caramel, krunch, almond and dark chocolate. If interested, just drop me an email...or a phone call. =)

Mrs. Sofie The Scarecrow

I know I'm busy

When I have to buy myself a mom's family planner calendar and keep it in the diaper bag. I was constantly double booking myself and telling me that I'd have to check the calendar at home. The calendar on the wall here at home helps 90% of the time, but when I'm out and need to make an appt or a friend wants to get together and do something on a certain day it's nice to be able to reach into the diaper bag and know right away if we are available or not.

I'm a dork and I'll admit it! The darn planner does make my life just a little bit easier though. =)

Saturday's just got busy again!

Bowling registration was this morning. Jadyn has moved up to the prep squad. Taryn has moved up to the Bantam squad (no more bumpers for her.) Brennan starts bowling this year and is doing bumpers. Bumpers and Bantams start bowling at 9:30 and Preps bowl at 11. Every Saturday we'll be at the bowling alley from about 9-1:30. Save me now!!! At least we're able to make up games if we have something else going on.

The next 9 months are going to busy around here. Jadyn usually gets into a couple of tournaments and Taryn will be able to get involved this year as well now that she's not using the bumpers. We should have an interesting bowling season.

Week #3

4 to go.

We're on week 3 of weaning Brennan off his seizure meds and it's going well. The hard part is remembering that every Thursday the dose changes. =)

I've still got to make an appt for his next sleep deprived EEG...hopefully next week we'll have a date.

Happy 10th Anniversary Sweetheart!

I married my best friend 10 years ago. Most days it feels like we just got married. We've been blessed with 5 wonderful, healthy, full of life and mischief causing children. I never would have thought I'd be where I am today that long ago.

If someone had told me 11 years ago I was going to meet the man I was going to marry on the internet, I would have laughed at them. Fortunately we were online at the same time and
something just clicked. We were asked just a couple of days ago how did we know....I haven't got a clue, but I don't know what I'd do without him.

Thank you for being a wonderful and caring husband. Thank you for being a fabulous and playful daddy. Thank you for being you.

I love you!

10 down, eternity to go!

Help Mommy!

Who said having 4 sisters is a bad thing? Brennan absolutely loves his littlest sister.

I just love the combination

of pink and brown. I'll even take brown and teal when I can find it. =)