Owen Likes to Get Messy :)

Time to JUMP!

If there's one thing my boys love about Grandma and Grandpa's house it's the trampoline! And, if there's one thing I love, it's that they get all their wiggles out so they can calm down later on in the day and go to sleep on time ;) It's the little things in life :)

My Boys

Gavin and Connor really are good friends, and I love it. I love when I catch them being kind to one another and giving each other hugs...hopefully they won't be completely mortified someday when they look back and see these pictures of themselves!

As soon as I snapped this picture they were back to their usual crazy, silly selves! I love them :)

Bath Time!

I decided to get some cute snapshots of Owen while he enjoyed his bath. He loves baths like most babies do. I just can't get enough of his cute face! :)

Meanwhile, I was paying more attention to trying new settings on my camera than I was on the baby, so I didn't see what he was checking out and getting ready to grab...those with OCD LOOK AWAY...it grosses me out just to see these pictures!

Yep...it took me a minute to realize what he'd grabbed and PUT IN THE BATH WITH HIM! YUCK! I had to clean him from his bath! lol

Owen's First Haircut

I'm a little behind on my blog...as usual! But, Owen had his first haircut in March. He didn't really like it so I had to be quick...I started out with the scissors, but ended up just buzzing it the best that I could with the clippers to get the job done. It might not look like that big of a difference in the pictures, but it looked much more neat and trim when I was done...no more hair piling over the sides of his ears or mullet in the back! lol

Here are a couple of before shots...hair sticking over the ears...

And the after shots...nice and neat and trim...I think I sound a little obsessed, but my boys all have really straight hair...nothing that curls around, so it never looks good longer (in my opinion).

Owen

Owen playing in his big brother's room.

Having Fun with Photoshop...

I've been having fun playing around with my new camera and trying different shots. I took these pictures of Owen in the bath then played around with them on photoshop to make them look more brown, but to keep his eyes blue. It was fun, and I like the way they turned out...I'm looking forward to getting better at photography and photoshop over time...I just need to find the time to practice! lol

I love his lashes in this picture...

Just had to post this one...

Classic! Every kid's got to have one of these asleep at the table photos, right?! lol

School Time

I realized that I don't blog very much about school even though it takes up a good portion of our lives! I think I just forget to get the camera out. I'm also a little shy about talking about school-at-home too much because it seems to be such a divisive issue...I've come across people who home-school, and they're very adamant about it being the "only" way...I've also come across people who think the public schools are the "only" way, and that I'm just a little bit crazy to have my kids home all the time. I think I'm somewhere in the middle, and I hope that's okay. Let me explain my feelings a little bit...I love doing school with my kids. It's hard sometimes...there are days when it just doesn't "work" but for the most part we have fun together; I like knowing what my kids are learning and what they need a little extra encouragement with. I like that we spend so much time together. Now, having said that of course there are days when a break would be great! But, when I weigh the pros and cons of having them home, I tend to feel like there are more pros for our family personally when they are home.
Last year, Gavin went to first grade at the elementary school. I didn't hate that either, and there are times when Gavin misses his old school...hense the middle ground. There were just a few things that didn't quite work for us. The math was one...there's really not much of a math program at the school by my house...I hear they're changing that so that's awesome. Don't get me wrong, I do not expect my children to be mathematicians and doing crazy hard math at an early age, but I do expect SOME math...I don't think it's too much to ask to have some basic math skills in the early years. Another thing with my kids' school in particular was an issue with some bullies at school. While Gavin had lots of good friends at school, there were some real bullies too...it got to the point where he would get stomach aches and be nervous about recess...he wasn't the only kid getting picked on...other kids were getting slapped and pushed. Gavin got pushed a couple of times and had his jacket taken and thrown across the playground. When we tried to solve the problem with the teacher and principal everyone was super friendly...but not much was done. It's a new school, so hopefully they'll get in their "groove" of things and work on that. Some positives about the school were that the teachers, principal and staff were all extremely friendly, and their reading program was great. So, for me there are obviously positives and negatives to both. I take each year as it comes, talk it over with Jason, pray about it, and talk it over with the kids. We try to be open for what's best and not stay set on any certain way. Sometimes it feels strange to be in this "middle ground"...is it okay that I think school at home or at a public building is okay? I hope so. Maybe none of this makes sense to anyone but me, but that's okay because I'm really writing it mostly for me anyway, so I can look back some day and remember what it was like and what I was feeling. So having said all this, without taking anything away from what anyone else chooses for their kid's education, I do have to say that last year when Gavin went to school, we grew apart a little...he was gone at school all day, then wanted to run outside and play as soon as he got home, then he had homework, dinner and bed. Maybe I just wasn't the best at juggling it all...Now we get school done early and spend time together...it feels like we've grown closer together and talk more this year about things that matter to him. The kids also get a chance to play more as brothers. Then when the neighborhood kids come home from school, he still runs outside to play, but then there's no homework (so nice!) and we have dinner and bed. It seems like it's working for now, but I'm still open for change in the future...like I said...we take it one year at a time :)

My Boys...

I don't remember taking this picture, but I'm glad I did...the boys just love their Daddy...here they are giving him hugs as he heads off to work.

Then it's down to the business of playing video games and not bothering to find any shirts! lol Don't you love that Aidan's pants aren't even zipped up! lol It kind of looks like he might be missing his underwear too...This must have been a "play day" because we don't normally play video games except for the weekends...on occasion exceptions are made...like when I'm sick lol or sometimes if we just need a "day off." I love these boys, and I'm so glad that they love each other...I'm not saying they never fight! of course they do! That happens almost every day, but I'm glad that they play together more than they fight together.

Aidan turns 4!

Aidan, my sweet little Aidan who we called Baby A (or just baby) for so long until we were forced to stop when our new little baby came along...now he's 4-years-old! Sometimes time just flies by too quickly. I think I think that every time any of my kids have a birthday! lol A few things about Aidan: He's got one of the cutest smiles I've ever seen. He's super sweet and snuggly. He tries really hard to do what's right and to be helpful. He'll say sorry without having to be asked first. He's also a bundle of ENERGY! He's like Gavin in that way...always on the go! He gets excited and really loud sometimes, but he still has his sweet side. He'll just come up to me sometimes and say, "Mom, can I give you a hug." I say, "Always." and then we hug and he'll pucker up his cute little lips to give me a kiss. What a little sweetheart! He's also hilarious. He comes up with the funniest things sometimes! I think he's turning into a "big boy" much faster than Gavin did because he's got his older brothers he's trying to keep up with. I love my spunky, funny, snuggly and sweet little boy so much! Heavenly Father truly blessed us with such a wonderful little boy :)



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Snuggle Time

Sometimes the boys all pile in our bed and watch a movie for a lazy, snuggly night. They barely all fit...Owen looks slightly concerned like he wants to be rescued! We don't normally leave Owen in the bed very long, but the big boys like to snuggle up to a movie once in a while.

Basketball

A huge chunk of January and February for us is spent doing basketball. Gavin played for his second season and Connor for his first. Both boys really like basketball. It's a great way for them to run around and play in the wintertime. Luckily for us, it worked out where they could be on the same team this year...so nice...just one practice and one game a week! Gavin made his first basket during a game this season, and Connor got really good at learning how to pass. Connor also got really close to making a basket a couple of times. I love how it's so non-competitive at this age...as it should be! They're little kids just learning the rules of the sport and working on their coordination. It's great that it's just kept fun for the kids.

Owen watching his big brothers play.
Aidan just wishing he was old enough to play!