Grandma Patti came to help us with the kids today so Jake and I could attend conferences at the boys’ school and run a couple of other errands sans the Shecklets. They played outside for most of the morning and she captured these two great shots:
Shecklet #3’s birthday party took place a few days after her “official” birthday. She requested a tornado cake and wanted to go bowling (like her older brothers had done.) She had also been asking for a Barbie house for quite some time. Jake and I talked and thought it would be a fun surprise to pass along the house that my parents gave to me when I was a little girl – complete with furniture & accessories. (My were kind enough to dig it out, dust it off and decorate it for the big surprise.) The look on her face when we presented her with the house was absolutely priceless. She gave me a huge hug, which was the sweetest response I could have asked for. It brought a smile to not only me, but my parents as well. I am sure she has hours of make-believe play time in store!
Many moons ago, (enough to total 40 years,) two twenty-somethings started their life together as husband and wife. Together, they made a wonderful, loving home in which they raised their two children.
Today, 40 years later, their family has grow five-fold.
Mom & Dad – today we celebrate the commitment you made to one another back on September 7, 1974, and have lived out every day since then. Thank you for saying “I Do!”
We love you!
The Shecklets served as my test subjects prior to taking couple and family photos at my parents’ house today. They all grew so much over the summer!
My parents have had a little project going on this summer. That seems to be a theme in their lives the last several years. When they take something on, they’re all in. Their latest project is no different. They took down the deck on the back of their house earlier in the summer and have been working on the rebuild during almost every “free” moment in their schedules. My dad has put in countless hours measuring, cutting, lifting, leveling, and nailing while my mom has been a staining maniac. Together, they make quite the team. Jake and Tony have also pitched in to help, which I know has also been a huge help.
The reason I mention all of this is because my dad’s birthday was August 12th, but we just celebrated together, today. We all gathered together for dinner on Labor Day and my mom figured today was as good of a day as any to pull out the cake she had frozen along with ice cream. My dad loves German Chocolate, so the kids loaded on the candles and we sang “Happy Birthday” to the man we love to call Dad/Papa.
Next time I have to get past the screaming that will likely ensue by taking just taking the box of open crackers away from the toddler BEFORE driving home from Nana & Papa’s house.
Commence car seat clean-up at 10:30 pm.
Easter morning came early for us this year. In order to make it to mass on time (7:30 am) with all six of us dressed in our Easter finery, my alarm went off just a tad before 5:30 am. I longed to hit the snooze button just one more time (I had already pressed it 4 times) but I manged to get myself out of bed to start the day. The kids were wonderfully chipper and got ready without incident. If there’s one perk to attending the “early” mass on Easter, it’s being able to arrive at the church 10 minutes prior to mass beginning and still get a front row pew. And we had all the space we needed, which comes in handy now that Shecklet #4 is a wiggler/mover.
After mass, the kids searched for their Easter baskets and were treated to some new duds, flip-flops, gum, Holy Heroes cd’s and a few chalk activities for the driveway.
A little while later, we packed up and headed to Jake’s grandparents’ house to have brunch with family and friends. The weather was gorgeous – we couldn’t have asked for a nicer day.
Once we returned home, we let the older kids break out the sidewalk chalk paint. (We have yet to bust open the new box of chalk. I don’t know who is more excited – me or the kids!)
I was hoping to snap a few more photos today, but instead chose to just enjoy the moment and conversations taking place around me. I did capture a few pictures of relatives we don’t get to see very often as well as one of Lincoln with Uncle Mark. They were sporting similar hair styles 🙂
Little #4 had no problem with her birthday cake. In fact, looking at photos from her siblings’ first birthdays, she was clearly the cleanest after she was done. The boys were probably at a disadvantage since their frosting was chocolate… 
She took handfuls of cake with such skill and intention, she has clearly been watching her older siblings over the last 12 months. We had a ton of fun with family and friends who were able to join us for cupcakes and ice cream.
Happy 1st birthday, sweetheart! We love you!
The Littles got up filled with excitement this morning! They went downstairs and quickly found their stockings filled with an assortment of stocking stuffers and new pj’s. Once Jake and I came downstairs they started handing out gifts – finding the ones they picked out for me and begging me to open them. My heart melted. They didn’t want to open THEIR gifts, they wanted me to open mine. (I told them I was excited to see what they picked out for me, but did convince them to open some of their gifts first.) When I finally opened my presents, I found that once again, they each picked out something that was extremely thoughtful. Little #1 knows I love elephants, so he chose an elephant calendar for my office wall. Little #2 overheard that my hand mixer had seen better days, so he selected an amazing replacement one for me. (I opened his present a day early because (1) he couldn’t contain his excitement and (2) he wanted me to use it for mixing up the batter for the cookies we made on Christmas Eve morning. Little #3 apparently made a bee-line for the nail polish at Target when she went shopping with her dad and selected two nail polishes. (She’s big in to having me paint her nails and then wants to paint mine.) Little #4’s gift was a set of four mini-spatulas, which I have been secretly hoping would show up in my kitchen. Four wonderful, thoughtful presents from my four Littles.
The gifts the Littles received were theme based this year. I had heard about the idea of giving kids something they need, something they want, something to read, and we added giving them something to share among the four of them. I wrapped each theme in similar paper and the kids took turns opening their themed gift. I thought it worked quite well and would like to use the same idea next year.
After quiet/naptime, we loaded up the truck and headed for Grandma and Grandpa’s house. Everyone was home for the afternoon/evening. We had dinner as a family and then took a few group photos before opening presents.
It started with two:
Two became seven:
Add six more:
And it gets crazy!
The kids of course, thoroughly enjoyed opening their gifts. Little #4 was delighted to play with the paper and boxes.
