Rohne Turns 5!

Haunted House cake. Cute, right?
"Dracula Rohne" in front of the rootbeer cauldron

Last week, my big guy turned 5. It was a big day for him, and he had been counting down the days for weeks and weeks. He loves Halloween, and dressing up in costumes, especially scarey ones. I got him a vampire costume in the after Halloween sales, and he knew that he wanted Halloween Birthday Party so he could wear this costume. It was pretty easy, actually. I just kept all of my Halloween stuff up, and got some pretty great clearance items for decorating, and goody bags. It turned out great. I sent out the invites a little late, so only a few friends could come, but he had a good time, and I think he was satisfied.

The "Mummy" hot dogs. Just hot dogs wrapped in refrigerator breadstick dough. Cute, and not too terrible tasting!

I thought these spiders turned out cute, but no one really ate them.

We had a Frankenstein Pinata that Rohne had picked out, and the kids had fun banging it to bits.

Blowing out his 5 candles.

Here's a group shot of all the kids.

Happy Birthday, Buddy! Although you keep us on our toes with your endless amounts of energy, I wouldn't trade a day of it. We love you!

Where's Tristan?

So, Tristan has taken to hiding. We have found him in some very interesting places!

"Please give me back that paci, Mom!"

Silly, curious, adventurous 18 month old boy!

Halloween 2010

Skeleton, Ariel, and Werewolf We had a good Halloween this year. Tay had a hard time choosing her costume this year, but, after Grandma graciously took a last minute trip to Target, she was happy. These were their costumes for the Ward Trunk-or-Treat which was on Saturday night. Tristan didn't like his costume very much, but, at least he let me get a picture!

This is the only picture I got of the pumpkin carving, and I didn't take a picture of the finished products. But, the kids did it mainly by themselves this year, with only a little assistance from Daddy. Therefore, they turned out looking like kids had done them. But, they were very proud of their work, and had lots of fun doing them!

The kids with a few friends thrown in, chillin' in the back of the van after Trunk-or-Treating.

Just a perfect amount of candy. Not too much.

I thought Tay's hair turned out really good, so I took some pictures. French twists on both sides, then a messy bun with curls in the back. Very princess-y I thought.

On Halloween, we went to church, then went to a Halloween/Birthday party for Jake's good friend, Chris. All the kids came dressed up. We only stayed for dinner, because we wanted to hit a few houses for Trick-or-Treating before the night was up. We just went to Grandma and Grandpa's, then the houses on our little street. It was plenty, because the kids already had lots of candy from the night before.

Halloween the kids switched it up. Rohne dressed as Frodo Baggins, and Tay was a Barbie cheerleader. I couldn't get a smile out of her, because she said she was just too shy.

Now Back to the Heaven

As mentioned in a previous post, we had a heavenly visit from my sister, Natali, and her 5 month old baby, Benson. It was 5 days of pure bliss. She lives in Denver now, so so far away, and I never get to see her. I was so excited when she said she was coming to see me for my birthday. It was the best present ever!! We got to spend some quality sister time, as well as just hang out with our 4 cute kids. Benson is very used to his quiet surroundings at home, so our house was a little overwhelming at times, but, he did pretty good. He loved Taylee and Rohne. And, Tristan pretty much scared him to death, which is completely warranted. That boy is dangerous!! It was so fun having a little baby to kiss and love on. He has the most contagious giggle, and smile, and I just wanted to eat him up most of the time. I went into a little depression when they left, but, I think I'm coming out of it now. It's so hard for me when my family leaves. Come back soon Nat! I love you!

I couldn't get Benson to look at the camera. He just wanted to stare at Jake, whom he really liked actually. Jake has always had a way with babies. He was so great and let just Nat & I go out by ourselves 2 times, while he watched all the kids. We got back from Eclipse one night, and he explained that it was the hardest 2 and a half hours of his life. I think it was good for him though. Thanks, Babe.

Rohne got up every morning, washed his hands, and would beg to hold Benson. He did a really good job of it too.

We found out that Benson really loved this old bouncer of Tristan's. Nat will have to find one of these on Craigslist for her house! It was hours of entertainment.

I mean, who can resist that smile? I Love that baby!!

So cute.

Natali put her fantastic baking skills to use, and made us some fantastic Halloween sugar cookies. Rohnie really liked helping. While Tay was okay just to eat them afterwards.

Of course Tristan wanted to help, and had a great time too!

The fruits of our labors.

Thanks for coming to rainy Washington, Nat. The sun does shine sometimes!! It was seriously the best week I have had in a VERY long time!

Fun at "The Farm"

I know I'm kind of going backwards, but, I have so many things to post. It is what it is!
A couple weeks ago, we went to a fun place in Snohomish called "The Farm." We have had a tradition to go to the Pumpkin Patch every year with Jake's brother, and his family. This year Jer & Mo decided to plant their own pumpkin patch, (it turned out awesome, by the way), so we chose another activity instead. It was so fun. We toured a large Corn Maze, which thanks to Jake and Jer's trusty map skills, we didn't get lost once! There was also a Hay Maze, with a slide that fell into the hay - the kids loved it, a duck race, corn to swim in, play toys, and farm animals to pet and look at. It was such a great day, and a fun way to celebrate the beautiful fall season.

Enjoy the pictures! Tristan spent most of the time in the stroller, because that boy loves to run away from Mommy.

I'm so glad our kids love their cousins so much!

Very typical for around our house. "Rohnie, give me a hug. I love you!" "Okay, if I have to."

The babies loved the hay maze. There was also a GIANT tube slide that they went on. I was surprised they weren't scared a bit!

I kinda wanted to hop in the corn too. I looked way fun.

Happy Fall everyone! I love this season!

My Little Taste of Heaven

My sister, and nephew have been visiting this past week. Here's the babe. Can you say pure deliciousness?

The Boys

It seems like a lot of my posts have been about Tay lately, and I didn't want the boys to feel neglected. Not that they care. . . but, for prosperity, ya know? These guys, actually, take up most of my time.

Rohne has always been my challenging child. He definitely knows how to push my buttons, and loves to mess around, and be extremely defiant. He'll deliberately do something wrong just to see how I'll react. It's fun.

He's in Preschool this year, 3 days a week. His teacher keeps him in line, which he doesn't like, but, I know it is good for him. It has definitely been an adjustment. He didn't want to go, period. I would keep him home, but, he has a hard time learning from me. He just gets too frustrated with me, and loses his cool when he can't do something. Plus, he thinks I'm boring. It's been a good distraction for him while Tay is at school. I already feel bad for his Kindergarten teacher next year. But, we love him!! Jake's parents keep telling me that he is so much like his daddy was at that age. And, they survived, right?

Tristan is almost 15 months, and we call him the "One Man Wrecking Machine." He, singlehandedly, turns my house upside down in a matter of minutes. He runs everywhere, climbs on everything, and loves to destroy. It seems like every picture I take of him, he doesn't have clothes on. That's because he doesn't wear them much. If I put them on him, he ruins them. He keeps me very busy! I love his big personality, and he's still quite the snuggle bug when he wants to be. He loves music, and dancing, and recently Jake discovered that he likes to watch "The Wiggles." He loves suckers, and all day long, he will lead me to the candy bowl, on top of the fridge, and point, and whine for one. It's gettin' a little old. I am trying to enjoy him every minute, and not let him make me too crazy, because I need no reminding that he is our last child.