These are some photos of DD from this weekend. The Cowgirl outfit is a hand-me-down from my niece. I actually bought this outfit last year for my niece's birthday. With only one daughter, I can justify a purchase better when I can get my niece to wear it first.
DS#3 is six months old today. He celebrated by getting three shots at his pediatrician's office. He was out of sorts starting last night to most of today. Here's to hoping he'll at least sleep well tonight.
Yesterday, we didn't do a big celebration for DS#1's 12th birthday because he had school and then soccer practice in the evening. He did request a chocolate cake to snack on after school. I haven't baked a cake in a long while, but I dug out an old favorite, Coca-Cola Cake. I don't like icing, and this cake has marshmallows baked in for a nice sweet topping. Here is DS blowing out a candle on a piece of Coca-Cola Cake. (We only had one candle, so it seemed appropriate to cut a smaller piece of cake to put the candle on.) DD really seems like she wants to do the blowing, doesn't she? ;-)
Tonight I'm going to describe the dinner show that we went to on our first night at Disney. The show is called The Spirit of Aloha and it is shown at the Polynesian Hotel. The show time was 8PM but even though we got there a half hour before the show, we still had to wait in this super-long line. The only thing that made it more fun was that we were in line with our friends. What was holding up the line was a "mandatory" photo. I already knew I didn't want the picture because DS#3 was asleep in his stroller and we didn't dare take him out of it. So, the family photo included the baby barely visible in his stroller.
We weren't able to sit with our friends, unfortunately, because we all had pre-assigned seating. We had made our reservations at different times. I must have made our reservation at a great time, because our table was right in front. This was great because, even though our kids were tired from the trip, they were right there in front of the action, so I think the show held their attention better. Unfortunately, DS#2 has this thing about "looking at girls". He had his back to the stage for most of the show! The only time we insisted that he look was when the act included the performer using fire as his prop. I took mostly video of this performer, but here's one I took of him twirling the stick with fire on each end.
Because we were so close to the stage, we caught DS#1 eyeing the dancing girl in her little costume. He noticed us looking at him and he smiled. We try not to tease him, but we're just trying to get used to our little boy growing up. I didn't get a great photo of him, though.
There was so much food--barbecue ribs and chicken. The dessert was this yummy dark chocolate mousse that was shaped like a volcano. We had a great waiter that kept the food coming. Our waiter also took one of the leis that they gave us and put it on the baby's head. He didn't seem to care, and I got this adorable photo!
These first two are from the Autumn Equinox Quick Fix Kit using the Daisy D's Autumn Collection papers.
The last two are from the City Slickers Quick Fix Kit and the City Slickers Overdose (OD) Kit using the Dream Street Jack Collection papers.
We're back from Disney! We all had so much fun! The older boys really enjoyed themselves on the rides. DD was in absolute heaven after meeting the princesses. The baby did very well on the plane (his first plane ride) and was so good most of the time, content to absorb the sights from his stroller. Of course, he did get carried a lot, but today he really just wanted to get out of that thing and play on the floor. We spent much of the time with another family who are really good friends of ours, so DH and I had fun being with them.
since you don't spend that much time there, but we would definitely stay there again. The view from our room was spectacular (see right). I spent a couple of "early" nights with the baby there, as well as one early afternoon, so it was nice to be able to look out onto the water or see the fireworks from my window (see below). It was also very convenient to be able to either take a boat or ride the monorail straight to the Magic Kingdom. We also had an upgrade. 
I'm not really sure how I booked it, and I'm sure we paid for it in the long run, but we had "free" daily continental breakfast, snacks and juice during the day (beer and wine were also available for "free"), heavy appetizers at night (like barbeque pork and vegetable egg rolls) and desserts and cordials later at night. This was great for the kids, because we would get back from a long day at one of the parks, and they would head straight to the lounge for cookies.
This is my favorite photo of the almost 300 that I took at Disney. Aren't these two adorable? :)
DD got a gift certificate to Libby Lu for a makeover for her birthday last year. I totally forgot about this until a month or so ago. I decided that this would be the perfect time to go since she doesn't have school this week and we're leaving for Disney tomorrow. She had such a blast! The expression on her face when the makeover started was just priceless. She also had that look when she realized that she was getting glitter on her fingernails and getting makeup put on. I don't think it will be as exciting the second time, because she'll know what to expect. Still, it was a fun thing to do together.
DS#3 is sitting up! He's still a little unstable, but he can hold this position for a minute or so, even when he's waving a toy around. I just discovered the fact that he could sit up by himself this afternoon, although DH always makes it sound like he's been doing it forever. He's been scooching already for a while, so it's just a matter of time before his siblings run away in horror!
I'm trying to be fair to my other children and showing a photo here of the middle two when they were actually getting along. I took this one last Saturday when we were watching DS#1 playing soccer. I think DS looks so amused because I had originally forgotten to turn on the camera. :)
I'm a little behind with my weekly journaling about DS#3's milestones. He has definitely developed a little personality. 
Last week he started rolling around--a lot. I can't keep him on his back anymore. He is always kicking up his legs and swinging them to the side so he can get on his tummy. I've stopped trying to get him to sleep on his side. This morning DH had to go to the bathroom, so he laid him on a blanket in the living room. He heard him from the bathroom suddenly start screaming at the top of his lungs. When he was able to go see what was up, he discovered DS wrapped up in the blanket with just his little legs showing. Apparently, he had been putting the blanket in his mouth or at least grabbing it with his hand, and then he rolled and rolled until he was all wrapped up. DH actually thought of taking a picture, but decided that the baby was too distressed to warrant taking the time.
Our first full weekend of soccer is here. The kids were so excited that both older boys were dressed in their uniforms by around 7:30 this morning. DD's game was scheduled for a field near us at 11:00. DH is coaching her team, so they both had to be there at 10:30. DS#1 had a game at 11:30 on a field about 15 minutes away. He had to be there at 10:30. DS#2 had a game at the same field as his big brother, but his game was at 1:30. He had to be there by 1PM. So, that meant that I was taking the boys and DH was taking DD. When he finished her game, he would come watch whatever was left of DS#1's game and stay for the next game. Confusing? Yes. Does it get more confusing in the next few weeks? Yes again.
I feel like I've been too busy to update my blog. I love to write about all of those mundane things that happen to me on a daily basis. ;-) Since school started, or more precisely, since soccer started, we've been busy, busy, busy. We now have six soccer practices per week, and although we don't have the final schedules for the boys yet, we expect to have at least three games this weekend, maybe even more.
Sometimes I long for the simpler times, like when DD was just learning how to walk (see above) or when the older ones were just learning about solid food. DS#3 tried some peas this weekend. He seemed intrigued by the peas, but he enjoyed spreading it around the high chair even more. We've actually been worried that he's not eating enough. That may be because the older boys always ate so well. DD, of course, did not, but she turned out okay, right? In any case, I weighed him on Monday, and at five months old (yes, he's five months old already!), he weighs 14 lbs. 12 oz. I need to go look up what percentile that is.
The next three use recent photos, which I think I may have posted here on my blog.
I just finished some more pages using the new October 2007 kits, but y'all will have to wait until next month to see those. :)
I decided to take a shower this morning while DH was out running some errands. I put the baby in his exersaucer in the bathroom so he could "play". I even put my contact lenses on just so I could keep an eye on him and actually see him from inside the shower. The rest of the kids were outside playing. Of course, as luck would have it, he "threw" most of his toys off the exersaucer and started crying--at the top of his lungs. Actually, I think he was just bored anyway. After a few minutes of this, DD came in. She had come in from playing outside and heard her brother crying. Ever the little mother, she wanted to see if she could help. She gave him back his toys, but that he didn't stop crying. I spent some hurried moments trying to finish up in the shower and then get dressed. The baby stopped crying immediately when I picked him up, as usual. That kid sure likes to be carried!
As promised, this is a photo of DD's face when I asked her to continue counting as part of her homework assignment earlier this week. Doesn't she look totally exhausted? She was much better today, although I didn't have to plug through homework with her today. I did, however, get her to sign some thank you cards, which she did willingly. 
Here's an update of DS#3 and solid food. He seems to be coming along with the solid food. He enjoys the oatmeal for the most part, but it does take quite a bit of time to feed him, and it seems to be causing some constipation. Instead of the frequent containment leaks, he just has one a day. Oh Joy!
DD's birthday party was today. We waited two weeks after her birthday so we could invite her new classmates. About half of them were there in addition to a few extra friends that were in "the other" kindergarten class and their siblings. The party was at a place called Pump It Up which is basically a place where they have inflatable play structures that the kids (and some adults) can jump on, slide on, and generally just play on in the comfort of air conditioning. The kids all had a blast. Better yet, they were having so much fun that most of them left their parents alone so they could talk with one another. I got to meet several "new" parents and reconnect with some "old" ones, too. 
Isn't this the cutest picture? It was only 10PM when I went upstairs to go to bed last night. When I found this, I nearly laughed out loud. Luckily, I was able to leave the room, get the camera, and return without waking up these two. Heck, DH never even stopped snoring!
Yes, we are very happy that Papa is home! He could tell that Lola and Lolo held DS#3 a whole lot when they were here because apparently, DS#3 didn't want to be put down today. :) 
I took this next photo of my Mom holding DS#3 while he slept. There was a lot of that going on. It looks like both of them are enjoying the bonding time. Isn't that the most beautiful sight?
The kids and I went to the pool yesterday. This was actually the first time I've gone to our neighborhood pool this year, and it's the first time I've actually had to take all four of them without DH along. I didn't bother wearing a swimsuit since I knew I would be with the baby. He didn't stay asleep as I had hoped. He actually sat in his stroller for a bit, though, playing with his hands. He only fussed a little when he wanted to be carried. I dipped his feet in the water, and he seemed to like it this time. It has been warm and humid outside after the recent rain. Despite my usual dislike of being outside in this type of weather, it was nice and relaxing to watch the kids play so well together, and it was nice to play with the baby in the pool, too.
I just wanted to share a page (using an old kit from Scrapaddict.com) I did of DH teaching DS#1 how to tie a "real" tie. Luckily, DH left a pre-tied tie for him, because DS hasn't attempted to do it himself this week yet. I'm going to try to get a page done this week of DH teaching DD how to tie her shoes.
Life has been rather chaotic here the past few days. I don't have too much time to post right now, so I'll keep it short. The kids all started school on Monday. As you can see from the photo, they were all very excited. I worked late that day, so I missed it all. I was also on call last night, so I felt like I was just learning about the goings on of their first day today.
It's been another busy few days. On Saturday, I took DD and DS#2 to Lakeshore Learning to do crafts. Their craft was making crowns. Not surprising, DD was all about the bling, especially the heart bling. DS also chose lots of bling but in more understated colors and shapes. DD chose some shimmery paint as well while DS kept his crown paintless.
This week, DS#3 has started pulling in his lower lip and sucking on it. We've been joking about how he's been so desperate to suck on something that he found his own lower lip the most convenient. He looks so adorable like this because he puffs his cheeks up and you can see his dimples better. He has also found his thumb. He often sucks on just his thumb as opposed to his whole hand. Both create lots of drool. We still think he has to be teething because of the crankiness and the drooling. Luckily, he hasn't been biting me. We can't see any swollen gums, though, so we're afraid that we still have a long way to go. He has also been playing with his feet more and more. It's just a matter of time before he puts those in his mouth.
DD can't help herself. She is constantly touching her baby brother. She loves to kiss him, hug him, and just be around him. She sometimes calls him "cutie baby" and often says, "He's SO CUTE!!!". She often gets underfoot of whoever is carrying him because invariably she'll be holding on to his foot and we just aren't able to see her there when she does that. 
