Garbage

Not a lot of things surprise me with having four children. Like the amount of diapers we go through in a month. Or that my hands crack and bleed 3 out of 4 seasons of the year because I'm always washing them or washing dishes. Or that meals need to constantly be made. Or that I have to constantly remind the older boys to wash their hands or go to the bathroom or clean up their clothes that are lying all over the floor. Or the amount of laundry I do, or the increasing grocery bill, or the temper tantrums that still happen even after we turn six. All these things, I can generally understand. I don't really get how a dozen muffins lasts 4 or 5 days in our house. (I actually thought they'd be gone sooner than that but maybe they're not really all that good, or maybe it's just because I'm not eating them...).

BUT, the one thing that never fails to amaze me is the amount of garbage we accumulate! See this very full garbage can? Would you believe it was probably empty only 24 hours ago? Now this is no small, little garbage can! This is a good size container, and it's overflowing with diapers, papers, plastic, bags, I don't really know what's all in there, but it's FULL!!! How does it get full so fast?

Before I got married, I lived with two other girls in a duplex, and my one roommate had this grand idea to get a large garbage can for the kitchen. I'm talking about the green plastic ones that you usually put out for the garbage trucks. This big ugly green garbage can was in our kitchen of that duplex. I don't know how often the garbage got taken out, but it usually smelled pretty bad by the time it was full. Fortunately now, our garbage rarely has the opportunity to give off any kind of foul odour (that's because Andrew's poopy diapers are OUTSIDE as soon as they come off of him). I just don't get how it is that I'm trying to delicately balance a wet diaper on top of a very full container of garbage less than a day after I emptied the bag...I guess it's just one of those life mysteries I will never understand.

Cookies & Babies

Joshua made his first pan of cookies with me the other day. He did really good at spacing them out nicely. They were a little smaller than what I usually make them, but he had a good time & was very proud of the end result! We kept them separate from the one's I made.
The babies, Andrew & Natalee.
Andrew absolutely adores Natalee. I think part of him is glad that he's not considered the baby anymore! Some how having Natalee around makes him feel a little more grown up, it seems.
Lots of big smiles from this cute little girl. No teeth yet. But a nasty diaper rash was making her life pretty sad today.
And here's the probable culprit of that diaper rash - solid food! Joshua and Andrew had similar results when they started solids. Natalee's doing pretty good with cereal, she enjoys it for the most part. She's not the cleanest eater. A couple days ago, she went through three bibs in one feeding and still got sweet potato all over her clothes!

Growing & Learning

Little Natalee is busy these days. She's started cereal and after a few days of indecision, she has decided that she enjoys it. A lot. She's rolling from her back to her tummy and then onto her back again and over to the other side. She's experimenting with blowing "raspberries" and loves to move when we hold her on our laps. When I put her in her donut for this month's picture, she couldn't stop rocking back and forth; it took about 40 shots to get the bottom one. Most of them are blurry because she was constantly moving. She has so much personality all ready at 6 months old!

Andrew's Third ER Visit

I guess Andrew thought it was time for another ER visit; it had already been eight months since his last visit (for the inguinal hernia). Yesterday, Mike had taken the boys to play at the park and Andrew was climbing bleachers, against his Dad's instructions. Wouldn't you know it, he fell and cut his head open. Mike brought him into the ER, and just over two hours later, they were back home! The Dr. had used glue to stick his skin back together. Apparently he can still bathe and everything with no concerns of it coming off. He does find it kind of itchy and annoying though. Hopefully he will forget about it soon.

When we were on the way home from the park with Mike carrying Andrew, we had just arrived in our yard when we heard some sirens. Joshua shouts, "Emergency! Maybe they're coming for Andrew's emergency!" It was pretty funny.
Mike got a car for him at a garage sale on the weekend, for only $1!! That's all Andrew does these days when he gets to go outside - sit in his car.
The boys playing outside in the rain the other day. It was fun...apparently!! The rest of us had fun watching them from inside, staying dry and warm.

The numbers are in...

Although Natalee is healthy, she is small. Here are all the numbers if you're one of those people who likes to compare everyone/thing:

6 months old measurements:
Caleb 20 lbs. 26.25"
Joshua 18.6 lbs. 27"
Andrew 15.8 lbs. 25.75"
Natalee 13 lbs. 10 oz. 25"

I find it interesting that although she's quite a bit smaller than her brothers, she's doing more rolling around on the floor than any of the boys did at this age (maybe that's what keeps her so lean!). The next milestone in her life will be starting solid foods! Hopefully there will be some good, not-too-messy pictures from that experience to share with you!

Six Months Old

It's hard to believe, but Natalee is 6 months old today. I can't believe that it's been 6 months since she's been born, and in another short 6 months, she'll be 1 year old. She's quite tired in this picture, so that's why she's sucking her fingers.

On the way home from school this afternoon, Caleb was walking with his umbrella open even though it wasn't raining. The wind picked up, blowing out of the west and he started blowing along with it; he was quite thrilled with the feeling of being pulled along by the wind in his umbrella. And he just told me now that his favourite part of school was "the work". I hope that'll last!

Back to School

The little guys ready for school. Caleb actually had his first full day yesterday, but I forgot to take a picture then. Joshua had one hour this morning, and his first full morning will be tomorrow (Friday). Caleb is showing off his Superman backpack; Joshua didn't get a new backpack because his from last year was still in working condition. I'm surprised (and happy) that he doesn't intentionally wreck it, just to get a new one!

If I had been a boy...and other stories

Have you wondered what you would have looked like had you been the alternate gender of what you are? Maybe, if I had been a boy, I would looked almost as cute as this...
Thanks Joshua. I think he could be a model. It's always fun taking pictures of him!

Andrew sleeping. He's done this twice recently, fallen asleep half on, half off the bed.
The babies in their diapers...Andrew thought it was funny. Natalee was wondering what was going on. She does that a lot - wondering about the all the noises around her, and what's going on; it's already quite distracting for her when she's eating.
We went to the Forks on Friday and brought the boys' bikes along. They had a great time riding around the Plaza.

Only two more sleeps for Caleb and three more sleep for Joshua and it's back to school...