Josiah Turned 7!

Friday was Josiah's seventh birthday!  In the week before his birthday, he lost both of his front teeth.  He looks adorable and has a sweet lisp now.  Before we know it, he'll have his "adult" teeth.  He's growing up too fast!

Thursday, I let all three kiddos help me bake the cakes.  They all loaded up on cake batter.  Yum!

Friday morning, we had "J" shaped pancakes, as I had promised.  I made pancakes only using eggs and bananas.  It went over well with the boys!

Josiah had picked out an Angry Birds Star Wars toy that he especially wanted, so Grandma obliged and Josiah went down at 5:30 am Friday morning to fetch his gift!

I had been trying to get a playdate together with Lisa from church, and Friday was the day that worked out, plus Melissa and Kat.  All four of us mommies had three kids, so there were 12 kids running around from 9:30 to 2:00.  I was toasted by the end of the playdate, and not quite ready to start again!  But Abigail passed out for four hours and the boys helped me ice the cake, and then played outside.  It was a full day, but the play date made it extra fun for Josiah.

Josiah had picked out Angry Bird pizza and Angry Bird cake for his birthday.  We had Papa, Nana, Uncle Jim and Auntie Linda over for dinner, and we had the boys' first ever slumber party with three of their friends - Ashton (9), Kole (8), and Zaid (6).  This was Zaid's first time sleeping away from home (besides with grandparents), so it was a big deal for him, too. 

Josiah was so impatient to open his gifts!  Papa gave him a cool robot, he got some Star Wars Legos from Logan and I, Star Wars puzzles from Zaid, a Firetruck water bottle from Kole, and a Spiderman table-top pin ball game.  He had already opened his gifts from NC along with the Valentines package two weeks ago.  They had sent clothes, Angry Bird underwear, and a paddle ball game.  Thank you everyone for all the gifts! 

Josiah's last request was that they would watch "Star Wars," so they all watched "A New Hope."  Josiah and Ben had watched it already with Papa, so it ended up being OK that they were both sound asleep a half hour into it.  The other three boys stayed up for the whole movie, and then konked out pretty quickly afterwards, around 10:30. 

At 4:00, I heard Josiah in the bathroom so I went to investigate.  He was fine, but woke up Zaid when he was getting back into bed on the air mattress he was sharing with Zaid and Kole.  For the next hour or so, I got up off and on to help Zaid, and once to put Kole back on the mattress when he rolled off.  Zaid was being chased by a ghost at one point.  Then Abbey was up at 6:00, and the boys were all up at 6:30.  Logan and I cooked a big breakfast for everyone, and they barely touched it, just like they barely touched their dinner the night before.  Too busy playing!

Everyone was picked up by 11:00, and we were all tuckered out!  It was a fun birthday, though!

A Trip to Boston

The boys got to take an overnight trip to Boston with Papa this past week, complete with a trip to the Museum of Science.  Dad sent these cute pics of the boys on Aunt Judy's carousel horse:

And at the Museum of Science.  They can't stop talking about all that they saw, especially the 3-D movie.  So cool!

Two cool cats!

Papa always gets the best pictures of the boys!

Valentine's, Influenza and Abbey's First Date

Last week was a very momentous one for our family.  Lots of fun adventures, tempered by sick days.

 

I think this sunrise was on Monday:

On Valentine's Day, the kids got to open a package from NC, and they went off their rockers.  They were quite wound up!  Then, they ate their chocolate the next day, and the madness was repeated.  Very exciting stuff!

Thusday at midnight, Logan and I awoke to a child throwing up in our bed.  We were too disoriented to know who it was at first - but it was Benjamin.  After I changed our bed, I discovered that his was also soiled, so I remade ours with a pallet in the middle, and for the rest of the night, Benji awoke every half hour or so, thrashing around, and I would pass him a bucket, and then we'd all go back to sleep again.  His stomache was finally settled late morning Friday.  We thought we were in the clear with everyone else until tonight, when Josiah started throwing up at 7:30.  He probably wont have it as bad as Benji, though.  Josiah always lasts a fraction of the time.

Josiah lost his front tooth this week!  His other front tooth is also loose, so he's going to have quite the gaping hole soon!

Abbey and Daddy went to a Father/Daughter dance on Friday - their first date!  They had a wonderful time.  Abigail loves to dance!   The dance was at the Opera House in town. 

The boys gave us a very entertaining magic show this week!  They are such a riot!

Abbey wanted to go outside with her brothers yesterday, so Benjamin took her under his wing and stuck by her side.  He's such a doting big brother.  Very cute!

Abigail loves to have her toenails and fingernails painted, and I caught this cute picture this week as Logan blew on her freshly painted toes.  I love it!

Blizzard of 2013

The Blizzard Nemo (named for the Captain in "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," not the Pixar clownfish:), struck this weekend, giving Maine its biggest snowfall in decades!  It was snowing when we got up Friday morning, and continued until late Saturday afternoon. 

 We kept everyone inside until Saturday, when the boys couldn't stand it any longer.  Abbey, of course, insisted on suiting up as well and trudged bravely out...until the snow hit her face and she decided it wasn't for her.  I think she was outside for two minutes.  :)

 

 She was happy to watch from the warm indoors after that!

Pink cheeks!  And two front teeth that have been hanging by a thread for weeks!

By the end of the storm, the snow  on our deck was as high as Abbey!

Benji diving off of the picnic table:

Josiah eager to clean up!

Logan went down town to help Dad dig out.  Logan says while we had two feet at our home, the harbor had 6-12 extra inches!

Thursday morning, we had grass.  Now we've got our sledding hills back for a while!  The boys are thrilled. :)

Miscellanious Shots

These pictures are from the last few weeks. 

 

The kids love to go to the YMCA in the winter to blow off some steam.  Lots of races on the track!  And basketball, soccer, and even using their scooters in the gym.

They were all sitting on top of me when I snatched this shot.  I can't bend over around here without being pounced on!

Josiah has been disappointed with the snowfall this winter...that is, until this weekend!  Our little worker is always anxious to get out there with a shovel.  After this post, I'll be caught up to post pictures of the Blizzard of 2013.

We had Mo, Jen and Zaid over once last month, and the three boys all ended up playing games on various devices.  We were just happy that they were done bouncing off the walls for awhile!

This book was a big hit: "The Three Musketeers." 

The boys were very excited about the Super Bowl.  We ate dinner in the living room while we watched, and after I cleared all the dishes away, the boys made their own football field and used their Angry Birds as players.  They were tucked snugly into bed before the Half-Time Strip Tease. :)

Josiah and Ben have been making clay Angry Birds lately, and then they like to take pictures of their handiwork.

Friday morning, I presented Abbey with her new Big Girl Underwear, and we "threw away" all of her diapers.  For the most part, I think this cold-turkey potty training will work out just fine.  It helps that Abbey eats like a little bird and hardly even uses the potty!  We've had three times more accidents than successes, but each day has seen great strides toward being potty trained.  She's even slept without diapers and been dry, except for the first nap.  Yay, Abbey!

I, of course, have an adorable picture of Abbey sitting on her potty, but you'll have to suffice with the head shot.  She's looking so grown up in this picture!