Gavin 4 month photos

Gavin is 4 months. I am guessing he is somewhere around 18 pounds. He is as cute as can be and very demanding. I am amazed how a little guy of only four months can change everything. He likes to be held, cries when I put him down. He refuses to sleep unless he is snuggled up to me and I am a sucker. I give in and let him sleep with me at night. He laughs a lot, is very happy as long as someone is paying attention to him. And he talks. He talks more than any of my babies have ever talked at this age. He is a cutie and I am trying to enjoy every moment because he is growing up way too fast.

Kindle

I got the coolest present

from my mom: A Kindle. The problem is this. I love to read. Put a book before me and I have to read it. I try not to have too many books around because once I open them up, I can't put them down. They literally suck me in and I can't stop. My mom put a book on my Kindle "A Voice in the Wind" and I thought I would read it just a little. Two days later I finished the 540 page book. Two days after that I finished the 2nd book in the series. I took a little break. I haven't read in the last three days. My house is a mess. My children are all neglected. The laundry is piling up. We have been having cereal for all meals . . . Not really that bad. I still have been doing laundry against my will and I have been cooking all the meals and cleaning up afterwards. But I haven't been picking up the messes all day long like I usually do, just a few times a day. And with 6 kids it gets messy pretty quick. I have been enjoying the escape that reading gives me. It gives my mind a little happiness and excitement, a change from the day to day. I like it all, and reading gives me a little bonus. And I started the 3rd book in the series today while I stayed home from church with a sick child. Hopefully I can hold off and not finish it tomorrow, but it is so gooood! I guess part of the reason my blogging has been put on hold. Thanks for the Kindle, Mom. I really really like it, just not sure my family does!

I had a birthday!

This year I was surprised by a knock on my door at 11am. I could see balloons through the window and thought, today is the day before my birthday. I was so surprised and so excited. I opened the door and was even more surprised. There stood my mom and two sisters! My mom lives about 5 hours away, my sister lives 4 hours away, and my other sister is about 45 minutes away. They had been planning this birthday surprise for about two months. It was the BEST birthday EVER! And they called one of my friends and asked her to watch my kiddos so we could all go out to lunch.

We went to Salt Grass Steak House. And oh, was it good! My appetite is raging with a 17 pound nursing baby. I ate it all and enjouyed every bite. And the chocolate cake to wash it all down was even better! They brought it out with a single candle and I was a happy girl. The company was great, the Dr. Pepper tickled my tongue (I hadn't had one since December), and I was in heaven. It was probably the best birthday ever and so fun to be surprised by my sisters and mom. Thanks for such a great birthday!

New Years Day

I just realized I never blogged about this. I started to and never finished. So, here's the pictures. I'll try to come back and write about all we did that day. And as a memory jog, I need to tell about the zip line and how Danielle got caught out in the middle with the pond underneath her. Just hanging there in the freezing cold weather with her coat on. A teenage boy finally put another hanger thingy on the zip line and pushed her to the shore. I am amazed she didn't fall off. She must have hung there for a good 5 minutes. That girl is strong. Maybe that is why we call her our monkey.

And the same thing happened with Taneal, except she couldn't hold on and ended up falling in the lake, coat, shoes and all on. Thankfully she could swim well. It was soooo cold that day.