JAKE!!!

Happy birthday to our "twins"~
Look what a big help Jake is and what a wonderful brother he is!
This is one of those photos that I wish had turned out better. He's so good to the babies.
Handsome boy! Hasn't he grown up so much! He's matured amazingly this year. We are grateful to see the giant in this guy. He's calm, but strong, kind, determine, dependable, smart, quiet (yes- quiet, he has learned to control the temper so much better).

This big guy is so much like his dad. He has matured so much this year. He's becoming an amazing young man. He's tender, and hard-working. He has such a deep sense of right and wrong and JUSTICE! He's a good listener (to stories, not lectures). He's a good brother and loyal friend. He's doing great at school. We love him.

His laugh is contagious! You should here the girls giggle when he cracks up. Just try not to smile at this photo-

Love those green eyes. And his teeth, well he could have gotten them from either one of us I'm sorry to say. He will grow into the family teeth.

Here's a photo of a typical scene. Jake and Zack are up to something involving food. At least it is outside.
These boys LOVE our yard and outdoors.

I'm grateful for the lessons this guy has taught me, for his hugs, his shy smile, his laugh, his tenderness, his faith and obedience.

And of course his song:
BINGO-
There is a boy we love a lot his name is Jacob Bowman,
J...A... C...O...B... (and no it doesn't rhyme- oh well).

Crazy Baby!

Is it just my babies that all go through a stage of "Crazy Baby Head"? They violently shake their head back and forth and laugh. They aren't saying no, yet. But I do think they believe that we are seeing the world go back and forth just like they are. Crew does his crazy-head and then looks up at me and laughs like we have some inside joke. I laugh too of course because it is funny. It's my last baby and I don't want to ever forget Crazy Baby stage. Give it a try, tell me if it's funny. I bet people will laugh at/with you too.

Zack's Turn:

It's Zack's turn for some update photos. Otherwise known as Zack attack, Zackie, Z-dog, Little Z, Zackaroni, Zack & Cheese. This boy is always hungry. He jumps or runs everywhere. He loves to dance, flip, jump, basically MOVE! Check out this moon-walk...

He is a tender boy who loves to snuggle. He loves to learn. He can read. He is driven. He keeps track of time and days well, better than his mom. He always knows which class he is going to on which day. He had his 5th birthday in March.

He has a big smile with tiny teeth. He's small but "muscley". He still falls asleep in random places. He's always barefoot and in shorts regardless of the weather. Consequently, his feet are always dirty. He makes silly faces for the camera. It's hard to get a normal photo of him. He likes to help others. He's a good brother. He's mighty mouse!
A SIL reminded me that I did not post Zack's song. So his is easy... think YMCA
"Z...A...C....K, it's fun to play with him he's Z...A...C...K...!
If you know this dancing machine you know how fitting it is that "his song" has built in choreography. Although Z & K prove pretty hard for our kids. Give it a try!

Next it's some updated photos of Lu Lu

Lucia got a big girl hair cut. It looks like Mom has one too. I really didn't realize how close we matched until people started commenting. Can you guess who's color is natural?
A little about how this Lovely Little Lady is right now. LuLu or Cia is the star of our home. She loves to make people laugh. She's a talker (no suprise). She likes to dance and sing. She's still in a crib but nearly potty trained. She's nice to her older siblings but likes to hit baby brother (brother almost outweighs her). She doesn't like naps. She loves friends, fun, being a big girl. She likes to do everything herself. She can throw some serious fits. She loves clothes, shoes, jewelry girlie stuff but likes to hang with the boys. She likes to hold our chickens and gather their eggs. She says "I'm your sunshine!" and she is. We love this little light in our home.
Did the Easter Bunny come to your house? I bet it wasn't as cute as this... (she's going to be so mad when she's all grown).


Song: I said I would post their songs. I have no idea how this started. But Lucia is named after my mom Linda. So think the tune of La Cucaracha and it goes:
Lucia Linda, Lucia Linda.... da, da, da, da, da, da, da!
(as she hold her fist in running position and rolls her shoulders up and down).
She now sings it Grandma Linda... and sometimes even Mommy Linda.

Still looking for a song for Crew (or Bubbers or Buddy as he's known here).
We thought about the hard rock ballad- When I see Crew Smile... but the kids don't agree.
Yes, we are a cheesy but fun family.

Let's start with... C R E W ! ! !

Let's start with updating some photos of Crew. He is a chunky, strong, smiley little man. Everyone loves Crew. If you can think of a theme song for this guy we would love to hear it. All of siblings already have one. I'll post theirs on their day. But today is Crew's day.

He's 10 months. He's crawling all over and pulling to a stand. He likes to pull on your clothes to stand up the best. I've lost a skit and some pants because of this trick. He goes up stairs really fast and is learning to go down the stairs. It's a lot of fun for him since he has a cheering crowd following him down the whole way. He stopped nursing last month and still isn't an efficient bottle feeder. He's noisy and sloppy but still gains weight so we aren't too concerned.
We are hoping to graduate him from the portable crib (Pack and Play) to the official crib when we move Lucia out. We are blessed by his easy nature and quick smiles. We love this little guy.

Who wouldn't love this guy? What's not to love? So of course as everyone predicted we can't imagine life without him. What a blessing!!!

I'm back!

Alright, I'm back. I really am. I just read my friend Christi's blog and my friend Cara's blog and I was smiling and laughing the whole time. So I decided to start up again. And not with the hopes of making all the readers smile and laugh because that would be too much pressure and I would be trying to clever all the time. That would just be exhausting. But I figure if my kids one day feel a bit of what I felt reading today about their own lives and childhood then what a gift that would be. Not to mention I'm sure grandparents will smile and of course Christi & Cara will as well.

So here's to a New Beginning. Photos or not, I'll be recording the happenings from here on out. And I'll start by adding a quote on my blog stolen from Christi's blog that is part of the inspiration. Can you quote someone quoting someone else? (I know, not too clever).

Trying to capture our chunky monkey

He's not quite her size yet, but we are guessing it won't be long. They are within a few pounds of each other. I love how different our kids come. We love them all!