Double Digits Emily!

Happy Birthday Emily!

The present pileup!

 Definitely one of her favorites - Lego Friends!

 Emily's 10th birthday brought us to Chuck E. Cheese!  The crew gobbling up their pizza!

 Emily loves playing so many different games here!

 Exploring the games with Sam, Jacob and Katie

 Monkey Ball is another favorite!  We always combine all the tickets earned and divide them up equally between the older kids - Bex is happy with a couple pieces of candy still.  But for Emily's birthday treat, Katie and Matthew got 100 tickets each and Emily got to have all the rest of the tickets to spend on herself! 

 Since we got home so late that night from Chuck E. Cheese, we had cake and ice cream the following night!

 Can't believe she is 10 years old now!  

 At 10, Emily loves to read books, play outdoors, animals, making jewelry, playing board games/card games with her siblings, piano lessons, singing in school and church choir, and my favorite of all - giving hugs to everyone!  This girl is such a great student that follows directions in class and tells the other kids that they should too!  She is a great help with her new baby brother and younger siblings and we are so lucky to have her in our family! 

Love you Emers!

And He Rolls!

I put Jacob down on the floor for just a minute on his tummy so that I could fold some laundry and he surprised me!  He did not stay on his tummy long!

 Ta-da!  Flipped right over onto his back like a champ!  It was like he had been able to do this for quite some time and since he is always in someone's arms, never got the chance to show it off until now!

 Love watching him explore!

 Holding his head high

 And now all tired out from the exercise!  Such a sweet boy!  Had to document his first time rolling over!

Championship Game

 During the final championship game, our team was a little short-handed when Matthew broke his left clavicle bone 3 days earlier at practice and another teammate was gone on vacation.  They only had 4 players this game.  The Chairperson of the Magnolia Basketball Association calling Matthew's number to be recognized out on the court before the final game began.

 They had to play against the Jazz - the only team that had beat them during the regular season.  The Jazz were tough and the Pistons played their hearts out!

 Our favorite ref was the female one because she would actually stop to show the boys what they were doing incorrect and the correct way to do it!  She was great!  Here she is giving Matthew a high-five even though he had to sit this game out.

Jake cheering loud for the Pistons!

 The girls playing their kindles, I mean, cheering for Matthew's team 

 After the game, the coach talked about how each boy improved throughout the season.  Matthew receiving his medal, water bottle, and sports bag for playing in this basketball league.

 Rounding the boys up after their sad loss to the Jazz. What a fun season to watch and cheer for these sweet boys!  They worked very hard and won most of their games!

2nd Place Champs:  Matthew, Byron, Derrick, Callen, and Greyson (not shown here Josh)

Thanks Coach for a great season!

Future Rock Stars

 Rebecca often visits during my shower routine to check up on baby Jacob.  I don't think this guy is ever going to be short on love!

 He is already looking so much bigger in his monkey chair! 

I often wonder what he is thinking watching me blow dry my hair while Bex and I belt out all the words of our favorite tunes!  We pretty much have a dance party in the bathroom with hairbrush microphones every morning!  Bex's latest hits are "Do you wanna build a snowman?" and "Let it go" from Frozen of course!  I catch her climbing up on daddy's sink so that she can dance in front of his mirror while she sings - totally adorable little diva! Hopefully Jacob doesn't think we are completely insane!

Older Girls with Jacob

These girls can't get enough of their baby brother!  Constantly watching and playing with this little guy!  Sometimes even fighting over who gets to hold him next...he definitely fits right into our family!

Couch Sleeper

 So often when Sam is holding Jacob on his chest or when I am nursing Jacob to sleep, we end up scooting him right onto the couch beside us.

We love watching him sleep and cuddling as much as we can before putting him down for the night!  He is definitely our late night buddy!

Katie and Jacob

Jacob sleeps in a bassinet right beside our bed

 He is getting longer and longer in it!

 Katie enjoys holding this little guy when she gets home from school. She has 45 minutes before the others get off the bus so she uses her time wisely, holding and not having to constantly share Jacob!

She is almost 12 years old - their ages may be years apart, but the bond they are creating here will last beyond!  Love watching her love her baby brother!

Bex Lovin' Jake

 This little girl wants to hold her baby brother every morning when she wakes up!

 I love how naturally gentle and loving she is with Jacob. I never get tired of those kissy lips on his cheek!

I hope the love continues for a many many years and then some!

We've got some super sweetness here!

Smiles

Once we hit the 2 month old mark, we began to see nothing but smiles from this little man!

It's kind of like being in Heaven around here!

 Emily sneaking in for a shot!  I think she was crowding his space - oh no!

In his jammies and ready for bed!  Best smiles of all! You can feel his laughter! 

 Cannot get enough of these smiles!!!

Talent Show

 Katie chose to sing "Under the Sea" from the Little Mermaid in her 6th grade talent show

 Here she is singing her heart out on stage - this girl loves having a microphone in her hand!  They had several after school rehearsals to prepare for this show and it turned out wonderful!   

 The whole group of participants - I think everyone's favorite was the surprise YMCA song the teachers put on for the students.  Very silly!  There were a few dance routines, baton twirling, instruments and keyboard players,  singing and more!

 A very entertaining bunch!

I am so proud of Katie and how brave she is to get up on stage in front of her peers and their families to perform!  She sounded amazing as usual and is so fun to watch!