Trick or Treat!

We had a night filled with many treats and no tricks! A success in my book.

The best part of Halloween...

Jackson: Getting so much candy!
Will: Knocking and getting candy.
Avery: Jury is still out on that one, she was one grouchy kitty and in bed by 6:45. Maybe next year!

Back to school and back to blogging

After a 4 month break it is time to get back into the swing of things, don't you think? In regards to both blogging and school! :)

Jackson--
Officially a 1st grader. After letting his friends get a 2 day head start (thank you fever), 1st grade finally began. He loves it and is totally exhausted by it all at the same time. His favorite part, recess of course. Doing paperwork comes second place. (Really???) We are not playing soccer this fall (mom missed the sign up) but are staying plenty busy getting into all kinds of bigger kid trouble with a few of the neighbors. Lego creations and making books are favorite pass times. The tooth fairy has visited twice and I'm quite sure he grew at least 3 inches this summer (or at least since the last time he wore pants...)

Will--
When I asked him how his first day of school was I got an enthusiastic "Awesome!" In all honestly I had a hard time dropping him off the first day, I had to keep swallowing the lump in the back of my throat. But he LOVES it and it is so good for him. He makes it his business to keep tabs on everyone in the class, making sure I know who was just a little bit naughty because they didn't sit "criss-cross applesauce" and who got to be the helper with their mom. His favorite part was the bear hunt they took on the first day. We've read "We're Going On A Bear Hunt" so many times since he now can "read" it by himself. This summer he's gotten so brave in the water. He even went down the slide at MVP...over and over and over again! He's still proves to be an animal and bug lover and this summer we rescued monarach butterflies off the beach, a praying mantis out of the parking lot of Walmart and a grasshopper out of the yard. Not to mention the many caterpillars we watched make cocoons and turn into moths.

Avery-- A full time walker! Just in the last couple weeks she's discovered that her feet were made for walking and I'm sure it's just a matter of weeks before she figures out running. Grass, sand, woodchips, nothing deters her from walking and it's funny to watch. This girl is into EVERYTHING!!! She empties the tupperware cupboard daily, can climb on the kitchen and deck chairs (not to mention the table), and thinks she can walk down stairs. She loves the beach and the water! She loves to eat sand and every other snack that might be packed in the bag. Lately she carries a bag over her shoulder wherever she goes (yes, like a purse) and puts stuff in and out. Her favorite purse item is an empty dental floss container. She likes to push her baby doll in a stroller and I've seen her trying to carry her baby up by her shoulder. I'd like to know who taught her this?

Dave and I continue to keep busy too. HC fall sports are in full operation which makes for busy times for Dave. He still continues to "need" a boat in a bad way and we now own most of the equipment necessary for the boat, but no boat to put it in. I'm babysitting 2 days a week, enjoying the afternoons when I am not outnumbered, and training for a half marathon in a couple weeks.

Phew...there's life in a nutshell. Hopefully the next update will be sooner than 4 months from now.

A tisket, a tasket

We had a wonderful Easter. My "basket" is full and I feel blessed. Here are some pictures of my favorite memories of the day.

Some bunny loved their first Easter Basket filled with a pair of shoes and a paci. What's not to love about that? However the jelly beans in her basket from Papa and Mema were the real winners!

Some bunny else drew this picture during church.


And some bunny else helped his birthday buddy, Grandpa, celebrate his day.

And somehow I think it might be easier to get 3 real bunnies to sit and cooperate for a picture.

In taking some time to prepare for the real celebration of Easter the boys and I made Ressurection Rolls. These were a huge hit and provided a great teaching moment. We also spent some time reading The Jesus Storybook Bible. I love, love, love this Bible! Sometimes when I read it I think it is as much for me as it is for the kids. You know when you hear or read something that you've heard a million times before but one day you hear it with new ears? This book is like that. Every time I ready it.

A wonderful day with a wonderful family celebrating a wonderful and very much risen Lord!

A picture is worth 1,000 words...

...so I'll let the picture do the talking.

A new year of many first

Look really close.

Can you see them? All pearly and white and pointy and making me forget how to sleep through the night. I got these just in time to turn 7 months old. (Let's not even get started on the fact that she's 7 months old).

I also learned another new trick. I'm pretty steady and hardly ever tip. I perfected this skill over break, while wearing Christmas leg warmers.


From the mama...
I'm not one to make New Year's Resolutions. So let's call this a goal and not a resolution shall we? It is my goal to post at least once a week. Also, to cut out all bias and equally represent all of my children. Ahem. You almost forgot I had 3 kiddos didn't you? We wouldn't want anyone to get oldest or middle child syndrome. There we go, all fair and square.

This year is sure to be filled with firsts for everyone in our family. Looking forward to living and growing and learning as a family!

Mmm, Mmm good!

Need I say more?

Bath-tized

According to Will we had a "bath-tism" on Sunday. (I think Jackson said that once up a time too.) Avery was her usual smiley self and looked beautiful in RoseAnn's baptism dress. It was a great service and wonderful to be surrounded by so many family members and friends. Our minister encouraged us to celebrate each of the kids baptisms to remind them that they belong to Jesus. I love the idea of this tradition and we look forward to celebrating each of the kids baptism birthdays through out the years. Happy Baptism Birthday, Avery Anne!

3 months

I'm not quite sure how Avery is already 3 months old. Somehow we missed a 2 month post and we are already 3+ months.
Call me biased but I think she's pretty cute!


Avery,
You are still the most fantastic baby a mama could ever ask for. You are so happy all the time, you smile like crazy and on your 3 month "birthday" you giggled for the first time. You still love to tell stories however the little baby coos are starting to sound a bit more like screeching. You are grabbing the toys on your bouncy seat and can lift your head and tummy off the floor during tummy time. I think you are addicted to you swaddle blanket, I'm not sure what we are going to do when you are too big for it. But you've been sleeping 11 hours at night and taking 3-4 naps during the day, so bless the swaddle blanket. We had you at the doctor a week before your "birthday" and you weighed 13 pounds. Too bad we can't all double our weight in 3 months and be so cute! You still can wear your 0-3 month clothes but most of your fall wardrobe is 3-6 months. We are still working through the size 1 diapers but are ready to graduate to size 2. Fewer blowouts=less laundry for me. You are eating every 3-4 hours, usually closer to 4. My only small complaint is that you r.e.f.u.s.e to take a bottle. Choke. Spit. Gag. Wont even close your mouth. Naughty. But since that is my one and only complaint I'll keep my mouth shut. We love you so much and love to see the way that you are changing each and every day. We thank God for you and our hearts are full.
Love, Daddy and Mommy

Apparently

Apparently the end of your nose is a great place to wear dirt.


Apparently you shouldn't ask kids to say cheese when taking their picture. You might just get what you ask for.


Apparently Silly Bands are so cool even babies need to wear them

Look-a-like contest

What is your vote?

Does she look like brother number one...

Or brother number two...

1 month

Avery Anne,
You've had a busy first month of life. You've had lots of people come to love on you, had your belly button cauterized twice, you sported your first bathing suit (see picture #2 above), I'm quite sure you've gained almost 4 pounds (mostly cheeks and chins), been to the beach (at less than 2 weeks old), been on vacation to Duck Lake (at 3 weeks old), and gone to Arcadia for the 4th of July (at almost 4 weeks old), and just last night you slept for 7 hours in a row! What a lovely surprise for me. :)

I'm guessing that you weigh close to 10 pounds, you can still wear newborn clothes but now fit in the 0-3 month outfits too. You wear a size 1 diaper, and still sleep for much of the day. You are often awake in the morning and again in the evening, but the afternoon you reserve for snoozing. You go to bed around 10pm and I usually feed you between 2 and 3am and then again between 5 and 6am. You've started giving us your first smiles which we LOVE. You have beautiful blue eyes and haven't really lost much of your hair. We are working on developing a love (tolerance is maybe a better word) for the car seat but are glad that you take a paci. Your brothers love to hold you and they often laugh at the silly faces you make. Jackson likes to help you out by covering you up and giving you your paci when you spit it out. Will has been renamed "Captain Obvious"..."Mom, she's crying", "Mom, she spit her paci out", "Mom, she just pooped".

We are more in love with you every day little girl and we are so glad you are part of our family!

p.s You might not know it yet, but you have the best big brothers in the world.

The proofs are in!

Oh how I wouldn't love to stop the hands of time. It is hard to believe that it is the middle of July already. I'm not sure where the days go, but somehow summer is half over and my baby is already 5 weeks old. I'm quite sure we were just in the hospital!

We had a newborn picture session done with Avery when she was 2 weeks old. The proofs are hot of the press so head to Photos by Kaity and check them out. (Go to Client Proofs, our password is avery). I especially love the pictures of all three kids together. These make my heart swell just a little. And my word has the girl gotten bigger since these were taken. Like I said, I'd love to stop the hands of time.

Soon to come, some pictures of the big brothers (no, I haven't forgotten about them) and pictures of the the chunky cheeks we have acquired in the last couple weeks.

A day in the life of a two week old

Our sweet princess has had a busy two weeks. She spends most of her day sleeping. I think the record for being awake (in one stretch) is about an hour. She is also growing like a weed. She is now weighing in a whopping 7 pounds, 4 ounces! This is the girl everyone was so worried about because she was busy loosing weight when she should have been gaining. She is up a full pound in one week. Good work, girl! We are loving on her every minute we get and feel so blessed.

A big brother update. Jackson is totally smitten with her. He loves to hold her and to give her kisses. He has transitioned into the role of big brother times two quite easily.

Then there is William. While he loves "sissy", he's a bit put out at the same time. He too loves to hold her but he's had his fair share of tears as well. He likes to play house and wants Avery to be the big brother and he wants to be the baby. He still calls her Sissy because most of the time he can't remember her name. I even heard in the middle of prayer, "Thank you God for Mommy, Daddy, Jackson, Me, Fudger and...Mama, what do we call her again?...oh yeah, thank you for Avery Anne Engbers. Amen."

Avery Anne

Introducing...(a tad on the late side, but so it goes with a newborn...)

Avery Anne Engbers
June 7, 2010
6 pounds, 12 ounces
20 inches



God has truly blessed us and we are filled with joy!