Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I thoroughly enjoy Thanksgiving (esp. when pregnant.....a Thanksgiving dinner w/ all the fixings has always been a craving of mine, and this pregnancy is no different!), so we had a nice time enjoying a most tasty Thanksgiving feast with Grandma, Papa, & family and the Miller families too! Afterwards, Grandma and Papa's massage chair was hit pretty hard......the kids loved it!



On Saturday, we quickly set to work getting into the holiday spirit! Thank goodness Grandma & Papa were up for it....I think it's the only tree we'll be decorating this year! Actually, the kids and I did come home after Thanksgiving and put up our pathetic little temporary stick tree, which took about 10 minutes from start to finish :)

Another cutie of the girls, mid-decorating! Can't believe I don't have a one of Ty & the boys...they were there though, all of them ripping off the glass ball ornaments that the girls so carefully placed on the bottom 2 ft of the tree :)

Before & After!

These were some fun collages to make of our house, as it was the day we bought it (Feb. 28, 2007):




And as it looks, upon our pending sale (set to close on Dec 19, 2008)! So many changes, it was neat to see them side by side. I almost forgot how bad all the wallpaper was....but could NEVER forget how hideous those bathrooms were! Unfortunately, no before pics of the family room and 4th bedroom (last 2 pics in bottom collage)...but what a difference a coat of paint makes!

Now we're house hunting & hoping to find the right place soon....as Jed said over the weekend "we're all packed up with no place to go"!!!!
He's been enjoying his new job for about a month now and really feels it's where he's supposed to be....and we're very excited to be closer to our families again, although we'll certainly miss our frequent get togethers with Lara and Jeff :(

SORRY!

Jed and I were cracking up when we found Emma playing SORRY with her beloved bunny, while she patiently waited for us to join her!!!! You'd think the girl needed a few siblings or something, wouldn't you????

FINALLY....we feed the ducks!!!

Everytime we pass this park, on the way to Lara's, the kids always ask "when can we feed the ducks"...well, today was their lucky day (the kids' and the ducks')!!! These ducks were serious vultures....and kept following the kids around, impatiently waiting for more handouts. They quickly realized that they weren't even getting a crumb from Ty....when I told him "throw it to the ducks" he quickly shoved the bread in his mouth as if HE desperately needed it!!! (I was laughing at your "wack wack" post, Allison....yes, we have creative kids!) Thanks for a fun day Aunt Lara and Uncle Jeffey :)

Happy Halloween & GO BLUE!!!

This posting (along with most of mine, I know) is WAY overdue, but still wanted to get a few up of our crew on Halloween! Jed is a huge Michigan fan, so it was only fitting to have our family represent with a football player and squad of cheerleaders :) The girls loved it and Emma made up a cheer that stuck...all 3 girls shouted in unison: "S-T-O......Go Ty Boy GO"!!!!!!....no idea what that means, but it was catchy & they got the rhyming thing down :)...Ty would just beam when they yelled it!!!! Anyhow, he was adorable....all padded up with sponges! My favorite pic below is the one of him from behind in that sassy little stance......Ha! I can totally picture Jed doing EXACTLY that in his high school football days :) Anyhow, the cousins all had a blast together & trick or treating in Sigel was a big hit...Ella's face says it all!

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

We love you so much!!!

Pumpkin carvers....

...atleast for a minute! This scene didn't last too long.....



Before I knew it, Boo had my camera and was taking pictures of her shadow, the worm on the sidewalk, and anything else of interest to her......while Ella grabbed my cell phone & was chatting it up!

Eventually, Emma and I got the messy job done,

& she was oh so proud of them :)

Octoberfest at Mema's!

The kids all had a great time celebrating halloween at Mema's Octoberfest! Not only were there cousins, costumes (even Aunt Weez and Mema dressed up!), & great food...but also tons of festive activities with pumpkin painting, treat-bag decorating, "spooning" for apples (yes, an original!), a scavenger hunt, cookie decorating, and the crowd favorite: charades!!!!!!!! Thanks for putting so much time and thought into creating such a memorable day, Mema :)

Naptime in the big girl bed........

.......hmmmmm, not so much!

Ella's naptimes in her big girl bed have been hardly that. The first few times she just couldn't contain her newly found independence, so she quietly got into everything she could get her hands on (socks, wipes, diaper cream, toothpaste...you name it) repeatedly....and I was always amazed that Ty was able to sleep through it all. I was forced to "Ella proof" their room (or so I thought), leaving only their books. I was so sure I solved the problem, so when I heard them "wake up" after their nap, I was so surprised to find...

....this one, looking oh so guilty.....



....and this one, ultra-excited about his crib full of books (I couldn't help but laugh!)!!!!!

Better luck next time, Mom!!!!!

Our 20 week ultrasound...

Here's Baby #5 at 20 weeks & 3 days! This glimpse of our tiny baby has me in complete awe.....such an amazing view of baby's profile, but it's that strong little beating heart that really struck me...


We are in L-O-V-E with this little guy or gal.....sure to be known as the "Baby" of our family :)

Getting into the spirit!

Aunt Lara and Uncle Jeffey brought over some Halloween fun to share with (and help occupy) the kids!!!! Judging by their orange & black stained mouths and hands....they thoroughly enjoyed themselves :) We're ALL enjoying participating in its destruction...I don't think it's gonna make it to Halloween! Thanks so much for thinking of them and helping us too...we really appreciate it :)

The Monkey is ONE!

Hard to believe that cousin Nathan is already a year old! We all had a great time "monkeying around" at his party :) Nate loved his cake....I didn't capture him even approaching his messiest!!! The kids all enjoyed the monkey theme.....Lisa went all out with the details and really made it a special day :) Happy First Birthday, Nate!!!!!

Alivia's 3rd b-day at Port Farms!

The kids AND adults all had a blast celebrating here :) As you can see, my girls totally wore themselves ragged playing with the birthday girl!!!!! Happy Birthday Alivia!!!

Tooth Fairy on duty!

Emma has had a loose tooth for the past couple days, and it's finally out......WoooHooooooo!!!! We jumped around in excitement like a bunch of crazies!!!! She couldn't wait to look in the mirror and see her new grin, here it is :)

FYI.....Boo doesn't like this picture of Emma cause she thinks she "doesn't kind of recognize her being a big kid" (little Anna has a bit of a Peter Pan complex with growing up......apparently she's taking it a step further and doesn't want anyone else to grow up either)!



Look at how tiny her 1st lost baby tooth really is (esp. next to the bribe that encouraged her to let Daddy yank it out!)!!! I think all the kids want a loose tooth now just to get candy corn!!!!!

The excitement of the tooth fairy and SOOOOO many questions followed! I remember loving the magic of the tooth fairy, such good memories of her......especially those times when I'd wake in the morning to see what she'd left, only to discover my tooth still tucked safely in my little tooth pillow (Mom and I had a good laugh over this) :) :) :) Mom just had me (well, I'm sure it happened to all of us) put it back under my pillow, in hopes that the "tooth fairy" would make it there the next night.....and I'm not kidding, sometimes this happened a night or two before that darn tooth fairy would finally come!!!! Now I can really relate to "her" and understand why she used to be so "busy" that she'd sometimes forget to fulfill her tooth-taking duties!!!!! Of course, none of THESE memories of the tooth fairy were actually shared with the girls....I'm just thinking out loud here and secretly hoping that "she" can remember when she's on duty, and keep it magical :)


Anyhoot....I set to work and surprised Emma with her own little tooth pillow, inspired by mine as a kid (I'm hoping that, when I wash it, the edges frey, to match her ragtime quilt) :) She was thrilled with it (I think loved that it was "like mine") and had her little tooth inside the pocket and all of it under her pillow in a flash!!!!

Mommy & Me.....16 1/2 weeks!!!

We are BOTH growing!!! Mommy just felt my soft, little kicks within this last week...thank goodness!....other than making her throw-up on Emma's 1st day of school.....she might have forgotten I was in here :) My heartrate at the dr. has been high, 160's, so some of you may find yourselves jumping to the conclusion that I'm a girl (including Mommy).....but I just might be a baby brother for Ty, afterall!!!!

You'll all love me either way.............right, Ty?????????????????

Our first little "Kinder"!

Emma has been counting down the days until her 1st day of Kindergarten....and it's finally here!!!! Thankfully, she couldn't be more excited! What a day to tug on Mommy's (and Daddy's) heartstrings, though.....I'm teary-eyed even now just thinking of her letting go of my hand this morning and climbing onto the bus (ok, I lie.....I'm bawling)...it is a moment, filled with so many emotions, that I will never forget.

From the sounds of it, she had a super day! Her favorite thing about school, an emphatic "EVERYTHING"!!!! Definitely a tired girl, though....I think she was more excited to have beloved bunny in her arms again than any of us :) Anna worked hard to help make her a special 1st day after school snack and she was thrilled!!!

Farm boy at heart!

This is Ty's latest obsession....if we're outside, he's on Daddy's tractor! He climbs up in a flash, then wants to turn the key and try shifting gears...all of the buttons and levers just intrigue him! I'm pretty sure Jed's loving it :)

Anna's 4 year photo!

I thought she looked WAY to old here! Reminded me of a senior picture, which are only a short 14 years away...........!!!

Our beach bums!

We spent the past week at Southern Shores, N.C. for vacation with the entire Fiscus and Ekas clans! Should have had 11 adults and 11 kids in all, but Pappy had to head home early for work...leaving the adults officially out-numbered!!!! We missed you Pappy! We all had an amazing time and really made some special memories! Here are a few of my favorites of each of the kids :)