Some more recent pictures

My big crawler:



Jack took these next two:



A big box is always great for make-believe games:

Jack and the shadow

In honor of Groundhog Day this week, Jack studied shadows at school. They also took some really cool pictures.

Loves

Found a fun idea for Valentine's Day at this blog post. It's always fun to record kids' answers for posterity.

Jack:

For breakafast, I love... pancakes.

For lunch, I love… a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

For dinner, I love…macaroni and cheese.

For snack, I love…fruit snacks.

To drink, I love…milk.

To read, I love…the library book that's upstairs in my bunk bed.

To watch, I love…Cars 2.

To play, I love…my remote control truck.

Kate:

For breakfast, I love… I like oatmeal.

For lunch, I love…I don't love peanut butter and jelly.

For dinner, I love…umm... oatmeal.

For snack, I love…cherries.

To drink, I love…apple juice.

To read, I love…The Big Wolf and the Little Wolf book.

To watch, I love…a show.

To play, I love…toys.

Seven months... and first teeth!

Let's see... Miss Maggie is past the seven month mark now. She's been crawling for a couple weeks and has three teeth: one big chomper on top and two on bottom. She usually sleeps 12-14 hours straight at night (which is heavenly for me!) and loves solid food: cereal, applesauce, sweet potatoes, and Mum-Mums. She is super-independent but also loves to be entertained by big brother and sister. When she gets excited, she kicks her legs and takes several deep, quick breaths. Oh, and she's pulling herself up to stand in her crib! Definitely growing up way too fast.

Centennial Parade

Yesterday, New Mexico celebrated 100 years of statehood. Today, a parade in downtown Las Cruces. Parades are much more fun with little kids. Jack and Kate were both dancing maniacs! And even Maggie enjoyed it... although the picture of her shows differently.

Half a year

Maggie is six months old today! She is pretty much sitting up on her own and loves being able to grab from a pile of toys in front of her. She still gives great smiles to strangers, and she cracks up at the antics of her siblings. I carry her around in the front carrier whenever we run errands, and she likes to kick her legs as if she wants to GOOO!!! She just started sleeping through the night again--up to twelve hours at a time! Hooray! Oh yes, and she has two precious little teeth. Already. Remembering the picture I had posted on Facebook of Kate on her six-month birthday just over two years ago, I dressed Maggie in the same shirt that Kate wore this morning, and then took pictures of her in the same chair. We always think Maggie looks like Jack, but here you can definitely see the sisterly resemblance!

Jumping, jumping...

The last gummy pictures

Maggie laughing at Jack

Feeling around in Maggie's mouth the other day, I noticed a little tooth protruding! My other kids didn't get their first teeth until they were seven or eight months, so it was kind of a surprise. As soon as we got home that day, I grabbed the camera and took a few shots of Maggie and her gummy smile. I still feel nostalgic at all her "firsts." This, for example, is the last first tooth. Crazy!

Jack's 5th

I'm late posting these, yes, but at least I'm finally doing it! We had a great little 5th birthday party for Jack here at the house. Brian's mom was here for the weekend, and Bob, Yoli, and the kids also came down. Along with Grandma Pat, Rick, and Lynn, we had quite the shindig in our little house. I made macaroni and cheese (NOT the Kraft kind) and a Coca-Cola chocolate cake (NOT from a mix).

Just an update... no time for a creative title

We've had a busy fall--the busiest ever, I would say. I've not had much time to post! So here's a quick update in picures.

Maggie is five months now, doing well, finding her voice, laughing at her siblings, and enjoying anything physical (especially her jumper). She is already spending time on her hands and knees, and "swiveling" on her playmat. We predict she will be our earliest crawler.


Jack's soccer team had its final game of the season last Saturday, and I do believe they finally won a a game! The kids all received trophies and certificates with superlatives (Jack got "Most Enthusiastic." Of course!)


Team pictures:


Somehow, Jack is five years old now! People always tells me that time flies, especially when you have little kids, but I still can't believe it! We took some official portraits in the pecan grove near our house:


We brought cupcakes to school for him to share. His teachers and the other kids sang to him, and he got to wear the birthday hat.