Pumpkin Patch '09

So I'm a little bit late with this, but better late than never right. A few weekend ago we took the kids to the pumpkin patch. We went when the kids were about ten months old, and didn't go last year, because it was hot and I was WAY pregnant. So it was like a whole new experience this year. The kids loved it. They did the pony ride and picked pumpkins. I think they thought the goal was to load up every pumpkin that was there. We had a little wagon to pull the pumpkins and they just kept loading pumpkins into it. Jake and I would take them out, but they would fill it right back up.

So here's some pics from our day, next post, decorating the pumpkins!

Huddy and his pony
Big E
Carter-man
Charlie baby and his baby blues
The four little monsters
Me and the big kids pulling our loot, love the people in the background staring!
The whole fam!

The neverending sickness

So when you have six people living in a three bedroom house, sickness spreads rapidly. It all started with Charlie on October 9th, and there has been someone sick everyday since. That's TWENTY-ONE days of sickness! It's the never-ending 24 hour bug that never ends. And we have also managed to take it to OK and infect many family members. Sorry! I'm so over the yuckiness! We have made five trips to the pediatrician and several trips to Target for medicine and crackers and ginger-ale over the past few weeks. There has been fevers, tummy issues, ear issues, and sleeping issues. Last Sunday, out of no where, the kids and Jake started throwing up, and someone was throwing up every hour for fourteen hours. Except me, how I didn't get it, I don't know. Thankfully, (knock on wood), we are on the mend. No one has had fever or projectile bodily fluids in about four days. Hooray! So here are a couple of pics of the kiddos. I'll have more posts coming up this week. The pumpkin patch, OU/TX festivities, trumpet playing, and much, much more!

Charlie baby after dinner. He is a crazy messy eater and this night in particular, his hair took the brunt of the messiness

The big kids getting ready to go outside and work in the yard with Dad. I over bundled them apparantly. Five minutes after being outside they were out of their jackets and asking if they could take their shirts off. They really love to be naked!

Tulsa State Fair '09

A couple weeks ago we were up in OK for the OU game. The Tulsa State Fair was in town and we decided to take the kids. It was freezing and windy, so we layered them up and headed out. It was their first time at a fair and I was very curious to see how they would do. They LOVED it!

Here's the kiddos with my mom and dad.

Our first stop was the birthing center and petting zoo. We got to see a couple of chicks hatch out of their eggs, and some newborn pigs and sheep. One sheep momma had just had three sheep babies a couple of hours before we got there. I thought it appropriate to take a pic with the triplet goats.


Our next stop was the midway with all the rides. We saw some dancing otters which were awesome and decided that it was time to try a ride. The kids have never even seen a fair ride, much less ride one. Well needless to say, they were very only upset they got to ride two rides. Maybe the weather will be nice next year and we'll be able to try out some more rides!

Hands and Feet and Mouth, OH MY!!!

Poor Charlie has come down with Hand Foot and Mouth disease. Friday evening, we took the train to Dallas to participate in some OU/Texas festivities (more on that later). When we loaded up in the car at 5:28 he was perfectly fine. We rode the train and walked around downtown for a while. About 6:40, I looked at him, and he did not look good. His cheeks were bright red, he was all slumped over in his seat, just looking terrible. I felt his forehead and he was burning up. So we run to catch the train home, the next one was an hour later, and caught it just on time. He was on fire, screaming his head off, and I could not console him. After about ten minutes of this, I started crying. It was the first time I've not been able to get one of the kids to stop crying by holding them. I was just so worried, he got so sick, so quick. I'm not freakishly overprotective, or worrisome about illness, but this time I was a little nervous. I started stressing that it was the swine flu. Everyone down here has it and he's only had half his flu shot, because they ran out before he got the other half. He kept crying, then puked on the floor and luckily, we made it back to our station. After a few more hours of screaming he fell asleep. He cried throughout the night and his fever never got any better. I called the after hours line and they told me, do the Tylenol thing, keep him hydrated, keep an eye on him, etc. So the next morning, he wasn't any better and I was able to get into the weekend doc really quickly. They tested him for the flu, which was negative, thank the Lord, and then they diagnosed him with hand, foot and mouth. Which is viral, so we just have to wait it out. He slept most of the day Saturday, most of the day Sunday, and by Sunday evening, he was felling better. He slept great last night, and has been almost back to normal today. The other kids have not shown any signs of getting it yet, and hopefully it will stay that way. I'm a Lysol spraying, Clorox wiping machine. And so far it seems to be working.

This is Charlie baby on the train half an hour before he got sick, look how cute and healthy he looks!

First day of school!

A couple of weeks ago, the kids started school. They go Tuesdays and Thursdays. They absolutely LOVE it. This year, they have chapel, art, music and Spanish. When they come home they sing all their songs, and they almost have the ABC's down. They love counting to ten and show me all the time how they learned to pray with their hands folded. They are always totally worn out when they get home. They take a short nap, but it's not quite long enough. So needless to say, the afternoon is filled with meltdowns and exhaustion, and and early evening bedtime. But they love it and it gives Charlie and me some alone time to just hang out. So here are some pics from their first and second day of school.

Charlie is ten months old!

T-minus two months until Charlie baby is one year old! Crazy! His awesomeness has not changed, but plenty has. He has eight teeth with four more almost in. He is so close to walking it's scary. He is now letting go of things and taking four or five steps to try to reach something. But then he gives up and crawl because he is way faster that way. He is down to four bottles a day. He eats one about six in the morning. And then he eats breakfast with the rest of us. He eats whatever the big kids eat, and almost as much. Pancakes, waffles, fruit (bananas and grapes). And then he eats a bottle about ten and goes down for a nap. Lunch is harder because we eat alot of different kinds sandwiches and wraps so he usually eats mac and cheese or leftovers from the night before. After a bottle at two, he takes another nap. Dinner has led us to discover he is the least picky eater of the bunch. Baked salmon, tuna, chicken casserole, you name it, he will eat it. And then after a bath and bottle at seven, it's off to bed. He is still sleeping great, thank the Lord, and wakes up happy as a clam in the morning.

Here are pics of the big man with his bear, along with the trips for comparison

Charlie 10 months

Hudson 10 months

Ella 10 months

Carter 10 months

Look who's walkin' now!

The Big Timer is starting to cruise. And not by pushing his little car around. I mean real time walking. OK, so not alot, but he did take several steps last night by himself. Here's the video proof.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Isn't that awesome! And to answer some questions. Yes those are the kids in the background cheering him on. They like to watch through the little screen on the camera and say "Hi" to whoever they see, hence my goofy waving at the camera. And no those are not leg warmers Charlie is wearing. Those are cut up socks I put on his legs because his poor tiny little baby knees are bright red and beat up and raw. They just look painful. And the two little dogs in the back on the blanket covered "doggy seat", as the kids call it, are Kirby and Klunkers.