::the old ball game::

Chloe's playing machine pitch softball, and Port's playing t-ball. So, we've been in a baseball-ish mood lately. Lots of catch in the backyard, lots of batting to each other, running bases, etc. It's been pretty fun. It reminds me of when I was little and we used to play with my dad. I remember ALWAYS playing catch in the backyard-my dad, my brother, and me. We would spend forever outside just throwing the ball back and forth to each other. I loved it.

They both had their first games last week (Monday for Chloe, Thursday for Port). I forgot my camera at Chloe's game. She did really great! The machine is a new thing...it comes pretty fast. She was SO nervous before her game. She'd only had one practice with her team and was just really scared. "Mom what if I don't hit the ball??" I just told her to do her best and have fun. She got up to bat, and hit it!! She was a little surprised, and stood there for a sec, and we yelled "Go, Chloe, go!!" and she ran to first base. She got out, but at least she hit it and ran. Her second at bat (they only batted twice), she hit it again and got on base, and eventually scored! We were so proud and excited. So since she did so well, she says she wants to play every single sport there is.

Port's t-ball game was just cute. Matt isn't coaching this year, but we know his coach, and he's pretty great. They held a little practice right before the game just to sort of make sure the kids know which direction to run and all that kind of stuff. At this age, that's all you can do. His game was so funny! The kids were running all over the place, some didn't even touch the bases, they just ran in a small circle in the field and then to home, one kid ran to 3rd base after he hit the ball, and another just ran out into the middle of the field after he hit and everyone was yelling from the bleachers telling him where to go. When somebody hit the ball, all the outfielders would run to get it--it looked more like a football game.

Portie did good too! He scored twice and he got to be catcher once. He's not much of a fan of playing outfield. He gets bored and starts playing with the dirt and writing things in it with his shoes. I don't blame him.



I'm excited to go to more games and watch 'em play.
We're glad they love it so much :)


In other news...
Everyone's FINALLY feeling better! That was a rough couple of weeks! And "BeeAva" never got sick, so that's good.

::sister babies::

A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life.

~Isadora James

Chloe (age 7 1/2) and Ava (3 months)

Chloe is so happy to have a sister. She's always concerned about her, always wanting to hold her, talk to her, play with her. The love she shows her baby sister is beyond words. She's genuinely, completely happy to finally have a sister. She wants to help with her in any ways she can. She gets very upset when Ava cries I hope they will always be close, and always love each other. I don't have a sister in my life so I can't speak from experience, but I do see the preciousness and value of the relationship of sisters. I hope theirs will be strong and everlasting.

::sick::

Our whole house is sick!
(well almost the whole house)

4 stuffy noses.2 sore throats.1 earache.1 sinus infection.3 fevers.
4 headaches.3 sick eyes.3 prescriptions.2 trips to the pharmacy.
1 dr. visit.2 absences from school.2 thrower uppers.
4 coughs.2 achey bodies.

...and a partridge in a pear tree.

(the sickies)

(the (mostly) wellies)

::performance night::

Last week we had performance night for gymnastics for Chloe and Porter.

Port's was first...








He did awesome! He's gotten a lot stronger and more coordinated since he started back in August. It's been fun to watch.

(Portie (5) and his teacher, Miss Jaquee)

Chloe's performance night was Tuesday. She did great too! She switched midyear from power tumbling to all-around. She was just a little bored with power tumbling and her favorite teacher left, and just wanted a change.






She was fun to watch. It was fun to see what she can do! She's got good flexibility, a great memory (for her routines), and good form!


(Chloe (7 1/2) and her trophy)

It was fun to watch them. They both did so great--especially since there were SO many people watching! It's really fun to watch them do well at something they really love :)

::2 months old::

Our tiny girl is 2 months old!



2 month stats...
weight: 12 lbs. 2 oz. (76th)
height: 24 1/4" (95th)
head: 37.8" (25th-it's a tiny little head)

She's such a sweet baby! We're loving every little bit of her!

@ 2 months, she...
~loves to smile, and smiles with her WHOLE body~
~LOVES to be talked to~
~goo-goos~
~says "ohh" and "wah"~
~likes to kick her legs~
~still sticks her tongue out all the time~
~has an awesome double chin~
~is getting chubby-and it's so cute!~
~likes to be held so she can see what's going on~
~gets mad if she's got a dirty diaper~
~loves to cuddle~
~loves to be held~
~cries when she needs to burp~
~always falls alseep in the car~
~eats a lot~
~doesn't love being on her tummy~
~loves to wave her arms around~
~spits up a lot~
~still sleeps a lot~

Speaking of sleep...

She started sleeping through the night @ about 8 weeks old, and she sleeps in her own room.
And it's so nice :)



We just love our girl. She's so sweet and so much fun.
She's a good baby, and we all just can't get enough of her. Especially her brothers and sister. They're always trying to kiss her and hug her. They all love to hold her. They share their toys with her and their "mummas." Bubb even offered his "beeky" to her when she was crying--now that's love!

::my beautiful girls::

These are just some random little pictures. I hate when I don't use a picture in a post. I love these, but never managed to use them anywhere, so I thought maybe I'd just do a dumb little post about nothing.

This one was taken on Ava's blessing day. Right after I fed her, Chloe wanted to hold her for a minute while she watched the rest of Bubble Guppies (dumb name, but a pretty cute show). I thought she looked particularly beautiful in this picture.


Ava's about 4 weeks old in this picture. I took it because she was really into the lights on her swing. She was making all kinds of faces at them, and she was just so wide-eyed.

In other news...
Port's sick. He's been sick since Sunday. It started out with a fever, sore throat, runny nose, and general icky feeling. Yesterday he started to feel worse...higher fever (102) and "throw upping." Poor boy! I felt so bad for him. We took Ava to the dr. for her 2 month check up (more on that later), and he suddenly got a bloody nose. It was his first ever, and totally out of the blue. He also keeps telling us how bad his head hurts. It's horrible when there's nothing you can do to make them feel better. He slept with us last night, and was pretty miserable. Some time during the middle of the night, he was crying and said "I don't wanna die!!" I wanted to cry. I just felt SO bad for him, and started to get a little scared at what he said. I looked up his symptons on Web MD. Meningitis, Leukemia, all those horrible diseases plagued my mind; and of course, being the worrier that I am, I talked myself into the possibility that he might have some horrible illness (the random bloody nose kind of contributed to my paranoia). He's feeling better this morning-thank goodness!

::the graduate::

We've had a few big graduations this year. Cousin Jordan graduated from high school, Uncle J graduated from college, and...

Port graduated from preschool!


We went and watched a little program. The kids wore graduation caps (all except Port-he carried his). They sang us some songs and did a little dancin' (not Port-he doesn't dance).


(Portie on the first day.................................................and on the last day.)

The kids got to stand up on this little platform and get their diplomas and a couple of books. The teachers talked a little about each kid and gave them awards.


Portie got the "Disney Imagineer" award because he loves characters so much. First it was Buzz Lightyear, and now it's Mario. I'm glad they can recognize individual traits in each child and call attention to it in a way that makes them feel special. He was excited to get the award (and the diploma).



Portie and his teachers.

(Miss Tammy, Porter (age 5), and Miss Michelle)

::end of the year swim party::

Since Port's preschool has a swimming pool, they always have a swim party at the end of the year.

Yesterday was the day...

It was 45 degrees and cloudy. But none of the kids even cared. The pool's heated, so that makes it nice for 'em.



And poor Bubb. He wanted to swim too, but he couldn't.

They splashed and played for about an hour and a half and then we went in to practice their songs for graduation and have a snack. I took Port home a little early because he was SOO cold from swimming and wearing a wet swim suit.