Upward

Christian played basketball for the first time this year.  As always, we chose Upward as they have a great program.


Christian's coach quit after the first practice and they were in need for someone to step up.  one of the parents would do it so Joshua stepped up to the plate.  He is an awesome big brother for doing so and he did a great job with the kids!

A look alike

Rylen and Christian wore their ties to church like their big brither did!!

Morning Convo

I just love my morning conversations with my boys cuddled on the couch.

Today it went like this:
Ry talking to me "how did you get this age? Did you used to be three?".
Me "yes i was three once"
Christian "yeah she was three then she got married".

Then they immediately go into a staring contest to see whose eyes are bigger.

Late Night

It was another late night of practice for the play.  These boys get dragged around and never complain.  He watched quietly until he fell asleep.

Brothers

I have seen such a change in Joshua over the last couple of months.  He has really started to mature and been such a great helper with his little brothers.  He has been playing with them more and really started to listen to what they are wanting and making sure that he is the first to step up and take care of it for them.  I caught this picture of them playing over the Christmas break.  Christian and Rylen were having so much fun hanging on him and trying to tackle him down!

Codey & Rylen

Codey was playing so well with Rylen when I took these pictures.  It makes a Momma proud when they are getting along this well. 

(Even though it is most of the time still wish it could be all of the time!) 

 

Duck Pond Outing

We took a quick trip to the Duck Pond one day when we had a little time to spare.  I caught some cute pics of Rylen and Christian just hanging out together.

Make a Smilebox collage

All Cuddled Up

Last night Jeremy declared a movie night after dinner and we sat down to watch "Hoosiers" as a family and everyone declared their own area of the living room. As we were watching I noticed Rylen cuddled up with Joshua on the couch. Just a few seconds later Jeremy noticed them also and grabbed the camera to get this shot...

Rylen was so cute cuddled up next to "Boss" as he calls him, since he can't say Joshua. They caught Jeremy as the flash went off and just started smiling at each other...

I love it when they are loving on each other! It makes me feel as if maybe, just maybe, we are doing something right.

Camp Out and a Movie

A few weeks ago Christian asked me to make him a tent in the living room and then we put a movie in. When I came back in the room he and Rylen were camping out together and watching the movie. The tent only lasted about 30 minutes after they started playing but they sure had a great time, and some great brother bonding to go with it!

Our Other Brother

Here are the three oldest boys with their new haircuts. I wouldn't let Jeremy get his hands on Rylen's golden locks!! Joshua and Christian favor one another but we will have to wait to get one with Codey and his twin at a later date. He is still my baby for now!

Thing 1, Thing 2

Joshua & Codey got haircuts Wednesday from their Daddy and he did a great job! Well, on Thursday morning Christian decided that he wanted his cut also. Jeremy, knowing how I feel about Christian's hair, told him there was a mandatory waiting period and that if he still wanted it cut when he got home from work he would cut it for him. Mandatory waiting period? What does that mean to a three year old? Tell him again? Like he would remember, right? Well, Christian started asking when Daddy would be home and he asked on and off for hours. Finally, as soon as Jeremy walked in the door Christian ran up to him and said "Daddy I want my hair cut!". Jeremy just looked at me and I said okay. So, here we have it. We always said they resembled each other in many ways. Now they look like twins born at different times.

PS...Christian keeps running his hands along his hair and keeps saying "Hey Mom, feel!". It is soooo cute!!

The Best Big Brothers

The boys were going to go on a bike ride and Christian got upset that he could not go with them. We told him that when they got back they would pull him around the circle. Well, many minutes later Jeremy went out to check on them and this is what he saw...

Codey had hooked up the wagon to his bike so he could pull Christian around the circle and he could go with them their first trip around. What great brothers!!

Bach and Beethoven

It seems we have two budding musicians in our home now. We received a piano from dear St. Nick this past Christmas and the kids love playing around on it. Though we haven't ventured into lessons yet they can make up some prettty good songs on their own. Today we were surprised with an impromptu concert from what seemed like Mr. Bach and Mr. Beethoven themselves, though they must have been inspired from a performance of Jerry Lee Lewis somewhere along the way. It was a little noisy, but a lot cute! And, yes, I did get pictures the first time!!

Oh, and by the way, Bach and Beethoven, or Jerry Lee Lewis for that matter, have nothing on these guys!!

Going To Miss This...

I caught Joshua reading to Rylen this evening and just had to get a quick picture. The book that he is reading to Rylen was one of his favorites when he was little. Hard to believe we still have it, and it is in decent shape, after all of these years! We are certainly going to miss Joshua this next school year. Maybe we should reconsider him going back to school?! (Just Kidding BossMan!) :) Anyway, thanks for being such a great big brother, Joshua!!

Boys of Summer

Need I say more? Looks like we have MANY years of baseball ahead!! GOTTA LOVE IT!!!!

Boy Fun

It seems like everytime I have turned around this past week Rylen is following Christian or trying to copy him exaclty. It has been so fun to watch them. Especially since they remind me of Joshua and Codey when they were their ages. Well, Thursday was no exception. This was one of the many times I found them together. They were having so much fun in the wheelbarrow. They were carrying on a conversation and just talking things over. I must have watched them for 15 minutes before I caught some quick pictures. These two are truly a blessing!!

A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words

Battle of the Brothers

Okay, so we have two boys and two teams in the same league, there has gotta be some conflict at some time right? Well, the last two nights have been the Diamondbacks (Joshua) vs. the Astros (Codey) and boy has it been nerve-racking for Mom! Joshua's team won the the first game on Friday night with a score of 9 to 8. It was a good game all around and everyone played hard to the end. The game was won by a call by the umpire at first base...Since he called the runner safe the winning run came in to the plate. VERY controversial when you have two brothers playing each other. But, like I told them...The call was good for Joshua's team and bad for Codey's.

Now on to Saturday. I guess you can imagine all of the talking that was going on all day so here are the results...Codey's team won the second game Saturday night with a score of 8 to 7. Once again, it was a good game all around and everyone played hard to the end. Here is the kicker' and the way the game ended Saturday night...Bottom of the 4th inning and Joshua is pitching, bases are loaded with two outs, the first pitch to the batter was a strike right down the middle, the second pitch was the same exact pitch and the batter nailed a line-drive past second base and the winning run came in to the plate. Game over. Want to know the kicker'? The batter that drove in the winning run off of Joshua was none other than his little brother Codey! At least now they are even at one win each! It was a great two nights of baseball!!

Maybe there is Hope!

Sometimes as a mom I wonder if anything I am doing is really making a difference, especially when it comes to Brogan and Codey getting along and being nice to each other. Well, the other day I had a glimmer of hope! Brogan and Christian wanted to go in the backyard to play baseball. Codey, hearing baseball, asked if he could pitch them some balls for them to hit. I thought that with Codey out there there would surely be arguing within 5 minutes. To my surprise they were out there for over an hour with NO arguing! I watched them from the window with a smile as Joshua and Codey both helped Brogan and Christian with their stance as they were batting and fielding, and thought to myself "this IS working and there IS hope!". I took these pictures from the window inside the house so as not to disturb the bonding that was going on. I tried to call Jeremy while I was in the moment but couldn't get him. They were so cute!

Rylen wanted to get in on the action but I wouldn't let him outside.

Here he is with Christian's batbag.

Trying It On For Size

Baseball season is up and running for us and this year everyone that is eligible is playing. Yep...That means four ball teams all at the same time! Brogan is playing softball this year (her first) and her little brothers had to make sure her equipment will stand the test. They had a blast "trying it on for size"!