January Events....

A few things that I guess I had not posted yet, but should have were the miscellaneous events in January. Titus continues to grow, and he is a smiling one. He has never met a stranger yet.

Elise had her first dance and ballet recital. She had really enjoyed these classes, and so she is in the class again this semester. Here she is with her 'team' of girls and her wonderful teacher Miss. Andrea.


Josiah received a gold metal in Karate, he really enjoyed his lessons but has decided to take basketball, baseball and soccer at the YMCA this Spring/summer.





Here my two big kids have made their first ginger bread homes...they are covered in big sweets! They both enjoyed the creating, and especially the eating.



Titus is a blessing, he often resorts to naps on the go because of all our activity! Here is my sweet one in a cat nap.

Now you see it.....

Now you don't! Josiah has now joined the ranks of the toothless. Yes, my oldest child lost his first tooth (surprisingly by natural means) just a few short days ago. He is quite proud. He was very courageous (and so was Mom) when it came time to remove the dangler, but he knew there would be a prize under his pillow if he indeed let the tooth be removed. Here is the boy before ....

and after.

Now we just need to do something about the wind tunnel sound that seems to accompany him where ever he goes!

Inauguration Day....

of the Zipfy, that is! All I asked for Christmas this year was a shiny, speedy Zipfy luge. People were shocked at my request for 2 reasons I think: 1. I am 30. 2. this state is not known for having weather cold enough to freeze. But I knew that the opportunity would arise, and if not this year, maybe next. To my wonderful surprise we awoke to an unexpected blanket of snow thickly covering our backyard.

So without further introduction, here are the first runs of the Zipfy!

Elise is plowing through the fresh snow.

Josiah and Elise smoothing a path.

Just these two, but I am sending these photos now, because I am pretty sure that I will have my hands full of wet clothes in a few minutes when the kids come in!

Offseason?

For my Christmas gift, Mike gave me an experience. I was delighted to accompany my family to Myrtle Beach! We did this after New Years, and so naturally the weather was rather cool, but we had an amazing time together. Although we did not see Blackbeard, the kids still enjoyed the "Pirates Prison."

Yes, all of the kids!

The evening we arrived, we told the kids we were just going to walk on the beach a bit, since the sun was going down and the air was cool. They did their best to stay 'mostly' out of the water.

This is as far as Josiah's ambitions got him the first night, when he tried to build a sandcastle. However, I promised him we would be back the following day to give it another go.

Elise enjoyed carrying sand around, throwing it around, and then digging up more.

This was Titus' posture for most of our beach time. I loved having him snuggled in so close, especially since it will probably be the last time I get to carry him in this sort of way. I am sure he will be another explorer in the ranks when we visit the beach next time!

After a wonderful dinner at a local hole in the wall "Mr. Fish", we headed to the hotel. We made the decision to go swimming. Mike took the older two in, while I got Titus dressed in his swimsuit for the first time....and did a little photo shoot!

Here he and his daddy adventure the water together. Do not mistake Titus' face for fear, no, this child was intensely kicking!

The other two joined in a photo, but only for a moment. They too enjoy splashing around a lot more than posing for Mom's pictures.

Now if this photo doesn't speak of a good day, I don't know what would. Krispy Kremes, Starbucks, kicked off shoes, and a wide open beach for enjoying!

And here we are enjoying it!

It was a lot warmer this morning, and so the kids were given a lot more freedom to be wet!

And, much to Josiah's delight, there was the building of a sandcastle. Michael, the head architect, made sure to include seashell walls for solidarity and design, a pyramid, and both interior and exterior walls and gates.

Sharing Our Joy with the World

The First Feeding

With eager anticipation, Titus eyed his first spoon of solid foods. The famous dish of baby rice cereal was about to be served.




Upon his first taste, Titus was not as anxious and devourous as I had expected. My assumption is that he is holding out for the real good stuff. "Mom, could we just get to the meat already?"

Ziah's Birthday

Here's to a Happy Birthday. We had a great time and loved all that were able to celebrate with us this year.