Easter Weekend 2014

You ever have one of those weekends that is just perfect? Easter Weekend was like that for us. Just a wonderful, wonderful weekend!

Good Friday we got a call that there was an alligator in the lake right down the road and at the Wildlife and Fisheries was headed there to kill it. So, of course, I loaded up all three kids (Clint was working) to see the alligator! The wildlife guy made an impressive shot, and then drug the gator onto shore. What a memorable experience!!

  

Friday afternoon and most of the day Saturday we spent some time on the lake fishing for brim. Clint took each big kid out, and then Jack and I spent some time out. We caught 16 fish all together. It was so relaxing and perfect weather!!

Easter morning my mom drove up for church. Because I'm the preschool/children's coordinator, I got to church early to set up for the many kiddos that would come on Easter. Clint and I taught 2s and 3s the first service, and then were able to attend worship the second service. I was so excited to see so many new faces!

A rare picture of all five of us!

My three wonderful blessings

The kids Easter baskets waiting for them Sunday morning!

Sunday afternoon we went to the Strains house and had lunch and an Easter Egg Hunt. Then we went to Dry Creek for the Iles Family Crawfish Boil. It was a wonderful day and we were completely exhausted at the end of it!

Spring 2014

After SUCH a cold winter and weeks upon weeks being indoors with a newborn and then 8 snow/ice days, we are LOVING the spring time. Sometimes we sit outside just to sit there. We have taken many picnics, gone through lots of sidewalk chalk, and we have caught 16 fish as a family so far (I know that may not seem like much...but it is when you fish with a 7 and 4 four year old in a kayak!!)

Sydney and Jack have both been enjoying sidewalk chalk.

A group of friends over for Sydney's birthday

Playing in our wonderful yard!!

Lazy spring morning working on the alphabet...Ellen just thinks Sydney is hilarious!!

Picnic lunch at the neighborhood boat launch. 

 Ellen doesn't start preschool until the summer, so she is my working companion at home this spring. It has been wonderful to be home with her for so long, but I will be happy to have some working days without a baby on my hip!

Clint started a new job with Roy O. Martin, which means he had to turn in the truck to his former employer and get a new truck. I can drive this truck!! Sydney and I took it to the flea market one day. I could be dangerous if I drove a truck full-time!

Jack's 7th Birthday (Three Weeks Ago)

Can you believe Jack Iles is SEVEN  YEARS OLD!! He is definitely a big boy now....no trace of preschool-days or toddlerhood left. He is changing before our eyes and it is so strange to have such an OLD kid!! It's also weird that I have moved up into the group of "the older moms"....  you know, the ones who have school-aged kids? I used to think those moms were old. Now I AM that mom.

We had a simple party at the house. Jack invited the boys in his class, along with some other friends, over to play basketball and eat pizza. They all had a great time. The Long family also came in that weekend, and it was so good to catch up with them and hang out with their kids! John and Leanne were our Mississippi family Jack's first year of life, so it was fun to share his 7th birthday with them, also!

At age seven, Jack loves: 

• All things science...he got a volcano kit and a robot kit from us for his birthday!
• Legos. The more challenging the better!
• Running. We have signed him up for a big race next January and he already can't wait!
• His sisters. He and Sydney argue and fuss, but they play so well most of the time! And he adores Ellen!!
• Reading. He participates in AR at school and is the reigning champ for 1st grade. We have been majorly slacking this nine weeks though :-/

We are so thankful for this big boy, and cannot wait for the next decade of parenting him!!

3, 4, and 5 Months

Ellen Elisabeth has almost reached the 6 month mark! I thought I would catch the blog up on the last three months of Ellen growing up!

Three Months:

Ellen began sleeping through the night very consistently, and cried much, much less. Those first three month were pretty rough!! However, when she turned three months old life seemed to get a lot easier! At three months, Ellen loved to sit in her Bumbo seat and her bouncy seat and watch her older siblings play and talk. We loved playing a game at supper where she sat in her Bumbo seat and faced each member of the family for a minute or two before facing the next family member. We would all see who could get her to smile the most, and Mommy always won!

At four months, Ellen hit a growth spurt and went a couple of weeks of waking up once each night. She would take a full bottle then go right back to sleep. After about two weeks, she started sleeping through the night again. At four months, Ellen was still a happy baby, but especially happy on the move. She wasn't content to be still for too long before wanting to be picked up to do something else. She especially liked playing on the floor. At 4 1/2 months she started rolling over and holding her head up well while on her belly. She didn't really like being on her belly once she got there, though!

At five months, Ellen is sleeping 11-12 hours each night and taking 3-4 naps during the day. She is such a happy baby and really doesn't cry much unless she is hungry or sleepy. However, she is very attached to her mommy and doesn't do very well in the nursery or Mother's Day Out. This summer she will start at Calvary Preschool three days a week while I work, and I'm hoping she will outgrow some of the separation anxiety. She and I spend 24/7 together except for those few hours of MDO, so she has grown very accustomed to me being in the room with her :)  We started baby food this week, and I really didn't expect her to like it much, but she loved it!! I'm glad I waited until she was almost six months!

We are so blessed with this little joy in our home. Tonight as we all took turns giving her bites of carrots, I said, "Aren't you glad God gave us another baby?" and Jack and Sydney whole-heartily agreed.