Fun in the Sun!

Our daddy was off of work today so we thought we would head out to Mickler's Landing beach in Ponte Vedra. I personally don't care for the beach but the kids really loved it. I guess anything is better than doing schoolwork! What they don't realize, is that they will do Friday's work on Saturday!!



Noah met a fisherman who had caught a baby shark from the beach. The man was very nice to let Noah and Hannah hold it. Jacob and Noelle wanted nothing to do with it! I for sure wasn't going in the water after we saw that!!!




Fun in the sun!!



This was Luke's first trip to the beach. I have to say he was less than impressed. Actually, he hated it. We thought he would love it because he loves the bath and when we go swimming at the YMCA but he freaked out evertime a wave came along. He held on for dear life!!

After the trauma of the waves, he fell asleep on the blanket.

Noah ~ 9 years old

This is Noah at 9 years old. He too is on the birthday countdown. Noelle calls him her "little" brother even though he is only 11 minutes younger than her. He hates it when she does that!!

Noelle ~ 9 years old

I had these pictures taken of Noelle 2 weeks ago. I think they turned out really good. She is already on the birthday count down since she will be 10 years old in November. Double digits, you know!!

Surprise!!

My Grandma (on my moms side) came down for a visit from Indiana. We hadn't seen her since last March and she hadn't seen Luke at all yet. She arrived late Saturday night. Too late to actually do anything. On Sunday after church we went out to lunch with my Uncle Buddy, my Dad, Connie and Sierra. What my Grandma didn't know is that I had planned a surprise party at my house after lunch for her 79th birthday which was the day after she left here. I stalled her long enough for everybody to get to my house. Boy was she surprised!!

My 2 Grandma's

My two Grandma's.

Homemade chicken & noodles

My Grandma taught the girls how to make made-from-scratch noodles and dinner rolls. My kitchen had flour everywhere but they had the best time! It was well worth it. We had the chicken & noodles with mashed potatoes and homemade dinner rolls that night for dinner. Man, there is nothing like Grandma's cooking!!

Strawberry Tea Room

I took the girls and my Grandma to the Strawberry Tea Room on Tuesday for light afternoon tea. She really like it. She said that she had never done anything like that before. What a special time that was for us four girls. I know I will never forget it!

What a cutie!!

I just thought these were cute. I had to post them!

Sweet Peas for the Sweet Pea

Luke had his first veggie today when he tried sweet peas. He LOVED it!! He did really well with it and even held it down. He is growing and changing so much.

I am also happy to report that he has finally rolled over and on purpose not by accident. He was a little late on that because he doesn't get put down much. As you can imagine, with 6 people in the house everybody wants their fair share of Luke time and there is only so many hours in a day.

A New Year

The dreaded has has finally arrived. Another year of homeschooling has now begun. I can't believe that this is our sixth year already.

Jacob and Hannah started FLVS (Florida Virtual School) on Monday. It's all done online and they have real teachers to report to. One of the advantages of being a homeschooler is that you can get a head start on high school credits. Jacob is in 8th grade but is taking three high school classes. Pretty cool, right?

Noah and Noelle started 4th grade on Thursday but they still are doing book work. I look forward to the day that they get to start FLVS in 6th grade. That will free me up a lot!

Too cute!

I took this picture of Luke for his photo book and thought it was so cute. It's hard to believe he will be 5 months old on Thursday.

Luke's first teeth

Well, we got up this morning and noticed that Luke's first two teeth had come through. He got both bottom teeth at the same time. I guess that's better than one at a time just to get them done and over with. Matt thinks I should think about weaning him since he bit me this morning but I hoping he will stop that. I'm not ready to give it up yet.

Shutterfly photo book

I made a photo book for Luke over the last couple of days. This link take you to their website to view it. Hopefully you are able to access it. I hope you like it. I worked really long and hard on it.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/project/0AZNHLho1Zt2LiI/landing

Babysitting Class & Luke

Hannah and Jacob took a babysitting class at the hospital on Saturday. Hannah needed it because she is babysitting regularly now. Not only does she have her regular two day a week job but she also has a couple more jobs lined up. We joke because my 12 year old makes more money than I do! Ahhhh, to be 12, have money and no responsibility!! Those were the days! Jacob took the class so that Matt and I feel more comfortable leaving Luke here with him. He is always asking when Luke gets to stay with him. He got really lucky because as it turned out he was one of three boys in the class. The lady said that never happens! It's usually always all girls.

And an update on Luke....I took him back to the Dr on Friday. They wanted to see him because I called to tell them that he was still congested and coughing like crazy. She wanted to make sure it hadn't turned into pneumonia. It hadn't but he does now have an ear infection. So now on top of the nebulizer he is also taking an antibiotic. Does it ever end? He is costing me a small fortune!! But he is so worth it since he is so cute. But the good news is that, today, he seems to be doing much better.

Poor Baby

I had taken Luke to the DR last week because he was coughing really bad but the DR said he had a cold and I should continue to give him the cough syrup, elevate his bed and use a cool mist humidifier. If he didn't improve I should bring him back. Well, he didn't. Now he had a runny nose and a congested head and chest. He hasn't slept well in a week now which means I don't sleep well. I was told this morning he now has bronchitis. They gave him a nebulizer breathing treatment in the office and sent us home with a nebulizer to give him treatments at home every four hours. Let me just say...he hates that thing!! He screamed somthing horrible at the DR office this morning while he had that mask on his face. The nurse said that its good if he cries because then we know he is inhaling the medicine. I just hope he feels better soon.

These are pictures of Luke taking one of his treatments. He just looks so pathetic that I had to post it.

Luke ~ 18 weeks

The kids spent the night at my dad and Connie's house last night so that Matt and I could have a date since he had his first Friday off in months. We hadn't been out on a date since before we had Luke. It was so nice to get out!!

Hannah, Noelle and I had a girls afternoon out today. We went to lunch at Texas Roadhouse and then we were off to the mall to have Luke's picture taken and to do a bit of shopping. Matt, Jacob and Noah had a boys afternoon out as well. They went to play putt-putt golf and to the baseball card shop for "trade day". We all had a great day although we were so tired when we got home.

Here are pictures that were taken of Luke today at 18 weeks old. He is just the sweetest thing! He has learned to give kisses already. Nothing like getting one of those open mouth, slobbering kisses from a baby. I had reported that he had his first cereal but we had to stop that because he threw up every time he had it. The DR told us to try again at 6 months old. Oh well!! I am happy to report that he slept all night long last night. He went from 8:30pm to 7am. Let's see if he can make a habit out of it!! I am curious to see what tonight will bring.