~WE SURVIVED 4 YEARS~

Well I guess we made it! Looking back It's a blur, but some highlights are: Climbing out of cribs, stripping nude at nap time, pouring hot chocolate all over couches, biting the living hell out of each other, climbing in bed and falling asleep together, painting everything with finger nail polish, taking a permanent marker to Izzy's walls, climbing every counter top and closet in the house, peeing together at the same time in the same potty, and the list goes on and on........ I wouldn't change a thing about these two handsome little devils!!!!

When we started talking about birthday cakes this is what they came up with...

A cow for Jack...

Spencer wanted a lemur!!! A few weeks ago in the car he said to me "Mommy I wish I was a lemur." So precious!!

Here are the smiley boys! Looking forward to whatever age 4 may bring!!!

~REMISSION~

We are finally done with chemo for our pooch!!!!! We have been going every 3 weeks since September!!! Louie is in remission, and acting like a puppy again. He's still enjoying his NO dog food diet of chicken, beef, rice, ricotta and cottage cheese. A long with his multi vitamin!!! He has been spoiled. We love him soo much. He is a big part of our family. Our new theme is "LIVE STRONG LOUIE"! Now we just need to get shirts and bracelets made!! Hoping to keep that cancer out of his body and enjoy him in our family even longer!

~CATCHING UP~

Here are a few highlights of Christmas! I have been a slacker on the blogging lately! I have some pictures of our Thanksgiving, but we spent it in our P.j's with 4 swine infested children! I have to say it was kind of nice to not leave the house and just spend it together!!! This first picture is Christmas Eve! This is Jack after staying up late at Aunt Monica's!! We didn't even get to put on their new Christmas pajama's and drink their hot chocolate! Look at my little soldier Spence! Grandma and Grandpa sent him this for Christmas!

A dream come true! Addy finally got her American Girl doll! Right after opening this she got a horrible stomach ache, took a nap, missed breakfast and going over to Nana's for dinner. Later that night I started throwing up for 24 hours straight... Happy Holiday's ha ha! She also told me that the Elf who wrapped her present gave her the sick germ!!

I had to post this picture! My little Spencer has the most sensitive nose. Sometimes he will gag if he doesn't like the smell of something. It has been so bad that I thought he may throw up! I know this is too much information, but sometimes while he is on the potty I will find him plugging his own nose in disgust!! Too funny! I don't know what was going on here but he was not happy about the smell!

My little monkeys....

We had a great Christmas! We are blessed to have family here and across the country!

~HALLOWEEN 2009~

Thank goodness Matt remembered to take pictures this year! Notice all the kids are lined up against the same wall for a photo!! We had friends over this year and I completely forgot to get out the camera.. except for the bottom picture! This is our "pretty" witch! She picked this one out because she liked the outfit!!! She also asked for the mole on her cheek! I call these two boys my monkeys... so that's what they were this year! Matt wanted them to be Beavis and Butthead, I had to say no to that one!!!

Lincoln is growing up!! For the first year he decided against being someone from star wars!! He was Eli Manning, his favorite quarterback! He is also over the whole "cute" trick or treat bag and decided a pillow case worked better for him!!!

Jack, my other little Monkey!!!!

Last but not least...the witch with her brew!!! The kids drank so much punch they barely ate any dinner! They love the frozen hands and fingers floating around in the brew!!! We had a great time in our new neighborhood and it stopped raining just in time!!!

MY LITTLE PUMPKINS.....

We have enjoyed a couple nice fall days at the pumpkin patches!! Getting excited for costumes and candy!!! This is a farm that we visit every Columbus day! They have so many great things for kids! It was cold this year though!!!

Jack trying to decide which pumpkin he wants...

Spencer deciding to lay down with the pumpkins! We love fall!

SEPTEMBER.....

It has taken us some time to adjust to the new school schedule around here!!! I think we are finally understanding that we cant stay up late and that we have to take more baths!!!! This is a picture of my "biggest bestest" helper Jack! He is a dream come true. He scrubs toilets ,washes counters, dishes and now vacuums!!! He is a gift from Heaven!!!! On a sad note, we found out that our best furry child Lou has Lymphoma. I could tell when we got home from Utah that he wasn't feeling well. He just turned 9 this summer. I am devastated and I am glad that Matt was with me at the oncologist appt. I was barely able to speak! He is a huge part of our family. He has been through everything with us, each pregnancy, each house, each child. He had his first chemo appt 2 weeks ago and is back to his playful self. Although we know it is not a cure we are enjoying every moment spent with him. He has enjoyed his 3 home cooked meals of chicken, rice and beef!! He is an angel to me and I cant imagine him not in our family! This is part of his morning routine, he goes up stairs after eating and looks in the closet or bathroom for my p.j's from the night before! Then he carries it around and lays at the top of the stairs with it!! It is pretty cute!

On to preschool!!!! This is the boys first day of "big" school! As you can see Spencer was ready to go and Jack was anxiously eating his shirt!! Now each day when we pass this bench they ask me to take their picture!! My big boys!!
Lincoln and Addy day 1 of school!!! Lincoln has been great walking her to class and taking care of her on the bus!

And last but not least... Addy lost her first tooth!! It was loose for months and she would not allow anyone to touch it! She was terrified it would hurt when it came out! We got lucky and it fell out while eating a turkey sandwich! There was no blood, no drama!

ONE MORE VACATION POST!!!!

We had another great vacation, spending time in Utah and California!! We look forward to it every year!!! This is the kids outside of San Diego. A great beach day!! Lincoln and I both tried out the boogie board this year!!

Rachel hosted Addy's birthday party for us! It is always nice to celebrate with our family!!

This year Addy and the twins were much braver at the beach!! They got in the water and loved it!

I love this picture of Dempsey and Spencer smiling and having a conversation...so cute!!! They played well together this year.. there was no hair pulling or hitting!!!! scroll down for more vacation pictures.................................