Legoland

 

When Jackson was younger he used to spend hours building with his lego duplo blocks.   We have ALOT of them.  Over the last couple of years, he still plays with them sometimes, but he's more excited about "little legos."   The problem with little legos is, well,  that they are little.  And we always have a baby in the house.   The boys have to play with those at the dining table.   They enjoy putting the sets together, but don't really use much imagination in building anything new (aside from what the instructions say).  

Anyway, occasionally he and Cooper get out the duplos and build something like a home for their race cars.   The other day they worked on a train set.   They had been in their room for 45 minutes or so when I came in and saw the creation.   Jackson had built the track up using legos (more on each stack) to make an incline.  Clever boy.

I asked if he wanted me to take pictures of it, and he was SO excited.   He was immediately getting everything "just so."

 

 

 Cooper (no clothes as usual) playing with Maggie.

These two are so cute together.

Right before I posted this I saw that Charlie is in the background having his diaper changed. 

This is the cropped version. 

The original was, uhm, more revealing.

Whoops.  

This is some type of "machine" that puts blocks onto the trains.

 

 Having a blast playing with it.   

 

 Poor Maggie got neglected as I was taking pictures.  

Jackson was so excited that I was taking pictures of him with his creation.  

Begging me to print them out.  Here he is holding a "little" lego jet that he recently made.

It's crazy to me that he doesn't even need help.   Cooper seems to be following in the same footsteps, too.  He's not as much of a rule-follower though.

I love that he counted how many legos to add for each support so 

he could make a "hill" for the trains.

(Can you tell that I am a proud mom?)

  I sound obnoxious as I write this, but I just don't want to forget these little moments.

It's going by so quickly and these are the moments that make the whole crazy day worth it.

And let me tell you. I feel crazy.

As I was uploading this photo I caught a glimpse of Maggie in the background.  Whoops again!

She didn't even cry.

Hot Air Balloon Festival

                                                                                                              

Last weekend we headed to the Balloon Festival in Plano.  It was REALLY hot.  Colin's flight was delayed.   He had been out of town for the entire week.  He was going to be home before we left, but had to meet us late.   My mom and brother came along with us.

The kids' area - though very far away from the hill we always sit on - was not crowded at all.   So, we let the kids play for a while.

And then hiked back to watch the launch.  I was cursing the double stroller.   Whew, it was heavy. 

: )

Playing frisbee.

 

 So cute.  Charlie feeding Uncle Daniel popcorn.   We were all cracking up.

Stayed for the glow.

Loved their glow sticks (thanks Adrienne!).

We had a great time.  But I'm so tired just posting this.  

Margaret Frances ... 5 months.

 Little Maggie isn't so little anymore.   She weighs over 17 lbs.  She just recently started sitting up unsupported for a few seconds of a time. 
Tried to get a few pictures ... she was more interested in her feet than smiling for the camera....

 Left Foot.

 Right Foot.

 : )

 Foot!

 Right before she fell over ....

Maggie is really such a joy.   I wish I wasn't so tired so I could enjoy her even more : )  She's been waking up 2-3 times a night (and her nights aren't all that long anyway .. 9pm -6am).   I know it is a phase.   She's congested.   Maybe teething.  Maybe a growth spurt.   Doesn't really matter ... she's up all night and Colin and I are exhausted.   I remember when I just had Jackson and I could catch a nap in the middle of the day.   Those days are long gone.   And it's catching up with me.   I'm hoping 6 months is a good sleeping month.
So, other than not-sleeping much at night, there isn't anything else about this baby that I can complain about.   She's so darn cute and happy and giggly.   She and Charlie are really in love with each other.  
She's up with me right now banging on the keyboard.  This girl is always grinning from ear to ear.
New tricks this month ... lots and squealing and waving her arms in excitement.  Eating cereal here and there.   Still rolling from back to tummy and not the other way yet.  Does NOT like tummy time.

And just because .... here is Charlie during Maggie's "photo shoot" showing me how high he can jump.   Louis' ... the jumping contests have really motivated him, and he's been practicing for the next one!

 

Like his muscle shirt?
He dresses himself now and finds clothes I didn't even know we owned : )

Entertainment

Here are some pictures from the past week or two of the kids just hanging around the house.    They have been pretty creative in staying entertained.  

Charlie keeps us laughing with his ever-changing outfits and opinions on what he wears.   He's the first of our kids to ever care.   When he has his mind made up, it's a battle I'm not usually willing to fight.  These are Jackson's green school socks, Cooper's sunglasses, some UGLY cars polyester pajamas, and his favorite - a crotchet froggy cap (Thank you Carmen).

Jackson came and found me after he and his brothers had been playing outside.  HE told me that they had made a Christmas Tree with our dead tree in the yard.   Hilarious.   My mom was out there with them and said that they had strategically placed string for lights, and balls for ornaments, and more for icicles.   Basically, they took all of their toys and made them into decorations for their tree.   We left it up for a while.   They were really proud.

 

 A rainbow one evening as seen from the back porch.   

Actually it's a double rainbow, the second one is hard to see.  The boys were flabbergasted.

 Our bunny who lives in the yard ...known to scare the ba-jeebers out of unsuspecting me when it darts out from something and runs right by me.

 

 Colin got them a Styrofoam airplane to play with in the yard.

 

 It really flew!

And it really broke.

Bath night the other day I got the camera.   They look so innocent in these pictures, not like the three little boys that pour water out of the tub every time mom or dad turn away.   Or pour water on each others faces against the will of the other...  

 

Ms. Maggie has been sitting up with very little support.   She still face plants and sometimes falls straight back, so I always have pillows around her.   But I did capture this moment of her unsupported (right before she fell down and LOST HER MIND.   Whew, she made it clear that she does NOT like to fall).

How ridiculously cute is this dress?   She reminds me of a little purple cupcake.  

Dallas World Aquarium

We went to the Dallas World Aquarium like a year ago.   I'm posting pictures now.   It was actually in August.   Colin took off a day of work so we could all go do something fun together before school started.  It's pretty expensive, so it won't be something we do all the time, but it was worth it!   We all had a great time.   And there was so much more than fish ...

Check out this crazy bird.   I should have done this post weeks ago because now I don't remember what anything was called.   Some type of stork I think.  I thought it was a statue.  Then it moved : )

 

 Cooper, checking out the waterfall ...

And all of the boys posing.    Lots of animals are just roaming "freely" throughout areas.   

Monkeys, birds, a sloth, etc...

 

Working up the courage to feed the toucans.

Some type of crocodile. It was HUGE.

Charlie checking out the croc with daddy.

As the morning went on, there were some day camps that came through.   It got a little crowded.

This is Charlie in front of the otter tank.   He looked over and saw the big kids squatting down, and joined right in.

 

Hi!

 

This Manitee was incredible.   I wish I could have captured its size with a picture.

A smaller one kept coming up to Cooper through this glass.  It was so cute.

Really, really neat Sea Dragons.  

Garden Eels.   Very cute.  They remind me of the little worm friend of Oscar on sesame street.

The boys were thrilled when we walked through the shark tunnel.   It really was incredible.

Hard to get a picture with the lighting, but there were sharks everywhere.

 

You know the feeling when you see something really incredible, and you want to experience it with someone ... like your husband, or kids, or a friend? 

When we were here I just kept thinking how much my dad would have loved this.  

Sometimes when I am explaining things to the boys I realize how much I sound like my dad. 

I loved how he shared his excitement in new things ... little or big.

My mom and brother had gone back to Lake Chuck for a few days so they missed out on our little excursion.   But we will make another trip this winter when the weather is yuck.

A few more pictures ...

 

"Hello there"

We had lunch in a restaurant there.  

Let's be honest...

the food was terrible.

But, aside from that, the experience was great.

 

 Here's us girls at lunch.

She is such an angel!  Isn't her dress precious?   

Thanks to Jessica Clampitt who gave Maggie all of Stella's baby clothes.  

It is so much fun to dress her everday!

On our way out, we checked out the penguins.

This is Cooper impersonating how a penguin waddles.

Fun trip. 

Some of our other favorites were the giant crabs from somewhere... China?  Japan?   hmm.   I don't know.   Wherever they are from, they are big,...like the size of our kids.   Crazy.

The octopus was neat.  Lots of cool snakes.  Seahorses.

So much to see.   Can't wait to go back.