Beautiful View

 

Commentary

 Here's out I hear this commentary going:

Brady: "Brother, what am I supposed to do for the picture?  Show me?  Wow your hair is different."

Brady: "Oh, okay, I'll smile with my head turned to the side."

Hunter: "Are you tilting your head and smiling like I'm doing?   I'm just checking on you."

Back To School Haircuts

 I got the boys their back to school haircuts yesterday -- a little early, but we had the time, whereas in 2 weeks, I do not except to have the time.

Plus, the boys had been asking for haircuts... I really do have them trained to dislike when their hair starts to get long and shaggy.

Even Brady got his first hair cut -- just a little trim around the ears and the neck.

Before:

After:

Hunk and Chunk

 One is our little hunk... the other our little chunk.

Big Boy

 If you ask our two-and-a-half-year-old Hunter, he will let you know in no uncertain terms that he is a big boy.

Just look at him ready to go on a bike ride with the big boys.

He made it about 10 yards before he asked Caroline to help him.  She pushed him the remainder of the .5 mile walk.

These Boys

 These boys are going to keep me busy for sure...

Grown Up

 I'm still not over how grown up both Howard and Brady look in this picture.

New Game

 Brady and Hunter have a new game...

First Hunter pushes Brady...

Then, Brady pushes Hunter...

Or something like that.

Unusual Few Days

 We've had a very unusual few days... it involves elk, illness, stomach bugs...

In my opinion, we've had enough illness to last for the entire year.

Here's one of the bright points:

Brothers and Sisters...

 Brothers

and Sisters...

and Brady

Their Idea

 It was my kiddo's idea to position themselves in this way and try to take this picture.

Happy Birthday H & C!

 Wishing Howard and Caroline the Happiest of Birthdays!

I cannot believe my twins are SIX years old!  WOW!

I will do a more detailed post about them on facebook and in a few days on here, but I have to do this post in advance as we will be traveling back to Colorado on our twins' birthday... and hopefully we will be able to give them a special birthday given that we will be traveling AND it is National Holiday when many things are closed.

Take a look at this picture... I am only now realizing that Howard is standing on Caroline's foot while the picture is being taken.  If that doesn't sum up what Caroline has to deal with having a six-year-old twin brother, I don't know what does.  God Bless that Sweet Girl!

Last Time

 A few days ago I read a heart-warming post on facebook about a mother who suddenly realized and noticed that all her children were taking showers for themselves without any assistance needed.  She commented on how big of a milestone this was in motherhood after years of both the joy, and chaos of bathtime.  And within moments of her realizing this big motherly milestone, she was crying because bath time was over forever.

After reading this, what did I do?

I pulled out the swimsuits and told my children that they were taking one bath together all six of them and this would be the last bath ever with all six of them.  And they were crowded, but I didn't keep them in there long.  We got some pictures, had some splashes, kids put soap on each other's hair, and Brady looked like he felt like he had made it into the club.  Miraculously there was no crying... but another minute or two and I think there would have been.

I still have a few years of bathtime fun ahead -- brothers with brothers and sisters with sisters off and on... but the kids are getting more independent, requiring more privacy, and just growing up.  The time of bathing all children in the same tub as a way to end the day and prepare for bedtime are over.

Scrubbing

 Now that we're back to the school year, I have almost zero new pictures of my children during the week... and almost zero energy to post during the week.

I did manage to snap this picture when Howard and Hunter were having a blast together in the bath tub a few nights ago.

I believe this was after the children decided to paint their outdoor playhouse with nail polish while I was cleaning up the dinner dishes.

I had to send a text message to Hunter's teacher explaining that Hunter's legs were so colorful because he and his sisters got into some nail polish, and we and tried to scrub it off, but it would probably take a few more baths before we'd be able to get it off completely.

Three and Three

 I was shocked with Brady was a boy.  We had three girls in three pregnancies in a row (with Howard thrown in there as a twin)... then we got Hunter, who was a much prayed-for little brother for Howard... but I would have bet good money that our last child - baby number 6 was going to be a girl.  I really though we would end with four girls and two boys.

Our children repeatedly said they wanted a baby brother so we could have "3 and 3" to make everything even.  I never told them my very strong "mother's intuition" that we were having a daughter.  What do I know?

Now that we have 3 and 3, it has really changed the way I think about our children, plan outings, and even do laundry.  Up until Brady was born, I always laid out the kids clothing in birth order (Tracey, Howard, Caroline, Lee Lee, and Hunter).  It never occurred to me to do anything else.

But from the moment Brady's laundry entered the picture... suddenly it was 3 and 3.

Three girls - oldest, middle, youngest.

Three boys - oldest, middle, youngest.

Planning for vacations, laying out shoes, grabbing swim suits, packing lunches, and more.  Three boys, and three girls - a set of oldests, a set of middles, and a set of youngests.

Our perfect Brady Bunch.

The Look

 This is the look on my face when I have dropped off my four big kids somewhere (in this instance, children's church), and I am going somewhere with just my two little boys (Hunter and Brady), and someone tells me I have my hand's full.

Actually... they're pretty free at the moment.

You have no idea how full they can get.

Looks Like?

 At one month, who do you think Brady looks like?

1000 Words

 1000 Words

My Boys

 I have the very distinct feeling that my days of Hunter as the baby are rapidly coming to an end, and my days of "What are my boys up to?" have begun... and will continue, quite possibly, for the rest of my life.

Illustrated His Point

 Our girls are each less than two years apart from their older sister so our laundry, drawers, and storage are overflowing with girls clothing.

And yet, somehow I seem to consistently put Hunter's shorts in Howard's clothing drawer.

Well, I guess a few days ago, he was tired to bringing me Hunter's shorts found in his bin... so he just put them on.

It was pretty funny, and he certainly illustrated the point -- check the size, Mama!