Kynlee

Kynlee continues to be my sweet little pleaser.  She likes for people to be listening and she likes to know that she did the right thing, but lately we are starting to see a little more fiesty attitude from our former people pleaser.  While this does make life a little more difficult at times (because this child's stubbornness is second only to Westin's) it also makes me happy to see her coming into her own a little and not just trying to make others happy.  Don't get me wrong, overall she is still my peacemaker and boy am I grateful for that role, but I also like knowing that she will be able to stand up for herself when she needs to.  

One of my favorite memories of Kynlee this year has to do with her favorite color.  For most of this past year her favorite was purple, but she couldn't quite say it, so whenever she asked for something purple, she would say, "I want the people one".  I was so sad the day she learned to say purple!!  She has now moved on and is obsessed with orange, she must be a girl after her Aunt Jessica's heart because that was Jessica's favorite at about this age!

Kynlee really is a peacemaker.  When there is a conflict between two siblings, she is usually the one trying to fix it.  And when someone has changed their mind, she will usually make a sacrifice to allow the other to be happy.  For example, at the grocery store the other day, I let everyone pick out one piece of candy (they had been excellent the entire time).  When it was all said and done, Gage changed his mind about what candy he wanted and became upset.  Kynlee came to the rescue and quickly swapped candy with him to make him happy!  She does stuff like this all the time!  I think she is going to have one heck of a giving and nurturing spirit as she gets older and it makes my heart happy to be able to watch it develop.

Kynlee's pictures in her Texas Tech Shirt.  The series shows a small glimpse into her silly side if you've never gotten to witness it yourself.

Kynlee: staying inside the lines . . . this pretty much describes her personality!  I have a picture of Brooklyn during the same painting session with color all outside the lines and giving her brush a big flourish in the air after every stroke.  I wish I could put both pictures because it's a pretty funny comparison, but Brooklyn is baring a little to much skin for internet purposes!

True to her nurturing personality, when the kids play pretend, Kynlee is always the "mom."  Not "mommy, " but "mom."  This is how I know who the kids are talking to because I am always "mommy" or "momma" and Kynlee is always "mom."  It is hysterical to listen to their pretend games.  I hear Kynlee say things like, "You can have candy after you eat your food" or " you can play with your friend after your nap, sweetheart." (Brooklyn is usually "sweetheart"  not baby or sister, they always call her "sweetheart").   The other day, they had Gage pretending the be the family dog and I heard Kynlee say, "Dog I am going to put you in your cage!" and then she started wrestling Gage into the "cage" which was really just a spot behind a basket in her room.  I started to intervene because it looked like it was getting a little rough, but they both informed me that they didn't need any help, they were just playing.

While I mentioned that Kynlee is a peacemaker .  . . she has recently been demonstrating the makings of a pretty strong temper herself.  While she likes for things to be happy and peaceful, if you push her far enough she can be down right mean!  However, I have to admit that the girl gives fair warning.  While I shouldn't laugh, it really is pretty funny when you hear sweet, tiny little Kynlee tell someone, "If you do that again, I'm going to come over there and hit you."  At least they were warned right?!  Even funnier is when she comes up with ridiculous consequences for your actions if you do not side with her.  The most recent that comes to mind was when she got mad at Granna last weekend.  I'm actually not sure she was mad at Granna, I think someone else made her angry and then somehow the anger got placed on Granna (because Kynlee does this, once she is mad, she is mad at the whole room if not the whole world).  Anyway, she ended up telling Granna, "I am never going to come to your house again and I am going to tell other people not to come to your house anymore!"  It still makes me laugh to think about it!

Around anyone that is not family, Kynlee is reserved and shy, often not even willing to leave my side.  However, if you get her in her comfort zone, she is super silly, crazy and fun.  She loves to show me "tricks" and her hiney wiggle rivals Westin's.  The two of them crack me up!  Kynlee used to get shy about being silly even around her family, but she is finally letting loose a little and I love this!

We are so blessed by this serious, silly, sweet, loving, tempered and mothering girl!  

Westin

My Westin is such a silly boy and oh so sweet!  I'm going to be honest, he went through a major whiny phase while he was three, but it seems to be on it's way out and is being replaced by the sweet disposition I vaguely recall from that pre-three period!  Westin is the most likely to come up to me and give me a hug and kiss for no reason at all and tell me, "I love you mommy."  Obviously this is the absolute best way to butter up a mommy!

I absolutely adore kisses from Westin.  I'm not sure I can quite describe it, but when he gives me a kiss, he makes this exaggerated fishy face with a dramatic smack post kiss.  He even gives me a kiss that we have named the "favorite kiss" (don't ask me how this name came to be, it just did).  It starts with the same fishy face, follows through with the same big smack, but finishes up with a wide open mouth post smack as he pulls his lips away from mine.  Okay, so in writing it sounds weird, but when I look back on this years from now, I think this description will help me remember this very special and very silly kiss from a little boy that I adore!

Westin continues to have the best giggle, the biggest dimples and the most expressive face!  It doesn't matter if he is smiling or pouting, he can work it!  His smile can light up a room, but when he pouts, I swear his bottom lip extends 6 inches!  His personality matches his expressive face.  Whatever his mood, he does it big.  He can be the absolute happiest kid, but oh boy when he is mad!!  He has a temper that his brothers and sisters try to steer clear of and I think it is magnified by general preschool aged unreasonableness!

One of my favorite things about this incredible kid, is how easy it is to cheer him up.  Unless he is really mad, you can usually get him to break into a smile just by smiling at him!  It is really awesome and that grin is definitely a pick me up for me!

Westin in his Texas Tech shirt with the smile I love!

Silly face!

This might not look like a picture of Westin, BUT I had to include it because I see this expression on his face ALL the time!

Westin loves to play pretend with his brother and sisters.  He usually gets assigned the role of dad.  He also loves cars and most recently pokemon cards (an obsession for both of my little guys that was sparked by Jackson's interest . . . have I mentioned that Jackson is their idol).  Westin's other favorite past time is dance parties.  Remember that I said he and Brooklyn love to proclaim "Party time!"  For Westin this usually means turning on the music and gettin' down!  He has the best little hiney wiggle ever.  I can usually just ask him to show me is wiggle and he will shake it for all he's worth!    

While he has a big, silly personality at home, he is very quiet and shy in public.  You can often find him hiding behind my leg if someone tries to talk to him.  He is almost a different kid in public.  At home, he is LOUD, but when we are out and about, he goes mute.  He has recently started playing soccer on a team with Gage and while he loves practice, he hasn't played in a game yet (there have only been two and in his defense, he missed the second one because he was sick).  I think he feels a little more shy when there are more people watching at a game.

Westin has such sweet little personality, but running deep is a stubborn streak a mile wide.  I have never in my life met a kid who can stand his ground like Westin.  Once he has made up his mind, there is nothing that can sway him.  I have seen this kid go to bed at 6:30 just keep from having to taste a single bite of food that he claims to dislike.  I have seen him remain in his bed for more than an hour because he adamantly refuses to use his manners or apologize or whatever the current sticking point may be.  This, my friends, makes parenting challenging . . . but I figure if I can help him harness that strong-willed, stubbornness into perseverance, then who knows what he might accomplish!!  I see great things in his future!

When we pray at night, Westin always has to "Gob-less" all of his family.  I absolutely love the sweetness of this and the way he says "Gob-less" instead of God Bless.  Clint and I are constantly exchanging our own huge smiles over the things this sweet little boy says and does.  Westin is probably usually second in line for the big hug when I walk in the door with a very loud exclamation of, " Mommy!  You're home!"

I am so blessed to be Westin's mommy.  I look forward to continuing to watch this amazing young man grow and mature!  He is an amazing part of our family!

Gage

My sweet, sweet Gagers!  Oh, how much I love you and your sweet spirit.  Gage is definitely all boy, but he has these moments (they have to be his idea) where he will just come sit next to you or on your lap and wants to do nothing but snuggle!  It is the best!  When this mood strikes him, he will just sit completely quietly and sweetly.  One of his favorite spots on earth right now is my lap and that is just fine with me.  Every night when we say prayers as a family, he claims my lap before anyone else can and recently he has started asking me, "can we play a game, just you and me?"  Melts my heart.  I wish there were more time so I could accommodate this request more often (let's face it, it's hard for little people to get good one on one around here, they see you get out a game and they are suddenly swarming.)

He still loves his "blankee" and his "corner"  (a specific corner of his blankee that he can identify by touch alone).  I love the sweet innocence of his love for his blankee, but I'm open to suggestions on how to stop the finger sucking which inevitably accompanies the snuggling of the blankee.  When Gage is tired, upset, or just needs a little break from the chaos, you usually find him sitting in the recliner, left 2 middle fingers in his mouth and right hand holding his favorite blankee corner up by his mouth.  He has offered me one of the "little corners" of his blankee on multiple occasions when we are snuggling (he refers to HIS corner as the "big corner").  Just the other day when I was putting him to bed, he whispered to me, "momma, sometimes when I am going to sleep, I give my little corners to my stuffed animals."  Can you say sweet or what!  I wish I could freeze this sweet, innocence in time.  It doesn't get much better than that.

The series of pictures of Gage in his Texas Tech shirt!  The many faces of Gage and I love every single one!

While I would like to think that I am Gage's favorite person on earth, I'm lying to myself . . . Jackson replaced me quite some time ago as the top dog on Gage's list.  Gage would follow Jackson to the moon and back.  Most of the time Jackson if very tolerant of this (he's a pretty great big brother), but once in a while, it causes a typical sibling World War III.  Jackson and Gage have been spending a lot of time lately building with Legos.  It warms my heart to see these relationships blossoming.  Though I know they don't get it yet, I am trying to help them understand what an amazing gift the friendship of a sibling is!

I wish I could say that all of Jackson and Gage's interactions were calm, quiet lego building endeavors, BUT remember when I said Gage was all boy . . . well, we have some serious wrestling going on in my house lately.  With three boys, I knew it would be inevitable (and if I'm being honest, the girls get in on the action too).  Gage and Jackson are definitely the most aggressive wrestlers.  There are a lot of wrestling injuries at my house these days, but mostly you can find Gage and Jackson laughing while they attack each other in whatever game they are currently playing.  Gage is always in for a good time!

Gage continues to be my most OCD child.  He is constantly arranging something (usually cars) into very specific patterns or lines.  He actually will come home from soccer and put his shoes, shin guards, socks and ball away and they have to be lined up just so.  He will adjust and shift them until they are just right!  I actually hate the spot in his room that he has chosen for his soccer gear, but I know better than to mess with his system and he keeps it neat which is more than I can say for the others, so I can't really complain!  Probably one the funniest habits he has right now is during soccer games or practices.  I mentioned that Gage likes for things to be just so, well this applies even while in the middle of an athletic event.  While playing soccer, if Gage gets knocked down, he immediately stands up and brushes off every single pieces of grass he can find on his soccer socks.  He doesn't worry about falling down, just the grass that is on his socks as a result!  I think this is hilarious . . . Clint says we have to break him of this because . . . well I think it's obvious why this bugs his sports-obsessed father.  I personally think that this particular quirk will work itself out as he gets more competitive and "gets it."

Gage is also my resident "correcter" i.e. he corrects everyone about everything . . . grammar, pronunciation, accurate story-telling, etc.  It can be quite funny, but if it continues as he gets older, he may drive his siblings crazy!  The other night when I was passing out gummy vitamins, Gage heard Kynlee tell someone that her gummy was "Uriel".  Gage promptly corrected her and said, " It's not Uriel, it's ARIEL!"  To which Kynlee replied, "That's what I said, Ariel."  Gage's smarta** response, "THAT time you said Ariel."  Said just as condescending as you can imagine it sounding.  I'm not raising 4 year olds people, I am raising teenagers in four year old bodies!  These stories could go on and on!

Gage is such an amazing little boy.  He is smart, sweet, snuggly, sensitive, super silly, rough and tumble and independent.  We love him with all our hearts!

Brooklyn

Brooklyn on her 4th Birthday.   I love this picture.  Notice the missing tooth . . . after she put her teeth through her lip in March of 2012, they never were quite stable again.  In March of this year, Westin hit her in the mouth with a toy and the tooth was loose enough that it came out, so my sweet little girl is toothless for the next 3-4 years!!  Also, notice the mark next to her left eye, she hit it on the granite counter tops running through the kitchen on her birthday.  It turned into quite the shiner!!

Brooklyn, Brooklyn, Brooklyn . . . what can I say, she is still our spunky redhead through and through.  You know how people always say that stereotypes are born of truth, well Brooklyn is the epitome of the redhead stereotype.  Whenever people say, "Look at that red hair!"  (and I hear this often), I typically respond with, "And she has the personality to go with it!"  This is evidenced by her self-imposed nickname, "Brookie-the-kid."  No, this is not a joke.  For months, anytime someone asked her name, she would promptly reply, " I am Brookie-the-kid."  There was even a brief time when she insisted on being called this and would not answer to Brooklyn, Brookie or Brookie Bear, which had all previously been acceptable.  She has finally returned to responding to her actual name, but I think "Brookie-the-Kid" will always lurk under the surface.

Lounging on her birthday.  It's hard work turning 4!

Brooklyn is the splatter paint in our world of coloring in the lines.  In a house full of type A, OCD people, she is our breath of fresh air.  She marches to her own drum ALL the time and she reminds me that life does not have to be orderly all the time.  She shows me how refreshing a little chaos and spontaneity can be (yes, I did actually just say that, as shocking as it may be).  I feel certain that Brooklyn is God's way of telling me not to take life so seriously!  I love the life she brings to every party, and in her world . . . everyday, every hour and every minute has the potential to be a party (she, and Westin come to think of it, have been known to randomly yell out "It's Party time" with absolutely no provocation).  Yes, this does give me some pause as I think of the future teenage Brooklyn, but for now, I just want to soak in her love of life, her beautiful and sometimes wild imagination and her constant crazy antics.

Brooklyn has a joy that I cannot even describe.  She gets excited about everything.  I can't tell you how often I hear her exclaim things like, "Perfect" or "It's fab-oo-lus" or "I look gorgeous" . . . the list goes on and on.  She gets excited about gifts, hand-me-down clothes, items I have purchased at the grocery store, etc.  She is a real confidence booster too.  I can always count on Brooklyn to tell me how beautiful I look, all I have to do is put on a dress or do anything with my hair ;-)  But, even with all this fun enthusiasm, I think I would have to say that my favorite thing that Miss Brookie says right now is the way she refers to people.  Most young children will say "people" or "that person" or maybe even something like "that boy/girl", not Brooklyn, she refers to people as "who-mans".  Again, I am totally serious.  It makes me laugh.  We can be watching something on t.v. and she will say something like, "What is that who-man doing?"  or "Is that who-man a boy or a girl?"  whatever the situation may call for.  I have never before heard a small child refer to people as humans!  It's awesome!

Yearly picture in her adult size Texas Tech shirt to document growth.  I could not pry the princess dress off of her!

Brooklyn is joyful and fun, but let's be honest, if she is the redhead stereotype, there has to be a wild streak in there somewhere too, right?!  Well, there most certainly is.  You never know where you are going to find Brooklyn or what she is going to be doing.  She continues to be naughty and not all that affected by consequences (though I am starting to find a few that matter to her).  Most of the time when she gets caught doing something she should not be doing, she just quickly says, "Oh, sorry momma, sorry!" and smiles and goes on about her business.  I never know what is coming next with this little critter.  The other day she even came to me and told me, " I have pee in my hair.  I looked in the potty."  Yes, this happened and yes she got a bath immediately.  I still have not figured out what she was looking at or why she needed to get close enough that her hair dipped in the water, but some questions are best left unanswered!

Some other fun memories I don't want to forget:  Brooklyn has become quite the momma's girl.  She does not like for me to leave and frequently says, " I want my momma."  When I come home from work, she is usually the first one to run up and wrap me in a hug and Brooklyn hugs continue to be some of the greatest hugs around.  She wraps her arms around you and just squeezes!  She has gone through a phase in the last few months where she gets scared of loud or new noises.  For a while she refused to go in the backyard because it terrified her when she would hear big trucks start up.  She would actually run into the house screaming.  It didn't phase her in the front yard, just in the backyard and it was awful.  Now when she hears a vehicle start from the backyard, she just says, " It's a car, not a truck right?!"  Brooklyn loves anything dress up.  I am pretty sure she actually believes she is a princess which explains why a couple months ago, she started calling me "Your majesty" and bowing to me.  Again, totally serious.  This child has an imagination to rival all imaginations.  She is always playing pretend and she sucks everyone into it.  It is quite magical to witness!

Practicing her curtsy in her new dress!

We love this sweet, spunky, wild, imaginative child.  Our family would not be complete without her!

4 x 4

Our 4 x 4
Westin, Kynlee, Brooklyn and Gage

To say that I have neglected the blog is an understatement.  I'm pretty sure most people have given up on it and honestly so had I, but I have been itching to get at it again.  I wish I had time to go back and document all of this last year, but . . . I don't.  I hardly have time to write this post.  I am so sad that I haven't documented all the fun times this last year.  I have been browsing the blog and it really does help me remember some of our fun, crazy and sometimes stressful adventures.  It is a life I love and I want to remember every moment . . . like Westin cracking up with a genuine giggle during prayers tonight and no one but him really knew what was funny, but his giggle was so contagious that soon we were all laughing.  I want these moments to be burned into my memory and obviously I just can't hold them all.  That's why I am going to try to pick this blog business back up, because it makes me happy.

The last year has been a rough one if I'm being honest.  I know that everyone always calls it the "Terrible Two's" but lets be honest, mom's know that what you should really be scared of are the "TREACHEROUS THREE'S."  It was rough with Jackson and I dreaded having 3 year olds quadrupled, but we survived it!!  It wasn't easy . . . I may have cried "uncle" and called super Granna to the rescue before we even got through the first two months of three, but we did all actually come out alive on the other side!  That's right, my little people are now a 4 x 4!  We have four FOUR year olds!  Yay!!  While there were things I loved about three year olds, I am looking forward to the increased reason that comes with four year olds.  I mean it's only a marginal improvement in reasoning capabilities, but it SERIOUSLY makes a difference.

We celebrated with a super fun Pirate and Princess Party.  The kids had a great time and they got so many fun new toys and games.  Among my favorite were 2 lite brites, Roc 'em Soc 'em, a Marble Run and some beautiful princess gowns made by . . . you guessed it, GRANNA (can you tell I love Classic toys) and so much more!  Clint and I got them skates, which they love, but since it has been raining for a month we haven't really gotten to use them much yet.  I'm not complaining, we need the rain, but man do we need to get outside.

The party was a blast (or at least I thought so).  We decorated homemade tiaras (made out of doilies, these were harder to find than I expected), made newspaper pirate hats and adorned the kids with eye patches, princess rings and tattoos.

Tiara making station

Ready to get those pirates off and running

Next up was a cannon ball fight between the pirates and the princesses, defending their respective ship and castle.  I'm not really sure who won, but I do know that "cannon balls" were flying everywhere.

The Princesses ready to defend their castle (you have to use your imagination to see the "castle")

The Pirates ready for their sea attack!

The boys got into it!

Finally, we enjoyed a treasure hunt, complete with spyglasses (this was Brooklyn and Kynlee's favorite, they were all about the spyglasses), that lead us to the treasure chest pinata filled with ring pops and chocolate coins!

A Princess, a bat and a pinata

Kynlee after she finished beating on the pinata

Wesin

Party Guests.  So cute!

Big brother helping to finish it off!

The "big" boys playing baseball with the pinata after the kiddos went inside.

It was chaos, but I loved every minute.  I know some moms say they hate birthday parties, but I genuinely love them.  My only regret is that I can't be everywhere at once and see everything everyone is doing.

Some of my favorite quotes/memories from the party were . . . Westin hoarding his toys.  He made a pile and kept them separate from everyone elses.  He may end up on one of those hoarder shows one day. . . Gage exclaiming his excitement over his new soccer ball and his indignation when he thought there was only one skate in the box.  He got very upset and shouted, "Hey, there is only one skate!  I need two!" . . . Brooklyn literally shrieking with excitement over almost every gift she opened and of course the spyglass . . and Kynlee's sassy looks in her tiara and her excitement over everything birthday!

Those of you returning to read again will remember what comes next . . . Picture overload of all of our fun!

The Cakes.  I did the pirate ship (notice how simple it is and somehow I still managed to split it in two, but we repaired it.).  Granna decorated the Castle, but I think she was a little flustered over my very limited cake decorating supplies!

Gage really wanted a Spiderman party, so this was the compromise.  He and Jackson had Spiderman spying on the Pirates.  I was willing to give Spiderman a more prominent position, but this is what they decided on.  We even had a couple of Spiderman napkins leftover from a past party that were put out expressly for Gage's use!

Gage took a couple of other artistic liberties with the set up too.  He thought that the pirate fight scene could use a few football players.

The outcome.

Tiara making

Gage.  He makes a good pirate!

My two little pirates getting their tats!

Kynlee, my sweet little princess!  At least I think that's supposed to be a sweet face.

Brooklyn and Katherine inspecting the mystery presents.

Brooklyn with her new Princess dress compliments of Granna

Kynlee with her new Princess dress compliments of Granna

Kynlee

Brooklyn

Kynlee

Ready to sing Happy Birthday and make a wish!  Westin, Gage, Brooklyn and Kynlee

Gage

Princess Kynlee looking a little partied out!

Kynlee and Uncle Jacob.  Roller Skate dancing!

Sweet sisters

Aunt Jessica, Westin and Aujehl

Gage

Brooklyn's Woopsie (this is Jackson's favorite word for mistakes and I love it)

Post party gaming!  Mommy and Westin

Kynlee and Westin

Brooklyn . . . she had to try out Kynlee's new Princess dress too!

Card game to unwind after the kids were in bed . . . the party after the party!

We have been so blessed these last four years.  It hasn't always been easy or fun, but it has always been an adventure (or in the words of Brooklyn " a babenture").  We love these little people so very much and I cannot wait to see what this next year brings . . . but I am in to rush to make it 5!  They are getting to big!!

Every year we take a picture of our kids in an adult sized Texas Tech shift to document their growth.  Here is the series of the group pictures.  As you can tell, picture taking is not a boring process at our house!
Westin, Kynlee, Brooklyn, Gage

And the photobombing starts . . . 

And continues!!

I realized after everyone left, we never got a picture of Clint and I with the kids like we do for every birthday, so we took a couple.  They don't all fit on my lap anymore, that's for sure!!
Kynlee, Westin, Gage and Brooklyn

Gage, Westin, Kynlee and Brooklyn (they were kind of done with pictures by this point!)