Family Weekend

So we went down to Des Moines to see the Rosales side of the family.  The kids had a ton of fun visiting their Nana, Uncle Ken, Uncle Paul, and of course...the twins Kherington and Jasmine.  It was a nice 3 day weekend, but on the way back home we drove in the lovely weather of ice/snow/sleet....why are there no pictures of McKayla????

Caleb using chop sticks for the first time...with the supervision of his uncles!

Who could say no to this face?

Caleb won this 25 cent prize.  He loves this thing!

Avery and Caleb laying low at the hotel!

Mommy and baby posing for daddy at Macaroni Grill.

Daddy and Avery

Kherington (left) and Jasmine (right) in their animal print outfits!

Jasmine

Kherington

OUR TRIP HOME DRIVING NORTH INTO MINNESOTA

The start of our trip...notice the ground and road condition.

This is near Mason City, IA

Now we are 10 minutes away from the Iowa/Minnesota border

This is I-90 West on our way close to Fairmont!

This is Hwy 263 South which leads us directly to Ceylon....ewwwww!

Mommy's Birthday/Valentine's Day/Twins/Drama Queens

Avery was supporting her mommy's birthday by wearing her "Mommy Loves Me" outfit! This was a fun picture as she is practicing her modeling pose by showing her cute little pout!

Eventually she smiled for mommy...

Avery is moving around...a lot!  She is one step away from crawling.  The girl is on the go as she has a lot of places to go to and people to see. 

Baby Zoobies!  The kids received gifts for Valentine's Day from their Nana. 

So what have the cousins been up to? Well, Uncle Paul has decided to teach his girls how to play Halo!  According to Paul, the best way to play is to start early.  Kherington and Jasmine and getting their game on!

This is what happens when you leave Jasmine with her dad!

How cute is this family picture!  Paul and Bridget along with the girls at Xmas time!

Its about attitude.  This is a direct result of what happens when you let the girls play with all of Mac's jewelry.  I think the girls taught Avery this pose!

Day 1 of snow!

So we got snow...a lot of it! The first day of having no school was not so bad.  The temperature was perfect to be out and play.  The snow fall was nice, fluffy, and fun to watch.  The two older kids decided they were tired of being cooped outside so they played in the front yard with their dog.  Please note:  The next day the plows came again and doubled the amount in the front.  Now you cannot see the front porch unless you are at an side angle.

Kids at the bottom of the hill.

McKayla called herself a penguin.  Here she is showing her younger brother how it is done!

...so then Caleb had to try!

McKayla and Kiki

So after being outside for more than an hour, the kids came in and were tired.  We thought that being outside would help them go to sleep easily...fat chance on that!

7 months and counting!

It is amazing to know when you are past the half way mark before your child turns a year old.  So far Avery is a little over 14lbs., rolls over, is interested in eating, and babbles like her mommy!  Here is a short glimpse of her first several months:

3 Days Old

1 week old

2 weeks old

1 month old

2 months old

3 months old

4 months old

5 months old

6 months old

7 months old!

Bumbo

Avery constantly loves to sit up strait that we finally purchased her a BUMBO.  The seat is so cute, she looks like she is lounging on a Lazy Boy like her dad.  The kids love the name of the seat that they constantly call it out loud using different tones of voice.

Mac, Caleb, and Avery...notice Avery's socks.  She loves pulling them off.  This time I tried to secure them with her leg warmers and outfit. 

Vroom, vroom....

Tomorrow McKayla will be entering in the "Powder Puff" derby.  Last week Shawn and Mac went to the hardware store, but the car kit, cut it, sanded, and painted. Both are very proud of the results and of course supporting their team...surprise, surprise, it is black and gold.  I am proud of both of them and hope she does well.  It will be double elimination so it should be interesting.

Fan of all fans

So my son, bless his heart, loves his toys.  When there is a new movie out, he has to watch it multiple times.  He definately has his heart set up on the Toy Story collection.  When the movie is turned on, he is in another world and when it is over, he uses his imagination while playing with his toys.  This is something our eldest never did.  She would be content for a period of time, but then would find something else to preoccupy her time.  Caleb is different, he "has" to have a collection in order to recreate things on his own.  He can go on for days with the same scenario.  Here is a picture of his pride and joy right now.

I know that you see a red dinosaur, but his rex toy is smaller than the Potato Heads, so he improvised with another dinosaur.

Speaking of toys, my friend Molly showed me how much fun the interchangings of the Potato Heads could be through her children.  While visiting her house one day, while I was in Rochester with Avery, her children showed me the endless wonders with their toys.  I thought to myself, maybe my kids would enjoy it....yup, they do. 

McKayla took this picture. The kids were proud of their work and wanted to show it to me through the use of my camera.