A Thousand Words

Since a picture says a thousand words, I hope I don't have to. Since Corban was born it has been very busy. He was born 3 days after the kids started school and we hit the ground running from the start. We have survived a few bouts of flu as well as some strep for Andrew. Even Corban got some virus and we spent an entire night in two ER rooms. Luckily, he was over 4 weeks so he didn't need a spinal tap. I keep waiting for things to slow down so I can check e-mails and update the blog. I think I am finally realizing that it will never happen!

I was really glad that Josh has been around more than at any other time because Corban is a tough baby. He has terrible reflux, sleeps through the night intermittently (my kids all slept through the night by now) and seems to have something wrong with his intestines. We have yet another doctor appt. tomorrow to see if anything can be done. One thing we do love about him is his hair. Genetics are a funny thing. As near as we can figure, he got this curly hair from my grandpa. He and my brother are the only blood relatives we have with these curls. His hair is now dark but it is growing in a silvery-blond.

It took us forever to determine who this chubby little monkey looks like. I finally got out Gabby's baby photos and, sure enough, he looks like her mixed with a tiny bit of James. It is so fun to watch them change as they get older. So far all we know about Corbs is that he needs a binky to be happy unless he is outside.

Abigail & Tasha bear have enjoyed being around grandparents & family. Here they are with cousin Savannah. My sister and I call them the triplets. They do pretty well together when they aren't hitting, pulling hair, or taking toys from each other. Savannah has been their inspiration to crawl & walk. I am hoping she will teach them to talk now.

Abigail is still our crazy one. Here she has Andrew's underwear on as her hat. She does the craziest stuff and seems to thrive on being the center of attention. If anyone claps or takes pictures she is sure it is all about her!

Natasha is my sweet little mom. She loves dollies and we find them everywhere! She likes to put them in the high chair, car seat, swing and any boxes or containers around. Sometimes she will sit and do with her doll what I do with Corban. One sweet day she sat next to me after Corban ate and burped her doll while I burped him. It was priceless. She is going to be a doting aunt one day. Of course, true to Abigail's nature, she follows her and tries to steal the doll to watch her scream.

This is Natasha's new crazy face. She uses it all the time to get laughs and it works. Here she is showing off that they are trying to learn to feed themselves. They have a ways to go!

Andrew started preschool this year and he loves it. He goes twice a week with his cousin and it has been wonderful for all of us. He feels big and important because he is like his older siblings and mom gets some time with only 3! Here he is modeling a hat he made. This year he doesn't qualify for physical or occupational therapy. We are so happy that he is doing this well. We attribute his progress to playing with an active Sambo and the trampoline. He is the eternal protector and torturer of his baby brother.

James has really blossomed this year. It is his first in public school and he is his friendly cheerful self there as well. He is excited to start basketball in January and is sure he is going to beat the best player in his class. He loves to play "Command & Conquer" on his dad's computer and recently got in trouble for using it in an assignment. Instead of coming up with the traditional simple things for his work, he drew supply delivery helicopters, carpet bombers, and other military stuff. We kept the book because it was so funny.

Gabby just turned 8 and hopes to be baptized if her parents can ever get their crap together. We have had an awful time with trying to find a good time for everyone with all the stuff going on in our house lately. She is taking art lessons from her grandma Connie which she LOVES and she still spends most of her day drawing and coloring. She has been an enormous help with the twins who adore her intensely.

Nate is doing better than we expected in 4th grade. He enjoys going and has made some close friends. He just finished his last football game where he ran the ball from the opening kickoff all the way down the field for a touchdown. He had set a goal to score at least one touchdown and he did it. We were so excited for him. He finished the game off with an interception. Now he loves football more than ever and has talked me into letting him play tackle football next year.

Josh and I continue to have our hands full, but better full than empty. We are trying to keep our spirits up and we hope to have a place soon. Mentall, half of us is in FL and the other half here and it is just crazy. We are hopeful that we will know shortly where we will live!