Mother's Day

Ben tried really hard to get a good picture of the kids and I on Mother's Day this year.  Somewhat comical (and somewhat frustrating) to get five children smiling, looking in one direction, and sitting still. There were ten takes; this is the final shot and the best of the bunch.

Hope you all had a great Mother's Day last month and Father's Day yesterday.  We are crazy blessed (really, crazy AND blessed) with all our kiddos.

The Beach in May

Last month, we were down at my parents house for the day. It was a gloriously warm May day, so off to we went to the beach. I'm pretty sure it was the first time the Littlest Brother and the Littlest Sister had ever seen this part of God's creation.  It's fun to be able to show them a whole new world.

 The extra cutie in the middle is my sweet niece.

 Walking with Nonna.

 Checking out this new place.

Yes, they went in.

 So. Cold. Water.

 Still fun though.

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Our new Littlest Sister turned two on May 4th. We didn't have a big party since she and her brother were still adjusting to be at our home. But we still celebrated in the morning with some gifts and a special breakfast.

This little girl is cute and feisty. She fits right into our family. We're so glad you're here, Littlest Sister!

How to Brush Your Teeth

Back in April, I got to go to the Munchkin's classroom when she gave a presentation of her How To book. She taught me (and all the other parents there) how to brush our teeth. It was a terrific lesson. The sweet girl really brushed her teeth while she showed us how which means she brushed about 10-15 times that day.  The dentist would be very happy.

I love the Munchkin's new school.  It's so open to having parents in the classroom.  It's such a caring community. It's culturally diverse. The teachers are awesome. We're excited that the Handsome Man will be there in the fall too.

Venturing Out

When our two newest family members arrived, we knew we eventually had to try venturing out of the house with five kids. This is one of our first attempts when we went to a local zoo and playground. The zoo part went well. The playground was a little stressful because it was way big and it was hard to keep track of everyone. But we went with 5 kids and came home with 5 kids. Success.

The Karate Kid

This post is a bit late but better late than never since I have some blog catching up to do. The Handsome man started taking Karate this year. It's a deal of a class because it's at the local school instead of a regular place. He passed his first test to get one stripe on his white belt.  He didn't have a uniform yet to even get his stripe on (he does now--we weren't sure he was going to like it enough to buy one initially).

Girls' Day

A few weeks ago, I was in the mood for some girl time. A friend of mine had recently gone to some television tapings in NYC so I thought I'd try to get tickets. I was a little disappointed when (my fav) Nate Berkus' show wasn't giving out tickets anymore. But I did get tickets to go to the Martha Stewart Show! Ben was superdad and stayed home with all 5 kiddos (with extra help from his mom) while my mom, sister and aunt spent the day in the city.

We left with book about planting a herb garden, 2 hand towels from Macy's, and a waffle maker--all for free. :) Thanks, Martha!