Conked out!

This girl sure fights sleep.

 But when she's wiped out, she'll sleep just about anywhere!

I love her "sleeping mask" here. Looks like Daddy was catching up on some zzzzzz's too!

Littlest Sweetheart!

We spent Saturday morning opening Valentine gifts. Each of the kids got a little gift plus a chocolate heart. I got Jason a few of his favorite foods/snacks plus some gift cards to his favorite places (Amazon and Subway) and he got me a pair of 25-lb dumbbells. I think we know each other pretty well!!

That afternoon (after many squabbles, fights, yelling, etc) we opened up our love notes to one another that we had been writing since the beginning of the month. It brought a nice feeling of love and peace into our home which was nice after our crazy day!! That evening Jason and I went out to dinner (along with Miss Maylie) and then looked at couches and appliances together. It is so much easier to browse and shop with just one little one who hardly makes a peep!!

Our littlest sweetheart couldn't pass the day without modeling her little Valentine's outfit...

I don't know how she does it, but Maylie just gets cuter and cuter every day. We sure do love our little sweetheart!!

Superhero Party!

Dad and the boys headed over to the community college on Friday, February 13th to attend their annual Superhero Party. The had fun running around the gym in capes, buying superhero gadgets with their special tokens and making fun superhero crafts!

Landon found a few of his friends from school which made things even more fun!

Afterwards, they headed over to the church where we had a ward talent show. Abby sang "Let It Go" in her Elsa costume and made quite the hit. Jason even surprised me with an early Valentine's gift by singing a song he had written and composed. It was quite a fun evening for all of us!

Fist to the mouth!!

Oh this little girl...

We are completely smitten with her!! 

And she is completely smitten with her hands, fingers and fist!!

Her goal each day is to get her entire fist in her mouth. She often succeeds and then proceeds to gag herself!!

What a cutie-patootie!!

It's hard to believe she is already 4 months old!!  I am just trying to enjoy each stage and I really love this stage when she is so happy, alert, and smiley but before true mobility sets in!! Her sleep has gotten pretty bad at night though. I'm not really loving that right now but I am sure it will pass eventually. She had her four-month checkup on Friday. She is 25 inches long and 13 pounds. She has fallen off her growth curve for weight (from 75th percentile at birth to 25th percentile now) but she is super healthy and happy and has the motor skills of an average 6 month old. Her pediatrician did say she may need to start solids soon though given the fact that she has fallen off her growth curve and her trouble sleeping through the night (she was up three times to eat last night!) I'm just not quite ready to start her on solids yet though...she is growing up too fast!!

Snow Days!

So far winter has been pretty kind to us. We've had a few storms bringing us a few inches of snow here and there but nothing major and the roads have been kept pretty clear. It's just enough snow to cancel school and bring much delight to our little ones! Nolan has really gotten into the snow this year and loves tagging along with Landon and Abby in their many snow activities.

Here he is being the "snowplow" in the backyard!

Landon got a step-in snowboard for Christmas and has loved trying it out on the little hill in our front yard...

And the two person sled (another Christmas gift) has been shown lots of love this January!

I'm not a huge fan of cold weather, but I do like having all four seasons so that we can enjoy the fun parts of winter too!!

Rolling...rolling...rolling!!

Well, we definitely have a little roller on our hands these days. Maylie rolled over for the first time right at 3 months and has really mastered the skill over the last few weeks. I will now set her down somewhere and come back to find her in a completely different place. She can roll from tummy to back and also from back to tummy and thinks she is pretty hot stuff doing it!!

Look Mom, I'm flying!!

She is at such a fun stage right now. I don't LOVE the newborn phase, but after about 3 months I really start to enjoy watching their little personalities start to shine through. I keep telling her to slow down though because this girl is getting too big way too fast. Sure do love our little Maylie Magoo!!

Mt. Vernon Birthday Trip

I will spare you too many details about our week after New Years. Let's just say it involved a coughing newborn (always scary), a weird rash on one child, some fun potty training moments with another, and a deliciously awful case of lice with the fourth one. Oh, and did I mention that Jason was out of town while this all happened? Yeah it was great...

After we got through those fun parenting moments, it was time to celebrate my 35th birthday!! I definitely don't feel old, but I can no longer claim I am in my "early 30's" any longer. I decided instead of gifts this year, that I would prefer a fun little getaway. We decided Mt. Vernon would be a fun place to visit and once we added in a fun hotel with an indoor pool, the kids were definitely on board too.

My actual birthday was on Sunday, the 18th, but we waited until the next day to take our little trip. The kids had Monday (Martin Luther King Day) and Tuesday off from school so we headed down to Alexandria, VA on Monday afternoon, went swimming and ate my birthday dinner that night. The next day we headed a few miles up to Mt. Vernon where we pretty much had the entire place to ourselves. We started out in the museum/hands-on learning center which was phenomenal. Jason and I both learned a ton about George Washington and the kids were thoroughly entertained by all the exhibits and kid-centered activities. That afternoon we toured the mansion house and surrounding area.

Here are the kids in front of the stables...

A side view of the estate...

The view of the Potomac River from the grounds. It was soooo pretty there, even in Winter. I can only imagine how gorgeous the other seasons would be as well...

A big, big house with our small little family in front!!

I can definitely see why George Washington was a fan of this place!! 

It was a great way to celebrate my birthday. I love doing these fun little trips and made Jason commit to doing more of them in the future. There is so much to see and do around here. I think if we ever moved from the East Coast, I would sure miss our proximity to all of these great tourist areas!