It's a learning process...

I'm working on Anna's smiles. She started giving little grins at about six weeks, and they were cute, but it was hard to catch them on camera because they were so few and far between.

Wait, is that a smile? Maybe she just has gas.

(Poor baby had a bad rash on her face during this time, too!)

After another week or so, we started seeing little grins more often, but you had to catch her at just the right time, when she was in a good mood (and awake).

Popeye?

She definitely likes to be crooked, that's for sure!

 This one is just funny.

Finally, at eight weeks, we're getting spontaneous smiles all the time! These are coming from a genuinely happy and content baby girl, which pleases her Mommy to no end! I LOVE seeing my Anna smile!

Cousins!

We are super blessed to have a large family of Alexanders! Right now, there are seven cousins, and they're all under the age of five! When we have a family get-together, it almost looks like an in-home daycare, but it's so much fun. The kids really play well together, especially lately, and I hope they continue to have good relationships with one another as they get older.

Our last family gathering was on Father's Day, and we were able to get all the cousins together for a group picture. It wasn't too terrible!

 L to R: Zoe, Ian, Bailey, Christopher, Ethan, Anna and Nicholas

That is one group of seriously stinkin' cute kiddos!

The Fourth

Independence Day just isn't as much fun without fireworks! Oh, well. We didn't get them this year because of the horrible drought conditions, but we had fun anyway. Of course, you are required by law to go swimming and eat some kind of barbecued or grilled meat on this day each year, with or without fireworks. So we did.

The boys are learning to swim underwater for short distances:

Ethan, being a fish.

 Nicky's turn.

Zoe didn't want to get in the pool, at first.

 Miss Attitude.

Unimpressed, she sat down with some juice and cookies.

Once she heard the word "popsicle," she changed her mind.

And there you go.

Even Anna participated in the festivities:

Zzzzzzzz...

My dad decided to forgo the traditional brisket and ribs menu, and cooked some beef and chicken for fajitas, which were extremely yummy! The leftovers in my fridge are calling my name as we speak. 

Even the hottest salsa couldn't compete with the temperature outside, however:

Yeah, baby.

Leather seats will take off a layer of skin. Just FYI.

Oh, and don't touch anything metal, whatever you do.

We opted to stay indoors (and alive), so the kids were running around in costumes for a while, entertaining all the adults.

Blackmail photo # 248.

One of the best parts of the day was getting to spend time with my grandparents. It's hard to get over to their house to visit with them as often as we'd like to with all the kids, so we look forward to any time we can see them. They really seemed to enjoy holding Anna.

It was a fun day, and we all had a really good time! Looking forward to the next holiday and spending more time with family!

Vacation Bible School 2011 - Big Apple Adventure

The kids got to spend a week in NYC in the middle of June! Not really, but we pretended we were there. (Ahem, "good" parents try to feed their child's imagination. Or something.)

We spent some time up at church before the week started, getting everything ready for the mass of children that come to visit each year for Vacation Bible School. Due to the fact that I had a newborn and three other young children, I wasn't able to be as helpful as I would have liked to be beforehand, but it all worked out. 

I was so lucky to get to work in the crafts room with Kim Deviney again this year. I love her, and I love working with the little kids on their art projects. The crafts this year were pretty cute! Anyway, our room...

Ooooh...so "artist-y."

Yes, I made up that word.

 And Lady Liberty herself.

On cardboard boxes.

Hey, it's cool! You just wish you had one.

It was such a busy week! We had so many kids coming through the church each day - the daily average was over 200! I didn't have much time to go and take pictures of my kids enjoying VBS, but I got a few shots. On the last day, Uncle Pete came and helped out, and I sent him off with my camera to find the munchkins. 

And now, for your viewing pleasure (or just mine), gratuitous photos of my children:

The NYC, um, "skyline."

Zoe, making a taxicab.

Nicky's taxi.

Zoe and her new best friend, Kassie, making a T-shirt.

Nicholas making his shirt.

Ethan with his group during Bible study time.

Nicholas and Zoe with their group, making a craft.

Other than crying and eating, this was the extent of Anna's participation in VBS. Next year, she'll be tearing it up!

Ethan, sewing an apple.

He has a "bubble" in his mouth.

(That's a nice way of getting large groups of loud kids to be quiet.) 

All in all, it was a great week! A little hectic with a couple of small panicky moments, but it all worked out. VBS is such an amazing ministry tool, and I'm so glad that I was able to be a part of it this year. I'm already looking forward to next year!

Memorial Day 2011

One of the things I can look forward to every year is some seriously awesome BBQ at my parents' house for Memorial Day. My dad just has a gift. :)

The other exciting thing is getting to watch the kids playing and having a ton of fun, especially with water!

Wheee!

Zoe in her boat.

 No day of swimming would be complete without

POPSICLES!

This year was slightly different, because we had a bit of an adventure. A stinky adventure. Pepe Le Pew decided to come and visit my parents' house on this fabulous holiday weekend. My mom almost ran right into him when she opened the front door, and he wasn't scared of her at all. A lady driving by the house had seen him in the backyard, terrorizing my parents' dog, Molly (who got sprayed, poor thing). Weird. My mom saw the lady sitting in her car, staring at the house, so she was going to go out and see what she needed. Luckily, the lady yelled at her to close the door and my mom reacted quickly enough to avoid the spraying. That's when Pepe decided to make the visit more interesting and go hang out in the garage. My poor dad was trying to figure out a way to get him out of there without making him angry. Angry skunk = stinky garage for a long time.

Apparently, the animal control officers don't have to work on holidays, and no one answered at the police or sheriff's department, so my mother had to call 911 for a stupid skunk. We finally got someone to respond. The only reason my parents were concerned is that the skunk was acting strangely. It was out in the daytime, approaching other animals and people with no fear, and couldn't be chased away. Umm...rabies?!

Our hero. Ha.

It wasn't long before Mom and I heard a gunshot, and the officer and my dad came walking back to the house. The skunk had gone down the hill to the neighbor's house, and he shot it. He also offered to bury it, which pleased the officer, because he wasn't particularly thrilled at the idea of driving around with a dead skunk in his patrol car.

Anyway, it was interesting. The kids totally missed the whole episode because they were napping. They probably would've liked to see the skunk and the police car.

In other news, the BBQ was excellent. Happy Memorial Day, indeed. :)

I am sooooo behind!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, but it's been a little crazy over here! I'm working on it, I swear! :)