Pirates!

Drew and Dawsyn were pirates in the local children's theater production of "Treasure Island". It was an adaptation with a lot of poetic license! :) They had a great time, and we were proud none-the-less! Dawsyn was "Ursula McGee" the pirate with attitude and all of her lines involved sarcastic comments. Typecasting? Drew was "Rancid Roy" and even though he gets VERY nervous up there, he did really well. Delaney was in a smaller play with the younger age group. She was a fairy and had to memorize and act out fairytales. She did really well and was very proud of herself. Dax is now old enough to get in on the action for the next class, we're just not sure they are ready for him! Drake has now started to walk if you hold one hand. He is talking up a storm and even yelled, "I love you Mom" as I was leaving on Friday morning! I don't let him fool me though--he is totally a "Daddy's boy"!

They are dropping like flies!

This weekend at church, Dawsyn turned to the song on page 158 and then looked at me very confused because that was not the song the rest of the congregation was singing. I pointed to the sign at the front of the church and said that it clearly said "150". She argued that it said "158" and I thought, "uh oh". So when we got home, she was watching TV and made the comment that she didn't understand why they always made numbers so little on TV screens. I asked is she was having trouble seeing them and she acted surprised that I wasn't. I then started the interrogation of whether or not she was having trouble seeing the board at school. She INSISTED that she wasn't. She finally said, "I don't have any trouble at all, when the teacher is all done, I just walk up to the board to see what she wrote!" Time to call the doctor. I took her yesterday and she failed with flying colors! SO, that makes two little Adams in glasses. Hers don't come in until next week, but right now she is super excited! Just wait until that first classmate makes a rude comment to her and she no longer thinks her glasses are so great!
I also took the two little guys to doctor for their 4 year and 15 month check ups. That was tons of fun with all of the immunizations! I had all 5 kids in a 3X5 room with at least 8 needles! Not a good recipe for family fun!
I also got further proof that my two youngest could not be more opposite! Dax is all "Adams". He is tall (90th percentile) and thin (30th percentile) with little features and brown eyes and hair. Drake, on the other hand, is all "Reeves". He is short (17th percentile) and chunky (60th percentile) with big features, blue eyes and blond hair! The one thing they do have in common however, is their love of all things ornery!!!!
And--our extended family is growing! My cousin, Jodi just had a little boy-Jameson, and my cousin Lindsey just found out she is pregnant! I hope that both of their "second" children are as wonderful and independent as mine! :)

Family pics

Family pics

I don't know why we do this to ourselves, but I guess it is all worth it when you see sweet pictures like this. When you're in the process of it, it doesn't feel worth it all, though!!! So, here is our crew. This was my favorite pose after an hour of attempts!

Days are running together

I don't know why I always think that January and February will slow down for us. It never does! Delaney turned 6 on January 28th. She had a great day and really enjoyed the fact that it was her birthday. We all celebrated by singing Happy Birthday (the Underwater version) to her. (If you don't know the underwater version, their must not be someone under the age of 9 in your household--just call we'll sing it for you!).
Dawsyn finished up her basketball season. She was one of the highest scorers on her team and is hoping to join a travel team this spring. She continues to be too hard on herself, though! I don't know how to get a child to not be a perfectionist. Maybe I need to try to figure it out for myself first!
Drew still has a few weeks of basketball left. He really tries out there and he got a good rebound and assist last week, he just doesn't come by it as naturally as Dawsyn, God love him. However, he kicks butt in school--his lowest grade right now is a 99%, so we just try to reinforce with our kids that God chooses our talents, not us.
Dax is Dax. I joke and say he is going to be the one that has the news crew standing in the front yard with Shawn and I on the porch saying, "We swear we had no idea!" LOL! The other night we were on our way home from Drew's great parent-teacher conference and I called to check on the kids. Dax answered and I distinctly heard "Super Mario Brothers" in the background. I said, "Dax--you're not playing video games on a school night, are you?" His response was to say (in a sweet, innocent voice), "Ok MOM--I'm going to hang you up now" then, after a pause,..."And I'll make it look like a bloody accident!" I turned to Shawn and commented that we better enjoy the good parent-teacher conferences now!
Drake is the first child I have who busts out laughing at any type of discipline. The future should be fun with that one. Yesterday, he kept throwing his cup on the floor at the restaurant. I picked it up and set it down in front of him and sternly said "NO". He looked at me with huge blue eyes and started laughing hysterically. At this point, Drew leans over and says, "Mom--you aren't very convincing since you're smiling too!"
Cassie got hired to be the OAA tutor in my building. So, right now, my baby sister is teaching in the classroom next to me. So odd! But I am excited for her!
Shawn and I continue to make it through the days somehow. Although, last week, I was so tired, I spent 10 minutes in the parking lot at the kids school wondering why the line wasn't moving. Until finally, a family came walking behing my car got in the car in front of me and drove away. Nothing like wasting 10 minutes in line behind a parked car! Those are the moments I am amazed God gave me these children to raise. I really think he trusts me too much sometimes!