Part two

This year I had to do something that I hope to never ever have to do again!!!!  I had to have a root canal!  My face was so funny after the dentist got it all nice and numb...Kendall couldn't pass up the perfect opportunity to take a picture of me looking like a psycho! It makes me laugh every time I look at this picture. It's totally not exaggerated at all, I was just trying to smile, but even my eye corners wouldn't move.

Kendall's little helper has gotten way more helpful!  It's really fun to watch their relationship grow!

 Sam and Josh have this little bond that is sooo cute!  Josh will always let Sam soothe him, and ever since we brought them home, Sam is just...simply...a little partial to Josh.  It's a wonder then that they also look so much like each other!

 Sam started preschool this September.  I really debated on whether or not to send him because I've always felt that my kids would only be home for such a short time before they are out in the "system," being taught by other people, but in the end this has been sooooo good for him.  He has always been such a social kid so I didn't think he needed the social aspect so much, but the importance he feels and the encouragement from other people has been really great for him...plus with his younger siblings taking so much time it's good for him to interact with people that don't expect him to be the "BIG" brother...you know?

 Jack (left) and Josh had their first taste of black and red licorice.  Their aunties Laura and Becky decided to sneak them this very messy treat to the annoyance of their mother! Their car seats and clothes were completely covered too!  But they did look pretty dang cute all covered in goo.

 Sam turned the big 5 in September!  He was so excited to get his bb gun.  He has been practicing in our back yard with Kendall and getting to be quite the shooter.

 His other favorite was his big jug of pink milk mix!

 We managed to snag a fairly decent family picture this fall.   I realized that we didn't have a single family photo since the babies were born, so on a crazy Sunday I asked my mom to take some snapshots for us.

 Sadly, this is the only picture I took of Halloween.  Maggie was a "gnomeo," Sam was Bumblebee from Transformers...his very favorite movie, and Jack & Josh were Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb.  Chloe and Seth stopped by to trick or treat at our house. 

 Man I love these happy boys.  They are such good boys.  Teething is most definitely not my favorite thing, but they are relatively easy babies!  They are both so happy and sweet.  It's so fun to watch them interact with each other.  It seems like because they have always had a little person their own size that they are unusually social with other babies their same age.  Josh almost always has a smile on his face and is our most curious and snugly baby.  Explain that one.  It seems so weird that he is on the extreme of those two things, but he really is.

 Jack is such an outgoing baby...that is if he's at home.  Often times when we are out and about he just stares at people he doesn't know.  He has such a great sense of humor for one so small.  He also loves to tease and smiles and laughs at us any time he catches anyones attention! 

 These pictures were on a day Sam was at school and Maggie was being so silly.  She kept doing all of these goofy poses...she seriously is either my best friend or worst enemy.  Kendall likes to say that it's just because she's a girl that she and I have this relationship, but he really thinks it's because we are so much alike.  I love this little firecracker so much, and even when she is pushing my buttons until I almost lose it, she always manages to do whatever it takes to worm her way into making me laugh or melts me into snugly hugs and kisses!!!

 I planned a surprise party for my mom's birthday this year, and we managed to squeeze 15 people in my fairly average/smallish sized kitchen!  Luckily, Jeanette and Brad couldn't make it because somebody would have had to stand.  We had a good time and almost managed to pull off the surprise, until the last minute when she pulled in at the same time as people walking in to my house!!!

 We went and saw the lights pretty early this year and we had a great time.  We took Trax downtown, which added to the adventure.  Was it just me, or did the lights seem extra twinkly this year?

Christmas was soooo fun!  It gets better every year...the kids are getting more and more into it.  I love to see their excitement and joy in getting and giving gifts!