Up Close..

So there's really no point to this post other than the fact that I realized I love taking up close and personal shots of my kids.. not sure why but closeups are like my favorite to capture.

Practice makes perfect...

Loving daddy's buck call...

Perhaps one day, when he's old enough to hunt, all the practice will pay off.. for now it's just a fun noise maker. I think all of our kids loved playing with this.

Standing Tall

Our little one is on his way to baby steps.. each day, pretty much starting this week, he's been standing on his own longer and longer. He thinks he's quite big stuff too! I love how his hands are in all these pics.. it's so cute when they are first standing and walking as they have to concentrate on their balance so long and hard.

Car's Puzzle

Kooper loves puzzles. Typically he's pretty good at tackling the 24 piece ones, with a little help of course. Well the other day, when we got groceries, I said he could get a new puzzle. We went to the game aisle and I just grabbed one that was a Car's brand. I didn't really look at it, other than the fact that I made sure to grab one that we didn't already have. When we got home I realized it was 100+ puzzle for ages 5-7. We were able to start some of it while Kolter was napping and let me tell you, it was quite challenging. I'm not even sure a 5 or 7 year old could tackle it on their own. Maybe I'm just not that experienced when it comes to puzzles. They are fun though. Thankfully daddy was able to help Kooper finish it and the puzzle was successfully completed. It made for some nice father son time. Next time I'll be sure to grab the 24 piece though as they are a tad more toddler friendly.

Froot Loop Fun

The other afternoon Kenz and I had fun with a little froot loops and licorice craft while the boys were napping. We made two bracelets, a necklace, more like a choker, and a ring. As she loves jewelry it was the perfect craft for her. Kind of a tasty project too as we did lots of snacking while stringing the cereal on the licorice.

Month 10

I'm only like almost a week behind with this post as Kolter hit the 10 month mark on Monday. Not a whole lot is really new or has changed in the past month. He is finally growing a little hair so that's been kind of fun. When it's wet it really looks like he's got a lot because you can get it to go in a little faux hawk. I'm thinking he'll be more on the blonde side like Kooper. He's also learned to shake his head no, which is super cute. If you say no he'll shake it side to side. He also shakes it, side to side, when you say yes, so pretty much he's just learned to shake it and doesn't really get that it means no. Either way, it's still cute. He will no longer eat oatmeal or pretty much anything we try to feed him. He wants to do it all by himself. Such a big boy, hey? I liked giving him oatmeal for breakfast so we've had to find new things for him to feed himself as he just spits it out and that gets old really fast. I think he just likes being independent and is rather stubborn at times. When he wants something he wants something and he'll let you know. He's a very loud child. :-) We love his loudness though and just treasure every moment with him. He's growing so fast and isn't our little tiny baby anymore. He isn't big into cuddling these days which saddens me. He's on the go constantly and just wants to be where the action is. Typically that's wherever Kennedy and Kooper are. It's so cute watching him play and interact with them. He loves them so much and puts up with them most of the time. He takes some abuse but always goes back for more. He's tough, that's for sure. I'll end now with a few pics of our growing boy..

Kenz has her arm around him which is so sweet. I shouldn't have been focused in on just Kolter or this could've been a darling shot of both of them. Next time.

Daddy can get him to smile like no one else.. I think he was actually whispering in his ear here and he was loving it.

Rock Out!

Our very animated daughter was rock'n out bright and early this morning... bedhead and all. I love how she had her eyes closed in every single pic. She knows how to rock and even has the facial expressions down.

No Fear!!

So our fearless children decided to flip our ball pit over and use it as a landing pad as they jumped off the playhouse on to it. I'm not quite sure how long they did this before we caught them. Thankfully there were no long term injuries. I did take Kenz to the dr. on Mon. for a sore foot, thankfully nothing was wrong, so this may be where that stemmed from... there wasn't a whole lot of cushion in their landing pad.

The but, dad face that I just love. They weren't so thrilled when we put the kibosh on their fun. The ball pit has now been put away and no one has jumped off the playhouse since.

Mom and dad ruin all the fun!!

Pearly Whites

On Wednesday Kenz and Koop went to see Dr. Port for their bi-yearly dental checkups. Both of them checked out with perfect hygiene and no cavities. (or sugar bugs as the Dr. calls them) All the times we had to force them to brush really do and did pay off. They actually like to brush now, most of the time, and love going to see Dr. Port. Both kids were so brave and sat just as perfect as could be for Dr. Port to examine and clean their pearly whites. I was very proud of both of them.

Dr. Port is showing them what the polisher is going to feel like on their teeth and gums.
Koop held tight to his fireman buddy as she cleaned.

They are counting her teeth in this pic. Both kids have 20 teeth each. 10 on top and 10 on the bottom. I had no clue that Koop cut his back molars over the past 6 months.

Being brave as her teeth are being cleaned.

When we were all finished both out to grab a special something out of the toy chests. Kenz picked a tiara and a tatoo and Kooper got a dinosaur and a parachute guy. The toys were a hit!! They also enjoyed their goody bags filled with a new tooth brush, toothpaste and floss. I sure wish I enjoyed going to the dentist as much as they do. :-)

Chuck E. Cheese

Last Saturday Jami and I took the boys to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch as the girls were celebrating Bella's b-day at the VanDerMeulen's house. We took Ave with us and we all had a good time. The place was packed over the lunch hour so the boys kept both Jami and I on our toes. We didn't get much of a chance to chit chat, but that's alright. Kolter enjoyed all the noise and all the lights and was an angel the entire time. Kooper, Avery, and Logan had fun with the games and the little rides they have there. Overall it was a fun Saturday afternoon. The girls had a blast at the birthday party. Kennedy came home with a tiara, a tutu- handmade by Tracy and just super cute, and also a very large diamond ring that enjoys sporting all the time now. It caught some eyes at church on Sunday to say the least.. I thought I'd post some pics of our time at Chuck E Cheese. Kolter's first time in the swing...

Avery enjoying his ride. Kooper and Logan wanted nothing to do with it.
Kooper, Logan and Kolter shooting some guns. Avery was with Jami on the popcorn game.

Ave and Koop on their first roller coaster. They didn't make the whole ride before wanting to get off..

Enjoying some more rides...