Jackson David Lindsay

Jackson David Lindsay

February 24, 2012

8 lbs. 10 oz. 20 in.

My mom came to stay with us for a week to help out. Thanks, Mom!

Ethan is probably the most fascinated with Jackson out of all my kids. He always wants to "look at his face." Braden loves making Thomas the Tank Engine puzzles (with us, of course!). When he does it with Jeff, he insists they lay this exact same way every time. :)
Tyler enjoying the warm sun, doing his homework.

Christmas Jammies and Art

Christmas Eve Jammies!

I thought it was funny that every one of them has a monkey of some sort--totally unplanned. :) And Brianna's came with a nightgown for her doll, too.

Brianna the Artist

Brianna's becoming quite the little artist lately. She also has suddenly caught on to the joys of reading--really reading, like chapter books that actually have plots. So this picture shows two of her favorite things: drawing on her easel she got for Christmas, and her Rainbow Magic books she's totally into right now. For a 7-year-old, I'd say that drawing is a pretty good likeness!

Holiday Performances

I enrolled Brianna in dance at the start of the school year. She was ready for a change from gymnastics (even though she was really good at it and enjoyed it). As soon as I took her in to the first dance class, she was thrilled. She would be able to wear ballet shoes, the room was full of mirrors, and she was able to practice "petit and grand batmants" etc., just like in the books she's read about ballet! Oh, what joys to a 7-year-old heart!
These pictures I took just before her winter recital. It was a cute dance, and Brianna even had a "solo" cartwheel. She grinned the whole time and did a great job. Isn't she gorgeous?
Tyler joined the school choir, Shelley Sounds, and had quite a few performances the week before school let out for the holidays. It was fun watching. Not only did they sing well (Tyler was an alto along with all the other boys), but they had fun dance moves and really grooved. Tyler had fun with the performances, but I guess the two practices a week doing something he didn't necessarily love wasn't worth it to him, and he's not doing it this time around. I'm glad he decided to try it out, though.

Wasting Time

I seem to have hit a blogging slump. Not that I was ever on a great roll to begin with... but a post every 3-4 months is pretty bad. I'm not quite sure why I haven't done much with it lately, but I haven't even logged on to read everyone else's blogs, either, which I used to do all the time. The only thing I can think of to blame is Facebook. Because let's face it, it is a HUGE time-waster! My life gets busier the older my kids get, and the more kids I get. But I can't use that excuse. Because instead of using my spare time to post a little info here (or maybe even something a lot more constructive), I stare at Facebook. I realized that if I could possibly get my hands on all the posts I've made on Facebook over the past couple years, I would have a very informative and sometimes interesting journal--which I have neglected as well. *sigh* Maybe someday I'll get my life in order and do the things that have a much higher priority.
I guess to sum up my thoughts: The internet is an amazing thing, and has come a long way in the last 10 years, but my goodness! unless you're using it for something constructive and useful, all these cool sites like Facebook, Blogger, Twitter, Google+, etc. are a huge waste of time!

Happy Birthday Ethan!

Ethan turned 4 last Monday, on May 9th. My little guy is getting so big! He's really into letters and the sounds they make right now, so I decided to make him an alphabet cake. He loved it, especially the giant E. :) The bubble laser gun was a bit hit, too, but the one who loves it the most is Braden. He grabs that thing, pulls the trigger and shouts, "bobos (bubbles)!"

18 Months

My little Braden Bug turns 18 months old on the 17th. Crazy how time flies. He is a darling, despite the rocky beginning we had. :) He does still scream *quite* a lot...but at least he gets distracted more now by running around and playing with his big brothers and sister (unless he's playing with his immediate big brother, Ethan--then there is a LOT of screaming involved). Jeff has found a good solution to keeping Braden quiet and happy while we make dinners, at least: He is happy as long as he can see what's going on and feels like he's not being ignored. :)
Braden sure has given me a lot to do. This is just one of the things he likes to get into when my back is turned for just a minute:

Oh, the fun adventures of a one-year-old! It sure has been eventful with Braden around. I love him so much, he is a great hugger...and very very silly. :D

Knowledge Bowl

I signed Tyler up for the Knowledge Bowl this year. It was quite the experience! I had no idea how work intensive it is, and how much I as the parent had to work! The team I got on was all new, none of the kids or parents had ever done it before. But the other moms were excited about it and we had a good time with group study sessions.
Unfortunately, the school could only send 3 out of the 4 teams to the district competition, so we had an early play-off to determine which ones would go. We had 3 weeks of frenzied studying before it was time.
You can tell in this picture how nervous these poor kids felt, none of them gave a real smile. But by the second round they loosened up a bit and seemed to be enjoying it more. They won one out of three rounds, but ended up with the lowest score, so didn't get to be one of the teams to go on. I must say I felt a bit relieved I didn't have to worry about it anymore. :) The kids were disappointed, but on the way home Tyler said, "Even thought we lost, I still feel pretty good about myself," and, "At least I have a real certificate to hang on my wall!" Cute boy. It was a good experience for both of us. History was definitely not my or Tyler's strong point, but next year is Science, which interests Tyler... so who knows, I may just be fool enough to try it again next year!