{MusT bE sPrinG....BaseBaLL tiMe}

Ayden is playing for the Cardinals this year.  This is his 2nd year in single A and I was disappointed he didn't get bumped up to AA.  He is one of the oldest on his team (because of how his bday falls) and he has some kids on his team that are in Kinder with Zoey!  So I was bummed at first, wishing he was playing up with the older boys, but I realize now, after talking to moms of boys who did get bumped up, that we are better off where we are!  It has been good for Ayden to be able to build up his confidence some more before he gets bumped up next year!

Like always, when someone puts on a uniform, whether it's a basketball uniform, a soccer uniform, a baseball uniform or a bike jersey......Maddix always has to "match" them!  So he often wears one of Ayden's old baseball uniforms to the games!  Ayden wishes that Maddix had a Cardinals uniform because he doesn't like him wearing other team's uniforms to the games!  HA!

Check out that smile....obviously Maddix is happy in ANY uniform!!  :)

The year started out with the coaches pitching and then moved to machine pitch!  Ayden is doing so much better this year!  He is more focused, he pays attention when out on the field instead of picking grass, and he seems to finally "understand" the game!  It is great to see....FINALLY!!!  :)

I've joked (not really joking) that I need to start getting babysitters for Maddix during the games.....because as you can imagine, trying to contain him and watch him is a full time job....so I often miss big plays during the game because of that!!  Just to give a few examples of what Maddix does during the game....he runs to the snack bar and flashes his cute smile to the girls and they give him free suckers, he runs into the dugout with Ayden's team & the opposing team and sits on the bench (I am waiting for the game that he actually makes a run for it out to the field), he chases other kids around (and will hit them if I am not watching & right on top of him), he has ridden a scooter down the sidewalk and into the parking lot....almost getting hit by a car, he takes off for the playground during the middle of the game, he stomps on the bleachers as loud as he can (you can imagine what the other fans think of us)!!?!?  Those are just a few examples.....you get the drift!!!!

I love this picture....looks like he is practicing his pitching.....with his leg up high and throwing with his left hand, of course!  Woohoo....our left handed pitcher!!

Ayden has had some great hits the last couple games....a double last game and a triple the game before that!!!  It's so exciting to see a little bit of improvement in him from last season!  I hope he keeps improving and who knows, maybe baseball will be his favorite sport!!!  :)

Ayden's team picture this year....I could've killed him with that goofy smile that he gave on picture day!!!  Crazy kid!!!  :-/

{OpeN hOuSe}

Doing some serious blog catch up today!!  I always love going to Back to School Night and Open House!  It's so fun to get into the kid's classrooms and see what they do all day and see them in their element....this is especially important for me this year because this is the first year that I am not a regular helper in the classroom....and that drives me crazy!  But it's just too hard with Maddix being home and so next year when he is in school too, I will get my chance again!!  :)

Zoey had some cute projects that they had been working on!!  Kinder is seriously the BEST!!!!  :)

This was for 100 days of school!  I love the cute little old lady she portrayed herself to be when she is 100....with the cute white hair and glasses!  But I especially love that her old lady is wearing a necklace & earrings!!  I am sure that even at 100, Zoey will be an accessorizer!!!  :)

It says, "When I am 100 years old, I will probably have white hair.  I will probably eats lots of fruit and crackers.  When I am home, I will probably paint.  My friends and I will probably paint!"  HA!  :)

Showing us her silhouette.....

I didn't even recognize her!!  This so doesn't look like Zoey to me!  HA!!!  These were the clues to help us guess which one she was...."First, my favorite food is chocolate.  Next, I like to jump on my trampoline.  Last, I really LOVE my stuffed animals.  WHO AM I???"  I laughed at the fact that she LOVED her stuffed animals so much.....most of the other kids said they love their moms or dads or families......Zoey loves her stuffed animals!!  :)

Zoey and her AMAZING teacher, Mrs. Sanchez!  I seriously love her so much....she has been one of the best teachers we've had so far and I just wish Zoey could be with her every year through high school!  HA!  :)

Next up....Ayden's class!!  He was BEYOND excited to show us what he had been working on!!  :)

They had to write letters to their family......"Dear Family, While I am at Critter Camp, please take care of R2-D2 and Boba Fett.  Here are a number of directions to do.  First, throw bananas at them.  Next, let them wrestle for a minute.  Next, let them stay up until 12:00 pm.  Thanks.  Ayden"

Showing us some cool science experiments....

This is Adyen's "Who am I" picture....."I like Minecraft (that gave it away right there).  I like my family.  I like Stampycat, but I do not like when my baby bites."

This is so funny.....things that make us mad!!

"My mom is a mad scientist when my dog gets wet (huh?!?!).  My dad is a mad scientist when there is no chocolate (I think he meant that for his mom).  I am a mad scientist when my brother turns off the X-box and when me and my dad are building an invention"!  HA!  So funny the things his little mind thinks up!

Such a fun night!  I love that my kids are learning so much!  :)

{PlaY BaaAaaLLLL!!!!!}

Spring is in the air....which means another baseball season is in FULL SWING!!  On of my boys REALLY wants to be on the team this year.....

....And one of them thought he didn't want to play baseball this year.....until Opening Day and then he decided it would be ok after all....

Welcoming the Cardinals at Opening Day last Satruday.....

Last night was Ayden's first game.  Of course Maddix had to get all ready for the game too!  Thank goodness we save all our old uniforms for this little guy!  :)  He decided he wanted to be a Dodger for this game!  But when I asked him if he was on the baseball team, he said, "No, I be on the BASKETBALL team"!!  HA!  

Ayden was excited for his 1st game.  He got 3 hits and had a good game!  

I think I need to start getting a babysitter for a little someone at these games!  It is IMPOSSIBLE to wrangle him AND try to watch the game at the same time!  

Check out that attitude....

Here is is practicing his pitching...get that leg up boy..check that out, he's a leftie pitcher!  HAHA!!  :)

It's gonna be a loooong baseball season!!  Between chasing this boy around, listening to Zoey ask 385 times each game if we can go play at the playground, and best of all.......having Ayden ask if he can go get a snack at the snack bar.....DURING the game!!  Yes, last night, right before the game started, Ayden ran up to me in the bleachers and said, "Can I go get something at the snack bar?"  When I looked at him with a look that said, "Are you SERIOUS right now?", he responded with, "I brought my own money"!!!  Yes he was dead serious.....he didn't want to get a snack AFTER the game....he wanted something right THEN and THERE.....right before the game started!  Oh boy!!  Like I said, it is going to be a LONG baseball season!!!  :)

{LoTs GoiN oN....}

Not a lotta bloggin going on, but a lot has been going on!!  Can't believe how fast the days are going....can't believe that it is March already...can't believe that the kids have 1 more week of school, then 2 weeks of Spring Break, then 8 more weeks of school......and then it's SUMMER!!!  And then 10 weeks of summer.....and I will have a THIRD grader, a FIRST grader, and a PRESCHOOLER!!!!!  Seriously, are they really going to be that old in just 21 weeks?!?!!?  Ahhhhh!!!!  As much as I want them to stay little, I am not gonna lie....I am dreaming about what I will do with myself 2 days a week for 3 straight hours when ALL 3 of them are out of the house at school!!  Really....I cannot even imagine what I am going to do with myself!!

Anyway, back to the present.....because anyone that knows me knows that I am so bad about always looking into the future!!!  :-/  So.....we've been busy....and things aren't letting up anytime soon!!

Our Utah cousins were here visiting....the kids had fun playing and then Natalia came to stay at our house for a few days!  

This has been the story of our lives for the past 6 weeks....sick, sick and more sick!!!  All FIVE of us have officially had it....we have ALL been sick!  I am about sick of it!!  This seems to be by far our sickest year so far!!  Blah!!!  And I NEVER EVER EVER get sick, so for me to have been sick as much as I have been this year is really annoying!!  But other than the "common cold" and regular sicknesses, thank goodness that we are a generally healthy family, cuz I always know that things could be worse!!!

Kids were excited about making Valentine's for their class parties and it was nice to have them occupied for a couple hours one day after school!  :)

Zoey got to be the "STAR STUDEN" at school....so she took in this cute little poster that had pics of her, her family, her hobbies, things she's good at, and all her favorite things!

She had fun spending time with "Star Bear" all week and sharing lots of adventures together!  :)

We got invited to the Cub Scouts "Blue & Gold Dinner" since Ayden will be turning 8 in just a couple months and will be joining scouts!!  To say that he is SUPER excited would be a COMPLETE understatement!!!!  He has been ready to start Scouts for years!!!!  He was excited when they called him up (and his 2 buddies from school that are also turning 8 this year)!  Hard to see, but he is in the back of the pick with a yellow shirt on!  :)

We got a mini trampoline for our "mini" backyard!  This has been the greatest investment we've made in a long time!!  The kids literally spend ALL day in the backyard now!  It is wonderful!  I can't wait til summer!!  If only we had a pool......sigh!!!  :-/

We are loving our new van....and apparently I am officially the chauffeur to my FOUR children!!  Yes, Jeremiah will sometimes sit in the back seat so that he can watch movies with the kids!!  Oh boy!!

We whipped out the homemade ice cream maker that Jer & I got for our wedding....and we have been making TONS of homemade ice cream!!  The kids love it!!  And it tastes so delish!!!

Zoey lost another tooth and is almost toothless now!!  The top 2 that she lost BEFORE Christmas are showing no signs of anything coming in yet!!  I hope she doesn't stay toothless forever!!  There is another tooth on the bottom that is hanging by a thread....pretty soon she will need to be on a liquid diet!!  ;-)

This is all day, every day!!  I cannot keep this kid contained....literally!!!  He has learned how to go through the doggie door & open the garage door......to be found riding his bike down the middle of the street!  He learned how to go through 2 doggie doors to get to the backyard.....but since then has just learned how to unlock and open the back sliding door....which is so much easier than crawling through 2 doggie doors!!  :-/  He has learned to unlock the dead bolt to the front door.....to be found running around in the front yard....or to the neighbors house!!!  Yes, I did have a knock at my door one day....with a neighbor bringing Maddix back home!  Oh, so just put a child proof handle cover on the door knob, you say???  Oh yes, he has learned to break those off too!!  We have one on his bedroom door....and every single morning and every single nap, he breaks it off and opens the door.....to freedom!!  Not sure what the point is to keep putting them back on?!?!  He climbs the counters, turns on the microwave, finds the candy and gum, opens the fridge and freezer to get cookie balls and popsicles.....EVERY. SINGLE. MORNING!!!  Literally!!  So like I said, I can't keep him contained!!  He is exhausting to say the least!!  It's a good thing he's cute....that is all I have to say!!  And who knows....maybe that 3 hours that I get twice a week, starting in August, maybe I will just lay on the couch and sleep!!!!  

We tried "Farm Fresh to You" because I bought a Groupon for it.  It was fun to discover the book on our front porch one morning, but we weren't very impressed!  :-/  There wasn't much food for the money....and everything was teeny....and went bad in just a few days!  Darn....big disappointment!!  :(  Oh well, I'd rather just buy my stuff at the grocery store!!  :)

 

Maddix enjoyed checking out the goods....

....and tasting!!  Jeremiah and I laughed when Maddix took 5 bites out of this apple that cost us about $4...and then threw it away!

This is everything we got....for about $35 bucks!  :-/

We made Ayden's lunch for school one day and when I opened the fridge in the morning, I saw his sandwich still in the fridge and his lunch box was gone!  So I got his lunch out of his backpack and this is what I found......

 

I asked him what the heck happened to his lunch and he said he didn't feel like a sandwich that day.....so he looked in the cupboard to see what else he could have and he decided that Cup O Noodles sounded good....so he put that in his lunch!  HA!!  Maybe I should've just let him take that to school.....it would've been funny to see how disappointed he was when he realized that hot water was needed to make Cup O Noodles!!  LOL!!

Also came downstairs one morning to find that Ayden "made" breakfast for everyone.  There were mutilated bagel bars on the counter for Zoey and Maddix!  This is what it looked like.......awful!!   HA!  Zoey must have agreed with me because she crossed out her name & Maddix's name (that Ayden wrote) and she wrote "NO AYDEN" on both paper towels!  HA!  It's the thought that counts, right?!?!  :)

Oh that boy is a character!!  We moved our basketball hoop to the backyard!  We're trying to make the backyard more "fun" and usable so that we don't always have to be in the front yard!  Well, Ayden got creative one day and figured out how short people do slam dunks!!  :)  Whatever works!!

He also has been obsessed with reading lately, which has been the most wonderful and welcome surprise!!  He is literally the boy in this house that HATES to ride....the same boy that would cry at the beginning of the school year when I told him he had to do his 15 min of reading!  It's like reading was torture to him!  Well, we have now officially found a book series that he LOVES!!!  I am so happy!!  And they are CHAPTER BOOKS!!!!  He has literally never read a chapter book on his own....until now!  He would start a million of them and then get bored and not go past chapter 1!!  Well, just this week alone, he has been staying up over an hour to read every night before bed and he has finished 2 chapter books!!!  It is so exciting to see!!  He BEGS us to stay up and keep reading every night!!  It is just so unlike him, so we are enjoying it!!  :)  He's also motivated by the fact that we told him we would give him $2 for every chapter book he finishes!  He told us he was going to take all of our money!  HA!  :)

Maddix & Puppi have a love/hate relationship!!  He LOVES to torment her and she HATES to be tormented by him!!  But lately, he sits next to her, pets her so so gently, and says in the SWEETEST voice ever, "Hi Sweetie"!!  LOL!!  I am not eve sure he heard that word because it's not a word that Jer & I throw around!  HA!  But it really is the cutest thing ever!!

And this is a pretty typical view at our house.....Maddix running around naked!  He may not always wear a diaper, but he at least always wears his Air Jordan basketball shoes!!  HA!  Priorities!!!  :)

This was the day that I caught him outside riding his bike when he opened the garage door without me knowing!!  Yeah, he had probably been out there for a good 10 minutes before I noticed!  I wonder how many cars drove by and saw him without a parent watching!  It's a miracle that CPS hasn't shown up at my door about this!!  :-/

But really......as challenging as that kid is, he has a heart of gold and a smile that will melt your heart!!!  I just can't get enough of this face.....

Crazy Zoey is still sleeping like a maniac!!  We check on her every night before we go to bed and we find her in the weirdest, most random positions EVER!!!  Like really.....do ALL kids do this?!?!  I hope so....I hope this is normal....and I hope she grows out of it!!  Because if not, I feel REALLY sorry for her husband!!!!  HA!

She has been playing lots of "Just Dance" lately and it is so fun to watch her dance!!  She really doesn't have much rhythm at all....which is quite sad!!  Hopefully with all the practice, she will get better!!  :)

Zoey got to go on her first ever field trip at school last week!!  They went to the dairy and she was SO EXCITED about it!!  I was super nervous about it all week prior!  I thought her anxiety was going to get the best of her....being gone from Mommy all day, riding in a school bus.....without a car seat OR a seat belt!!  :-/  This is the child that doesn't like to break the rules, so I was picturing her crying and throwing a fit, clenching to the bus door when they were trying to get her to load the bus!  But then I got a text message from her SWEET teacher that said, "she's doing just fine" with this picture attached of Zoey and her friend Rachel!  Ahhh....it was such a relief to see and I so appreciated her teacher doing that!!  Not gonna lie....I was worried about MY own anxiety getting the best of me that day too!  HA!  But everything worked out and she had the BEST time!!  :)

I didn't get to go on the field trip, but one of Zoey's best friends, Bailey's mom did go and sent me a bunch of fun pictures!!  :)  Looks like a blast!!!

Been a busy month....hoping things slow down around here soon! If not, then we will just look forward to our Spring Break, which will be here before we know it!!  :)