Soccer Boy

Nathan is playing soccer this sping and so far it has been quite an experience! He is so proud of his shin guards and cleats that Daddy took him out to buy. He was full of anticipation as we waited for the first practice, but when the time came he was actually quite nervous. He did well the first practice but the subsequent sessions have been hit and miss. Apparently he is so awesome he doesnt need to practice.

When his first game day arrived he spent the first few minutes standing still in the field before he finally sat down and was scooped off the field by his coach. Luckily he warmed up to the idea and ended up having a wonderful time running on the field with his team. He doesnt quite grasp the technical end of the game but he does love to run!

Nathan is a highly imaginative little guy and is constantly taking on a new personality. He has continued this at soccer and his coaches are wonderful about indulging this little quirk. It is precious to hear them shouting Go Leo, Go Mr. Incredible!

He is beaming with joy at the end of a game, even though he never goes near the ball! It brings us so much joy to see him so happy, Nathan is so full of life and such a sweet blessing!

In Stitches

I guess it was going to happen sooner or later- in a house with 5 brothers. Our little Cameron made a trip to the ER last night and came home proudly sporting 5 stitches in his forehead. Apparently all our warnings to Brendan that he can not tackle his brothers went in one ear and out the other as he tackled Cameron into a wall last night.
Who would have thought that dinky little head is hard enough to crack drywall? We didn't think much of the thud- those happen regularly around here- but Brendan's scream alerted us that "there's blood"! I ran down stairs to see my little Cammy's face covered in blood but he was remarkably calm.
I carried him upstairs and we sat him on the kitchen counter to inspect his injury. I wiped the blood away and discovered a good sized gash near his hairline. I was holding a rag on it and trying to get Shane's attention as he was lecturing Brendan. Shane kept saying 'he's fine' and continued to speak with Brendan. I was exasperated as I tried to express that he was not fine and he needed medical attention. I can understand now that his constant assurance that Cameron was 'fine' were for Cameron's benefit but Shane clearly became irritated with me and started to yell like a maniac for a moment.
Lucky for Cam, Mommy & Daddy got it together and prepared him for his trip to the ER. We bandaged his wound, bundled him up and occupied him with a snack. As Daddy drove away I was very sad that I could not be there with my little guy. I stayed behind at home. The other boys and I ate dinner and prayed for Cameron during our blessing. The evening remained quiet at home with the boys constantly inquiring about their missing brother. Brendan was quite overcome with guilt.
Daddy reports that Cam was a trooper at the hospital. He was active and happy through the whole ordeal. 5 stitches later they made a quick visit to Grammy who is spending a few days in the hospital herself. Cameron delighted her with his singing and spelling skills.
On the way home Daddy picked up pizza and ice cream for his brave boy. Cameron does not appear distressed in the slightest over this experience. As a matter of fact, he seemed to enjoy all the undivided attention from Daddy!
We praise and thank God for watching over our sweet son and for blessing him with such a resilient attitude. Let us pray that our ER trips are few and far between!

Precious Aiden at 9months

Aiden- 9 months

Tomorrow our precious Aiden Christopher will be 9 months old. Wow. Does it make sense that I am so thankful for growing, healthy, thriving children yet I am also so sad to see how fast these sweet baby days pass us by? It seems that having 5 children makes us more aware of how quickly these precious moments fade away. We look at Aiden scooting and babbling and then we look at the twins and we are totally amazed that they are no longer babies. It feels like a dream- like we went to bed one day with babies and woke up the next with toddlers, then preschoolers. It is even more apparent when we look at Nathan- our long awaited second born. I can close my eyes and see him in his first outfit- a sweet little whale creeper that said 'little squirt'. Now he is playing soccer and learning to read. And then there is Brendan. Has he really been a part of my life for an entire decade? Not only have we watched him grow from baby to little boy- now we are watching him become a young man. I long to capture these moments but I just can not figure out how. Pictures and video just dont seem to do these moments justice. Plus I forget to charge the camera anyway. I pray that each memory will imprint on my heart where I can cherish it always.
Sweet Aiden is such a blessing. His hair seems to be growing much different than the other boys- it looks very light and almost red- but most shockingly- straight! He has 2 bottom teeth and the top have just recently broken through. Our other babies had between 6 and 10 teeth at this age! He is a very speedy army crawler and he is famous for flapping his hands when he is excited or upset or just wants to be held. It is especially sweet to see his hand flapping while he is scooting- he looks like he is swimming.
He is slowly starting to eat solids- we have sampled mashed banana, avacado, sweet potato, melon, apple, and brown rice. We are taking it slowly b/c his tummy is just not ready for larger portions- but he is clearly thriving on mama's milk. Our Aiden is quite a big boy. He is over 20 lbs but we arent sure of an exact weight- he is so robust and healthy he has had no need to see a doctor. Praise God! Aiden has a nice routine but Mommy would like to see him drop a night feeding!
He is a total mama's boy but he also adores his daddy and big brother Brendan. Sometimes when he is playing nicely Mommy tries to sneak away to get something done- but Aiden can easily sense which direction Mommy has headed and he is never far behind.
Aiden loves to knock down block towers much to his brothers dismay, he also enjoys going for walks and looking out the window. He converses with us using a mix of high pitched squeals, DaDa, BaBa, and when you ask him a question- "Yeah". Aiden is recenty fond of giving love- laying his head on his object of affection which could be a person, a toy, or the cat. We do enjoy his love even though it is usually proceeded by a slap.
Aiden Christopher has brought so much joy to our family and we are so very thankful that God has blessed us with him.