Nottingham Family

Sweet Baby, Second Grade & Sweaty State Fair

2010-08-16T07:49:00.000-07:00

This is getting embarrassing

2010-08-16T07:32:00.001-07:00

Like any habit, it takes FOREVER to make it stick... but NO TIME AT ALL for it to unstickl. I was a pretty faithful blogger for over 2 years and all of a sudden I have forgotten all about it!

It's too overwhelming to catch up on my last 4 months of non-blogging, so here are some recent pics of my darlings...

We're still alive!!

2010-04-07T17:27:00.000-07:00

I was gently reminded by an old friend (thanks, Joy!) that I have really been slacking in my blogging. Blogging? OH YEAH! That website where I used to post updates of my family and put pictures for others to enjoy. The wait is over, my friends, but rather than try to catch you up on every single event from the last 4 months (has it been THAT long?!) I'm going to throw in some random pictures so you can be refreshed as to what everyone looks like and then I'll go from there... The order isn't exactly chronological, but does it seem like that would bother me? I am 4 months behind after all. :)

Reese and Lincoln pass many warm afternoons on their bikes in the backyard, zooming around the (covered) pool.

Sitting on a real firetruck at our neighbor's Easter Egg Hunt at their church!

After much hard work making a car with Pappaw for the derby race, Emma raced her car proudly!

Knox's very famous awesome mohawk

Lincoln loving on his baby bro

Me & Knox in his famous Colts hat that our friend Jennifer Millsaps made as a baby gift. He has gotten a bazillion compliments on it!

Emma's acting debut! Their first grade did a Dr. Seuss Musical and Emma auditioned for Sally speaking lines and got it!

Baby bro

2009-12-01T10:06:00.000-08:00

They all love to hold little Knox... well, Lincoln kinda likes to smack him, too.

Helfert-Huggins wedding

2009-12-01T10:02:00.000-08:00

The weather and scenery couldn't have been more perfect for my sister's wedding in Clearwater. Emma was a flower girl and Reese was a ring bearer and they both did super as they made their half-mile trek along the sand from the hotel to the wedding (no joke- the beach was huge!). Thanks, Kara and Chris, for letting us be a part of your special day!

A Disney Birthday!

2009-12-01T09:08:00.000-08:00

We were already heading to Florida for my sister's wedding, so we made a trip of it. We started at Downtown Disney for birthday dinner at the T-Rex Cafe (which Reese was terrified of... then loved) and shopping. The next morning, we headed to Magic Kingdom. Turns out you get into Disney World for FREE on your birthday! Just print out a certificate, bring your birth certificate and no more $75 ticket! Anyway, Lincoln got to experience Downtown Disney, but we left him at the condo with Grammie for Magic Kingdom. We packed as much into one day as we could and the kids totally loved it all. Can't wait to go back when they're a little older. I took so many pictures (on the last day before my camera got swept into the ocean)... but here are a few highlights!

Birthday at school

2009-12-01T08:59:00.000-08:00

At preschool, they celebrate each kiddo by letting a parent come in to read books to the class. I got that honor (and, wow, do I have a new appreciation for preschool teachers!) :)

Trick-or-Treat

2009-12-01T08:53:00.001-08:00

This year, Emma was Super Girl, Reese was a shark, and Lincoln was THE dinosaur.

A few notes:

After bidding on a shark costume on Ebay that went up to over $30, I happened upon the DOG costumes at Target for only $10!!! They are perfect for kids under 4... who cares if there are random ear holes? I will definitely be hittin that aisle up again next year!

The dinosaur costume from Once Upon a Child that I spent $4 on was the best $4 I ever spent. :)

Happy Birthday, Shark Boy!

2009-12-01T08:45:00.000-08:00

Since we would be at DISNEY WORLD (!) for Reese's actual big day, we had a shark party the previous week to celebrate (and to use the awesome shark party stuff I got on Ebay) with a few family and friends. In case you are curious, he'll be having a snake party next year. It's good to plan ahead.

Apples 'n Punkins

2009-12-01T08:40:00.000-08:00

We decided with the Fall upon us, it was time to hit up the apple orchard/pumpkin patch. It was totally freezing (Josh's worst nightmare), but the rest of us had fun. :)

Family

2009-10-13T12:04:00.000-07:00

My cousin Kristen came for a visit from NY and it was fantastic having an extra set of hands. My 2 hands are not usually enough for 4 children. :) She did lots of Knox-holding and even got to share in his first bath misery. We even managed to scrapbook for a couple hours!

Life with Knox

2009-10-07T07:16:00.000-07:00

As we stare at our precious baby, we are struck by God's amazing plan to bring Knox into this world. He is a total blessing. The kids are crazy about him- even Lincoln, who has just a slightly difficult time being gentle. :)

Welcome, Baby Knox!

2009-10-01T17:26:00.000-07:00

I was up bright and early and ready to be induced for this little guy... and it sure didn't take long! I was all hooked up by 8:00 a.m. and he was born at 10:17 a.m. We were all surprised when my doctor came in to break my water and I was ready to push. The nurses said they'd never seen anything like it. I told them I was fast. :)

Knox Reagan Nottingham

October 1, 2009

10:17 a.m.

7 lb, 6 oz

19 1/4 in

He is absolutely precious and wonderful.

Scooby Doo Fun

2009-09-28T11:00:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we celebrated Emma's birthday with family... and since I was barely functioning thanks to the night before.... thank you to Grammie Debbie (mom) for saving me and taking on all the duties that my body was no longer able to perform in the party-planning arena! :)

In the tradition of the Gross family, Aunt Kara took Emma to get her ears pierced at Claires... she got a little nervous right before they actually did it, but she was a champ! Her little "diamonds" look adorable.

Then we had a nice, QUIET party celebrating our sweet little girl.

She's 7!

2009-09-25T18:21:00.000-07:00

The big Scooby Doo day finally arrived! Emma woke up to the royal treatment with a decorated kitchen, cinnamon rolls before school... Daddy eating lunch at school (while Emma ate her imitation crab and butter...haha!) Then pizza for dinner... and the big party! It was our first time trying out a friend party and I let Emma invite all the girls from her class and a few neighbors. We had 12 little girls under 7 here for what I can only describe as the NOISIEST night I have experienced in a great while. I don't EVER remember being a part of so much squealing and balled-up energy being released. It was deafening at points... needless to say, the girls were pumped playing "musical bones," "doggy, doggy, where's your bone?" and "mummy wrap" and eating Scooby snacks... phew. Now on to the family party tomorrow... and then giving birth in 5 days. I can do this! :)

counter minus 7 days

2009-09-13T08:07:00.000-07:00

So that little baby counter over to the right is not quite accurate. In case you're counting... subtract 7 days. I'm being induced on October 1st, so unless this little guy decides to come early, we have 18 days! Whoa.

First day of preschool!

2009-09-09T09:24:00.001-07:00

We have been pumping up the idea of preschool for some weeks now, unsure of how Reese would do with being left by himself. He's been really excited... new dinosaur backpack, lunchbox, and shoes... met his super sweet teacher... got to check out the school, see his class and cubby and meet all his other teachers at open house...

And then last night he totally freaked out and did NOT want to be left at school by himself. Emma was so sweet and slept in his room and prayed for him to be brave. And after talking to him a bit and reminding him about all the fun things he already knew about his school, he got RE-excited and did an awesome job today when we dropped him off. He went straight to the Dinosaur ABC book he'd seen there...

Update: Picked him up at 1:30 and he'd had a GREAT DAY! His favorite thing- the dinosaur book. Shocker. :)

What are we thinking?

2009-09-09T09:21:00.000-07:00

Upon sharing our fish dilemma at the bus stop, my neighbor was telling me about this cool thing they're selling at Hallmark. It's 2 frogs and a snail and it's nearly self-sufficient. The "living rocks" and plant provide oxygen and other nutrients, the snail cleans the gunk and we only have to feed the frogs twice a week! They have now been alive in our house for 9 DAYS- it's a miracle!!!!

Another one bites the dust

2009-08-29T14:48:00.000-07:00

Our kids have begged for years to get a pet. A few years ago, we decided to give fish ownership a try. After having about 4 fish (including one that the pet store guy said was unkillable) die within a week, we were convinced it was our water. How else does a fish die that fast? We did the whole water-prep thing, fed them as told, and loved them (at least the kids did). After giving it a break for a couple years, we decided to try out the water at our new house and take the plunge! Today is day 4 and Scooby Doo is dead.

Moral: If you have a pet that you are looking to kill (namely, fish) send it our way. We'll get the job done. Guaranteed.

Fried Fun

2009-08-24T17:45:00.000-07:00

Am I

36 inches yet? :(

Need I say more?

Greasy. Sweaty. Expensive. Awesome. The State Fair is an experience that, for some reason, keeps us coming back year after year. Where else can you turn perfectly healthy vegetables into a pile of grease? We tried out the Riley Fun Park which was totally fun and had so much stuff we'd never seen before. We also got trapped in the agricultural building during a torrential downpour which we were hoping was perfectly timed to go ahead and grab dinner... but WHO EATS A VEGETABLE OR FRUIT PLATE at the fair?? They had choices like cold tomato juice and turkey sandwiches. WHAT?! Where was the chocolate covered bacon we'd heard so much about? (Gross.) Needless to say, we waited until we could get our pulled BBQ pork and roasted corn slathered in butter. And after spending about $50 in rides and food, Josh offered Emma a deal she couldn't refuse. She wanted a $6 slushie, so he paid her $1 to get a McDonald's sundae instead. Now that's a deal where everyone wins. :)

First Day of First Grade!

2009-08-12T06:10:00.000-07:00

It's been a BIG week for Emma... We got to meet her new teacher, Mrs. Stinson (who she loved), on Monday at her ice cream social at school, then she lost her 3rd tooth yesterday in the pool, and today is the FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE! Full day, bus rides both ways, lunch at school, making new friends... We started the day with a nervous and excited little girl coming down all dressed and ready to go. She helped me pack her first school lunch and ate her favorite breakfast of cinnamon rolls (wearing her backpack) and then it was off to the bus stop. A passerby may have thought Miley Cyrus was making an appearance there with the amount of cameras and camcorders. She was still a little nervous when bus 73 arrived, but I think having a few of her bus pals there helped. I asked Reese what we're going to do without Emma all day and he said, "Miss her."

Praying for a fun day for our big FIRST GRADER!

Growing Monkey

2009-07-20T08:48:00.000-07:00

We just can't believe how big this kid is getting... and in 73 days, he won't be the baby anymore! He cracks us up all day long and we can already see that he has a sweet, energetic and daring personality. What a blessing he is to our family. :)

Walking with the Dinos

2009-07-20T08:42:00.000-07:00

My mom got Reese tickets (early bday gift) to go see this dinosaur spectacular... and he was pretty pumped. We'd been watching clips of it online and he'd pretty much memorized all the dinos we'd be seeing. It did not disappoint- we were 6 rows up with a new light-up toy and cotton candy. The dinosaurs were totally realistic. The only part that worried him was when he thought the baby t-rex was in danger, but its mama came to defend it, don't you worry. :)

Reunion!

2009-07-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

It had been way too many years since I'd seen these dear high school friends and had never met ANY of their kids! Between the 4 of us, we had the beginnings of a preschool... 8 kids 6 and under. We didn't exactly get to sit around chatting and sipping coffee (not as if I'd ever drink coffee anyway), but it was nice to spend some time together seeing them in their new roles as "mommy." Abby is on the left (she has 2 boys), then Angi next to her (she has 2 girls), and then Laura behind me (with her son). What fun!

H2Ohhhhhh

2009-07-20T08:32:00.000-07:00

This summer has been wonderfully filled with boat trips, spray parks and our own pool. The kids just can't get enough water and it's been such a great way to stay cool and entertained.

Anniversary Cruise

2009-07-20T08:23:00.000-07:00

What a way to celebrate 10 years! We headed out From Miami to Key West and Nassau with NO kids (other than the one in utero) thanks to the Grammies! Our time was almost completely filled with sleeping, eating, lounging, and reading! In Nassau we decided to get off the ship and take a tour to relive a bit of our honeymoon. We had a great tour guide all to ourselves and he taught us tons about the island as we drove around. For lunch we ate at a chinese restaurant that we enjoyed several times on our honeymoon. I also finished 3 of the 4 Twilight books which could never have been accomplished outside of a vacation. We just thoroughly enjoyed our time away with absolutely no responsibilities other than what we'd do for the day. Happy 10 years (which we don't technically celebrate til August 7th) :)

Kindergarten Program

2009-05-22T14:07:00.000-07:00

This Wednesday was Emma's shining moment at her kindergarten program. She was so excited and practiced her line a million times. She was afraid she'd get stage fright, but I wasn't too worried... :) Unfortunately all you can hear on the video is Reese talking away, but she did great! Way to go, Emma!

Grammie Bev and Pappaw came to show their support and, of course, her little bros!

Emma and her pals

Wild Man

2009-05-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

Our little Lincoln has earned himself this title over the last few months. He's totally into everything and especially loves when I turn my back when the dishwasher is open... this picture was taken moments before his grimy little wet feet slipped and he about knocked himself out (nevermind the possibility of cutting off his foot on the cheese grater...)

And his big bro is in the next picture at about the same age!

It's a....

2009-05-11T10:17:00.000-07:00

So today was the big day! At the ultrasound this morning, we found out it was a healthy baby... hold on. Even I didn't find out for a couple hours. We had the tech put this picture in an envelope and when we picked Emma up from school and went to McDonald's, she got to reveal it to us all! I envisioned laughs, smiles, joy... hmm... not exactly.

Emma burst into tears as the reality of being the big sister to THREE brothers set in. As she cried all through lunch, we reminded her how special she is to be the only girl and what a great big sister she is... and how God made this special baby and He knows just what He's doing. It'll grow on her. :)

Guess!

2009-05-06T12:17:00.000-07:00

I don't have anything exciting to blog, but we do find out the sex of this baby next Monday... any guesses?? You've got a 50/50 chance... :)

Not-So-Merry Maids

2009-05-04T11:51:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness for our dear friend Sara who was willing to come help clean up ground zero at our old house after our renters moved out. It's amazing what 20-something guys consider clean. Take a look for yourself and see the magic we worked. We did need a chemical rinse when we left... I'm pretty sure the swine flu was harvesting there.

I don't have after pictures for these, but wow...

Go, Team Mercury!

2009-05-04T11:42:00.000-07:00

On our 3rd try of signing up for soccer, Emma is finally getting to try it out (it was cancelled the other times). We had no idea what she'd think of it and she hasn't exactly shown interest in sports... let's say it was highly entertaining. :) At her first practice, she was getting circled by seasoned 6 & 7 year olds who had clearly been in soccer since they were toddlers. She twirled her hair as she stood there trying to figure out what to do. At her first game, I was trying to explain to Josh that her coach had asked her to stand on the sidelines because they had too many players on her team. Nope. She was just standing there because she had no idea what to do! I think she touched the ball once when she stuck her foot into the wad of kids who were circling the ball like prey. At the end she was pleased with the mud on her new shinguards and ready to try again next week.

Happy REAL Bday!

2009-04-21T13:41:00.001-07:00

To celebrate the big 1 today, we headed to Chuck E. Cheese's for pizza Lincoln mostly gagged on, rides that are way too big for him and prizes he could choke to death on. Okay, I confess it was mostly for the siblings, but Lincoln had some fun too. :) He got a total kick out of the little rides...

Happy Birthday, Lincoln!

2009-04-18T13:12:00.000-07:00

I know I say it every time one of these rolls around, but wasn't this kid JUST born?! We had an Old McDonald birthday party on Easter weekend since my family was in town. Lincoln was so sweet, trying his hardest to open his gifts (with the help of his siblings, of course). But the highlight was the cake. He was hilarious, investigating it slowly, touching it cautiously, then diving right in until he nearly ate the whole dang thing. I stopped him at the point where I was sure I'd be cleaning up red-tinted puke in a matter of minutes. After shaking him off and scrubbing the shortening-based frosting off of his entire body in the bathtub, he took a great nap; undoubtedly dreaming of cake. Happy Birthday, little buddy!

Dinosaur World

2009-04-18T12:53:00.000-07:00

So we heard about this place called Dinosaur World and knew we HAD to take Reese there. From morning til night, all we hear about is dinosaurs (mixed a little bit with sharks). So after making arrangements for Lincoln and getting all ready to go, we realized as we were about to hop in the car that it was 3 1/2 hours away (we thought it was in Louisville). We knew better than to crush Reese's hopes and dreams... we buckled in for a very long day of 7 hours in the car to be at Dino World for 2. Thankfully it was a totally gorgeous day, the kids were well behaved (thanks to our borrowed DVD player) and we made 2 trips to Sonic for cherry limeades. And every night since, when we pray at night and tell God what we're thankful for, you can imagine what Reese's is. :) The scrapbook pose for Mommy
And they're off...

Future paleontologists

His face says it all. This was one of 150 life-size dinos they have!

"Are you SURE we can't take him home?"

Reese and his worms

2009-04-02T13:35:00.000-07:00

One of Reese's favorite things to do is go outside exploring for worms. After a recent rain, he went outside sporting rocket pajamas and Emma's rain boots... and couldn't quite control himself from peeling half-dead worms from off the sidewalk and proclaiming them still alive. Boys will be boys.

First Picture

2009-03-11T13:25:00.000-07:00

My ultrasound puts this little munchkin arriving around October 8th. Emma came along and was excited to see the heartbeat and was reeeeally hoping we could find out that it's a girl... :) In her (more joking than serious) words, "I'll just SCREAM if it's another boy."

Surprise!

2009-02-24T09:02:00.000-08:00

I had no idea that I'd ever be making a post about baby #4, but we're confident God has known all along. Stay tuned as we keep you updated on our newest Nottingham addition! :)

Lincoln's Baptism

2009-02-03T19:42:00.000-08:00

We were so blessed to have Lincoln baptized at our church this Sunday. We had family there to celebrate with us this marking of Lincoln as God's. We pray that he will come to know Him.

"Baptism is a sacrament, wherein the washing with water, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, doth signify and seal our engrafting into Christ, and partaking of the benefits of grace, and our engagement to be the Lord's." (The Shorter Catechism)

Blue Eyes

2009-02-03T19:40:00.000-08:00

Just another cute pic of a cute kid!

Our first BIG snow!

2009-02-03T19:37:00.000-08:00

Last week, we FINALLY got our first big snow- over a foot! Emma got 3 days off of school, so we had plenty of time to "enjoy" being snowed in! Our friends Brooke and Grace West were in town, so Grace ventured out into the snow abyss with Emma and Reese. :)

Check it out! The untouched winter wonderland!

Thank goodness for my dad and his snowblower- we were trapped!

Letterboxing... in the snow?

2009-02-03T19:29:00.000-08:00

We found out about this super cool activity you can do called Letterboxing (www.letterboxing.org). It's great for families, it's free and awesome for the treasure-hunter in us all! And if you know anything about my husband's obsession with the movie National Treasure, you will understand my daughter's fascination with finding treasure of her own. The gist- you read online clues to a letterbox in your area (there are tons of them all over the country) and you follow the clues until you find the hidden box. Inside you find a stamp and a notepad. You mark their stamp in your notepad and vice versa as a log that you found it. It's super fun and we've done about 5 in the freezing snow and Josh insists that we wait for summer to do any more. :)

One of our first clues took us to the Fishers Train Station!

Find the treasure and making her mark!

Binkin's Giggle

2009-02-03T19:24:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

2009-02-03T19:03:00.000-08:00

Being with family is, of course, one of the greatest parts of celebrating Christmas. Due to many different circumstances, we saw no extended family on Christmas Day! We celebrated early with my family and late with Josh's. It was actually quite nice to have the kids just be at home and go at our own pace without any worries of packing bags or rushing off somewhere.

The kids got up and were surprised with their one big gift- a new table and chairs with art supplies for the play room!

And a tasty breakfast of monkey bread...

Then the stocking explosion! We mostly just do lots of fun stocking stuffers for everyone and enjoy opening lots of little things. The kids are into quantity over quality if you're pickin' up what I'm puttin' down. :)

Happy Birthday cupcakes- Reese the dinosaur enthusiast specifically requested that we make parasaurolophus cupcakes. Only the best for Jesus! ;)

And Lincoln's gift from Grammie Bev bearing his best nickname- Lincoln Logs!

Christmas Eve

2009-02-03T18:56:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas Eve was nice and quiet- just a nice dinner with Josh's parents and Mark and Sarah, and a Christmas Eve service at church celebrating Jesus. We came home and each got to open one gift and were off to bed for the long-awaited Christmas morn...

The PERFECT tree!

2009-02-03T18:49:00.000-08:00

It's become a family tradition for Josh and the kids to go pick out our family Christmas tree. You may be picturing a trek through the knee-deep snow on a tree farm, axe hoisted over the shoulder... nope. Just the Marsh parking lot at 116th and Allisonville- $20 from the Boy Scouts. Hey, it works for us. Josh is NOT a fan of winter and doesn't like to be cold, so this 5 minute task is just perfect. They did a GREAT job and it was a beautiful tree. :)

And Winnie's Birthday, too!

2009-02-03T18:45:00.000-08:00

And straight from Iowa... to St. Louis! How could we miss Winter's 5th Ballerina Party?? What a precious party with all her little girl friends (and her dashing big brother to welcome the guests!) doing crafts, dancing and eating ballet cake!

Ballerinas? Or supermodels striking a pose?

Paige's 1st Birthday!

2009-02-03T18:23:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I'm just now getting to posting the pictures from the beginning of December until now... but better late than never! We all packed up again for the Iowa journey to celebrate precious Paige's 1st Birthday! She was sooo sick with a double ear infection, but the little trooper managed to look as darn cute as ever. It was a great visit and we wish we could do it more often!

Could you not just EAT that face?!?

The ridiculously adorable and time-consuming cakes Heather made for the party!

Craft Time!

All the Gross grandkids (hehe!)

One thousand, four hundred and forty

2009-01-26T06:17:00.000-08:00

So I've always thought it would be amusing to count how many times I hear the word "mommy" in a day... but I now know that it would be humanly impossible to accomplish such a task. I decided from about 8:35-8:50 to count how many times REESE ALONE said it.

It was 36.

At this rate, I am on a path to hear this word spoken 1,440 times today alone... from ONE kid.

Can I change my name? ;)

Tag

2009-01-19T10:15:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I wasn't actually tagged, but I thought I'd play this easy game my friend Brooke did... since I've been a super lame blogger lately. See, my computer was broken and then gone getting fixed and then life took over and now I'm totally overwhelmed with the task of sorting and posting Christmas pics... eek!

Anyway, here's the 6th pic in the 6th folder. It's a picture of my mom and 3 of her siblings (my mom's on the far right) :) I used these old photos for a wall in my house of old family pics- and I love it!

Look Alike :)

2009-01-03T12:41:00.000-08:00

Emma got a new build-a-bunny for Christmas from Grammie Bev that has adorable glasses just like hers... how could I resist trying them on Lincoln? And the resemblance was uncanny. :)

I know, I know!

2009-01-02T20:17:00.001-08:00

Okay, I'm pretty far behind... but my computer has decided to quit on me... and the holidays... I promise to update soon!

Another milestone...

2008-11-12T13:55:00.000-08:00

We had a feeling this little one was having trouble seeing... and boy were we right! She's totally amazed at all she can see now... and looks pretty darn cute too. :)

Two Toofers!

2008-11-12T13:50:00.000-08:00

Look real close...

aren't those cute little nubs?

Scrunchy face!!

2008-11-06T07:36:00.000-08:00

How hysterical is this? Lincoln got up from his nap the other day and started the "scrunchy face" that Emma did as a baby right around his age! I was cracking up!! That's Emma at 9 months on top and Lincoln on the bottom at 6 months. I have so many pictures of her making this face and am so happy I get to experience it all over again! So sweet.

Election Day!!

2008-11-06T07:28:00.000-08:00

On Election Day, we stood in line for an hour and a half with all 3 kiddos to exercise our right to vote. It was lots of fun doing this with the kids so they can see its importance and the great responsibility we have as American citizens... and with a name like Lincoln Samuel Nottingham, he just may BE president someday. :)

Happy Birthday to Reese- real birthday (night)!

2008-11-06T07:14:00.000-08:00

Yep, still not over... Uncle Scott and Aunt Heather got Reese a build-a-bear gift card for the specific purpose of building none other than a DINO!! I had discovered that there is such a store as Build-a-Dino, but there are only 5 in the country, so the T-Rex choice of animals at Build-a-Bear had to suffice. ;) Grampa Larry so sweetly gave Emma a $20 bill to make one of her own (it's so hard for a kiddo to be left out)...

Sipping a peppermint chocolate chip milkshake at the food court with Grammie and Grampa.

Hmm... he picked the t-rex!

After choosing the "roar" sound, he stuffed it...

I love this pic of his famous cheesy grin!

"Yep, Emma, we did a good job!" Check out that Ariel costume complete with the wig!!! haha

Happy Birthday to Reese- real birthday (day)!

2008-11-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

So in our family, we like to stretch out birthdays as long as possible. We talk about them for months and constantly talk about whose is next and what theme we will be having and on an on. (Mommy likes to plan parties). :) Let's just say that if your birthday happens to actually fall on the Saturday we have your party, we'll probably just move the party to another day so we will have to celebrate it on two different days. So... here are pics of Reese's real birthday! Maybe this is why he's kind of confused about his bday coming and going. It just keeps coming!

Our plan was to go to Bounce Zone and the kids were SUPER pumped. As we were pulling into the parking lot I vaguely remembered that they might be closed on Mondays. And after some phone calls and tears, we realized that EVERY stinking bounce place must be closed on Mondays for cleaning. So... we moved on to the zoo- one of our family's favorite places to go- especially on a GORGEOUS 75 degree day in November!
Josh wonders why they want to play on the playground at the zoo when they can see animals... maybe to act like monkeys?

Thanks to Sara and Kelly for the ADORABLE (that's for you, girls) shirt!

What a trio of cuties if I do say so myself. :)

Happy Birthday to Reese!

2008-11-06T06:52:00.000-08:00

Reese is 3??!!

2008-11-06T06:38:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe how fast time goes. There are days that feel like an eternity (mostly in the winter when we're cooped up and the kids do nothing but bicker and make messes), but most days flyyyyyyyy by and I wonder how my kids are growing up so fast. :( Seems like Reese was just born... sigh. Anyway, the big kiddo is now 3 and we had a very fitting dinosaur party on Saturday. He was totally into the dino decorations, food and cake, but is still a bit in denial that the party we have talked about for so long has come and gone. He keeps still referring to it in the future! (He just came in and saw this post and said, "Is that my cake? I didn't go to my party." Denial ain't just a river in Egypt, buddy.

Eating his dinosaur nuggets and his favorite... applesauce!

The dinosaur cupcake cake- when he saw it in the morning, he traded me for the blue triceratops on the top and added a few to get it just right!

Trick-or-Treat

2008-11-06T06:32:00.001-08:00

This was the big night...We've been anxiously awaiting getting to go out on the town in costumes without looking like freaks! ;) Reese the dinosaur has been spotted around the Indianapolis area for weeks now in his. We went over to the Warners for some yummy food and trick-or-treating with pals. Check out Macy and Emma's matching Barbie Bride costumes!! Aunt Kara even got to come...

Halloween Flashback

2008-11-05T09:16:00.000-08:00

So as I mentioned in the previous post, the kids have been pretty into their costumes this year... in fact, Reese has been wearing this costume nearly every day for the past few months. We have to pry it off of him some days just to wash the crusted food off of it- or him. Check out this picture of Reese TWO YEARS AGO in the same costume!! He calls it his "Dinosaur Halloween."

We Love NY

2008-11-05T09:02:00.000-08:00

Our first big road trip to NY! My mom and I took the kids to visit family... we got to see the great grandparents, go to the Zoo Boo, the apple orchard. After looking at the pictures, you may be wondering, "Is it Halloween in NY every day?" No, it isn't. My kids are just obsessed with their Halloween costumes. Can't say I didn't get my money's worth!

Kristen with Linc the Monkey

Posing for a photo opp at the Zoo Boo... hold on, Lincoln!

Great Gramma with the monkey and bride

Great Grampa with dinosaur, monkey and bride
Lincoln, zonked after a late night at the Zoo Boo on cousin Coley's comfy chest!

Emma, art extraordinaire

2008-11-05T08:49:00.000-08:00

After collecting bag after bag of art from preschool and the start of kindergarten, I decided it was high time to sort through it all and pick our favorites (and quietly dispose of the rest). Emma has quite a talent and I wanted to showcase her hard work! These are the ones we LOVED and we're soon going to frame them and make an art gallery in the playroom...

"Farm"
"Balloon Factory"

"Our House"

"God"

"Tornado" "Apple Tree"

Could the kid be sweeter?

2008-11-05T08:47:00.000-08:00

Nope, sure couldn't.

Punkin Patch

2008-11-05T08:42:00.000-08:00

The pumpkin patch just wasn't quite the same experience as a normal fall since it was about 85 degrees. We were all sweating to death while we sipped cider and picked pumpkins. :)

Can somebody make this thing GO?

Emma, the animal lover.

Two cool dudes

My first black eye

2008-11-05T08:24:00.000-08:00

We just couldn't get over how utterly sad this looked... Reese tripped and fell at Grammie's house, hitting his eye on the corner of one of his trucks. It does make him look pretty tough, though.

The (actual) Big Day!

2008-09-28T21:10:00.000-07:00

A FULL day!...

Banana Chocolate Chip pancakes with whip cream for breakfast (in bed)

School

Get picked up by Grammie

Eat Fazoli's for lunch

Go to The Children's Museum

Come home for dinner with Grammie and Grampa

menu: grilled cheese, macaroni and cheese, yogurt, milk and cake!

(She has simple taste.)

Always looking for a good reason to eat a Costco cake!

Photographer of the Year :)

2008-09-28T21:08:00.000-07:00

Need some amazing pictures taken? I have just the lady for the job! Kelly Warner is fantastic... just one little example:

check out http://www.hisimageportraits.com/ for more!

EMMA IS 6!

2008-09-28T21:00:00.000-07:00

I think she's been claiming to actually be 6 for a couple months now, but she is officially six! I tried to keep the "flower party" identity a secret, but she made me tell... and I'm not exactly known for my stellar secret keeping when it comes to birthdays. :) We had a few little girlfriends over in the morning for a pool party/sugar fiesta. We hopped the kids up on as much junk as we could in an hour and half's time and then sent them home and began our family party! It was such a great time with family and friends. Everyone brought Emma gorgeous flowers that were ALL hers and she was overjoyed. It was a beautiful day with perfect weather and we were thankful for all who came and we missed those who couldn't. :(

Movie Night

2008-09-28T20:58:00.000-07:00

Refer to Kindergarten Update post below for details, but here is Emma walking into school for her Movie Night... we gave her this owl sleeping bag birthday present early so she would have one to bring along. What a big girl!!

Our fam in Saint Louis

2008-09-28T20:53:00.000-07:00

Happy 7th birthday to cousin Asher! Seems like yesterday you were born, buddy! We were invited to his rockin' ninja party at their new place (aka: ski resort-like house) that God has so graciously blessed them with. 14 of us slept there... all in beds. Wow.

Asher's new skateboard. Better get those pads on first.

Even Lincoln sported his own ninja bandana...

And the girls were pretty fierce in theirs...

But have you ever seen an awesomer volcano cake with a ninja sword slashing through it?!

Visits from some favorite people...

2008-09-28T20:48:00.000-07:00

Cousin Kristen came on a whim and we ALWAYS love her visits. She showers the kids with attention (and gifts)... and scrapbooks with me! Cousin Teresa has such a sweet way with the kids and loves to read to them. We look so forward to seeing her when she comes!

The kiddos with Grammie and Seth, our cousin from Iowa!

Lincoln with baby Paige (other Iowa cousin!)

Kindergarten Update

2008-09-28T20:42:00.000-07:00

I forgot to update like I said I would! The first day: great, second day: awful, third and following: great. I think we had some unfamiliar feelings of insecurity, doubt and fear. Some girls were tough on her and I was ready to bust into the school and give those little girls a piece of my mind, but all is now well I am thankful to report. Her teacher is fabulous and she's made all sorts of friends and has even had a Friday night movie at the school where she got to take her sleeping bag and eat popcorn... when we dropped her off, she had NO friends there and the whole school was invited. You'd think a puny kindergartner would be terrified and change her mind completely about staying... not our Emma. She said, "I'll be fine, dad." And SHE WAS.

Kings Island Extravaganza :)

2008-09-28T20:34:00.000-07:00

When I go this long without blogging, it gets more and more overwhelming! A little like scrapbooking... anyway, I finally put the pics from my camera onto my computer and got excited to post them. BUT it will have to be a shorthand version to get 'er done. :)

Kings Island trip with the Warners and Trombleys:

A CHAOTIC day, but we kept everyone alive and even managed to have lots of fun!

the boys

2008-09-08T18:06:00.000-07:00

Just some cute pics of my sweet little boys...

The greasy, sweaty, exhausting STATE FAIR

2008-09-08T17:59:00.000-07:00

What an awesome American tradition! Once again we had a super fantastic time at the fair- with BOTH grammies and 3 cousins! Plenty of rides and make-your-own slushies...

Can't wait til next year!!

Best buds

The moment he'd been waiting for... the dino ride!

Where's my ticket?

IT'S THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN!!!!!

2008-08-11T07:42:00.000-07:00

I never thought the day would come... and it's here. August 11th- Emma's first day of kindergarten. I also NEVER thought I would put her on a bus... and I did.

You thought the loose tooth was exciting. She came into our room this morning, near hyperventilation, and announced that it was TIME FOR SCHOOL!!! At least we didn't need to worry about any of HER fears or anxiety! The whole family walked to the bus stop to see her off. Mommy was holding up okay until Reese realized what was happening and starting sobbing. He just could not understand why we were sending her away... and was she coming back?? We prayed with her that God would help her make good choices and be obedient and a good friend and we all got through it... mostly because SHE WAS SOOOOO EXCITED. So in less than one hour, we're off to pick her up and go to McD's to hear all about it. Update later...

Checking off the last day of our countdown!

Waiting....

"I promise I'll be back, buddy."

There she goes... hold it together, people!!

First Tooth!

2008-08-11T07:39:00.001-07:00

No joke. Emma has been talking about losing her teeth for about the last 2 years. She has been fascinated with the idea of being 6 and getting wiggly teeth and having the tooth fairy come. Well a couple of months ago, we discovered the first loose tooth and have been anxiously awaiting its falling out. On August 5th, the blessed event finally happened. Despite her wish for diamond earrings, the cheap tooth fairy left $1. Before

After!!

Luces!

2008-08-11T06:29:00.000-07:00

Our great pals Micah, Drew, Hannah and Haddie came for a visit... we never left the house so the kids had plenty of swimming and playing time. When some other friends came over for a visit to play games with us we had the following ages all in one house: 7, 5, 5, 4, 4, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1, 4 months, 6 weeks. We managed to find a spot for them ALL to go to bed! :) Talk about a miracle! Precious Hannah looks up to her big buddy Emma!

Tasha the doggy

2008-08-11T06:26:00.000-07:00

Tasha the dog decided to come for a visit and brought Aunt Kara along! The kiddos ate up every bit of it- and even learned some circus acts...

Delicious Playdate

2008-08-11T06:14:00.000-07:00

Emma has been talking all summer about having a pool party with her girlfriends from preschool and sadly only one could come! We decided to still have Moira over and reschedule the pool party... and Grammie Debbie came over to make a yummy white chocolate peanut butter snack mix with the girls!

All that candy!

Caught red m & m-handed!

Good job, girls!

Judge me all you want

2008-07-21T12:47:00.000-07:00

So this new child of mine is not exactly a stellar napper. I mostly carry him around with me until he falls asleep in my arms or the sling and then lay him down as I whisper a prayer for him to just STAAAAAAAAAAAY asleep!! So today I plopped him right smack in front of a Baby Einstein video in the playroom (Emma joined him) ... Did it work, you ask? For about a lousy 10 minutes. :)

POOL!!!

2008-07-21T12:31:00.000-07:00

When we bought our new house, I'm not sure we were quite prepared for the time & money that would go into our ghetto rundown pool. But after a long road and many many dollars... we LOVE it!! The kids are in it just about every day. :)

BEFORE...

AFTER!!

Reese likes to play it safe on the stairs and drive his trucks

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Our resident handstand expert!

On the road again...

2008-07-21T12:18:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th Birthday to cousin Seth!! We made the trek to Iowa again for our annual Seth celebration... and had a great time at his Spider-Man party. The kids played on the Backyard Adventure (call it by the right name or Seth will quickly correct you- it is NOT a playground) and on the Slip-n-Slide and with the teeball set. Wish we could've stayed longer (mostly to avoid the drive back in a 15 passenger van with all 3 kids on one bench and the rest ABSOLUTELY jam packed with furniture we bought from them)... until next July!!

Seth's expression describes his overall feeling of ending his nap to start his party...

Emma and sweet baby Paige (this baby is near perfect- she hardly makes a peep!)

On the Backyard Adventure!!

I love my Aunt Heather... and anyone who holds me

Yes, Reese, we actually CAN take this home!

I'm so big!

2008-07-09T10:35:00.000-07:00

Lincoln Samuel is going to be 12 weeks on Monday and he's quickly approaching 16 pounds! We love him in all his chubby sweetness. :) He's smiling so big and sleeping much better at night.

His big bro and sis can't get enough of him!

I pledge allegiance

2008-07-09T10:17:00.000-07:00

Josh has been talking about going to DC again for a while now and so for his 30th birthday I surprised him and took him there! Lincoln got to meet his namesake and we toured the city in awe of all the amazing monuments, memorials and museums that tell us about our American heritage. What an amazing history our country has. We packed as much into 3 days as we possibly could. We even got to see our super great newlywed friends Jon & Lauren who were in town on business! Josh stood in line at 6:45 a.m. to get tix to go up into the Washington Monument, we saw the Jefferson & Lincoln Memorials, WWII Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Iwo Jima Memorial, Arlington Cemetery and Robert E. Lee's house, Capitol building (twice) which we also stood in line early for, White House tour, Crime & Punishment Museum, Air & Space Museum, National Gallery of Art, Museum of Natural History, a DUCK tour, Mount Vernon (my favorite!), Library of Congress, National Archives, and I may be forgetting something if you can believe that. We had such an amazing time- just wish we'd had longer! You better believe we're going back when our two favorite places open back up after renovation: Ford's Theater and Musuem of American History.

Can you do anything else but respect the thousands and thousands of men and women who have died for our country??

Lincoln slept through it, but here's good old Abe. What a guy.

Um, yes, that is George Washington's house! 80% original- we even got to see George's bed where he died.

Josh insisted on posing at every last place we visited. :)

The awesome view of the White House from the window of the Washington Monument!

Yes, we go to Florida a lot...

2008-07-09T06:36:00.000-07:00

Ya gotta love it when business trips take you to a sunny place like Florida! We went to Orlando so Josh and his dad and bro Mark could set set up a booth at the Wesleyan conference to tell them all about what they do- sell cars at a discounted price to people in ministry! And so the kids and I begrudgingly ;) sat by the pool for a week with Grammie and Aunt Sarah. We got to check out Downtown Disney (including the amazingly huge Disney store and the LEGO store) and the kids totally loved it. We also spent one day at Typhoon Lagoon.

Lincoln was mostly found like this. :)

Reese's feelings about dinosaurs in a word: OBSESSION
You can imagine how he felt about this giant LEGO dino that moved.

Every 5 year old girl's dream: getting sprinkled with pixie dust at the Disney store...

and posing with Cinderella...

This is a poster advertisement for a massive place called T-Rex that is coming to Downtown Disney... in the Fall of 2008. It's a good thing Reese can't read. He would have been heartbroken to have missed this by couple months!

Sweet chubby baby Lincoln lounging by the pool. As you can see, he's having no trouble gaining weight.

Mr. Reese enjoying our hotel's pool.

more to come...

2008-06-18T20:25:00.001-07:00

I have more posts coming, but too many pictures to go through right now... stay tuned!!

Mr. & Mrs. Jon Thompson

2008-06-18T20:08:00.000-07:00

Lauren, one of my bestest friends got married and I had the honor of being her matron of honor (that makes me sound so old)! It was a great weekend filled with wedding festivities... the bachelorette party that Jen, another BFF and bridesmaid, so fantastically helped me with... an amazing bridesmaid brunch... rehearsal stuff... and a really great ceremony. Jon is such a great guy and it is obvious that God brought them together in His perfect plan. I don't have many pictures because I spent a good portion of the weekend with a baby strapped to me!

This mama of (soon-to-be) 5 knows how to make a baby happy!

That's one happy bride. :)

This picture is hilarious because it makes Jon look confused and Lauren look mad,
but it's the best I had of the two of them... love you guys!! :)

Birthday Surprise

2008-06-18T20:04:00.000-07:00

So my darling hubby planned a fun birthday surprise for me this year... a nice dinner, just the three of us (love ya, Lincoln!) at one of my favorite restaurants, then we met up with some friends to go see the new Indiana Jones movie (great!) and then the next morning we took all the kids to the zoo to see the new KOALA exhibit!! I totally love koalas and Josh had heard they were coming... it was lots of fun even though they slept the whole time... they're still super cute! Happy 30th to me! :)

So many aunts, so little time

2008-06-18T19:53:00.000-07:00

We were SO blessed when THREE of our aunts came to visit in the same week- there just wasn't enough time to enjoy them all. Aunt Laurie and Mickey from NY snuggled with Lincoln (and the other 2) as much as they could and took us shopping til we dropped... and Aunt Pat hung with us around the house, helping with the grind of cooking and cleaning and the every day stuff! We had such a great time with them and are so thankful they got to come!

Bike Parade

2008-06-18T19:46:00.000-07:00

Winnie was here for a short visit before her family went camping... so we go to take her along to Emma's bike parade at school! All the kids decorated their bikes and then came out to show off their hard work to all the adoring fans. Reese and Winnie thought it was the coolest- and especially loved playing with the safety cones. ;)

Mother's Day!

2008-06-18T19:40:00.000-07:00

Emma's class put on the sweetest program for all the mommies and each kiddo had made his/her mom a fun hat to wear while we watched. They sang funny songs and then invited us back to have cake and punch. It was adorable!

Check out those stylin' mamas!

Awww...

The joy of cupcakes

2008-05-06T13:59:00.000-07:00

Mr. Reese after thoroughly demolishing his cupcake...

HICCUP

2008-05-06T13:53:00.000-07:00

This is hilarious and it explains why his hiccups in utero felt so forceful...

Soooooo sleepy

2008-05-06T13:50:00.000-07:00

Some sweet pics of Lincoln... this is what he does when he's not eating. :)

I Scream, You Scream...

2008-05-02T11:25:00.001-07:00

So my computer game addict daughter was surfing the kid-friendly web and found this great recipe that we decided to try on this rainy day... it was super fun and worked really well!

Ice Cream in Two Bags

3/4 C milk (we used 1%, but 2% or whole would probably be better)

4 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

handful of chocolate chips, chopped fruit, nuts, whatever

1/2 C kosher salt

3-4 C ice cubes

gallon baggie

quart baggie

heavy duty tape

In qt baggie, mix milk, sugar, vanilla, chips.

Seal with tape and place inside gallon baggie.

Pour ice cubes and salt around smaller baggie and seal large baggie with tape.

Put on your winter gloves and shake, shake, shake! Toss it back and forth and shake for about 5 minutes or until it looks thick enough to eat!

Baby Days

2008-04-29T16:04:00.000-07:00

So our days are mostly consumed with our little newborn punkin... Emma cannot get enough of him and you can generally find her squeezing him, kissing him, begging to hold him. Reese had been ignoring him, but we had a breakthrough today when he asked to hold him! By the look on Lincoln's face, you can tell he was surprised too. :)
Here is another thing Emma dreamed up to do to her little brother- I cracked up when I turned around to find she had put her shoes on him. Poor kid doesn't know what's coming.
And my sister (Aunt Kara) lovin' on Lincoln... he's pretty snuggly.

Happy Birthday, Lincoln!

2008-04-21T23:37:00.001-07:00

After a very uneventful and quick labor and delivery (thank the Lord!)...

Lincoln Samuel Nottingham

4/21/08

12:21 p.m.

9 pounds

22.75 inches

some dark hair... seems to look quite a bit like his older brother... very much loved by his older sister... a sweet, precious baby boy! :)