My Grocery Helper

My Grocery Helper

Ready to cheer for our little racer!

Ready to cheer for our little racer!

Movie time, snuggle up!

Movie time, snuggle up!

B did great!!!!

B did great!!!!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Oh, where to start....??

We are still chugging along here at the Doane house! Boys are growing like little weeds and we seem to cross one event off the calendar just to have the luxury of another event to come :). Most recently we had a wonderful Bday for Caleb! All Cowboy themed of course! He looked the part all day long, new boots, new cowboy belt, new pear snap shirt and he was ready! The kids came in droves! I think we counted 25 kids! Yikes!! They all played "snake in my boot" (a take off from clothes pin in the bottle). Did the pinata ( a horse) ate cake, ran around outside, inside and jumped on the trampoline. It was a blast for everyone there. Of course no party could go perfect so when we start to cook the hot dogs we realize the propane was out and Grammie and Grampie spent the next 35min broiling hotdogs for the masses (thanks guys)! 50 hotdogs were consumed and with those gone and drinks running low I felt very unprepared!

As I said, one ends and another begins. We had an Egg Hunt Easter party this past weekend that was VERY simple donuts, coffee and bagels. The Egg hunt lasted no time at all! With the kids being older they all know exactly what to do and they raced out the door on a mission a short 3minutes and 200eggs later they were done! The boys found their Easter Egg baskets the next morning, brunch with friends and we were off to church at 11! All in all a GREAT holiday weekend!

As far as the day by day goes it is never less than amusing....so where to start. B tried to jump on the roof of a playhouse last week by climbing onto a picnic table and then taking a giant leap (leap of faith if you ask me, he wasnt even close to the playhouse!) Missed and hit is chin, I wouldn't say "split it open" but he was def bleeding for 5min and has had a scab for the past 9days. Immediatly after talking about what a bad decision that was he climbs out the window of the playhouse, stands on the window seal (falls) and tries to get to the roof again......When do they learn?

Caleb is proving to follow in his brothers foot steps. Last night they boys had found a metal framed hamper with wheels and were taking turns climbing in and pushing each other around the house. After that got boring they started running and pushing, this time letting go of the hamper to see how far they could go (yes they other brother was in the hamper). They were laughing hysterically and playing so well together it really looked like fun! But fun ended when Braydon pushed Caleb from the guest bathroom towards the kitchen at full blast. Caleb seeing that he was nearing the brick wall put his hands out to stop himself, hit the wall, the hamper fell and with his hands still up there was nothing to stop his face from hitting the metal frame on the hamper.....so yep....another busted lip, bruised gum (doesn't look that great) and a lot of blood.

Austin is a little butterball!! I fall in love with him more and more everyday as his personality continues to come out! He is a climber for sure!!! Just like his older brothers he seems to set himself up for injury ALL THE TIME! He climbes up the bunk (this is a HUGE no) races across the couch, climbs down the back of the arm chairs and gets into the trampoline all by himself! He is a monkey!!! A monkey that loves his older brothers and keeps his mama running. He is also in love with his blanket! It is so sweet. When he gets tired he goes and gets the blanket but rather than rubbing it on his cheeks or somewhere there is a lot of surface area he hold it to his mouth and rubs it right on the spots that his pacifier lets peak through (pacifiers have little tiny holes in them around the mouth). he sends himself into a bit of a trance when he does this. The blanket goes up, the belly goes out and if he is standing up he starts swaying side to side! I dont know why I think it is soooo cute but it really is. The rest of the days he is running everywhere trying to act older than he is but the blanket makes him seem vulnerable and little again!

Hope you all get to see these stories in action soon! I feel so lucky to get to see all this stuff first hand!! One lucky lady right here!!!! Miss you and love you all.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

1year old!

We have no more infants in the house!! Only boys!!!! I cant believe where the time has gone and that all my boys are so big!

Austin celebrated his first birthday this weekend with much support from his older brothers. Braydon and Caleb were so excited they had a count down from 10days out! When the big day arrived they were eager to help set up, put juice boxes away, help make veggie platters and so much more. Just about the time the kids were about to arrive B and Caleb went out front to wait for them. Braydon somehow convinced Caleb to sit in the bench under our big front window and play catch with golf balls.
As you can imagine it didn't take long (the first golf ball thrown) for a golf ball to go right through the front window! The windows are old single pane and the amount of shatter was IMPRESSIVE! Balloons on the wall pooped, the couch was covered, the floor shown as if we had spilled a bottle of glitter. 20min of vacuuming while people showed up and we were back up and running! After that the party took off without a hitch! The boys had a blast!!!

Since then the boys have been playing with all the new toys! The biggest hit was a pull behind dog they have named Arffy. He now has his own dog bed, gets walked more than our dogs could dream of and gets pet constantly (it doesn't even have fur just plastic). The other big hit was a bathtub boat that is surprisingly similar to what Rob had as a kid! A captain, boat, fishing pole, life saver etc.

We had a new and disgusting experience with Austin this AM. He was crawling around and I noticed a small black ball in his mouth (who knows where these things come from was my thought) so I make it over to him, fish it out and examine, decipher its origins and see which of the older boys was gonna get an ear full for leaving small toys around. As I look close I am confused, I push on it ....it kinda cracks....and then POW! the stench!!! It was immediately clear that he had been sucking on a dingle berry (from a dog of course)!!!! DISGUSTING!!!!!!!! After choking down the vomit in my throat, everything/everyone got scrubbed! GROSSS!!!1

So this is what living with 4boys is like...broken windows and poop!

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Sports!

Hey fam and friends. Hope this finds all of you well. Life in Scottsdale is at its peak right now! We are enjoying 75degree weather almost everyday and it is amazing!! Just like the weather suggests the boys have been outside non-stop! I love it. It makes me sooo happy to see them playing together, pulling sports equipment out of the garage, riding bikes, coloring with sidewalk chalk etc. Good times all around here in AZ. We are about to get some visitors from Texas and California, we are so looking forward to that!

With two birthdays coming up this month and the kids growing like weeds there is no time to waste!
Austin is officially walking more than crawling! He also got his car seat turned around so we now have three boys across the back all with their cute faces in my rearview mirror! Love looking back and seeing them all.
Though he is not talking yet I SWEAR he is mimicking me. He makes the attempt to say "Thank You", "ByeBye" and "all done" every time he hears one of the phrases. He will be running and talking in no time.

Caleb is now on the soccer team as well!!! Horray! We had to wait to see if there would be anymore registrations this season but since we have a small team and he was interested here we are! He loves it! As you can see by the pics he is one of the two cutest boys on the team (B being the other)! Rob got them both ready for their game this morning and everyone was excited!! I am just not sure who was more excited Rob or the boys? The cutest part of it all was that the jersey # was tucked half way into the back of their shorts cause the shirts are so big :) gotta love it! Caleb is still loving school and loves having his "own" friends!

Braydon is doing great. Soccer, school and soon to be Karate he is busy! He is a determined little boy! He fights tooth and nail to get the ball on the soccer field and at school his progress report showed that he has mastered everything that he was needing to work on in the beginning of the year.

The boys play so well together, Rob and I love watching and listening to their conversations. We are the luckiest parents in the world!

Friday, February 17, 2012

What a whirlwind!!

So how is everyone??? Kinda a loaded question for the Burke and Jenkins crews in Colorado :) Sorry guys. It seems that my family brought strep throat with us to Colorado! THe positive thing was that we waited to spread it until the trip was over (your welcome). The boys had been sick before we left but never complained of a sore throat so we decided to let the "virus" run it's course (it wasn't until later that the Dr. said they may have been the carriers). Then the day after we got home it hit! Jessica: strep. Me: strep. Sam: Strep/scarlet fever. Day Two of being home. Rob: strep. Mom: strep Dad:strep Grace: strep......Did I mention I was sorry????? I am really sorry!!! But here we are day 4 and most everyone is on the mend :) Just a little extra something from the Phx Doanes to you :).

Aside from the aftermath I would say the trip was a great success! We had an amazing time in Colorado. We got to see a bit of everyone thanks to mom and dad hosting a lunch before Rob jumped on a plane home. Thanks guys. The cousins also got to see a bit of each other over the weekend at the Ranch! Thanks for making the long drive JJ.

We all built a snowman as you can see from the pics. Rob took the boys sledding. We went to see the downtown Steamboat winter festival (sooo cool...great recommendation mom and dad). Most of the events were done on horse back so Caleb was in love! We saw kids pulled on shovels behind the horses, kids pulled on skis behind horses. Race after race, it was great!

We are back at home and soccer practice has begun! B is in his first REAL league and what I mean by that is that it is outdoors now and we actually play other teams. We get jerseys, both home and away...yep this is big time. He even has shin guards :) his coach is some mom/ex college soccer player .... oh yeah.... it is me :) we have had one practice and it was a lot of fun. I know a bit about 4yr olds and a bit about soccer but somehow I felt like I knew NOTHING about the two of them together :) We are all learning. Our first game is the 25th so keep your finger crossed.

We miss you all!! Doanes, look forward to having you out soon!

What a whirlwind

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Hey everyone!

It has been awhile since the last post but not much has changed! Everyone is doing wonderful and we have fun times ahead! The last month we have been playing outside ALL the TIME!!! the weather has been maintaining 65-80 degrees so there is no need to be indoors. The boys are getting really good at playing basketball on their new hoop and soccer with their goal and even better on bikes. B is officially off the balance bike and on a real 16inch with no training wheels!! Caleb though still on the balance bike has no problem chasing B down and they take off down the sidewalk together every afternoon at 4 to ask one of two families on the block to play! Not a bad life :)

Caleb is totally adjusted to school (not sure there even was an adjustment, he has loved it from the beginning) and goes every Tues and Thurs! He gets to be line leader, brings home art projects, has his own playdates with school friends and everything else that comes along with being grown up!

B still loves his class and all of his friends. His best friend will be moving in the next few months so we have REALLY broadened our social circle and now the whole class seems to be around on his "home days" .

Austin is walking with some regularity. He seems to prefer walking when it is a 2-6step distance but will drop to his knees if he needs speed or needs to cover some ground. He LOVES his brothers! He always is the first to wake up so he and I sit in the family room and play until Caleb (always next) wakes up. When Caleb turns the corner Austin is over come! He smiles so big you get to see all of his teeth and he flaps his hands with excitement! Then 30 minutes later when B usually enters the room it happens all over again! The excitement is almost too much to take when the whole crew is in the room so Austin just starts screaming :) I LOVE IT!!

Braydon and Caleb do an excellent job looking out for Austin. They take things away that are too small for him. They check on him when he falls (or they push him) , they push his stroller into the school every morning when we drop one of them off and even more they have started helping to feed him! My job just keeps getting easier with all the help I get! What a lucky mom!

We will be seeing all of you shortly and we look forward to all the visits! Love and kisses!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Where has the time gone???

So needless to say it has been awhile!!! The holidays hit big this year and we have been going ever since. We say the Jenkins crew at THanksgiving and the Doanes over Christmas where the boys got spoiled rotten! We can not wait to see everyone in 2012 and as the calendar looks now it is going to be another busy year full of family and friends!!

So to start! Thanksgiving was a BLAST! 13 people, 9 bikes, 5 park trips, 2 Turkeys, one pub crawl, a fishing trip, trampoline jumping, front yard playing and soooo much more. We loved spending time with the fam. THe cousins had nonstop fun together and it was so nice to get to spend time with BOB! Bob, we love you working! It gives us so much more time with you :). We also got to share the company of Charlie who was a great addition to the holiday, pitching in whereever he could. from reading stories with the kids to cooking. Thanks Charlie! We have tons of great memories and hope to do it again soon!!

The few weeks we had between Thanksgiving and Christmas are a blur! All I know is we decorated the house, the boys had TONS of CHristmas crafts that were sooo fun and turned out really nice. There were Christmas parties and friends. All in all it was a wonderful start to the winter!

The weeks before Christmas were spent in Dallas and were great!! I got to spent time with Stef and her family! She has two great kids and IS EXPECTING! So i am equally excited to get back out there to celebrate the new babies arrival! After a few days there we went to Gramie and Grampie's! It was like walking into a wonderland! There were decorations and lights everywhere. The new house is gorgeous and with Snowmen and Santas in every corner the kids could not have been happier. We had one big event after another with the Doanes. Polar Express Train ride, Sherk ice sculptures at the Galyord, park, backyard play and MORE FAMILY!!! We have to be some of the luckiest people in the world to get to see/have so much family that makes an effort to get together. We saw the Doanes, Doanes, Doanes and Doanes! That is right! Robs 2 Brothers and their families, the Grandparents and Steve's brother and wife also made the trip! It was so great.

Christmas day was neat!! The boys got a guitar, violin, Cars, Farm Animals and baby toys from Santa! They hit the jackpot. So after arriving with one big suitcase for the whole fam we returned 13days later with 4 giant suitcases all of which were pushing their luck at being under 50lbs! But we made it and made it safe!

It was been as wonderful to be home as it was to be away. The weather is is great so we are outside all day everyday! B is perfecting the balance bike and will be riding with no training wheels in another week! Caleb has his first day of school TODAY!!! We are all so excited and he feels very grown up! Austin took his first step two days ago and continues to try to walk....Next on the calendar is Colorado Feb 3!!! Love to all!!