It never slows down

...and I'm not complaining about that either. I'm so grateful for good health and blessings that allow us to stay as busy as ever.

Our days recently have been filled with...

Alysee learning to ride a two-wheeler all by herself. (Note that her helmet is on backwards).

Nate didn't want to miss out on the action so he took off like a champ and in no time was racing Alysee and the older boys around the yard on his two-wheeler.

Alex and Tyler are thick into Little League baseball season right now. An average of three to four evenings and Saturdays are filled with practice and ball games. I've really come to value a good stock of treats and peanuts to keep the younger kids entertained for some VERY long ball games.

The boys are playing on the same team this year.

Alex rotates between being pitcher, first baseman, and third baseman. His favorite position is definitely being the pitcher. As a lefty pitcher he is really valued and has a great record of throwing strikes. He dreams of pitching professionally someday.
You should see Tyler swing! Due to his small size his strike area is so small that he often gets to walk to first base. He made it all the way home at last week's game and seemed to enjoy his glory moment. He normally plays center field or left field but he would love to have a try at pitching too.

Chloe, not wanting to be left out on the fun, broke through her top two big girl teeth. We have been super blessed that our kids haven't really been affected too much by teething. This girl has mastered going up the stairs but still seems to think that face first is the way to go down them. She has only fallen down them once and that was a couple of months ago so I guess we have gotten faster at stopping her before she plummets down face first. Hopefully this month she can conquer going down the stairs feet first.
Cooper is just about the happiest chatterbox ever. He LOVES spending time with his daddy and has become quite taken with digging dirt in the garden. We're working on teaching him what's a weed and what's plant.

This past Sunday Coopy was sitting on my lap and asked me for another piece of gum. I asked him where his piece of gum was that he was just chewing and he couldn't quite remember what happened to it. I asked him if he swallowed it and he said, "no." I didn't believe him UNTIL after church I was standing in the hall talking to a friend when it was pointed out to me that there was some spit-up on my skirt. Um, nope, it wasn't spit up...turned out to be Coopy's smooshed gum. Really appreciated that!
I'm sure you have all been waiting for an update on our dear new pet Oreo. Oreo is still alive and well and seems to enjoy his corner of the yard. The kids don't run to play with it quite as quickly as they did the first couple of weeks but I wouldn't call Oreo neglected either. Do I dare say that I'm enjoying having a living compost eater? It's nice to have all the apple cores, ends of the lettuce stock, and cucumber peels go to a good home. The kids the other day challenged me to touch the rabbit but I held out strong.
Mostly the kids enjoy playing hide n' go seek with Oreo. From the house, to me this looks more like "Where's Oreo?" but the kids seem to think he is just hiding in the tall evergreen trees to make the game even more exciting. The above picture is our bunny circle. This keeps Oreo somewhat trapped but also allows him some outside freedom.

Nate is great at showing his friends Oreo and feeding it when I ask him to. Chloe gets quite excited and giggly when she sees Oreo. What's better in life than a good kiss from your brother while being entertained by a hopping cookie?

Yes, we are truly blessed. I'll sign off with a mother's day picture Nate drew of me at preschool and a bit more trivia about me from Nate's perspective.

Mom's favorite food is... "stromboli."
Mom's favorite color is..."pink."
Mom's favorite thing to do by herself or with her friends is..."talk."
My favorite thing to do with my mom is..."read books."