Anton's 1 Year Pictures

Anton actually turned 13 months old over the weekend but I'm just now posting some of his one year pictures. Even though he wasn't happy about taking pictures we still managed to get a few cute ones.

Six Busy Kids

Last weekend Mark and I babysat two of his sisters boys while she and her husband went on a trip. We kept very busy with 6 kids under 7 years of age but all went well! Here are a few pictures of our weekend.

Anton's new thing is to open the fireplace and climb inside or at least try. Seriously, why would anyone find this fun? It's dirty, it stinks and it's creepy in there! What a NUT! We had to wash lots of clothes!

Hey there, that's not a sand box! :) We like to sprinkle jello over our applesauce for dessert sometimes, Elliot must have remembered that from the night before. :)

Mark took four of the kids for a track hoe ride so Anton could rest and I could clean up the house.

Oh bummer! I was lazy and thought I would see how far I could drive down the motocross track to get the kids from Mark. I easily made it over the first little jump and along the pond. I made it past a second little jump with a big rut hidden under the snow. You would think I'd be smart enough to stop while I'm ahead, but I'm not. :) Surely I can make it over this last jump and into the clear so I can turn around and drive out instead of backing out all the way. The front makes it over and bump, I'm stuck. (sigh) Well let's try and back up before Mark sees me. Nope, that didn't work, lets go forward again, nope that didn't work. Let's try rocking back and forth really fast in the drivers seat while going in reverse. Nope that didn't work either. By this time Mark has noticed me and I'm all out of idea's for getting out on my own. He didn't laugh at me, just smiled and asked if I thought I was part of the jeep club that goes offroading on our property. :) Thankfully with a little push from the track hoe I was out, sort of. I made it off the hill only to get stuck at the bottom of the next one. Seeing were this was going, or NOT going I should say, I got out and asked Mark to back me all the way out. Thanks Mark you're my hero! :)

Mark to my rescue with the track-hoe.

A close up of him just before he gave us a little push. Most people who drive Lincoln Navigators would cringe at the sight of track hoe pushing the front of their vehicle. Not me, this thing has been through countless fields and waterways. Believe me, this is not the worst it's seen! :)

What is he doing?

Kids always like to go outside, so we made a few trips out with all of them. Yes it did take forever to bundle everyone up! :)

We bought Amelia a little doll bed at the school Auction. Elijah thought it was a nice spot to rest.

The breakfast crew enjoying pancakes!

We also made play dough one afternoon. The kids did a great job making little creations and having fun with the play dough toys. Until Elijah got up from his nap and got a hold of it. We now have one colorful mass of play dough. :)

Snow Bunnies

If you live in southern Iowa you can probably tell these pictures are from the beginning of the month. I've been busy with sick kids for the last week and a half with makes for a lack of time to post and a lack of new or exciting pictures. Even though these are old they're still kinda fun! My sister came for Anton's birthday and joined me and the kids for some sledding on Mark's snow pile.

Amelia was very kind to pull Anton around the yard.

This was Anton's first time sledding, he seemed to like Amelia pulling him around the yard. But as soon as she stopped he would dive off and crawl around in the snow.

Amelia zipping down our hill as fast as she can!

We sent Anton down once. He didn't really care for the hill so much. :)

Elijah, king of the snow hill!

Elijah wasn't sure about sledding down our monstrous hill at first, but he soon figured out that it wasn't so bad!

Me looking super stylish in my 1980's Nutrena Feed coverall's and pink John Deere hat! :)

Anton Turns 1

Yesterday was Anton's 1st birthday! The past year has gone by so quickly and Anton has grown up so much! At this point he's trying very hard to walk and is getting better and better every day. He also says a few words, "hot, mama, dada and kee (kitty)" are his favorites. He doesn't play with many toys at this point. He would rather tinker with stuff, like dirt in my potted plants, Tupperware in the cupboards or anything his siblings are playing with. We can get him to play "catch" and he does like rolling balls a lot. Which is why I made him a "ball" cake for his birthday. Happy Birthday Anton!

Anton with his birthday cake.

We had a house full to say the least! Poor Anton felt very invaded with all the extra family in the around and cried about it much of the night. :( In this picture he's doing well opening a few presents with Elijah and Ezra.

A picture on Anton and me this week.

One year earlier, the day he was born.

Someone needs a haircut! Mark doesn't like hair on the ears at all. So Amelia and I brought Anton to his first haircut this week.

He did very well for Kelly, but we were both full of hair afterward!

His after picture.

Snow Days

I enjoy a good snow and if I have things to keep the kids busy with our extra time at home is usually pretty fun. This week we had three snow days which meant I had to find something to keep the kids occupied with or they would fight all day!

Thankfully the boys love to be outside and will brave most Iowa weather. Amelia is more of a "fair weather" gal but will join in on the fun if the whole family is outside.

We won a Wii last winter that didn't get much use until we got Super Mario Brothers and MX vs. ATV for Christmas. Now it's become a fun family time for us during cold winter evenings and snow days!

Amelia brought home a marshmallow igloo from school and Elijah thought it was the best thing EVER! This was another fun and easy craft for them to make on a snow day!

Wal-Mart always has gingerbread houses 75% off after Christmas and for a couple bucks the kids have an easy project to keep them busy for a while. Hmmm, looks like we're missing a few pieces of candy. No doubt that Anton saw a few others snitching candy throughout the day! :)

Mark has been teaching Ethan how to clear the driveway with his skidloader. We don't have livestock to take care up and thought this would be something he could learn to have a little responsibility. I agreed this would be fine on one condition, they have to rake all the gravel out of the grass this spring. :)

The other kids stuck in the house to watch the snow removal lesson.

We attempted another snow day project, making suckers. I found two recipes, one using the stove top and a candy thermometer and the other the microwave. I opted for the "easy" microwave one. Our first batch was going great and I was very pleased, until Amelia asks if it's supposed to be tuning orange. NO ITS NOT! So the first batch ended up a smoking mess that I dumped in the grass. Our second attempt went better, but we didn't quite hit the hardball stage so they got a little soft when you ate them. Overall the kids enjoyed them which is what counts, but next time we'll use a thermometer!

Our last winter day craft was doing paper mache` the kids hadn't tried this and loved the goopy mess they got to play with! We made our own paste out of flour and water which was easy and worked well. We did have a little boil over while making the "paste" when I left to change Anton's diaper, but other than that it was a success! The kids will paint their creations soon!

January Pictures

We've had a good start to 2011! Below are a few random pictures of the kids from the past couple weeks. We're thankful everyone has been healthy and well this winter!

The kids love being pulled on their sleds. Normally, I like to pull them behind the 4-wheeler so I can see them, but it doesn't like to start for me. The Ranger works fine and Elijah keeps an eye on them for me. Believe me, he lets me know if someone falls off!

Anton likes climbing in cupboards anytime he gets a chance. In this picture he's inspecting daddy's "professional" pumping job. ;)

Elijah loves to pretend that he's riding a motorcycle. He runs a figure eight around our house making engine noises as loud as he can. In this picture he found a pair of Amelia's old sunglasses, which are his " racing goggles".

We got the kids a portable DVD player for Christmas. Amelia didn't like her brothers bothering her while she was watching a movie, so she found a cozy spot under Mark's desk to hide.

Elijah, I can still see you! You'll notice that Elijah doesn't seem dressed appropriately for the season. For whatever reason he thinks he doesn't need to wear clothes.

Amelia what a cute baby you have!

Well there's a good place to hide while you eat candy you aren't supposed to have!

Mark's Phone Pics

You probably won't find Mark hauling a camera around taking pictures, that's my job. :) But occasionally he does take pictures or videos with his cell phone. Recently we put them on the computer so I thought I would post a few. Some of them are a few years old so I'll put the date with the picture when possible.

Ethan around age 4 showing his "mud buddy" creation.

Amelia around age 3 eating supper.

Heading into the OB Dept. to have Anton. Wow, I was big! 2/11/10

Someone got the tractor stuck putting on anhydrous. :)

Spring of 2009.

Another view of the situation.

Mark helped sand bag around the water treatment plant during the floods, I think this was the spring of 2008.

9/19/09 Amelia and I painting the barn from the skid loader bucket. I'm around 5 months pregnant with Anton in this picture.

6/5/10 - Six years ago our pond was overloaded with little bass. We decided to stock the pond with bluegill and a few other fish so that the bass would have something to eat and hopefully grow. It worked we now have some nice sized fish in our pond!

My Personal favorite. :) 9/16/2010

Mark had to dig a guys skid loader out of the mud with his track-hoe. I think someone should have called for help long before this point! :)