Wyatt for Hire

Be Warned:  He eats a lot, and makes as many messes as he cleans up! (hence all the extra chores!)

While the bigs are away, the littles play!

Three years means NOTHING to these two little buddies - and I can't tell you which one loves the other more!!! 

Hit me with your best shot - fire away!

Weston is having a great season, and has been working on his shot really hard this second half.  He practices his follow through all day long and it's really showing in practice.  They shoot on 8 foot hoops, and at the beginning of the season he couldn't come close to hitting the rim, and now he can actually hit the rim!  He continues to dribble the ball really well for his age too - he's a rock star!

Weston's FIFTH Birthday Party

We had to push back Weston's birthday party with the family because I was recovering from surgery to have my gall bladder taken out, so this party definitely followed the "better late than never" school of thought in Weston's mind!  Even so...  it took all my energy to be fully present at the party and help with Weston, the kids, cake, presents etc. and it is officially the LEAST photographed party of a Silves child ever!  I will say... I was able to enjoy all the little moments without my camera in my hands.  

To start the party off, while Weston was too excited to sleep/take a nap, we couldn't say the same for Wyatt.  About 20 minutes before party time, he passed out on the ottoman, only to wake up when all of our guests had arrived.  Talk about a hard sleeper!  But Weston was THRILLED and waited at the front door to welcome everyone inside.  We dove right into presents, and Weston wore his birthday "crown" from school throughout it all.  Some of his gifts were Magformers, Skylander's figures, a Wii game, and then he also got the first Skylander's game for Wii from Grandma and Grandpa.  I WISH I HAD HIM ON VIDEO!!!  As he opened it, he just kept shouting, "What?  What!?!  WHAT???" until he had it open, and as soon as he did it was, "Wayne!  Wayne!  Look!!!!"  He was over the moon ecstatic with everything.  It is so much fun to see the unbridled joy of a 5 year old. 

 WHAT!?!?

 Weston's cake was AMAZING!  We've decided that a DQ sheet cake decorated to reflect each kids' favorite thing at the time of their birthday is going to be our tradition.  So for Weston... it HAD to be a Skylander's cake!

(and yes... we made a no sugar no dairy exception for the 2 bites of cake that Weston actually ate... he loved it though!)

Look Mom, I can do it myself!

Due to several gallbladder attacks, surgery, and recovery, I gave it up and finally started giving Addison a bottle all the time.  She doesn't seem to care at all, and while it was tough for me to make the call, I know it was the right one.  To say I was run down after having 4 kids in 6 years would be an understatement!  I am already on heavy antibiotics to kick a sinus infection they suspect I have had for a year, that I otherwise would not have been able to take.  Addison is growing up though...  she likes to hold her own bottle, and she squeals and screams with delight as she plays and watches her brothers.  She just had her 6 month checkup , and she weighs 14 lbs 7 oz. which puts her in the 20th percentile for weight, and she is 27" which puts her in the 91st percentile for height.  She is a long and lean string bean!  We'll see if all this formula changes things by her next appointment.  She likes an 8 oz. bottle, she's a hungry girl!

Yes I want it, no I don't!

Addison is SIX MONTHS old and really starting to change.  It's fun to see how interested she is in things, and one of her newest obsessions is food.  If you are eating it, she is watching you, waiting to see if she's going to get a piece of the action. 

 We finally put her in her highchair to give bananas a try.  She was SURROUNDED by every one of her brothers as they watched her make this milestone.  She was so excited when she saw the food on her spoon, and was so thrilled that it was coming her way, she even started grabbing at the spoon.  She followed it all the way to her mouth with her eyes, going cross-eyed in the process, and at last, at last, that first bite of bananas was in her mouth.  And then it wasn't.  If the expression on her face, or the choking and gagging were any indication - she is NOT a fan of bananas.

Hmmm.  Maybe she takes after her mom!

How to Double your Money with Mr. Tooth Fairy

We were having a lazy morning at home on Saturday before we had to leave for Weston's 10 o'clock basketball game, and one thing led to the other and Wayne and I pulled one of his loose teeth out.  That was pretty cool and all, so we pulled the other one out too!  Dad was totally grossed out, and couldn't believe how hard Wayne would let me dig into and yank on his teeth, and Wayne and I were just determined and laughing the whole way.  The blood was flowing, but we got both of them out!  I told Wayne that if you leave 2 teeth for the tooth fairy, she gives you you twice the money as she usually would for each tooth, and he said, "You do Mom?!?"  

Fast forward to 2am and Wayne is in our room, "Mom, the bag is still under my pillow and you haven't given me my money yet, how much am I getting and when are you going to put it in there?"  My response?   Well, prepare to have me fall from the pedestal some of you put me on, "I'll give you $5 in the morning if you go back to bed and let me stay in my bed!"  Wayne's response?  "Deal!"

Of course, that's not good enough for Dad... he rolled out of bed and trekked downstairs to get $5 from one of our wallets, and tip-toed his way into Wayne's room, took the teeth and left the money, then crawled back into bed.

Fast forward again...  It's 6am and Wayne crawls into our bed with us.  He whispers to me, "I saw Dad last night."  And then to Dad, "Good Morning Mr. Tooth Fairy!"

Chirst Fellowship vs. First Reformed Church

 Our 2nd annual family face off, battle of the churches, bash of the brothers... you get the idea.  As I was saying... our 2nd annual trip to Dairy Queen for pre-game talk before heading to the gym was a fun time had by *almost* all.  Poor Tara, Madelyn and Taylin were recovering from a 10 round bout with the flu and couldn't make it.  And they were sorely missed too, especially since Addison had her FIRST FRENCH FRY while we were at Dairy Queen.  She gagged on it and really wasn't interested, until Grandma got an ice cream cone and THAT she couldn't get enough of.  Everyone else had burgers or chicken strips, and it was actually pretty low-key, compared to my memories of the last time we did this! 

After dinner, and several offers to buy Ryan a double cheese burger and shake (to weigh him down!) we headed to the gym.  The kids were really good, and had fun watching Dad play out there.  I cracked up when Wayne yelled, "Hey Dad!  I saw ya travel" and then turned to me, "I know that means he walked with the ball."  So funny... be careful what you teach them! - Mental Note.  It was a close game that came right down to the end and....  Christ Fellowship managed to pull out the victory.  I think that makes it 2-0 on the lifetime match up of the churches.  So sorry Uncle Ryan, but at least you had Treven as your biggest fan!

That's what friends are for.

I can't think of a better place for Wyatt and Weston to be while we are at Wayne's basketball game than at Macy's house.  BTW - Gretchen, Gabe and Molly live there too, but you would never know it!  The boys adore this sweet little ball of fire.  Watching her and Wyatt never ceases to make me life so hard I have to concentrate on NOT peeing my pants...  She bosses him around like they are a little old couple, and Wyatt is always in charge of cleaning.  Love these shots that Molly took of them...  The boys don't do dress up here at home, so it's big time at Macy's house!  And no, Weston's shorts aren't part of the outfit, I think Wyatt's got put in his room, and therefore on his body, by accident.  Whoops!  (Don't judge - you try keeping four sizes of clothes straight!)

Aargh Matey!

Weston is Child of the Week

Weston was child of the week this past week.  Every kid in his class gets a turn, and his turn happened to be on the same week as his birthday.  We made a special poster of all Weston's favorite things (the color red, Subway, toys, etc.) and he took pictures of his family and some of the things we've done with him.  He took his horse, Boulder (his transformer truck) and his BIG monster truck from Uncle Deryl and Aunt Shari to school for show and tell, and he even took Mom, Dad, Wyatt and Addison!  It was really fun to get to see him in his classroom environment.  We could tell he felt very special in his crown, sitting on his red chair.  Weston knows all the names if his classmates and got to choose who got to get in line next.  He is getting to be such a big boy, and Teacher Michelle tells us he is quite the leader! 

 We even stayed for lunch, and when they had finished Weston gave each of his classmates a popsicle to celebrate his 5th birthday.  Wyatt was IN AWE of everything all around him - amazing!  So many kids - he can't wait to go to preschool in the fall. 

 Weston - you are one amazing 5 year old and an awesome Child of the Week!