Snippets

May was just another fast paced month for us, but amidst the usual craziness some GREAT memories were made!  First and foremost, sweet Baby M came home with us! :)

3 days old and OH SO handsome! :D

Curly hair throwback to my childhood memories brought to you by none else than Grandma of course!

It was wonderful having my mom in town to help with the kids!  She was able to stay until Baby M was 6 days old.. it's true what they say - saying goodbye is hard to do! :(

1 1/2 weeks old :)

Handsome H presented me with a ceramic cupcake and card during his Mother's Day program at school.  Did I cry?  Yes I did.

 18 days old :) - they change SO much in the first couple of weeks!

Sir L's last day of preschool and pool party to celebrate was so much fun!  It was an incredible year for him!

The woman who made it all possible :)  Princess P is SO excited to attend her class this coming year!

My super sweet and amazingly smart hubby presented me with the BEST present ever!  Love LOVE my Wusthoff knives! :D

Just a little bortherly love :)

Sir L officially joined the gap-tooth-grin club.. he smiled obediently though he really wasn't quite sure how he felt about it all!

With so much to do, one month flies by SUPER fast!  Baby M at one month and getting cuter by the minute!

..even when he is tired of having his picture taken! ;)

Marshall Scott

After MUCH anticipation and many months of "Mommy is he coming out TODAAAY?!", he FINALLY came! :)  Our sweet Marshall Scott Hooley arrived at 2:40pm on April 30th, weighing a healthy 8lbs 15oz and measuring 21" long.  Our biggest Hooligan by far!  Regardless of how many times we've been through this, the moment they enter this earth outside the womb, take their first breath, cry their first little cry, and are placed in my arms for the first time will never get old.  It is the most incredible experience in the world.  I feel so blessed to have been able to be a witness to this miracle six precious times.

 The proud parents :)

Best. Nurse. Ever.

 

We have been fortunate to never have dealt with jealousy amoungst our kids when a new baby arrives.. accept when it isn't our turn to hold him ;)

Charming C was carefully restrained by daddy.. at 15 months his knowledge of "gentle love" is quite limited!

It's amazing how after only a few brief moments, we already couldn't imagine our lives without this sweet boy.  Our sweet Baby M :)

Eggstatic!

Some may tell you my desire to host a neighborhood Easter Egg Party & Egg Hunt at our house just days before baby #6 was due to arrive was solely in attempt to induce labor.  If that is true, it is also a testament of how terribly stubborn my babies are because it didn't work!  But even at the end of the very swollen day I didn't regret one second of it!  We made some great new friends and had a BLAST!

Bunny hop sack races, tug-of-war, 3-legged races, egg & spoon relays, egg decorating and of course one monster egg hunt and plenty of food later, it was one crazy FUN day!

Charming C slept like a champ and missed out on the festivities but had fun relishing in all the spoils of the day afterwards.. and who can resist a baby with a mouthful of watermelon?!

"Really mom.. more pictures??"

As if that wasn't enough to squeeze into one day we then scrambled to dye eggs that evening (no pun intended..) :)

After the kiddos were all snug in their beds I went to work recreating one of our new traditions that we brought over from good ole Brazil - chocolate eggs!  Forget the bunnies, these babies are SO fun (see here: http://minutesformama.blogspot.com/2012/04/egg-hunt.html ).  Not to mention bunnies are scary sometimes.. just ask my kids.. When w stopped by Walmart on the way home from games the previous weekend we met the Easter bunny. He was creepy.  Channing agreed. After the photo Landon excitedly exclaimed, "I can't believe we met the real Easter bunny!" To which Peyton replies, "Landon - I looked in his eyes and there was a people in there." #sorrybuddyshesright #insertdejectedbigbrotherface

I bought an egg mold on amazon and stuffed each child's egg with a small toy surprise :)  Then the hubby and I went to town starting a new tradition - we had one colored roll of yarn for each child, tied it to the post of their bed and created a maze for them to follow leading them to, you guessed it, their baskets! It was SO fun living vicariously through them the next morning!  My pictures were fuzzy and horrible but you get the gist:

Unwrapping his egg :)

Chocolate eggs and Star Wars Legos.. does it get any better?!

Charming C was there too I promise ;)

Then before heading off to church we managed to squeeze in this beauty!  Talk about a productive 24hrs!!  Happy (belated) Easter everyone! :)