The Start of 2012!!!

Here we are with the first pictures and happenings of what everyone has been up to with the start of the new year!
Just a quick note:  The year-end tax statements will be completed this week.  I will need your signature and you will be able to take your copy immediately after that.  Thank you!!!  Now, back to the blog...

The first week of the year was a busy one around here.  Parker was home with her parents this first week and it just wasn't the same around here without her!  We had plenty of visits from other children though due to a long winter break off from school for several of the older children.

Tuesday, January 3rd, we had Alex, Luke and Drew here and Baylee and Livy here for part of the day too.  We spent most of the morning playing down in the basement in the playroom.

Luke, Andrew and Alex building with Lego's.

Livy loves her sister Baylee!

The playhouse was very popular that morning!

Aren't they cute???!!!

Baylee, Luke and Livy take turns with the door.

Group shot of the children!  Check out Alex--he's such a ham for the camera!

Later that afternoon, the weather was perfect for the boys to get in a game of hockey in the driveway!  Oh what fun!

Hockey boys: Andrew, Alex, Drew and Luke

Action shot!

Alex is going for the puck (ball)!

CUTE PICTURE ALERT!!!!  Love this picture of Alex as he plays the goalie position!

Alex does an awesome job guarding the net!

He shoots...He scores!!!  Way to go Drew!

Wednesday, January 4th was a little quieter with just Maggie and Alex here.  Maggie is getting so good at pulling herself up now onto furniture (or anything else she can find).  She is getting more brave about letting go once she's actually up now too.

I love her adorable smile!

Getting brave and starting to let go...

This is Maggie's favorite spot when she's in the living room.

Checking out the snowman's nose!

Thursday, January 5th was a fun day for Alex because he had two great friends to play with.  Both Rocco and Jackson were here for the day and oh what fun they had together!  Rocco arrived in the morning all dressed up in his pirate garb.  Alex decided to join in on the fun and dress up too.

  Pirates Rocco and Alex!

Aaarrrggg!!!

Jackson and Alex watch as Rocco opens his Christmas gift.

Later, since the weather had been so mild, we got to spend some time playing outside and we even dug out a few of the bikes to ride on.

Outdoor fun!

I asked the boys to show me their grumpy faces and this is what I got...

Alex's grumpy face.

Rocco's grumpy face.

Jackson's grumpy face (I love it!).

Later that afternoon the boys wanted to watch the movie Cars but I wasn't able to find my copy.  So, we decided to watch Bug's Life.

Movie time.

Friday, January 6th was a quiet way to end the week with just Maggie and Alex here for the day.  I took just two pictures that day.  They were both of cute 'lil Maggie.

A happy girl.

Tuesday, January 10th, Alex and Parker were here for the day and Maggie got a bonus day here too!  Maggie loves being in the walker.  She scoots all over the place (in all directions) now and boy is she fast!!!  Alex enjoyed coloring during quiet time on this day.

Alex loves Scooby Doo!

Parker gives her baby doll a hug.

Maggie and Parker

Wednesday, January 11th, Maggie and Alex were here and we had a visit from Livy too.

Maggie and Livy playing with the toys.

Silly face!

Alex enjoyed the Leap Pad during this quiet time.

Livy loved the light-up snowman.

Thursday, January 12th we had Alex and Maggie here.  The only two pictures I took on this day were both of Alex.  The first one is a picture taken while we were playing a game together during quiet time.  The other one is with him showing his completed art project--his penguin.

Alex and his penguin!

Friday, January 13th, it was Alex and Maggie and Parker together again.  I love to watch how Parker and Maggie interact with each other.  It's so cute to see.  They sure have fun together!

My camera was too slow to catch Parker with her arm around Maggie.  It was so cute!

Just after Parker had her arm around Maggie.

There's no stopping that Maggie now.  She is crawling all over the place now with no problems at all.

There she goes and there's that tongue sticking out again!

Well, that wraps up the first two weeks of the month (and year).  Check back soon for another update!  I've got lots more great pictures to share!  Feel free to leave a comment below.  It's nice to know if anyone is actually checking out the blog and what they think about it!  Bye for now.