september happenings

September is always a busy month in our house since we're getting into the "back to school" routine .  Ellie seems to love the big kids being gone (at least sometimes) so we can go to Hobby Lobby in peace!!  Losing teeth, playing with dolls, making apple butter-- there's always something to do!

Since Jacob's birthday was during the week and the big kids were at school, we celebrated with just Ellie.  We went to IKEA for a quick breakfast and shopping and then headed to Uptown Charlotte for lunch at McCormick & Schmick's and a quick stop at Dean & Deluca for coffee.

Jacob found a praying mantis out front and brought it inside to show Ellie-- she was completely in love with it!

march fun

Ellie LOVES her swing!  She sits by the backdoor and points at it until someone will take her outside and push her.  Luckily, all of the kids are able to get her in and out, and push her, so she doesn't usually have to wait too long.

Some"bunny" spends a lot of her time at Target....

Fun in the tub!  She likes pretending to wash her hair and playing "where's Ellie's belly button?"

The kids have school fundraisers at Chick-Fil-A and while we can't attend every time, we try to go to some of them.  Ben loves mixing all of the sauces (and usually adds some Texas Pete) in order to make his special sauce.  Ellie REALLY wanted the cow to come over to her-- she kept shrieking and waving to get his attention-- but as soon as he came over she burst into tears!

Ellie thought the brownies at Cici's were so good that she would sign "more" while she still had the fork in her mouth!

On the night before St Patrick's Day, the kids each leave out an old pair of shoes and the leprechauns come in the middle of the night with new shoes and candy!

We attended the first annual Charlotte WeatherFest with our budding meteorologists.  They were very excited to learn all sorts of weather-y things.  Nick especially liked this tornado simulator.

Sweet Ben.  The kids learned about water safety and search and rescue at the WeatherFest, too.

Now that it's starting to warm up, the boys love playing roller hockey out front.

A few of Ellie's favorites: Playing with whoever's phone she can get her hands on, reading, sleeping late, and baths in the sink.

pre-christmas fun

My parent flew into town a few days before Christmas in order to celebrate with us.  On their first night here, we had our traditional pancakes, bacon, and noodles and syrup dinner and watched "Elf".  The next night, we introduced them to the delicious Peruvian food at Viva Chicken and then headed to the Billy Graham Library to experience Christmas at the Library.

While we did not have time to do the Journey of Faith tour (the line was two hours long!), we enjoyed the live nativity and the grounds.  We stopped in the Dairy Bar for hot chocolate, checked out the gift shop, took pictures in front of the Christmas tree, and enjoyed story time and the carolers before calling it a night.

The next day we made sugar cookies and spent the afternoon frosting and decorating them.  And then we spent the next few days eating them!

On Christmas Eve we went to church and then came home to have our traditional pizza dinner and watch classic Christmas movies.  Nick and Grandpa tracked Santa on the NORAD website and kept everyone apprised of his location throughout the evening.

Before bed everyone got a chance to open one present (they all got a new book to read in case they woke up early!) and we sprinkled reindeer food on the front lawn.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.

december happenings

We started the month with Lexie's first grade Christmas program.

We went to see Santa at the Downtown Mooresville Christmas celebration.  The kids were all excited to let him know what they wanted for Christmas.

We watched LOTS of Christmas movies!  Ellie really liked dancing to "White Christmas"

One weekend we headed to uptown Charlotte to check out all of the Christmas lights.  We took pictures in front of the Christmas tree at Founders Hall-- nice ones and ones like reindeer!

We listened to the Bearstein Symphony sing Christmas carols.

The world famous Bearstein Symphony

Then we headed over to the Ritz-Carlton to check out their tree made out of 789 recycled bottles and the giant gingerbread house.

We stopped at Bar Cocoa for a hot chocolate break and enjoyed people watching from the patio at the Ritz.

We continued walking the streets of Charlotte to check out the Christmas trees and light displays.

We wrapped up our evening in Charlotte with a horse-drawn carriage tour to see the lights and learn about the history of the city.  It was magical to tour the city bundled up under blankets!

The following week we were treated to Christopher's chorus presentation of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and he was Charlie Brown!

Ellie loved dancing to all of our ornaments that make music.

swimming and baseball.... must be summer

In July, the big kids all did another session of swimming lessons at our local YMCA and Ben FINALLY learned how to float!!

Ben and Lexie were in the same class along with two other kids about their age.  It was amazing to see their progress over the course of the summer.

While Christopher and Nicholas have both done swimming lessons before, everything seemed to click this summer and they grew by leaps and bounds.

The big kids have their swimming lessons over the course of two hours and while they just play in the pool when it's not time for their class, Ellie is stuck sitting on the side and watching.  At least puffs make for an entertaining snack!

We were able to attend a Charlotte Knights (minor-league) baseball game with our church at the new stadium in Uptown Charlotte.  Pastor Jack got to throw the first pitch and we were all there to show our support!

Swimming sweeties :)

Lexie practicing her "airplanes"

They learned the basics of CPR during their last lesson.  I really appreciate how the YMCA lessons cover things like boat safety and basic first aid!

Free time on the slides is definitely the highlight of going to the pool for lessons.

at the hospital

Since I had a c-section, we stayed at the hospital for four days.  I remember when Christopher was born and we were ready to get out of the hospital and home as soon as possible.  This time, I was excited to stay as long as I could-- it was like a vacation away from the noise and chaos of our house full of kids!!  Grandma and Grandpa came to the hospital several times while the kids were in school so that they could play with Ellie in peace and quiet!  And sometimes they came to visit after school so that all the kids could come too.

Grandma loves feeding "her" Ellie

Ellie and 2/3 of her crazy big brothers!

It's so fun having a newborn again-- you can just cuddle them all day.  Or at least you can until they need to head to the tanning bed.

Our first family picture as a family of SEVEN

Amazing view of downtown Charlotte from the hospital

Such a pretty, squishy baby

more summer fun

(1) Gelatis at Rita's  (2) Lexie's dance recital  (3) Homemade pizza for movie night  (4) Ready for Camp Blaze put on by the Mooresville Fire Department  (5) Lunch at Five Guys- and yes, he ate the whole burger  (6) Trips to the movies  (7) Lunch at the lake  (8) Macarons from Amelie's in NoDa  (9) Breakfast dates during VBS

let me run

This fall, Christopher participated in Let Me Run- a program that inspires boys through the power of running to be courageous enough to be themselves, to build healthy relationships, and to live active lifestyles.  He stayed after school twice a week for seven weeks in order to train for the culminating 5K event.

Ready to run!!

LET ME RUN BOYS are courageous enough to be themselves.

LET ME RUN BOYS push themselves to be fit in body, mind, and spirit.

LET ME RUN BOYS are loyal friends who encourage and support others.

LET ME RUN BOYS trust that teamwork, unity, respect and perseverance open doors to greatness.

LET ME RUN BOYS are honest with themselves and others.

LET ME RUN BOYS responsibly choose what's right, never settling for what's easy.

The 5k was held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway and the last mile was on the racetrack!

Christopher finished his first 5k in 36 minutes!  Way to go!!

We checked out Speedway Christmas- a display with over 3 million lights- after the 5k.  

The Albaeck kids

Having fun at the petting zoo.