April Fools!?!?!

This was perhaps my most memorable April Fools Day.  Now if you're Uncle Robert this is always a fun day but as for me well I'm afraid it's all a little wasted, just not how I'm wired I suppose.  I don't mind laughing at a good joke or even at myself if it's being played on me, but you won't find me planning one because I can't ever fool anyone anyway, except this year :)

This year we had a little surprise and thought we'd share it with everyone on April Fools Day, mostly because it was the one time in my life that I thought I might actually have a chance to fool my brother Robert, who really does have it coming.

We met my Mom and Robert for lunch that day and before Robert got there my Mom was already telling me about how he'd been giving her a hard time that day and I told her that Brandon was actually going to play a trick on him this year by sending him an old ultrasound picture and saying that we were expecting again.  I then quickly texted Brandon and told him not to send it until after I'd seen them because like I said I can never keep a straight face.  So we had lunch and my kids spent the rest of the day trying to trick me since Robert had taught them all about April Fools day.  "Mom there's a snake!"  April Fools! and on and on...

That afternoon Brandon sent a text to Robert and my Mom with a picture of an ultrasound.  Robert called it right away as a joke and mom tried to play it off.

When Brandon got home we told the kids our news before heading to dinner with the family.  They were pretty excited except Wyatt who at some point put two and two together that it was April Fools and thought maybe we were fooling him.  I think he was actually unsure about it for about 3 days afterwords.

Anyway, so when we got to Moms house the kids told her our news and she laughed thinking it was a joke, but then I told her it wasn't and she believed us and was surprised.  Robert on the other hand refused to believe us.  He said he wouldn't believe us until we told him again on a different day and actually made me swear it before he'd even act like he kind of believed our news.

But it was true...  We are expecting #5 to join our family this coming November!!!

March

This March Brandon and I had a chance to spend two nights away at the Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood.  It was such a blessing to have a couple of days away and we are continually so thankful for such a great family that is all willing to help us with our kiddos while we're away and while we are just doing our day to day activities and need an extra hand.  I seriously don't know what we'd do without them.

While we were in Mount Hood we had a chance to do a little hiking and we got to see a lot of snow!!!

Another big event in March was that Hazel officially started walking.  I'd say she  walks more than she crawls now.  She also continues to come up with ways to entertain us and her siblings and she's become pretty good at pouting when she doesn't get what she wants.  Oh the joys...

This ones never far behind when it comes to clowning around!

 We've also had our first "warm days."  Funny how we've acclimated to Oregon weather.  As soon as it got close to 70 and we saw a few nice sunny days in a row the kids thought it was summer and started begging to play outside in the water.  I think they were a little cold but very happy to be playing outside.

We also bought some new baby chicks and started getting ready to try out some gardening.

New strawberry beds

Nephews

We are so excited to welcome two new boys to the family.  Brian and Amy just had their 3rd, Oliver James Kaufman, in December and we are anticipating the arrival of Uncle Ryan and Auntie Katie's first, Carter, in March.  We love babies around here so we couldn't be more excited!!! 

Hazel (11 months) and Oliver (1 month)

We were excited to be a part of this celebration in February to honor of Katie and Carter and can't wait to meet and love on this new little one in just a few weeks!!!!

Auntie Kendra and Autumn

Family Photo

Auntie Katie and her sisters

Welcoming!!! 

Carter Dale Moss

Congratulations Ryan and Katie!

Happy 1st Birthday to Our Little Nut!

Happy 1st Birthday!

The speed with which the 1st year flies by never ceases to amaze me.  Seems like you bring them home and literally only a few days later you find yourself planning a birthday party wondering where the time went.  Maybe it's the sleep deprivation and craziness of the first year or maybe it's just that they change so fast that first year that you really just can't keep up.  Either way here we are again reflecting on the 1st year of our littlest one.

Hazel just recently started taking a few steps.  She has great balance and I think once she is ready to move it's going to come easily for her, but for now she usually still prefers crawling as its a much more efficient way of keeping up with her siblings.  She's a little bitty thing weighing in at only 16lb 14oz at her one year old appointment, but she makes up for her small weight with her BIG personality.  She is quite literally the silliest little thing I've ever seen.  She laughs easily, loves playing with Daddy, loves pestering her siblings, loves her bunny, and adores her big sister who is always there to take care of her.  She isn't talking much yet but will say mama and dada and definitely knows how to get her point across.  For example, the highlight of her day is when Daddy gets home, loads her into the baby carrier and takes her outside to do chores.  If he dares do to anything else before that she lets him know how she feels about it by walking into the mud room fussing and jabbering while pointing at the hanging baby carrier.  How can you tell her no.

Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Girl!  We love you so very much!  You are sweet and petite.  You give the best snuggles and we love to hear you laugh when we tickle you or when you're just laughing along with the rest of the kids even though you can't have any idea what's so funny.  You bring us so much joy and we love you!
Love,  Mommy and Daddy

Happy 5th Birthday Wyatt

Happy 5th Birthday to our favorite Super Hero Wyatt!

This year we celebrated Wyatt's birthday with a Captain America party.  Wyatt LOVES many things but some of his current favorites are Captain America, Baseball, Racecars, spending time with Daddy, and playing with Sadie.  Sometimes we say that Wyatt is our most difficult but only because he plays hard and fights hard.  Of all of our kids he has the biggest heart, the most questions, and can be the most stubborn, and some days for no apparent reason which drives us a little crazy.  However, we love his sensitive heart for those he loves, his inquisitive mind which is always processing, and how excited he gets about life.  This year he participated in Awanas and one of my favorite things was hearing him tell me all about the things he learned.  I also loved listening to him play and pretend with Sadie in the back seat of the car on our way to and from wherever we were headed.  He is nearly always talking at a volume WAY above what is necessary for the given situation, but I think that his enthusiasm for life is just a part of who he is.  We laugh that he is just like his Daddy in this way.  To many he may seem a little extreme, but those who love him realize that he's just an all of nothing sort of guy.  He'll do anything for anyone and also loose his temper in the heat of the moment from time to time :)

Uncle Robert brought over this Captain America costume the night before his party so that he could be Captain America all day.

Breakfast for the Birthday Boy!

We continue to miss our good friends and neighbors from Glendora the Scullys.  They spent 9 months in Vancouver this year and we were so excited that they were able to join us for Wyatt's celebration.  I only wish I'd gotten a picture of Wyatt with his best buddy Sawyer.

We love you so very much Wyatt!  You are growing up way too fast and we know that this year will bring even more changes as you will be starting school and just continuing to grow up more and more as you do every year.  We are blessed to be your parents and are excited for the years ahead! We love you little squirt!
Love,
Daddy and Mommy

RECENT CAPTAIN AMERICA SIGHTINGS!

 Captain America spotted eating a hamburger in Albany.

Captain America spotted at Costco!