Happy Birthday "BOY!"

"Boy" turned the big F-O-U-R last week.
Or if you asked him, he'd say that he turned "YOUR."
We are still working on that darn F sound.

Macks no longer goes by his real name.
Most of us have taken a liking to Marley's version
of the boys' names......
Mason is "Macon," (as in Bacon with an M)
Madden is either "Ma-nen" or "mean boy," (appropriately enough)
and Macks is simply "boy."

Oh how we love this BOY!!
If I could freeze him I would.

-Sad faces, Happy faces, Mad faces, and Excited faces-



We had an impromptu birthday party at McDonald's
with Macks' friend Harry who was born on the same day!
They were SO cute and have wonderful friends
that made their day so special.

I'll take credit for these amazing cupcakes thank you very much! ;)


Looks like age 4 is the year you master the fake smile! :)


So excited for the Ronald McDonald cake he got!
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We had another celebration at Nani and Papa's.....

It's always so exciting to see what kind of cake Nani made us....


Looks exactly like Macks!


See what I mean about the fake smile...


He ate his own cake all by himself....


New shorts and new shirts...


and every kind of BALL possible!

Oh....to be four years old again....
We love this kid.
He continues to be our favorite child...
(shhhh - don't tell the others! wink-wink)
-His face lights-up every day.
-His smile melts your heart.
-His little voice and own special language is my favorite.
-I cry when he learns how to say things the right way.
-I want napkins to be "napos" forever.
-I want Caddy's boyfriend Adam to be "Hamo" forever.
-I love that he is afraid of the wind, and people whistling.
-I love that every night....without fail....he's suddenly
starving right before bed and needs a bowl of cereal
-He LOVES music and is always requesting
"Bella Donna" by The Avett Brothers
or "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz
-He's got dance moves that would make anyone jealous!
-He is the most worthless "picker-upper"
you've ever met. Asking him to pick
ANYTHING up is like asking him to chop
off both his arms.
-He sticks up for his sister....whenever HE is
not the one that is teasing/torturing her.
He loves spending time with his brothers
doing anything and everything they do.

Mother's Day

Ya'll know I strongly dislike Mother's Day..... (see last years post)
It comes right after Halloween and St. Patricks Day
of days that I could surely do without.

But I make do.

The kids brought me breakfast in the bathroom,
(I was getting ready for church....sorry!)
bought me beautiful flowers for my front porch,
and some much needed gardening gloves!

My mom put together darling poems and gifts for my kids to give me when we went up to her house. Mason and Madden had a full on performance....with Mason reading and Madden doing the actions. How fitting!

My Mother's job is sometimes hard, and I have heard her say,
"The hours are long, and if I could, I'd like to change the pay."
Her profession has variety, and I will tell you now....
About the many hats she wears - and why and when and how.

My mom's a NURSE who fixes and patches
All of my hurts and my sores and scratches.


My mother's a CHEF who fixes each dinner
Fit for a King - a blue ribbon winner!


My Mom's a CHAUFFEUR who drives pretty slow
But gets me to places where I need to go.


My mom's a DETECTIVE, and no one is greater
At getting the truth from me sooner or later!


My mom is a GARDENER and works really hard,
Planting and weeding and grooming our yard.


My mother's a MAID - at least that what she said
'cause she cleans up the house and makes every bed.


My mother's an ANGEL - a queen in disguise -
who teaches the gospel with tears in her eyes.


Today take these hats off, and I'll use your scrubber.
Let me do your work, to show I LOVE YOU MOTHER!!
Love, Mason and Madden


Opening Macks and Mars gift...
Another cute poem with spatulas for all
three of us to use to bake a special treat.
(we made banana muffins!)



Giving all my dear children a big HUG and KISS!
Although it looks like I'm about to eat Marley....
and Mason and Madden's attempts to
avoid the hug and kiss as much as possible
makes me laugh out loud!

Eh - I'll keep 'em all!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ME!

EASTER

~3 of us were sick...
~The "Easter Grandma's" gave us too much candy...
~The kids loved the Easter Bunny's treasure hunt that led them all over the house to find their baskets...


~which were all hiding in the tub...


~Mason felt ripped off because he didn't get the DS game he wanted...
~Macks was more excited about his chapstick than anything else in his basket...
~Marley ate every piece of candy as fast as she could shove it in her mouth...
~I have to remind Madden everyday, at least 10 times, that his new basketball is an OUTSIDE basketball....
~He in turn reminds me that it said "indoor OR outdoor" on the box...
~We tried to get a decent picture....but with "Dopey" that couldnt' open his eyes, and the 2 older boys that have this super bad head tilt thing going on....we gave up.


~And went for funny faces instead. We are good at those!





~Madden and Macks loved Aunt JoJo's new bunny...


~Marley did NOT...


~The kids went on a fun Easter egg hunt at Nani and Papa's....


~The loot....

At the end of the day, I crawled in bed and began my 2 week hiatus of being sick.....strep, fever, ruptured ear drum, and sinus infection, then topped it all off with pneumonia. Thank goodness for a helpful husband, understanding kids, wonderful parents who took my kids for days at a time, and fabulous sisters that entertained my kids and helped me get so much time off work. I am finally feeling human again!!