Blake is 4!
We had fun celebrating on Saturday with all the Millers and Fletchers.
Opening presents.
Blowing out candles.
Waiting for a piece of cake.
Too bad it was "coffee" ice cream cake, as if all the sugar weren't enough stimulation for all the toddlers! Ha ha, oops - nice pick, Uncle Mike M.! :)
Playing with all the "little guys" with Aunt Maryann.
Sword fighting with Uncle Mike F.
(Charlie didn't want any part of this, but the other 4 cousins had a BLAST!)
Jasmine keeping those eyes protected, and of course fighting in pretty in pink style.
Proud mom and dad watch their 4 year old enjoy his birthday!
Flighty Whitey was acting really crazy all morning, jumping into baskets and buckets and "bawking" up a storm. So, we knew it was coming! She finally chose this old purple rubbermaid bucket that was filled with hay (completely ignorning our cute little nest area that Shawn built for them to lay their eggs in alongside the coop). After she "did the deed" she was a little traumatized. She burrowed down inside the bucket and wouldn't come out. It was funny, but also a little sad. I mean, really, she was probably thinking, "What just HAPPENED to me?!?!?!"
The fun part was that my sister and all of her kiddos happened to be visiting when it happened. So, Shawn came and got us and we all went running back there to check it out.
We had fun celebrating on Saturday with all the Millers and Fletchers. Opening presents.
Blowing out candles.
Waiting for a piece of cake.
Too bad it was "coffee" ice cream cake, as if all the sugar weren't enough stimulation for all the toddlers! Ha ha, oops - nice pick, Uncle Mike M.! :)
Playing with all the "little guys" with Aunt Maryann.
Sword fighting with Uncle Mike F.
(Charlie didn't want any part of this, but the other 4 cousins had a BLAST!)
Shirtless Warrior, Birthday Boy Blake!
Jasmine keeping those eyes protected, and of course fighting in pretty in pink style.Proud mom and dad watch their 4 year old enjoy his birthday!Since Blake and Charlie are only 6 days apart, Charlie's 4th birthday is this Friday, the 30th. I can't believe the boys are 4 already! There will be plenty of pictures to come after Charlie's celebration, I'm sure...! :)
In other news, on Saturday morning, we FINALLY got our first EGG!!!
Flighty Whitey was acting really crazy all morning, jumping into baskets and buckets and "bawking" up a storm. So, we knew it was coming! She finally chose this old purple rubbermaid bucket that was filled with hay (completely ignorning our cute little nest area that Shawn built for them to lay their eggs in alongside the coop). After she "did the deed" she was a little traumatized. She burrowed down inside the bucket and wouldn't come out. It was funny, but also a little sad. I mean, really, she was probably thinking, "What just HAPPENED to me?!?!?!"The fun part was that my sister and all of her kiddos happened to be visiting when it happened. So, Shawn came and got us and we all went running back there to check it out.
Shawn's reaching in for it.
Charlie was so proud of the egg! He took it in the house and kept hiding it in different spots. Then it occured to me, he was thinking we needed to hide it like an Easter egg. So silly!
Flighty Whitey strutting her stuff after the laying.
The egg is still in our fridge. It's really small. I am having issues with eating it. It almost seems like we should let her work all the kinks out before eating the eggs, get a few out, get the wheels turning, you know? Rusty plumbing? Is that strange?
Charlie was so proud of the egg! He took it in the house and kept hiding it in different spots. Then it occured to me, he was thinking we needed to hide it like an Easter egg. So silly!
Flighty Whitey strutting her stuff after the laying.
The egg is still in our fridge. It's really small. I am having issues with eating it. It almost seems like we should let her work all the kinks out before eating the eggs, get a few out, get the wheels turning, you know? Rusty plumbing? Is that strange?
Tried out the "apple sling". One buck gets you 3 apples to sling at some targets. It was cool but for some reason it was really bugging me that they were wasting all those perfectly good apples. I finally had to stop obsessing so I came up with this whole daydream involving a whole bunch of really happy pigs living out back who would feast on all those smashed-up apples later that night.
The proud apple-slinger!
And. Still waiting.
We decided to try out the hay ride.
I pretty much really dislike how I'm looking in this picture, but I just had to put it up because the kid in the back is cracking me up. I think he was trying to pose with us. Charlie's long-lost older brother? Hey, they kind of look alike, I guess.
Charlie wasn't too crazy about all the noise the tractor was making!
We got back. Still no Millers. Still waiting.
Ah, here they are!
Would you believe that Charlie is the YOUNGEST here?
Little baby Ava's first pumpkin patch trip - so cute!
Ellie and Charlie
"Let's do it together!"
Silly Ellie
The Millers
Ivan, Melissa and baby Ava & Justin, Michelle and little Viola - too cute!
They have sent postcards galore - much to Charlie's delight!
Spotted this sweet spider web outside our front door this morning. I couldn't really capture how cool it was, it was much better in person. But how amazing are spider webs, really? 
Charlie does not appreciate the bright sunshine at all. So, he often wears my sunglasses. He really thinks he's a big shot.
Talking on the phone to Oma and Opa - who are gone for a whole MONTH road tripping it all over the United States. 
Charlie doing what he does best these days, chatting it up! He's holding 2 of our newest little baby chicks.