Weekly Adventures

This first week of January was a full one! If the rest of our year is this busy, I am going to need an assistant to help me get everything done. 

 A cute and happy spot in our week. Caleb loves to read! I found him one afternoon with one of Tessa's Calvin and Hobbes books, turning the pages and growling at the pictures. Then he wanted me to read it to him. 

 Poor Tessa came down with a nasty case of Strep throat. She had a sick day and a doctor visit. It's only the 3rd time she's ever been to the doctor for being sick. She got on some meds and was much better the next day.

 Our little scavenger. He was probably looking for the whipped cream. 

 This week was baby central at our house. I had the 4 kids I normally babysit, and then we added Gia to the mix one day. Caleb and Gwen loved having a cousin around! 

 I love to see how much she looks like her Daddy.

My hair was her favorite toy of the day. 

 Gia found the stairs and just wanted to keep up with the big kids. 

 The other night at dinner, Caleb refused to eat his own food. But, he happily ate his Daddy's salad and peppers. Go figure!

 The girls had a makeover day. Tessa loved getting Gwen all dolled up. She refused to let Gwen do her makeup though. They thought they were so pretty and showed everyone their new looks. 

 Adam had a busy and exhausting week! On Monday, he auditioned for his school play and was cast as a Vagabond. (They were doing Aladdin.) He started rehearsals on Tuesday right after school and that was his schedule everyday for the rest of the week. School from 8-3 and then rehearsals from 3:30-8pm. He was so tired by the end of the week, but came home every evening with so much energy and loved being part of the play.

 Daddy took the girls out to ride their new scooters one afternoon. They love it, but Gwennie got cold and had to wear Daddy's hat and coat. 

 I love how dramatic everything is. 

 After a long day of being a 17 month old. Life is exhausting.

(And spilling milk all over the couch.)

Gwen Turns 4!

On January 3rd, our Gwennie turned 4 years old! I feel like of all our kids, she has grown up the fastest. She has been so excited for her birthday and counting down the days. She was so happy to wake up and hear that it was finally her day. She got out of bed and said, "I know there are presents downstairs!" I asked her how she knew that and she said, "I just have a feeling!"

It was also her first day of Sunbeams. She has been so ready to ditch Nursery and join the big kids. She loved Primary, but she told Ma that she had been a little nervous. 

 This girl has personality plus and is the term "threenager" has fit her perfectly. Now we'll have to call her a "fournager".

After church we let her open her presents. She only had 3 outfit changes for the day. Typical for our Gwennie. 

 She loves Unicorns and got a Unicorn dress for her big party next week. 

 She also got Frozen slippers. 

 A Doc McStuffin's cd and a stuffed Unicorn made her smile!

 She requested spaghetti and meatballs for her birthday dinner and brownie sundaes for dessert. She asked to say the prayer at dinner and it went like this. Literally. "Dear Heavenly Father, It's my birthday! In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." Needless to say, there was lots of laughter at the dinner table that night. 

 We love our big 4 year old and are so grateful for the sunshine she brings to our home and family!

Happy New Year!!

We had a fun and happy new year's! The kids have been talking for weeks about staying up until midnight this year, so I thought we would throw a party and have a fun celebration to help them in their efforts. 

On New Year's Eve day, Daddy took the older 3 to the Library for a New Year's celebration. They got to see a fun magic show, make party hats, and count down until "Noon Year's"! They loved it and were so happy to get noise makers. 

Mommy planned some activities for our party and hid the clues in balloons with different times throughout the evening. At the appointed balloon time, the kids got to pop the balloons and see what our activity would be. 

 We had quite the feast!

 We had a lot of fun playing games with Aunt Katy, some of the Uncle's, and Ma and Pa. 

One of our first games was spoons. It ended with Ben and Katy wrestling in the snow for the final spoon. Never a dull moment when the Lemley's play games!

 We had to play our traditional game of New Year's Scattergories. Uncle Alex joined our party too!

 Adam thinking about his answers. He had some good ones!

 A favorite part of the evening was playing Pie Face with everyone. Ma, Pa, and Aunt were lucky enough to not get hit. Uncle Danny, Uncle Ben, Uncle Alex, and Ares weren't so lucky! 

 We played Charades. Always humorous with Gwennie and Pa. I remember Dad always making Charades hilarious when we would play for FHE.

 It isn't a proper game night if we don't play Nertz!

 Gwen introduced Ma and Pa to all of her stuffed animals. 

 At about 11:30, everyone was done for the night. We watched the Cobra episode from Mama's Family to make us laugh and keep us awake. These crazy kids all made it to the bitter end and at midnight screamed "Happy New Year" to the neighborhood. Then they all promptly went to bed. 

 Caleb woke up right when everyone was leaving and he and Mommy were up until 4:30am. It was a long day and a long night for Mommy, but we had a lot of fun!

 New Year's Day we watched the Rose Parade, Adam watched some football, we played and recovered from our party the night before. Then we went to Ma and Pa's house for our Pennsylvania New Year's dinner. Not a bad way to start off the new year!