Isn't she cute?

When your the sixth kid, you get lots of perks like a constant play buddy, lots of hugs and kisses, and your needs being catered to by all your siblings. There are however, some downsides. Case in point, the following:

Brady thought Maycee would look cute in his Napoleon Dynamite wig so he plopped it on her and we all got a good laugh at her expense. Maycee didn't seem to mind to much, she even cheesed it up for the camera, but I'm sure she won't appreciate it when she sees these photos when she is a teenager. Sorry Maycee, but we couldn't resist.

Jaron Turns 9!

Our Jaron turned nine officially today, but we had his big party on Saturday. Jaron is our water boy, so naturally he wanted a party at home on the lake this year. We prayed for sun, but alas it wasn't meant to be. Our summer thus far has been filled with clouds and showers, but that didn't dampen the fun at Jaron's party. All in all, Jaron had a great time and we enjoyed spending time with all the family.

In keeping with tradition, Brady made Jaron's birthday cake with a beach theme. Complete with water, a huge beach ball, surfboard, and lochness monster. He did a great job and is learning more tricks with every cake.

Present time!! Jaron loved the legos and all the water toys he received.

Grandma Lynn gave Jaron a pair of swimming gloves which he put right to use in the lake.

They look great and work great too!

Jolee and Abbi loved getting to use their umbrellas. See, rain isn't all bad.

We had a great surprise with "Christmas in July" from Grandma Lynn and Grandpa Ron with a paddle boat! I have wanted one forever, and now that we live on a lake, it is a must.

Works great and is so much fun. The kids told me it was relaxing...as long as you know how to steer it right. The last activity of the party was busting up a huge pinata. I found this at Sam's club and it was so fun watching all the kids take a whack at it.

Aaron's making sure Chloee hasn't knocked loose the rigging.

Go Brady!

Thanks big sis for helping Jolee.

And finally! The kids shared the spoils pretty well and all had a great time. We are grateful for another year with our sweet Jaron and the many blessings we enjoy every day.

9 Months, Baby!

Our Maycee is 9 months old today; bigger and better than ever. Maycee still continues to be as sweet as pie and always easy going. She loves being with her siblings, snuggling with Mama and playing with her toes. She is not making a lot of progress on her gross motor skills mostly because she is so big. She still is topping the growth charts at 20.5 pounds and 28 inches long.

Some things Maycee is working on are:

*growing teeth (she has 4 now)

*clapping when you say "yay!"

*pushing up on hands even though she really does not like being on her tummy

*playing with her toes and always trying to get them

to her mouth

*eating squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, and wanting to eat big people food, but still chokes on anything of decent size

*blowing raspberries

*tries to give kisses by grabbing the small hair at the back of your neck and pulling you in to suck your face (I love this one)

Chloee is teaching her how to be "cool" already, but we think she is pretty awesome just the way she is.

OUCH!!

A few weeks ago, we went to "Zion" to meet Haylee and Aaron as they finished their youth pioneer trek (more on that later when I get some pictures to post). While we were waiting, Jaron found himself some tall, dead grass to play in. The next thing I know, I see him holding his thumb while big, crocodile tears are running down his face. He is screaming to the point where everyone around me thought he had broken his thumb.

When I finally got him to show me his injury, I saw a rather large splinter of the thick grass he was in sticking out of his thumb. Several people offered to help hold him down, but after much coaxing, I got him to let me pull it out. He stopped crying and when on to playing. Crisis over, or so I thought.

About a week later, his thumb was swollen and a large blister had formed where the sliver had been. I happened to be at my parents house at the time and luckily my dad is an expert sliver remover. We soaked his thumb in hot water, hydrogen peroxide, and poked it with a needle. Without getting too graphic, I squeezed quite a bit of puss out and while I was squeezing his thumb, a little piece of sliver started to poke out. I though we had found the last little remaining bit of the original sliver, so I had my mom grab the end with some tweezers and pull. Too all of our shock and horror, this massive stick came sliding out! Poor guy, no wonder he was screaming his head off.

Strolling with my Sisters

Haylee took the girls for a walk down our road the other day and I had to share these pics. There is a great story with these pictures and ultimately, they had a great time together.

"Let's pose for a pic, girls!" "Jolee, look at the camera!" Chloee is our little mama.

They loved the walk and being together, until..."Jojo, it's time to go back."

"I don't want to go back! I am going to ignore you until I get my way." Haylee quit taking pics at this point, but she did get Jolee back home in one piece. I love my girls!!

Sisterly Love

Haylee and Jolee have been buddies lately. Jolee sweet talks Haylee into letting her sleep in big sissy's bed and they play beauty shop a lot (Haylee paints Jo's nails for her). Now Haylee is teaching Jolee the art of posing for the camera:

Here is the glam shot:

The goofy shot:

The booby shot: yikes!

So glad my little girls have a good role model to emulate...no pressure Haylee.

Glamourous Girl

I was taking pics of Maycee the other day and Jolee had to get in on the fun. She has turned out to be a fan of the camera which is shocking because everyone knows how much of a shy streak she has. Anyway, these were too cute not to post. Enjoy.

Here is Jolee modeling her birthday outfit she got from Grandma Lynn.

Here is Jolee modeling her new barbie dress up outfit we got her for her birthday. She was all smiles until...

She realized everyone was giggling at how cute she was. Now that's the Jolee we all know and love.