I give up

If I squint just a little bit and close one eye he kind of looks like me.

Nope, he looks just like his daddy.

Memorial Day at Grannys

Hanging with Granny

Waiting for food!

Fudgsicles!

Luke and Benjamin got to hang out. Sometimes Luke cried.

They are going to be great buds one day.

Noah, Ella, and Isabelle played in the pool.

Benjamin joined them for a little while.

So did Luke.

The brothers and the babies.

The mama's of the babies.

A Day With Daddy

Calming Luke down on the porch.

Playing on the beach with the kids

1st stop of the day - building planes at Lowes

Hiking with hiking sticks

Hiking after swimming all afternoon

Today Daddy proved yet again how incredible he is. This morning he took the kids to the build and grow program at Lowes to build planes. They loved it, of course. After coming home and making the planes a little more sturdy with some wood glue, and a great lunch, Matt took the kids to Lake James for an afternoon of swimming and hiking. Meanwhile, Luke and I stuck around the house. (Luke has the sniffles so he's had a hard time sleeping). Matt and Noah ended the day playing Mario on the Wii (Noah came up to Luke and told him to "watch me dominate this level" - hilarious!)

I am so thankful for the daddy that Matt is. His weekends are for his kids, making memories, and loving them full force.

This week

We got Meredith back for our first full week since I went on bedrest. It's been great to have her sweet face in our house! Ella loves spending time with her and it gets even better when Noah gets home.

The sweetest thing you'll ever see

Opposite Day

So this is a picture of Luke crying (obviously). I was trying on his hat for outside, and he decided that he is too fashionable to wear a hat. I know it's wrong to think something so sad is cute, but I think it's hilarious and adorable.

It's opposite day because if you take that frown and turn it upside down, you will get what I got today. LUKE INTENTIONALLY SMILED AT ME THIS MORNING FOR THE FIRST TIME!!! It brought tears to my eyes. It's one of the best parts of mommy hood. I love this guy.

An apology, fat cheeks, and a helper.

To counteract the selfishness of my previous post, I wanted to let you know some of the things that I am thankful for.

Yesterday Noah pinched Ella on the way to church because he wanted to sit in her seat but she got there first. Now I am not thankful for the pinching. And he was given the punishment of being grounded for the day. It's almost funny to think about, I don't know about you, but for our little family, something always goes crazy in the hour leading up to getting to church. Anyway, Noah went into church knowing that he wouldn't be able to have any Wii time for the rest of the day. Later that morning after we came home he pulled me aside and told me that he really was sorry for pinching Ella and that he understood why he wasn't going to get to play the Wii that day. I got to see a glimpse of the man God is molding my Noah to be and I love it.

Luke has the best cheeks of any baby I've ever seen. He has a really small chin, so he has this massive amount of fat-ness that pillows away from his chin. And it's so kissable.

And Ella helps me more than I could have imagined. Last Wednesday it was a little before lunch time. I had gone in the other room to nurse Luke, and had told Ella and Meredith that after I was through we would eat lunch and have rest time. While I was gone, Ella had picked up every toy and put it away without me asking. Let me say that again. Without me asking. I'd be lost without that little girl!

I guess in the scheme of things, the car rider line isn't so bad at all, when I've got it so good all the rest of the time.

Daily Drama in the Car Rider Line

We all have things that drive us crazy. And here is mine:

I knew she was going to do it. She was hugging the car bumper ahead of her as close as she could and wouldn't look my way. She was going to cut in front of me.

In the back seat I had a 7 week old screaming like he was being beaten, an almost two year old repeating "Ms Sarah, baby crying. Ms Sarah, baby crying." And Ella doing her best to get Luke to calm down from the way back.

She didn't get the handout at the beginning of the year that says "The left two lanes are to advance as every-other car to move forward in the line." She was too busy blasting her hip hop music, talking on her cell phone, enjoying the peace and quiet of her own car to look over at a frantic mother wanting to move forward, following protocol, to pick up her son.

In the back of my mind I could totally hear my mom telling me to pray the fruits of the spirit...

Thankfully Noah illegally straddled the seat and sang to Luke while he kept his passy in his mouth, still screaming, the short drive home.

So there you have it. The one part of my day I look forward to the least. I am a rule follower and want you to be too. I am thankful schools almost out and I don't have to face the car rider line for the summer! The oreos we all shared when we got home helped to calm us all down, and we'll be back in the lane at the same time tomorrow.

Lake James Swim Beach

At Linville Gorge lookout in the park
Swimming!

This afternoon Matt wanted to give me a break (I love that man too much!) so he took the kids to the Lake James swim beach. Lake James is about 20 minutes from our house and is a state park that has an actual swim beach. The kids dug in the sand with their toys, played in the water and enjoyed themselves. Matt watched them and worked on his sun tan and enjoyed their company. We have lived in Marion 9 years and have only been to the park 2 times, and never to the beach. Crazy, isn't it! Matt told me he will be taking them there a lot more this summer!

Pool time with Nana and Papa!

Nana and Papa Siak and Uncle Mark came in on Friday night. The kids got to go swimming at their hotel and they had a blast. I was amazed at how good of a swimmer Ella has become! Matt has been taking Noah and Ella to the Y to swim for a few months, and I haven't been able to go. I got to see all that he had been teaching her and she's our little shark! They all loved the hot tub too. We had a great visit with everyone!

Chunky Monkey

Luke turned 6 weeks old this week. He's getting so big! He is filling out all over, and I love every squishy roll on his body. We have had to start really cleaning out his neck because it gets stinky from drool/milk by the end of the day. And he's getting creases of chubbiness all over that are so precious. He's such a good baby and I love every minute of him! Enjoy these chunky pictures!

Camping Out

It's a school night, but we are taking Noah in late because the kids have 8 am dentist appointments (the only time they could get them in where they would have 2 appointments this year= maxing out those dental benefits!). Matt is not getting much sleep because of Luke, and he is looking forward to sleeping on the blow up mattress and getting some much needed rest! All four of my gang are cuddled up right now watching an old kid's 80s movie on Netflix. Love those guys!

Out Cold

Luke is a groan-er. He grunts all day, every day. A fact which I forgot before I chose our seats for church on Sunday morning. He grunted so loud I had to take him out after the first point in the sermon. And when he sleeps, he sleeps hard. This video was 30 minutes after he was supposed to have woken up to eat. And he refused.

Balance Beam

More Gymnastics

Care Package

I've known Megan since I was 13 I think. She was a year older than me and in our youthgroup at church. We not only did church functions together but went on many choir tours singing all over the US. She doesn't live near here anymore, but a few years ago I got to visit with her. Her husband was deployed and she was visiting her mom in Hendersonville. While she was there she went into premature labor and had to have her son super early. They stayed in the NICU and I got to visit while she was there. Megans husband Ollie was recently deployed again to Afghanistan. About a month ago his vehicle was hit by a bomb and he lost one leg and severly injured the other. In all of Noah's talks about war, ever since he found out the whole story behind Bin Laden's death, Noah has wondered a lot about my friends husband. We heard that Megan was asking people to send care packages instead of anything to help Ollie (he was just transfered to a San Antonio hospital from Walter Reed). This weekend the kids and I made a care package of snacks. They worked hard on making cards for a long time. In fact Ella made 3 different cards because the first two "weren't good enough." Noah's included a note that said " thank you for fighting. I'm going to pray God keeps you safe." I love my kids hearts and that they wanted to take on this project. It's easy to forget that there are people there fighting every day for our freedom. And people who will be forever changed physically and emotionally from their sacrifice. We are blessed to live in such an incredible country with such priveleges. If you want to send a care package to Ollies "team mates" (as Noah called them), shoot me an email at sarahsiak@yahoo.com.

Last night was Ellas gymnastic recital. We are so proud of her! She did so well!! She did all her poses, cartwheels, bridges, donkey kicks, and more. I am amazed at how much more flexible she has gotten over the past months since she started gymnastics. She really is good at this! The best part by far, was Ellas "Ta-da's" After you finish each thing, you stand up raise your hands and pause for a minute. Ella's "Ta-da" consisted of putting her leg out, popping her hip to the side, and smiling. It was absolutely hilarious. She had to be original! I have a lot of video but am having trouble uploading it, so for now, enjoy the pictures!

Ella and her best friend Jaylynn
Ella and Turner's "Ta-da" after their bridge

The Bridge - Turner made a funny face at Ella we captured on video

I have no clue what this is called, but Ella is super flexible.

After tumbling through the rings, Ella stopped to pose.

"Ta-da!"

Still Posing, with her medal

Yep, that's my Gold medal.

Daddy's trip to Indianapolis

Matt had to go on a quick trip for Fastenal to a trade show. Granny came to stay with us so that we wouldn't have to be alone at night while daddy was gone. While she was here Ann came to meet Luke for the first time. We've had a great visit with everyone!

Ridiculously good looking

These pictures are just to remind you how handsome my guys are. I love my boys!