Sitting Up

Yea - Will is sitting up. This weekend we decided to see if he could and with a little balance he can!! Kind of the tri-pod type right now but he loves to be up and looking at all the action. I can't believe how much these picture looks like one of Andrew sitting up for the first time in our house (b&w below).

Princess Jules

So I never understood these moms who would let their daughters trapse around the grocery store in full length princess dresses, decked out with crowns, high heels and sunglasses. Ok - now I am one of those moms. Katie was never really into the dress up phenomenon like Miss Jules. She wakes up first thing asking for her pink princess dress and crown. You can't see them, but instead of glass slippers, she wears her pink crocs. We love watching her play - her imagination is amazing for such a little girl.

BTW - Many people have said they see Matthew in Julia, but I have never seen it ... until in these pictures. In the picture where she is not smiling, those are Matthew's eyes!!!

Friday Night Lights

Well not quite high school football, but Sean and Andrew are at his AAU scrimmage that was rained out on Weds, Katie is at a "co-ed" birthday party, so Will, Jules and Matthew are here with Mommy just chilling. Not much going on .... waiting for Aunt Mere and Baby John to arrive on the red eye in the morning. The kids are elated to see both of them.

Just got a call from my friend Buddy - she had a BOY!! He is Logan Crawford -- 7 pounds 6 oz and 19 inches. She now has 4 kiddies - Jordan, Jackson, Larson and Logan. So we both have 3 boys - we think that is pretty cool.

Off to read stories -- I feel like I have been reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear for 11 straight years. Oh, I guess I have. I actually cherish these quiet nights at home ........

Midweek update

We are all doing fine on this typical Wednesday. Baseball season has started picking up and basketball season is in full swing. Sean is out for the day to Columbus, OH and just waiting for the big kids to get home. Andrew has his first AAU scrimmage/game tonight so we will all trek to the South Orange fields for a little baseball. Starting the "renovation" projects at the house .... redoing the kids rooms, recarpeting the main house, changing paint colors and basic upkeep. If you know me ... you know how much I love to do these kind of things (NOT!). Thanks to my kind, decorating gifted friends who will help me through this process.

Hope to get some pictures up this weekend of the kids. Meredith is hopefully making a trip from Seattle this weekend to visit with Baby John one more time before her maternity leave is up. We can't wait to get our hands on that little love. My best friend, Buddy (from Texas, formerly Cincinnati) is having her 4th baby this Friday. We can't wait to see if it is a boy or a girl, but either way, it is Baby Logan. We are so amazingly thrilled for this baby!!!

Just looked outside to the beautiful sunny sky and remember that it is January and it is 80 degrees. We take for granted the beautiful weather we have here. Taking the little ones out right now to enjoy it ......

Go Gators!!

Matthew - Number 3
Matthew with the ball
Hi-Fiving Dad after his basket
All Matthew's teammates

Can you believe the title of this blog? GO GATORS!!! Sean is cringing. Ok - the deal is Matthew's basketball team is the Gators so at least for this season, we are Gator's fans!! The game was so much fun this morning. Sean arrived in the middle of the 2nd quarter and got to see Matthew play. Matthew made one basket and was the defensive player of the game. Imagine that, Matthew aggressive? He really did understand how to guard the other team and played pretty tenacious defense if I must say. I particularly like their uniforms!! Can't wait until next week.

Finally ... a Johnny Jumper

Thanks to my friend Heather for lending William Carly's Johnny Jumper. I have never had one of these for the kids, although I always thought they would be fun. My neice, Charlotte, LOVED her jumper!!! William loved it right away and got the hang of it after a few minutes. He was very cute - he only jumped off of one foot. The only place that we have to put him is in the downstairs bathroom, but he didn't seem to mind.

Basketball Day

Up early to get things ready for our basketball day! Both Andrew and Matthew have games today. Matthew has his 1st game ever of basketball. He is playing in an Upward league in Celebration and is too cute in his uniform and high tops. Pictures added later today. Andrew is playing for his school team and their game times overlap. Sean arrives this morning on the red eye from San Fran and will try to make it back in time for a little of both games. I guess Jules, Will and I will be the cheerleaders. Katie (and her robust social life) spent the night with her great friend, Casey!! No other plans for the day. Rain is a coming .... Good night for movies, pizza and games.

Danger

So our days of laying William on the floor are over. He rolled and scooted over to the sofa table and found a new toy - a lamp cord!! Marvelous!! He was tugging at it and even had it in his mouth. I guess I have to rebaby-proof this house. We can't believe in only 2 weeks he will be 6 months old. We are amazed at how fast that went.

Things you might not know about me ....

Thought it would be fun to list some things that you might not know about me:

1) I love to dance - even went to several Step Shows in college. Very fun!!
2) I can beatbox - rap was my music of choice in high school.
3) Was a sprinter in high school. Wonder if I can run fast anymore?
4) I worked one day "walking beans" in high school. Anyone know what that is?
5) Once upon a time, I wanted to be a CAREER WOMAN ONLY!! Things have changed.
6) I attended a NSYNC concert with my friend Kristin Walker when I was 7 month pregnant. Boy - I bet I looked hot!!
7) I guessed WRONG every time the gender of our babies. I guess so much for mother's intuition.
8) The first time I ever went on a plane was when I was 21 to meet Sean's parents.
9) My number one fear is that someday I will be framed for a crime I didn't commit.
10) I like Diet Coke (oh - I guess if you know me, this is no surprise)

Hope everyone is well and having fun!! Live is short, family is the most important thing, take time for your relationships, and enjoy all the blessings we have been so generously given.

Superbaby

We all think William is a Super Baby, but now we have pictures to prove it. Sean loves "doing tricks" with all the kids. Throwing them on the bed, flipping them over, etc. and William is no different. Snapped these fun pictures the other night of Sean flying William across the family room. Too cute!!

Matthew is getting more comfortable holding William and is thinking it is very cool to be a big brother to a brother!! He is very sweet with Will and I love watching them together. As I mentioned before, Will really thinks Matthew is funny and I can't wait to see how their relationship develops as Will gets older. Yes - Matthew's left eye is swollen. Allergy time in Florida. The pollen really gets to Matthew.

Where have we been?

Too long since the last post so a quick update. We are going full speed ahead since getting back into the swing of things!!! Second semester at school is underway - lots coming up: science fair, Katie's trip to St. Augustine, Andrew's team-building 2 day trip to Camp Wewa, homework, Katie's student council, Andrew is playing basketball for the school, Matthew working hard on his accelerated reader goal of 25 points (he is at 23.5!!). As you know, we are totally involved in our little league here in Celebration. I am the VP of Operations and Sean the treasurer. Sean is involved in 4 teams (Andrew, Katie, Matthew and coaches a Challenger Baseball division for mentally and physically handicapped children). January is the busiest month for me with registrations, team formation, scheduling, etc. It is a ton of work but worth it to see all those happy kids playing baseball in Celebration.

Sean is off to San Fransisco this morning on business. He continues to amaze me with his ability to balance his time between work and the family. I am very lucky to have someone who is totally engaged with me and the kids. We do have a very blessed life.

Off to have a few minutes of peace before the children wake up. Lucky me, I don't have to drive carpool today ..... went twice yesterday.

Back to the Daily Grind

Now that the holidays are over, we are slowly getting back into the swing of things. Matthew had his first basketball practice this week. A good friend of our, Brian Merrill, is his coach and Sean is assisting him. They are the Gators (not a good name for a Hurricane household). We are in the tail end of Little League sign ups so there is alot of work for me to do with registrations and administration of the league. My back has been really hurting since Monday. Need to find some time to go to the doctor. Most likely stress and carrying around that 20 pound guy!! Went to Andrew's honor roll assembly yesterday. It was very nice and in the brand new gymnasium. Julia continues to be hauled around with me wherever I go (as does Will). Katie is the student council representative for her class and has her first meeting today. Running to Julia's school right now - I am the helper mom for 8 2 year olds. Joy - especially with a sore back. Just heard the dryer buzzer ring ... enough time to fold one more load of laundry ... ciao!

FIVE MONTHS

We can't believe that William is already 5 months. He is changing so much:

1) He is eating cereal and tried bananas for the 1st time today

2) He is grabbing his toes and trying to put them in his mouth (it is so adorable).

3) He continues to be a champion sleeper

4) He is pushing 20 pounds and just moved into 9/12 month clothes.

5) Size 3 diapers are getting snug.

6) He lights up when he sees his brothers and sisters (he finds Matthew particularly funny - don't we all??)

7) He still looks exactly like Andrew. It is almost like our family has come full circle!

8) He is a blessing, a miracle, the completion of our family, a love, a snuggly and AMAZING little boy!!

No More Ad-rew

Julia finally is referring to Matthew by his name of MATTHEW. For the longest time, when you ask her what her brothers' names are, she replies, "Andrew, Adrew and Baby Willio." Just today, I heard her numerous times calling him, yelling and him and playing with him using MATTHEW. Hooray!!! Below is a great picture of the 2 of them last night having their sleepover in Julia's toddler bed. It actually lasted until 3:30am - we were surprised. We predicted about 5 minutes. As Julia is getting older, they are really starting to play together and laugh at one another.

Happy New Year

Wow - 2008 is here. This is my first post of the new year. I have really enjoyed blogging in 2007 and hope to continue with the life and times of the Kanes in 2008. We spent tonight with all our great friends at the Hart's house!!! We are totally blessed by this wonderful group of family oriented friends that we have here!! The kids just all hung out together and had a great time. My mom and Melinda and her girls go home tomorrow. We will spend more time tomorrow with the Zollingers and their great New Year's Day party. Kids are back to school on Wednesday and life is back to normal (if you call busy normal!). Our wishes for 2008 are simple - health, happiness, friendships and love. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!