Merry Presents!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas! We had a great Christmas Eve at our house...but Christmas day I spent the day in bed. :( I had some kind of virus that affected my inner ear and made me dizzy and nauseous. Not fun!! I was pretty much out for the whole weekend, and Monday too. (which was my day off from work) Total bummer! But...on a good note, the kids all got what they wanted and had fun playing with all there new toys.

We opened presents from Mom and Dad on Christmas Eve during the day. Then, I spent about 2 hours assembling them all!! Sheesh!!! That evening we went to Bryans parents for dinner and gifts with his family. The kids all had fun opening gifts and seeing what each other got.

Christmas Day Bryan took the kids to his side of the family for celebrating. I stayed home in bed, and Jakey stayed to keep me company. I pretty much slept the whole time and he played video games :)

Wishing Everyone a Happy Safe New Year!!

xoxo The Rubins

Before: (are my kids spolied or what!)


After: Disaster


Kody got a PSP (Playstation Portable video game)


Jakob got a Nintendo DSi XL


Gabby got a Little Mommy and Me play set (kitchen, bath and crib for her doll)



Nolan got the Fisher Price Little People Stand and Play Rampway



Shhh....Kody didn't even hear Santa sneak in! ;)


Look! Santa Came!!


Gabby and Daddy


The boys, enjoying their new video games :)

Greaseball!

Gabby is a greaseball!
Sunday at nap time, (or should I say "non-nap-time") Gabby decided she was going to play with the vaseline and lotion. (my sisters will understand how funny this is) I went to check on them and Gabby was finally asleep...but her hair looked all wet. What the heck? I thought to myself. Then I looked at Nolan (who was awake)...his hair was wet too. Oh no! .... I soon discovered that it was vaseline and lotion. It was also on the play tent, her doll and the window. Great.

I am offically done trying to get her to take a nap.

After 3 hair washes, she is still all greasy! Yuck! Nolan's wasn't as bad and he only needed one hair wash. Last night, in the bath I told her she was a "Greaseball"
"YEAH!" She said "I a geeseball!"
Me: "haahaa! You are such a riot!"
Gab: "Yeah! I'm a ride it! Nolie! I ride it!"
LOL-- what a crack up!

Sadly, I do not have pictures of the greaseball. But I do have video of some naptime jumpers! Enjoy!

Police!

Nolan got a Police Cycle Rocker for his b-day! He sure likes it!
I had it all ready for him when he got home from daycare....
When he saw it he got a big grin on his face and looked at me as if to ask
if it was his! :)

When I put him on, he looked at me again, as if asking if it was ok...and then started rocking away! Good job buddy!!

Then....once sister saw it, she of course thought it was her's. She did however say over and over that it was "Nolie Birthday" as she rode it. But she didn't want to let him ride it again. Silly sister!

Oh...and stats: Nolan weighs 21 lbs 7 oz. (I swear she said 21.7, but she wrote 26.7 on the sheet...I'm pretty sure he is not 26)..... And is 29 3/4 in tall. That makes him the lightest and shortest at this age. The other kids were 22-24 lbs and 31-33.5 inches.

Happy Birthday Sweetness

My little Nolie Boy! I cannot believe you are already 1 year old! This year went by just way to quickly! As of today, I officially no longer have any "babies". It's a little bittersweet :)

One year ago at this moment....daddy and I were at the hospital ready to welcome you. It was a cold morning, just like this, and we were anticipating a nasty snow storm. You made it in time for the storm! (Good boy!) You were born at 6:21am. The moment I held you I knew you were full of nothing but sweetness.

You have grown quickly this past year and learned so many wonderful new things. Your newest big accomplishment....WALKING! Yup!...You did it! You learned to walk before your first birthday! Yes, you still stumble and fall. But You are doing so great and picked it up so fast! You can now stop in the middle of the room and change direction when you want to. You choose walking more often then crawling. It won't be long now until you are running all around the house. Gotta keep up with that silly Sister of yours!

You are also starting to say some words (or so we think). We have heard you say Hi and Mama. You still also like to scream. You and sister love that game! At least I know you have healthy lungs!

I thank God everyday for my four beautiful healthy children, and I am SO glad he sent us you to join our family. You really are the perfect addition and we all love you SO much!

Happy FIRST Birthday my sweetness!
Love you so much,
xoxo mommy

Catching up.

So, in case you haven't noticed, I've been a little behind. Busy Busy around here.
Let me fill you in:
Colds for the kids
Deer Hunting
Scrapbooking weekend for me! (YAY!)
Cold for Mom
Nolan turned 11 months (pictures below)
Date weekend (Friday: Kody, Saturday: Bryan, Sunday: Jake)
Thanksgiving
Kody's B-day

Whew!

Collection of pictures below. I also got a new camera, (finally)...so hopefully now I can get back on track!

Nolan: 11 months
This past month Nolan has mastered his skills at SCREAMING. As loud as he can. This is most common during breakfast/lunch/dinner when he wants more food. I am trying to teach him to say "more" or "ma-ma" instead of screaming. (our ears hurt)
He is also learning to walk. He started with just a few steps here and there, but this past weekend I find him trying to walk almost as much as he crawls. He can get about 5-6 steps in before falling down onto his knees. He is also trying to stand back up in the middle of the room when he falls down. Fully walking by his b-day??....Guess we will see!

Gabby and Nolan LOVE playing with the computer. What is so facisnating about a computer keyboard? Nolan is super excited that he is now tall enough to reach all the keys!






Gabby:....Potty training. We are working on it. I'm not pushing it, we just let her go whenever she feels like it. But she has been doing great. I think if we pushed it a little more, she would probably be fairly easy to train. We'll see. However...she is still crazy as ever and such a riot! Coming up with the funniest things to say!

Jake: Has been busy playing Legos and the Wii. Busy playing with Gabby and Nolan and making them laugh! He is good at that!

Kody: Just turned 13 and is enjoying his new Ipod Touch. However....we do not have WiFi at our house, so he cannot use the internet functions on it at this point. Hmmm...trying to figure that out. He also has Snowmobile Safety training this weekend and is looking forward to that. (and wanting more snow)







Me and Bryan:....well, same old stuff for us. Work and busy with the 4 kids. Getting ready for X-mas.





Yes, that is toilet paper. Nolan is obsessed with it.



This was supposed to be one of Gabby's Christmas presents. It went something like this:

G: ooohhhh, mommy! I have this?! (she found it in my closet)
M: Oh, no Gab. Lets just put that back ok.
G: {whimper} Mommy, I have this, please??
M: (total sucker)...sigh...ok.
Needless to say, her and Nolan LOVE it! :)

A Teenager in the house!

Wow! I can't believe it! Kody, you are 13 years old today! You might think you are still young....but to me, you are getting to old! You are offically a "teenager" today. I have to admit, that is a little scary. However, I am glad that my first teenager is a boy, and not a girl :)

It seems only a short while ago you were my little buddy, going with me everywhere, asking me to play toys with you. Boy does the time go fast! In some ways you still are my "buddy"....you still offer to come with me to the store or run errands with me. But, you no longer ask me to play toys! (haa)

You have been such a big help to me since Gabby and Nolan have been born. You are always willing to help me when I ask (but not always when Dad asks) and even offer to help with the little kids even without me asking. You don't know how much of a help this is for me! I am so greatful for having a sweet, loving son like you!

You have grown into such a wonderful kid. (sorry, teenager) I am so proud of you! I know you sometimes struggle with your school work, but I am proud to see you trying your best and putting your effort into it. It WILL pay off in the end. I promise. When you are an adult...you will see :)

Happy Birthday Kody! I love you very much!
xoxo Mom

P.S. I hope you like your present, it was a lot of work for me to get it!

Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween!

What a fun weekend. Friday night we went to the Halloween Party at the highschool with Katie, Jaden, Colten and Danielle. (Thanks Danielle for your help!) We had fun playing games, eating pizza, getting candy and going through the "Haunted Hallway!"

Sunday night we went to Papa and Grandmas for supper and then went Trick or Treating.
Nolan stayed back with Dad, but Gabby and Jake went (Kody went with a friend).

So fun! Gabby did say "trick or treat" and "thank you" at the houses and when we walked away from each door she said "Next house!". So cute!

Now...to hide that candy.......hhhmmmmm....


Oh Wow! Its a Cow!


Guess what?

Chicken butt!

Naughty Nap Time

This morning I cleaned Gabby and Nolans room. Picked up all the toys, put all the books back on the shelf. Changed the bedding. The usual.

At naptime, I planned on cleaning the rest of the house. Gabby and Nolan had something else in mind. We put them down for naps as usual. I could hear them up there talking, yelling and playing. Gabby usually wanders around the room for awhile before she goes to sleep. Its common for her to take a few things out and "read" Nolan a story before they both settle in and go to sleep. Well today....not so much. There was no settling in.

She opened up the shades and was watching the activity outside. Bryan and the boys were out there, so I could hear her: "Hi Daddy!!" "Hi Kody!!" (Bryan said she was standing in the window watching them and drinking her cup). Goof ball!

I figured eventually they would give in, and since there was no crying, I just went about my planned cleaning. Well......2 hours later, they were still up. They had been quiet off and on, so I thought at one point they might have gone to sleep.

Nope.

So I went up. Opened the door.

OH. MY. GOSH.

"HI!" .......I hear from my left. Gabby was sitting up on top of the changing table smiling away. Nolan was jumping in his crib and starting to cry.

You want to know why we call Gabby the "tornado".......... look below.








You can understand why Nolan couldn't sleep either. Hard to sleep with the sun shining in every window, the overhead light on, and 2 lamps on. Also hard to sleep when your sister throws toys into your bed and runs around naked. Oh.....yeah, thats not in the picture. She took her socks, pants and diaper off. Then......proceeded to PEE on the bed. Nice. There goes the clean sheets. She also managed to rearrange all Nolans pictures on the wall and knock down one of his wooden letters. (that are 5 feet off the ground!)


Oh, and one more picture.

Notice half the curtains are missing the the rod is bent.
"I brake that." Says Gabby.
"Yeah. Mommy can see that. Were you naughty?"
"Yes. Me naughty."

At least she admits it.


Hoping for a real NAP time tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Bug!

To my sweet Jakey bug.
Happy 9th b-day! Hard to believe you are 9 years old already. I can still remember the days when you would cuddle up on mommy and daddys bed to watch movies each night. You insisted on doing this before going to sleep. And then, I usually had to lay with you until you fell asleep. You were always my cuddle bug! Still are  Coming up to lay in dad’s spot on weekend mornings, and sleeping in his spot while he is gone to Canada each fall. I enjoy your company! I love having my kiddos cuddle with me! You are never [NEVER] too old to cuddle with your momma!

Sometimes its fun to look back on our scrapbooks and your past school pictures and see how you have grown. You have changed a lot over the years, but will always be my little bug!

You are in the 3rd grade this year, and doing awesome! You are turning into our little math wiz! I hope it continues to be something you excel at for years!

You are a very sweet, funny and caring boy. I’m so proud to see how you have grown
into such a great young “man”. You continue to be a favorite with all your teachers and
are quick to make new friends.

You are a great brother! Always willing to help me with Gabby and Nolan. This is a great help to me, and they love when you play with them too! Gabby loves when her Jakey plays Legos with her! And its so sweet and nice of you to allow her to do this. She will remember that always!—and you will too!

You are quite the funny boy…always quick with a smile and a laugh. Always ready for a joke or story. You are also very caring, and quick to forgive. You have a wonderful heart and are full of love. I’m proud to have you as my middle boy!

Hope you have a perfect birthday!

Love you so much,
xoxo
Mom

Apples, Pumpkins and Goats..Oh My!

Kody, Nolan, Colten, Gabby, Jaden & Jakob

Bryan left for his week long hunting trip to Canada on Saturday, so the kiddos and I headed to McDougall's Apple Junction with the Litschke's. We had perfect weather and had a fun day! The kids all had fun running around playing on the wooden trucks, trains and tractors. Nolan even got to drive!

Gabby had to swing on the big swingset, cuz it's her favorite thing to do. We all went through the small corn maze and took a wagon ride around the orchard. Kody, Jake and Gabby even got to milk a cow! ;)

We had a great time! Can't wait to go again next year!

(And Bryans trip to Canada: well, lets just say they had a bumpy start, but did finally arrive at their destination around 11 pm on Sunday night!)



This is Gabby's mini pumpkin and gourds. She thinks they are pretty neat!