Two Teeth

Alarie has teeth!!!  

And we thought she couldn't possibly be any cuter . . . 

(Our littlest one was our latest babe to get teeth!)
 

Addy was our youngest baby to cut teeth - 4.5 months old

All of our others had their first teeth right at 6 months old

Alarie is 9 months old

Yay Alarie!!!

Mermaids

Three little girls dressed up (old ballet recital costumes).

Three little girls fixed their own hair.

Three little girls chose the music (Little Mermaid).

Three little girls danced, and danced, and danced :)

Shovels

We have had snow on the ground in northeastern Ohio since Christmas - we've had over 40 inches of snowfall this winter!

Davis and Burke have been very industrious.  These boys have gone door-to-door offering to shovel neighbors driveways.  In a few weeks time, with several regular jobs and a lot of hard work, they have made quite a lot of money - over $500!!!  

So proud of these young men and their hard work!  And I know our neighbors are grateful to have the help.  

(Davis used his earnings for Pokemon cards.  Burke was thrilled to make enough to buy himself a animation tablet!)

Midas (9 weeks)

9.5 pounds :)

9 months

Our sweet Alarie is 9 months old!  

We are so thankful to have this little one in our world - what a joy it is to have this precious baby. 

"She's the perfect baby."

"Can I hold Alarie?"

"Could she be any cuter?"

"Can she sleep in my bed?"

"Awww, she's so cute!"

 

(A baby with her dog: 9-month-old Alarie with 9-week-old Midas)

Alarie at 9 months:

TWO teeth!!!

pulls up to a stand(!)

fast crawler

so strong!

nuzzles 

bounces on her knees

reaches to be picked up

vocal

crawls after her siblings - works hard to keep up!

5-6 8oz. bottles/day

does not like pureed foods :(

gums on finger foods

loves apple slices, puffs, graham crackers

sleeps 10 hours at night

needs a few "paci-pops" each night

(pop the paci back in and she settles right back down to sleep) 

bangs toys

loves playing with her siblings

pulls up to a stand on mama's legs

reaches for daddy's beard

sparkly eyes

clasps her hands

shakes her arms and kicks her legs when excited

raspberries

so curious! 

"perfect baby"

crunches

won't stay still for diaper changes

busy, busy, busy

still sleeps best swaddled 

loves to knock over cups of water

ticklish under her chin

amazing giggle

cutest baby :) 

6-9 mo. clothing

17.5 pounds

Alarie has been unanimously declared "the cutest baby ever!"  She's magical :)

Her siblings (and her parents too!) are all completely smitten with this youngest babe.  It is such a joy to be the recipient of her snuggles and nuzzles, sparkly smiles and vocalizations, and arms-up pick-up requests.  She is a gift.  

Her personality is starting to shine - and she has a delightfully sweet (and big!) personality.  Alarie is still just a little bitty thing - probably because she's so incredibly active all day.  

We are so blessed by our Alarie Adeola!

(Mike recently had a conversation with a friend from Nigeria.  He said "Adeola" is a very common name in a certain region of his country, and warned us that we might have our hands full with our "little princess" ;)

Nines

Nine-Years-Old and Nine-Months-Old . . . Today!

(Missing is puppy Midas, who is Nine-Weeks-Old :)

Maclaren was a huge help with newborn Alarie during our two weeks in an Atlanta hotel and they've had a special bond from the very beginning. 

Boy Scouts

Davis and Hendrick have continued their Boy Scout journey through the Covid pandemic.  Summer camp was canceled this year, monthly camp-outs halted, and regular in-person meetings took a prolonged break - but this Fall, their troop started back up (with proper Covid safety precautions).  

Though it all, the boys led a clean-up project with their troop to fix up a Boy Scout building and meet the necessary requirements for rank advancement.  

Davis recently advanced to Star. 

Hendrick recently advanced to Life.

I'm thankful so many groups have found creative ways to continue despite this difficult and different pandemic year - their troop was able to participate in a modified "Gold Rush" in January.  No overnight camping, but a good (and cold!) experience for all. 

Hendrick is now on a 12-month journey to achieve Eagle Scout status.  

We're so proud of our young men! 

(Kolpin just joined the troop as a Webelo!)

Midas

 

We have a new puppy in our family!

Welcome Midas, our 8-week-old mini goldendoodle.   

Midas was the most hoped for and best Christmas gift ever.  Midas wasn't under our tree Christmas morning, but a picture of him was - the kids were so excited to learn a dog would be joining our family in just a few weeks. 

After lots of suggestions and lots of debate, we settled on the name Midas - from Greek Mythology:  King Midas and the Golden Touch - a fitting name for our golden boy.   

Just two days home, he's the sweetest boy :)

(*Midas is expected to grow to 30-35 pounds)