Aiming To Please

Time flies, especially when you are in a good place. A few days ago, Rachel's second year anniversary came and went and it didn't even get so much as a mention. Here, we were counting the days till she could officially say she has been a part of our family for 2 years, and we both missed it. "Hey Mom, shouldn't we have celebrated?"

"We did Rachel. Remember? The sundaes and the carmel?" She smiled just as big as she did in this picture.

Rachel, you have come a long way in two years! Everything from your loving personality to your amazing study habits, to your wonderful sibling relationships, to your genuine desire to be our daughter forever and ever--- you are one awesome girl!

Here is a picture of Rachel and her friend Vika. They have so much in common and enjoy just hanging out.


Here are pictures from last weekend. We had a barbecue over at Grandma and Grandpa's after our trip to the river.


Anna is like a little Mama. All of my children love to look after Dennis--- well at least most of the time.

Aren't they just adorable together? And don't they look alike too?


Dennis watched Caleb hit balls into a bucket, and was determined to have a turn.

One day, Caleb entertained Dennis with bubbles. It was so cute to hear Dennis' little squeals.

Here is Dennis trying to step on the bubbles.

He reminded me of a Sumo wrestler.

The bubble blowing experience just isn't quite complete without swinging while having big brother blow bubbles at you.

Caleb, you are a great big brother.

Andrew reminds us so much of Caleb. His physique, hair, attitude, and athleticism is uncanny. Thank goodness there is one thing Andrew does not follow in Caleb's footsteps with. Can you guess what that is?

I finally went through the girls' room and helped them to thoroughly clean it. We went through drawers, cleaned out closets, and even spot cleaned the carpet. Then I spent some time just hanging out with them.

Sveta is going through an emotional and attitudinal time right now. I totally blame it on puberty.... I have seen it with Adam, Caleb, Julia, and Rachel. Funny how I remember Caleb teasing Adam about those days and Adam screaming, "Just wait, you'll have it too!" And when Caleb was going through this stage, Adam most certainly reminded Caleb that this was his time. The same thing is happening with Sveta right now. And while I was able to explain to my other kids what was going on with their mind and body, Sveta is having a hard time understanding why she is feeling this way. Unlike my other girls who were happy to have me teach them to shave their armpits and legs, Sveta is not so receptive because she is older than Julia and seems to be bothered that I would have to teach and remind her. I can understand her pretty well, so instead of making a big deal about it, I simply asked Julia if she would mind showing Sveta how to shave. This went much better.

Jonny loves collecting tattoos. He loves wearing them even more!

He begged to put this one on his stomach so that he could look cool--- so we said okay.

Andrew and Jonny got creative the other day playing with this big ball in the sprinklers. It was fun just watching, so I am sure they had a blast!

Too bad Adam, Caleb, and their friend Vic popped it yesterday.

Last night we had Costco pizza for dinner. The kids wanted to pack the leftovers for their lunches.

Here is Julia picking the vegetables off a piece of pizza so that William can take it to school. I am not sure why William just didn't do it himself.......