Summer Fun!

Amelia's walking.....well, sort of....she has taken at least 10 steps in a row. She is much faster scooting, and she knows it, so it is her preferred method of getting around. She walks everyday; therefore, technically she is walking. ;) When she first started walking, she would only do it for Tommy. I have to admit that it was a little stab to my heart, but I'm glad that she trusts her Daddy so much. Her walk looks like Frankenstein--here's a short video.

Dillon, also, had his first day of first grade. So far he is liking it--here's a picture from his first day. We had to take it at home before going to school, so I wouldn't embarrass the poor guy. (He's already not wanting to give me a hug and kiss when I drop him off! They grow-up too fast!)

When Dillon started school, of course, Alyssa wanted to start her pre-school. Dillon is on the year round calender (9 weeks on and 3 weeks off), and Alyssa is on the traditional calender. Alyssa will have to wait unti September.

Both, Dillon and Alyssa are great big siblings. However, Alyssa can annoy Amelia with her constant mothering. It's not a bad thing that she loves her sister too much. Here's a picture of Alyssa showing her little sister how to drive.

Tommy and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary this past weekend. We hardly ever get dressed up to go out, so I got my mom to take a picture. Not my favorite of me, but my husband keeps getting better looking. Anyone need a barf bag? :)I hope everyone is enjoying the last little bit of summer we have left!

Charleston, SC

To see more pictures click above

(I can't take all the credit, the kids did take some pictures :)

Earlier this week we went on one of our first family vacations that didn't involve other family going with us. We headed to Isle of Palms just outside Charleston, South Carolina, and we had a lot of fun. We went to the beach one day, the city of Charleston another day, and the hotel pool everyday. The Isle of Palms and Charleston are really beautiful--I highly recommend visiting. We did a carriage tour of Charleston and a boat tour of the harbor. Amelia napped the whole time on the boat, so she must enjoy the fresh sea air! During the tours, Alyssa was asking when we would go back to the hotel and go swimming, so I guess the highlight of her trip was the pool. Dillon is my history buff, so his favorite part seemed to be when we saw some old civil war cannons. We had a great time, but we were all exhausted by the end of the trip that it was good to be home.

14 Months Old

I know, 14 months old is a random age, but I was late taking Dillon's one year shot, so I thought I'd be consistent! To me, all my kids look very similar--their daddy's genes are strong....some Filipino snuck in with Alyssa though and I think they each have my smile. However, they look mostly like their daddy which I guess isn't a bad thing! ;)

Fourth of July

We headed to my in-laws' to celebrate the 4th. They invited my parents, so it was nice to see both sets of grandparents celebrating together. My in-laws' house is on the water, so everyone enjoyed the scenery and some of us went out on the boat. That night, the Arboneaux men put on a fireworks show for us. Then, on Sunday, my parents took the older 2 kids home with them for the week, so Tommy and I are all alone with just Amelia. It's weird having only one in the house, but I think we'll manage. To see more pictures click on the above picture.

I have a 6 year-old!

Dillon turned 6 today! We had a small party for him yesterday with a few families that have kids his age. Since it was hot, we decided to do a water themed party with water balloons, squirt guns, a sprinkler, a slip-n-slide, and an inflatable pool set up at the bottom of the slide. He and his friends had a great time. (By the way, he designed his cake!)

Monkey See....

...Monkey do. Alyssa idolizes her brother. Most of the time, she follows him around. It sometimes drives Dillon crazy. Just look at their sculptures in the above picture. Alyssa wants hers to be just like his.

On another note, people sometimes ask how watching the baby of my friend, Kelly, is going. So far it is going well. It's a little strange watching someone else's child, but that's to be expected. There is not really any jealousy from my kids. In fact, one day I had to put CJ on the floor for a second and Amelia just scooted over to him and started hugging him. I wanted to get it on video to show Kelly, and Amelia did continue to hug him, but then she started kicking his head! I guess it's a love-hate relationship. :)

Amelia's Birthday/Baptism

This past weekend we had Amelia baptized, and since it was so close to her birthday (tomorrow), we combined the two events. We had both sets of parents, all our siblings and their significant others, and a few cousins come. It was so nice to have a house full of family. Amelia liked playing with all the tissue paper from her presents. She was also a little surprised about her hair getting wet in church! If you would like to see more pictures of this past weekend click on the large group picture.

Busy Month

We have been pretty busy this month. Dillon is off school for his track-out. (He's in year-round so they get 3 weeks off and 9 weeks on.) He spent one week with his grandparents and had a blast there helping his grandparents and going to museums with Grandaddy.

Then there were all the Easter egg hunts--Alyssa actually did 4: one at school, one at church, one with my mother's group, and one with friends. Dillon was out of town for the one at church, so he only got to do one. (As a punishment, he didn't get to join in on the mother's group hunt. It was really hard taking that away from him, but I had to teach him a lesson.)

I have also been gardening with the kids. I have really been enjoying it. This is a first for me because I used to be a complainer when it came to manual labor, but it is really peaceful working with nature. (It helps that I am trying not to complain as much :) Dillon and I, also, transplanted a tree that started growing in one of the flowerbeds to our front yard. It was Dillon's idea to take a picture so we could keep track of how much it is growing.

Then we had a bunch of stuff at church for Holy Week from Thursday night to Saturday. Tommy and I went to the Easter Vigil Saturday night for his baptism while our friend watched the kids. The service was really beautiful and watching Tommy get baptized and receive communion brought tears to my eyes. (Don't tell him that ;) Then Sunday morning, we opened Easter baskets, dyed eggs, and spent the day as a family. I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter and remembered what is truly important about this holiday.

Lastly, although you can't tell from the picture, Amelia is finally getting around--she's 11 months and both my others were either walking or at least taking a few steps by now. She is very laid back, so she was perfectly happy just sitting in one spot. That was totally fine with me since I have the other two kids to watch. However, even though she is finally mobile, she is not really crawling; she is scooting. She looks like an inch worm--it is really cute. Here's some video for you to check it out.

Enjoy the rest of your spring!

New Job!

This week I started watching my friend's baby. His name is CJ and he is 3 months old. I must admit that I was a little apprehensive about watching someone else's baby, but so far the transition has been good. He is so cute, so that makes the job a little easier. :) It's kind of strange that I am getting paid to watch a baby since I have been doing it for free for 5 years. It doesn't seem that long, but I guess the saying is true...Time flies when you're having fun!

PS--Dillon is not in the picture because he is visiting his grandparents (my in-laws) for the week.

Birds of a Feather

Everyone has heard the expression "Birds of a feather flock together." This expression must not be true when it comes to families. My parents both come from relatively large families and every member is distinct from the other. In my relatively new family, I can tell that each of my children have very different personalities. Sure, there are similarities, but for the most part they are nowhere near the same. (Those of you that know my first two can attest to that!) Take tonight's dinner for example. We had a simple meal consisting of hot dogs, carrots, and crackers. Dillon ate all his crackers first, Alyssa ate all her carrots first, and Amelia ate all her hot dog first. Three children from the same two parents--all with different desires.

For me, having a relatively big family (as far Western society is concerned) has truly taught me all seven virtues: charity, hope, faith, courage, justice, temperance, and most of all prudence. You may be surprised that prudence is the one that my children have taught me the most. According to Wikipedia, prudence is defined as "proper judgment of reasons for action with regard to appropriateness in a context." I am naturally a judgemental person--it comes with the territory of being a know-it-all. :) After having children that are so profoundly unique, I am less likely to judge other children which in turn leads me to judge humanity less. After all, it is not my place to judge--it's God's. In scripture, having a large family was a blessing, not the burden Western society has deemed it. So, when you see me in the grocery store with all my kids in tow, even though I may look stressed, in my heart is pure joy.....well most of the time.

Winter Fun!

With all the craziness of the holidays, I have not posted in a while. We had a great Christmas and New Year's. We went up to Tommy's parents in Virginia for Christmas and then up to my parents in Maryland for New Year's. We were gone a total of 8 days, so we were glad to be home once it was all over. Alyssa said that she missed her bunk bed--there's nothing like sleeping in your own bed, I guess! Dillon stayed with my parents an extra week, and he had a great time. He got all the treats and TV he wanted, so I'm sure it was heavenly for him!

Well, down here in North Carolina, we don't get too much snow, so it's a big deal when we do. It snowed all day yesterday, and the kids had a great time! To see more pictures of our winter this far click HERE.