Thad is a TEENager!!

 How did we get here? How do we have a teenager? Didn't we just get married? Didn't we just have a wee lad that we hauled all over NYC with us? A little Texan just starting Kindergarten??? It all feels so close and so far away at the same time. 

He is turning into such a great young man and Dad and I often talk about how lucky we are to have such good kids with Thad leading them.

He woke up early to see what was in store for him-

Eve was so sweet and took her own coins to school to purchase some old football cards and also gave him one of her dollars. Talk about melting a mom's heart!

Thad wasn't sure what to expect because the only thing he asked for was air pods and he was 100% sure he would not be getting them-

We threw him off the sent with that large bag, and the unwrapping of his gift was really fun-

We literally didn't get him anything else and he was as happy as can be. I have to admit, seeing your kids happy and surprised is pretty dang fun!

Everyone had fun getting in on the AirPods action!

We wouldn't be together as a family that evening, so we made sure to sing to and smother him before he left-

I'm not sure what his wish was, but I have so many wishes for him and know he can make whatever he wants come true!

He was off to school as the coolest 7th grader that he is and I just love that genuine, happy smile he has-

He has definitely crossed into young man land, but luckily he doesn't always act like one..

He really does keep us all laughing and he has a pretty clever sense of humor, too!

We surprised him and checked him out for lunch and he chose Chipotle and we were all happy with that choice. Thad is the cutest brother and didn't mind the entourage that is always in tow-

There was a school party the night of his birthday, so he attended that with his friends while Dad and I went to the broadway show, Come From Away. He was the best sport about us all not being together on his day and he had the best time celebrating with his friends at the bowling alley the next day.

Thad - Kian - Simon

As you can tell, they had a great time!!

They joined us for some cake and ice cream and even though they didn't eat any of the cake I slaved over, I guess they're ok.

I know it can be hard for Thad to have all these younger siblings, but look how cute he is just letting us all be a part of his life. I love him.

Happy birthday to our very first teenager, we love you forever!

13 Things We Love About Thad

1. Silly guy. If you need someone to make you laugh, laugh at you, or laugh with you...Thad is your guy!

2. Black and Gray Guy. His wardrobe is made up of mostly black and gray clothing. It makes us think of Lego Batman who "only works in black or very very dark gray." Haha!

3. Priesthood holder. He takes his duties seriously and is such a great example.

4. Early bird. He doesn't mind waking early and that makes school pretty dang easy.

5. Athlete. He's not afraid of trying any sport and we love it!

6. Magician. He has recently taught himself many a card trick and it has been so entertaining!

7. Oldest. Being the oldest of five isn't easy and he's rocking it. He often asks why we're not having another baby. It makes me happy that he doesn't view his siblings as a nuisance! 

8. Go, go, go. This kid is busy with sports, piano, Young Mens, and a demanding mom and he rocks it!

9. Hair. Thad has started to have an opinion about his hair this year and it's been fun to let him choose what to do with it.

10. Brothers. Watching Wes and Thad continue to become best brothers is my favorite.

11. Young Man. Thad continues to be such a good friend to all the young men at church even though they are all so different.

12. Smart. School isn't his favorite, but he keeps up with all his responsibilities like a boss.

13. Love. He loves us all something fierce and we know it because he tells us and I love him for saying it.  

January Happenings

First up on our January to-do list....

Get Mae potty trained!

She had not been too enthusiastic about the idea of potty training, but I kept telling my self I would do it when the kids went back to school after Christmas. 2.5 years has been the perfect age for the other three kids, so I figured it would work great the 4th time. 

The first day was a little rough, but by the end of day 2 she was a champ with no accidents!

Here she is showing off her big girl undies for the camera--she is so silly and I love that so much about her! 

As we all know, #1 is much easier to get down than #2, so Mae was gladly munching on the prunes the bishop had given Wes in his fake COVID care package-

The prunes weren't working fast enough so we took her to Walmart to pick out whatever her heart desired-

And she chose this mini grocery basket full of groceries...haha!

She is so random and I love her so much for this.

On day 5 she finally got 'er done and got that huge sucker and the chance to open her groceries! There were definitely some ups and downs with the process, but overall she did so much better than I expected and we are back down to one child in diapers!

Wes got to celebrate Ryan's birthday with a couple friends at Pins in downtown Dublin and had a blast!

Wes - Ryan - Graham - Sparsh

Sleeping kids make me happy-

She is perfection.

Eve finally lost her top front teeth and the first one fell out on January 10-

She pulled it out herself at school and was pumped to show me when she got home!

I love that snaggle toothed girl and when Brian sends me pictures to make sure the outfit that she's wearing is ok. 

I also love that this girl happened to fall asleep for a nice sabbath nap-

She may not have been so nice leading up to the nap, but was a treasure afterwards.

We got a couple good snowfalls and there was lots of fun had outside-

Mae continues to be a gem and getting her to look at the camera is quite the event, but I love catching that perfect 2-year-old face when I can-

 

I love this little princess so much!

Thad had a great month finishing out his first season of wrestling-

He had such a great time wrestling and every time I watched him do it, I just couldn't get over how brave he was to go out there and just up against whoever he had to. He wrestled up a weight class most of the season and didn't always win, but learned so much and it was so awesome to see it come together during the district meet where he got two solid pins and helped his team take 3rd out of 12! Thad is one tough kid!

We took the girls with us to his awards night at the middle school and quickly remembered why we don't take Mae anywhere besides church that she needs to be quiet. Not very many middle schoolers have toddler siblings, so it's very noticeable in these situations. 

Thad was a good sport and dealt with us our shenanigans! He shared his favorite memory of the season (playing dodgeball every Friday) and let his coaches say some really nice things about him. 

Coach Ramos - Thad - Coach Isaly

Thad has also begun his journey into orthodontics-

He basically has the exact same issues I did as a kid and will be doing all the things to correct his narrow over bite. He has been a great sport about it all and is just glad he can finally get started so that it can be over sooner.

And I'll leave you with this picture to round out our January-

We had a warm December and really paid for it in January. Brian is a total stud and was out in it even at its worst. This image has me longing for spring and summer, hoping it comes quick!