family photos!

these were from the beginning of April... unfortunately, it was a bit chillier than we expected, and both boys were coming down with something... so even smiley Asher wasn't too happy--he was asleep less than a minute after we buckled him back into his car seat!  :( but I think we got some great shots anyways! I'm still trying to figure out which pictures to print out for my walls too, so if you have a vote (keep in mind the others on the sidebar and the top family photo), let me know! (or a request)

we liked his twig 'pipe' poor baby is still cute even when he feels crummy!

I know, we're gorgeous ;)

beginning of March

again I play catch-up... I really need to upload more photos! I'm so behind... but I guess that's part of my life right now too. a real glimpse into my life, and also lets you know that I'm trying :)

 

for a while we borrowed this johnny-jump-up from a friend. Asher loves moving and bouncing so I thought he'd like it while I make dinner and things like that... big fat fail! this is as close a thing to a smile I saw on him... and usually he was screaming as soon as I started trying to put him in. he likes the plastic-ware cupboard now though, so we let him play there most days so I can make dinner.

I honestly don't remember why I took this picture, but I like it, it must have been a special day with sugar cereal. Malachi's really been growing up a lot lately, I think he shot up 4-5 inches over the last year, but I suppose I should get to that with his birthday post :)

just a couple pictures of a cute smiley baby

I can't believe how much bigger he is now that just these few months ago!

Malachi frequently goes to bed like this... he clears everything off the bed (there's usually blankets and a top sheet--sometimes I wonder why I bother!) and has to have his blue blanket just so over him, and heaven forbid mom or dad try to help him lay it out! but the mummy-sleep only lasts for a little while before he curls up on his side.

in thrall of "Let It Go" on u-tube... they got the movie for Easter, you can tell it was a worthy gift!

cheese! this boy LOVES the camera! as soon as it comes out he stops whatever he's doing and smiles for me :D

mace-rattle

Chi was particularly proud of this play-dough fish he made. I love how you can see it in his face.

Afton made this 'bouquet' with wild onions, little flowers and a pinecone

so I had about a months worth of physical therapy for my back, and a couple of the exercises they gave me to do involved pulling on an elastic band from about elbow+ height... the only place I could think of to secure the end was in the window-sill, but Chi had a great time playing with it too!

the rest of February

again, catching up with my photos... or getting closer to caught up (as my camera has evidentially decided not to upload the rest of my current photos, perhaps this counts for something in the meantime).

If I remember correctly, I took this pic for Grandpa W, one afternoon the kids were pouring over this big astronomy book and Afton was reading some of the photo explanations.

A went curly one day

I just love this guy, I really need to get some more recent pictures up too, cause he's amazingly much bigger, though still just as sweet as he was in Feb :)

the girls got more awards at their school third quarter assembly (both made the principal's honor list/straight A's, and perfect attendance for the quarter)

This was just a random Saturday, but I liked how typical it was of the kids that I could just step outside for a second and find them in their natural habitats (ps, if I remember correctly, Paul was fixing his bike on the front step, also his natural Saturday habitat, though I didn't' get a picture):

Rayna up a tree

Afton digging in the dirt or playing with a bug

Malachi in his own 'outfits' with chocolate smeared on his face

Malachi had a time when he would climb in the crib whenever Asher started crying and they'd snuggle 'til I came in to get them. very sweet

And there was one day I noticed my boys were matching, so I took some pictures just 'cause I thought they were cute...

Then I realized it was 'twin-day' at school and the girls were matching that morning too, so when they got home I took some more matchy-matchy pics...

(feel free to ignore the dirty dishes piled up behind them)

they posed themselves...

and ironically, when daddy got home from work, he changed into a blue shirt like the boys' so this was a happy coincidence for me... I can't get them all matching that well when I try!

And for some reason, this picture just makes the Fluckiger side of me happy... I debated even posting it because my house was such a mess, but one evening just before the kids were supposed to be getting ready for bed I walked in to find them like this:

they all had a book, and were thoroughly engrossed :)

Happy End of February...

promised real update

obviously I've been busy playing catch-up with this blog, and I still have a lot to do, but here's a few really actual recent events to make you smile :)

one day last week Paul got an unexpected package in the mail...

it was a book

with a cool chapter

Asher likes standing
(ps, the chair doubles as a baby gate for the top of the stairs)

Asher's proud of himself, and Chi's a happy big brother!

evidentially my kids all have strong teeth, or slow at least... they don't come in early, and they fall out later than average too. Afton's been trying to get this tooth to fall out for a week... it was barely hanging on (she could turn it sideways!) but none of us had the guts to pull it out... finally last night I got tired of it and managed to get it :) she's thrilled!

and Rayna carefully planned and described this hairstyle to me to ensure it was just right! (lots of little braids going into a bun, but with some little braids coming down with beads on them). I thought it turned out nice. This morning at the bus stop I saw the big girl that inspired the style (though she didn't have the beaded ones hanging down).

it's fun to take the time to braid Rayna's hair, it's our mommy-n-me time :) yesterday we did it while listening to a conference talk, so that was nice too.

beginning of february

again, in my massive effort to catch-up, here's the first half of my February pictures, but not in order

 

Rayna's 100th day of school hair... it's a little hard to see the whole thing, but it was 3 braids, looking like '100'
her friends were all properly impressed

not gonna lie, this is one of my favorite pictures of the kids! messy hair, old blanket and all! if we hadn't just gotten those great family pictures done, this one would have made the header on the blog :)

we had another big snow-storm on Valentines day, I cheated and took this through the window, so the screen has most of the focus, but I still thought it showed off the big piles of snow better than my other photos.

and a bunch more snow pictures

the neighbor's tree

and maybe this isn't the best picture either, but there's something so very peaceful about snow and evening... put 'em together and it makes me happy, so I'm including this photo anyways.

my boys

Chi thought Asher needed a ball one day. I think it's really sweet how he takes care of his baby.

One of our favorite winter morning activities was simply standing at the window watching the birds. we had flocks like this nearly every day, and if not in our yard, in the one of the neighbor's. Malachi and Asher and I all would stand and watch them.

these next few pictures are from a project Afton did for school, it was a poster on wants and needs. She took the pictures and put them into a PowerPoint presentation nearly completely by herself. 

we need sleep

if I remember right, this was a picture of the trampoline for 'we need exercise,' but I liked Chi's outfit so well I zoomed in on it :) yes, he absolutely dresses himself!!!

and this one was of the whole house, for 'we need shelter,' but I zoomed in to show our cute door. the snowman was on the door for the whole winter, the top-hat is our window, and the scarf is SPARKLY!!!

and some of you may recognize this fox, it was made for baby Isaac, but Asher tried it out and pronounced it good :)

what does the fox say?