Liam - 5-weeks old

Liam is getting so big and so strong! I have had mulitple people who thought Liam was about 3 or 4 months old, when actually, he was only 3 or 4 weeks old. He is such a good baby, always so content (what a blessing!) and a great sleeper. The biggest difference with Liam and my other babies is how quickly he has lost his hair! Josh would literally run his fingers across Liam's head and pull-out 5 or 6 hairs. I'm sure it will all come back, it just seems so funny to me! We all adore Liam and can't imagine our family without him.

Happy Birthday, Ethan!!

My little boy is two-years old! My how time flies. We had a fun birthday celebration with Josh's sister, Molly, and her kids Emily, Brigham, and Kate. We love that they live so close and can celebrate these fun things with us! It's amazing how the littlest things can make a two-year-old so happy. We started with a train-themed birthday cake, followed by presents, and ended with a pinata (Ashlyn was very sure that Ethan wanted a Pinata for his birthday party.:)) Some of my favorite things about my big two-year old boy are:

His endearing smile
The way he says "Sorry" and gives a kiss, a head butt, and a kiss when he knows he's done something wrong
His fast run on his tip-toes
His amazing abilities with any and every ball (catching, throwing, hitting, spiking, etc)
The way he says everything
His uncanny ability to know exactly when the garbage man is coming
His love of "mowing the yawn (lawn)"
The look he gives out of the corner of his eye when he's doing something he's not supposed to (are we recognizing a trend:))
The way he loves his little brother (kiss, head butt, kiss)
The way he adores his older sisters
The way he gets up at 6:15 AM every morning, smiles and says, "I waking up!" (okay, so maybe the 6:15 AM is not my favorite thing, but everything else is pretty darn cute)
The way he makes are family complete

Happy Second Birthday, Ethan! We love you!

Ouch!!!!!

Here is Ethan's first real boo-boo. All I can say is ouch! I was sitting on the couch when we heard Ethan crying outside in the backyard. As he comes walking up our back steps, Josh says "Get some ice!" These pictures were taken literally one minute after the incident happened. I have NEVER seen a goose egg pop-up so quickly or be so purple. You could tell it was just full of blood. According to our 3-year old nephew, he fell from the top of our slide (which is attached to our trampoline) and hit his head on either the ladder or the ground. Either way, it was painful. After a call to our pediatrician's office, we were pretty sure that we wouldn't have to make a trip to the emergency room. By the next morning he was so much better and the goose egg had almost completely disappeared. I'm afraid this is only an inkling of what is to come with this boy.:)

July 4th

What a fun holiday! We started the day VERY early at the hot air balloons. All of Josh's family was there and my brother, Bret, and his kids joined us, as well as our friends, the Roberts. After that we made our way to our first ever 4th of July parade. Let me just say that Josh is not a parade-person, so I was really proud that we made it through about an hour of the parade. That night we barbequed at Jenni and Scott's home, lit fireworks, ate popsicles, and took our four exhausted children home just in time to see their first "real" fireworks show. We had such a fun day and even more fun memories!

When Dad gets ahold of the make-up...

You know you have a good husband/dad when he'll play "make-up" with his girls.:)
Aren't they gorgeous?

Liam Robert Dahmer

Here is our beautiful baby boy! He arrived one day earlier than his due date. We are so thrilled to have him in our home. We had a rough start with the pregnancy, but everything turned out just great in the end. The labor and delivery went terrific and after about a week with jaundice and lights and supplemental feedings, things have calmed down and we are figuring out the joys of a family of six. (Yikes, that sounds big!:)) Thanks so much to Misty, Cassi, Mom, and Dad. You made all the difference in the world!

Purple Power

Here are some pictures of our great little soccer team. We loved all the girls who played on our team (all 15 of them) and will miss not seeing them next year. Go Purple Power!

Ashlyn - the Soccer Pro

This year was Ashlyn's first time playing soccer. Josh and I had the opportunity to coach her team (Purple Power), and we had a great time. It was really fun to see how much Ashlyn progressed and really loved soccer. In the first half of the season, she was always begging to sit out during a game and really wasn't thrilled about practicing. However, in the last 5 games of the season, things just suddenly clicked. She averaged 2 or 3 goals per game and was always begging to be put back IN the game.:) She really is such a trooper and I love the enthusiasm and drive she puts into everything she tries.

My Cute Kids

Ethan

Emma

Ashlyn

Just some cute pics...I love these kids!

Easter...just a tad late:)

Okay...so Easter was how many months ago? Well, Josh and the kids took a little vacation to Yellowstone for two days, so I'm finally blogging. I know...Mindy is blogging...shocker! Well, we lost all the data on our computer right before Easter, and the only back-up we had was dated before Christmas. Therefore, I can't blog about anything between Christmas and Easter (which includes Ashlyn's birthday.:() However, I thought I'd at least go with what I've got. Easter was a lot of fun, especailly because Grandma and Grandpa Gundersen could be there with us. We had so much fun dressing the kids up and hiding our easter baskets (yes, we hid them in the oven). Also, we loved our annual swimsuit presents from G & G Gundy.