FIVE BOYS & A LADY

Well, I suppose its time for an Oelkers boys update. I apologize for the red eye. That can be #50 on my To Do List. :)

Let's start with Zeke who is now 4mos old! He's still a super easy going, laid back baby. Either I'm getting better at this Mommy gig I've got or God just keeps making these babies easier and easier. :) Up until the last few days Zeke has held the record for best baby sleeper. He's been amazing- usually sleeping all night without waking (we don't do Babywise training or anything- the boys have just figured it out on their own.) However, the last few nights he woke up 3-4 times. I'll let it slide though since the poor baby had a 101 fever yesterday. :( He's smiling and giggling more and more. He's grabbing at toys and very close to rolling over. Zekers loves it when his brothers talk to him. Its the sweetest thing!

Next up is Siah Bean. He'll be two in just 2 weeks! Siah is still my adorable, precious, sweet little boy. Our prayer for him is that God keeps his kind, sweet heart and molds it into a heart that is tender for the things of the Lord. If anyone doubts that a 23mo old can dribble a basketball, come meet Josiah Owen Oelkers! :) Siah also has all kinds of cute faces- surprise face, sad face, happy face, kissy face, grumpy face, etc. Lastly, Siah's brothers think he's pretty cool. While I make lunch, the big boys are supposed to pick toys to take to separate bedrooms and play until I say lunch is ready. (Less fighting and interruptions this way.) Every day we have to figure out whose turn it is to have Siah in their room because he's so popular. :)

Alrighty, now for Noah. This boy is crazy! He has a crazy, neat imagination, a crazy, scary temper, and a crazy awesome personality. Noah is often in the playroom, or as I like to call it- Noah's imaginary play land. He's often playing some pretend game, building a fort or building something. He's always cracking us up or confusing us with the things he says. Here are a few Noah quotes from the last few weeks:

"What is stinkier- a skunk or poop?"

"We have to beat Dada, Mama! You have to go speed like Lightening McQueen!"

"I bet he (Siah) learned to pick his nose from me too cuz I'm never gonna stop picking my nose!"

And yesterday while in Target, Zeke was getting fussy in his carseat, so Noah tried calming him down with his own version of the story Brown Bear. It went like this: "Zekers, Zekers! What do you see? I see a Noah looking at me. Noah, Noah! What do you see? I see.... strangers looking at me!"

My little helper workin' the lettuce spinner for our salad.

Lastly, we have Eli. Eli has been doing great on his school-work lately. He's very motivated and loves to learn. He's been working on his two times tables and learning the presidents. His memory is amazing. Some people say his memory is like his mommy's, but I think its way better. Eli has also starting running with me. I just started up- its been a year since I last ran, so I'm pretty slow. On our first run, we only went a mile and Eli was faster than me. I actually had to ask him to slow down a bit, and when we got home I was more winded than he was! We're training for a 5K. It will be both of our first, and we're hoping to run one in July. He'd probably beat me if I let him go ahead :)

A fun new sensory activity- clean mush! It was lots of fun! However, I would suggest smocks or no clothing.

Life is hard and good lately. Its super busy and exhausting, but also so wonderful. There will be moments where I'm on the couch covered in all by boys and I just pray, "Thank you for this, Lord. Please help me to remember and savor this moment." Even quick trips to the store with all four are sorta fun. I usually have Siah in the Ergo on my back, Noah in the top seat of the cart, Zeke in his carseat in the cart basket and Eli walking by my side. I'm overflowing with blessings! And its getting sorta humorous to see and hear all the reactions of my abundance of boys. :)

We've had a lot of fun "field trips" lately, too. We went to the OSU sheep barns last month to see the baby lambs, and to Coastal Farm & Ranch to see the baby chickens, ducks, geese & bunnies. We've been able to go to the park a few times and feed the ducks at the duck pond too! We've just started up going to Story Time at the library again- first time since Zeke was born. All fun things to do that are FREE! (except gas) Yes, its true, I'm having a delightful time raising my boys. I love the little bits of homeshcool we do and I'm really looking forward to our curriculum program for next year.