5 kids!

Well, Brynlee is one month old now.  She has to be the most loved baby around.  She is so precious!  Her brothers love her to pieces and so do her parents.  Coleman is getting softer and gentler with her now.  At first he just didn't know how to treat a baby--he wasn't trying to be mean, but just didn't get it.  He now understands how to pet her head softly and he smothers her with kisses.  I wish he'd kiss me a little more and her a little less though.  The bigger boys are really good with her.  Carter is constantly telling her how cute she is.  He loves to call her "Miss Cutie Pants".  Braeden feels so grown up that he knows how to carry her and pick her up.  He's actually very good with her and extremely responsible.  The adjustment to five kids has gone surprisingly smooth.  I think I expected the worst, so I've been pleasantly surprised.  Brynlee is a good little sleeper and that makes all the difference in the world.  I am still mentally adjusting to the fact that I have five kids.  I am always worried that I am going to forget someone because I'm so used to having to keep track of only four kids. I think I have gone through that every time we've had another baby.  We are finding that our mini van is tighter than we thought it would be with five kids.  The struggle is that all of our kids have to be in a booster or a carseat and that takes up a lot of space.  We've done some shuffling and we're hoping we can make the minivan work for a while longer.  The next step up is a Suburban.  I would love a Suburban eventually, but the minivan is so nice with really little kids.  The sliding doors are so handy.  I love that I can just touch a button to open and close doors.  I don't have to worry about the kids hitting the car next to us when they open the doors.  We'll see how long we can make it last.  I have to climb into the van to put Coleman in his carset in the way back.  I could get sick of that pretty soon.  We had to put him in the way back because that was the only way we could fit everyone. 

The boys started school and are doing great.  Braeden and Carter have a blast riding their bikes or scooters home together.  I love watching them ride down our street after school with their looks of independence.  They are so responsible with this priviledge and I love seeing them have fun together while getting a little exercise.  It's hard to believe that Braeden is in third grade and Carter is in kindergarten.  They both scored great teachers that I feel so good about.  I am so excited for them and their adventures this year.  I do miss them while they are gone though.  They are so good kids!  Tanner started preschool last week as well.  He has so many cute buddies in his class.  He will do great and am sure I'll spend the next year in denial that he will be in kindergarten next year.  It's hard to believe. 

One of these days I'll post pictures, but I knew if I waited to do that I'd never post.  So, here you go!