Igloos and Tight Spaces

Caleb proudly showing us his marshmallow igloo he made at preschool

J has been cracking me up lately with the places I find him.....

the tighter the spot, the better!

The dangers of Wii

Bubbs got in the way of Daddy's Wii remote as Daddy was putting his whole self into skiing downhill! Who knew Wii could be such a contact sport!

He had quite the bruise bump on his little cheek but was a good sport about it and even did a good job icing it for 15 minutes or so!

Boys gone Wild!

Wednesday and Thursday my college roommate/ best friend and her family were out visiting us! Ironically we live the same life... just on opposite coasts! Amber (yes, her name is Amber too!) is from the San Francisco Bay area and she, her hubby, Jason, and their three boys and another little baby on the way live out there close to where she grew up! Their three boys are Jacob (5), Owen (4 next week), Ethan (2 1/2), and baby #4 is due the end of May! Yes, we joke that there must have been something in the water at college!

Am squared.... hmmm need to find a picture of us like this, just 15 or so years younger!

BOYZZZ

Asher (6), Maddox (2 mo), Judah (2), Caleb (5), Nate (3), Jacob (5), Ethan (2), and Owen (4)

Cute little Owen.... don't all her boys have the cutest little mischievious faces!!!

Am and I went out just us on Wednesday night and then got our crews together on Thursday. This is her hubby Jason with Ethan hanging out at Monkey Joes. The boys were able to get lots of energy out! Am and Jason... thank you so much for taking the time to come visit us with all of your crazy trip happenings! We love you guys!

Natey Nate.... unfortunately Asher and Caleb had school and couldn't join the madness (uh fun!) until later!

Jacob

Judah decided all the video games were much more interesting than the bouncy slides!

Party Day

We had Caleb's fifth birthday party today with three of his friends from church and three of his buddies from preschool. We played at Monkey Joe's for an hour or so and then headed over to Chickfila for dinner and a cookie cake! Caleb wanted a Sonic the Hedgehog birthday this year, so we ordered him plates, napkins, and a Sonic balloon! The boys all had a great time together! Caleb is blessed to have so many fun friends! (Thanks Allison for the second slide show!)

Bubbs is 5!

We celebrated our big five year old on his birthday, December 30th... I know, just now am getting around to posting pictures! Crazy times around the Hickman house lately! We had a great family day and Caleb kept saying all day, "This is my best birthday ever because I get to spend it with my family!" So sweet. It really was a special day.

Maddox at One Month

My sweet baby is already a month... going on two months old! I can't even believe it! Time is just going by waaaaaay too fast. I am loving having a sweet little one to snuggle with again. Maddox has been a very easy baby. He eased right in to a 3 hour schedule pretty much when we brought him home. He is starting to stretch out his times at night too and right now is pretty consistent to do a 4- 5 hour stretch at night. He usually lays right back down after his 3:00 or 4:00 feeding :) He is starting to smile now... especially after his tummy is full and is starting to coo and make all sorts of sweet little noises. His brothers absolutely adore him.... Asher is like a celebrity in his first grade class since all his friends think his baby brother is soooooo cute! I've heard Asher say more times than I can count, "Mom, Maddox is so cute!" I'm definitely thinking peer pressure is working in my favor on this one! Caleb and Nate are very protective and sweet with him. Always wanting to help me with him and help calm him down when he is fussy and crying. Nate will get right up to him and just talk to him and smile and Maddox will just grin so big! Adorable! J- Bug still keeps his distance most of the time, but has gotten a bit more bold and will sometimes try to step a little too close to him or nudge him a little bit harder than he should, etc. All in all though, the boys have welcomed him in to their brotherhood! He hasn't been back to the doctor since he was 2 weeks old, so I'm anxious to see what he weighs when I take him in a couple weeks for his 2 month appointment. He has been my first baby to love the swing and is usually the happiest when he is awake if he is swinging. SO THANKFUL! He loves his paci and being swaddled.... usually will put him right out if it's time for a nap. He's sleeping in his room, in his crib at nights and is still napping in his bouncy seat, swing, our arms.... love this stage. I'm definitely not ready for a napping schedule yet! We love our Mads!

Swinging and about to be OUT!

Loved his little Christmas outfit!

Best Friends

Our sweet friends, Ryan and Casey Little had twins exactly one month before Maddox was born... Caden and Jenna were born October 18 and Maddox, November 18! Casey and I were actually only a week apart with our pregnancies and it was fun to have a prego buddy at the same stage. Of course with twins she delivered early, but gestationally our kiddos are about a week apart. So we declared before they were all born that they must be bff's! This picture was taken when the twins were a little over a month and Maddox was maybe a week! So thankful for the friends God has placed in our life! We love you Littles!

It's Mario Time....

We are enjoying the new Wii around here for sure! I get such a kick out of them, especially Judah who grabs the wheel every time the older boys play and just plays right along with them... at least he thinks so! Nate is hilarious to watch because he doesn't want to play, but just picks a nice spot on the couch where he can watch all the action and cheer for whichever brother is more convincing to have him cheer on "their guy"! It is great! Of course we have had our share of moments where it gets a little too intense and there is of course yelling, tears, and many I'm sorrys! We are working through our attitudes and behavior when we win and lose :)

Hilarious!

Christmas Snow

We were so excited to have snow this year and even on Christmas night! It started snowing around 7 or 8 that night and was still lightly snowing the next morning! We got about 7 1/2 inches! Of course Blake and the boys were thrilled that it was a white Christmas.... I was too, but unlike them have experienced many a white Christmas in my time. (being from Colorado!) They were so excited to get out and play in it and build a snowman! They did most of their playing and building on the other side of the house and I wasn't about to get all bundled up to go outside and take pictures, thus no action shots :( They had a ton of fun, but I think Mr. Snowman was mostly Blake's handiwork... don't know how much "help" he got! I can't believe this is the third snow we've had so far this winter and all in December!

winter wonderland!

Mr. Snowman with his makeshift scarf... I think it was a coat