Because I'm a mom and this is my blog and they are just so doggone cute. :-)

Sometimes I just wanna share pictures of the sweetest little people in my life.
I love seeing my kiddos laughing together.

Ethan is now not only a Settlers of Catan player-- he is an addict. And he's good. What I want to know is, who does this before they're even 6 years old???

We sometimes call her "Princess Crazy Hair" because of how wispy her hair is these days. But this pigtailstravaganza puts a whole new spin on "crazy". :-)

And then there's my smiley little Silas. What a precious little guy.


Every now and then, I just have to break into all the discussions and heavy topics and share stuff like this so you'll have a visual picture of what motivates me to do this home and family thing with passion. :-) Thanks for indulging me.

24 comments:

Mrs said...

Ahhhhh . . . .thanks or that!

Missus Wookie said...

We love Settlers of Catan here and ours were playing before six. Silas is sooo cute! Love the smile there :) The others are cute too of course but I'm a sucker for a baby grin...

Thanks for such a delightful break in a busy day!

Tami@ourhouse said...

Great idea, Jess. So sweet. They are great motivation, aren't they? (Esp when they are smiling like that...)

darci said...

they're gorgeous, jess! lot's of laughter, that's the best thing. :)

Sarah and Ryan said...

Your kids are unbelievably precious. Thank you for sharing these with us!

Anonymous said...

For the last 1 1/2 years, we've played Settlers of Catan almost any time we get together with one or more of my husband's brothers and their wives. One of them finally gave it to us as a gift 3 months ago, and so my 6 1/2 year old finally got to play. He's actually pretty decent, except for a recent phase where he's obsessed with getting the longest road card as soon as possible and keeping it, to the detriment of adding new settlements. But, we're letting him learn from that.

My 4 1/2 yo plays too to give us a 4th. Her strategy consists of placing her first settlement near a very good source of the white sheep that she adores, and then buying as many development cards as possible. We give her a bit more help than our oldest.

The almost 3 yo sometimes will roll the dice for us. And the 1 yo tries to reach all those piles of resource cards to have them for her very own.

So, you're not the only one :-)

Heather (mom to 4 children under 7, with #5 due in Jan '09

Jess Connell said...

I love hearing about all these young Settlers players! :)

Funny you said that Heather... when we first started playing, ALL he wanted to do was buy development cards. So he'd always get the "largest army" card, and he'd get the occasional victory point. At first it frustrated the tar out of my husband and I, but then we just decided, oh well-- let him learn from it. Sure enough, within a few games, he quit doing that because he realized it didn't help him win. Good old competition.

:)

Amanda said...

Your children are GORGEOUS!!! I'd show 'em off, too! ;)

Andrea said...

SO CUTE!!!
I almost had a Silas. But he is an Eli now. :) (I always wanted to call him "Si-Si") Maybe one day!!

Julo said...

From one recovering feminist to another-HELLO! And what beautiful kiddos you have!

I look forward to reading more around here. :)

julie

Kate said...

Fun family pics. Love your daughter's "pigtailstravaganza". I should try that on my 2yr old girl... only problem is she has tangly curls... hmmmm, maybe not.

I had never heard of Settlers of Catan. My son (almost 12) asked for a new board game for his birthday. This sounds like a winner. Did you know Amazon actually has a video clip about the game?

Thanks for sharing with us :)

Bethany Hudson said...

Such beautiful babies!
~Bethany

michelle t said...

They are adorable!

Gina said...

We just played Settlers tonight! My daughter is 6 and adores it. She beats us quite often too!

Adorable family!

jani said...

Oh, Jess... what a sweet little pumpkin... reminds me of my #3 baby... he was the happiest!

Now, #4 has a birthday soon... maybe Settlers of Catan is a good gift idea?! They have played it and loved it in the past, though we've never owned it.

Shaunta' said...

Jess,
They are cutie pies! Thx for sharing the pics. What mom doesn't enjoy drolling over her little ones? Did you know we're expecting twins in December...mmm...2 to swoon over at one time...that thought already brings joy to my heart!

Catherine R. said...

I wonder how little Silas is doing; if he's settling in to a routine, if he's letting mommy sleep etc. He looks like he's a happy little dude!

Jess Connell said...

Hey Catherine--
Yes, he is quite the "happy little dude." :) He began sleeping 7+ hours around 8-10 weeks (I can't remember exactly) and was doing it consistently until an ear infection hit a few days ago and he's been needing to nurse more frequently again both during the day and night (to about 5 hours)... but that is passing and he's back up to about 6 now. He'll probably be back to normal by the end of the week. He's three months now and it's so much fun-- Like McDonald's commercials say, "I'm Loving It!" :)

Jessi said...

I'm amazed that there are so many other Settlers players out there! We are church planters, and everyone in our small church all seemed to be addicted for a year or two (we all played all the time - and yep, even the kids learned it!) - to the point that someone outside the church asked if this was our new church-planting strategy...suck people in and get them addicted to a game that no one else in our area has ever heard of, so that they'll have to come to our church so they have other people to play with!! LOL!

I'm loving your blog and feel like we probably have a lot in common!

Shay said...

So darling, thanks for sharing them! :)

Anonymous said...

My precious little angels! They are too much! That is something about Ethan and Settlers. I had a hard time with it when I played it with you guys. He never ceases to amaze me! I LOVE Maranatha's hair!!!!! What a sweetheart! And, I especially love Baxter's faces! He can make the best ones ever! AND . . . last but definitely not least, Silas and his precious smiles! He is giving Ethan a run for his money! I could sit and stare at his sweet face for a loooooonnng time!

LLMajer said...

Gorgeous kiddos! I like the Mavs t-shirt, too!
-LL in Big D

SouthAsiaRocks said...

Settlers before 6? Impressive! Great game too!

Unknown said...

Jess, I just love that you've taught your little ones to play Settlers of Catan! We have marathon games at our house - half the time a still-going-on game is on the coffee table.

(I do love this blog, I just found it today but have been reading voraciously. I hope you have a wonderful summer and come back feeling refreshed and with a clear perspective.)