The Coombs Family

What a fun kid we have on our hands. Ronin is an absolute dream of a baby. I really didn't think any of my kids were difficult when they were little. I just adapt to their style, what they need, and we get through it. But this little man just goes with the flow. I think because he's the third kid and he doesn't get to be super picky. He sleeps almost anywhere, but definitely prefers his crib. He loves his big sister and brother and cries if he gets into the car and their seats are empty. He is very easy to make laugh and cracks up over everything. He loves our two cats that live in the garage. And for some unknown reason, they like him back. He loves to read book, play with cars and trucks, and any ball he can find. He learned how to go down the stairs at 10 months and we never had to use the baby gate. He says mama, dada, ni-night, and he meows like the cat. He waives goodbye and hello, claps, signs for more and all done, gives five, and blows k

The day before Halloween, Ronin took a step to me. Nobody else saw it, but trust me, it happened. Then on Halloween day, he took another step to the stereo. We kept begging him to take more steps after that and he needed a break. Eating a rock A week later, he started taking more steps between furniture. Now it's been a month and he will take 4-5 steps in a row. He prefers to crawl and usually drops down and takes off with his head down. He's so speedy at crawling that I think he will take his sweet time walking. He stands for very long periods. He can even pick things up off the ground and remain standing from bending over or squatting down. For now, we are just on our toes waiting for this little man to take off.

This year Calvin was a fierce Iron Man! Shelby was a marvelous Maleficent! And Ronin was a dragon, which he hated!! We went to Bauman's Farms, EZ Orchards, a church trunk or treat, and Rhoda had a Halloween party too. We had plenty of October fun this year. The weather was amazing! My kids have never actually knocked on a door for this before. We've never gone. Now that we've started, they won't ever want to stop. If they can do it in the torrential downpour, they can go anytime.

This year Shelby wanted to be a ballerina and have a kid party. So we invited only kids and got our ballerina theme on. Shelby loves to read, and she secretly reads when she's suppose to be sleeping. She draws on every blank piece of paper she can find and loves to color. She has been meeting lots of new friends at school and is socializing better than ever. She has a very special bond with Ronin. If he ever cries or laughs, she is right there with him. She loves her brother and keeps him out of trouble. She and Calvin play legos for hours and hours at every spare minute of the day. She can build almost anything and follows the directions by herself until every piece is perfect. She can't wait to turn 8 and get "bath-tized" at church. It's too cute for me to correct her. She sings and dances in front of anybody who will watch her. She's never been shy or embarrassed a day in her life, so be prepared if you come

My little man Calvin just had a big day. He really wanted to have a Lego party, so we made it happen. He is obsessed with Legos thanks to his cousins Keith and Kason. He got to play with theirs in Utah when we were there last July. He never stopped talking about them and we finally gave in and got him some. Now it's a family obsession. We all go down and play at the Lego table all the time. The kids are so creative and have so much fun. Calvin is really good at riding his bike, and he is a lot less clumsy than when he was younger. Not nearly as many crash and falls anymore. He loves to count everything and try to do math. He loves to memorize his favorite books and pretend to read them to us at night. Caleb let him play his video games on his PS3 a month ago for the first time and now that's all he talks about. So he's been earning video points for making good choices. He is so eager to please and follows rules very well, so he earns lots of points.

Ronin has rolled over the last three days, once every day. At first I thought it was an accident, and now I think he may know what he's doing. Little guy keeps trying to eat his toes, he rolls to his side, and then squirms his way over to his belly. Then he gets mad, because he hates his belly. But it's so cute! These three little hands mean the world to me. Go team Coombs!

Ronin has started to laugh and it's about the cutest thing ever. He's always been a smiley happy boy, but these past couple of weeks he just laughs at everything. I was just stirring some food up in one had, holding him in the other, and he was busting up. The kids play peek-a-boo with him and he about dies of laughing. I had no idea how obsessed Shelby and Calvin would be with their new baby brother. Everyone said it would wear off, like a new puppy. Nope, not the case. Calvin asks me about 48 times a day if he can hug, kiss, touch or "see his eyes". He always wants Ronin to be awake. And if he's asleep, he doesn't really care and will wake him up. Shelby talks to Ronin in this adorable baby voice and calms him down if he gets fussy. Ronin almost never cries, but if he even makes a whimper, Shelby is right there. "Don't worry Ronin, mom is going to feed you". That's her go-to line. I think she knows where his thought process is at all ti

The day before Easter we went to the beach and played in the ocean. Caleb hooked up his GoPro camera to Shelby's head and it's hilarious to hear her talk to herself and run around. Calvin played hard and when we went to watch the sunset he started getting sick. After he threw up in the sand four times, he laid next to me and passed out. We packed up and came home, hoping he would get better before Easter. Easter morning Calvin woke up early with a bad cough and still sick. He sat on the couch for an hour just watching cartoons and spacing out. Then he noticed the Easter goodies that were in front of him the whole time and came running to tell us about them. I was up feeding Ronin and Calvin was so excited. He got some new swim snorkel goggles and flippers and some candy. He ate candy for breakfast and waited for Shelby to wake up. Shelby loves to sleep in! She was super excited when she saw her swim gear too, and also had candy for breakfast. We kept the tradition alive and

Then we took a trip to Palm Desert Hot Springs to see my grandparents. Ronin got to meet them for the first time. It was also Calvin and Shelby's first time to California. I didn't realize how long it had been since we made it down there. 2400 miles of driving. Caleb didn't go, so it was just me trying to juggle these guys in the car. Rhoda's family went and I had help driving on the way down, but not on the way back. Trevor and Logan flew to Texas out of California so they could meet up with Caleb to go hunt pigs. So just Rhoda and I came back in different cars. Thankfully Ronin is a great baby and the other kids love car rides. We swam in the pools every day, ate way too much food, went to the movies, and rode on the tram in Palm Springs. On the way down and back home we stopped around halfway and stayed in a hotel with a pool. The kids couldn't get enough.