Much overdue update

I CANNOT believe it has been 5 months since I last posted.  Makayla is now 9 months old and I see last time I posted was the 4 month update.  Where has the time gone....  Spring seems to finally be here in June.  I am so excited to be sitting on the front step while my kids play with the neighbor kids and Makayla is taking a nap.  I also cannot believe that at the end of June it will be a year since we moved from our old house.  There are certainly things I miss, but we love our new neighborhood and continue to feel blessed that Jason is 5 minutes away from the office so he can come home for lunch.  We still attend the same church which is now about a 30 minute drive and we still do play dates to keep up with our friends.  We just (last week) got a pass to the science center and the zoo so that will keep us busy this summer.  We have gone a couple times already and the kids have so much fun.  I love it because we get out of the house, do something interesting, and spend time with friends.
I have been taking some Zumba classes this spring.  My new favorite way to exercise!  Nights can get long trying to fit them in along with my work schedule but it is worth it.  Jason is excited that golf season is back and I owe him quite a few Saturdays for all of the nights he takes the kids for me to go to Zumba!
We are almost finished with the basement as the carpet is ordered and should be installed by the end of the month.  Brynn is probably the most excited - she has always said she doesn't like our house because it doesn't have a basement like the old one!
All the kids are growing and their personalities are developing too.
Hailey continues to be the organizer - her food is organized by color before eating it in groups saving her favorite for last.  She lines up her toys in a certain way and gets quite irritated when others mess up what she has so carefully put together.  Hailey is very outgoing and will play with just about anyone at the park and when we have play dates.  She is still the one to think of activities for everyone to do.  She is most often the "mama" when playing just about anything and Brynn and Klayton will often tell me that when they are playing "pretend" and I answer to "mama" that I am NOT the mama but that Hailey is the mama.  Ok then children, you can do the laundry, clean, make the food, and clean up after everyone while this mama takes a nap. :)  Hailey is also very good at playing independently and will decide what she wants to do and go do it even if no one else wants to participate.  I love this trait in her except when she has decided she is going to do something against the rules...that can be tricky sometimes!
Brynn loves to ride her bike and be outside.  She enjoys helping me make food in the kitchen, coloring, and practicing her letters.  She could tumble all day and loves to have me watch her new stunts at the park.  Brynn will see something she wants to learn and practice and practice until she can do it.  She wanted to learn how to snap so she spent a whole day practicing and by the end of the day she came to me with a big smile and snapped!
Klayton has certainly transformed into a little boy.  During spring break in March my mom took Hailey and Brynn for a few days so I could work on potty training with Klayton.  We cut diapers out completely and just did underwear all of the time and overall he has done great!  Klayton loves to be outside and would probably sleep out there if I would let him.  Klayton will hit or kick a ball around in the backyard and he loves to play with the basketball on the driveway.  He has such a sweet side - if you get hurt, he is the first one to come over and ask if you are ok.  He tries his best to keep up with his big sisters.  He is usually the first one up in the morning and loves to open Makayla's door and greet her in her crib in the morning.  Makayla's little face just lights up when she hears his voice.  It is so precious.
Makayla is now 9 months old and cruising everywhere she wants to go.  She is the most mobile of all of our kids at this age but the older ones are always running everywhere and she wants to be right where they are.  She has started babbling which we love to hear.  She can make the dada sound but no mama sound yet.  She is such a happy baby unless she is home with daddy at night time.  She still wants her mama before bed. Makayla is up to 17 pounds and is 34th percentile for weight.  She does not care for baby food and wants to feed herself so I just cut our food really small for her.  She is working on her fourth tooth and gets pretty fussy when they come in which makes for rough sleeping.  Makayla enjoys being outside and will ride in an umbrella stroller while the other kids push her around.  The swings are her spot at the park and she will happily swing for almost the whole time we are there.  She has a good view of the other kids and just loves her spot.

Enough words for this post.  Here are the pictures!