All Things Baby

It's been about four months since we dropped the bomb on these nuts that they were going to have another little brother or sister....

And what a crazy couple of months it's been! For one, morning sickness. Scratch that. All.Day.Sickness. And nighttime sickness. And eating sickness. And walking sickness. And car sickness. And smelling teriyaki sauce everywhere I go sickness. Gah!! I cannot even believe how sick this little baby has kept me! For not ever having even a hint with the big boys, to a touch with Judah, and then finally what I would deem a normal bout with Grace, this baby has surprised me, to say the least. Thankfully, at 20 1/2 weeks I have some relief but it is still not gone. There are hardly words, so I just keep hanging on to the encouragement of a friend who can totally relate and am trying to keep my eye on the prize. And that's the last I will say about that. Now on to the belly...

 {10 Weeks}

 {14 weeks and some photobombers}

 {19 weeks}

(20 Weeks)

Little baby is growing wonderfully, though. And I am feeling the occasional kick and flip despite having an anterior placenta again like I did with Grace, which kept me from feeling her move until about 23 weeks. This go-round, I've not really had any cravings but I think feeling so queasy has played a big part in that. I have, however, been frequently visiting Subway where I can load my sandwich with banana peppers, pickles, mustard, and green chile. That sandwich has been the the pinch hitter when all other food sounds awful. I've also been seeing a perinatologist, for a host of things that have all thankfully checked out. It's a bummer to have extra appointments but the ultrasounds have been a blast. We've had two so far and go back in December for another. I don't think I will ever get tired of seeing those little skeleton looking face shots. Or the side profiles with the button noses.

I think the most fun this time around, however, has been experiencing the excitement of a new baby with bigger kids! Last time we did this our oldest were 3 year olds and our youngest wasn't even two {shudder!}. This go-round, our oldest are 7 1/2 and understand a great deal more {and are asking a great deal more!! AHEM!}. They can also help a TON more. All four are very excited to see whether this baby is a boy or girl and one eager beaver has even graciously supplied a baby name list! Hope this little one likes Lord of the Rings...

And last because he's just so stinkin' cute...Ju Baby trying to have a belly contest with mom. It's a close call but I think I win...

Our Painted Ladies

It's been quiet on the blog. It's much harder to write now that the weather is warming up. Who wants to trade sitting on the porch or planting flowers for a keyboard and a screen? I'm just sayin.

Quiet on the blog but not quiet in the house. Since mid March, we've had a steady stream of action and visitors, some of which were these guys...or girls. Our Painted Ladies hatched Easter Sunday (what timing, huh?!) and we released them a few days later. The whole endeavor was *extremely* hands on for the kids so quite honestly I was a bit surprised that we still had four butterflies to release in the end. But we did. Even with Lennie Jr. in the picture...score.

 

Three

Oh baby girl. My baby girl. Can I even call you that? Baby? Today I really wonder. Three is oh-so-big and so are you. 

Benny Boy

Small enough to still be wrapping up in his favorite {baby} blanket but big enough to wear a cavernous smile. I think he is doing a bang up job at being seven, don't you? 

A Daybook (March Edition)

Outside my window: Sunsets like these. Amazing. Jeremy and I even managed an evening on the front porch this last week. The later sunsets, the warmer weather; Spring is nearly here!

Giving thanks: For friends. Isn't life just so much sweeter when you have dear friends?

In the schoolroom: We have finally {FINALLY!} hit a stride. I remember finding our groove last year about this time too. It's like everyone is on board with what's expected of them. Our days have been smoother, we are jumping in each day with little to no hiccups, interruptions are limited. Praise God. 

From the kitchen: One {two?} words. Whole30. Basically it's thirty days of no dairy, no sugar, no gluten, no legumes, no wine, no fun. But I feel so much better, I kinda don't care. The last 24 days have taught me a lot about how important it is that I take the time to eat well {i.e. stop cramming goldfish over the sink while the kids eat lunch}. I have more energy. My skin is clearer. My jeans are looser. I'll take it. But for now, someone pass the chocolate chip cookies, STAT.

I am creating: Our curriculum list for our new year. How, how, how we can nearly be at the end of this year, I am still not sure. How Judah will be in Kindergarten and the boys in second grade, I am still not sure. How I will teach three kiddos and still manage a pre-schooler, I am still not sure. But my hope and rest isn't in those things but rather in the One who does know. So I'm banking on Him and planning on. 

 I don't ever want to forget: Our snow day of 2015. We woke up on a Saturday morning in February to 16 inches of Narnia snow. The kids were over the moon. Who am I kidding, Jer and I were too! Despite the fact that it was the day of their 7th birthday party, we let it all go, the house, the to-do, the errands, and we made our own sledding hill instead. It was a day filled with so.much.laughter. And coffee. But mostly laughter. And a giant breakfast and the house mess to prove that our day was spent treasuring each other in the outdoors. Too much fun. 

I am working on: Planning a baby shower for my sweet little nephew who is due in June. No words to describe the sister-joy here. 

 I am reading. Shauna Niequist's Bread and Wine. DI-VINE. An absolute joy to read. Also, What Did You Expect by Tedd Tripp. Five star read.  

 Around the house: We are prepping to replace the entire downstairs flooring. GAH! We finally found tile and now we are just waiting for a box of it to come in so we can get a better idea of what a larger sampling might look like in the house. I have no idea what replacing 2700 sq. ft. of flooring looks like for a family of 6. I imagine it will include my right eye twitching, though.

One of my favorite things: Honeycrisp apples. Seriously, have you ever tried one? Open back doors aren't too shabby either. It's like a trophy for winning the winter games where the event is four young children stuck inside for 43 consecutive days due to weather.

A few plans this next week: Waiting for Jer to get back from Mexico. He's doing some work down there at an orphanage that is near and dear to us. The big boys have their PE and cooking class on Friday at the CC and Judah has a soccer meeting on Saturday morning. All three boys start soccer next week! 

The news in Gracie land: Can you say momma's little helper? A few weeks ago, while we were skiing in Wolf Creek, I hit up an antique store and found the most perfect little step for the kitchen. It has been her life line to all the things she was missing in her short life. Now, every time she even hears a drawer open in the kitchen, there she is, on her stool and ready to help. It's equally precious and "what have I done?!"

 Total randomness: I took the kids in to the pedi two weeks ago and Gracie weighed in at 32 1/2 lbs, Judah was 46 1/2, Ben was 44 1/2, and Abe was 52! Big babies!! 

Year's End

It's nearly January and these pictures have been sitting on the laptop, waiting quietly for their chance on the blog since mid-November. It's the kind of thing I often want to apologize for. But then I remember that there are no blog police ready to jump out and arrest me for failure to write and hit publish...so be what it may, here is a bit of the end of 2014 just in time for 2015!

 This year our troop tick-or-treated for the first time! A sweet neighbor organized a hay ride to take all of the kids in our development door to door to all the houses who desired to participate. It was AMAZING and an even better way to meet a lot of our neighbors, or if you're me, take a tour of their house and check out what kind of flooring they have! Ha! There were nearly forty children, two trailers rigged with lights, boom boxes, and coolers of soda. It was so much fun, Abe even asked if we could "move here." "Here" being just about 8 houses down the the street.

Halloween for us this year included two red Power Rangers, Captain America (Abe) and Doc McStuffins. I am STILL finding glitter in the house from Gracie's costume. It's the costume that just keeps on giving! The kids and I also took our yearly pumpkin patch jaunt out to McCall's but this time with our homeschool group. We had such a great time, although, I let the kids choose their pumpkins on their own since I was tied up with Grace and we made it home with some wonky ones. Thankfully, they carved up okay. Two were original designs and Judah went with a stencil. I love how Ben's pumpkin has huge eyes and a small mouth and Abe's is the opposite. Twins.

In true Abe fashion, we had to sort our candy. Which made it very hard to steal candy from them when they were in bed, by the way.

In other Sloansburg news, here's Grace in her unders and doing a puzzle. Did I mention that's all she wears now? Every person in this house, including the dog, is  *OFFICIALLY* potty trained. Overnight, naps, church. All of it. We are diaper bag FREE. Praise Jesus.

And now some pictures of the day to day. Here's Ben and Grace getting their paint on.

School dog.

The boys love to practice spelling words on the windows and on this particular day, Abe left me a little note too :) Man do I love seeing them bloom in reading and writing!

Gracie and Judah washing dishes while I work with the big kids.

Mess. Every day. End of story.

And now, just a few pictures from December. Girl's day out with breakfast, coffee, and a craft show was celebrated with Gracie's first Starbucks. Auntie bought her a vanilla steamer and she called it her latte all morning. She also drank it down to the last drop.

Ju Baby and the Nativity. He can't stop, won't stop, rearranging.

A new Christmas wreath.

A certain boy on the eve of turning FIVE! Man did it feel like a big deal! We celebrated by taking the day off of school, as is our traditon, and going to a jumping place and lunch at Dion's. We had such a lovely day, despite the snow! But how can a day that includes pizza and chocolate cake go wrong, really?

We also had a cousin day at our Mimi's to celebrate these back to back birthdays! Evie turned 8 and Ju turned 5 and all the momma's sighed.