has it really been a month already?

still so little and changing so much all at the same time... eislee is awake a lot more now and eats constantly :) she still sleeps really good at night... only gets up to eat a couple of times... she watches us and follows things with her eyes... she can pretty much support her own head and she smiles a lot too :) we really like that! also, she has still been taking bottles from matt (yea!!! so excited for our first night out!). some days i think "how are we going to get through this!" but then we always do :) and i know that life is sooo much better with eislee in it... we all know :) just have to take the time to enjoy it because she will grow up soo fast...

meet our new friend...

this is our new kitty... she just showed up on the back porch a few days ago and she's been hanging around ever since... i'm excited because the last cat that showed up was really afraid and took off again just as quick as it came... but this one is different.... you can tell because she is so friendly... she is really good with the kids too, loves to snuggle them (and they love that!) i keep wanting to call her bobby mcgee (like the song), but nothings for sure yet...

washed, sauced, and canned

canned tomato sauce and tuna fish and there is much more to come... i love canning, it's such a rewarding task...

harvest season

time to get canning...

3 week checkup

eislee was three weeks on tuesday the 18th, and we had our first checkup... she now weighs 7 lbs 13 oz (7 lbs 2 oz at birth) and i went from 153 lbs to 134 lbs... crazy! it feels so much better not having a baby in my abdomen :)

3 week photos

this hat is so cute... it's a little big, but it keeps the sun out of her eyes...

wide awake... i don't think i've posted many pictures where you can actually see her eyes...

coddletime bottle time...

matt giving eislee her second bottle in her three week life... we are excited because her first was in her first week and now she took the bottle again! do you know what it means if we keep this up... date night! woo hoo! i really like these coddletime bottles... they are made of glass (so no nasty plastic chemicals leaching into her breast milk) and have these cool silicone protective sleeves. fun fact: Your milk is a living substance so precious some call it "white blood". Human milk actually has anti-bacterial properties that help it to stay fresh.

i like this picture...

layla's little feet are sooo cute... matching toenails and matching sandals... gramma jan got us these awesome sandals when she went to africa! we looove them! thanks gramma jan!

mmm painting...

maiko is wise beyond his years... i was actually thinking about getting rid of this old easel i had never even used... complete with a canvas, brushes, and paint... so, when maiko asks me if we can paint with it i think "why not?"... we start painting and oh man it was good medicine... i forgot just how much i love painting... thanks maiko for reminding me... we will definitely be doing more of this... the last picture is our finished piece

haircuts what!?!

yes, yes i did it... maiko pre cut and post cut

he looks sooo grown up now!

so sad... he cried for his curls when he was going to bed... (he likes to play with his hair when he's tired)

i cut matt's hair too... but this is the best picture i have so far... he's giving bee a morning back scratch... :)

barn swallows

these birds fly down to south america for the winter each year and then in the spring fly all the way back to our farm and nest all over the place... every year we have multiple nests on our front and back porch... it's so much fun watching them build their nests, lay their eggs, hatch their babies, and then of course watch their babies grow up and learn to fly... right now we have birds all over the place! it's wonderful, they are very fun to watch and amazing bug control!

thanks...

thanks you guys, for all of your wonderful comments... i really enjoy reading your feedback :)

ducks

this was sooo funny... i had to grab my camera... maiko ran out half naked and grabbed a duck, the really funny part is it was the first time he caught a duck on his own (they are pretty skiddish)... the other picture is of the other ducks we have... male and female ruins... big male mallard... and three little female mallards... maiko is holding one of them

oh marbles

maiko got a marble run for his birthday! sooo fun, every kid should get to play with marbles :)

a couple things to make you smile...

layla reading to eislee...

maiko put a flower in layla's hair when she was napping... so sweet

two weeks old today

wrapped in the quilt i made her, i think she likes it :) in one more week we go see the dr for our check ups i am so curious how much she's grown! and how much i've shrunk haha! i will give you a full update after the appt

how time flies...

wow... these last few weeks have been a bit of a blur... layla turns 3, we get a new addition to the family, then maiko turns five.... i blink my eyes and my family changes sooo much! now we have a short break in the craziness and it's time for swim lessons and back to school... whew!

happy birthday maiko!!!

maiko is 5 today!! i can't believe it! he is sooo excited... he has been waiting for his birthday to come! in the picture to the left he is almost two! it's crazy how much he has changed these last three years... he went from toddler to little boy way to fast... i must admit though it just gets more fun the older they get, so at least i have that :)

our sweet little eislee...

11 days old now... still so small but growing and changing so fast already... she is such a great baby, we are all enjoying her so much :) i feel great! nursing is going really well, my milk came in right away and i haven't been sore for days :) i even feel pretty rested most days, matt keeps an eye on maiko and layla in the morning so i can get a little extra sleep... it really is true what they say... having three is not that much different than having two... i feel more on top of things after eislee than i ever did after having the other two :) we'll see if i still feel this way when she's walking and talking...

maiko and layla... always snuggling their new baby sister

every time she wakes up somebody is asking "can i hold her?"

muscle face

i love it!!! layla likes to show us her "muscles" and she always does this awesome "muscle face" with it...

matt's new toy

matt got a cnc milling machine... he's very excited... it's in excellent shape and he plans to have it wired up and running soon...