snow day thoughtful

(above is eislee's "cheese" face. love.)

when i came into the kitchen groggy eyed looking for coffee and asked what on earth was going on in there, maiko answers, "i knew bootsy* couldn't go outside and play in the snow so i brought some inside for her to play with." i love this boy. he played in that bowl of snow with her, making little snowmen and everything, all morning. so sweet.

*bootsy is what maiko nicknamed eislee. in case i haven't mentioned that one.

3 weeks

on growing up...

i am amazed at how quickly everything can change.

this little girl, for example, has suddenly "flipped a switch" and decided that she is not a baby anymore... she has decided it's time to grow up.

she watches her big brother and big sister (with so much adoration) and wants to do everything that they do. things like: feeding herself, going outside whenever they go outside, playing upstairs whenever they play upstairs, making art (eating art), etc., etc. i'm working hard to let her grow up and start doing more of the things mentioned above, except the going outside part. i am also amazed as i watch her how quickly she adapts now. she is getting really good at feeding herself (she just needs a bath after every meal), she is very cautious and careful on the stairs, she gets on her own shoes and waits by the door when the kids go outside (it breaks my heart a little each time i make her stay in... sigh).

yes, she is growing up and i think her timing is just right.

typical jenny

ignoring the huge pile of dishes right behind me and photographing the newborn instead... yes... typical jenny indeed. the dishes will wait for me though, and if they don't... well... i really wouldn't mind one bit. but this little girl... she's changing by the day... and she requires lots and lots of snuggles... oh and kisses too... yes... lots of snuggles... i better get back to that.

happy hearts

i don't know about you but i had a ridiculous time trying to find some simple heart stamps for making some valentines cards. after searching over four different stores in the area i finally gave up. after coming home i remembered seeing this potato stamp idea on a care bears video... yep... care bears. so i decided to give it a try and was soooo pleased with the results that i decided i needed to share the idea in case any of you ever get into a "need a stamp bind" you will now have a solution. i know, i know, your welcome :)

happy love day!

big sister love

oh... the bonds are already forming... i love it. of course it's hard not loving a sweet little newborn baby that comes into your life, especially when your four and a half. whenever this big girl comes home from school she says "mom, i wanna see the baby. i really miss her!" and my heart just melts. then there's lots of wanting to hold ollie and that one little incident where she picked her up when she was just a few days old a carried her out to me (yes, my heart stopped too). the amazing thing was she was carrying her perfectly, supporting her head and everything. of course i still gave her quite the talk... just in case. now it's "but i want to hold her standing up" so i let her hold her standing up... right next to me with my hands underneath for just a little extra support. i think this one will be quite the little helper and is finally getting old enough to actually be helpful. sigh. it really does go fast, dosen't it...

miss ollie jane

i always thought that when i got to a point like this... having so many children... that i would learn some special secret or have some deeper understanding of the inner workings of children... at least my own. the one thing i have discovered with having so many children, experiencing so many pregnancies and births is how little i actually know and how no matter how much experience you have you can't really predict how things will go.

ollie jane's birth, for example, was not at all what i expected. after having two pregnancies with girls and very similar labors, i was expecting everything to be the same. very little was the same this time. with layla and eislee i went into labor later in the morning, after the sun came up... ollie sent me to the hospital in the middle of the night, about three am, after my water broke at home (that was a first). "normally" after my water gets broken my labor goes very fast... not this time. i suppose it progressed steadily (it seemed slow compared to the previous two). delivery went quickly and here is where the similarities came in... she weighed 7lb 14oz (layla was 7lb 15oz) and she measured 21in long (layla was also 21in) and i swear she looked like eislee when she came out. ollie also nurses like layla did, wanting to suck all the time. luckily i learned a lesson with layla. i let layla nurse whenever she wanted and i suffered with torn up nipples, ouch! this time though, i recognized the signs and after ollie finished eating if she wanted to continue sucking i let her do so with a binky. yes, i suppose i am learning something with all this experience!

i am so curious to observe as they all grow up how the similarities and differences progress. the one thing i have discovered is they always surprise me.

eislee... meet ollie

i think with the arrival of this new little sister one of my most pressing thoughts was "what is eislee going to think about all of this?" i was expecting quite a bit of jealousy... but, once again eislee completely surprised me. i haven't seen any jealousy (so far), what i have seen is extreme curiosity. she wants to play with ollie, somewhat thinking of her as her own personal baby doll. she will rub her head and say "niiice" and then suddenly poke her in the eye exclaiming "wha tat?" and of course when you pull her hand back telling her she has to be gentle with the new baby she squeals out "ma baby!!!" it's going to be interesting to see how this progresses. but for the most part i am absolutely amazed at how well it's all going (lots of thanks to some special grandmas for that.)

overtime

well... here we are a week later and still no baby... i have to admit i'm a little disappointed... but i think she knows what she's doing. it has been pretty nice having the extra time to finish up a few things.
when i look at that picture up there of those sweet grown up siblings i can't help but choke up a little. when did they get so big?

our friend pesto... my it's funny how well that name fits. this little kitty somehow gets herself "stuck" on our roof every morning. we're getting more than a little annoyed by it. but then, she comes inside and lets eislee crawl all over her and give her "snuggles" and i can't help but think well if you can put up with that then i can probably put up with the annoying roof thing. there is also a certain "big girl" who has taken over the responsibility of feeding pesto each day, and she does a wonderful job.

matt and the kids did this last summer and i love it so much. every time i see it i smile and i know it will do that for me for the rest of my life. thanks matt.

we have almost an entirely new flock of chickens now... we had a few "break-ins" in the fall and most of our older girls didn't make it. i'm quite happy with what we have now though. the new girls are very beautiful, although they are not near as friendly.

we still have a christmas tree... we moved it outside after christmas and filled it back up with water and it's doing great! maiko decided that we need to decorate it. i really like that idea, but instead of ornaments i'm thinking maybe a midwinter birds tree... pinecones with birdseed and fruit... something along those lines.

well... hopefully soon we will all be meeting my new daughter... i think today would be a great day!

thoughts on baby

here we are on my due date and still no baby... i suppose that is a good thing... especially since i just finished her cradle pad this morning (after feeling a little rushed by some contractions). it's amazing to me how fast this pregnancy flew by.

it's also very strange for me thinking about having a new baby when i still have a baby... i know, i know... a toddler now, but it does not feel that way.

i was feeling quite stressed about the arrival of this little one for quite some time and now i feel like i'm finally relaxing about the whole thing... i felt a lot better after i finally found her some space of her own. her clothes (and those tiny little socks) have found their way into my sewing cupboard with only the top shelf still holding some tools and buttons.

i really began the nesting after we checked this book out from the library. it is so sweet the way the family works together making the little cradle perfect for the baby. it made me remember this old cradle that was tucked away in the shop. after we brought it in and cleaned it up, i realized that it really needed a cradle pad and a new quilt to keep her nice and cozy. i have to admit i felt a little bit crazy when i brought the fabric home about two weeks before my due date, but somehow it all fell together.

oh and this hat (made by my dear friend olivia)... i don't think it could be any more perfect. i just love it. her sweet little head will stay nice and warm in this cold winter weather.

i suppose my next post will be introducing you to our sweet new addition. hopefully we won't have to wait very long... i'm getting pretty curious about this little character.

the elf work

so, i suppose i'm a little behind on the holiday posts but you don't really mind right? my hopes are to be all caught up and producing current posts(with a lot more pictures of my children) by the time the new baby arrives... which could be any day now (yikes)!

in case your wondering what kind of cookies those are up there... i regret to inform you that they are not the least bit edible. those are my attempt to instill the love of giving in my children over the holiday season. i thought if they made gifts and gave them to their family that it would open their eyes to the wonderful world of elving. you may be curious if this plan of mine actually worked and it did... to some extent... it definitely wasn't the extreme eye opener i was hoping for, but i think if we focus a little more on giving each year and continue to cut down on the receiving end that, yes, my children will learn the true meaning of christmas.

anyway... i should probably run through the directions of our little ornaments since that was the purpose of this post.

we used sculpey oven bake clay (which i do not recommend for the hand print ornaments... it's very firm and quite difficult to get a nice print (especially with a squirmy toddler). we handled the clay until it was soft and then rolled it out and used holiday cookie cutters to make the various shapes (star, tree, gingerbread man). then we used drinking straws to poke out the hole for the ribbon. how did we get them to look metallic? we used these really cool powder paints called pearl ex... just to warn you... a little goes a long, long way with those. also, make sure and protect your table! we used old place mats and the place mats are pretty much ruined now. you dust a little of the pearl ex powder on the clay with a paint brush (i let them use no more than two colors on each ornament). oh, i'm skipping a step! before we painted on the powder we used various things to create "texture" on the ornaments (ex. beads, textured toys, and rubbing plates). after the pearl ex is dusted on then you place the ornaments on a cookie sheet and bake them in the oven for whatever time and temperature your clay recommends. then i let the ornaments sit out over night and wrote each kids name and the year on the back and tied on a ribbon. it was a fair amount of work, next year i plan to start the elving process in october!

did you do any elving this holiday season?

keeping the holidays at home

every year i am reminded how fortunate we are to have such wonderful friends and family. you have all been so thoughtful and so understanding of our need to slow things down and start our own holiday traditions at home. many of you made a trip this way to visit or sent your love and kind thoughts in some way or another. we love you, and though we really miss seeing you all over the holidays i am discovering more and more how important it really is for us to slow down and enjoy this important family time together while our children are still small. i can't believe the many ways they are already growing up much too fast. i think we will continue to slow the holidays down as much as we can each year so we can truly savor this time with our children, but i want to make more of an effort to see everyone over the coarse of the year instead of the current squeezing everyone in over the holidays mindset. so, with the passing of christmas, the year 2011 already upon us, and welcoming a new addition to our ever growing family... i send my love and wishes for everyone of you, may this be your best year yet!