Kiddo Update

Hadassah is three months old today! She is such a special baby. Of course all of my babies are special, but it is so thrilling to find out more and more each day what it is that makes Haddie special. She is an exceptionally content and happy baby. She hands out smiles like it is her job. If you know my son, Riley, you may know that he is very stingy with his "requested on demand smiles..." :) Not Haddie though! All she needs is some eye contact and a smile or cheerful word and she's smiling from ear to ear! She's also giggling, chattering and full belly laughing.

Had has been sleeping through the night for a couple of weeks now, which is such a blessing! I feed her one last time before I go to sleep, than most nights she will sleep through to anywhere between 6:30 and 8. I am very thankful for this!!! I have been working on getting us on a more regular routine, as in, feeding her and putting her down for naps around the same time each day. She consistently takes three good naps each day and for the two earlier ones will let me lay her down in her bed totally awake and will just fall asleep on her own without a peep! Her brother and sister were good nappers too, but at this age they still either needed to fuss/cry a bit or would need a bit of rocking before they'd fall asleep. Lest you think I have the perfect baby, :) Haddie does tend to have a fussy period each evening. This is usually resolved with some mylanta and a tight swaddle in the Miracle Blanket.

Though Hadassah looks so much like her siblings and cousin when they were infants, she also has a look all her own. She is more petite. I don't know if that's really the right word because she's got some adorable chub, but she's definitely smaller at this age than her sister was. Her hair is very red/strawberry blond. It is like peach fuzz and stands on end! It is SO cute. She still has her blue eyes so we'll see if they stay blue or turn green later on. Her skin is fair and I think she'll look the most "Irish" (my heritage) out of all our kids. She reminds me of my Grandma (my Mom's mom) so much, and I just love that!

Riley is 22 months today. I can't believe in two weeks we'll be celebrating his 2nd birthday! He is talking more and more each day. Even when he's not able to use words, he is able to communicate either what he wants (with gestures), or that he understands (with uh uh, or uh huh!). Just yesterday he walks out with Sophia's stuffed Charlie Brown. He's holding it excitedly saying, "Dada, Dada!" I ask, "Riley, is that Dada?" And he replies, "Uh-huh!!!" We laughed and laughed.

Sophia was excited when Daddy said he would take her to ballet and then the library tonight. After thinking for a second she says, "Dad, since you're not bringing Haddie or Riley too, you'll really be able to enjoy me!" :)

Well, that's the kiddo update for now. Have a great week!

Really?

Pieces of foam carpet pad

Stickers

Battery cover for flashlight

Hand soap

What do all these things have in common?

Why, these are all things I either caught my son eating, or trying to eat today.

Really?

I mean, we do feed the boy.

Will they grow?

A few weeks ago my sister Jeni got all these little potted plant kits for Soph. They decorated the pots but ran out of time to plant. So, we brought the pots home and finally got around to planting them today! We'll see if they grow... :)

In preparation for planting, we had to soak the little peat pellets in water than fluff them up with a fork. After the planting was done Sophia continued to play with the fork and one of the plastic containers we'd used. Mud, of course, was her medium of fun. A few hours later we were outside and I asked her where my fork was.

"In my [rain] boot."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it's in there drying out. I didn't want your kitchen to get all muddy."

"Well... thank you. That was very thoughtful."

:)

Just a regular Tuesday

"Take it from the top!" - what Sophia said to me this morning when she wanted me to start the game we were playing over.

"Apparently." - ever since the first day of VBS last week, Sophia has been using this word. It's a new word for her vocabulary and for the most part she uses it appropriately.

Riley is talking more and more each day. Every day I hear him saying new words. His speech is still rather difficult to understand, but being with him all day, every day, helps me recognize when he says a new word.

Haddie is 12 weeks old as of this past Sunday. That is incredible to me. She's starting to go about 7 hours between feedings at night most days of the week. She is also rolling from her back to her stomach. She continues to smile, coo, laugh and chatter all the time. She's very free with her smiles and will pass one out to most anyone!

Jamie and I carted the family about this past weekend. We spent Saturday and Saturday night with his parents to celebrate Father's Day. Sunday we were able to go to our old church (where we met) and see some folks there. After church we, along with my parents, headed a couple hours south to have a cookout with my sister and co. I'm so glad we were able to spend time with our Dads and hopefully they know how much we love them!

Jamie was the recipient of handmade cards from his two eldest kids and Sophia made him a nail apron at Home Dep0t. Once a month Home Dep0t offers a free activity for kids. Since Jamie works there and knows the ladies running it, he was able to leave Soph to make the apron while doing some shopping - that way he was surprised on Father's Day with her creation! Riley loves to color, especially himself... but, some marker made it onto Jamie's card, but I'd say more made it onto his face, arms and in his ears! :)

I'm so thankful for such wonderful men in my life. They are all powerful examples to what being a man is all about. Thank you Dad, Tony, Jamie, Uncle Bob and Uncle Kerry! Love to you all! Also thankful for the part my Grandpa played in my life. He got to celebrate Father's Day with our Heavenly Father this year, that must be pretty amazing!

Let's make sure we're honoring and expressing our love towards our men all year, not just one Sunday in June.

Have a fabulous day!

Remembering

One year ago, today, a really wonderful man died. My Grandpa. He died on June 22 of last year, but last year June 22 was the Monday after Father's Day, and today, though it's just the 21st, is the Monday after Father's Day, and so, this is the day I remember him dying... I was across the country, in Colorado, when I got the call that early morn. I was so devastated, so broken, but I wasn't surprised and I had hope. Hope that my dear Grandpa was with Jesus. Hope that my dear Grandpa was reunited with Grandma. Hope that my dear Grandpa was meeting all my babies I've never met... Hope. It is a powerful word. It is a powerful Truth. And so, though I am still sad over my Grandpa's death, and still miss him intensely, I do not despair, but I do hope!

I must say though, even with hope, I still grieve. Grief is a funny thing. It's like a winding path that you're not sure where the turns will lead and what will be around the next bend. Sometimes joy, sometimes sorrow, but as long as you keep walking the road of grief, joy is bound to find you.

Not long before my Grandpa died I received the last email I'd ever get from him. Now, there is something you must know, after my Grandpa's second wife died the summer before he did, Grandpa got a computer and learned how to use the internet and check our blogs and email. The thing is, I don't think he really understood The Email, because I never once got a personal email from him, only forwards. I would see his name in my inbox and smile, knowing he'd sent on some silly forward. I'd delete the forward and smile again. Well, the last email, the last forward, that Grandpa sent my way, for the life of me I cannot delete it. It is the last thing I have that his life touched. He put my address on the email and hit send. I've never even opened it, but I cannot delete it. Every time I log in and see that I have one new message, I know it's his and I think of him and smile. Maybe someday I can let go of that, but not today. And, if your curious, the subject line of this forward reads, "FW: How to tell the sex of a fly." :) If that doesn't make you smile I don't know what will!!!

I wrote this post to commemorate my Grandpa, Riley Russell, last year. Please take a chance to click over and read it today.

So, one year has passed. My Mom and aunts have no parents left on this earth. The house my Grandpa built and all the girls grew up in, has been sold. We've celebrated the Holidays without him. Life has marched on. But, the memory of Grandpa and Grandma, for that matter, remains. I still can smell his smell, feel her touch, hear their voices, see their house. These are treasures that are safely tucked away in my heart and mind, and they will remain until the day I see my Grandparents again. For this I am thankful.

Love you Grandpa!

I am so not ready!

Sophia has been attending VBS this week. She's never gone before, so this has been very exciting for her! She's been having so much fun and it's been a joy to see her experience something new.

Though I miss her like crazy, it has been nice to have only two kiddos in the morning. With Haddie sleeping most of that time, and Riley playing, I am able to get a fair amount of stuff done! I started wondering if maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she went to school this coming Fall (we're homeschooling this coming year).

Well, day after day of loading all three kids up in the car, often times having to wake a very content sleeping baby to do so, drive to VBS, unload all the kids, drop off Soph by 9am, reload Haddie and Riley, drive home, unload Haddie and Riley, just to turn around and do it all over again to get Soph by noon - well, I am SO not ready! All of the loading and unloading and dropping off and picking up is exhausting! If we sent Soph to school, whether private or public, I'd have to take her, as our public school is within walking distance so no buses for us! This is by no means the main reason we're choosing to homeschool Soph this coming year, but I have realized this week, that it definitely is a factor and one I am not ready to tackle!

I'm thankful that our area has a lot to offer the homeschooling family in regards to extracurriculars, so I know Soph will get her peer fix next year without having to go to school. I'm also thankful that, for at least next year, I won't have to do the dropping off, picking up thing!

And, just because they are cute and I know it will make their Grandmas and Aunts smile... here are the kiddos that make all this dropping off and picking up so exhausting! :)

Singing the blues

I would love to post pics of Sophia's ballet recital but our memory card reader keeps shorting out and so I cannot access my pictures right now! Funny story from the day of her recital though... My Dad, Jamie and my BIL, David, were all busy working on our deck. My Mom, Jeni, myself and the "babies" were all inside. Sophia was playing outside, oh, and side-note, Molly, the adorable beagle belonging to my sister, was in the backyard. Anywhoooo... David hollers in to Jeni to go get Molly b/c she'd been whining to come in for some time. At this point Soph was inside getting cleaned up and ready for her recital. Jeni brings in Molly and is calling to Sophia in a strange way. I come see what's up. Well... Molly has a huge patch of white fur on her back and it was completely blue! Jeni asked Soph if she knew anything about this and indeed, she did. Wet chalk left outside was the culprit. :) We laughed and I scolded, though I know Soph wasn't trying to be bad and I've never told her not to color real animals with wet chalk, so I didn't punish her, but she knows not to do it again! Last I heard Molly was still sporting the blue look.

Busy Busy!

I have so much to share from this weekend. Friday Sophia and I were at her dress rehearsal for her upcoming ballet recital, while Jamie hosted our church small group at our house. I left Haddie at home, thinking we'd be back in time for me to feed her and to be a part of the second half of small group. Nope! The rehearsal took a long time and my dear friend left small group to bring Haddie to me so I could nurse her. Soph, Haddie and I got home just in time to say goodbye to everyone.

Saturday my parents and my sister, and BIL (plus niece Cora and dog Molly) all came to our house for the day. The men worked on getting our front deck, which Jamie and my Dad started building a few weeks ago, closer to completion. After a long, hot, humid day of hard work, the men got all cleaned up and we all went to Sophia's ballet recital! Jamie's Mom and Grandma joined (Jamie's Dad was sick and unable to join us - we missed him!), as did Shirmy (the student who lives with us). Sophia did excellent and we had a good time!

Yesterday we went to church then came home, ate lunch and cleaned up the house. I was the photographer for some friend's from our church who were getting married in the afternoon, so I left around 3:25p to get to the park where the event was. Jamie and the kids followed behind about a half hour later. I stayed for the full festivities, and didn't get home until 6p. Jamie had taken the kids home earlier. As soon as I got home it was time to start something else! Our dear friend, Karen, is heading home to Taiwan this week, so we were hosting a goodbye party for her. Everyone left around 9pm and I just about collapsed!

So, I have lots of pictures to share, but that will have to wait. Sophia is taking part in her first VBS this week and we have many other things going on too. So, no rest for the weary. :)

I will leave you with this funny story and the promise of pictures to come!

Last night as folks were leaving our house, Shirmy told us about something that had happened the night before. Shirmy's room is really the converted breezeway (the room that connects the house to the garage) of our house . To get to her room from our bedrooms you have to walk through the whole house. Apparently, around midnight Saturday night, Shrimy was laying awake in bed, and who should stumble into her room and try to get into her bed but Sophia - totally sleepwalking!!! Shirmy could tell Soph was not awake so she scooped her up and took her back to bed. Soph couldn't believe she had done that. :)

Have a great Monday!

one year ago

one year ago... my sweet children, with their daddy

one year ago, he was still a baby, my baby, at just 9 1/2 months

today, she is my baby

one year ago, one of my dearest friends bore her first child

today, you guessed it, that sweet girl is one

one year ago, we were saying goodbye

except we didn't know it, except I knew it, you know?

exactly one year ago, today, we drove north one hour to be with my Grandpa. He would die just over a week later. We would never see him again. one year ago was the night of Sophia's dress rehearsal for her first ever ballet recital. one year ago, Grandpa wouldn't get to come, he wasn't well enough - so we went to him. He got to see his Sophia dressed in her costume. How he loved her and how she loved him. one year ago, a piece of my heart broke, except I didn't know, except I did, you know?

today, dress rehearsal for ballet recital #2 When did she grow up? (excuse the flip flops, we hadn't donned our slippers yet :) )

one year ago, Cora was the baby of the family

today, Hadassah is. What's that you say? Isn't that the same baby? Nope! But I agree, it sure looks like it!

One year ago... what did yours look like?

Sophia Did Do This One!

[ Dont' know what I'm referring to with the title of this post? Take a look below at yesterday's post and you'll understand! :) ]

Sleeping beauty

Edited to Add: Jamie wanted me to assure my readers that he did not don this head gear himself, but it was in fact, his better half that placed it upon him. He didn't want any visions of him walking around the house in this pink hat getting into anyone's head... :)

ORIGINAL POST:

You may think Sophia did this to Jamie...

And

you'd

be

wrong!

hehehe ;)

Summer Simplicity

Easy clothes

Pony tails
Flip flops
Playing outside

And always having freshly picked flowers bringing simple joy into the house.

What is your favorite simple thing about summer?

Mini-Me

This sweet girl... she reminds me so much of -

myself.

:)

Growing up, whenever something was missing, or out of place, or something unusual was going on,

I was always blamed.

This always frustrated me so much.

But, I was always blamed for good reason.

I was always the one who knew where the missing item was,

had moved such-and-such,

or was behind the "something unusual."

I recall missing cans of food, found in my closet (I had used them for whatever I was playing).

I remember finding a missing spoon in my coat pocket - placed there after eating lunch at school, discovered months later at the airport when it set off the metal detector...

So, the other week, when I stepped in something gooey that was all over the basement floor, I really should have known who to ask.

And then today, when the gooey stuff was again, all over the basement floor, I should not have been surprised when, after finally asking the right person if that was stain remover gel on the floor, said person calmly stated, "Oh, that is to trap the spiders!"

I should have known, after all, she gets it from me.

:)

Online Reading

Following are a few sites I enjoy visiting when I have time to do some online reading. If you're ever looking for some new sites to browse, check these out!
1. Cake WrecksWhen Professional Cakes Go Horribly, Hilariously Wrong- This blog highlights cakes that have "gone wrong!" You'll be sure to get a good laugh, or a least a chuckle browsing through these hilarious cake wrecks!

2. Hooked on Houses- If you enjoy watching HGTV, find yourself checking out homes that are for sale, or wondering what the insides of houses you're driving past look like ... you'll love exploring this blog!

3. (In)Courage: Take Hope to Heart

- This is a fabulously inspiring site. All the posts are written by Christian women seeking to encourage other women. I love reading their stories and never regret a visit!

and... just a little Hadassah eye candy to brighten your day!


Are there any blogs or sites you enjoy visiting? Since we don't have cable, when I need some semi-mindless entertainment, I love reading blogs and am always looking for a new read! Do share!

Cousins

Today the kids and I had the chance to visit my sister and co.! [Jamie had to work :( ] They only live about an hour away now (yippee!), so a day trip was a great plan in my mind to make the day go faster while Jamie was working. The weather has been a bit rainy/stormy the last couple of days and the drive down there was intense! For about the last 1/2 hour the rain was crazy. My wipers were on full-blast and I could barely see. Everyone had slowed down a bit and had their hazards on just so each car could be seen. Sophia kept exclaiming, "Mom, I can't even see out of the windows!" I would answer her, "Yeah, me either." Driving like that for so long, with my precious babes in the car, and not having Jamie with me, well, I was a bit stressed! I kept praying for safety and strength and kept repeating, "I can do this, I can do this!" Well, God kept us safe and we arrived only a little bit late.

My sister made us a delicious lunch of enchiladas, fixings and milk-free chocolate chip cookies! It was all YUMMY! It was great to spend the day with my sister, brother-in-law, niece and Molly the dog.

Sweet Haddie. Cora kept stealing her paci. It wasn't too long ago the roles were different and it was Riley stealing Cora's paci!

Cora has this little purse, and Riley picked it up and started toddling about with it. We need to get him some sort of "man - bag." :)

If you think my kiddos have big eyes, check out their cousin's!

Sophia and Riley had fun playing outside in Cora's little pool. Jeni attempted to have Cora join them, but she hates the grass, and sitting in the pool wasn't amusing her too much either. She ended up being happiest sitting on a blanket wrapped up in a towel. She is so cute.

Towards the end of our stay the dog and the baby passed out on the couch.

Car!

Usually Riley fights getting dressed and undressed. So, this morning when he walked into his room gesturing for me to remove his p.j.s I was surprised! He then quickly pointed to his tummy area and said "Caw." (which means car) I opened his drawer and showed him some shirts with cars on them. He denied each of them. "Un Uh." I then found the shirt pictured below. I asked him if he'd like an airplane on his shirt. "Un Huh! Caw!!!" (remember, car can mean just about anything - even airplane!) He was so excited and started saying "caw, caw" and pointing to the sky and making his airplane sounds! What a cutie. :)

***

Just a morning sword fight with Mommy!

***

Remember how Riley loves playing the guitar on just about anything?? Case in point below.

***

This is our changing table.

This is our boy.

This is sort of how I found Riley the other day. He had climbed up on the changing table all by himself while I was in the bathroom. I found him sitting up there happily playing with his sister's paci. I didn't get a picture then, so while trying to recreate it this morning these are the shots I got. He wasn't really into the whole recreation thing...