Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for my husband's talents. Look at this bed he just built us!

Next up: matching nightstands, and hopefully soon some new bedding.

baby quilts

Here are two things I'm not good at:
1. Keeping up traditions
2. Actually finishing things I start

When Alexis was a baby I wanted to make a quilt for her. I knew nothing about quilting but I figured it couldn't be that hard. So I drew a picture of what I wanted it to look like, made up some measurements and went to work. The result was not super fantastic, but it is by far Alexis' favorite blanket.

This was the best picture I could find of it right now...

So, encouraged by her love of the blanket I made her, I decided to make Tyler a quilt when he was born. This time I used a pattern and actually didn't finish it until he was about a year old (see flaw #2 above). The results were better than the first, but I've still got a lot to learn. And it's not Tyler's most favorite blanket, but he likes it and uses it.

Then when the third child came along I decided I wanted to try and keep up the tradition. So when I found out Ryan was a boy I started searching to see what kind of quilt I wanted to make this time. Then I stumbled across this and knew that it was what I wanted to make. She didn't explain how to make it, but it didn't look that hard--so I just guessed. I think I made the spaces too big between my squares, but I like how mine turned out anyway.


It was fun to make, really easy (and technically not quilting...), and I finished it two days before Ryan was born! Honestly it's amazing I finished it at all, I really do have problems with follow through.

Then, after I made it, I came across this on the web and knew I had to make another one. This time it won't be quite as orderly as the first one I made. I guess I should probably finish the other projects I've started before I start in on this one...but someday it'll get done!

And maybe by then I'll care to learn how to take a good picture of a quilt, rather than just throwing it across my couch and taking a quick picture. But I don't really see that happening!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful that Alexis wears her socks like this everyday.

And that they come in a variety of colors, to keep it even more interesting.

It makes me smile.

gullible

It turns out Tyler is really gullible. This of course means that I have lots of fun feeding him all sorts of "lies" throughout the day. I realize that probably isn't something a good parent would do, but it's too much fun and I just can't help myself. This is the conversation we had this morning. He came into our room and woke us up and after a few minutes he said,

"Mom, is Ryan still sleeping?"

me: "no, he's downstairs playing with a few of his friends. Katelyn and Tanner are over and I think they are playing with toys."

He thinks about this for a minute and then starts to go downstairs. This is remarkable because for some reason he refuses to go downstairs by himself in the morning. He'll whine at the side of my bed for an hour if I don't get up and come down here with him.

He comes back up a minute later and said "He's not down there."

me: "Uh-oh. I don't know where he is then. Oh, I know, I bet they went out in the sandbox to play." Remember, Ryan is 3 months old.

Tyler again goes downstairs to check. "He's not out there either mom."

me: "Oh shoot, I've lost him and his friends? I'm in trouble."

Jeremy: "I bet he went on a bike ride. I think he rode your bike Tyler."

me: "Oh yeah, yesterday he asked me if he could ride your bike."

Tyler: "He did? What did you tell him?"

me: "I told him he had to ask you. Maybe that's why he took it while you were sleeping."

Then Tyler comes downstairs AGAIN and checks in the garage to see if his bike was missing. At this point I turn to Jeremy and ask him if Tyler is messing with us too, or if he really thinks Ryan may have taken his bike for a ride. We can't tell.

He came back up and told us that his bike was still there so we suggested maybe Ryan was at the park. Finally Tyler says, "I think maybe he's still sleeping. Can I go check?" And would you believe it? Ryan WAS still sleeping--you can imagine my relief!

pictures of my babies, taken today, August twenty-fifth twenty ten

This is my third baby.

Today marks twelve weeks of his life. He's recently found his hands for eating and saves all his best smiles for me. He also happens to be an awesome night time sleeper and in his whole twelve weeks of life I haven't once called my husband, my mother, or a good friend in tears saying "this baby won't stop crying" or "this baby just won't sleep!". And that is considered a miracle in my book.

This is my second baby.

Currently the middle child, as evidenced by the fact that I'm only posting one photo of him and two of the other children. Today he is wandering around like a lost puppy, unsure of what to do with himself. We played several games of "Go Spidey" (which is "go fish" with spiderman cards, of course) and when he was counting his matches he counted all the way up to eleventeen. Where do you suppose eleventeen falls in numerical order?

And this is my first baby.

She is the one that is tugging the hardest on my heartstrings today. Despite my best efforts she went to 1st grade today. She was nervous, but once she got her backpack on and we started the walk to the school the nerves seemed to dissipate. I was sad to see her go and I've spent all morning asking whoever will listen if they think Alexis is having fun, or if she's made a new friend, or if she found someone to sit by at lunch. It's scary to be a mom and send your still small child out into a big school on their own for 6+ hours. But we've armed her with all we know how. She's confident, she knows she's good at making friends, she's smart, and she's one of the best readers you've ever seen in a 6 year old--I think she'll be okay. The real question is, how will the rest of us do without her everyday?


The upside of this is that my house will stay a little cleaner--she is by far the messiest kid I have. The Queen of the "drop it where I am and never give it a second thought" way of living. Now that is her teachers problem for half the day.

6

Last Friday, late in the evening, I looked at the calendar to check the date: August 13th.

Friday.

Friday the 13th!

As soon as I made the connection my mind went back six years, when August 13th, 2004 also fell on a Friday. I remember that because I spent many months thinking about when that day would come--it was Alexis' due date. I've learned since then that due dates mean nothing to my body but everything to my mental sanity. My body gladly passes them by, but my mind refuses to let them pass.

6 years ago Friday the 13th came and went with no signs of an arrival in the form of a baby. My stomach was still large. I was having no contractions, making no progress. I had also quit working and had nothing to do to occupy my mind. On Saturday I complained a lot. On Sunday I went to church with a frown on my face because I wasn't supposed to be there, and complained a lot. On Monday I sent Jeremy off to work with a warning to stay by the phone, and complained a lot. On Tuesday still nothing had changed but I had hope in my heart because I was going to see the doctor! He sent me to the hospital for a stress test which revealed that the baby needed to come out, whether she wanted to or not. Unfortunately for all of us, she did not. But finally, on Wednesday, at 9:01 am, she showed her beautiful face. And I stopped complaining.


Every addition to a family alters it and makes an impact, but the first child is always the biggest change. Alexis changed our family in a huge way almost 6 years ago, and she continues to change me every single day.

She is a delight.
She is a challenge.
She is beautiful.
She is smart.
She is kind.
She is talented.
She is a friend.

And this week she turns six years old. It seems like almost every day this summer I've watched her do something and thought to myself, "When did she get so big?" Shes grown up a lot the past few months and I can't believe the changes that have taken place right before my very eyes.

I marvel constantly that something so beautiful came from Jeremy and I. And that I get to be the mother of someone like her. Someone so full of potential and ability and pure awesomeness.


And I hope she's excited about the silly Silly Bandz we got her for her birthday.

almost like playing dead

There is no question that Ryan is loved around here. In fact, he is too loved and often mauled by the kids. Sometimes when they are surrounding him with their craziness I see his face go blank and he stares off into space as if he's checked out of reality. It's at that point that I imagine he's gone to his "happy place" and is reciting to himself, "it'll all be over soon...it'll all be over soon...it'll all be over soon..."

It's undoubtedly the best survival technique for a person with little control over their limbs.

Ryan, in his "happy place"

Blessing Day

Whew! Now is the point in the summer where I begin to wonder where the summer has gone and marvel at the fact that it's almost over. Even with having a newborn I feel like we've had a busy summer. Jeremy and the kids definitely have, while I've mostly just watched them come and go. But last week was pretty crazy and I'm glad to have this week to recover before the craziness picks up again.

Yesterday in church Ryan was blessed. I got the crazy idea to make his blessing outfit and cut out all the pieces about a month ago. Then I had him weighed and realized he might not actually fit into it by the time he was supposed to wear it. So as I made it I had to adjust the seams which made for some interesting sewing. It ended up fitting well, but the leg holes were a little tight around his chubby thighs. I'm just amazed that I actually finished it in time (and a week ahead of time, not even the night before I needed it!), because I'm notorious for starting projects and never actually finishing them. I've got a few more recent sewing projects that I've actually finished that I need to share too.



And speaking of sewing, look at this really bad picture that I took with my phone:
He needed something sewn and I had to feed Ryan, so I set him up and he did it himself. I thought it was so cute I had to take a picture. He's a jack of all trades.

Baby crying, kids screaming, lunch needs to be made. It's crazy over here but I wouldn't trade it!

7 weeks

The past week or two Ryan has been teasing us. He smiles, but I've never been sure that it's at us. But TODAY. Today, he smiled! Several big grins, right at me. I'm 100% sure that it was meant for me, and it made me laugh like a little girl. And then he did it again. And I laughed some more. And then, and then, and then...he punched himself in the eye and all the fun ended. Darn those uncontrollable arms.


Also, on this day that marks 7 weeks of his life, I wore a belt. I've been dreaming of wearing a belt for at least 5 months, and today it finally happened. Of course the pants are a size or two larger than I care for, but we've got to take things one step at a time.

Who needs photoshop to make a picture decent
when you've got strategically placed bubbles?

And in unrelated news, our house has been taken over by flies. It's not because of dirty dishes, I swear my kitchen is clean. Jeremy killed 5, and then the fly swatter broke, and there's still at least 5 flying around. What is going on? Yesterday Alexis saw one fly into the bathroom, so she quickly shut the door and from the outside shoved towels under the door so they couldn't fly out. That girl is a quick thinking problem solver, I tell ya!

I've got more to say, and I'll probably never get around to it. It seems like my life is now lived in quick moments, small increments of time. Someone always needs something. But now, it's family movie night--Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Hopefully this won't scare the kids...

awol

I'm having a hard time pulling myself away from this guy:Can you blame me?

p.s. apparently it's possible to overfeed a baby. Who knew? He's now a big chunk at a whopping 11 1/2 pounds and not even 6 weeks old. The good news is that I can spend a little less time feeding him...