chalk, sunshine and rolls

(look at those rolls!)

Just a typical day for us. Sitting on the porch watching the kids play. Most of our sunny days are spent outdoors. There's just too much sunshine and fun to be had to be indoors. It was the first chalk day of the season. They were stoked. All over chalk. They are so easy to please right now. I should enjoy it. My friend was telling me that her husband doesn't let her kids play with chalk in the front because it makes a mess. How sad, right? I love seeing their little drawings. Evidence of happy kids.

spring in full swing

 Spring is in full swing around here. Everything seems to be fresh and new.  Even the kids seem to be growing by leaps and bounds. Some little girl learned how to ride her bike this weekend. She picked it up in a blink. It's just like her, to get something like that so quickly. She always has been a fast learner. It took two days of taking her around the block. We took her out tonight and she has it down pat. She can stop herself and everything. Let me tell you teaching a kid to ride their bike is a workout!

Our little man is finally getting the hang of riding his trike too. He has been riding a big kid scooter since we bought one when he was eighteen months old. He's so good on the thing and when I got him a trike for Christmas I thought he'd be ready for it. Not so, at least not until this past few weeks can he ride it. It's all he wants to do from the minute he gets up in the morning.

Little dovie started sitting up this weekend. She is so happy. Look at that belly. She's so rolly polly right now. It's the best.

As for me I'm glad for spring. It's just what I needed. More outside time and a good change has made everyone happy which makes me happy. I feel like I've got the hang of things with three kids. Which gives me more time to enjoy all these sweet moments more. Mostly, life is feeling like it is so very good.  

currently

-my beautiful growing girl, i took her to get some new shirts and we had to head over to the big girl section. she was so excited.  

-junior monopoly, a new favorite that we have to play at least once a day

-dairy free, soy free icecream. my treat for not eating wheat or dairy while I'm nursing. it's sooo good

-new found toes, she loves them and always has them in her hands

-thinking about raised beds for the garden, can't believe it's almost time to start again

-the biggest orange balloon ever, it's provided days of entertainment for the little man

-loves with daddy when he comes home

snapshots

 It's amazing what a few snapshots can do for my perspective. In the midst of our daily routine I find myself just doing things to get them done and not really thinking of how fun our little life is right now. The two big kids make me laugh everyday and they play so cute together. And how I have this beautiful baby girl all to myself. My very own baby. What am I going to do when we don't have babies at our house? I don't even want to think about that.  But our days really do blend together for me lately. Getting ready for the day, off to school, holding babies all day long, coloring at the table, naptime, playtime, dinner and then time for bed. We do these things everyday and sometimes it gets to feeling a bit mundane. But looking at what we do every day in snapshots reminds me that I wouldn't change things for the world.

jammie days

The last few weeks have been made out of mostly jammie days. We've been passing around a cold since Christmas it seems. I'm sort of liking being a homebody lately. I've always been a out and about person but in the winter with a new baby I'm just fine with staying home as much as I can. At least it's growing on me.  That and the little man is quite the runner. How is he so fast? I'll be honest, I'm amazed and a little proud that I haven't lost him yet. Knock on wood. Needless to say it takes the fun out of going most places. He won't sit in a stroller without a fight and I can't make myself buy one of those leashes. Anyways, raising a boy is nothing like raising a girl. I'll say that.  

 So this is about all we've done as of late. Nurse sick babies and take lots of baths to help drain everything out of their heads.

And I cannot stop taking pictures of this beautiful baby of mine. A friend of mine was saying how she never knows how to respond when people tell her that her kids are cute. I can't ever help but say, "I know!"

apple harvest

We picked more apples yesterday. Brett only fell out of the tree once. He was getting a little too daring with the ladder.

The apple trees in our yard make me so terribly happy. I love the smell of them baking. We've already made lots of yummy apple things, applesauce and lots of apple crisp. I think we are going to having to do some caramel apples this year.

Mr. C having his new favorite treat. A spoonful of peanut butter and applesauce, since plain ol'apples moved to his list of things he won't eat now.

Dovie, making her favorite facial expression.

bedrest is going beautifully

This is about how my week has gone. Trying to rest while basically letting the little man get into whatever trouble he will within reason. I'm on "modified" bedrest, so I'm supposed to be resting as much as I can but I'm okay to walk around.  I have strict instructions to not lift a thing or basically do anything that require me to use my stomach muscles.  Like lift my two year old up from all the places he climbs onto. But I really have been so blessed this week. My kids have been so happy and Brett has been great to come home and do all the things I haven't done in the day.

I had another visit to the hospital yesterday with more bleeding. She is still moving around and sounds good as far as they can tell. They are hoping the tear will heal and that she'll be able to stay put for the rest of the pregnancy. I on the other hand have been a nervous wreck about the whole thing. I just hope the doctors know what they are doing. It sounds like one of those things though that you won't really know how well she has fared until she is born. She could be just fine and be perfect or she could have been not getting enough oxygen and nutrients, we won't know until the end. It's amazing how I can worry so much about a little person that hasn't even been born yet.

Thanks for your comments and prayers, really it feels good to know you care!

out in the yard

We just picked the first of the raspberries for the summer. I was so excited to see that our house came with raspberry plants. They hadn't been maintained so I wasn't sure what to expect but we cleaned them up and kept them watered and sure enough we have raspberries. We've had them in smoothies, on ice cream and did our first batch of jam yesterday. It couldn't feel more like summer, eating berries and having the kids run around in the sprinkler every day.

My little helper. Enjoying the fruits of her labor as she goes. She's a big fan.

Amelie trying out her photography skills. She has a little fascination with picture taking lately. I'm excited for when she's a little older and we can go out with my camera and teach her what I've learned. 

Our jam looking super cute in jars. We did raspberry with peaches this time for something different. So we can have a little taste of summer later this year.

time out

i know i'm their mom but it's so cute right? this is how time outs go around here. they usually end up in giggles from them and me because she gets joined by her brother right after. i love how he goes and scoots right up close to her.

no one has been getting any time outs this week. nope, still too sick to get into any trouble. i thought we might be over the worse of it but tonight ended with more throw up. ugh. that's day six for us. it's been a slow week, and aside from cleaning up the consequences, i have to confess that this flu has had it's up sides. i've done nothing much but hold my sick babies and read stories and i've even got in a few naps for myself. still i could do without the sad little faces and fevers.

wiped out

My two babes have been taken out by the flu. It's been a crummy bug too. I've never had my kids so sick. Our usual gogogo boy has basically slept the past three days and is just now starting to eat again. I know he's lost weight. I can see it all over him.  And now today it's caught up to Amelie. Hopefully it won't be as hard on her. Their little bodies have been through a lot and my heart just aches for them. I wish I could just take it from them.  And now they have both been sleeping, at the same time even, for hours. Things like that just don't happen around here. Giving me time to recover the house and have a minute. These are the times when I really feel like motherhood has changed me. When I have put everything into caring for these two little people and I don't even really think about it because I just want to be there for them.

better days

The last two days have been beautiful. We seem to have lots more coming our way. I feel like better days have arrived. Not only just the weather but my days of being sick too.  I have had

fewer bad days and even the bad days really aren't that bad. You know compared to throwing up all the time and being dehydrated.  Can I tell you how nice it is to eat normal food and to be able to drink water without getting sick? This pregnancy has given me a new appreciation for all the simple things I take for granted, like my health and even just having the energy and strength to take care of my family.

Having a backyard has changed my life. It's so nice to let them go out and play. They're so much happier when they get a little sunshine.