It's here!

I'm enjoying my baby being a baby. She's not as antsy as Abrianna to get things done. So she been doing everything about a month later- which is okay.

Abrianna popped teeth through at 5 months. So at about 6 months, I started giving Abigayle some solids. Resulting in many suppositories and several nights of baby in tears from gas. My midwife's advice, "NO MORE SOLIDS till she has teeth!"She also said that babies digestive enzymes don't appear for solids until teeth break through. Interesting, huh?

Guess what? That worked.

Today I felt something sharp as she chewed my finger. What?? A tooth?? There it was.

This is the first baby I didn't KNOW was teething. Sure she was drooling. But no crying and gnawing.

I'm so blessed to have an easy teether. Now we have to wait till she has two "toofers" so she can try solids all over again.

How to prepare to be a parent

For all those who think they know how to be a parent....

Happy 7 month birthday precious

It's been an amazing month of changes. She is sitting like a champ, leaning over amazingly far to pick up objects.

She loves clapping.

She's unstoppable. Today I found her in the bathroom playing with the potty chair seat. ICKY! I believe that soon she'll move from commando crawling to her hands and knees.

She's attempting waving too.

She greets all with a smile, an amazingly happy little girl. Such an easy baby.

I hear many comment on what a contented happy lil thing she is. Thank YOU God for our littlest blessing.

On Mobility...

Mobility. A blessing or curse? Or is it both?

Abigayle is getting quite proficient at commando crawling. Consequently, she tries to chase me.

I heard her crying but didn't see her right away. I guess she figured that the closest distance between two points is a straight line, right? That is until you try to go under a chair and get stuck.

She stopped wailing for the camera. Twas

a little difficult to extricate her without bumping her head, but we managed.

A little hair product?

Imagine my sweet smelling two year old, standing by the tub. "Abrianna, stand still and let me put some stuff in your hair," I requested. Abigayle obliging deposited some "product" in Abrianna's hair and down her neck and back. Ooops! "Back in the tub Abrianna." Let's try this again. After being scrubbed down with shampoo the right product was applied to her hair successfully.

Clappin' Hands

Look what Abigayle learned to do today. She's so adorable!

Worms and pregnant bellies.

This year wouldn't it be nice to concentrate on giving a worthwhile gift to a needy family in a third world country instead of just selfishly adding more toys to out over abundant collection? With those noble aspirations in mind, I handed a World Vision catalog to my son to peruse. What should we give to somebody needy this Christmas?

In those pages was a section about the need for treating and preventing parasite infestations. A four year old boy with a distended belly was featured. His belly was so full of worms that his belly button was protruding. Lucas was and is fascinated by this story and picture. Again and again he'll bring it to me asking me to read that caption.

With that background... Tonight was "The Great Escape III." A new ministry at church to allow parents with young children to have a couple of hours free to reconnect with one another. Rick and I took advantage of it and had a date with just baby Abigayle in tow.

When I was getting my children put back together to take home... Lucas whispered and motioned for me to come close. "Momma! That lady has worms in her belly!" he said pointing at a VERY pregnant lady who'd helped watch the children for the evening. I motioned for Lucas to remain quiet and after the door was closed I proceeded to tell him how there was a baby in her belly and that belly buttons can turn inside out without worms being present.

Sabbath walk

Layered up we sallied forth to brave the cool breezy afternoon.

Abigayle was swaddled in

a coat, snowsuit, and

cap. Snug as a bug in a

rug and just as

contented.

She quickly ventured off

to the land of nod where

she remained until

Daddy swiped Lucas' bike for a few minutes. Then those hazel eyes opened wide, taking in the

new angle of a view.

Such a wonderful gift from God, she is.

Stunt woman

Daddy

+ Daughter

+ Remote Control Car =

Stunt woman!

Fall Fun

"Momma, Let's go make a big leaf pile," Lucas begged. "Okay, If you help me finish up with the dishes and cleaning the kitchen we can get the baby monitor set up and play outside for a bit." These pictures document the fun. A wonderful benefit of having little ones is helping you to remember the simple pleasures and joys a pile of leaves can make.

Taking a flying leap!

Dodging the leaves.

Peek a boo ! I see you.

6 Month photo shoot

Wow 6 months. She is perfecting the art of sitting up. I thought it would be a great idea to take a picture of her doing it. The only way I was able to get close to that was with a toy. I tried to help her balance her. She kept throwing herself backwards. Finally with the help of the bumbo seat and Lucas' antics I got some decent picture. Happy 6 month birthday baby.

Abigayle and kitty

Eliab is an exceptionally sweet tempered kitten. This he proved by laying willingly next to Miss Abigayle as she proceeded to pull handfuls of hair. He lay purring. Yes, purring during that torture. I wasn't quite fast enough for a video but thought a picture might suffice instead.

The "Fit."

To explain this video... Abrianna, like any typical kid, was trying to think of every excuse in the book to avoid nap time. This one took the cake. Lately she has been assigned to the corner for temper tantrums and whining. She was up to use the potty and I told her to go to bed. She started the tantrum routine. I threatened to send her to the corner. She readily agreed. Okaaay. Into the corner she went where she commenced to this fake crying in order to stay there.

Handburgers

On our way home in the van yesterday, Lucas was chattering on about sandwiches. "Daddy eats handburgers everyday." " Why do you say that Lucas?" I replied. "Because you eat them with your hands."

Rick does eat sandwiches everyday at work. I suppose that it does qualify as HANDburgers. ( smile)

On our way to potluck, "Mom, the gas is the van's lunch!" Ahhhh, sure son.

On lullabies

The other day as Abrianna cuddled beside me for rest time ( Rest time is just that... a rest. My girl refuses to take naps though she is only 2 1/2!), I was singing Good Night Abrianna to the tune of Good Night Ladies. She chimed right in with an impish smile, inserting Momma in place of Abrianna. Such precious memories of my little red-head.

Abriannaisms

Bathtime wiggles

Happy 5 Month Birthday to You!

Yesterday morning I mentioned it was Abigayle's 5 month birthday. Lucas was excited, remembering an unopened gift from Grandma 'Tine in his room. He asked to wrap it for her. He snuck it out under his shirt. The wrapping paper wasn't quite sufficient to cover the box, but that's okay. We sang Happy Birthday and my older two gladly helped manage the wrapping paper.
She has changed so much in the past month. When I hold her close to me, she reaches out both little hands to grasp my face. Big brother and sister are a constant source on entertainment. Abrianna insists on holding her hand quite often. It's okay in the car. Not so great when she's trying to nurse and go to sleep and big sister pulls her hand away or puts her hand over Abigayle's face. I'm happy Abrianna loves her so much.
She is adept at rolling all over. Now she peddles her little legs under her and pushes forward. If she continues at her current speed she will soon be at least commando crawling. Amazing. I thought that third borns would be happy to just set back and watch the world go by. Not my kids.
We invested in a new piece of baby furniture per Rick's request. We now own a bumbo seat. Amazing once again. I wish I'd gotten one when Lucas was a baby. Abigayle can sit in it while were eating at the table or sit on the counter while I'm cooking and cleaning. She's very happy to be in it and watch the goings on. Very grateful for that. I can get a things done a little easier now.
We've officially begun the teething process with increased drooling, chewing and crankiness. I hope it goes quickly.
Need to get going with my morning. MOPS is having a potluck breakfast and my food still needs to be fixed.

Walking

A slightly brisk sunny morning walk. Ahh... Bliss... But was it? Not quite...
Abrianna ( like any good mommy) wanted to take all three of her babies on the walk in the stroller. Two were descent sized and one was about 2 1/2 inches tall- Strawberry Shortcake.
I suppose I was pushing it a bit on the walk. Abigayle was begging for her nap on the way back. She was happy as long as she was being carried.
We passed a couple with three young and friendly golden retrievers. I kept Jasper ( our German Shepherd) back while informing the couple that even though their dogs were friendly mine was not.
Arriving back at home, I was unloading the stroller when Abrianna burst into tear. "My Stawberry cupcake!" She wailed. I moved both girls out of the stroller and proceeded to search. No dice. Okay... Back into the stroller and back out of the walking trail. We walked the whole thing over searching unsuccessfully for the missing doll- passing once again those friendly golden retrievers.
Abrianna was upset over the missing baby. I figured she was just plain tired too. I gathered my children onto my bed with the idea of a nap or at least a rest. Abrianna sobbed for 10 minutes about that missing baby. What could I do? I'd looked.
So distraction seemed a good idea. They soaked up 45 minutes of reading. Abigayle had a short nap. Time to try to get some things done.
Abrianna climbed up to the table to work on her leftovers from breakfast. Happy giggling erupted. There she was. How she arrived there we can guess. Strawberry Shortcake was sitting next to her place at the table. Thank you LORD!

First Foods

Finally snapped a couple of shots of her with some of her first foods. She wasn't too impressed with avocados.

More Sisters

Happy Sisters

What were you thinking???

I believe that sometimes I attribute more maturity to my almost 4 1/2 year old then he really has.
Yesterday, I moved a bag of borrowed Christmas lights to my bedroom for safekeeping away from curious little people.
Awhile later, cleaning and de-cluttering in my room I looked up to an "uh oh!". What should meet my horrified gaze then my 4 year old, string of Christmas lights in hand, one bulb broken. Why was the bulb broken? He'd BITTEN it!!
He ran for the trash can making awful faces and spitting.
Thankfully that was the extent of his damage.
I still haven't tried out the string of lights to see if they'll still work or not. I'll do that tomorrow when we set up out Tabernacles tree.
I'm still flabbergasted to think he really did that. Why???

Twins?

Uncle Kyle's photo shoot.

4 Months Old

14.5 lbs
24 inches
Besides growth much has changed this past month. Abigayle experienced her first plane trip this month. All three of my children and me to Minnesota and back. People were incredibly helpful. Mostly women about my mom's age. They remembered what it was like to do things by themselves with a passel of lil ones. My kids did great. They were model children for the most part.
While back in the wonderful Midwest, Abigayle learned how to grasp things. Consequently everything now goes directly in her mouth.
She is very purposeful in turning over. She gets a look in her eye and struggles over. Boy, is she happy about that.
Pivoting on her tummy and even turning from her tummy to her back now too. She's a joy to have around. She still adores Lucas. Abrianna loves her to death. A two year old's loving can be a bit painful now and then.
Abigayle loves watching her brother and sister. She's entertained for short periods of time so I can work.
This evening while fixing supper she was entertained in her exersaucer. My baby is just that... A BABY now. Not a newborn anymore.

A Sabbath in Nature

Sabbath... Ahh a brief respite from this very busy week. Feels like I've running like a chicken with her head cut off.
Last weekend was spent white water rafting with family at Smith Ferry ID. So chores that normally are done on Sunday were pushed into Monday and so the week went.
This weekend was the church camp out. I didn't feel as if I could cram one more thing in before leaving for Minnesota with my children on Tuesday. So we opted to stay home and take it easy. I packed us a picnic lunch and we headed out to South Fork/ Harris Park.
It was a cool day for August. I don't believe the temperature ever reached 70 or that the sun made an appearance- hence the jackets.
After eating lentil pilaf with baked potato followed by apples for dessert my little ones were air soft pellet hunting. I think they both had about 5 pellets by the time they were done.
Harris Park has a nice playground set; swings, slides, and sand!
We walked for about 45 min. on the trail at South Fork, finally coming to a stop at the burnt cabin. There my older two entertained themselves throwing rocks in the river, stepping from rock to rock and turning croc shoes into boats.
Rick and I had a chance for some good deep conversation. That in and of itself can be a rarity. I'm happy to feel like were more on the same page. Sometimes for us that can get lost in the sheer busyness of life.
I feel much better grounded and able to attack the next thing... Looking at 6 places in Tri-cities tomorrow. Praying that what needs to happen will happen.

Old and New Friends

Abrianna, Shiloh, and Lucas in the Lions Park creek.

Shiloh Loves Babies!

The "friendly" geese. Actually one of them chased/charged Shiloh's daddy.
Wednesday I had the opportunity to meet up with an old college friend and her family at Lion's park. I haven't seen her for 9 years. Our kids had a blast playing on the slides and in the creek.
Abrianna was filthy. Both were really wet but had a blast.

Three Months old.

A week late, but here is what has happened with my beautiful baby princess this past month.Mobility: I set her in the dry baby bathtub as a seat while washing big brother and sister. She got her little legs under her and launched upward. Didn't know there was a balance point in a baby bathtub. I do now. Yes I caught her before she hit the tile.
The other incident was in the car seat at Andy's. I'd undone the strap because she wanted to be held. Put her back in a while later. Was merrily grinding peanut butter, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw her launch herself up and the car seat dump over backwards. Caught her just as she was tumbling into the cart. Whew! Way too close for comfort.
Abigayle has developed so much personality this past month. She's a very contented baby overall.
She LOVES Lucas. When he talks to her she get really animated, cooing and squealing and grinning. Lucas thinks she pretty special. He loves to pick her up. (I'm still learning that that is okay. He's probably not gonna drop her. I just make sure it's not over the tile floor.)
I can coax a giggle or two out of her. So precious!
Lucas was trying to show her how to roll over and lo and behold she did it. He had been rolling her and when he stopped doing it she did it herself.
This past week has been a bit rough on her. I'm on antibiotics due to a kidney infection. This bloats her tummy making her cranky and so burpy. Yucky! Poor lil girl. We only have another 9 days to go. I hope she adjusts and isn't miserable this whole time.
I'll try to add more later. Must get to bed. G' night.

Sisters

Chocolate and Strawberry. What a great combination!

The Value of Work.

The Finished Product.

The MoneyThe RewardLately Lucas has been asking me to buy him toys when we're shopping . I've been vetoing his requests thus far. But why not use the want of toys to teach him the value of HARD work??
I told him that he could EARN the money if he wanted a toy. 7:30 this morning he was out hard at work armed with a little broom and dust pan. I think he spent an hour to an hour and a half patiently cleaning all the crud out of the car port. The end results were better than I'd expected.
He was so proud of that dollar and being able to purchase the car on his own. Now, I need to work with him on the value of saving, giving, and spending.

A little war-paint?

What fun can be had with such simple ingredient: water and dirt. My oldest two kidlets were very brown by the end of their foray.

She's pretty proud of herself.

The bathtub is filthy! It took two baths to get them clean. But it was so worth it. What better way to spend a summer afternoon than to watch my children enjoying nature.

Trampoline fun.

My little orangutan in a cage. You should have seen what the static was doing to her hair.

2 Months Old.

Have two months passed already?? Her whole body wriggles in smiles. She intently watches your face while talking and cooing. She has found her hands and placates herself with a fist instead of always insisting on mommy time.

She's laid back, happily entertaining herself in her bouncy seat or just kicking around. (That in and of itself is a foreign concept. My other two would never do that.)

She's a cuddle bug, happily laying her head on my shoulder as I work.

Her fat baby cheeks are heavenly to nuzzle and kiss. What a living doll!