More Summer Fun!

Last Friday was a really FUN day. First, Silas and I took Chaille to her 2 month check-up. Baby Girl weighed 13 lb 6 oz and was 24 1/4 inches long. She is very healthy and in the 97th percentile for both height and weight. No problems this visit, although it did require immunizations...OUCH!

Then I took Silas to pick out his birthday cake. He picked camoflauge stuff for an Army themed birthday, so he picked out a cake with a tank on it. He was so excited but bummed that we couldn't take it home right away... Anyway... while I'm on the subject of Silas I want to share something he said yesterday! He asked in the morning if it was just one more day until his birthday. I told him that no, his birthday was 2 days away. He responded by saying "aww... man! So I'm still three and a half? I'm NEVER gonna turn 4!" So cute!

Anyway after that we came home and grabbed Avery, Nolan, and Sarah too. We went down to Ceraland where Grandma Darlene and Papaw Bobby were camping. We all went swimming and then Avery and Silas got to stay and camp with them! (Steve and I took the babies to Enochsburg for supper!) Here are some pictures from our swimming:

Nolan loves the water! What a great smile, huh?

The three best brothers in the world (in my opinion!)


Cheese... The water was a bit cold at first!

Why are you making me stare into the sun???

Shay sitting out with Grandma. She did sit on the edge and let her feet dangle in the water! It was just a bit too chilly!

I took this one yesterday at home. She's growing SO fast!

I didn't realize it, but I caught her blowing bubbles!

The rest of these pictures are from today. We met some friends at a park and had a picnic lunch and lots of playtime! Here Avery is playing with his two buddies from church (and Zion) Chloe and Emma.

King of the Playground!

On his way to the top!

Wait for me guys!

Climbing the big hill at the park!

Coming back up from a quick run down.

Avery really likes his pal Emma!

Mom, I don't want my picture taken! When he shrugs, he means NO!

One last picture on the way up this hill.

Pictures from our week

Chaille trying to talk to my friend Sandy. She's really starting to coo at us!

We went to the playland yesterday, amid all the rain showers. Shay thought it was a great day for catching up on her sleep :o)

The kiddos all cuddling on the couch. Silas was upset that he couldn't reach Chaille!

Cheese!

Avery, watching Silas learn to ride without training wheels. He's posed like such a grown man!

Getting ready to take off!

Watching baseball! Nolan says "I love baseball!" And "swing batter batter!"

He is SO proud of his big boy bed. He runs to it telling us "big bed!"

Milestones

What a fun week we are having! On Sunday, Silas started riding his bike without training wheels, and Avery greatly improved on his skills! Now they are riding EVERYWHERE that we will let them. It is so fun to watch. I'll add video after I get some taken!

And... on Sunday night, Nolan began sleeping in a big boy bed with a rail. He has done amazing! He stays in bed until I come and get him when he wakes up. I think this is something that is aided by the fact that we move our kids to bed at such young ages! They transition well and don't get up out of bed once we lay them down.

Well, it is naptime here, but I wanted to update on these milestones before I completely forget about noting them. Pictures/video to come...

In My Daughter's Eyes

In my daughter's eyes I am a hero
I am strong and wise and I know no fear
But the truth is plain to see
She was sent to rescue me
I see who I wanna be
In my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes everyone is equal
Darkness turns to light and the world is at peace
This miracle God gave to me gives me
strength when I am weak
I find reason to believe
In my daughter's eyes

And when she wraps her hand around my finger
Oh it puts a smile in my heart
Everything becomes a little clearer
I realize what life is all about
It's hangin' on when your heart has had enough
It's giving more when you feel like giving up
I've seen the light
It's in my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes I can see the future
A reflection of who I am and what will be
Though she'll grow and someday leave
Maybe raise a family
When I'm gone I hope you see
how happy she made me
For I'll be there...
In my daughter's eyes

These are the lyrics to a Martina McBride song, and until now I've never paid really close attention to them. You see, I never thought I cared if I got a baby girl or not. I was completely content with my three boys. But God has blessed me with a beautiful daughter and I have realized that it is different having a girl. It brings a different perspective when you are the mother of a little lady. I have a very special relationship with my mother, and now I will have the opportunity to someday have that same relationship with my daughter!

With the boys, I get to be a mother to them, but daddy gets to teach them how to be young men. It will be my job to teach Chaille to be a young lady. I can't tell you how blessed I feel that God has given me this opportunity (or responsibility.) I fully comprehend that she was not a surprise to Him like she was to us. And I cannot imagine what life would have ever been like without her! I feel a sense that our family is complete in a way that I never felt before.

I'm so excited to experience the growth in our children's lives. They all make me happy and give me purpose in life. They help me see the world through innocent eyes again. They make me realize just how much God loves me! They are blessings for sure, and I'm so thankful to be given the opportunity to be a part of their lives!!!

This and That

This has been a really great week! We have had some beautiful weather, along with a little rain (which watered my flowers nicely), and have had some productive time at home. Our new deck is completed and I've added a picture to show you Steve's handiwork! He made very light work of this big job:


I wanted to share this picture that Steve sent me this morning. He took it of Chaille and me asleep in our bed. When Steve gets up to leave for work in the morning, I feed her and then put her in bed next to me. What he found so sweet is that he said we were sleeping in the same position and looked like sisters! Aww...



Speaking of the baby girl... Her 2 month birthday came and went and I failed to update on her. She is doing great and really starting to get personality! She loves when you make faces at her, and she loves to smile back. It is really cute because often before she smiles, she sort of frowns. It is as if she has to think about how to make a smile! She is sleeping AWESOME! Some nights she gets up once and other nights she pretty much sleeps all night. She is still spitting up some, but doesn't seem too uncomfortable at all. She fusses when she is sleepy, but if you put her in her bed, she goes right to sleep on her own! Yay for such a great baby! Here are some pictures of her smile:

Oh, and one of her sleeping... I just love her complexion and her little features. So sweet!

Avery and Silas have had a great time at Vacation Bible School this week. It has been fun walking them there and home each evening. They tell fun stories about their evening, and I love listening to it in their own words! They are in different groups so each one has his own stuff to share. On Tuesday evening, I walked in just as they were finishing up. They were making an example of how God protects us. Avery was the demonstrator! He was wearing rain gear and holding an umbrella and those were representing God's protection over us. Then the teacher poured water over his head. The water represented all of the bad things in the world. The funny thing is that the little pool under him was meant to catch the water. But, clearly the umbrella reached over the pool, so all of the water poured over the carpet in the sanctuary!! Still, I was so glad to get to see Avery up front as a volunteer!

Well, once again it is naptime as I type and I must get going to get some stuff done before the children wake! Thanks for checking in on us once again!

No News

No news is good news, right? Well, I honestly have very little news to share right now. This week Avery and Silas are attending Vacation Bible School in the evenings and that's about it for us. Oh, and Steve is in the middle of building a back patio off of the kitchen! We often talk about how nice it will be when we can use that door again, and Steve is making it happen. I'm hoping about 2 evenings of work and it will be completed. Last night he went and bought the materials!

We did venture out to Southeastway Park yesterday. The boys had fun and spent the majority of the time playing with sticks and trying to catch butterflies. The playground equipment got very little of their attention. That's ok by me! I love it that they are entertained by and enjoy nature!!!

Today has been one of those days where we enjoy just being at home and catching up with what needs done here. And, right now all of the children are laying down, so I need to fold the laundry before I get behind there too.

Have a great week!!!

Quiet Time!!!

Here it is 6 p.m. and the babies are napping again tonight. I must say, though, that last night they never fell asleep! They stayed in their beds long enough for me to get supper on the table though! And chaos turned into a very nice evening. A great family supper, and some bonding time for everyone. (And evening naps are not our routine AT ALL!)

Tonight Avery and Silas are camping with Grandma Debbie and Papaw Randy. We had a busy day today, and the babies didn't get much napping done throughout it all, so I layed them down and have enjoyed some time to get some housework done and now some time on the computer.

It amazes me how life is just like this for us now. We go from crazy, chaotic times full of NOISE from every direction to quiet, peaceful, refreshing moments like this one I am enjoying. The only sounds I hear are the storm that is passing over and the keys as I type. REJUVINATION at its best! I'm sure that God blesses me with these moments to allow me the strength I need to make it through the madness. He continually provides in ways that blow me away. Ways that only I can notice.

Last night I took a walk with just Nolan and Shay in the stroller. It was mostly quiet, with Nolan occasionally interrupting the silence by pointing out things he saw. I could just feel a peace and the presence of comfort. We had a white butterfly follow us for such a long time. Nature is so tranquil. And the fact that Nolan notices so much of it, is amazing! He points out animals, rocks, puddles, bugs, birds, sounds... And reminds his mommy to take it all in.

So, while my post yesterday was very CRAZY and represents those moments that are hectic around here, I just wanted to share how there are many moments that are just so peaceful. And I find that both times are WONDERFUL! I cherish them both and realize how fleeting childhood really is!

I do want to add some pictures from our week! We had a lot of fun, and officially went to the park 4 out of 5 days (the other day we went swimming!) So, we've stayed busy, and all of the fun has been FREE which makes it even better :o)

Silas and Avery enjoy swinging at the school park.

So does Nolan, although I think he fell off because he kept trying to point at a trash truck!

Sweet Baby Girl sleeping this morning!


Best Girl Friends!!!

Shay and Grandma swinging at the park in Greensburg. What a fun day!

Silas feeding the birds. He let one goose eat right out of his hands. That is totally out of character for Si! It was really fun to watch!

Nolan watching the squirrels. There were 4 of them! So fun!

Avery LOVED feeding the ducks. He made his bread last a LONG time! I loved to hear him laugh as he fed them!

A stand-off with the squirrels!

A baby praying mantiss. I love the way his shadow looks on the red bench!

The First Chapter...

I'm seriously going to write a book about the things that happen in our household. Life with 4 children under 6 years old is just a riot sometimes. Tonight as I was working through a totally hilarious (and potentially overwhelming) situation, I decided "ok, this is it, the first chapter!"

Here's a picture of what it looked like... Steve calls and says he is on his way home, (hold on a sec, baby's crying. Gotta put the pacifier back in her mouth...)

Ok, I'm back... As I was saying... Steve called and was on his way home at 6 p.m. Another late evening for us. Which means things are sure to fall apart before he gets here. You see, if he were home by now he would find things in some semblance of order. Now, forget it! So, we just got home from the park where Silas scraped his arm and Nolan got soaking wet playing in a puddle. So all are thirsty, Silas is screaming that "it is getting worst" (his words not mine!) And Chaille decides that the stroller is no longer moving, so she begins crying. So... 3 bandaids later (2 for Silas' arm and 1 for Nolan to get him to stop going "uh uh uh" at me), and 3 drinks, and I'm down to just the baby crying.

I get the baby out of the stroller (which I have wheeled into the house...don't tell Steve!), and proceed to change her diaper and get her to let out a monstrous burp and a little spit up. As I'm changing her diaper the boys begin bickering (oh the noise...) and then Nolan lets himself out the front door. Holy Cow, right? There is so much going on. So, I take the baby under one arm, tell the boys to "get along" and go out to grab Nolan just as he makes it onto the front steps. I swoop him up and get an immediate scream of disapproval. Now he and Chaille are both crying and Avery and Silas are still fighting. As soon as I get into the door, I try to set Nolan down, but in his fit of rage, he throws himself down and hits his head... just at the same time as....

Mt. Saint Chaille erupts! She VOMITED all over him! Warm milky baby spit-up all over the other baby (still in his wet shorts from the park, thank goodness!) So... I wipe it up, lay Chaille in her bassinette, change Nolan, and put him in his bed. Because at this point the only way I'm going to get dinner ready is to have them napping.

And I forgot to mention that after the eruption, I erupted myself briefly at the two little boys who were still fighting over a wire whisk that they weren't supposed to have. (Nolan had done a little "magic" in the kitchen earlier today!)

So, now I have two babies laying down, doubt Nolan is sleeping, and Shay is crying again. Two boys "trying" to play nicely so as to not upset "the beast" that erupted earlier. And I must attempt to make dinner for a husband who never ate lunch today.

Wish me luck! I'm off to stick the pacifier back in and then start back to my duties...

Faces

Summer Fun

Summer can be so fun! We've had a couple of really fun days recently. Last Friday, we attended a birthday party for Ryan and Emma Dagley. The boys got to ride a horse as part of the party. Then, on Monday we went swimming for the first time this summer. Unfortunately my hands were so full that day that I didn't get any pictures. Last night we went to the County Fair. The kids had a blast and were very well behaved! Here are some pictures of our summer fun:

Emma Dagley, Jacob McCorkhill, Silas, and Avery waiting in line to ride the horse at Emma and Ryan's Birthday party.
Avery LOVED the horse!

Silas was not quite as confident, but enjoyed his ride anyway!

This was the fit Si threw when it was time to leave. He was being rotten, but I find it adorable. I love capturing pictures of my children just being children! :o)

The Dragon Coaster! For some reason the boys always want to ride this first.

Nolan's first fair ride. He started off ok, but then decided he didn't like it. He's not quite as adventurous as the other two (at least so far.)

Brothers boating...

Chaille was very good at the fair. She slept just a little at first, then just took it all in. By the time we got home, she was exhausted and ready to lay in her bed! Even today, she is still very tired.