I Never Knew It Was You

On this, the eve of Princess A's 6 month check-up. I was upstairs giving her a good washin'. Letting her splash in the water and chew her washcloth. Scrubbing behind ears, in between toes, neck rolls, arm rolls, and leg rolls. Lifting up her double chin (she always giggles at that), and dabbing her cheeks and brow.

I am someone who pays very close attention to detail, and loves the beauty of ordinary sorts of things. But Princess A is anything but ordinary! In fact, she is an extraordinary miracle! A divine work of art! I look at her, into her eyes, and see the depth of her soul, her personality, her unique individuality. And I am humbled at the knowledge that she was created inside me. Beginning so microscopically that my eyes could not have seen her! And yet, she is here...a full and complete, and living human being.

I knew very little about Princess A before she was born. I could figure she was big, knew she was posterior, thought she was a boy, and loved her before I ever laid eyes on her. But by and large she was a mystery. And all of these little details that I love so much were hidden from me.

From me.

"My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place."

Psalm 139:15

And to think, I never knew it was you!

Change Of Plans

Grandma and Grandpa M took Biggest Brother, Younger Brother, Big Sis, and Little Sis to the park this evening for a picnic. The thought being that I could surely get something grandiose accomplished at home with a solo Princess A.

But Princess A...

...was having a very tough evening!!!

As near as I could tell, it was a direct result of the now seven teeth she is sporting. Actually, number seven was just about to erupt and she was NOT happy about it!

I tried teething swabs, Tylenol, an ice cube in a wash cloth, a video, the exersaucer, all of the distractions I could think of.

It was not working.

Sooo, we ended up here.

Notice, this is not the bedroom where Mommy was supposed to be packing up too small kid clothes.

I won't lie, I was pretty discouraged about the change of plans.

Until...

I'm pretty sure I'm not going to care about those clothes 20 years from now.

Made With Love

Question: What's the best kind of dinner?
Answer: The kind that somebody else makes for you.
Question: What's the very best kind of dinner??

Answer: The kind your 5 and 9 year old sons make for you while you're putting your daughters in bed, and leave downstairs to surprise you because they know you're having a slightly stressful evening!

(They were apparently listening in on the conversation I had with Grandma M just prior to bedtime, venting my frustration about the logistical issues of getting everything done that needs to be done, and not sacrificing quality time with anyone etc. I would not trade having a large family for the world!!! But lets face it, there's a lot that needs tending to! J and I both multi-task beyond recognition.)

They even added artwork!

...and a note!

You can tell by the spelling, they were in a hurry to get it done before I came downstairs. :)

Also, J took the kids to get Icees at Target today, and Biggest Brother chose to get a pack of gum instead of an Icee.

Those are two pieces of his gum taped to the note.

I was impressed with what a well balanced meal they concocted.

That's spinach and romaine, with schredded cheese, cranberries, croutons, and Italian dressing...toast with peanutbutter, a banana, and a maple brown sugar granola bar for dessert. And water from the Brita pitcher.

Thank you boys...You guys rock!

And dinner was delicious!

I'll just pretend that I know you washed your hands...right?
;)

NightGown Girl and her sidekick PoseALot

Little Sis has soo been wanting a nightgown like the ones her Big Sis has. But unfortunately, that's been easier said than done given Little Sis's itty bitty size.
We turned to the expert on all things shopping, Grandma K!
Who came through with this here princess gown...that Little Sis loves!!!

In fact, she loves it so much that she has refused to take it off (unless made to when we have to leave the house) for...drum roll please.........two weeks!

Yes, indeed. Today marks day 14 that NightGown Girl has been in full effect!

I took her picture to commemorate the milestone.

But just as an approaching combine summons Superman, it isn't long after a camera appears that NightGown Girl's sidekick, PoseALot appears on the scene!

PoseALot has many appearances.
Today, it also happened to be a nightgown.

Best of Intentions Bouquet

I got flowers today!

Actually, I re-got my own flowers today.

But I didn't have the heart to be ungrateful for that!

They will grow back after all.

Just as surely as my babies are growing too.

Guessing Game

Why is Princess A so proud?

A. She has a whole mouth full of new teeth.


B. She learned how to sign her favorite word, "Milk!"

C. She is not quite sitting, but can officially do, "the tripod."

D. She can play a super fun game...all by herself.

(Where are you Princess A??)

(PEEK!)

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E. All of the above

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And the answer is,

*

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E. All of the above!!!
***

What a big girl, Princess A!

:)

B is for Big Sis, Balance Beam, and Bars

Big Sis had her first gymnastics class today!

Due to a scheduling conflict with the boys' soccer practices, she was not able to be in the same class as her two friends for the summer ballet session. I'm assuming she'll start back up in the fall when they can all be together. But for the time being, she's taking advantage of the hiatus to

try some thing new!

Beginning with a new leotard!

Actually, it's a hand-me-down from my friend's little girls (thanks H and A!)
But it's new to her,
and she was very excited to wear it!

I didn't want to bust out my camera on the very first day. So I didn't get any pictures of her actual class.
But she had a blast!!!
She hopped right up and tried everything; the trampoline, tumbling, foam pit, balance beam, and even the vault and uneven bars.
To tell you the truth, she's a pretty "low key" kind of kid...I didn't know she could hoist herself up there like that!
She's looking forward to her next class for sure.
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Great job Big Sis!
You always get a 10 from me!

Loved To Pieces

"Mommy, Mommy! Look what I found!!!"

What is it, do you say?

Younger Brother's Beloved Blankie!
Well, what remains of Younger Brother's Beloved Blankie.
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It has been missing for a while, and he found it behind the drawer beneath his bed this morning.
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"Don't forget to take a picture of it, Mom!"

"Ah yes, Buggy."
*
Who could guess that this unassuming little wad of balled up thread means so much?!
At one point in time, I had hoped to save it in his keepsake box.
But I think I'm going to have to settle for an idealized portrait of Blankie instead.

Well, what can ya do?!

So I thought I was doing pretty good. Daddy went and did his BMX thing before church this morning, with it being Father's Day and all. And I had 4 out of the 5 kids dressed for church a solid 45 minutes before it was time to leave. But as it usually happens, there were quite a few last minute details that had us cramming to get out the door on time. Still not a bad "getting ready" morning, as mornings go. Actually, I thought we had it pretty together.

... until we arrived in the church parking lot and the kids began filing out of the truck.

Somewhere on the six minute drive, Big Sis (who sits in the third row) had found a pack of stickers and adhered at least 25 of them down the fronts of her legs between the hem of her dress and her silver mary janes. And the bottom of Younger Brother's pants revealed that he was wearing black and red Spider Man sport socks with his brown dress shoes.

Which led me to ask the question about the one child still remaining in the vehicle... "Um, did anyone change [Little Sis's] shoes?"

She had been trotting around the house in her beloved hot pink cowboy boot slippers this morning, and I figured I'd tackle that one when it was time to leave.

Daddy put everyone in the truck while I was brushing my teeth, and according to him, "They looked like Ugz."

So she passed inspection. And we went to church today with one kid accessorized with stickers, one who clearly dressed himself, and one in a nice dress, a pink hair bow, and pajama slippers. Ah well, what can you do? At least she matched!

Happy Father's Day!

This photo was taken a few weeks after we brought Princess A home from the hospital. All 5 kids had some sort of flu for a full 10 days! Between the revolving door of kids waking up in the night and a nursing newborn, it felt like we were never going to get sleep ever again! Daddy took the brunt of it, sleeping in the extra bedroom that separates our room from the kids' rooms, and getting up with them at night so that I could focus on taking care of Princess A. This is still one of my favorite pictures.

Thanks for everything you do, Honey!

We love you!!!

Happy Father's Day!

***

And speaking of fantastic dads, I felt a reprise of this post was well warranted too!

Click Here.

Oh, and J's dad is home now and doing much better!

Murphy's Kid Law

Warning: Viewer Discretion Advised

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Well, I have said it before. And I continue to stand by my assertion that "Murphy's Kid Law" truly does exist! In fact, it struck us not once, but twice this morning.

I was getting ready for work. Daddy had to work early today, so I was preparing to take all of the children with me to the farm. After a long process of baby feeding, hair combing, water bottle filling, sippy cup pouring and the like, we were finally ready to leave - well, just about.

After securing everyone in the appropriate car seats, I made no less than four trips back into the house to get one thing or another.

Okay. Finally, we were ready to leave!

As I prepared to back out of the garage, I thought to myself, "What's that smell?"

Actually, I knew exactly what that smell was...

Princess A had had a royal diaper explosion!

Murphy's Kid Law Fact #482: Exiting the house or property in any fashion, in preparation to travel to some other destination, will act as an instant stimulant to the bowels and bladders of small children.

The mess was all up her back, down the backs of both arms, in her car seat, and....

...all over the inside and outside of the adorable pink sun suit she was wearing...for the first time!
Murphy's Kid Law Fact #683: Old, inexpensive, or otherwise designated "play" clothing will remain intact and unstained through multiple uses by multiple children. Nice, brand new, and/or "special" clothing will unequivocally be thrown-up on, pooped on, or christened by bright red Koolaid before it makes it to the laundry a second time.
In fact, I actually said to her as I dressed her in her new outfit this morning, "So, I suppose this means you will be blowing out your diaper today, huh."
Yes, Grandma M, I know, words words.


But she must have felt a whole lot better.
She was cleaned up, redressed, and out cold before we left the driveway.

And Mommy did make it to work.

This is what they do while I'm feeding horses and cleaning stalls.

Today, it was bagels and orange juice, and the Veggie Tales movie, "The Wizard of Haas."

Princess A was up just in time to see the feature presentation.

(No, her car seat does not face this direction for those who were wondering.)

It's okay Princess A, with toes as sweet as that, who could even notice the new pink sunsuit you aren't wearing.

And you proved my theory right yet once again!

:)

ComPOSED in the Midst of Chaos

Big Sis is ready for her close-up anytime anywhere!

"Baffleship"

This morning, Younger Brother and Big Sis were playing such a "nice" game of Battleship together.

Except that Younger Brother was totally cheating!

Look at poor Big Sis...she's so oblivious.

Or is she?

Perhaps her smile was because she knew that she was totally cheating!

The game ended in a relative stalement, but neither party seemed to mind.

Come to think of it,

I don't think either one of them has any clue how to play Battleship.

:)