A little vitamin C

What better way to cheer up from all this rain than with a little orange sunshine?  This is one of the latest skirts I made for Genna.  Orange is not normally a color she picks for herself, but it turns out she loves it! I used extra fabric to make her a matching headband, as well as some matching bracelets from pretty beads we had on hand.  She looks rather pretty, dontcha think??  :)

Finally, a new project picture

This is an apron I made for Jeremy as a birthday gift.  Jeremy is a great cook, and I wanted to do something from the heart for him on his special day, so an apron seemed like just the right thing.  Elijah picked out the fabric, which is a nice heavy, home-decor weight.  It feels almost like canvas, which I think is perfect when making an apron for a man.  I'm pleased with how it turned out, and most importantly, so was Jeremy!  It's already covered with flour, which I consider awesome because that means he's actually using it.  :)  The large blue pocket is divided into 3 different sized pockets.  Genna thought that would be great for when he's working on the grill, that way he'll have a place to keep a meat thermometer or some tongs handy.  It was a little tricky to do "secret sewing", but it was also a lot of fun making something for my love's 30th birthday.  Happy cooking Jeremy!

Someday.....

I'll find a super secret spot to put my camera connection cord.  One where I will remember it's location, but the kids will never know.  For now, I will finish getting things ready for the old man's birthday tomorrow. (Jeremy is turning 30!!!!!!!) 

Brilliant!

I came across this on a blog, and thought the idea was just too genius not to share.  My kids all love puzzles, and I love for them to have puzzles, but it seems the pieces eventually get lost. (or, someone accidentally knocks it off the shelf and all the pieces go flying, most likely to have one or two land behind a bookcase or slide under the stove)  Here is the solution to that problem:

Puzzle Pockets

Simple, inexpensive, fantastic. Wish I had thought of it myself.

Send in the negotiator

It's no secret to any parent that sometimes kids are more influenced by other kids rather than the adults in their life.  Such was the case for me last night.  Isaac was being a pill about eating his dinner.  It was nothing new or a food he hates (In fact it was one of his favorites: chicken noodle soup), he was just being stubborn because he wanted to play Wii.  I told him he needed to eat 6 bites and then he may be excused.  Naturally, he tried to "cute" his way out of it. (big smile, tilting his head, so sweetly telling me he didn't want to)  Bella then piped up "How about you eat five bites, and then one more?"  Of course Isaac happily replied "OK!"  Just like that, the problem was solved and peace was restored.  Wish I could have thought of that, but I'm glad I've got a few professional negotiators to have my back from time to time. Thanks Bell.

he knows the way to a girl's heart

I was working at the table and Isaac was sitting across from me.  He then let out a long sigh and seemed to be staring dreamily at nothing in particular.  I asked him what he was looking at and he said "Just you. I'm your very best friend." How do you even respond to such a wonderful statement without your heart exploding?  I just love that boy, he's my very best friend.

ultrasound

Today I finally went in for my big ultrasound. (we already knew the gender from my trip to the ER, but I needed to get the size/full anatomy screening)  The girls both really wanted to come along and see the baby.  Bella has been to a couple ultrasounds before, but Genna has been to many more and is used to images.  When the tech first put the wand on my tummy, Bella's eyes got huge and she stammered "uh... um... it... uh... looks... like... a... uh... skeleton"  She was terrified that baby Noah had no skin, poor girl!  The tech was wonderful though and quickly grabbed a different wand which gave the images a softer, less "Halloweenish" appearance.  I don't get the Dr.'s official report on the scan until he gets back from his vacation, but to me all looked good!  We got to see some great shots of his face; he kept putting his hands over his face and the girls got a kick out of him "playing peek-a-boo" with us.  For some reason Elijah was worried that Noah wasn't going to have feet (he feels very strongly that Noah is going to change the world when he grows up, and that he'll need feet to do that!), so the girls were happy to report with confidence that Noah does have two perfect feet.  Only about 13 weeks to go before we can see him face to face!

summer school

We're not talking about regular, boring summer school...... this is homeschool in the summer sun!

Happy Birthday!!!

Each of the kids picked out a special present for Micaiah's birthday

Trying to hold his new Ball from Nahshon and check out the big present

Digging into his gift from Elijah.....

A new baby swing!!

It's not even hung up yet and he's already excited!

Isaac showing Cai the 10 pack of hot wheels he just *KNEW* Cai wanted more than anything else  ;) (Isaac started playing with little cars before he was even a year old, so he thought it was time to get his little bro started)

Showing Cai how to play

Checking out the very special card Genna made (which she later almost started a big fire with when she put it on top of a burning candle in the living room)

A new little baby pool from Genna!

Bella showing him the card she made

and helping him unwrap his new bubble machine!

Not exactly sure what this face is about

a new blanket from mommy! (I made matching PJ pants too)

the gift he tried to get his hands on many times when they were being made.....

new soft balls! They jingle, they rattle, they don't hurt when you brother chucks one at your face!

relaxing in his new swing with his new blanket

(he's actually fallen asleep in here a couple times!)

the cake!

wow!

yummy!

Happy Birthday Micaiah!

time and energy

Running seriously short on both.  Have any to spare?

a feast fit for a pregnant mama and a chubby baby

I do have pictures to post and everything from yesterday's little celebration, but I haven't plugged in my camera yet so I thought I'd start with telling you all how I was lovingly pampered by my hubby.  Since it was a double celebration involving a pregnant mom and a baby that LOOOOVES to eat, Jeremy planned quite the spread for us.  We started our day with Swedish pancakes served up with warm mixed berries, fresh strawberries, and fresh whipped cream.  Yum!  For lunch my parents and Jeremy's mom came by and we enjoyed a picnic lunch in the sunshine consisting of roast chicken, cowboy caviar and chips, watermelon, sweet corn on the cob, baked beans, and lemonade with raspberries.  Jeremy also made his very first cake, and it was 5 layers tall!  He pureed fresh fruit and mixed it into a white cake mix.  Each layer was a different flavor (strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry), in between the layers he put a fresh raspberry puree, and frosted it with fresh whipped cream.  He topped it off with more fresh fruit.  It was so moist, so refreshing, and SO delicious!  Nice job J!  Dinner was the ultimate treat though.  I have mentioned to Jeremy a couple times that I wanted to learn how to make my own pasta.  (being a vegetarian and a lover of Italian food, good pasta is very important to me)  So, Jeremy and the kids gave me this as a mother's day gift:

I know some may think it's taboo to give a mother a kitchen accessory for a mother's day gift, but I happen to think it's great!  With my new pasta machine, Jeremy made my all time favorite dishes: ravioli stuffed with pears and Gorgonzola cheese, topped with a hazelnut cream sauce. OH. MY. GOODNESS. YUM.  With it he served up a recreation of the California Citrus Salad from Claim Jumpers, which is one of my absolute favorite salads. (mixed greens, cranberries, apples, avocado, mandarin oranges, golden raisins, blue cheese, candied walnuts with citrus vinaigrette)  It was a bit too gourmet for the kids, but I sure felt pretty special he went to all that trouble. It was FANTASTIC!  To top the night off, I got to take a nice bath with a bunch of new bath goodies my mom gave me, while Jeremy kept the kids busy so I could relax without interruptions. Lovely.  I have an awesome family.  Hope everyone else's mother's day was as wonderful as mine.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Happy Birthday baby!

Then

Now

I can hardly believe it's already been a year since that crazy day Micaiah decided to make his very grand entrance into this world, and what an entrance it was!  Happy Birthday baby boy, we love you!

He is his father's son

Jeremy is pretty much the poster child for adult ADD. (those of you that know Jeremy are probably smirking and nodding along at that thought)  Anyhow, Isaac's behavior the other night was so reminiscent of Jeremy I could hardly believe it.  Isaac was attempting to say something along the lines of "don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me" (thank you, Alvin and the Chipmunks), but of course in his 3 year old language it was something like "H-O-T-O girls go hot like me", or something similarly weird.  He said it slow and serious, he said it high pitched, he said it in a rap, he sang it like a lullaby....... he said it over and over and over and over until he finally exclaimed "WHY CAN'T I STOP SAYING THIS?!?!?!?!"   Sorry kiddo, I think it's just in your blood; better get used to it.

Micaiah eats....... everything

 One of the rare times he actually stayed clean through the meal

(and yes, he ate everything on his tray; this was actually a second serving)

A bit more typical of meal time with Micaiah

He REFUSES to let us help feed him......

and this is usually the result of his own handy work

Is this the international baby sign of being done? They wear their dishes?

Bath time!!!

Micaiah eats ice cream

Very excited to be eating like the big kids

This stuff is great!!!

All gone.........so sad

Yeah, it's chocolate ice cream. Yes, it's true, I'm one of those parents that doesn't follow the "chocolate rules" and I don't wait for Dr. approval to give my kid chocolate. You can go ahead and tell on me, but I won't share any chocolate ice cream with you ;)

sew busy

I've been doing lots of sewing lately (more on the reasons why later), so I thought I'd throw on a picture of one of the projects.  This is a skirt I put together for Bella last night. Bella picked out the fabric herself at JoAnn's.  I wasn't crazy about it when she picked (mainly the yellow with red polka dots), but this falls 110% into the category of not needing my opinion so I happily bought it and turned it into a twirly skirt for her. 

I have to say though,  I think it's looks super cute on her!  Yellow is her absolute favorite color, and I love how proud she is that she paired up these fabrics herself.  She looked positively beautiful twirling around in the yard in it this afternoon.

Easter Kids

I realize I'm a bit late with these, but I just re-found my camera cord, which means another picture overload coming your way soon. (yippee?)  To ease you in slowly, I decided to just post one pic of each kid from Easter.  Can you even believe how big they are getting?????