Sisters

Maya is so happy to finally have a sister. Before we knew Amelia was going to be a girl, she would look at my pregnant stomach and whisper that she could not handle another brother. The day I had my ultrasound and found out we were expecting another daughter, I made a special trip to Maya's school and brought her a bouquet of pink suckers and a note saying "you're going to have a baby sister!" The office delivered the note, I'm only sad that I didn't get to see her face when she found out. Ever since that day, Maya and Amelia have had a special bond. It makes me think of my baby sister Jill (who is a grown woman with children of her own now!) I can remember being about 6 or 7 years old and crying to my mom about how much I wanted a baby sister, and how happy I was when my gorgeous little sister was born.  I can only hope these two have the same wonderful relationship as I do with my sweet baby sister!

Just because....

Just because I had my camera handy and the light was just right, and well, she's a doll!!

It's Hard Being Three

Henry is a dear, sweet boy- but when I say he's been a challenge the past few weeks, I really mean he's been a rotten turd that only a mother could love.  But that is exactly what mothers do.... fiercely love their little boys, even when they are rotten turds, inventing swear words, insisting on wearing "skinny jeans and dude shoes" calling their mothers "fart butt",  limiting their diet to cheese crackers and hash browns (exclusively), telling fibs, talking smack to 11 year olds at the park... I could go on. So yesterday when Henry was running crazy in his underpants and trying to ruin my cute photos of Harrison and the baby... I did what any sensible mother would do....

Had a tickle fight and then a photo shoot with just Henry- underpants and all...

And rotten turd or not... I love this little boy like nobody's business.

... and they're off

The training wheels, that is.

Sometimes a little boy decides he's ready to be a big boy, even when his mom tells him there's no hurry. Sometimes that little boy grows up so fast his mom wants to crawl in his bed at night, wrap her arms around him and whisper in his ear to slow down with the growing already.

 Last night was one of those nights... my baby decided he doesn't need training wheels... he would rather hop curbs and go off ramps.

It's OK to grow up little one... but please don't grow any more today, OK?

Rock a bye...

Harrison and Amelia have always had a special bond. I think it began when I was pregnant with her, and was cemented when Harrison, having laid his eyes on her for the first time exclaimed "I just didn't know she would be this beautiful!" He's loved her dearly ever since. I thought maybe the love would wear off a bit when she'd been around for a while, but I'm happy to say that he still loves and hugs her every chance he can get. Yesterday after I finished nursing her, I was getting ready to lay her down for a nap, but Harrison begged to rock her for a minute. How could I say no to that?

Moments like this melt a mothers heart....

...and she loves him back.

Sunday Afternoon

So today I really worked hard to make sure everyone was ready for church in time, Tadd goes early to meetings, so I'm on my own with 4 small children. Everyone must be brushed, washed, combed, tied, buttoned, braided, changed.... etc. So when we had a minute to spare before heading out the door to church (on time!!), I felt triumphant. My triumph took a turn when I realized the car battery was dead. No Sacrament meeting for us. We ate orange rolls and took a few photos while we waited for the battery to charge, then made it in time for 2nd and 3rd hour.

Oh well, you can't win them all... at least we all look good, and the orange rolls were splendid, right?

5 months!!!

Oh dear blog readers, will you forgive me? I almost forgot I had a blog! Something about having 4 kids is really time consuming- every time I sit down to blog I feel like my attention is needed somewhere else, but now Henry is back in preschool and I have at least 3 quiet mornings a week, life is a little bit easier.

 Guess what happened today! My baby turned 5 months old, and decided she was ready for solid food. All my other children have been 6 months old when I started them on solids, but for some reason Amelia is ready now. So I mixed a tablespoon of brown rice cereal with a few tablespoons of water and sat down to see if she would take it. Now remember, this sweet baby has never even drank from a bottle, so I wasn't sure how it would all go down, but she loves it!! And what's even better, the kids think it's SO MUCH fun to feed her spoonfuls of the stuff, I'm pretty sure I'll never actually get a chance to do it.

Everyone crowded around for the big moment. We had the camcorder rolling- there was excitement in the air!

We were not disappointed, Amelia hammed it up, leaning forward to the spoon,  licking her face, it was precious.

Trying to process what she's actually supposed to do with this cereal stuff.

Concentrating so hard on eating this cereal! (Wait until she tastes sweet potatoes!)

Henry's going to make sure she gets every last bit.