lately: as in, the past nine months....

Let's start where we left off...

November: I reached the half-way pregnancy point, Elle turned four, I traveled to Pasadena for a wedding, and Lane and I went to Pheonix for a business training.

December:

(the one above was our Christmas card. 

j/k.)

Then there was the December/January snow-pocalipse, which gave us a fabulous month-long Christmas break! It also made it almost impossible for Lane and I to get to San Antonio for our company's event, but we bought chains and made it to the airport!

...and then there was the spring. Which is all kind of a whirlwind. 

We remodeled and sold our house (in a day), bought our friend's house, sweet Natalie Joy was born, we moved, and then kindergarten finished up for James and preschool for Elle...

(James' school program. He had one line, nailed it, and picked his nose through the rest of it.) 

(James is reading! It is so fun!)

(photo credit to James)

It's been a little nuts.

Currently I am trying to get into the swing of summer, four kiddos, and the home business.

(Only documenting the following so that I can look back and remember this time and be thankful when it is over!) : I have been dealing with super severe nerve pain in my left leg for the past couple weeks. It has made standing, walking, carrying anything, and sleeping all very difficult. Lots of tears. So far I have gone to an acupuncturist, masseuse, chiropractor, physical therapist, and urgent care doctor. Nothing has made it better yet, but we continue to pray and hope that it will improve and summer can continue as normal.)

VBS starts tomorrow, and hopefully I will post all the summer pictures soon.

Or, ya know, in nine months...

loving lately :: kid stuff

There are many products, foods, and toys I have come to appreciate over the years of having kids, and I go through different phases with what I like and what the kids are into. Here are some of my current favorites:

Duplos These huge legos are perfect for building all kinds of structures, and even little ones like Judah can use them. The kids have been so into them lately that I keep a big basket of them on our fireplace and it is usually the first toy that gets pulled out in the morning. We all sit around the pile of Duplos and build together- so much fun! I am asking for more for Christmas.

Think Baby shampoo I just discovered this product a few weeks ago, and I absolutely love it! It is free of parabens and other harmful chemicals while still being tear-free. Also, it makes my kids' hair smell like some sort of delicious tropical fruit smoothie.

Kirkland Signature's organic applesauce packets Oh my heavens, do my children love applesauce! It was one of Judah's first words ("appy-sauce!) and it is by far his most requested food. He even had an applesauce cake for his birthday this year. These packets are perfect for on the go- I can just grab them and throw them into my bag without worrying about them spilling or the kids needing a spoon. Also, the kids can have them while they are out playing somewhere because I don't feel like they must wash hands before eating one of these.

Seventh Generation diapers Okay, seriously, how cute are these?! They are just adorable on Judah's little bum (and he runs around the house in a shirt and diaper quite a bit) and they are also free of chlorine bleaching and fragrances, which gives me less guilt about not using cloth diapers so much anymore, ha.

Jelly beans Although I am not super into sugar and candy for my kiddos (our style of dessert is going out to fro-yo or making cookies together every so often), I have realized the power that jelly beans (I think these ones are Trader Joe's brand) can hold. On special occasions when we are out and about and I know they will need a little extra coaxing towards the end (i.e. trying to finish up the last exhibits and leave the Zoo) I carry a little bag of these magic beans in my pocket and reward the kids for good behavior when everyone is getting tired and cranky ("Everyone gets a bean when we reach the gate to leave the Zoo!" "Everyone gets two beans when we are in the car and buckled up!").

These are few of my favorite kid things lately- what are yours?

Also, this post is not sponsored by any company, but I would be happy to take a check if they want to sponsor me!

PS up next- favorite pregnancy stuff lately
And- five years ago

baby four :: week 14 (almost)

As I stated in a previous post, we are expecting again! And we are over the moon about baby #4 who will join our family in April.

As I have done with the two previous pregnancies, here are the FAQ's :

Q: Was this one planned? 
A: Yes. Well.... mostly.
Q: When are you due?
A: tax day! Hard to forget that.
Q: What is it?
A: A baby! We aren't going to find out the gender this time, which is a fun twist for number four. And I honestly can't tell what the gender is from the way I feel, nor do I have a preference. I just want a healthy baby.
Q: How are you feeling?
A: SO much better than last pregnancy! My pregnancy with Judah was pretty miserable, so I am extremely thankful that I am feeling less sick with more energy and just all around healthier and thus happier. At the complete risk of sounding sales-y, I am positive it has to do with the incredible nutrition that Lane and I have been using over the past year. With each previous pregnancy my nausea was worse and worse and lasted longer each time. It left me exhausted and down right depressed with my last pregnancy. But I did not go into this with deficient nutrients, which I am sure made all the difference.
Q: Are you having any cravings?
A: I ate a LOT of bread for a couple weeks there, but not really craving anything specific. I always seem to want good cheeses when I am pregnant, which is difficult since I can't have most of my favorites! 

 Q: Are you showing yet?

A: Um. (see above photos)
Q: How do the kids feel about all of it?
A: We had Jenny video us telling the kids, and James was SO excited, it was so sweet. Elle didn't really get it at first, but is starting to get a little bit more excited- she is convinced it is a girl and says it will be "her baby" which is kind of cute and scary at the same time, ha. Meanwhile, pretty sure Judah has no idea what is happening.
Q: So, how far apart will they be?
A: Judah will be two and a half years older than this baby, which is the biggest gap we have had in age. I am really glad it worked out this way because Judah is not great at sharing with any "babies" that come over- he tells them "no baby!" if they are playing with his toys and gets upset if I hold any other baby for too long. Thankfully, we have time to work on these issues.

Overall, we feel so blessed and so thankful that we get the privilege of parenting another little soul!

Here is the announcement post from Judah.
Here is the announcement post from Elle. 

lately :: kids, Bend, and babies

Oh my, it feels good to be back.
I have missed blogging SO much! Even if I am the only one who ever reads this silly little inconsistent blog, it's worth it because I enjoy the process and I love looking back over this digital scrapbook. I hope one day my kids can look back on it and remember their childhoods, as spotty as the documentation may be.
There is so much to catch up on over the last few months, so I won't even try. But here is what is happening now:

This little bug is going to be TWO in two days. So crazy. He is so much fun- pretty easy going, especially with how he is hauled around all week dropping off sister and brother, and running errands with me. He loves dancing, building with duplos, and reading books while sitting in my lap. Every day he is saying words that we had no idea he knew. Judah continues to be a struggle at night, bless his little tush, but he worth it all, of course.

Elle continues to be sassy and ridiculously adorable. 

She started preschool this year (only two mornings each week) and she is right in her element. She adores her teachers, and the feeling seems to be mutual. This girl is all the things I wish I had been since I was born- confident, opinionated, knows herself and what she wants. 

James has started kindergarten! Which just blows my mind. We are still getting adjusted to the schedule of waking up early and having him gone all day, but I know it is so good for him and I. He is so sweet with his younger siblings (most of the time) and I try to soak up time with him on the weekends (which are thankfully Friday through Sunday in James school district!). 

We spent the last weekend in Bend. The younger kids went to Yaya's and Grandma's houses and James came over with us, but spent most of the time at our friend's house.

On Saturday we took him out to coffee and for a walk up Pilot Butte.

In other news, we are expecting baby number four. But more on that later...

PS three years ago

lately: water play, road trips, photo loss, and teeth gain

 Ah! So many things to catch up on! In no particular order (although I will fake it by attempting to put it into a neat outline), here is what has been happening lately:

1. The kids and I went to Corvallis for a couple days while Lane went backpacking with a group (large group, there were like eight of them) of guys from our church. Then we came home for forty eight hours and we all left for Bend for five days. Then we came home for forty eight hours and left for north-of-Seattle-area to accompany Lane on a business trip and visit some family and friends in the area. We arrived home yesterday evening and I am going NO WHERE in the car today, not even for groceries which we desperately need, especially because Lane and I are doing the whole 30 (ugh, more on that later).
(and when I say we are going no where, I really only mean until tomorrow, when we all have to get in the car to go to a birthday party. I'm just a little dramatic sometimes.)

 a. Corvallis was good, as usual.. stayed with Lane's parents, ran through the sprinklers, ate popsicles, visited family, had a play date with friends at "diggy park". Standard Corvallis trip.

  b. Bend was great as well- visited breweries (Lane and I even escaped by ourselves one evening and went to Crux Fermentation Project. deliciousness.), biked, and stayed at a beautiful and ridiculously nice home on the golf course that is owned by my mom and step-dad's friends. It was SO nice and such a blessing to stay there for free, but it will never happen again because I was sure my sweet children would completely destroy it. We also visited friends who own a fro-yo shop (convenient) and went to a lake to swim and paddle board with them. Also took the kids out to Mirror Pond (the body of water, not brewery) to kayak and play in the water. 

They all really love the water, even Judah who kicks his feet hard and laughs and plays in it.

All the adventuring in Bend was good, but overall, it was just really nice to spend time with my mom and step-dad.

 c. North-of-Seattle-area was the insane trip for so many reasons: I drove up by myself  (in traffic, of course) with the kids, and we were go-go-going the whole time we were there.
It was the first time the kids have ever stayed in a hotel, and they thought it was the best thing (although they didn't understand why they had to keep quiet and not bounce off the walls).
We swam in the pool each day, went out to eat, and hiked the trails near the hotel.
The first full day we were there, the kids and i met up with my friend Katie (remember her? she used to blog here?) at a beach in Edmonds to meet her new baby and play in the water and sand and collect three hundred shells that are now scattered all over our car in little pieces.
The next day (being yesterday, also the day we drove home), we met up with my cousin (who is getting married in October and i get to be in her wedding!!!) at a beach in Kirkland where we pretty much did the same things, although thankfully no more shells.
Then a co-worker of Lane's dropped him off- along with his rolly suitcase- at the beach and he was able to drive home with us, which was great.
We arrived home yesterday evening and the kids were all so pooped that they are still asleep right now, at 9:25 am, which is why I am able to frantically type all this.

Whew.

(Kid awake. Will continue later...)

(...continued...)

2. As soon as we arrived home from Bend, Lane and James went to buy some little fireworks (it happened to be the fourth) and Eleanor got a hold of my camera and promptly deleted ALL the pictures. From, like, the last three months. Which reminded me how important this little blog is. (Also important: regularly downloading photos onto the computer.)

3. Among the chaos which has been our lives for the last couple weeks, Judah has cut six (yes, six) more teeth. Whereby quadrupling his amount of teeth. (is that right? he had two, now eight... Math is not my strong suit.) He has had a slight fever the last couple days, and has been a bit more needy than normal, but overall is still a happy little guy.

 4. Lane and I decided to start the Whole 30 last Sunday. I will do a full post, hopefully tomorrow, on how it is going so far. It isn't terrible, but I feel like my brain needs bread and my taste buds need chocolate.

5. We have a lot to accomplish this weekend, but I am going to try to be at home as much as possible this next week. If you'll excuse me, I have to go start another load of laundry, eat a handful of almonds, and nurse my poor little teether...

Happy Friday, friends!

judah is five months + big stuff

 My baby boy is five months.

(Okay, he turned five months a week ago, and I took these photos in the middle of last week. Nevertheless...)

About two weeks ago, two teeth showed up in his little mouth. He took it like a champ.

He is also rolling from his back to his tummy and grabbing his adorable chubby feet.

In other breaking news, this blue-eyed, yogurt-faced, strange-hat-wearing gal is sleeping in a big girl bed...

... and this little tiny baby of mine who is well over fifty pounds is sleeping in big boy underwear:

I told you, big stuff.

I'll probably be announcing their college choices next post, they are apparently maturing so quickly.

One year ago: burbin' it up