April Showers Bring May Flowers and a Kitten

Summer

Once again we are loving the color and beauty that Oregon summers bring.  Our trees are loaded with fruit, our raspberry, blueberry, and blackberry bushes are exploding, and I can't get enough of our beautiful roses.  It stays light until after 9:00 and currently we spend most of the day and evening outside enjoying the weather.  Seriously, nothing beats the summertime!

Minnie

Sadie has been asking for a kitty since last summer and we finally decided to give it a try.  At the beginning of the month Uncle Robert brought over a little barn kitten that Sadie named Minnie.  I like to call her Minnie the mouser in hopes that she'll take care of a lot of the mice around the property, but Sadie is adamantly against that!  So far she has been a great little kitten, very playful and sweet although she possibly gets more love than she'd like.  She has just recently discovered that climbing trees is her best chance at escaping little hands, much to the kids' dismay, but who can blame her for needing a break when the days activities include bike rides, riding in their cars, being swaddled, and so many other creative things they come up with.   Yet, all-in-all she seems to love them because shes always close by and continues to allow them to carry her around for a good portion of the day.

Mothers Day

I'm so thankful that I get to be a mommy to these little ones.  Although there are days when I think I might go crazy if I have to settle one more argument, or talk one more time about obedience, or carry one more tantrum throwing toddler to their room, I can't imagine my days without them.  They bring exceeding amounts of joy and laughter to my life.  They teach me to slow down, to love genuinely, to forgive quickly, and to PLAY, and they challenge me always to grow in selflessness and patience and love.  I most assuredly love these littles more than anything!!!

Picking Strawberries

The kids had fun picking strawberries although really Grammy picked most of the strawberries.  Seriously I don't know what we would do with out her.  I spent most of the outing trying to get Hazel to sleep, Hazel spent the outing being uncooperative, and the kids spent the outing competing over who had the most strawberries.  Oh well!  We shall try again next year.  At least the strawberries were yummy!

The Circus

A small circus came to Jefferson over Memorial Day weekend!  We decided to check it out with Robert and Amy's family and it ended up being just right for our little ones.  It wasn't anything to big but we got to sit in the front row, it had a tiger, acrobats, and a tight rope walker, and the kids were totally amazed!

Cooper Robert

Cooper really is such a clown these days.  He is constantly making us laugh with his silly faces and the things that he says.  He gets SOoo much enjoyment out of making people laugh and we can't help but laugh a lot of the time.  Yesterday, his thing was to throw his blanket over his head and say, "Hey, who turned out the lights?" and today he was out having a water fight and I couldn't stop laughing as Sadie and Wyatt would dump water on him and then I'd watch him laugh, scoop water in his cup, try to throw it but get himself instead, and laugh again!

Miss Hazel

Our Little Nut

Our little nut turned 3 months old in May.  

We have fallen into a pretty good routine during the day which is nice and she sleeps consistently from  8:30 pm - 4:30 am  which is wonderful!!  She loves to smile at all of us when we talk to her and is by far the most ticklish of my kids.  She's easy to get laughing and occasionally even laughs when I'm getting her dressed if I touch her wrong.  She sucks on her tongue and fingers to sooth herself, she demands that Daddy bounce her to sleep most nights, which works since that gives me a moment to read to the bigger kids before bed, and she still leaves in her hair bows much to her mommy's delight.  Sadie always pulled them out so I've been determined to get her use to them while she's little because they're just so stinkin' cute!

April

We welcomed the month of April and Springtime with new baby lambs at the dairy.  Uncle Robert decided to raise a dozen bummer lambs this year and the kids had so much fun, especially during the first few weeks, feeding and playing with them.

Wyatt is most definitely an animal lover.  He was so sweet and gentle with the babies.

A few of the lambs had been born that very morning so Uncle Robert had to do a lot of the feeding and keep track of which ones had been fed and which ones hadn't, and let me just say I'm glad it wasn't me because they all basically look the same.

HAPPY EASTER!!!

A big thank you to my kiddos who actually tried to cooperate so that I could take my Easter picture.

After church we headed to Grammy's house for Easter lunch and an egg hunt.  My niece Payton absolutely cannot get enough of Hazel.  She loves babies more than any kid I've ever met.  She literally comes running if she hears her cry, is constantly wanting to be close to give her love, and says over and over how we have the cutest baby.  She's also wished 3 or maybe 10 more on her mommy and daddy.

The Egg Hunt

Checking out their loot!

This is the kind of picture you get when you disturb the children from looking through their eggs in order to take a picture.

 And then when you start to bribe them with the candy in their eggs you get this.

 But a majority of them still end up looking like these.  Can someone please explain to me why sticking your tongue out for the camera is so funny?  There must be a scientific explanation because every one of them, including their Daddy, thinks it's funny!

Our Hazelnut

Hazel just keeps growing and changing.  She's smiling more and and more easily, definitely starting to recognize us and her name when we talk to her, and our favorite is when she coos at Daddy.  She is just starting to get vocal but Daddy is pretty good at getting her going.

2 Months Old

 She loves her hands!  Can't get her to take a pacifier of any kind, but she will work all day to get her fist or even better a couple of fingers into her mouth.

Cubbies

At the very end of the month we celebrated Sadie's promotion from Cubbies.  She worked very hard this year learning all of her verses and making a lot of new friends.  Her table leader Mrs. Smith was absolutely the sweetest and kindest, and her director Mrs. Lau was so wonderful too!  Every time I would come into their classroom at the end of the night to hear them praying and singing together I was so thankful for these strangers who were willing to invest in Sadie's life, teaching her about Jesus and helping her to grow.  

I remember vividly how much turmoil I was in deciding where to send her.  The program at Jefferson Baptist was bigger than many of the others in the area and Wyatt couldn't go because they only accepted children who were already 4, but it was also the closest to home and I felt like although it might be hard for Sadie to go all by herself it would probably be good for her.  I had taken her to the Doctor the summer before she started Awana's and realized just how shy she was without her constant companion Wyatt.  They do everything together, and up until now have pretty much always been in the same classes.  Even when we took her to Vacation Bible School they were in the same class, and that was actually the only reason she agreed to go.  Anyway, all that to say that this Mommy was worried about dropping her off in a place that we were both unfamiliar with, but we were so blessed!  She loved it and it was a great time for her, although I'm a little sad to realize how much she's grown up when I think about the year and how much confidence and independence she has gained.

A Few Random Memories...

The time we figured out that we could all ride horse Daddy at the same time.

The Time we dressed up in the silliest costumes we could think of!

And the time my baby couldn't stop smiling even though it was late and she was suppose to be sleeping. 

What the Pictures Don't Show...

My Mom my sister and I took the kids out to the tulip festival in Woodburn the last week of March, and while the tulips were absolutely stunning, I'm not sure if it was worth the sanity that it cost me this year.  We had a great time out there last year, but this year I think I may have had just one to many kids to enjoy it.  We ended up with some cute pictures but what the pictures don't show is our ride home.

After spending a couple of hours at the festival looking at the flowers and playing on the playground I decided that it was time to begin our drive home.  So, I fed Hazel at the playground, took Sadie and Wyatt to the bathroom, stopped by the gift shop to buy some tulips to take home, and then loaded the kids into the car feeling tired but mostly successful.   Then, literally 3 minutes down the road, Hazel starts to cry and I start the internal debate of whether or not to pull over.  She didn't eat very good because it was hot and crazy at the playground so feeding her might make the ride home easier, but there was no guarantee.  Then Sadie pipes in with a request to use the bathroom to which I reply in slight exasperation "I just took you, you can't have to go already."  She promptly reminds me that I did take a LONG time choosing my flowers and that she drank a lot.  Grr.  Then I remember there's a McDonalds with a playground just before you get onto the freeway so I think alright, as much as I just want to get home, I'll pull over and fed Hazel again while the kids play.  Then we will try again to make the trip home.  

So we pull over and unload, I swing Hazel in the car seat to calm her, we pile into the McDonalds bathroom, all 5 of us, and then through McDonalds, which looks deceivingly empty, into the playplace where we discover it's not even close to empty.  Immediately I remember that it's spring break as we walk into a room packed with kids much bigger than my own.  Uggg but what am I to do?  Sadie and Wyatt are already half way into the playground as I yell at them to come back out and help Cooper.  I set the baby carrier next to me as I try to take Coopers shoes off, and it is immediately swarmed by sweaty kids wanting to see the baby.  At this point I'm about to have a panic attack as I give fake smiles, pick up my baby, and try to escape to a quieter corner to feed her.  Unfortunately, as I sit down I hear Cooper start to cry and remember that this playground was a disaster the last time I was here too as it was just to difficult for Cooper.  At this point I'm realizing that this was not a good decision and that we have to go before I loose it.  So here I find myself practically begging the kids, bribing them with their own sodas, to return to the car.  As I'm negotiating their return I'm knowing that it's a lot to ask of them, and that they're disappointed, and that it doesn't seem fair to them.  Sadie and Wyatt are good sports putting their shoes back on but Cooper is not having it.  So I do what any good Mom does and with Hazel's car seat in one arm I pick him up my now screaming toddler with the other and carry him flailing and yelling back through McDonalds, all the while begging Wyatt to walk faster and Sadie to run ahead and get the door.  I feel like a complete crazy person.  

So now we find ourselves back in the car.  Cooper is absolutely hysterical as it is now well past nap time and I've just forced him back into his car seat.  Sadie and Wyatt are begging me to give him what he wants just to make him stop, not understanding that the only thing he wants is go back inside, and I am desperate to get the car back on the road.  So I quickly feed Hazel to stop her from screaming and tell Sadie and Wyatt to cover their ears to drown out Coopers screams.  It takes only about 2 minutes back on the road for Wyatt to fall asleep but Cooper obviously has plenty of energy left because he screams for the next 20 minutes into Salem before he finally begins to wind down. 

Now comes the next decision.  Cooper is about to fall asleep and we're about 20 minutes from home so now I'm thinking do I drive around to try to give him a longer nap, do I just leave him in the car when I get home and hope he sleeps, or do I try to carry him to his bed but risk waking him when we get home?  What should I do?  Then I remember there is a Sonic just off the freeway and it's happy hour.  Yay!!!  We're never out at this time of day so I ask Sadie, now the only one awake, if she'd like to get a slushy while the others sleep.  She of course says yes so we exit the freeway and immediately I begin to have second thoughts as Hazel starts to stir as the car comes to its first stop and I realize that there are actually quite a lot of stop lights between me and Sonic.  However, I'm feeling already committed and I've already disappointed Sadie once so I rock the car seat at the lights and we make it to Sonic, order our drinks, and as we wait for the 2 cars ahead of us to get their food Hazel starts to loose it again.  Ahhh  So we get our drinks I whip the car into a parking spot and pull Hazel out to feed her and and calm her down yet again.  Then, no kidding, as the car seat clicks back into place with a sleeping Hazel Cooper wakes up and again begins working himself into hysterics as I try to reason with him while getting the car back on the road.  

Cooper ends up crying on and off for the next 15 minutes but luckily Hazel sleeps and as we pull of the freeway 5 minutes from home I say to Sadie, "When we get home will you go upstairs and get everyone's blankets?  We are going to rest on the couch until Daddy gets home.  Mommy will put on Beauty and the Beast! (a movie we saw for the first time the night before)"  Then to my complete shock, Cooper snaps out of his mood and says, "The Beast?!? I like the Beast!!!"  and just like that my sweet Cooper is back from wherever it was he went and so we end our day on the couch, after a 3 hour drive that should have taken 1, waiting for Daddy to come home and make us dinner after his long day cuz that's just the kind of guy he is!

Wyatt, Payton, Autumn, Sadie, & Cooper

Their faces pretty much sum it up.