8.18.2014

Catchin' Up- Our Days In June

This summer has flown by (hence why I'm writing a June post in late August)! The majority of the month of June was spent here at home, getting into a groove with our newest member of the family, and giving the kids the time, freedom, and space to run around outside like a bunch of crazy people. They are loving it.

Our sweet colicky Pip usually has rough late afternoons. This particular day, she wanted her face right up next to mine. It was the only thing that made her stop screaming. Then, she fell asleep. Praise Jesus, the child fell asleep. But, how do you cook dinner like that?
She has a baby sister now and this little lady just looks so grown up these days.
and the braided pigtails make my heart skip a beat


Our days have been filled with play dates, long summer days of playing outside, not much of a schedule, and staying outside with Daddy until dusk.

Mekonen and his Ethiopian buddy Luke have played together so much this summer. We are so thankful to be just down the road from them. They run around doing boy stuff all day long. Super cute.
We've also had fun taking walks pushing our babies....

As well as buzzing down a country road on a Lighting McQueen tricycle with a flashlight + crayons in tow. You know, for emergency princess coloring in the dark.
Yard time fun with friends. The kids had a blast this month with this slip n' slide from Uncle Mike and Aunt Linda Spencer. Meko's buddy Jack joined in on the fun. 


 Great summer purchase. The kids had a blast flying down the slide and blasting into the pool at the end. It was super funny to watch. Meko and Evan are taking a break from the daredevil activities and chatting away like old men.
The kids have been doing so well with Penelope. She is a very fussy baby and they have done such a great job loving her and being tender with her, especially Mekonen. Seeing his tender care for her has been incredible. He's a natural.

We've also gotten really good at early morning snuggles. It's been one of my favorite new family happenings since Penelope arrived. Not only does Pip usually snuggle in, but the kids make their way in there too, in the wee hours of the morning, sometimes even falling back asleep.

The kids have especially loved our first summer of #thisfarmlife as my social media tag so adequately describes. Here is the very first baby chick, hatched right in our chicken coop by its mama, not an incubator! Very cool. Isn't it so cute!
We also have our first bee hive. It's called a nuc and houses a starter colony of honey bees. We won't have honey until next year, but I sure am looking forward to that crunchy homegrown honey. I hear it's good for seasonal allergies so I'm hoping that's true! Mekonen and Evie are begging Daddy for kid bee suits so they can take care of them. :) 
Here's a tiny sparrow nest that fell to the ground in our backyard. Constructed out of shallow Cedar roots, grass and one sprig of Meko's hair from his last haircut! Haha!!
The first thing ready in the garden this year was radishes. The kids were so excited about these radishes and were stoked to eat them right after they picked them. I made a yummy radish nectarine salsa that we ate with grilled chicken. I love that they are growing up eating what they've grown. Mekonen talked about the radishes for days. 

Summer's are filled with magical evening like this... when I sneak up and find this little one waiting for Daddy at the window. The princess slippers placed at the bottom of the stool are my favorite. I will cherish this moment I waltzed upon, forever.
When your kids land anywhere, at any time, and pass out asleep, you know it's summer.



8.08.2014

4 Months!

Little Miss is 4 Months Old
These months are just flyin' by...

Penelope Mae
Don't mind the poor quality of these studio pics. Our scanner isn't working so I had to take a picture of the picture. I'm not typically a studio pictures kind of girl, but I do like getting them when they are babies since they grow so fast. I can't believe how red her hair is looking! 
She looks quite amused that I'm making her sit by this huge chalkboard again. I'm sure she'll make fun of these some day. But oh well! She'll find something equally torturous to do with her kids too! 
As you can see, she's growing and learning like crazy. I forgot to also list up there that she's starting to scoot around too. I'll put her in her bed one direction and come back in later and she's facing the other way and at the other end of the crib. She typically scoots off of her playmat too. (The kids think this is wildly hilarious). 

She's started to giggle. They're just small, muffled giggles, but they are oh so cute. She always does it when I nuzzle my nose in her neck. 

She chews her hands like mad and the doctor thinks she might be getting her bottom teeth. I know it can take awhile for them to come in, but man, she is cranky about it! My sensitive Pip- belly, teeth, who knows! 

She almost always gets the biggest smile ever when we sing our little song to her- Pipper-dee-doo-dah (to the tune of Zippity-do-da). "Pipper-dee-doo-dah, Pipper-dee-day, my oh my what a wonderful day. Plenty of sunshine, coming your way. Pipper-dee-doo-dah, Pipper-dee-day!" I know, weird, but it just happens. 

Despite my often crying Pip, I really do love the baby stage. Baby snuggles and having them right up against me are some of my favorite things. Apparently, Penelope thinks so too as this has been her latest. It almost always calms her down, and it's almost always required late afternoon- her crankiest time of the day! Most of the time, I love it, although truth be told, sometimes I just wish she would not cry and play happily on the floor. It's not super easy cooking dinner with a baby strapped to your belly! But I know these days of this kind of snuggling are so short. So I'll take it! 
All the single pics I took of her were fuzzy because she kept wiggling all over the place. This was the best one. Boo. But I love her expression. Her hair doesn't look so red in this picture. 
 We got a few free cards with the pictures. 

 And for kicks...
Evie at 3 months
Penelope at 4 months- bad quality b/c I didn't scan it. (I was a month late with her picture!)
Me at 3 months
I think all 3 of us have the same nose and all 3 of us have the same squinty left eye. Both of my girls definitely have Daddy's mouth and the cutest lips ever.