Nicolas {ONE}

 Last year at this time I was still enjoying the honeymoon postpartum period. Many people struggle immensely in those first few weeks, but I've always been blessed that despite recoveries that are no walk in the park, most of my post part experiences have been enjoyable and normal. Mom was here keeping the whole house running, my sisters-in-law and Mom-in-law were lovingly caring for the older kids so I could focus on the baby and recovering and meals, treats and gifts were flooding in from friends. Pretty much all I did was hold Nicolas and rest, something I've become an expert in after regretting doing too much after Brooklynne was born.

 Fast forward to now. An entire year of firsts have already come and gone--cooing, reaching for toys, sleeping through the night, scooting, new teeth, crawling, pulling up on furniture, and now babbling constantly and even saying several words. Even though I guess he's technically not a "toddler" because he's not walking, he acts like it. He is extremely responsive to everyone--my little social butterfly. His favorite word is "hiiii" and he says it to just about everyone. 

 He says uh oh, more, all done, love you, and the names of all his family members. Nate and I look at each other in surprise every time he says a new thing because he just seems so little to be saying so much! I guess that's what happens when you have 3 older siblings talking to you constantly!

  

 I've learned more and more how to truly cherish my babies. The Babywise book, while full of great principles, robbed me of truly enjoying Brooklynne and is way to strict in my opinion. Now I don't worry about spoiling them, because really you can't spoil a baby! But holding and hugging and cuddling as much as I can in those first few months doesn't last long as they grow bigger and become more independent like he is now. It goes so fast, and I try my hardest not to miss any of it.

It's amazing how one year of newness and bringing us hoards of joy, culminates into one piece of cake--or in this case, a cupcake. It's the great American (?) tradition. Every baby I've ever known has been surrounded with family--if not a huge crowd--while everyone watches to see what they will do with being allowed to consume a huge amount of sugar. My fourth baby did not disappoint, as he knew exactly what was expected of him. haha!

Happy first birthday to our dear Nicolas Jay. You are the light of our home right now and the center of attention and we love you so hard!

Dear Brooklynne {Eight}

Dear Brooklynne,

 You've been eight for almost a month now, but I am just getting a chance to sit down and write you a birthday letter. Part of me still can't comprehend you being 8, because I vividly remember being that age and it seems like not too long ago. Hard to believe it was 20 years ago... what?

 Anyway, your birthday fell on Memorial Day this year which was also the day after Molly died. It rained most of the day which seemed fitting for the Little family and their greif and they were heavy on our hearts. However, I wanted to cherish the day because we never know if we have tomorrow and it was even more magnified on your birthday. Your cousins slept over the night before and everyone came over the next day. Since it was raining, we watched movies, sprawled out in various rooms in the house. When it came time to do cake (actually, the key lime pie that you requested) and presents, you beamed shyly, loving every minute. Everyone sang to you and we oohed and aahed over your presents.

 You have changed so much this year, maturing and growing into such a sweet young lady. School changed you a lot; it was a great experience for you. Watching you at this age, changing and maturing so quickly, makes me more aware of my own faults. Although I remember bits and pieces over the years, so many of my childhood memories really started around age 8. Which makes me realize that you'll remember so much now, and that hits me like a ton of bricks. You'll remember my faults, and that scares me. You'll also start realizing (if you haven't already) that Mommy and Daddy are not perfect. My burning desire for you is that when we let you down, you will turn to your Heavenly Father who will never let you down. That you will develop your own yearning to truly know our Saviour and serve him because of your love of him--not because daddy and I want you to.

 8 years ago you made me a Mom, and I love to tell you the story of how happy I was when you were born. Waiting 9 long months to hear daddy say, "IT'S A GIRL"! was the most amazing experience and I will never forget it.
  You have continued to make me so happy every day since then. You have always been so easy to parent with your sweet, easy going spirit. You are such a great big sister and help to me around the house. You are a servant, a quality that has been passed down from daddy to you. 

 You are missing your two front teeth right now and it is the cutest thing I've ever seen. You're an excellent reader and have beautiful penmanship. 

 You make daddy and I so happy and proud to be your parents. We love you so much!

 Love,

 Mommy 

Nathan's Minion Birthday Party

I was really glad when Nathan requested a minion birthday party (from Despicable Me), because they are little yellow oblong creatures that are easy to replicate, even for someone like me that has 0% decorating skills. Because of our family and all the schedules to work around, we didn't actually throw the party until a few weeks after his birthday but it allowed time for his excitement to build. ;) He watched me very closely (as in, "you are too close to the cake, move away before your snot drips into it!" Close) as I made a minion cake and marshmallow pops and he was just so thrilled. "I'm gonna tell everybody I have a minion cake! I'm gonna tell everybody I have minion marshmallows!" Often times when we do things for our kids, it's hard to know if they truly appreciate it or not, but he loved everything and there was no mistaking that he was so thankful.

 The cake idea was from Betty Crocker. You can find it here. I didn't follow all of the steps perfectly, mainly because my grocery store was out of tootsie rolls and I couldn't be bothered going back to see if they had restocked. I also made my own frosting and colored it--so much better than the store bought stuff!

 Let me tell you--I have no cake decorating skills. Zilch. So if I can make this cake in a short
amount of time and have it turn out halfway decent, anyone can! It's not perfect, but it was cute and the kids loved it!

 The marshmallow pops were just as easy. Thankfully, the decorating section in the baking isle had candy eyes. They were my saving grace because I doubt I could have hand drawn all of those teeny eyes! I dipped the marshmallows in white chocolate that I added yellow food coloring to. I stuck them in the strainer holes so they wouldn't be flat on one side. Necessity is the mother of invention! Once again, nothing that would win me a job at Carlo's Bakery or anything, but cute enough for kids. ;)

As for the rest, I just bought yellow and blue of paper products at the Dollar Store. We blew up about 20 yellow balloons and I drew little minion faces on them and left them all over the floor. Sometimes they ended up underfoot while I was trying to cook, probably like real minions would. Ha! It was super easy, cheap and quick to put together. It's easy to go crazy once you get a theme in your head, but I have neither the time nor energy to spend more than a few hours on party prep and cake for a 3 year old.

He loves his cousins :)

So, so thankful for my sweet 3 year old and all of the joy (and sometimes tears!) he brings us every day! 

Nathan's 3rd Birthday

Somehow, Nathan turned 3 on Monday. Not sure how this happened since I just had him a few months ago. Anyway, we will have a "real" party for him in a few weeks but the day of had to be super special and exciting and all about the birthday boy!

 As you can see, I went all out on the decorating.

He came bounding into our room earlier than normal and crawled into our bed with a huge smile on his face. "It's gonna be a goooood day," he said. I have never had a 3 year old be quite so excited about his birthday as Nathan was. He talked about it for weeks, telling everyone he was going to have a minion cake with fire on it that he would blow out. (Minion cake to come ;)

I had to run a few errands in the morning, so I took him with me and bought him a doughnut and let him pick out something in line, which was orange tic tacs.

For lunch, it was grilled cheese dinosours. I love how easy kids are to please at this age!

Getting to watch "ABC Animals" on my phone was a special treat--again, easy to please!

So when we ran errands earlier, I found a package of mini cupcakes for $1.97 and talked him into them so I could bake his special cake at his party. He really wanted the pink cupcakes, ha! I put them on a platter in the shape of a "3", added extra sprinkles and candles and he was thrilled!

His birthday dinner of choice was chicken and rice--easy enough! Not sure why he was licking his plate, but hey, it was his birthday. Anything goes!

This face.

This is the face he makes when he's asking a question and I am so glad I was able to capture it because I don't want to ever forget it!

This is another face he makes--bottom jaw pushed forward when he's embarrassed or trying to show off.

His day ended with a trip to Cabellas, where the kids picked up cap guns and shot every animal in sight. Cabbala's is his favorite, not to mention it's free entertainment and 5 minutes from our house, so it was the perfect way to end his birthday! He ran around with gusto, yelling excitedly about everything that caught his attention. Nate and I loved observing him have the time of his life!

 Nathan is our child that has given us quite the run for our money over the past year. He has a very strong will, but over the last several months we've been very consistent with him in not letting him get his way, and the result has produced the sweetest little boy ever. Not that he's perfect (um, obviously) but he loves to cuddle and hug. He loves motorcycles, especially fast ones, and minions, hence the party coming up. ;) He has the cutest high voice and stutters a little. He over-pronounces his words to try to talk really clear and it seriously melts our hearts. Age 2/3 is one of my favorite ages and I wish I could box him up and keep him this size forever! He very often will say out of the blue, "I love you Mommy," and hug me. It just melts my heart.

 Happy Birthday to my precious Nathan!

That Time I turned 28

It seems kind of strange to blog about my own birthday, but I'm doing it because Nate and the kids made it so, so special for me. No frills, nothing fancy, just a quiet day at home with an amazing dinner that Nate (!!!) made for me. I spent most of the afternoon at home while the babies took naps and the older kids ran errands and did discipleship with Nate. The plan was for them to bring take out home, but I was very surprised when they charged inside with bags from the grocery store and got right to work. "Sit on the couch," he said, "we're making dinner". 30 minutes later, the table was set with an amazing beef and chicken fajita dinner, complete with all the sides. It was honestly one of the most meaningful things anyone has ever done for me.

After dinner, Nate snapped a few pictures of the kids and I. They are far less than perfect, but they are us and I love them.

I actually made my own dessert--a sugar free/low carb turtle cheesecake. Honestly it was the best healthier dessert recipe I've ever tried. If you're interested, Google  "Mrs Criddles turtle cheesecake". It was super easy to make, too!

He is such an involved, helpful, fun dad to our kids. 

A few days later we went out with friends and family for a kid-free dinner and coffee. These people mean so much to me and I'm so thankful for these people in our lives.

This blog post brought to you pool-side, compliments of family vacation. More on that later this week.

Happy Sunday!

Four-in-One

I am way behind in blogging, but I've found a little time right now so I figured I would catch up from the last month or so! Here's 4 posts in 1...

ONE MONTH

 Nicolas was one month here, and I thought it would be fun to do a monthly picture on my chair to see how he grows over time. As you can see we were dealing with a lot of baby acne and skin troubles then which thankfully has gone away now (he's almost 2 months!). At his 6 week check up he was 10 pounds, which was surprising as he looked a lot smaller but he's long limbed as they said. He was still eating quite often during the night and Mommy had some very emotional days that mainly stemmed from the exhaustion. My tip to all Moms that can't "sleep when baby sleeps" because of other kids--hang in there! After about 6 weeks or so it got much better and I actually am feeling human again!

 I think I've said it a lot, but Nick is really such a great baby. Happy and content when he's awake and only fusses if he's hungry, needs to be changed or tired. He is the center of attention in this house!

5 YEARS OLD

 On September 22nd, my sweet Joe turned 5 years old. I can hardly believe it--5 is a big one! Unfortunately I got a really bad stomach flu, but daddy came through and made him mac and cheese for dinner and put together his strawberry ice cream cake, complete with homemade graham crackers crust!

 Joe has been such a sweet big brother and helper to me now that Brooke is at school all day. He is sweet and sensitive, very obedient and loves to help and calm the baby down if he's fussy. Joe loves to compliment and hug--he is going to make a lady feel very special some day. ;) He loves to tell me I looks beautiful and give me a huge hug, and he always says the sweetest things to his Aunts when he Facetime's them. He is very curious and inquisitive about spiritual things and I really think that he'll get saved soon. 

THE BIKE RODEO

 A few weeks ago was church's annual bike rodeo. The kids were so excited--it's definitely a highlight of their year! They love dressing up and look so forward to all the activities that the day entails. I mainly look forward to the cute photo op ;).

My gorgeous brother and sister-in-laws family! They go all out and looked SO cute!

AROUND THE HOUSE

 See what I mean about him being so sweet? I can't even handle it sometimes. I have to pick my heart up off the puddle on the floor.

He is doing so well in school! His writing, reading and spelling have all improved immensely. I'm so proud of him, because he works really hard!

At the slightest hint of fall weather, I'm all, get all the hats and hoodies and boots. They are totally unnecessary but who cares? It looks adorable.

Speaking of puddles...

 We potty trained this week.

 It did not go well.

 After day 5, he is back in diapers. Oh yes he is.

 We'll try again next week.

And speaking of next week, it's that time of year again: FAMILY! The first of them arrive in a few days and I cannot wait. It's also the busy season for me with photography, so I can't promise many posts in the coming weeks, but I'll try. ;)

Our Village

They say it takes a village to raise a child, and boy do I have the best village. After I had Nicolas, it was reaffirmed to me again just how many friends and family we have, surrounding us with love and support. Of course my Mom was here taking care of everything at home, while my in-laws watched the kids for us for a few days and my sister-in-law took them the next week for another little extra break. Friends brought over delicious, home cooked meals, presents for the baby and me, specialty drinks, homemade baked goods, take out lunches and I was constantly receiving texts. “Congratulations, he is beautiful!” “How are you feeling?” “How is the baby?” “We miss you!” “Can’t wait to meet him!”

 Even a month later, I’m still feeling the extra love as friends offer to bring Brooke home from school, ask if I need anything and we even received another meal the other day, just because. Now that I’m out an about more, everyone always asks how I’m feeling and how we are adjusting. Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more loved in all of my life. Our village is full of the most caring souls on the planet and it makes the page to the new chapter of our lives turn a whole lot smoother than it would have had we been alone.

 We are so very blessed.

Quick photo dump from the past few weeks:

Hands near mouth, always

"The boys"

Baby blues

He has been such a good baby for us--happy, peaceful and content for the most part ;)

Before my Mom left, we celebrated Joe's birthday a little early. She made ice cream sandwhiches with him and gave him his presents.

I know I'm a little biased, but does he not have the perfect face?!

I'm curious what color his hair will end up being...

No words needed. She's my hero and my kids adore her.

She's adjusting great to going to school every day, and we are settling into our new routine. The first week was really rough on me, not gonna lie, but it was definitely the best decision for us right now and I'm adjusting!

Leaving you with baby toes.

 Happy Friday!

P.S. We have our yearly anniversary Sunday coming up this weekend, and we are praying for many souls to be saved. Please pray with us, would you?

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!