Coming Soon...

Pictures to come someday soon...I'm just leaving a note to let all know that we are still hanging in there. Samuel is growing fast - somewhere around 11lbs already! And I've been....well...I get up- feed Samuel - make breakfast - feed kids - clean up breakfast - feed Samuel - have a few minutes before making lunch....you get the idea. I hope that you all are are enjoying the season - celebrating the birth of our big and awesome God who put on human flesh to save us from an eternal death. Praise you God!

Kids, Christmas, and Kitten Tales

Well, here is my update. Samuel is will be 1 month old tomorrow. He is getting so big already (sniff...). Most of the receiving blankets will barely swaddle him. But that just means it won't be long until he sleeps through the night...right?? Well, if I could at least sleep 3 or 4 hours in row I'd be happy- and hopefully a little less grumpy during the day.

To try to focus on the excitement of the season we got out our tree and decorations- of course then it was bedtime. But the next day, after feeding Samuel and eating breakfast and feeding Samuel we got to decorate the tree. The kids loved it- it took Elijah a few trys to get the hang of looping ornaments on the branches- and then Abigail kept getting frustrated that he would put so many on one branch. A good lesson in cooperation.

It looks great- although obvious it was decorated by people under 3ft.

And to add to the excitement of our household, and because one baby just isn't enough...we got a kitten. 'Milo' after the "curious cat" in her favorite movie Milo and Otis. She thinks we need a "pug nosed pup" to go with it (please no!). But he(?) is an adorable bundle of fluff and very sweet and cuddly when not attacking your every movement.
Poor O'Malley isn't such a fan and lets us all know when ever the two come in close proximity. The kitten of course hasn't fully gained a healthy respect for the eldership of O'Malley. Perhaps a only a few more knocks from the senile half blind cat. They were able to share a bit of sunlight today though!
Oh- I just went out to check on the Samuel asleep on the couch and this is what I found:

Well, hopefully my next post will not be so far out. I am aiming for once a week. We will see.

Two Weeks Ago Today...

Samuel John was born!

Born at 11:47am, November 11, weighing in at 8 lbs 13 oz (over 2 lbs more than Elijah...). Yes, he was bit big, got a bit stuck, but he is here. Yeah! (Good job to those who guessed a boy!) He has been a very peaceful little one, and such a blessing! An oddly, looks identical to Abigail as a baby!

The welcoming committee.

Proud big brother! Doesn't want to hold Samuel often,
but always wants to know where he is.

Abigail loves to share snuggles.

2 days before he was born. 46" around.
I'm so glad I'm no longer pregnant.

For many more pictures here is an album to view. We had a beautiful view from the hospital (we could have seen our house if we had binoculars), and got to watch the sunrise the morning after he was born. There are also pictures of my 'Doctor's checkup' the day before my water broke, and puddle jumping with daddy while mommy and Samuel rested.

Can You Spot the Future Pilot?

While I still have the opportunity to blog I might as well get it all out...
We had the special privilage of riding in Pappy's airplane today!
The kids were excited, but didn't really know what to expect.
(And yes, this was very hard for me- I was afraid I'd put myself into labor...no such luck.)

Getting ready to go.

I guess this is the expression Elijah wore most of the ride.

Ready!

So...Abigail wasn't such a huge fan...

Can I drive this time?

What a beautiful day for a plane ride! I was in awe of all the beautiful fall colors. Oddly no one else seemed to share my enthusiasm. As I continued to admire them all the way home I realized somehow that it was the tint in my sunglasses that made even the ugliest dying tree look breathtaking. Oh well. It made for a fantastic view though. Thanks Pappy!

Welcome November....

Well today marks the day that we have been in our house for 1 year. We have painted 4 rooms, replaced the sewer pipe, re-roofed, carpeted the stairs, met and disposed of 3 of our mousey roommates, had a pretty successful garden, built railings, planted trees, built a rockwall, and have a list of things that will keep us busy for the next 10 years if nothing gets added!

Our beautiful (fungus infected) fall maple.
Can you see the rope swing?

Yeah for fungus leaves!

The chickens are doing well. The white ones each faithfully lay an egg a day. 'Goldie' hasn't produced any yet...we think she may be defective from the cat mauling in her infancy...and we gave away our 'rooster'. He was the least friendly anyway. They are now working on 'digging up' and fertilizing the garden plot.

She's eyeballing the camera string.
They'll eat almost anything.

In other news, Abigail would like to inform everyone and anyone that she has moved up to the even bigger bike. Chris found if he tipped the seat forward she can just reach the ground.

So Proud!

Although Elijah now gets Abigail's smaller bike (training wheels back on) he still prefers his car. Maybe its because his feet don't touch the ground on the bike, or because its teal and pink.

A new method for chalk art.

Cute and Tiny...Elephant!

Well, Abigail informed me about a month ago that she wanted to dress up as an elephant. So I set to work brainstorming and 'creating'. Since Elijah's been into elephants I decided to just make two! He copies EVERYTHING his sister does anyway, right? (sorry about the tiny pics- wrong setting)

Duct tape is much harder to work with than I imagined!

Check out those cute tails!

Yeah for toilet paper tubes, clearance headbands, and duct tape! Although Chris informed me I might owe him a new roll of duct tape...
Meanwhile Chris was a construction worker and I was The Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly.


Some people weren't sure if my stomach was real or not. Oh yes. Very real. Speaking of...Elijah's favorite thing to do lately when I lay down is to drive his car 'on the baby'. He'll be disappointed after the baby comes if he tries it...

The baby starts moving every time they drive!

Fall Is Here

Well, here I am after many many weeks. A whole month actually. I think that there is something about the fall that makes the days fly by, while feeling like you're not accomplishing much. The kids seem to continue to grow at the speed of light, however (that's counting the one in my tummy).
The last few weeks have been filled with lazy days, wishing for rain so I didn't feel bad about not taking the kids out into the beautiful weather, and then wishing it wasn't raining so I could take them out to release the energy in a less destructive manner! (Chris of course takes them out whatever the weather.)
Today we made a cave while it poured outside. And it was either the weather or the one piece of licorice they each had but they were quite wild. I tried to stay out of the same room so I wouldn't get upset about whatever it was that was evoking such screams and laughter.

At the entrance of the cave

Making wild faces while wearing the hoods of their coats.

Several weeks ago we celebrated Chris's birthday!

Yeah for mac n' cheese and carrot cake cupcakes!

Art has been another fall time passer:

Yeah for glitter!

One day at lunch Chris threw out the challenge to make the alphabet out of pretzels. 1/2 a bag of pretzels later we had all but about 6 of them. Abigail did several and then her name.

And lastly I just want to say, I am SO tired of being pregnant. I am now 35 weeks and the midwife said on Wednesday that its a big baby. Oh yeah. I know it feels big. I'm ready to be done with the heartburn, backache, cramps, heat flashes, inability to walk, raging hormones, sleeplessness, and many other pregnant joys. Bring on the bundle of adorable and cuddly (screaming, pooping, spitting up, keeps everyone awake) love. I'm ready. Ü

My view from the top.
One friend said about my protruding belly:
"I've never seen a baby more eager!"

While I Was Sleeping...

While I was getting up for my middle-of-the-night-bathroom-break Chris was getting up to go meet his dad for a sunrise hike. They drove out near Mt. Rainier to a place called High Rock, hiked the 1.6 miles of grueling 90 degree trail (ok- so I'm exaggerating a bit- but on the way down you can't walk if you wanted to...) and watched the sun rise.

This is the view from the truck-
see that little building up on the tip of the rock?
That is the old fire lookout that they hiked to.
It is apparently now infested with bees.

Chris's dad with Mt. Adams in the background.

Right on time!

Mt. Rainier from the lookout

Mt. Rainier
You just have to click on the picture to enlarge it.

Reunion at the Beach

The last weekend of August we travelled down to Twin Rocks Camp at Rockaway Beach, Oregon for our 5th annual GFU class of 05 Engineers reunion. We have 7 families that get together. We stayed in a big house right on the beach, ate lots of great food, got really sandy, and had lots of fun!

We are missing one family - and baby Reagan!?


The 'big' kids: Rueben (2), Asher (4), Benjamin (4), Joshua (2), Elijah (2), & Abigail(4)

Our group also has three babies (and of course one on the way), Reagan, Seth, & Daniel all who are (I think) 6months and under. So as you can see there are a lot of boys. Elijah wasn't quite ready to jump into all the pillow fights and wrestling - I'm sure he will next year. As for Abigail...she would usually play with one boy at a time. One of the boys once asked her "why are you sitting down?".

Playing on Sand Mountain

I of course took lots of pictures (well, until I got the camera wet when Elijah got ambushed by a wave...it still works pretty well...) here is a link to see most of them.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

While eating lunch the other day, we were sharing a Superfood Odwalla smoothie. Abigail was a bit unsure of this "gushing garden gulp", so I asked if she would like to hear what is in it. Elijah was making the point that he wanted some. However, when Chris was trying to give him a drink, Elijah kept turning his head to put his ear by it. It took us a minute to realize that he was trying to 'hear what was inside'.

If they were quiet enough they did eventually hear it whisper "...drink me..."

Having nothing to do with the drink-
we also shared the longest carrot we'd ever seen!