First Haircut

If you looked at Chi’s basket pictures, you will notice he is not lacking in one major area.  Hair.  It was with great trepidation, that I decided to cut Malachi’s hair the week of his birthday.  My main reason for being so hesitant was the curls.  The boy has some beautiful sweet curls in the back of his head.  They are gorgeous I tell ya.

But, he needed a trim.  The poor boy was starting to look like a girl.

Off to work I went.

 This is precut.

 Okay, he really has curls.  It takes a few days after washing and they come out but guess what happened when I trimmed it in the back?  It got curlier.  One day I’m going to trim it all around and see if the whole head of hair goes in to curl mode.

Yes, this was quite an adventure.  I think I did this the day the house flooded and Mark was trying to talk to the water clean up guys and the kids were running around everywhere.  I’m never one to run from a challenge.

I will get pictures of those curls.  I promise.  Just be patient it may be a little while.

Facebooktwittermail

Sneak Peek, Spring Pictures

Tracy ventured out with us last week and braved all the bugs and such to get some spring pictures for us.  We have taken note.  Bug spray is a MUST around our neighborhood creek in the spring and summer.  A must.

Anyway, we thought you all would enjoy a sneak peek at the pictures she got.  I have to say I can’t wait to see the rest!

 You might have to click on it to get a better reading on the signage.  Or just look below.

We are excited, thrilled, surprised, and thrilled to announce that we will be adding to our bunch in December (or January)!

Yes, it is early.  Yes, we just found out.  But we believe every life is a gift and choose to celebrate it as long as we have that life.  Malachi and this baby will be 22 months (almost 23 months) apart.  That’s the biggest gap yet.  And we (meaning I) was just settled in enjoying our blessings and getting used to my baby not being a baby when lo, and behold, God gives us another one.

My first doctor’s appointment is this week.  I’m almost 100% that I’ll have my progesterone checked since it was low with the last two pregnancies and I had to go on supplements for the first trimester (not fun but willing to do what needs to be done to keep this little guy, or girl, growing).  So, please pray that my numbers are high.

A couple of prayer requests to go along with that:
1.  No subchorionic hematoma.  Not sure if the doctor will want to do an ultrasound so early but either way, whenever one is done, please pray there is no blood clot anywhere near the baby.
2.  VBAC.  Yes, no doubt about it, I want to try a VBAC.  I have a wonderful and amazing bestie who just so happens to be a L&D nurse who has VBAC’d.  She’s agreed to be a doula for me.  I’ve done this whole giving birth thing without a c-section six times but I know having her there comforting and supporting me will help.  Not to mention our laughter and conversation will distract me from the pain. One of the big VBAC prayers is that I can go in to labor on my own (which I haven’t done since Zoe was born).  Inductions are just not good for VBACs and I would really like to avoid that this time.  I am trusting the Lord to provide.
3.  My mystery pregnancy rash.  I got it very early with Malachi and it continued up until 30 weeks.  It just so happens that at 30 weeks I started drinking a Mama’s brew tea that had raspberry leaf, nettles leaf, peppermint, and alfalfa in it.  I’m already starting with this mystery rash again (really, they should name it after me).  I’m smathering myself with lotion twice a day and drinking one cup of tea a day.  Praying that this works to combat the rash before it gets really bad.

Thank you for your prayers for us and this sweet little blessing growing.

Facebooktwittermail

Sharing…

My children have been in a sharing mood this month.  I wish I could say that sharing revolved around toys.  Alas, it didn’t.  It revolved around germs.  Bryant started with a virus that included a cough and a fever.  He had it a few days and then Zoe got it.  Then Ceili Rain.  Then Ace.  Then Liam.  Then Josiah.  Then Malachi.  Malachi and Ceili Rain kept it the longest which meant a trip to the doctor.  There we discovered that Ceili Rain had pneumonia, an ear infection, and wheezing.  Malachi was just diagnosed with wheezing but the doctor thought that he might actually have pneumonia but it was hard to tell due to the wheezing.

Mark, who has an immune system made of steel just had a cold.  And I.  Well, I had it for three days and it included a fever and the lovely cough.  And it was all during testing for Zoe, Ace, and Liam.  Still working on recovering from that one.

And that.  That is the reason I did not blog last week.  Without further adieu…here’s a smathering of pictures to make up for my week long absence.

Simply adorable!

 We live in a neighborhood with new construction.  We’ve learned that with new construction comes scheduled power outtages.  This power outtage meant no television time before nap, so we made up our own “entertainment”  using the hand puppets.  These stories were quiet interesting.  And that’s all I have to say about that.

 I’m telling you this kid is too cute!

 See.
 And sister is a tad silly.
 Okay, so is Big Brother.  Do you think we take their pictures enough?
 Ceili Rain was trying to avoid rest time by sitting by Mark and asking all sorts of questions while he graded math.  Mark, was a big enforcer as you can see from his silly picture.
 Slides and a baby with a lot of hair.
 Miss Maggie, Tracy’s beautiful girl in her birthday dress that I made.

 We purchased several discounted cooupons for frozen yogurt.  When the expiration date was looming we decided to haul the kids for yogurt dates.  It’s been over a month and I am still full from all that yogurt.  Apparently, so was Ceili Rain.

 The week before Malachi’s birthday he got a virus.  I’m guessing it was roseola again because he broke out in a rash the day of his birthday but had no fever.  One of the benefits to fevers…cuddles and rocking my babies.

 Another fun side to new construction.  Giant sand piles.  Yes, we are that weird family.
 They were playing “King of the Mountain.”

And the grand finale…Look who is now apart of the Upright Club?

Facebooktwittermail

Malachi in a Basket

Before Malachi was born, there was pinterest.  And one day, I stumbled upon a year’s worth of a baby in a basket.  Accept it was the baby on top of clothes in a plastic basket.  I loved the idea but simplified with my pretty basket and Malachi’s crib blanket.
Here’s a look back at Malachi in a basket.  We could also call this Progression of Moppy Hair.
 Newborn

 Two Months
Four Months
Six Months
Nine Months
 Twelve Months
Facebooktwittermail

One Year

March last year, we welcomed a beautiful brown eyed brown haired little man in to our family!  And we are so blessed to have him.  Mark says, “He came in to this world wanting to see where he’s going and he’s continued that way his whole first year.”

Since he’s our little monster (in a cute way of course), we had a monster theme celebration.

Ceili Rain deemed herself my kitchen helper on cake baking day.  Well, technically she is.  Fridays are her day to help me.  Either way, if I am in the kitchen she is right there beside me.  

 Tada!  Big monster and baby monster.  These were finished around midnight the day before his birthday.  The only reason I was able to stay up that late was because a neighbor came over to help me prep and keep me awake to finish them!  I think they turned out rather cute.

 Obviously this is pre-cake cuteness.
 The scrunch nose smile is always a crowd pleaser!
 I think someone said cake!
 Just checking to make sure it’s okay to eat this stuff.
Sugar coma
While Malachi feasted, his “friends” and siblings decorated goody bags.
 Malachi loved his gifts but I think his friends loved them even more!

 This is Ace with his best buddy Jack.  I’m not sure who took this picture but I absolutely love it!  Jack’s had a couple of rough years and to see them just hanging out being good friends…Well, it warms my heart.  Especially since Jack’s mom is my best friend.  Bonus!

 By the time my parents came up to celebrate Malachi’s birthday, he had gotten the hang of the present thing.  I think he totally loved it too!

I worked super hard to make Malachi a cute little monster hat (my nieces can vouch for that).
We did our best to get a picture of the hat on the baby.  This was the best picture.
And this is how he preferred the hat.

A preview of his  basket picture.  He had to sit up in it and rock!  I’ll share a look back over Malachi tomorrow.

Here are his stats from his 12 month check up.

21 lbs 3 oz (25%)
29 inches tall (27%)

Facebooktwittermail

To the Country We Go!

In February, we traveled to visit Mark’s brother and family. If you’ve read the blog for any amount of time, you would know they have eight children ages 12 to under a year. So, we had a packed fun filled few days while Mark helped his brother with some computer thingy stuff.

On the way, we stopped off where my sister E and her family lives and had lunch with them. It worked perfectly because my nephew E’s birthday was the next day. And, as usual, we were all too busy visiting and catching up to take pictures!

Back to the country. Mark’s brother and family live out on a “work in progress” farm. It’s so neat to see how much it has changed since last we came (that was quite a few years ago) and how much they plan to change and learn from it. It’s an amazing and fun place and the kids had no end to the joys of playing out in the woods and with their cousins.

Malachi and T (who is a little over a month younger that Chi) enjoyed taking toys from each other.  T had just learned to crawl in anticipation of keeping up with his big ‘cuz.

We were able to worship as a family at B&B’s church.  It was a fun time. Especially since Papa & Grandmere were there to.

 Games were out throughout the visit.

A beautiful niece sideways.

The morning of our departure, Mark and B and our nephew J all got up at the crack of dawn and headed to conference with Papa on entrepreneurship.  So, I gathered our crew up and headed to thrift stores.  The thrift stores where B&B live are amazing and I found some great deals.  But, before we left, we had to get a group shot.  This is the whole crew minus J.

Facebooktwittermail

Welcoming Grady

The first of February, we hosted a little party to celebrate the birth of Grady.  It was a sweet time to share with Tracy and Kevin’s family and friends and to welcome their beautiful new addition.

 Mama and Baby.  Yes, he’s big.  This is a two month old in the Tracy and Kevin family.

 Miss Maggie getting help from mama.

 All my kids had to get their baby fixes.

Liam is such a newborn baby snuggler.  He simply loves the stillness of holding a newborn.  I can’t wait to see him be a daddy.
Facebooktwittermail

Finishing out

These are just two random pictures from January and February.  I wanted to include them in here for my personal history.

Ah, my Destructo Duo…While getting ready one morning, they raided my shoes (which are still in disarray…but I digress).  And then they came out requesting a picture…with those adorable faces, how could I refuse?

This is my friend Tracy’s son, Wyatt.  He’s wearing an Alabama helmet and when I snapped the picture he was saying, “Roll Tide!”  That may not matter to some but it does to Wyatt’s father since he is a Georgia alum…sorry Kevin…but we had to record this for posterity.

Our mentally unstable dog has a problem.  Well, she has lots of problems.  Anyone know of a good pet pyschiatrist that could help a poor dog.  She needs therapy.  Badly.  Anyway, one of her problems is that she scratches a  lot and has created a nice dry spot on her back.  We decided to try the “cone of shame” to help give that spot time to heal.  (I can’t take credit for the cone name…borrowed it from some friends).  When we finally got it on her, she had it off in under 15 minutes (after running in to everything she could find. It worked well for Ace though…

Actually, I think the giant floor fans have encouraged her to give up scratching…she’s been less violent with it and a bit more relaxed.

Facebooktwittermail

Of Picnics and Elephants

Another mild winter found us at 60 degrees plus and sunny in January!  We took advantage of the warm weather and hiked up our small hill to have lunch.  After lunch the kids ferried the leftovers and whatnot back to the house and we hiked the rest of our greenspace to the street.  On the way, we passed some neighbors who were playing outside and one of them reminded me about the elephants “on parade” that was happening that afternoon.  I knew Bryant would be thrilled so we hiked back home, cleaned up the house and headed out to see the elephants with our friends.  The circus was in town and as part of their animal awareness/conservation efforts, they bring the elephants out so we can watch them eat.

I was right, Bryant was thrilled beyond measure!  As soon as we go there and were looking for a spot someone pointed out the elephants walking down the road.  They came right by us and Bryant was yelling, “Hi! Elephants!” the whole time. He talked about the elephants for days.  And everyone walked home with a red nose and stickers.

Facebooktwittermail

Hair!

 Our current favorite babysitter, C, had mentioned that she was interested in learning more on how to care for a home.  After some prayer and other news from C, I felt the Lord calling me to ask her if she wanted to be a mother’s helper for us.  She and her parents agreed and now Tuesdays are a fun day for littles, easy school day for me, and a learning time for her.  We all win.  She mentioned one Tuesday that she was interested in learning how to cut boys’ hair.  It just so happened that I had four boys in desparate need of a hair cut.  So, we went to work!

She got two boys haircut and then I finished off the other two.
I thought she did an awesome job!  And the boys were none too traumatized!

Best part about being a Lilla Rose, Independent Consultant…playing with Zoe’s hair!  Isn’t it beautiful!

Facebooktwittermail