Happy Thanksgiving!

We enjoyed a quiet Thanksgiving this year.  Most of the cooking/baking had been done the day before so we didn't spend much time in the kitchen.  Instead we had a slow morning enjoying powdered doughnuts, chocolate croissants, and hot drinks while watching some of the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade (which we decided seems to have gone down hill since we were little, we will be skipping that next year).  Some of the kids pulled out the legos to play with, others went outside to drive go-carts around in the drive way.

 

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving lunch full of too much good food.  The kids were disappointed that we had not invited anyone over this year (or were not going anywhere).  I was not up to planning on having any one over or going anywhere this year though.  We will make up for that in December with visits with friends and family.

Black Friday sales can be fun and a good deal, but they are not a big part of our Thanksgiving (or day after) traditions.  However, we now have a teen daughter.  She needed clothes.  Old Navy was putting everything in their store on sale for 50% off.  Miss E talked me into taking her on Thanksgiving to their 7pm opening.  We took Miss J along; she is a great shopper.  We waited in line to get into the store.  What luck, there was a Starbucks right there! The girls went in and got drinks for us while I waited in line to get into the store.  Then we shopped.  We found way too much, but had a great time.   Then we got in line to pay; the line was about an hour long.
Oh yea, I forgot to mention that I had Miss A with me as well.  We had hardly noticed her the entire trip; she was content as could be sleeping in the baby K'tan strapped to me.  Then she woke up about the time we got in line to pay.  I ended up nursing her while standing in line.  We got some great deals, and (more importantly) we had a great time together.  The girls were tired and ready for bed, until they heard that daddy had suggested I take them to get an evening snack on our way home.  They perked up quite a bit and suggested we go into the mall to see what food we could find there.  We ended up taking pretzels home to daddy so we could enjoy the snack together.

The Baby Whisperer strikes again

About two years ago Mr. R became known around our house as "The baby Whisperer" with Mr. K.  I'm enjoying watching him live up to that name again.  He has quite a bit of my Papa's calm loving spirit in him.  Papa was a baby lover (OK, my whole family is baby crazy) and he could always calm the babies, I love seeing Mr. K doing the same.

Miss A is not nearly as fussy as Mr. K was, but she has her moments.  Mr. R has already been able to get her to sleep with no fussing at all.  In the above picture Miss A was past her "happy time" but not quite ready for her nap; she was very happy to cuddle with big brother though!

One month!

Miss A is one month old today.  Its been a great month getting to know her; watching her grow, seeing her soak in the world around her, and watching her siblings love on her.

This sweet girl is growing like a weed.  She weighs 11 pounds 1 ounce (from a birth weight of 9 pounds even)!  No wonder she is still waking a fair bit in the night to eat.  She is giving me one 4 1/2 (at the most) stretch a night followed by 3 or 2 hour stretches.  Yep, I'm tired.  I'm glad she is growing so well though, and that since we're getting into the Christmas season, I don't have much school to do with the kids. ;-)  We're still taking it slow around here.

Hmmm, who is sleeping in my bed?  Miss A likes to nap in my bed while I rest beside her.

 

Miss A is having longer wake times, and is much more alert and aware during them.  Today she loved sitting in her bouncy seat near the rest of the younger kids as they played on the floor.  I love seeing my little babies take joy in being with their older siblings.

A visit to the Fire Station

A friend of ours is a fireman.  On Sundays when he has to work his family joins him for lunch after church.  They recently invited us to join them.  We all had a great time visiting with this dear family, the kids had a great time checking out the station and the trucks.

*Yea, hanging out in the firetruck is pretty much a 2 year old boy's dream come true!

 

Backyard camping!

While Daddy was home helping us settle in after Miss A's birth the kids managed to talk him into camping with them in the back yard.  They did it well too; a camp fire, s'mores, and even a movie in the tent!

 

I was more than happy to remain inside nice and cozy in my own bed snuggling with Miss A.  I am looking forward to trailer camping in the near future, but I'll be passing on tent camping for a while.

Three weeks and back on my own

Miss A is now 3 weeks old.  She is chunking up well; I'm putting away the 0-3 month clothes.  We spent this past week resting and I observing her routine a bit closer in hopes of getting a better handle on how our days would go.  Today was my first day on my own with all 8 kids.  It went well, especially since I thought it would be fun to take everyone in to the chili cook off in Rob's office.  Then we dropped off our Operation Christmas Child boxes.  Whew!  We were back home early enough to get naps in for those that needed them (including me).

Rob had the week after Miss A off of work (paternity leave), then my mom came to help for a week.  Rob had another week off (regular leave) allowing me a full three weeks of rest and recovery.  We've found that when I get that good recovery time in that the whole family benefits.  We've also been incredibly blessed to have meals delivered by friends for nearly the whole three weeks!

 

Now it's time to get back to normal.  Daddy kept things in order around the house, so everyone is ready for me to jump in without needing too much re-ordering.  My freezer is full of meals, so I should not have to make dinner again for a while (Miss E is going to help me with getting things started in the crock pot and the finishing touches for the meals).  I'm also thankful that we are coming up on Thanksgiving and Christmas; times of school breaks and extra time off for Daddy!  We will be keeping the holidays low key and just enjoy the family time.

Playing baby

Miss C has been so excited about her new baby doll and the double stroller.  They are just about all she has been playing with.  Many around our house had commented that Miss A would fit in the new double stroller.  Nana finally took the time to put her in for Miss C (no, we did not let her walk around with Miss A in there).

Miss A seemed happy enough in there.

 

I always pick up some pacies for the new baby.  A few have liked them for a few weeks or so, one stuck with it.  Miss A does not like the ones I got her, and seems to have no need for them.  Miss C thought they would be nice for her dolls.  Mr. K thought he would try them out.  He is too funny!

*Mr. K has adjusted well to no longer being the baby.  He likes Miss A well enough and enjoys giving her kisses.  I think that grabbing the pacie was his way of checking to see if we would still let him be a "baby."   We let him, laughed with him about still being a baby, and he quickly gave it up.  

Happy Birthday Miss C!

Miss C turned 4 this past week.  She had a great day, filled with everything she had hoped for (it is so nice when their expectations are fairly low and realistic).  Her day started with Daddy getting her up early to go with him to pick up the doughnuts she had requested.

Miss E and Miss J (with a bit of input from Miss C) set the table for breakfast with our pretty tea things.  The table looked so sweet, just right for our sweet little girl.

 

She had hoped for a new baby doll and a double stroller.  We got her the doll, and Nana got the double stroller.  She was one happy girl.

 

Nana had picked up a cute Hello Kitty cupcake set and sent it a few months ago.  Miss C was wanting Hello Kitty cupcakes for her birthday and was THRILLED to get to help Nana make the cupcakes.

Happy Birthday Miss C!  You are such a sweet little girl with such a giving, nurturing spirit.  We are looking forward to seeing how God works in you in the coming years!

Ender's Game

We took the oldest 3 kids to see Ender's Game this week (as well as little Miss A).  They had earned the privilege of going to the movie by reading the book.

After the movie we took them out for pie so that we could discuss the movie, the book and the differences between the two.

We really enjoyed our time with our older kids.  The little kids enjoyed there time at home with Nana watching movies and playing.  A good time was had by all.

*Miss A was GREAT at the movie and while out for pie.  She slept through most of it, only quietly waking to nurse at the beginning and end of the movie.

Two weeks!

It seems hard to believe that its only been its already been two weeks.  In so many ways the two weeks have just flown by and we are still trying to get to know her, but in others if feels like she has just always been a part of our family.

Miss A is doing very well.  She is still a fairly content little girl; she sure can scream when she is hungry or tired, but is easily soothed.  She weighed in this morning at 9 pounds 9 ounces; up 9 ounces from her birth weight.  Obviously nursing is going well.  Sleep is going well enough, she usually gives me 2-3 hour stretches at night, but has also given me 4 and 5 hour stretches.

Her siblings are still enjoying her and she has started turning her attention to them.  While she is most content in her mama's arms she seems to get excited when big brothers or sisters come into view.  Miss J seems to attract her attention most consistently.

One week

Miss A is one week today.  She is a great little eater, content most of the time, and sleeps fairly well.  She has started giving little smiles and has been letting us see her eyes more.  She seems to enjoy being held by her oldest siblings, and does not seem to mind the not-so-much-older-siblings holding her either.

I weighed Miss A today.  She was 9 pounds 1 ounce!  Yay!  At just one week she has passed (by 1 ounce) her birth weight!  On Sunday she had been down to 8 pounds 8 ounces.  Hooray for good cream milk!

Look at those cheeks!  Aren't they great!  Don't you just want to kiss them?  I've been doing that quit a bit; and she seems to like the kisses since many of her smiles show up when I kiss her cheeks.

I'm so thankful that Rob had this week off so that I could recover, rest, and just enjoy this little girl without worrying about the lack of sleep at night and such.  I'm also thankful that my mom is coming on Sunday and the help she will be in the coming week.  What a blessing!