Taking a break

My blog has obviously slowed to a screeching halt! With school, starting an AHG troop, house hunting, and life in general, it's been pretty busy. So, until we can settle into a nice routine again, I'll be ceasing my posting. I have really enjoyed blogging and look forward to when I can get back into the swing of it. I don't know yet if I will continue this one or start from scratch, but I will be sure to let you all know one way or the other! Thank you so much for following along!

Another Late Post

So 8 days ago my blog turned 1 year old! The time really went very quickly and I don’t feel I have much to show for it. I really wish I had more written but with the big girls doing school year round, Funny Bones moving from toddler to preschooler, and The Boy moving from baby to toddler, life has been just a TAD bit busy.

Just a tad.

Hopefully the next year will see more thoughts magically transferred from my brain to my computer. I may need to give my telepathy a good pep talk!

Man, how cool would that be?!?! All my thoughts just written out for me! Well, maybe not ALL of them!

It just so happens to be our busiest time of year right now. We’ve got a mini vacay in a few weeks, FB 3^rd b-day (sob), Zoo Boo, the Texas Renaissance Festival, and of course all the Holidays! We’ve also gotten back in the swing of activities with our home school group. So, if I plan effectively I can get in some good writing time and get posts up throughout!

Thanks for hanging here with me and all my craziness!

Gargantuan Boy

Happy 1^st Birthday (plus 2.5 weeks) to the first man child in our family! Each of the villains reminds me of God’s awesomeness in their own way, and The Boy being the 4^th child is just another example of how God has perfect timing! The Boy has BY FAR been the crankiest and least content baby… period. I tried finding excuses for it, “When his reflux gets better he’ll be happier because he’ll be more comfortable” “When he can roll over he’ll be happier because he can lay however he wants to” “When he can crawl he’ll be happier because he can play and get around” “When he can walk he’ll be happier because he can play and get around better” but I’m lying to myself, really. He’s getting more independent and more easily distracted, but overall, still cranky. He’s just a needy kinda guy, and that’s ok because I can handle it WAY better now than I would’ve if he had been the 1^st, 2^nd, or even 3^rd kid. I would not have been ready for him before now. God knows what He’s doing people.

At birth The Boy was absolutely gargantuan (hence the title Gargantuan Boy), weighing in at 10lbs 8oz. He kept his gargantuan physique right up until he started walking. Now he’s lost a lot of baby fat and is looking more and more like a boy instead of a baby. He is still keeping his gargantuan height though and was a little over the 98^th percentile at his 1 year well-visit. He comes up to FB shoulder already and she’s even our tallest girl so far! It won’t be long before he’s looking me straight in the eyes, and shortly after I’ll be looking UP to see his face! But if I think about that too much I’ll cry, so moving on.

Mr. and I can already see, even now, how inquisitive he is about the workings of things. He likes putting things in (of everything) and taking things out (of everything), he likes opening and closing, he pokes and prods and points as his little brain figures it out. There is no trashcan lid that can keep him out, nor baby gate that can keep him from turning off his sisters’ movies. He’s a thinker and a doer, and just like the girls, he surprises me every day with his intelligence. Oh, maybe that’s it, maybe his intelligence so surpasses his physical abilities that he’s just frustrated by his limitations! Yep, that must be why he’s always cranky. ;-)

I hope he stays inquisitive and intellectually curious. I’m looking forward to what this new personality brings to our family!

My boy’s first year went by faster than any of the girls ever did. I even tried extra hard to enjoy each and every little moment with him as a newborn knowing it would end too quickly. I tried not to rush through the things that seemed like chores, like diaper changes and baths. I stared at him while he nursed and didn’t mind so much when he preferred to sleep in my arms at night instead of in his crib only two and a half feet away. When he was cranky and uncomfortable from his reflux, I enjoyed him. When he was cranky and uncomfortable from who-knows-what, I enjoyed him (mostly, hehe). Yet no matter how much I tried to hang on to his “babyness”, it still slipped through my fingers.

I guess there’s only one thing left to do… get another one! Ha!


(Mr. Intelligent Man just choked on his coffee)

Catching Up

Our computer (a.k.a my right arm) was dead for about a month. It was awful at first but after I got used to it I actually got some much needed things done around here! I got a few more things sewn, cleaned out some closets, and found more reasons to get out of the house! Blessing in disguise, indeed!

However, there were also some down sides to it. Instead of creating an adorable monster themed 1^st b-day party for Gargantuan Boy, I had to settle for a completely unoriginal, store bought, football themed party (that’s ok, the cuteness will be redeemed next year).  We will also be starting school 3 weeks after I had originally planned. Which stinks but also not awful, I mean, after all, I am the teacher of my own school! Ha!

So this week I have spent oodles of time in front of the computer but for good reason. I am soooo close to being completely ready for school to start on Monday I can taste it! I will be able to finish today for sure! And that feels good! PP will be a 2^nd grader (and has literally been counting down the days until we start again for the past few weeks), Z Girl will finish the Kindergarten she started last year and perhaps start 1^st in January. FB will be doing Pre K when she’s interested, and The Boy will be undoing and ripping up everything we create. We are all very excited!

So now I’m going to (2.5 weeks late) get to writing The Boy’s b-day blog and then laminate some school stuff. My laminating machine is my best friend.

I. LOVE. Laminating.

Here's my pile for today (and I've already done quite a bit before this)!

It feels good to be catching up and hopefully I’ll be able to blog more frequently!

Mr. Intelligent Dad

Happy Father's Day Mr. Intelligent Dad! It's a privilege to have a dad (and husband) who is committed to his family in every way! Our well-being is always your priority and we are blessed to call you ours!
HUGS and KISSES

Here are a few of our daddy/baby memories...

Mr. Dad kissing Prissy Pants. She was about 2 months old here, and yes, that's her real hair!

 Mr. Dad and me checking out our brand new Z Girl. Our first taste of her "I'll do it when I'm ready" personality was the torturously long 2nd stage of labor (hence the slightly comatose mom)!



Mr. Dad teaching Funny Bones to walk, which we would later wish hadn't happened for a few more months! 



Mr. Dad constructing, Gargantuan Boy destroying (and tasting).



Here are a few desktop backgrounds I made for Mr. Dad for Father's Day!



SHMILY!

The Invisible Z Girl

Today my Z turns 5, it's very bewildering to me.

How did we get from here...

to here, so quickly?

This girl is so much like her mom it's unreal! The ONLY difference between Z and myself as a kid is the eye color. Not kidding. She's a carbon copy in appearance AND personality. I love having a kid that's unmistakably mine!

It's really hard to explain her personality to people who don't know her well. She can be as brave as a lion one minute and as fragile as a butterfly the next. She's either on or off. She's always at one end of the spectrum or the other, there is no in between with Z. At home she's chatty, silly, and makes her opinions known! Out of the house she's all but invisible, most people will only hear a simple yes or no from her in response to a question!

Z came at such a special time for us. We endured two miscarriages in the months before our baby Z "stuck" in there. Which is why naming her came so easy, her name means 'life'. God chose to give her life here with us after giving the other babies life with Him. Other hardships had fallen on Intelligent Man and me at that time as well, and her little life gave us something to smile about again! And she was one smiling baby! She's always been so cuddly. Even to this day she'll curl up in your lap and dish out some hugs and kisses that only she can.


She's been doing "school" since she was 1 year old. As soon as I started Pre-K with PP, Z was determined to be involved and has enjoyed every minute of it! I'll never forget when she turned 2 and I was preparing to teach her colors and shapes. I printed them out and hung them up, she immediately walked over and named each and every color and shape I hung. I was speechless! Again the next year when I hung an alphabet poster for her she came right over and named each letter AND the sound it makes. I did it again this year. I was hesitant to start her in Kindergarten, I didn't want to push her too much (and had just given birth and didn't want to push myself). After a few months of being completely bored and doing 6 pages a day (that was all her) in her Big Book of Kindergarten, I finally decided to officially start K with her at 4 1/2 years old. And man oh man, she's blown me away again, though I don't know why I'm surprised. She took to math and reading like it was second nature! She's also been writing for a good year now too. So glad my little villains are taking after Mr. Intelligent Man!


For some reason Z's birthdays have always been the hardest for me. PP is so mature it's easy to see her physically catching up to her mentality, but when Z reaches whatever age PP left not long ago, it's like a dagger to the heart! Now that she's 5 she's lost all her baby fat, those chubby jowls of hers are gone and she's all skin and bones. She can now wear clothes from the "big girl section" too. *sigh* I'm so looking forward to seeing her grow and watching to see if she stays in such a likeness to me or if she takes off in another direction. Either will be fun to experience. Thank you Lord for my Invisible and Incredible Z Girl!

Dreamy B&W

It's been a while since I've linked up to the L.E.N.S. photo challenge, so here goes. The challenge is Dreamy Black and White. I have gazillions of photos in b&w, it's my favorite look, which is why I wanted to jump back in to the challenge, but I honestly didn't have any certain picture in mind. I browsed my albums and decided to reminisce on The Boy. He just turned 10 months a few days ago and the time has absolutely flown! It'll be his first b-day before I know it! AHH! So here a few of my favorites from his very first photo shoot at home. He was 8 days old.