Family Friday: first horseback rides

Image by the wonderful Laura Kleffman...during a family photo shoot for the whole clan

Our niece just graduated from high school (congrats Angie) and the whole family got together to celebrate at her open house. My sister-in-law has a gorgeous house and lots of land where they have horses, cows, chickens, and tons of space for kids to run and play. The three youngest all got horseback rides for the first time ever! (funny how my oldest had NO interest in it)

 Henry was thrilled to pet a calf!

Quite a fun weekend adventure for my 'city kids.' We have no animals (not even a cat, dog or fish will be in this house anytime soon) so being around animals is always fun....especially big animals like these. Do you have any animals? Or are you like us and just visit someone who does on occasion?

Baby Shower Fun

Newborn babies are SO sweet! I'm always amazed at how tiny they are...you really forget that as your kids get older.
I co-hosted a baby shower for baby Lily and her gorgeous mama earlier this week. It was so fun to celebrate this new little life and shower the parents with fun baby stuff. Shopping for newborns (especially girls) is a little dangerous! There are just TOO many adorable things for babies out there!

Here are some shower details:
I took Emerald with me and she was excited to go to a 'shower.' It took her a while to grasp the concept that the baby is not actually taking a shower. Ha! Kids are so literal it cracks me up!

Emma helped carry the balloons (wearing her Sunshine Dress) and had helped me make a fun fruit 'basket.' We hollowed out a watermelon to look like a baby carriage then filled it with fruit. It was SO cute! We also pinned some fabric around water bottles (a Pinterest idea) and my cousin made some delicious mini-cupcakes.

We played a few games. One was a 'Mad Lib' type game about the birth of baby Lily. We filled in silly words, then let the mom tell the real story. I also made a little 'Handbag Hunt' and got a glimpse into what everyone keeps in their purses! Another Pinterest idea I found was to fill a basket with diapers and ask guests to make some 'late night diapers' for the mom by writing notes on the diaper with markers. What a fun idea! People wrote encouraging things to the mom, as well as some hilariously funny things. I highly recommend doing this if you host a shower. What mom doesn't need some encouragement, or a good laugh at 3am when you're up for the third or fourth time with a newborn!

Lily's nickname is Lil' Mo. We got to tour her adorable nursery and see these amazing blocks custom made by the grandparents. Lily didn't seem impressed, though. She was a little sleepy!

Lily's 91 year old Great Grandmother (who happens to also be my grandma) was at the party too (Great Nana). She could not get enough of that sweet baby.

Later she came over to my house and said 'hi' to the kids. It's always fun to get pictures of my grandma (Emerald) with my oldest daughter (Emerald). 

What a fun baby shower! Being around little Lily almost makes me want another baby...almost.

Henry loves...

A few things that Henry loves:

Sneaking snacks from the cupboard...

Spatulas...and let's just say he likes doing anything in the kitchen when he's not supposed to be there. (like flooding it with the kitchen sink sprayer TWICE)

Stickers...(of course, not on paper or anywhere they belong)

Getting into trouble with his siblings...like when they took all the blankets and pillows they could find and piled them into the crib. Looks like fun, huh? (until they took 4 hours to clean it up because they "didn't want to")

Jumping...usually with his siblings too. For now, Elliott's room is set up like this so they can jump from his bed to an old mattress. Hours of fun.

Sofia...the Disney princess. He is seriously obsessed with her and asks to watch Sofia about 50 times a day. (no exaggeration) He especially loved watching her on my parent's giant tv that sits right at his eye level. It was like Sofia was the same size as him. He was glued.
Oh, and he also loves tugging on his ears like he's doing in this pic.

Making noise...notice how Emma is carefully playing with one finger and Henry is banging on the keys.

Candy watches (from his Easter basket)...or any candy, for that matter.

...but most of all, Henry loves Mommy! :) He's a momma's boy through and through and has a hard time sitting or spending time with anyone else. I should probably stop enabling that but he's my b.a.b.y. We love you Henry!

kids thoughts on Easter

Today is Good Friday and, like many of you, we are reflecting on Jesus and the amazing sacrifice he made for us. I love how innocent and funny the kids are when we talk about the meaning of Easter and the power of all that happened in those 3 days. The oldest ones are starting to 'get it' a little bit and it's a blessing to see their eyes open to the fact that Christ's death and resurrection is much more than a story...it happened...and it has a life-changing meaning.

Here are a few silly little examples of the way the kids have been thinking about Easter:

- Elliott's class had an Easter celebration yesterday and the teacher walked them through the Last Supper and crucifixion stories. She even took the class to a small second floor office in the school that would be like the 'upper room.' Very creative. Each child was given a 'nail' that is kind of like a big, heavy, rusty railroad spike. It's probably a foot long and pretty heavy. Elliott was excited to tell me about it...and honestly believed it was one of the actual nails that was used to hang Jesus on the cross. He was quite puzzled when I told him that, even though it's old, it's not THE one.

- Elliott also kept calling the tomb, the 'boom.' Hmmm.

- We have to drive past a cemetery on his way to school each day and he used to have lots of questions about it that we spent many, many rides talking about. Part of the confusion about the tomb is that in all the pictures he has seen of what the tomb might have been like, the big stone did not have Jesus' name engraved on it. (you know, like tombstones do) Confusing, huh?

- This morning we were talking about Jesus being seen on 'Easter' day. When I told the kids that he even walked through a wall...they thought it was the coolest thing they had ever heard! Emma was so excited about the thought that Jesus didn't even break the wall when he walked through it. So cute!

- And today we have had lots of chances to talk about why Jesus had to die...because we are all sinners. For some reason, the kids have been extra disobedient today and we talk about what sin means each time they...well...sin. Every time they hit their siblings, pull hair, say mean things, disobey mom and dad, etc. it is another teachable moment for them as we discuss how Jesus died because we ALL sin just like that, every day.

Hope you have a fantastic Easter and remember 'the reason for the season.'

And...just for fun...here's one more peek at the spring clothes collection I've been making for the girls. Emma had an Easter party at school yesterday and she was thrilled to wear her new twirly skirt. I love this skirt!! It's my own design that popped into my head after I saw this gorgeous pink flower cut-out fabric. (It's from a collection by Suede...in case any of you are fellow Project Runway lovers and recognize that name.)

I bought a really small amount of the flower fabric (since it was really expensive...like $28 a yard) and then used almost 6 yards of tulle underneath it. Then I lined it and used the same lining material for a waistband. When the skirt was done I had Emma model it for me...and then decided to cut a few more inches off of the flower fabric so the tulle would peek out all the way around.

I can't wait to get better pictures of it with some of the shirts that go with it from the collection...but for now you can see her fun (and slightly Easter-y) skirt.

Kids' Menus

At most restaurants, the kids' menus are a joke.

Case in point...when we were in Florida last week with Emma, we went to a couple nice restaurants. I'd say one was 'above average' and another was 'fine dining.'

The above average one was a revolving restaurant on the beach in St Pete. They had several fresh fish choices available on the regular menu, along with other things. Nothing too unique and overly fancy, but definitely good food. (and not a great picture...but the view of the beach was gorgeous)

Their kids' menu looked like this: mac 'n cheese, corn dog, mini pizza. NONE of those things were on the adult menu and there were no fresh choices for kids whatsoever. Now...do I let my kids eat those things? Sure. I don't have a problem with the occasional mac 'n cheese or pizza. But it's not an everyday thing and it's not what I expect at a nice restaurant that can cook real food. The other kicker at this place was that they refused to make a smaller portion of any of the adult entrees for Emma. Even though I want her to eat a good meal...I'm not about to pay $30 for something she won't eat all of and I can't take home to save.

So, she ate a side dish of pasta...and a whole lot of bread. Nice, huh? Her favorite part was the butter. What's your ideal butter-to-bread ratio?

We also gave her samples of our food. I'm a sucker for halibut...Emma apparently isn't. She stuck with bread. I wish we could have had her try more of our food, but we think she's allergic to shellfish after a weird reaction she had a while ago to having shrimp. Bummer. I'm also a sucker for crab and Michael is a bit of a lobster bisque 'connoisseur'...and we couldn't let Emma taste any of it.

The second place...the fine dining restaurant...was amazing. I had the best filet I've ever had, and Michael had rack of lamb...which he loved! The kids meal choices there were much better so kudos to them! They offered a 4oz filet for kids, or grilled chicken. They were grown up choices that could be combined with sides that were served per table. They even had a Maitre d'Fromage with cheese service...which we didn't even have room for. But what a great and fun thing for kids to be exposed to!

Kids don't always love to eat what grown ups do, but it's a shame that restaurants have such low expectations of kids. Pandering to them by assuming all kids should want fried, nasty, highly processed junk without even presenting a good choice.

I think it would be so great to have a nice restaurant offer a little 'tasting' menu to kids with bite-sized portions of lots of different things. Just getting kids to try new things is a big deal. They may not like it at first, but that's why it would be great to give them bites of many different foods so they would get enough to eat...and would expand their horizons.

Do you know of any places that do that? Or do you have a favorite restaurant with a stellar kids' menu? Please share!

Pajama-rama

Day 2 of 'sewing week' is all about pajamas.

I made pjs for the kids (and Michael) for Christmas. I planned to make some for me too, but ran out of time. Maybe next year.

Each of the kids had a different style. I sorta/kinda followed a pattern for some of them but mostly made them up as I went.

Here is Henry in his cute little pjs. It is really hard to find a pattern for footie pajamas (which he HAS to have because without them he crawls out of his crib)...but I finally found one and am pretty happy with how they turned out.
Here is the 'footie' part of the pjs. Who knew you could buy non-skid fabric in packages at most fabric stores?

Zipper front and ribbed collar/cuffs. This was my first time using ribbed fabric for something like this...like making a t-shirt. It's easier than I thought, almost like making wide bias tape.

I couldn't resist making him a little robe. He looks so cute in it and loves the pockets! He also, surprisingly, loves the hood. He doesn't like hoods on anything else, but on the robe, he does!

He likes to pull the hood down as far as he can get it. Silly guy.

I made a robe for Isa too. Purple, of course!

Isa wanted a nightgown for her pjs so I made this little dress that buttons in the back. The thing that cracks me up about it is that it was my first time trying to add piping to clothing. I literally added piping...like the kind you'd use in upholstery! I took some cord and wrapped it in bias tape then put it across the bodice. Ha! I had no idea that there is a different way piping is put onto clothing and it does not involve cording. Oops! Lesson learned. Even though the cord doesn't lay perfectly flat, the nightgown still works for her and she's happy with it.

For Emma I made a shirt and pants. Here's the shirt (we couldn't find the pants when we took this picture so she just wore jeans...not that her room was messy or anything - HA):

In the picture below you can kind of see the pants...and you can see the matching pjs I made for her doll.

The only picture I have of what I made for Elliott is from Christmas. His is a long sleeve t-shirt with a monster band on it (he chose the fabric) and some fleece pants. I've learned to make pockets in almost anything I make for the kids because kids.love.pockets!

  

Is it worth it to make your own pajamas? Yes, and no. It's fun to design them and sew something special for each kid. But you could honestly buy pjs for the same price as you can make them (or maybe even cheaper if you get a good deal). I would have loved making the kids classic button up pjs, but I am still using my broken sewing machine that can't make buttonholes. My parents gave the kids nice pajamas in that style and they are adorable! Maybe next year I can make some.

I actually already have a pattern that I want to use next year. It would be a fun tradition to keep going. But I think I'll have to start the project in September to get them all done in time!

the opposite of relaxing

While the hubs and I were gone last week in San Francisco and Hawaii, my wonderful (and very brave) mom watched all four kids!

Since we didn't have to worry about the kids:
We walked along the beach...
We ate amazing food while watching the sunsets...
We relaxed.

While she...
did not!

There's nothing relaxing about being around four small children! They are loud, whiny, needy...and fun, silly, and loving. I could come up with dozens of adjectives to describe them - but relaxing would not make the list!

Especially last week.

The first time we called to talk to the kids and see how everything was going we found out about an 'incident' involving Henry's head and my mom's front tooth. Guess who won? Sadly, part of my mom's tooth was knocked out! Her response was pretty amazing: "I've always wanted dentures. I guess I'll just go get a fake tooth!" I think she got it fixed this week.

Then, later in the week we called from Hawaii and found out about another incident. This time it involved Henry once again (why do all of the terrible things that happen in our house involve him??). Henry pushed Isa off the couch and fractured her collar bone. She is doing much better but sported a sling for a little while.

The kids LOVE spending time with grandma...so Mom, I hope we didn't scare you off last week! Thanks for watching the kids. Come back soon! We promise not to hurt you! :)

all things girly...even Legos

Did you know they make Legos for girls? We haven't had the "Lego craze" hit our house much yet because we've constantly been in baby-proofing mode and I didn't want the little pieces. But Henry is getting a little smarter about what he puts in his mouth and chews on (most days) so lately the kids have had fun with some Legos.

Elliott and Emma recently went to a friend's birthday party and the favors were adorable little Lego-themed bags done by my amazing friend, Dawn. She's super creative and made a baby food jar look like a little Lego guy. She filled the cute little jars with M&Ms which, of course, the kids loved!! She also took red bags and cut out little circles to make the whole bag look like a Lego. What a great idea!

Also inside the favor bag was a mini Lego kit. Elliott's was a plane that he even put together by himself! Emma's was this cute little girly Lego set complete with an oven, sink, and table for a party!

She looked so cute playing Legos with her doll, Molly. They are wearing the matching pjs I made them for Christmas.

 I'm seeing many more hours of Lego fun in our future!

Books and more books

A year ago (!) I bought some book ledges at IKEA with big plans to put them up in the kids' rooms to hold their vast collection of books.

Our nearest IKEA is 4 hours away so I had snatched them up when I had the chance...and then these nice little shelves just sat around waiting for their turn to be used...for over a year! (and several more trips to IKEA) Michael could have made the simple shelves easily, but to be honest, IKEA is so cheap it wouldn't have saved much money! (and the project it took a year to do would have taken 2 years with everything else we have going on)

We finally put them up last week in the girls' room and I'm so happy with them!

The kids have more books than I can keep track of. What you see here is probably a third or so of the books we actually have. (and they're getting more for Christmas!) There's an entire bin in the basement dedicated to the kids' books in Spanish and one or two more bins full of English books. Both Michael and I collected Spanish children's books because our children would, of course, be bilingual. HA! Epic fail on that one! From time to time the girls will ask me to read them a book in Spanish, but they lose interest after a while. Clifford the Big Red Dog just doesn't make much sense to them en espanol!


Long ago we learned to hide the best books and keep them somewhere only Mommy and Daddy could reach because of how 'loved' our books have gotten by our kids. Lots of torn pages and chew marks just mean they are well loved, right?
So we wanted to hang the shelves high enough to put some books out of reach...even for Elliott.

Speaking of Elliott...he is reading!! It's amazing to watch your kids learn to read. In the last month or so he's gone from knowing some words to being able to figure out just about any word in a kids' book. He now can choose a book from the shelf to take to bed with him and we can hear him reading to Henry at night! Precious!

Switching subjects now...these pictures have jogged my memory to post about the pouf you can see next to the book ledges. I made that months ago and never posted about it. I have a tutorial to share and everything. Soon.

Henry the Crazy Man

So...today was going to be an anniversary post since we're celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary today. BUT...guess who didn't quite escape the family sickness from Thanksgiving? Poor Michael is out for the count today. I guess I was sick on our wedding day, so he's allowed to be sick on our anniversary. I love you, Michael! Feel better. And thanks for putting up with me for the past 8 years. :) (You can see more about a past anniversary here.)

Onto other news...

Henry is 2! He is a fun, spunky, happy little ball of energy. He is night and day different than the other kids. He's curious to a fault and can't EVER be left alone in a room without something getting damaged. He's busy! And he loves to learn about how things work. He copies everything we do and is the most excitable little guy I've ever seen. We love our fun little man!

Henry loves making noises and pretending to spray water is his favorite sound to make. He is home most of the time with just me and the girls (since Elliott is at school) and he loves doing 'girly' things right along with Emma and Isa. I often find him doing things like this: (shoes are his favorite thing whether he is putting on Daddy's shoes or these princess heels)

To my dismay, he's the only child we've had who likes to play with poop like play-doh. (Ewwww!) He's also the only one who's been determined enough to actually pull the cabinet locks out of the cabinets by trying so hard to get them open. He was not happy when we 'Henry-proofed' the kitchen in July by putting up a baby gate to it.

This determined little guy is also the only one who has learned to climb out of the crib. Here is a picture of Henry several months ago in his crib:

You can see that when he stood up, the top of the crib was about at armpit height. After he got out a few times, we lowered the mattress to the floor. This is now how tall the crib is compared to Henry:

But the stinker can still get out. Here's how he does it...(I was glad to finally capture it since it was a mystery to me.) He starts by gripping his toes around the crib bars to hoist himself up.

 Then he throws his leg over the top of the crib...

 Shimmies his body up and over...

 ...and he's out!

So what now? My solution (after lots of trial and error) is to put him in a onesie...then footie pajamas...then another onesie on top.
The onesie underneath is to keep him from taking his diaper off and me finding something nasty spread all over. The onesie on top is to keep him from unzipping the footie pajamas and then climbing out anyway. I tried just a regular shirt on top of his pajamas once and this is what happened:

He couldn't get the shirt off so he just reached under it to unzip the pajamas and get his feet out. Then did his little toe maneuver and climbed out.

I think Henry has an exciting future ahead of him where he'll challenge the status quo and his determination will help him immeasurably. At least, that's what I have to keep telling myself so these little antics don't make me crazy!

A big boy bed for Henry is in the pre-planning stages and we'll get around to it. For now, I just have to keep an eye on this little stinker.