8 weeks

In just the last week Eden's changed so much and become much more interested in the world around her. If she hears someone's voice then she looks around to find who it is and she's gone from hating the swing to actually enjoying it as long as the mobile is on over her head. That sleepy little newborn is being replaced but we'll take it since she decided to sleep all night last night from 7 pm to 6:30 am. Hopefully she'll repeat her performance tonight.

I love these pictures of Mya holding Eden. Mya is a very gentle and loving big sister. She's going to be such a good little Mommy one day.

Look who's riding

A summer of push riding with no pedals, 15 minutes learning how to pedal today at the park, and we have this:

Just like with Gabriel, I was amazed at how fast Mya learned to ride once she had the pedals on.

She's been balancing so well all summer, pushing her little bike all over the cul-da-sac and trying desperately to keep up with Gabriel. He better watch out now.

We are so proud of you, Mya our almost 4 year old.

No, it's not Halloween

I seem to be taking a lot of picture of Alena lately, but this was a photo op I couldn't miss

The shoes really set off the outfit, don't you think?

It doesn't have to be Halloween for our kids to dress up - they do it all the time. Much of the fascination seems to come with putting the costumes on, taking them off and then repeat until every costume is spread all over the house.
We did do something a little educational though, making pyramids with the Lego and Duplo blocks We've been studying ancient Egypt with a lot of focus on the mummies and pyramids.
If we don't get some nice weather next week, we're going to be doing things a lot stranger than walking around in costume all day.

Big Sister

Alena has definitely had some adjusting to do as she grows into the role of big sister, but overall she has done very well. Like just today when I caught her "reading" and singing to Eden. She propped this little book up and you probably can't tell from the picture, but Alena was just smiling and laughing at Eden. Another funny thing about this picture is how big Alena looks as compared to Eden when just a few months ago Alena seemed so small to us as our baby. Funny how your perspective changes.
The color of Eden's eyes is very different than the other threes were. I'm sure they are going to end up brown (in fact I don't think it's genetically possible for them to be anything but brown) but right now they're a mixture and they always seem to shine.

More pictures of our week

When Gabe is in school on Tuesday, I am trying to do something special with Mya during Alena's nap time. The first week we played a couple games of Candy Land and this past week we made brownies. Mya loves to help in the kitchen and I don't mind it when there's just one person helping. When three are in there helping it gets a little crazy. I must admit that these brownies didn't look very good but they did taste good. When I told Mya that I was a little worried about how they would turn out she said, "But Mommy, there's no such thing as a bad brownie!" I pretty much agree with that.
Here's a forward facing picture from the same day I took the boot picture in the previous post.
This was a big development in our house this week and one that I've been putting off for a while. We finally took the front piece off Alena's crib and made it into a day bed. After a few weeks of this, we'll move her into the twin bed in her room in anticipation of Eden eventually moving into the crib. Alena's done fairly well with the staying in the bed but I always hate it because it's the end of keeping them contained in the morning. I don't know what time she would wake up in the morning but she was happy to play in her crib until I went and got her which never happened before seven o'clock. Now that she knows she can get out, however it's a different story. She has been at her door yelling (we have an extra tall baby gate up so she can't wander all over the house at night) before seven. My few minutes of peace and quite in the morning has just gotten even shorter.
I love to watch babies stretch and wake themselves up. It's especially funny first thing in the morning because Edens been swaddled all night and it must feel really good to be able to move around.
Eden looks so much bigger to me already. She's starting to follow us with her eyes and even smile when we talk to her. Her siblings can't wait until she can smile and laugh at them.

A little sunshine

on a rainy, dreary day...

Why Alena doesn't get a Fudgsicle very often

Don't worry, she went straight into the bathtub.

The Fort

So, here's the result of all Grandaddy and Nae's hard work last weekend: a fort/clubhouse/tree house without the tree for the kids. I can't remember when the idea came to Gabe that he wanted a fort but over the last few months he had drawn some "plans" for how he wanted it to look. Since, Grandaddy, Grandmama, and Emma were coming down over Labor Day we decided to take advantage and get building. This little building actually turned into a much bigger project than we all anticipated but we're very happy with the outcome.

A few pictures from the building process:

Wouldn't you hire this little girl for your next carpentry job?

They worked all day Friday, Saturday and until about 4 on Monday meaning that Grandaddy, Grandmama, and Emma didn't get home to VA until after midnight. There are still a few cosmetic details to complete but "the fort" has certainly gotten a lot of use already this week.

Thanks Granddaddy and Daddy!

Our Baby

First Day

We dropped Gabriel off this morning for his first day of school at the home school co-op that he will go to one day a week. To say he was excited is an understatement. When we pulled into the parking lot he said, "I can't wait to go inside!" He marched into his classroom and his teacher had to remind him to say goodbye to his Mom.

Here are a couple pictures from this morning:

When we got inside the building I saw a lot of the parents had their cameras to take pictures in the classroom and I hate I didn't think of doing that. It's probably for the best, though since it's not like I didn't have enough to keep up with between Gabe, Mya, a death grip on Alena's hand and Eden in the sling I don't know if I could have managed the camera as well.

Mya and Alena have been playing since we got home even though they've both asked me twice if it was time for Gabe to come home yet. Eden is sleeping and I'm off to go do laundry since Eden has managed to have a huge blow-out diaper while sitting in the swing, spit up resulting in another clothes change for herself and one for me as well and also peed on the blanket when I was cleaning her up. All that and it's not even lunch time yet!

Eden's Baptism

What a blessing it was to be able to celebrate Eden's baptism today. Dad baptised her at our church this morning and we are so thankful for this covenant child.

Grandaddy and Grandmama holding Eden

Pathu, Noi holding Simon and Mathu holding Eden. Simon was born the first of June so he and Eden will be close in age like Mya and Savannah are. Simon looks a lot bigger now, though. It's amazing what a few months does when they're this small.

Noi and Eden

Emma and Eden. By the time we got home Eden was very ready to get out of that dress and eat.

Me and Nae with Eden.

Gabe, Alena, Mya and Eden. They all have worn the same baptismal gown (even Gabe much to his dismay) that Mathu made although Eden was definitely the youngest and smallest to wear it.

Big project

Grandaddy, Grandmama, and Emma are here visiting this weekend, and these two are building something in our backyard that the kids are going to love. More pictures to come after it's completed...

4 weeks

I can't believe that Eden is four weeks old already. Everyday as part of Gabe's math work he fills in the date on a calendar, and whenever it is Tuesday he says, "Today is Eden's birthday." The past four weeks have gone by so fast and we have all enjoyed getting to know this new little person. Equally as hard to believe is how well she filled out this little onesie. It's newborn size but she won't be wearing it many more times which is too bad because it's so cute.

I love to kiss those squishy little cheeks.

I just know that Alena will be our first child to end up with a broken bone. She is a little dare devil and there's very few things she's afraid to try. One of her favorite things to do outside is to swing and you can forget the baby swing. She wants the big swing and hollars, "Push me faster! Push me faster!" Thankfully, she's really good about holding on and hasn't fallen off any.