Happy 1st Birthday

 strawberry cake, "Happy Birthday" serenade, lots of celebration clapping

new clothes, story books, stacking blocks, baby swing

and a party with many, many, many wonderful friends :)

One Year

Our sweet, beautiful, curious, extrovert is a year old!  Addison is a joy in our lives.  She keeps us constantly entertained with her copycat sounds, bouncy dancing, and giggly clapping, and always on our toes with her curiosity and super fast crawling.  She is a sweet snuggler and always happy to be toted around by her adoring siblings.  Addy is a special little one - we are so thankful for her. 

Happy Birthday Addy! 

 At One Year Old:

waves "bye-bye"

stands up - not holding on to anything - and bounces 

up, down, up, down, up, down

claps her hands when we say "yay Addy!"

loves attention

raises her arms for "so big!"

signs "please" for food

likes to stand in her highchair

doesn't like to be told "no"

(she has a cute pouty lip stubborn/fuss face)

sleeps 12 hours at night

sleeps with her paci

takes 1 (sometimes 2) naps each day

takes 5 bottles a day (30 ounces)

(formula and breast milk)

eats nearly anything as long as she has an audience

spaghetti, raw green beans, melon cubes, cheerios, 

peanut butter on bread, rice, cucumber, avocado, 

olives, potato, crackers, cheese . . . and pickled onions :)

rubs food in her hair

fast crawler

cruises along the couch

repeats words and sounds

reaches to be picked up

happy to be held
HUGE personality!

snuggles and hugs

give open mouth kisses

watches Baby Einstein movies

into everything!

enjoys having books read to her

likes playing with blocks (and knocking them together)

attracted to phones

notices when mama's arms are empty and is quick to fill them :)

easy going

has 11 teeth (she has 3 molars!)

curious about everything

giggles along with others

"dances"

This very special first birthday was celebrated at home and afar.  Addy has a lot of family who all love her dearly.  Her birth family was certainly thinking of Addison on this day, as we were thinking of them.  Modern technology and the ease of sharing pictures instantly helps to us to stay connected to Addy's birth mom. 
She especially enjoyed the birthday videos of Addy chowing on her strawberry cupcake :)

Addy is a much loved little one!

Snuggle Baby

Sweet little sister is growing well!

At 6 weeks old, Emory weighs 10 lbs 9 oz and is filling her 0-3 month clothes nicely.
She's also beginning to space out her nightly feedings - 4 hour stretches (woot woot!)
Emory is a bit fretful, but she has many arms very willing to snuggle.
(and she loves being held in mama's pouch/sling carrier!)

Strawberries

Living in an area that celebrates and annual week-long Strawberry Festival, strawberries are a big deal. 
May is the month for strawberries. 

This year, we picked up our 2 flats of fresh-picked strawberries at a local farm.  We quickly devoured nearly 8 quarts fresh, froze several quarts for making strawberry jam later this month, and used the remainder for sweet treats: strawberry cobbler, angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream, and strawberry syrup over vanilla ice cream. 

Delicious!
(We might need to go back for more!)

Emory was too little to enjoy strawberries with everyone, but she did wear her super cute strawberry romper for the occasion :)

(and pooped through it - good girl!)

Bike Fleet

We have a fleet of bikes, and a crew of riders. 

Our bike-riding crew has been enjoying zipping around the neighborhood - up and down our street, down to the dock, and around the lake.  We currently have 6 strong riders . . . and they're working to teach Kolpin and Maclaren. 

It's not easy to keep our fleet of bikes in working order - we constantly experience flat tires, fallen-off chains, worn-out brakes, and broken peddles. That's why we were especially grateful to our bike-shop-owning friend who, in two house calls, got our entire inventory (10 bikes) back in working order - amazing!  The kids are certainly thankful. 

One Month Old

So many changes and so much growth in just one month!

One Month

Our sweet Emory Ann is one-month-old!

It's been a whirlwind first month - ten busy siblings, nursing around the clock (little sleep), outings and errands, house cleaning and painting, and a major change in the works for our family (!). 

It's in the midst of the whirlwind when I am so thankful for the peace a precious baby brings.  Babies have a way of forcing one to slow down, pause, and breathe.  Babies offer a great reminder of what matters - it's not the house, or schedule, or other obligations that sometimes seem so important. 

It brings me such joy to sit and snuggle with this beautiful girl:  gazing into her eyes, sleeping with her on my chest, feeling her melt into my arms.  I love her sweet newborn noises, her gusty newborn cry (she likes to show off!), the rumbles in her diaper, watching her root on her fists, having her swaddled next to me at night, feeling her petal soft cheeks and silky brown hair, catching brief glimpses of a upturned "smile" mouth or "cheerio" face. 
I love watching her siblings adoring her, eager to hold, touch, and snuggle with this new baby. 

Emory is such a blessing in our lives. 
She is a sweet one.  

At One Month Old:

9 lbs 7.5 oz

wearing 0-3 month clothing

nursing 10 times a day

sleeps in our arms or swaddled in a crib

has a crew of admirers (and eager holders)

is calmed by a paci

gags on her paci(!) and knocks it out with her busy arms

has really long fingers!

fits perfectly in the crook of our arms

falls asleep in my sling carrier

I have been so thankful for the meals from friends, helpful extended visits from my mom and dad, and the pitching in of all kids (and a really incredible husband) - all have been such a huge blessing during this first month in the "newborn bubble."  I've certainly enjoyed the freedom this help has allowed me to soak up and enjoy this precious time with Emory Ann (and take a nap each afternoon!). 

Thank you!

Mini Golf

With Gramma with us soon after Emory was born, it was nice to enjoy a few special outings - a treat for me and the kids, and much more doable with 2 adults!   A round of Mini Golf was an especially fun (and different) experience for all ages.  We only lost 9 balls in the pond - oops!

Mother's Day

I am so thankful God has blessed me with this crazy incredible crew of kids. 
I am thankful for my role as mother - "mama" and "mom"

I mess-up and learn daily, am challenged and stretched, find joy and frustrations, pray for wisdom and patience, try not to worry, never seem to have enough time, and never imagined there could be so much love. 
Motherhood is an amazing gift. 

I am thankful for all the mama's in my life who have set beautiful examples, challenged, supported, helped, and encouraged me in my imperfect walk striving to be a Godly mama. 

Happy Mother's Day!

Week 4

house painting

nursing 10x a day

9-1/2 pounds

first overnight-road-trip (Bristol, TN)

date night

dance class

Eleven

Tesfaye is our hard-working, handsome, athletic, tender, helpful, active, always moving, music-loving, social, little sister dance partner, no-fear outdoorsman, budding photographer, little sisters' favorite, short-fused, cooking assistant, spicy food eating, dog lover, sportsman, physical, outgoing, sports talent, always busy, patient leader, rough player, chess dominator, money-saving, baby caregiver, book worm, quick cleaner, sensitive to others' feelings, keeping everyone in line, big brother . . . and he's ELEVEN!

Happy Birthday Tesfaye!

11-year-old Favorites:

food:  meat shiro

dessert:  oreo cake, ice cream cake, pumpkin pie, and chocolate ice cream

drink:  water, Pepsi, Sprite, the good Ginger Ale, Dr. Pepper

restaurant:  Abyssinia Ethiopian Restaurant

book:  fantasy books - Percy Jackson, Harry Potter (Chamber of Secrets), Kane Chronicles

movie(s): Harry Potter, Superman (Christopher Reeves), the new Jungle Book, Star Wars the Force Awakens, Spiderman (Tobey Maguire), Lord of the Rings, Hobbit

music: Pop, Christian, Rock, Classical (Adele, Mozart, Queen, Rush)

sport:  soccer, baseball, running, karate, gymnastics, swimming

school subject:  reading (not history - I only like history when you read it)

inside activity:  games (chess, checkers, crazy 8's), reading, and audio books

outside activity:  riding bikes, shooting bow and arrow, playing baseball and soccer, making forts, fishing, swimming, running, exercising, being weird :)

superhero:  superman

animal:  eagle

with brothers:  wrestling, board games

with sisters:  board games, riding bikes, exercising and stretching

with dad:  chess, going out to breakfast

with mom:  taking pictures (he's a budding photographer), going out to dinner, cooking

 outing:  Skyzone, roller skating, fishing, bookstore, getting ice cream

vacation spot: the Beach (OBX)

future career aspiration:  that's a long time away . . . a fitness coach, cook, coaching soccer teams - like a kids coach

place I want to visit:  Ethiopia and Rome and Greece

in Ethiopia:  have Ethiopian food and visit people

in Rome and Greece:  I want to visit all the big building that broke down like the Colosseum where the gladiators fought. 

where I want to live:  I always want to live here, but I don't know.  I do want a lot of acres with woods and a big field with a lot of grass to cut, with a lake and a swimming beach, maybe a jungle.

my ideal day:  I'd go to the beach and swim for like an hour, take a break and eat lunch. To let the food rest, we'd go to the movies.  Come home and take a nap, then we'd go to the beach again and swim again.  At night after dinner we'd go crab catching and watch a movie and fly a kite.  I would have friends with me for the whole day.   Then we'd go to bed. 

what makes me special:  I'm awesome . . . just kidding.  I help people and I work hard.  Dogs like me, and babies like me.   

dislikes:  changing diapers, go to the dentist (it's good for me but it's not fun), having a bike accident - it's hurts, badly, when I get sick (thankfully hardly), waiting for so long to read a book, headaches, lazy people, chocolate milk, Pizza Hut,  people getting my stuff, crying babies at night, wiping baby's snot, cleaning the bathroom, when I'm the only one cleaning, bad books, smiling for pictures, getting mom's hair in my hair (mom's hair gets everywhere).

what I'm saving my money for:  MP3 player and wooden arrows, and I want a camera so badly!

Tesfaye is a special one :)

For this 11th birthday, Gramma and Grandpa are in town for the weekend.
We're celebrating with a unique bakery cake, coffee cake/ bacon/ pineapple breakfast, and BBQ lunch together (we'll go out for a birthday dinner next week - Indian food!).
On his birthday wish list this year:  wooden arrows, fishing pole, wiffle balls and bat, clothes, soccer ball, basketball, electronics, and an airsoft gun :)