Sweet Dreams

These sweet videos were taken about 3 1/2 months ago. Gabriel is so much bigger already, but the nighttime ritual is still the same. The kids always ask to "put Gabe on me.". They talk to him in a sing-songy voice and give him kisses. Always two from Charlotte, who then gives two to me because she wants it to be fair.

Snow Day

 This weekend there was finally enough snow in the mountains to go play in!  Hooray!  I know, those of you in Canada and Chicago cannot relate, but here it has been an extremely mild winter.  So we joined some friends to take advantage of the very small storm that came through earlier in the week.  We had a great time!  Each year it gets easier with the kids.  It's so fun to see them getting bigger, trekking their own sleds up the hill, which gets steeper and longer each year.  They all got along great, weren't at all bothered by the tumbles off the sleds, and even made new friends to throw snowballs with.  It was a great day, with one significant disappointment, poor Audrey was sick all day.  She spent most of the time in the car.  She seemed to be feeling better today, though.  Kind of a bummer.

Miss Violet

Making a wall of snow balls

 Little Nia and Papa

Big boy

Big Cheese

 Sir Isaac, the most fearless of all

Jackson riding with everybody

 

 Little Mister - I know this picture is very much like the one after it, but in this one he's smiling at his Mama :)

 This one's for the rest of you

 This is probably my favorite picture of the day, Daddy holding his little guy in the midst of such grandeur.  So many blessing from God in one shot.

 Daddy took Gabriel on his first sled ride

 Big Sister

Some more great shots from Randy:


































Silly robot picture








And, because it worked so well last time, here's a short video of the kids sledding:

iPhone Friday

Posting my iPhone pictures using an app on my iPhone. What was life like before this thing?





Valentine's dessert: chocolate creme de pots with fresh whipped cream, chocolate shavings, and chocolate sables. Mmm...










The end of an evening trip to Costco. I was walking to the car with a baby strapped to me in the Baby Bjorn, holding a 3-year old ("I'm 3 and a half!" he would say) by the hand, pushing a cart with the other hand, with my 5-year old holding on to the cart. Why do I ever believe it will just be a "quick trip?"





Sweet baby
And the final experiment: a video. If this posts easily I will share videos much more often.
We all make decisions as parents. Many of them are neither right nor wrong, it's just a matter of what works for you. This video is the perfect example. I choose to swaddle my babies. It calms them and helps them sleep. It has been fabulous for all our kids. At some point, however, usually when they start to roll, they have to learn to sleep unswaddled. We do one arm at a time. It takes a few days, but soon they learn to adjust.
We also give our kids binkies, pacifiers to some of you. I grateful all of my kids have taken them! Pacifiers reduce the risk of SIDS. Unlike a thumb, I can take away a pacifier. I can also give a crying baby a binky in a church service or a funeral and quiet them quickly. It is harder to convince a kid to take a thumb when you want them to, and although I love nursing, I'm not really the "whip it out anywhere" type. I tell you all of this to say this video is the example of why my choices might not be right for you. Because at some point, you will have to suffer through some days (and nights) of this:

To each their own, right?
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Happy Valentine's Day

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

iPhone Friday

 Our little guy is starting to reach for things!

 Went to Ethiopian food with friends recently.  It was yummy and fun and I am anxious to go back!

 Gabriel bundled up with Auntie Jamie in the blanket she made him.  Precious.

 Girls Night!!  We watched Les Mis and ate yummy food.  And talked and laughed.  Heavy on the talking and laughing, which is as it should be.

This was just dessert.  The third course.

 On Instagram there is a fun thing called the weekend hashtag project.  This weekend's challenge was to take pictures of strange trees.  This was my submission, taken just 2 streets away.  

 Last Saturday Mark and Cindy took the kid to Disney on Ice, giving Aaron and I a very rare Saturday afternoon to ourselves.  The weather was beautiful so we went to Fig Garden and shopped in stores I never can go in with little hands and had lunch outside at La Boulangerie.  Lovely.

 The kids with Ruby

 4 months old!  I can't believe it.  And in the same breath, I can't remember not having him. 

Little Aaron (Levi), lining all his toys up just so.  Soon he will be putting everything in alphabetical order and organizing the bills in his wallet by federal reserve number.  Yes,  Aaron really does that.