Birthdays, New Life and Spring

Riley's 4th Birthday Party!

 4? Is that right? Wow time is flying. 

So far it seems like a really fun age.  Riley is really growing up, she is my little helper and it is fun to see her working out solutions to her own problems.  Sometimes it's something I would think of and other times it's just really funny. I hear some wild ones some days. 

This year she was old enough to help me plan the menu for her party and help decorate in preparation. She loves decorations!  Every day for a week she asked if today was her party.  Her sense of time isn't really developed yet. She was really excited for everyone to come over. I think that is her favorite part of the whole event! It's sweet. One of those things that I just love about Riley.

Preschool
Riley is officially enrolled to start September 1st. We got AM sessions from 8:15-11:15 4 days a week. I thought that would work best with the other kids' nap schedules. She is really excited!

Walking 
 August has upgraded his signature August Scoot to a walk most of the time. He took a lot of encouragement but is now doing really well.

Bird Feeders 
Riley and I found some large pine cones on one of our walks and thought it would be fun to make some bird feeders. Unfortunately we had more fun making them because our birds wouldn't touch them.  I thought birds were supposed to like peanut butter and bird seed. Oh well, we had fun and I saw a squirrel enjoying it one day.

 



Riley and August coloring. They have been playing really well together lately. I used to hear a lot of screaming then crying and now I hear more running around and laughing. I think they have finally struck a balance between August getting a little older and Riley being a tad less controlling.

 
Garden
Riley and I planted a garden. She has been enjoying seeing the progress of the plants and seeds growing.  They have been growing fast now that temperatures have gone up and we have been getting plenty of rain. 
The strawberry plants Stacy gave me last year are doing well also. Yay!  I planted them in my spot where things don't do so well just to see what they did and I am pleasantly surprised.



Baby 4 Update  
      I will be 19 weeks this Friday and so far I think everything is going great. The baby is supposed to be the size of a large mango and about 1/2 a pound. That would explain why I suddenly feel so much bigger and getting to experience the now daily joys of feeling him/her kick.  We have our 20 week ultrasound next week so wish us luck. Hopefully he/she is growing ok in there and there are no complications.  We are still not going to find out the gender and will just be surprised when we get to meet him/her for the first time.
        I am finally feeling ok, morning sickness is gone but for some reason last week I managed to get a cold and pink eye at the same time (probably due to not sleeping much in Ottumwa prepping for garage sale ... oops). I am usually fine as it was just a little cold but something about the cold, pink eye and being pregnant and I was wiped out. Oh well, feeling better now and getting back to my normal high energy level, I really missed that and I am sure the kids did, too.
     Riley is getting really excited, we have been trying to prepare her for the fact that she could have another brother or another sister. For a while she was really hung up on getting a sister. 
     I have also been indulging in some pre-nesting nesting and Riley and I rearranged her room to accommodate for August moving in sometime. We reorganized and now there is a spot for another toddler bed to fit and 2 drawers in the dresser for his clothes. She talks about it a lot and seems really excited for him to move in. Let's hope this isn't more exciting for her in theory and also that some actual sleeping takes place!

I love all my kids and am excited to add another to the family!

(post actually written by Chelsea on Keenan's account, because life.)  

January and February

Augusts 1st Birthday Party!

We had a lot of fun having people over and celebrating our first year with August.  He is a fun little guy to get to know. He trys to make me laugh by doing silly things like putting things on his head and grinning at me! He isn't walking yet but he is really good with his baby signs. He knows more, milk, all done and night-night.  He is also trying to say more words, often as he is doing the sign for them. He says Mama, Dada, more, all done, cat, dog, again, night-night and probably a few more that I can't remember right know.
   We are looking forward to spring and getting to play with August outside more, he was too little last year. Hopefully this year he will like the swing.

Kylas 2nd Birthday

  

  This year Kyla would have turned two years old and I miss her just as much as the day we had to day good bye.  I have been thinking for a while of something that I would like to do every year as a tradition with the kids to mark the day.  I don't want January 16th to be a dark cloud over us every year, it doesn't seem fair. Our other kids get birthday party's to celebrate another year with them. I miss her more than I can properly describe and I want to remember her, to celebrate her and to share her because I loved her.  I want our other kids to grow up talking about their  sister so each year to show how much time has passed and to honor Kyla I have decided to release the number of balloons that would reflect her age. Riley enjoyed watching the balloons fly away until we could no longer see them.

The kids just being silly

Valentines Day

    We always have fun on Valentines!  Riley loves to help decorate and to make pretty Valentine pictures.  This year I made Liv and Riley matching shirts. I also like having my assistant in the kitchen to make the traditional giant cookie, this year we added sprinkles because they make everything more fun!  Maybe next year August will be big enough to join in.

Happy Birthday August!

       Today August is 1 and that is amazing!Just last year I was anxiously waiting to meet him.  It has been a joyful, exhausting and wonderful year. We have all grown so much.  Riley has been getting to do all of the things that a big sister should get to do and she loves it! She loves looking out for him and having someone smaller than her to teach. 

     It has been great watching him grow and learn new things.  I love watching his face light up when he achieves something new. I love listening to his deep belly laughs when chasing Riley around the house, that is the best sound there is.  He is a fast crawler and it is fun to see him speed up when he catches sight of something he wants.  He isn't walking yet but I think whenever he gets the confidence he will probably run.

    August likes to jump up and down in his crib when I walk in the room.  He loves, cheerios, spaghetti, risotto and pancakes. Haha, he just likes eating I guess!  He loves playing in forts and peeking out.  He likes crawling around the room with an object in each hand.  He is a mammas boy but I hope he grows out of that.  He is our wonderful August.

 Some pictures from today and some when he was about a week old.  The best ones of him now always seem to be a little blurry. Hes always crawling toward me. I remember this age with Riley. Always on the go and if mom is on the floor they want to be on your lap!

Who has my lens cap?

Joy Of The Seasons!

        I am here to write about the many seasons that have come and gone without a post and the life that has been taking place during those wonderful seasons. Every season is very different and comes with its own joy. Nothing is ever the same, the kids are always growing and with that so am I. I have loved all the milestones so far even the ones that have tested my will and added a few gray hairs to the inventory. It's the day to day that I love best (giving babies baths)!  I am trying to savor every minute of it. I love my husband and kids a little more each day, the ones I can hold and the one that I never will again.

Summer - A time to plant things

I have so much fun pretending to be a farmer and getting to include Riley in as much as I can. It's dirty work but isn't that the best, most fulfilling kind of work?

  Fall

 We have made good use of the wagon this fall. August was finally big enough, they just loved riding together!  It was fun to drag them around the neighborhood and hear laughter trailing behind. Riley and I enjoyed collecting different colored leaves on our many walks.  It was fun to try different ways to preserve their beautiful color. Sometimes she just liked gluing them to her art then painting on them. This was a long fall, which was great because it is my favorite season. I like the crisp air in the morning and the smell of the leaves and all of the beautiful colors everywhere.
    I raked up all the leaves and this year put them at the bottom of a slide and Riley had fun going up the tree house and down into the leaves.

 I love those big blue eyes

 Here Riley is all snuggled up reading some books.  She is really good at playing with August and getting him to chase her. She is a very helpful, imaginative and sensitive girl. Her vocabulary is really growing too, it is fun to hear her thoughts on things and to get a peek into her imaginative play.
   We have started to teach her the basic rules of board games which she really enjoys. I like to take her to the library a lot, too. She is very shy during story time but enjoys going to pick out a bunch of books before we leave to go home for lunch.

August at 9 months

August can crawl really fast now and is pulling up on things. He isn't spitting up very much now so that has been nice. He tries to mimic words sometimes and is a lot of fun to play with. He likes to try to crawl over me and push cars around the room.

 The many faces of August Parker

Pumpkin carving!

 Riley and I sketched out a happy face for our pumpkin and went to town. She enjoyed scooping out the pumpkin guts and later toasting the seeds. She was apprehensive to try one but did anyway and liked them.

Riley as Elsa and August as a little monster (below)

August is almost 10 months in these pictures.
He has 6 teeth and I just noticed another one on the bottom popping through, so I am sure another will be quick to follow since they come in twos.

Babies are such quick learners; he can do the baby signs for milk, more, and all done.  He also waved bye-bye to Keenan when he was going back to work after lunch one day, so cute!

 Winter

 The first snowfall
   We had our first snow storm not too long ago and the next morning Riley and I had a lot of fun running around in it with our snow kitty and snow dog. She liked just running around and getting Quinny to chase sticks, but we also managed to build a snowman. It was a little tricky because the snow was a little dry and powdery but eventually we got it done. He turned out pretty cute!  She was sad to see him melt but we picked up our snowman stuff for the next time. Dante and Quinny had a lot of fun in the snow too.  Quinny (the cat) was really dainty about snow his first year outside but now it doesn't seem to bother him and he had plenty of fun chasing us around the yard. 

 Gingerbread Houses

 This year we did Thanksgiving down in Ottumwa. Stacy made a lot of wonderful food and we all enjoyed time together. August, who has been difficult to transition to eating much finger food, finally decided it was worth his time. He is even doing a little better with a sippy cup.

We decided to decorate gingerbread houses while we were there so the kids could decorate together. I baked extra gingerbread men so they could try that, too. Liv loved it and kept asking for more. They all enjoyed the opportunity for so much candy so soon after breakfast!  This was my favorite tradition and I am glad I get to keep it alive with my own children.  

Christmas is on its way. Soon after getting back from Ottumwa we went shopping for chex mix materials and Keenan made the first of many more to come.  I had to document the process in case anyone had doubts - Keenan was definitely in the kitchen!
    Riley and I went to work setting up the tree and putting the ornaments on. She loves her kitchen one and the Madagascar penguins because they talk. Riley loves decorations and comments on the lights quite frequently. I put up mouse pocket. I think it is just an advent calendar but it is the one I had growing up so it feels special to me.  Each day she can anticipate a candy waiting for her there. We also made a chain that will count down to Christmas, I hope that helps with the concept of time. Looking forward to seeing family again soon!