contentment : )
kisses 
and some cheese!
Alora is growing so fast I can't believe it! She is getting so big and awesome, too! She can focus on things very intently now. She is so alert at times, and is getting better at being by herself for small periods of time in her bouncer or the swing(looking up at her own reflection).
She smiles and smirks, and is starting to coo when she's happy and grunt when she starts to get frustrated. She can cry with the best of them, but isn't generally a grumpy baby. She has an appointment coming up on Monday, and I look forward to seeing how much she weighs now. People ask and I have no idea. I can tell she's gained though, because she now has a roll or two on her little thighs and her feet have become much chubbier, too!
An added bonus to her sleeping longer stretches of time, other then being able to breath my own air occasionally, is that we finally got a garden in!
and some cheese!
I have had the very best day today!
It all comes down to the baby getting a little more sleep. I hate to even write it out, because I don't want it to change... : )
...but she seems to be starting to fall into a tiny bit of a routine.
On the days when she isn't ravenously hungry that is (which tends to go in bouts of two-three days).
For the last two days, I have been able to get her back to sleep in the morning, before I go and get the other kids out of their room. They have been getting up and playing nicely until I come get them, about 30 minutes later, which is pretty good I think!
The day starts off much nicer when I am actually able to eat in the morning! : ) Plus the kids get a little time with me, that isn't about Alora, which is nice for all of us! I can not tell you how much easier it is for me to just sit with her nursing, having had a little bit of time to eat, play with the kids, and even brush my teeth!
This morning she actually slept long enough to vacuum, wash and put away the dishes, AND clean the kitchen floor! I know that I can't count on her to do it every day, but I'll take it when it comes around! I think it's a little sad to be as excited as I am to do housework, but when you have absolutely no time to do anything for awhile, you become more appreciative about lots of things that seem small or silly even.
It all comes down to the baby getting a little more sleep. I hate to even write it out, because I don't want it to change... : )
...but she seems to be starting to fall into a tiny bit of a routine.
On the days when she isn't ravenously hungry that is (which tends to go in bouts of two-three days).
For the last two days, I have been able to get her back to sleep in the morning, before I go and get the other kids out of their room. They have been getting up and playing nicely until I come get them, about 30 minutes later, which is pretty good I think!
The day starts off much nicer when I am actually able to eat in the morning! : ) Plus the kids get a little time with me, that isn't about Alora, which is nice for all of us! I can not tell you how much easier it is for me to just sit with her nursing, having had a little bit of time to eat, play with the kids, and even brush my teeth!
This morning she actually slept long enough to vacuum, wash and put away the dishes, AND clean the kitchen floor! I know that I can't count on her to do it every day, but I'll take it when it comes around! I think it's a little sad to be as excited as I am to do housework, but when you have absolutely no time to do anything for awhile, you become more appreciative about lots of things that seem small or silly even.
Alora is growing so fast I can't believe it! She is getting so big and awesome, too! She can focus on things very intently now. She is so alert at times, and is getting better at being by herself for small periods of time in her bouncer or the swing(looking up at her own reflection).
She smiles and smirks, and is starting to coo when she's happy and grunt when she starts to get frustrated. She can cry with the best of them, but isn't generally a grumpy baby. She has an appointment coming up on Monday, and I look forward to seeing how much she weighs now. People ask and I have no idea. I can tell she's gained though, because she now has a roll or two on her little thighs and her feet have become much chubbier, too!
An added bonus to her sleeping longer stretches of time, other then being able to breath my own air occasionally, is that we finally got a garden in!
We had Alora at a terrible time as far as having time to get out and get dirty, but we decided that we would just buy all our plants this year... and obviously she was worth the change! When we got out into the yard we were very pleased to see how amazing our compost was this year. We were able to work in enough to not have to buy any extra for the first time! We also discovered about 10 orphan tomato plants while we were weeding, that had we started earlier we surely would have not recognized and just turned under. We transplanted a few that were in bad spots and also left a couple of groups of them and will wait and see what we end up with. Last year we had only one, but it turned out to be one of our biggest producers, and this year another one popped up right in the same spot. Fun stuff!
We lost the rosemary, but the sage, oregano, lemon thyme, and summer savory all overwintered well. By the time we got out there, they were huge! I need to go out and harvest them so they don't go to seed. I am going to harvest more right now than I got at the end of last season! : ) We were able to find string beans at the store. I have always grown them from seed, so figured I wouldn't have them this year, so that was a pleasant surprise! We also bought and planted a green, yellow, and red pepper, two banana peppers, a red hot cherry and cayenne pepper, three basil, a rosemary, an early girl and celebrity tomato(which we've done well with, in the past), and an heirloom tomato we haven't tried before, as well as a bush cucumber and zucchini plant.
It won't be quite as big as last year's garden, but certainly big enough to get the benefits of stress relief and also some yummy food to harvest. I love that the kids go out and help us and really know where real food comes from. They love peppers, tomatoes, and green beans right out of the garden. It's so cool that they love raw veggies, and I think it is because of their exposure to fresh food growing in the backyard.
I am beginning to hear the pitter patter of little feet upstairs, but I am so glad that I was able to put up a post today! Hope all is well out there in bloggyland! : )
Today I am thankful that Alora is starting to mature, now let's hope it doesn't happen too fast!!
I am grateful to have a garden this year, because I wasn't sure we'd be able to pull one off this year!
I am grateful to have had an awesome day, to recharge and enjoy just about every moment of the day!! : )
This is the belly at 40 weeks and 4 days.
While taking photos contractions hit...
Happy to have a break! : ) 
This is a shot of us 
Seconds after being born.
Seconds after being born.
Me staring in amazement just moments after giving birth to my newest little bundle of love:
Getting ready to go home and introduce little 
The kids meeting 
Roscoe fascinated by his new sister.
Sophia finally 
Roscoe gets to hold his new sister, too!
A picture of us the next day. 
