4 Months Old {Ameliya}

Some how yesterday somebody gave my baby Mia permission to turn four months old!  Unbelievable.  Today I had to get out a tote of 12 month clothes.  She can still wear some 6-9 months but needed a few bigger outfits too.  That tote is still just sitting open in my kitchen.  I can't come to terms with her growing this quickly.  So maybe if I only take a few pieces out at a time it will delay the inevitable.  Right?

I thought my other babies were fat husky because we gave them formula and introduced food so early.  Apparently I'm making pure cream because Ameliya is 100% breastfed and the other two had nothin' on this beef steak!

I tried to take some darling pictures of her laying in the grass today.  Of all the smiles this kid has she couldn't wouldn't deliver any.  The grass just made her uneasy so the best she could give me were these faces:

So much disdain...but so cute at the same time.

So then we went inside and I'm pretty sure she gave me her first ever truly fake smile...

I mean, really?  Her real smile is mouth wide open...like she greets me with in the morning...

I digress.

I wanted a good smiling picture of her for her dedication at the church but I guess I'll have to try again tomorrow.

At any rate, I did preserve some sweetness through a series of pictures that I snagged right as she was getting sleepy.  When she's tired this girl loves:

1.  her fingers

2.  her blankie

3.  a place to lay, preferably her bed.

 those eyes - my, my, they are deep

Oh Ameliya - what a delight you are!

Your four month growth spurt was killer and I think all you did last week was nurse.  At four months old you are:

• practicing sitting up
• pushing off with your toes and "inchworming" to get where you want to go
• rolling everywhere
• picking things up with your hands
• holding and chewing on toys
• noticing food
• silly all the time
• solid as a rock - your toes grip in when you stand in my lap and you hurt my leg fat!
• 18 pounds even!
• barefoot and beautiful - I don't think you've ever worn shoes!
• bald - still.  get used to it sweetie!
• scheduled.  of your own doing!  your naps, eat times, and wake times are pretty predictable.
• a reader!  you love books!
• sweet and snuggly.  you love to rock with daddy and be wrapped up with mommy.
• curious!
• head over heels in love with your brother and sister!

• a jumper - you love the hop-n-pop
• 100% loved.

It's been a great four months, sweet girl.  We love you!

Downstairs Bathroom Remodel

You know how it goes...you prepare to sell a house and those few things that need redone that you've been living with finally get some attention.

So was the story with our downstairs bathroom.  The tile on the walls was coming off, I hated the floor even though we put it in when we moved in...she just needed a bit of a facelift.  Saturday morning Mike got the fire to start the remodel and in no time at all (right, honey? - ha ha ha) we had a sparkly updated bathroom. 

Our demo crew was pretty spectacular.  Natalee lost interest after awhile but Xavier knocked down quite a bit of tile all on his own...

When the tile was down, Mike called in reinforcements - his cousin Eric - who has "mad mudding skills."  He helped smooth out the sheetrock, replace a couple of pieces, and then mudded it all for us.  He came back the next day and finished it - so thankful to him for giving his time!

 

(excuse Micheal's misuse of the word "your")

Next it was time to peel up the floors...

Sooooo sticky.

Mike put flooring in until midnight Saturday and *almost* got it all...

Sunday was the finishing of the sheetrock and finalizing of the floor and then we were on to paint and trim.  (sure, we know it would have been wiser to paint before flooring but that's just not how it worked out this time).

We went one shade lighter on paint (maybe because that's what we had on hand) and did it floor to ceiling instead of two toning the walls.  Overall, I'm very pleased...it's homey and warm and cozy - one of the freshest rooms in the house!

 

BEFORE:

AFTER:

BEFORE:

 AFTER:

12 hours later and it looks pretty lived in...I mean, children live in this house so the hand towel is on the counter, their toothpaste lids are gaping open and the seat is up on the toilet.  Such is life!

Shout out to my friend, Lori, who stopped by while all this was happening:

Jenn's push mowing lawn - can not get lawn mower to shut off - has to retrieve hubby.

Xavier has 1000 Legos spread out with his Lay-N-Go right as you walk in the door.

Micheal is painting, sanding or doing something in the bathroom.

Baby is sleeping but wakes up when Mike coughs.

Natalee has markers/crayons out all over the playroom table.

In the living room is a shop vac, dirt, sheet rock dust, etc.

The porch is full of black trash bags with remodel trash in them.

Clean laundry is in piles

The table is overflowing terribly

Overall, we are a mess.  A hot, disastrous mess.

And still, she comes in, just like we are almost normal, and stays for a spell to visit.  Oh how I needed that...to feel like I wasn't being judged in the midst of the storm of life.  Lori, thank you for the garden veggies!  Come again soon - we aren't always such a disaster!!

Quick As a Wink...

Just like that while sitting on my lap at lunch, Ameliya snatched a cucumber slice and decided to try it out for herself.  

I felt like I pushed my older two kids too hard to do new things and so I'd decided to keep this one a baby as long as I could but, alas, she's growing up all on her own.

She sucked two slices dry (draining the liquid but not actually eating them) before I told her she was all done. 

Oh Mia, what will you surprise us with next??

This Boy...

As a middle child I'm determined to not lose Xavier in the shuffle.  Not that I was, really (my sisters were five years my senior and five years my junior) but I do see how easy it would be for one little boy to get set aside.  Big sister is reading and requiring more of my school time, little sister is a baby and well, she's a baby.  That leaves brother....

However, he does have going for him that he's the only boy in our family right now so he's daddy's right hand man.  We remodeled the bathroom this weekend and he ROCKED the crowbar!  He tore out one whole wall of tiling almost all by himself.

He also is kind of the apple of Ameliya's eye...strange at it sounds.  She loves his wild ways and crazy antics...

When it comes to school, he's chugging right along.  We are focusing on him being more conscientious and careful with the work he does in addition to learning number formation, counting carefully with 1-to-1 correspondance and letter sounds.  He's so excited to get his new school books in August!

So, my son, rest assured that we love every bit of your silly, wild, 100% boy antics even if you are currently the middle child.

Look Who's Reading!!!

Oh me.  Oh my.  She's READING!!

Last week Natalee had 2 small paper decodables that we tore out of her reading book and read - she passed them and the comprehension sentences that went along with them quite easily so today (we couldn't wait until Monday!) she got her first real decodable reader!

Look at her face!!  I don't know who was more excited - the teacher or the student!  I have a passion for reading so sharing this with my children is a dream!

I have to stop a moment here and insert this so that my children always know full well how invested their Daddy is in their education...I tried two other reading programs for Natalee that did not work.  In my heart of hearts I knew this one would.  But it wasn't cheap.  Mike and I talked about it a lot.  I tried to make do without it but I needed the whole kit.  It's so much more than a workbook...the songs, the games, the whole package that I knew I could use to reach my little learner.  I am so blessed to have a husband who heard my voice and agreed to order this for our children.  Tonight at bedtime the norm was switched and Natalee snuggled up on Daddy's lap and read him a bedtime story.  So sweet!

 

 

Feeling pretty ecstatic to be on this journey and our school year hasn't even OFFICIALLY begun yet...this is just 'summer school!'