Last Monday in May

It's Memorial Day. And ...just like every other day these days...we didn't really do anything to honor that. I mean, we prayed for the souls of those who've died defending our great land. And we cooked out with the Martins at the park. But I do feel like I failed to really honor the day as we should have. Here's hoping next year is better...

We had another bad night. So it was a bootless one. He looks so sweet and normal without them. Love those little toes! 

We took an early morning trip over to sneak into the new house and retake window measurements since we misplaced those. 

Boots are back on. Selah and Mom went to a yard sale and bought Judah a few new toys. He's enjoying the drum while he works on those sitting skills! 

Failed at the picture taking at the park. But this si what happens when there are more kids than toys. (Thankfully, they didn't break any of them!)

Things at the house...

I hate the carpet. It's straight-up brown. So that changes paint colors. What a pain.  It's also awful in terms of texture. And to think this was a 3rd level upgrade....how soon until I can replace it?!

These are painted black on top. Why? Just another little thing I hate and need to fix.

Umm...pretty sure that's white. Not stainless. Let's hope they fix that- I double checked my choices. That wasn't it!

Sunday Sundaes...and Scares

Yep. Slightly terrifying drive home from Mass...but we all survived! Even the van! 

Micah has been saving his money for YEARS. He has finally saved up enough to buy a computer of his own. (No, he doesn't NEED one. Yes, we tried to talk him out of it. Yes, he still wanted to spend 600 dollars on it.)

Hey, there. I'm just sitting here playing with my toys like a big kid!

Evening walk for ice cream. Maybe our last one?! Sure, it'll be sad to not be able to walk places once we move, but I, for one, will happily trade for a decent-sized house! (Given that I'm not eating the ice cream anyway!)

Showing Off

Theres nothing like a black tshirt to make you look like a troublemaker-or at least a tough guy. Someone is looking rather thick, as well!

This was also a new trick. Put Judah to sleep. Set in bouncer in bathroom and shower. It worked! He slept while I showered AND got dressed and washed bottles!! Too bad he's almost too big for the bouncer. Still searching for that long term sleep solution... 

"What do you mean, free-feet time is over? Dad said I never had to wear them again!

 Also, did you see me sitting up here all by myself?! Great distraction tool! You're not supposed to notice my hour is up!"

"Dad! Mom's trying to make me put my boots back on! She wasn't even impressed that I was sitting up!" 

So that's not exactly true. I was so impressed, I cried. This is the kid they told us had a high probability of not making it to birth. And then once he did, that he would struggle to meet his milestones. But here he is, AT FOUR AND A HALF MONTHS, sitting up for periods of time unsupported! Without an abdominoplasty. What a Rockstar. That's a milestone that doesn't need to be reached until the end of 7 months. It's also my favorite milestone of all because they can sit and play but not run away!! Self-entertaining while still captive, it really doesn't get much better. (Seriously, it's better than sleeping through the night, in my opinion.)

To be fair, he's still not rolling over on his own. But he's getting closer. The combo of the weight (and restrictions) of the boots and bar, along with the weaker/thin abdominal muscles certainly make this one harder for him. 

And perhaps the fact that he doesn't spend that much time lying down. 🤔 

What can I say...he's a well-loved kid number 6! 

Long Day!

Early morning play session with Mom. Talking to the animals,  and then wacking at them!

That was exhausting.  Nap's at 0730 today!

We also had our homeschooling field day.  Judah enjoyed being outside -as did everyone else! 

He came home and took a nice nap on Mom.

Home Inspection Day

Well... it's not my favorite house, ever. But it's a house,  not an apartment!! So,  it'll certainly do for now. 

Judah and I stayed in where it was warm and dry while Bryan walked the outside with the inspector. We enjoyed the open space to pace. 

 (And clearly the kids have needed with some setting on my camera as I promise my skin isn't that flawless.)

Overall, lots of little things still need done.  Here's hoping they knock them out in 2 weeks (with a holiday weekend in there!)

And I hate the floors.  I hope they grow on me, but if we were staying here forever I'd rip them out. They no longer offer real hardwood floors, but instead the closest is engineered hardwood. The assured me is never notice the difference.  They were oh so wrong.  It's awful feeling. Slippery.  Weird texture. And they float so they squeak as I paced.  Plus you have to be super conscious of the humidity level year- round. What an annoyance.  

One of my biggest irritations with this builder is the basement windows.   We paid for 3 hopper windows. They can only go on the sides of the house.  3 was the most that we could fit. I hate dark basements so I wanted all the light we could get. 

 They built the floor joists at the same level.  It's impossible to finish the basement ceiling and not block them...but considering they're already blocking all the light...

They have us back half of our money. I'd rather they fixed the windows!  Even better,  we still have to replace the windows because those windows aren't waterproof or something crazy.  What a money pit.

(In CO, we had SIX, HUGE egress windows in the basement. That we didn't pay extra for. They wanted 5k for ONE extra egress that's half the size here. We decided against it and went with the hoppers. I can see that was a mistake. Searching for a great builder for our forever home...)

Sleepy, Sick Baby

These moments are so hard for me. I want to enjoy them, I know they wont last forever. But oh the things I need to do! Like pack for our trip up North!

Sick babies need their sleep. And they need their mama's, too. So here we sit. Rocking. Even when he looks like he's out cold...don't even think about setting him down. He senses it! 

EJ- Mom! I was riding my bike and my tire just popped!

Me- good grief! What kind of Chinese junk did your dad buy you?!

The bike tire....

I think maybe we need to revisit proper braking...

Also...EJ telling the story....

Oh look. Here we are again. 

And then, Mom couldn't take it. Dad took the other kids to golf, so we walked. And walked. And walked. I got my 10,000 steps in and Judah got in a good 2 hour nap! The neighborhood didn't even look so awful in the sunshine.

Snug as a bug...like a leech stuck on me.

Sick Judah, Again.

You'd never know it by this smile, but I'm sick again and I kept my mom up all night. She was so desperate she even took my boots off at 3 am and didn't put them back on until 9! That wasn't the issue though, so I kept screaming. I didn't know how to tell her I just wanted one of those popsicle things my siblings get when they're sick. Sometimes you get tired of warm milk!

The whole family was in awe this morning because I snuggled up on Dad for a minute. Hey, I'd just woken up and I needed a minute. Don't get used to this, nothing to see here! 

Mom keeps trying to convince me that my bed is so much more comfortable than she is, but I don't care. It's lonely in my bed, I'd rather sleep on her! 

Micah and Selah took turns trying to ride a bike up the big hill at the new house today. Mom wasn't happy but Dad told them they could do it. Lucky for him, no one was injured. 

They really couldn't get very far before they had to walk.

Mom said there wasn't much new at the house today except light fixtures, faucets, and toilets. And a while lot of new spots on the wall that need touch up painted. Mom fears what my dad and siblings will do to those white walls moving in. She sure seems to think it's possible to have 6 kids still at home and have nice things. Dad says she'll learn eventually.

Micah, Selah, and Elijah were all playing a game of jump out the back door. I wanted to play too, but Mom sure did yell quick when they tried to jump out the door with me. Soon. Soon I'll be big enough to do the fun things!

Instead, Mom let me pull the shelves in and out in the kitchen. Seriously?! Just because I can't talk doesn't mean I'm entertained by shelves! (Okay, actually it WAS kinda fun. But only because I was thinking about all the things Mom will soon put on the shelves that I can throw off!)

Micah turned me into a girl tonight.  He said I looked like George Washington,  but I think that was code for "You look like a girl." Worse, Mom took a picture! 

Mom tried that crib thing again. I showed her. I gave her 5 whole minutes and then a screamed. So she held me and I slept for an hour and a half. She'll learn, she's just still in training. 

Well, I'm off to bed, says Mom. She also asked that y'all pray that I'll feel better and not have breathing or eating trouble tonight. She still doesn't get that I just wanted a popsicle!

Saturday Stretches

Mornings with this guy are just the best. I can't help but adore every second. He's generally alert but quiet and quick with fleeting smiles. And he stretches a lot.  

Then it was gone for that morning nap.  He's so precious with his little spit bubbles and dimpled hand. 21 minutes.  After 2 days of an hour for his morning nap,  I thought maybe we were on to something new. Sadly,  I was wrong.  I did rock him for another hour until I got a call that Noah was late for his driving time with an instructor.  Then all chaos broke loose. 

Micah: we're just snuggling,  Mom. You can do what you need.  

Judah: Mommmmmmmm.... don't leave meeeeee.....

A quick nap on the car picking Noah up and a lot of awake time- I thought we were going to have a great afternoon nap.  

26 minutes. He was so lonely,  can't you tell?

And then he was rescued!

And now we sit.  Rocking.  Because babies who haven't napped are even less fun than rocking a baby while he naps!

I know,  I'll miss this.  I totally believe that is true. But at the moment,  it's hard not to think about the other things I need to do- laundry,  dishes,  dinner, taxes, spend some time with the other 5 children.  Bryan went fly fishing today, so the other kids are spending way too time unsupervised or with a screen.  This too shall l shall pass.