I guess it decided to load the pictures in whatever order it felt was appropriate, rather than in chronological order. Okay, then...
Maddie wanted to go outside but was wearing only a diaper so I told her she had to get dressed first. This is how she came back. That's Abby's shirt and it's made to be long on Abby.... I told her she was cute and she sat down and started posing for me.
Noah was hard at working building with legos.
*Did you know plural for Legos is ACTUALLY Lego. Like fish. But I can't wrap my brain around it so I don't say it almost ever.*
I know this one is blurry but his expression was cute. He's happy he managed to get that dragon! He had been eyeing it when Maddie was playing with it and was excited that she had abandoned it within reach. I was cleaning out my school box in the background.
Jubi and Maddie styling pony tails. This is the first time I ever put Maddie's hair in a pony tail. I've done two on the side, but never one in the back.
Jubi wanted to twirl. Maddie said it was cold outside.
Someone gave Pip a lightsaber. He looks like he's ready to slay the bad guys or something here.
School. Noah, occasionally, can't seem to make himself sit still enough for school and so here he is standing doing his work.
These two are becoming "thick as thieves". I've been praying that they would be better friends. They've really started to get along lately. This is them playing together during school time.
The kids were supposed to be straightening up the school room after school but instead they were playing with the camera. This is what I found Abby doing.
Phillip has gotten really good at scooting backward and rolling to get where he wants. He's especially good at spinning around on his belly and pivoting in one place like that.
He also discovered that he can get up on his hands and knees. He LOVES to do this about as much as he LOVES to jump in his bouncy thing. He never sits still anymore, which is funny because he didn't move much at all in my tummy. We call this position, "Giddy up little pony" and he'll often get into this position on cue if you say those words. He likes to rock back and forth very quickly in this position. He hasn't discovered that he can move yet like this.
...but he's perfectly fine with that. He knows he can scoot on his belly...backwards...
...until he backs himself under something...
At least he has siblings to bring him toys.
Abby read about Gladys Aylward in School. She LOVES her. She says that might be her favorite missionary. She (currently) wants to grow up and be a Missionary Doctor. She set up an Inn and made all her siblings play with her as they acted out the story. I found "The Inn of the Sixth Happiness" on Netflix and let them watch it.
Her Gladys Aylward costume.
Maddie was Six Pence.
Pip discovered the rocking horse. He's not good at holding the handles yet. For some reason, he likes his hands FREE...no holding on for him.
Then Jubilee came along and wanted to play.
He took turns riding see-saw with Jubi and Maddie. I was holding him so this is the best picture you get of that.
Then Jubilee and Maddie wanted to play rougher games
and he started bouncing in my arms when I asked him if he wanted to go jump.
Isaiah made him a space ship gun and took pictures of him "flying" around with it.
Pip has discovered that he can swing himself too.
We got some of the cousins together for a picture. Yes, I gave them white chocolate chips to keep a few of them happy long enough to take a picture. If you look closely, you can see exactly who is waiting to eat theirs, who ate them immediately, and who is caught in mid-bite...
More school. He still won't hang on. Maybe I "spoiled" him with too much of the door jumper that holds onto him when he's being crazy?
Watching a movie
"Look Mom, it's you and me." She even asked me how to spell mom... and then wrote OOM or something instead.
They looked so cute sitting on the stairs together. Kids mess with my camera all the time and I forget to clean the lens before taking new pictures so we get a lot of blurry ones.
This is the look he gives me when he's fighting sleep. Lately, when Brandon works nights, Pip can't really sleep in our room and I haven't really transitioned him to the crib and Pip won't actually go to sleep anywhere but the big middle of my bed or my arms, so instead he'll just sit here and give me this face. If I try to lay him down, he'll start playing and crying and won't give up and go to sleep. But put him in this toy when he's sleepy...
...and he's out in 2 seconds flat...
...of course, if you try to move him, he'll wake back up...
I really need to transition him to the crib. I just feel so bad because the kids rooms are HOT this time of day and my room and the down stairs are cooler. Maybe I'll put the pack and play in the living room for a while or something, through the summer.
Speaking of hot...it has actually been unable to make up it's mind here. It will be so hot one day and then 50 the next. Hence the thick head to toe coverage.
giddy up
Little pony.
Noah actually taught him the whole "giddy up little pony" thing.
I think it's funny that he'll do it, most of the time, on command.
Paper smiley face.
I think my acidophilus is giving me rashes. :P This isn't even as bad as it got. At first I thought it was dry skin or maybe an allergic reaction. Then about a week later, I read that acidophilus can give it to you. I'm on acidophilus along with the amoxicillin because amoxicillin kills all your good bacteria and acidophilus is a kind of bacteria. I stopped taking it for a few days and the rash went away within 24 hours...so I'm thinking that was the cause. I don't know what my doctor will say but I see her tomorrow and I've been off of it for 2 days now... maybe I'll just have to take it like once a day instead of 3 times? It wasn't bad at first when I first started taking it. I've been taking it for about a month, so idk.
Isaiah wanted a round cake--not a dragon cake this year. He also wanted to pour the icing on himself. He wanted an apple cake with mint oreos and mint icing. We did an apple cake with butter cream icing (with some syrup in it for maple flavoring because I don't have mint and I'm not sure apple and mint would pair that well?) Then we put mint oreos on top. He wanted to decorate it himself. I asked if he wanted different colors and other decorations but this is what he wanted.
He got legos...then he took a picture of one of them fully built.
The dinosaur was from another lego set he got.
Emma is really good with the babies. She loves to feed Pip. I love to watch her do it. Her mouth can't hold still.
*tongue*
Brandon let me sleep in one day and this is what I found when I came downstairs. Family chess club? The three oldest really enjoy playing chess. Noah enjoys building "cakes" with the pieces.
I slept in a little, but I was too itchy to sleep much. I got up to put anti itch cream on me and when I came back to get Pip, he was asleep. I think he slept 2 more hours! Somehow, it seems unfair... hahah
After a hard day of playing outside.
This is Emma's current favorite shirt. She washes it and puts it right back on. I don't know why she likes it so much. Must be super comfy?
I handed him a cup with a toy cookie in it. (I didn't know it was in there) He flipped it over his head onto his back and didn't even know it. I was watching it because it was too little for him, but it was funny.
He played for a while like this before I took it off and put it away.
A baby bird fell into our yard and couldn't really fly higher than about 1 foot off the ground. The kids made Cinnamon go in the house until it hopped out the gate. When they told me it was in the yard, I was thinking it would be a tiny one. Most of the birds I've seen nesting around here are 3-4 inches full grown. But this guy was a baby crow or something. "He" was already bigger than the parent birds I've seen around here.
One of Emma's science books was about Zombie Fire Ants. It had a craft in the back of the book to make edible clay ants. It's peanut butter playdoh. But I didn't have dry milk so we used flour. (It's not as yummy) She loved it. She made an ant for each sibling to eat and we all played with the ants and then ate them.
I've been letting the kids put figures on the map as they read the books. Not all the books have figures we can put on the map... like science books...but we did a lot of them. Sometimes I printed them and they cut them out. Sometimes they drew their own. But it's been about a year now and so I moved them up to the top of the map for a time line. We'll fill another year-ish of figures on the maps and then maybe retire the old figures and move the new ones up...maybe. I have doubts that the sticky notes will stick that long.
She made a lego sewing machine.
Back when he started learning to sit up.
"Look. I have this."
Phillip, Madeleine, and Abby doing school.
"Nope. Pip's too close."
"Hey, where'd she go?"
Carpet burned elbows...another reason for pants and long sleeves even when it's hot. Brandon doesn't get the whole "cover up for protection" thing. He's always saying, "You poor thing! It's so hot and your mama dressed you in so much stuff." I took him outside the other day and purposefully put a t-shirt thick outfit on him that left only his bare head and hands exposed to the sun and scratchy ground. I didn't want him sunburning.
Maddie set this up herself. She was having a fun time playing with the animals, the table, and the chairs.
Madeleine making friends.
This is a page from Maddie's Bible. She always tells me the names of the children in this picture. The one with the red box is the one she always identifies as Maddie. Maybe it's the curly hair? ;) I don't know why the picture got "framed" in the outer shaded box. Maybe that happened when I tried to put the red box on the little girl.
Learning to sit up...early May.
He's doing much better now. He can sit all by himself and hold toys and play...He doesn't know how to get into that position yet, though.
Someone dressed him up
Again, sleeping in the toy
which is funny because in this one, I actually did lay him down in my room but he just laid there and talked to himself the whole time. After 2 hours, when I finally thought he'd better get up so he'd sleep at bedtime, I brought him down to this NOISY area (movie, toys that make noise, siblings) and he fell right asleep.
Scooting backwards out of his shirt
Emma sewed this all by herself. It was, I think, my mother's day present, but then I think it was given again to Maddie... haha. It's cute though. :)
Noah made me another baby to take care of. I love the teeth and the fact that it says Pip in 3 places.
Abby made me a dress. She made it by sewing scraps onto Zoey. (not ONTO...but on)
My Kirsten modeling the outfit Abby made. I showed them my first doll. I might have made other things before that, but that's the only thing that survived from my hand sewing. I have that cat vest still and that embroidered pony pillow. This is a treasure for sure. :) I didn't even know the what the girls were doing with the scraps and needle they borrowed from me.
Jubilee wanted me to take a picture of "Clementine Kit". (Those are her two favorite dolls and she named this one after them. Usually, though, it's name is Kit Dolly.)
Abby drew me a Mother's Day card.
Isaiah drew me some pictures too.
Isaiah was grinning at me cool as a cucumber with this mustache on his face.
Emma had to give it a shot.
Maddie brought me and Phillip and herself all hats.
Emma dressed up the dog.
The dog looks thrilled.
Noah was making a movie on the top of the stairs. The others were watching. The clear plastic box is the TV.
One night, after they'd gone to bed, these two snuck back down and fell asleep here when Brandon and I were watching a movie.
Emma put sunglasses on Pip.
Then she put a hat on him. She says, "Are you cool for school, Pip?" They don't get the "too cool for school expression."
He seemed to like it. When he tipped his head, the glasses fell off and he tried to put them back on, stabbing himself all in the face with the glasses arms (legs?). Emma put it back on him.
Everyone had to take a turn feeding him.
He takes after Noah. He doesn't like peas.
But applesauce is amazing!
Emma was sliding around on the hard floor giving him rides like this. He was laughing at her.
Sweater weather
the more "square" version for the blog top
