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Mat

Fulton read his first book today: Mat.

I think he’s going to move along a lot quicker than Therese in the reading department. He so fun to work with and so excited to learn! I love him.

5 months and more

A couple of weeks ago on February 20, Cecilia turned 5 months old. She’s still the happiest kiddo around. It’s always amazing that her smiles bring such joy to everyone around her, young and old. She’s flipping over quite nicely these days and is perfecting the helicopter movements in bed in the middle of the night. We’ve been co-sleeping and that’s soon going to come to an end as she’s pushing the boundaries of my sleep, and nearly pushing me off the bed!

The kids also had a great time with the snow day. I knew all those mittens I bought years ago would come in handy some day! Mr. Snowman was complete with a carrot nose, almond eyes, and green bean eyebrows. Cecilia and I opted to stay inside and make hot chocolate.

And my brother came in for short visit when he was in town for work. You know our kids love you if they replace the first letter of your name with a “B”  (Bindsey, Bauren, Batthew, Baddy, Bommy, Barky, Bisty) OR if they use you as a human jungle gym.

They’re a rowdy bunch. But they’re ours. And we love them.

Folding Party

My homeschooling friend, Leslie, mentioned a great idea of throwing a “folding party” when it’s time to fold the laundry which can certainly be a daunting task when it’s laundry for more than 2 people. All it entails is saving up the clean laundry and folding it all together as a family.

(moments ago) Fulton: I love having a folding party, Mom. Thanks for washing the clothes so I can fold them!…Why don’t we have balloons at a folding party?

M&Ms are…

…THE best potty training incentive on the planet.  Gianna managed to potty train in less than a month once I really started. It helps that she’s just an awesome kid who is ready to be a ‘big girl’. It also helps that M&Ms are bright, colorful and yummy to eat. When we first started potty training she was changing herself when she had an accident–not always a good thing. We had her in pull-ups for a couple of weeks and she quickly graduated to big girl underpants this week. She’s a super star! Way to go Muffin!

Knitting

Did I mention I took up knitting?

I’ve now knitted two people scarfs and one for the baby dolls. The first one I gave to our dear God daughter, Lindsey, before she left for Germany.We miss her dearly and if we don’t make to Germany to visit at least something I made is there.

With the left over yarn, I knitted a mini-scarf for the dolls. Here’s Cecilia sporting it:

I did just finish my third scarf for Fulton. We’ve been quarantined for the last 10 days since all the kids have been sick. Tomorrow will be our first day out again and I’ll be sure to get a picture of him in it and post it sooner or later.

Cecilia at 4 months

Yesterday Cecilia turned 4 months old. She’s doing great. As of her well-check today she’s 12 lbs 14 oz (25th percentile) and 25 inches long (75th percentile). Her numbers look very much like Therese’s at that age. And she’s as sweet as can be. She loves cooing and laughing at all of us and just about anyone who meets her. Her hemangioma on her leg hasn’t grown and is only really red on the border. Our pediatrician said that’s a good sign that it will fade without having to surgically remove it. Her hemangioma on her back is also fading. Her eyes are not brown and the doc said that the color peaks at 4 months and usually doesn’t change. What color are they then? Good question…grey, greenish, hazelish…next time you see her give me your vote.

And the rest of us, how are we? Everyday life gets a little more ‘normal.’ I couldn’t make it through the day without Therese. She is an immense help. Her schooling is going great. And we’re getting to do more fun stuff and fun reading…this week it’s part of the Odyssey since we’re studying Ancient Greece. She’s really excited about the little family Greek party we’ll be having this weekend sometime.

Fulton is picking up his slack too. He has caught on that I”m more likely to say to ice cream after dinner if he’s been helping with the laundry and dishes. This week he decided that as a 4 year old he doesn’t need his booster seat at the dinner table anymore. I’m fine with that as it’s one less thing to clean up after dinner! I picked up some books for him a couple of weeks ago to start schooling and Monday I gave him a phonics lesson while I had some alone time with him. He’s pretty excited and doing well.

Muffin is finally showing some interest in potty training. Wouldn’t it be lovely if she were! I’d love just to wash one set of cloth diapers. She has found some housework she is good at–folding her diapers, the dishtowels, sock sorting and putting away the dishes with her brother. She is fitting right in as a little helper.

Besides successfully mastering the slaying of the laundry beast once a week, I’ll be doing an intro of the Theology of the Body class at St. Louis for the next 7 weeks and facilitating discussion in one of the small group. I’m looking forward to it.

Birthday and Anniversaries weekend

Happy 6th birthday to Therese. At six, we can no longer count her age on one hand. She was born screaming and she certainly lets her mind and opinions be known even today. She broke us into parenthood and she often reminds me of her beloved namesake when she was young. And she is still our sweet little girl who writes her name with the accents, has a great love for art, reading, writing notes, the colors pink and purple, leading her brother and sisters, and going to any lengths to earn ice cream after dinner! She started the tradition of the ‘tightest hugs ever’ before bedtime and hasn’t outgrown bedtime stories, hugs, or sitting next to me during story time. How I love our little flower who sanctifies me everyday and who recently has taken to reminding me when I need to go to confession. We’ll make saints of each other yet!

Yesterday we celebrated Fulton’s Baptism anniversary and tomorrow we remember our God daughter, Grace’s baptism anniversary (even though she won’t be around for us to celebrate with her).

May the Lord bless and keep these sweet children. The Lord let his face shine upon them and be gracious to them. The Lord be kind to them and bring them peace.

Happy 7th Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to my beloved husband.

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of our marriage. Please give us the grace through the Sacrament of Matrimony to always be a gift to one another and to know and carry out your holy will. May the gifts we bring to the altar be pleasing in your sight and give you glory through Christ our Lord.

This morning we whisked our little family once again to the place we first met–daily Mass. It was beautiful.

A New First

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