walking!!!!

our sweet little one - he has mild hypotonia/muscle weakness (which the little princess also suffered from) which results in delays in gross motor skills as well as contributed to his visit to the hospital last fall.  So it is with great joy that we get to see him taking his first steps as he nears his second birthday!

First Haircut

I never imagined having a baby's first haircut at 6 months, but we just couldn't last any longer!  His hair was in his eyes, hanging over his ears, and so long in the back we constantly got comments about what a beautiful girl!

So, with Bumbo in hand, and a very brave stylist who managed to follow his bobbling head without any nicks, we set a record in this family for earliest first cut.  (compare that to Dimples, whose hair grows so slowly, she was 5 before she had her first cut!!!!)

My boys

Our little one has decided to get an early start and is joining the crocodile hunter in his algebra studies.

Baptism

Hard to believe our little one is already 4 months old.  Here is a look at the baptism, which was at the end of October, but I thought was appropriate to share as we celebrate the feast of Theophany this week.

The new icons in our temple!  Dmitry Shkolnik  and a crew of 3 other iconographers, 2 flown in from Russia, came and spent a month at our parish creating these icons.  They were completed the week before I was churched - so I left with a sanctuary of blank white walls, and returned to this!

            

The table overlays were unbleached cotton muslin from Hobby L*bby, very inexpensive, but has the look of raw linen.  Since it was fall,  I used a lot of white pumpkins to decorate, but didn't go with a complete fall color scheme since I still wanted to enjoy the pastels of a little one!  Instead, I used a lot of  white with milk glass vases on each table and beautiful blues for the flowers.

Buttermilk spice cake iced with cream cheese frosting, yum!!!  I decorated the cake with gumpaste sugar roses and hydrangea.  The roses were some I made years ago when experimenting with new techniques for realistic sugar flowers.  I also had hydrangea left over from my brother-in-law's wedding cake, and I made a handful of new ones to fill in.  Hydrangea are my favorite flower, and I love them in sugar almost as much as live ones.

I also made pumpkin pies in a jar, a quick uncooked version of this seasonal favorite.  These were a huge hit, and the best thing is, you can make them up ahead and they store wonderfully!  I put them in the mini mason jam jars, and stored them with the lids on in the refrigerator.

Loved this take home gift idea, honey from Holy Cross Monastery, in jars from Betterbee (it appears they no longer carry the 4 oz size).

 

Jordan almonds are a baptismal tradition for us as well, so the kids helped me stamp muslin bags with a blue cross design, and we filled them with blue and white Jordan almonds as favors.

Cider punch served from the glass jars I usually store my pasta in, and jam jars from the pantry for glasses.

Menu:

selection of cheeses and fruits, cheese phyllo triangles, proscuitto and phyllo wrapped asparagus, stuffed mushrooms,   stuffed pumpkin, mini quiche, individual pot pies, stuffed eggs, Captain R*dney's cheese bake, corn dip, fall salad with pumpkin seed oil vinaigrette

For the little ones, we rolled brown butcher paper across the children's tables and taped it in place.  Twig styled colored pencils were placed along the length of the table.   The kids had a great time coloring on the paper while they ate!

Pinterest Inspiration Page 

I hope you all had a merry Christmas and blessed Theophany!  My blogging is a bit sporadic these days, but life is full and I thank God for that.

Things I never want to forget....

*the way a newborn smells
*the softness of the skin on the bottom of feet that have never taken a step
*the little sighing sounds a baby makes when nursing
*tiny chest moving up and down to the rhythm of shallow baby breaths
*how they stay crunched up with knees to their chest and bottom sticking out when you first pick  
them up
*fists tightly clenched
*first smiles
*the feeling of falling asleep with a baby on your chest
*the heaviness of a little one who cannot yet hold his head steady, and is happiest slumped against you, completely helpless and dependent
*silky softness of baby hair
*startle reflexes

Feathering the Nest: The Nursery

 Beehive is woven from wreath vine from H*bby Lobby

I found the bench at a little used furniture shop, perfect!

A treasured gift, the shadow box is filled with verses and notes from the ladies in the Level 1 formation course I assisted with this past year.  The photo is a tradition with each baby, a photo of everyone's hands.  Hard to believe the "large" ones in that photo once belonged to my now 14 year old!

My favorite character  :)

Update

Apparently this baby is in no hurry to arrive, as his due date has officially come and gone.  Pretty sure my stomach cannot stretch any further, and am just praying this is not a 10 lb. baby (the crocodile hunter weighed in at 9 lbs. and he arrived 2 weeks early).   We are planning to go in for an induction tomorrow, but I am still hoping to go into labor on my own tonight.  In the past I have managed to avoid having an induction, both times I was scheduled for one my water broke the night before, so we will see if that pattern holds true.  Either way, should have a baby this weekend!

Thank you for your prayers!

Sew Very Much to Do!

I feel like I am working on borrowed time at this point.   Only days from my due date, I go to bed every night wondering if this will be the night (I have gone into labor around midnight with all of mine, so I guess I just assume middle of the night!).  This week has been spent sewing.  First, a few items for the atrium......miniature models of the chalice veils, antimins and eiliton.

 Then, a little sewing for myself......

A daygown for baby.......

 ......and a lot of fun with knits.  

I had forgotten just how easy the Bunny's Knit Nightie Pattern can be, once you get your machine settings right!  Knit fabrics always intimidate me, but these have been great to put together.  I made a few for my other children, and they wore them well up into the toddler years.

And the blue gown with the bunny, bamboo knit.  If you have never handled bamboo knit, it is amazing fabric.  It is like the silk of knit fabrics, so very soft, it drapes beautifully and just screams snuggly.  Can't wait to cuddle up with a newborn very soon.

My Latest Project: One More Addition

Here is what I have been busy with in the past few weeks.

This weekend marks the halfway point of Lent, 

as well as the halfway point for the arrival of another little one in our house!

Patterns for giraffe, elephant and bird can be found here.

"Enjoy this, you know not if you pass this way again"

I wanted to share this post, because it expresses so eloquently what I and I am sure many others sometimes feel, when in the back of our minds we know there probably will not be another. It applies to so much more than just giving birth though, I think we must approach every day, every moment with our families, babies, children and loved ones this way, for we know not if we pass this way again.

Overheard

My niece is 2 years old and is enjoying many hand-me-down dresses. Most of those are dresses I made for my girls. Well, my sister each time has proudly told her little girl "aunt anrie" made it. So she often goes around to strangers announcing "aunt anrie made it!". Last night, when my sister was tucking her little one into bed, she looked out the window and nervously announced, "getting dark". Her mom gently reassured her, "it's okay, remember, God made the dark," to which my precious niece replied "nuh, uh mommy, aunt anrie made the dark".

Toddlers and School Time

How do you keep a toddler busy and out of trouble? This certainly is a perennial problem of home school moms, so I am going to post a list of things we do to keep "the queen" busy at times when I need to focus on the older two.

sink time - this only works if you have a sink near where you school, which I am fortunate to have! I have a small tub with water toys that is kept under this sink, and a stool so she can play in the water

bean play - this has been a great entertainer - though if you have little crawlers you need to be careful about the choking hazard. I got a shallow storage box (like the kind for storing clothing under the bed) and filled it with dried pinto beans (courtesy of the Y2K stash!). I also put some plastic measuring cups and spoons, a shovel and some bowls for mixing, stirring, measuring and pouring beans. She can pull the box out herself now, and plays in the floor, then one of the older ones gets the job of sweeping or vacuuming beans. Much easier to clean up than sand :)

bubbles! - again, you have to have the right set up - we have a door off our school room that opens onto a patio - and windows all the way across, so I can let my 3 year old sit on the patio and see her the whole time. We have a box of bubble paraphernalia - and it keeps her entertained for quite some time.

activity boxes - I have 6 small boxes I filled with things that only come out during school. One is full of sticker sheets, paper, scissors, stamps, etc. One has a Mr. P*tato Head set, another contains a lot of little "happy meal" style toys. I filled a box with play doh and sculpting tools. One has "crafts" - pom pom balls, felt, pipe cleaners, glue, sequins etc. The last one contains the Fisher Price Let's Go Fishing Game - her favorite.

other items to have on hand to entertain a 2-4 year old

bean bags - with a box to throw them into

coloring books

puzzles

matching games

lacing shapes

large beads to thread onto laces

large set of plastic jacks

felt story books - I had some of these from my teaching days, and my kids love them - many teacher supply places carry them - they are story books of familiar tales (Goldilocks, Red Riding Hood, Hungry Caterpillar) with felt pieces to put on the pages to tell the story (there are no words in the books) They are wonderful for second language instruction (that is why I had them) but they also are just plain entertaining. They are a bit pricey, but would make a great birthday or Christmas gift.

I also have a file box of Zipl*c bags with a variety of homemade activities (sorting, matching etc. ). Many of these ideas can be found at Paula's Archives.

Another great find was a water play station from K-Mart - it was on clearance and cost under $30 - a great birthday present for grandparents to give!

Finally, something I learned from MOTH: I have certain times during the day when an older child is assigned to play with a younger child. Both the older ones take a turn with the baby during the day (20-30 minutes), and they also each have one on one play time with the four year old. This is probably the biggest help. So when I know I need 30 minutes of time with the crocodile hunter, the little princess plays with her little sister during that time. Then they can trade off. Not only does this help me, but it encourages them to spend one on one time with each other.
Well, you have read my ideas, now share some of yours - if you have a great way to keep your toddler busy, leave me a comment with your idea or a link to your blog with ideas. I am always looking for more!

It is with an aching heart that I feel the little rough patches of skin beginning to develop.
Just four months ago she was enveloped in a watery cocoon where her soft sweet skin had never seen the light. So soon, that newness, that "innocence" is fading, and in its place the harsh reality of a fallen world is revealed in the little callouses on her knees and arms.
I remember my shock at seeing the little lip callous that formed with my first baby, and realizing it came from the simple act of nursing. Those soft, tender, sweet lips were already required to work, to suckle for survival.

As I rock number four in the peace of a torrential rain on a tin roof, I treasure so much more the fleeting moments of newness, the joy of just holding a baby, my baby, and ignoring the rest of the world. Let the phone ring, let the world carry on, nothing is more important at this moment. These are the instances not to be missed, not to be wished away in our hurry to ....... just have him sleep through the night.....just get her to sit up......if only he could crawl......can't wait until she learns to walk.....oh, if only he were potty-trained....it would be so much easier! No, I realize now it does not get any easier than these brief moments of newness, and I thank God for the chance to experience those moments, and finally learn to appreciate them.