Happy Easter

This past week has been Spring break for the kids. Unfortunately sickness is still overwhelming us all. Clara and I got a head cold but Jake has what Abby had. Fun miserable stuff.

The highlight of the week was Dan taking Friday off, bowling and spending Saturday with the Matthews. Sue and Chris were nice enough to let us do an Easter egg hunt for the kids in their big backyard and then they fed us. The Matthews are family! They are so good to us, we love them.

This morning Dan stayed home with the baby and a very sick Jacob while the girls and I headed off to the last 2 hours of church.  We had a very low-key day. Dan made Pioneer Women meatballs, a favorite, and we had mash-potatoes, lots of vegetables, and rolls. Poor Jake hardly ate at all. This is his 5th day with high fevers, he is miserable.

Clara's 9 months

Clara has officially moved from riding in her car-seat on the buggy to sitting in the seat. This is a picture of her very first time, at Costco. (Abby was insisted to sit with her.) Clara loved it, as you can see. 

She spends her days playing like this...

 and walking around the kitchen in this...

All of the older kids still adore Clara.  I am grateful they have always treated her kindly and gently. Abby told me she can't wait for Clara to grow up so she can play with her. In the past month I've really noticed Tess's ability to be helpful and play with Clara has increased. Clara is more taken with her than she has been in the past and Tess seems more comfortable and interested in caring for her.

She isn't crawling yet. She can rock on her hands and knees but is more interested in being "walked" around. She can scoot around so I can't walk away from her for too long. It is only a matter of time before the gates go up and all the little toys are banished to the older kids room.

She doesn't have any teeth yet but is so interested in our food that she gets frustrated if I don't give her something mushed up while we eat dinner. I feed her baby-food twice a day. I have tried giving her "puffs" but she isn't ready for them unless I mash it with my fingers before putting it in her mouth. She has absolutely no interest in bottles or sippy cups, I can tell she will be hard to ween when I'm ready. 

I finally had her going 8 hours at night before feeding her again. Then she got her first ear infection followed by the stomach flu. So we are back to multiple feedings to get her to sleep at night.

She loves bathtime. The girls love taking a bath with her. Tess got Clara squealing with delight as they played splashing in the tub tonight. I looked at my 2 redheaded girls and couldn't believe that Tess is such a big girl. Time goes by so fast.

She is a mama's girl. If I'm in the room she prefers me. Although at times I need a break, I love it!

The Comic Relief

Abby is full of energy, sunshine and a whole lot of sass! She says everything with so much expression and makes us laugh every single day.

I am trying to be better about picture taking, since baby #4 I rarely do. I asked Abby to look at me and smile so I could take a picture of her and her art work. With all the attitude that is in her she told me,"MOM, I'M BUSY HERE!" So put out!

After school that day I was ooh'ing and aah'ing over Jake and Tess's art projects they had just brought home and I noticed Abby getting really sad. She told me she wanted them to see her art work she worked so hard on that day but was worried they wouldn't think hers was "Awesome"....thankfully when I called Jake and Tess's attention to it Jacob complimented her in just the way that made her beam! Thank you big brother!

Abby loves to play with her dollhouse and little people. It is so cute to listen to her, and pretty telling of how I interact with her.

She decided to give the baby a piggy-back-ride and got the biggest kick out of it! 

She just earned a Loving Family MiniVan to go with her doll house. She loves it and I love seeing the whites of her fingernails and toenails.

She got really sick recently and as an incentive to take 4 medications several times a day I let her choose some new toys from my hidden stash. She ended up toting around the pink chap stick and hairbrush mirror combo in her purse for days. It was really cute and very girlie! I tried to teach her to only put the chap stick on her lips but it ended up all over her mouth several times a day.

She is an adorable 3 year old that brings a lot of laughter and smiles to our family.

Venting

Dan and I seriously need a break, just the two of us.

Sickies.....We have passed around every kind of sickness non-stop since December. I'm hoping that after our most recent overwhelming bout of sickness we are done for a good long time.

So, two weeks ago my in-laws came up for a week. I cooked all but one night for everyone (cousins included). Bonnie and James went to California while we took care of Benjamin at our house.  Grandma and Grandpa Larry kept the two girls. That weekend Clara started us off with the stomach flu, poor baby. I got sick. Dan got sick. Abby started coughing Saturday night and after 3 days of a high fever I noticed PINK EYE, a first for us. I took her to the doctor and she was diagnosed with Pink Eye, Bronchitis (so grateful for albuterol!), a double ear infection, and STREP. HOLY Cow! My poor adorable Abby was so miserable. I broke down in tears several times just looking at her, it is hard as a parent to see your child so sick. Dan and I talked several times about how grateful we are to live in a time where medicine is so accessible to us. We kept her on tylenol and motrin for days until her fever finally broke. At one point I was telling Abby she needed to sleep, she didn't want to, and that sleep would help make her better. She replied, "No Mom, Jesus can make me better." With that I woke a very sick Dan to give her a blessing. She had an allergic reaction to the penicillin and we ended up back at the doctor the day after starting her on 4 different medicine. Taking all that medicine was hard on Abby at first, luckily I had some toys/treats hidden away and was able to bribe her into taking the breathing treatment, eye drops, "yucky" medicine, ect. 

BUYING...the frustrating, tiring, pull-out-our-hair search for a home. We have looked for 4 years now in VA, WV, and all over here in Maryland. Dan looks every night online for new options. We don't want to get in over our heads with a mortgage that has us worried about our monthly bills. I don't want Dan's commute to be more than it is now, an hour. We want enough backyard to let the kids run and play (I want a play-set, trampoline, and garden space :). My medical/dental bills continue to use up more savings than we would like and that will continue so we need to plan for it. Dan likes his job but is always looking for something else and closer to my family. Really, in the end, we just haven't found anything we feel excited about. Half a million dollars is a lot to pay for a home we already have outgrown or has no yard. We know we can't have it all and have really tried to see the best in each option we look at. Dan has asked to work from home 3 days a week, making a long commute doable, but his boss wasn't encouraging at all.
Last week we went and looked at a home that had us excited for the first time in a very long time. It was a ranch-style home but had a big walk-out basement and an AWESOME backyard. The downside was it only had 3 bedrooms. So, Dan made a second appointment and contacted a contractor to come take a look with us to figure out a 4th bedroom option. The contractor didn't show up. Dan set it up again and found out the home has an offer in on it now. We just keep hitting a wall when it comes to buying a home. This townhouse is running out of space for our family of six with no yard for an 8 year old boy to play!

I feel like Dan and I haven't had any time for us to just relax, laugh, have fun together, not stress over all the decisions or tiredness we feel. I'd love a week long getaway with him!

Now, after that negative DUMP I do need to write that we are amazed at the blessings our 4 kids are, Dan is so good at pointing that out daily! We are grateful for good friends and feel the blessing of the Lord as we serve in our church callings. It is SPRING, and we are hopeful for some good change that is headed our way.

The Peace Maker

(Our only time sledding this Winter)

Tess is our little peace maker. She is quick to concede her will to what others want to do. She is very affectionate and adoring. Our home is happier because of her.

When Clara is crying she is so quick to start singing a song to try to make her happy, it actually works about 80% of the time! Tess enjoys holding Clara and playing with her.

Tess LOVES to color. Recently she has been all about making cards or books. Dan and I especially love finding a surprise card on our pillows that she wrote for us pretending to be us. My card was addressed "To: Becky, From: Dan.  You rock to the stars. Do you love me? Becwus I love you."
Here are a couple of her most recent books I had to take a picture of before discarding (shhhhh).

Tess came home very concerned about a friend in school who started crying during writing. She told me his parents are getting divorced. The Dad "has a new girl friend" and her friend had to sleep at his  Dad's house but missed his Mom. So sad. Tess thought a card might help him feel better. She has a tender heart!

Tess struggles with anxiety and nervousness about school. She still comes home crying about having an upset stomach (the crying in class is less frequent though). I am grateful her teacher, Mrs Paciotti, takes the time to talk to her about why she is feeling the way she is. It is March and I wish Tess felt more confident at school. 

At school Tess has been learning all about India and working hard to creating her own book. All the hard work culminated in an "Author's Celebration Day". Parents, siblings, and grandparents were invited to the classroom where the kids wore their best, were introduced by Mrs. Paciotti, read their books to all the guests, and then ate cookies. Tess really wanted me there. I told her I wasn't sure if I'd be able to make it since Abby had been so sick. But luckily I finished up at the doctor just in time to race over to the school. I barely made it. Tess's expression when she saw me was priceless, it is what me staying home is all about! She did a great job. 

After all the kids were introduced they held up their books for a big photo op.

 Mrs. Paciotti smiling at Tess

 James made it to support Benny. 

Tess is our fast little runner so we've signed her up for soccer. (I really want Tess to see herself progress and achieve new goals, she is so hard on herself.) Even though she is the only girl on the team she is very excited to be on a team with a bunch of her friends.  Steve Kirkham, a family friend, is her coach. They practice twice a week for 85minutes, wow, and games start in April.  I got her out of school early last week so we could go buy some fun PINK soccer gear!

Tess and Abby in their new dresses Grandma Barnhurst made. 

(Just in time to wear for St. Patricks Day on Sunday.)

I love my delicate 6 year old!

The Oldest

JACOB

The Fast Sunday after Jake turned 8 he did it. Right after testimony meeting was opened to the congregation he scooted close to me, whispered nervously "Mom, I"m going to go up there" , and briskly walked up to the pulpit. He bore a simple but sweet testimony. He looked out at the congregation, only I could tell, he was so nervous his eyes began to leak. He finished and walked quickly back to sit next to me. I was so proud of my brave little boy!

Cub Scouts
He loves cub scouts. That program is so perfect for him. He loves working towards and accomplishing things especially when there is an award or merit badge at the end. He is such a rule keeper. He goes every week completely in uniform, shirt neatly tucked and all. He loves it, and I love that!
He is recently had his first Blue & Gold Banquet. Weeks ahead his den leader, Nate McKinstry, put together a bag full of trinkets that the boys had to use to make their own invention. Dan helped him make his ideas become something super cool! Dab controlled  the hot-glue gun but Jake was right there working right along with him.

Is it a "Can-a-saurous" or a "Soup-a-sourous"? Nope, the final product tuned out to be a DRAGON... at Cub Scout Day Camp! Jake is the one in the dragon's claws. So Cool!

I brought my good camera intending to take a bunch of pictures but then realized the battery was dead. (Love it when that happens) Jake did a skit with his fellow Wolf and Bear den members, which he took very seriously. At the end of the night he was given the award for the invention most likely to "cause forest fires and terrorize cub scouts".  His award is currently taped to the footboard of his bed!

Recently he started piano lessons with a friend from the ward, Melissa Howell. He is doing great. He is all about practicing every day to earn his "Bach Bucks". Melissa told me she really enjoys watching his expression as he catches on to something for the first time. I really hope his enthusiasm continues. He is very musically inclined and could really be good at this.

Jake is such a trooper when it comes to being sick. The past 3 months we've been passing a cold or some sort of sickness back and forth to eachother. Jacob's asthma and allergies make a simple cold a lot more miserable and long lasting for him. But I've discovered once again that other than becoming kinda grumpy he really never complains.

Jacob gets to share a room with his two younger sisters right now. It is not ideal but it is the it has to be. Hopefully Clara, now 8 months old, will become a better sleeper and maybe they can share a room. Either way, Jake doesn't have a good place to read at night. We got him a reading light to attach to his books so he can read in bed but Abby stays awake. So sometimes we let him read on our bed and then I move him before I go to bed. I took this picture with my phone while having one of those --my baby boy is a big boy-- moments. I miss his chubby, solid little toddler self!

He has a soft spot for his baby sister, and she connects with him in a special way.