Goat whisperer

I've found myself watching the Dog Whisperer lately :) I don't know why, exactly, maybe because I'm trying to figure out how to help manage our 100 pound lab puppy who likes to take ME for a walk.
The Dog Whisperer, Cesar, seems to have a quiet disposition when rehabilitating dogs...kinda' like Will the other day, sweetly drawing a trip of goats to his side.
Over the holiday break last year, we won a family pass to a farm nearby, and have taken advantage of it as often as possible. On most days, the kids ask to go "bye bye" in one of our vehicles (usually Daddy's truck), to play at a park, or visit family, but last Tuesday, they specifically asked to "go see animals...at farm". So away we went, and as usual, they had a blast. We saw goats, llamas, donkeys, cows, deer, rabbits and chicks...but for some reason all my pictures seem to be with the goats!

Our little Goat whisperer

This little baby still had the umbilical cord attached

Emma tells the teenie, tiny goat to "get back".  "Goat gonna' eat me" she says, as she walks away :)

My little kangaroo slept the whole time

A reason to worship

It was a joy to host over 25 people for a Resurrection lunch today. As we wrapped up the delicious Tri-tip (Billy's specialty and certainly a crowd pleaser) and skillet potatoes, a host of salads and sweets, we spent some time in worship to our risen Savior! Brian started the worship off with a new original chorus the Lord laid on his heart this afternoon and the whole group easily joined in with beautiful harmonies. We continued the time with some old favorites and really old favorites (seems like family get togethers are the only time we get to sing those anymore).
 The 4 and under crowd had discovered the many Easter basket goodies from Gramm and Papa earlier, so they were busily playing with all the eggs scattered on the floor (and snacking on the organic fruit treats and banana chips Gramm was so thoughful to fill the eggs with :) There was a great ease to the atmosphere, just enjoying the family, friends (new and old) and Jesus who was present with us. I loved it, and I believe God smiled upon it as well. Aaron and his fam didn't get to join the fun (I'm so accustomed to us all being together I kept re-counting and looking for Nova during all the kid pics), but the latest addition to the cousin crew, Valor Michael and his mommy came! He is sweet and it was he and Owen's first holiday, so of course, they had to get in the group shot :) I originaly intended for Owen and Valor to share a basket, but when I put my little big 8 week old in it, I said "Oh, Wow, you are BIG!" Good thing we had an extra basket for Valor to sleep in his own abode :) I LOVED Owen's expression during that whole fiasco!

"Mom, seriously?!"



Gramm and her grandboys

 

Lu & Olives's cousin Samuel got to come

I admit

There's something indescribable about having a warm bundle of  baby snuggled up on your chest. That sweet baby smell, and soft little whistley coo's while baby is sleeping. I just really think it's quite addicting.

In the kitchen this afternoon, while I subconsciously bounced Owen to sleep in my sling, I stood thinking about my first encounter with a "how to sling" chapter in a "how to" baby book.
It was March or April (I can't be too sure) of 2009, and our little William Riley was just a tiny little thing. I had been "kangaroo caring" for him skin-to-skin as early as the hospital days...but this super small baby was just taking his sweet time growing. A mom (and countless other family members) can get quite worked up and worried about a baby that doesn't want to grow, but I remember sitting on our tan leather sectional in the living room of our town home ENGULFED in a book my mother had let me "borrow".

I had read the What to Expect's and the Babywise's and the Your Pregnancy Week by Week's gleaning a little something from each of them, but as I read each word of this rather wordy but super informative book my mom let me "borrow", I learned that I felt comfortable with attachment parenting. Ok, so maybe there are few details of the attachment lifestyle that we don't necessarily stick to every single time, like when we carry a happily sleeping newborn into a restaurant in the car seat. Or when a baby in our home might get placed in a bouncy seat to get some Vitamin D by the window. But you can rest assured, the majority of the time, if I can help it, that baby (especially in the early months), will be happily slung on it's mommy. Besides, who wants a crying baby in the other room, while they're chasing a two and four year old through the house anyway?! :) Baby's happy. Mommy's happy. Siblings get attention from Mommy. It's a win-win.
So as I delved in deeper to that "borrowed' book, I learned about how God certainly made the amazing mother-baby bond. And it all just made sense. Mommy can regulate baby's heart rate if they sleep close in proximity-baby can actually start "thriving" when kept skin to skin (we saw Will progress immediately from this). How phenomenal. I read about a mother's milk supply being boosted or a baby being smarter from babywearing or a how to get your pre-pregnancy body back, pumping when necessary (which it was for Will), how to keep up with milestones (and when to worry), how to feed your toddlers healthier food options, how to treat a booboo or childhood illnesses...and on and on. THIS IS GOOD STUFF PEOPLE.
I realize you don't just get your "mommyhood" from a book, or other's advice, for that matter. Experience usually brings a lot of knowledge (and three kids 4 and under brings ALOT of experiences! LOL!). I also believe so many moms have a variety of parenting and mothering styles that work for them. You've gott'a be you. But everybody likes to have a "go-to" book every now and then, and this was mine.
So thanks Mom, for lending me that "borrowed" book that remains on my bedside table four years later!

Unplanned two-year Plan

In 5 years of marriage, Billy and I have managed to add three amazing members to our family.

Our first born, Will, came a month before our first anniversary. Emma, our busy middle child came about 24 months after her big brother, and 7 week old Owen, 23 months after that. Sure it's a little bit crazy at times, keeping up with three so young, but we couldn't imagine our lives any other way. When it comes to birth control and family planning, I often tease that we're on the "Unplanned two-year plan".

There have been many moments in our children's development over the last 4 years where I've thought, "this is my favorite age!". You know, those early stages of crawling, first words, cruising (and curiosity), and then of course, first steps! In these moments, I just wanted to freeze time...and savor every bit of that "firstness" since it doesn't usually last that long.

When Will started taking first steps, we were thrilled knowing he'd be completely independently walking in no time. To his (and our) frustration, those "first steps" seemed to last for what seems like years. He is sooooo smart, and his memory just amazes everyone. He has such a tender heart and the cutest endearing personality. He makes friends easily, and loves his family, and remembers names and adores his ginormous lab Jax. He wakes up eager to learn, is beginning to read and a quick learner, but getting his little body to do what he wants it to do, now, that's a different story.

Will has endured a number of physical therapy sessions over the course of the last 3 years and is currently enjoying a semester of therapeutic horseback riding. His unique genetic condition brings it's challenges, but his name certainly suits him. When he has a WILL to do something, his persistence is quite impressive.

So you can imagine on his fourth birthday, when I had that camera phone in my hand, recording a very imperfect video of my first born taking over 103 steps (you better believe we counted!), my heart was BURSTING with pride and excitement for what is next on his "to do" list. He has an open road of exciting adventures ahead, and for him, this was just another "Unplanned two-year plan".

Here comes the Sun

Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you.

~Charlotte Whitton

I love the cold weather, and all that comes with the holiday season fesitivities in the winter, but I really love the energy I have in the summertime when we're getting sunshine on our faces 24/7. Fortunately, the SUN has been coming around a little more lately. We are all loving it.

 I found myself on a little playdate with my kids in the toddler park near our old neighborhood the other day. Little miss got to slide down her first real slide, and swing in her first real swing. She was delighted.

What a glorious time it was, to play in the sunshine, and feel all the winter blues just roll~slide~and swing away.

Too many apples (in a good way)

We had an abundance of apples in our fruitbowl this week (thanks to a lovely giftbasket), and some leftover cider from Christmas. I came across an article in Good Housekeeping and decided to be resourceful. It called for fresh lemon, but I used the orange we already had. It also called for 5 lbs apples (about 10 apples), but I didn't have that many, so this is the halved version. I thought it turned out nicely. Husband agreed. Let me know if you try it out.

Apple Butter
5 apples, cored, peeled and cut in 8 wedges
1 cup apple cider
2-3 strips orange or lemon peel
3 Tbl. fresh orange or lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1. In a dutch oven, combine all ingredients except sugar, heat to boiling. Simmer on medium, partially covered 18-20 minutes or until apples are soft, stirring occasionally.
2. Stir in sugar; heat to boiling on high. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, partially covered, 30-40 minutes or until very thick, stirring often and breaking up apples. Increase heat to medium-high; cook, stirring until spatula run along bottom of pan leaves a clean trail.
3. Discard peel and cinnamon stick. If needed, transfer to food processor and puree until smooth. Refrigerate in an airtight container for 3 weeks or freeze up to 6 months.
Makes 2 cups

Simple things

My father in law passed along a notebook he replaced with "newer technology", so now I blog more :) Thanks Pops! Just to update my last actual post...we got to see some amazing Christmas light displays in Cali, we walked the sundial bridge and riverwalk in Redding, Billy and I had a nice date night (with free babysititing), but the fishing was replaced with another hobby of my hubby's, our spa day was replaced with shopping (nice trade off) :), and.....there was snow!

(It still amazes me we have two blue eyed kids!)

The kids were so cute, just taking in all the surroundings. Emma seemed to enjoy the sledding, but Will was pretty overwhelmed by all the screaming we did racing down the hills (which I royally whipped my husband at, by the way ::) he wasn't too interested in going down with either of us.

When he watched both his parents go flying by at once, he got a bit concerned we might be leaving him, or hurting ourselves. Thankfully, he figured out he liked throwing snow balls at the bottom of the hill and everything was all better.

We're finally home after a great early Christmas in California. Two of our big suitcases ended up in Newport News Virginia after being tagged incorrectly by the ticket agent. They finally made it home yesterday. At the moment, a good amount of our belongings are strewn down the hallway.. it feels like the piles just never go away, even when I whittle at them for what seems like hours. Oh dear, I need a maid!

We got home, turned on some Sinatra and Bing, and finished up the ornaments on our tree we had put up before we left. It was nice to get into the spirit of the season. This year we are staying in line with our churches theme to have a Simple Christmas (it's all part of the Advent Conspiracy). So we only put the ones on the tree that were sentimental.

For Christmas, we're doing one big gift for each of the kids, and a few little knick knacks, so tonight we did a little stocking shopping together. Speaking of stockings....it's pretty wild to have a mantle full of those babies! The thought crossed our mind we may have a mantle full from just our own family one day :) That's a cool thought.

Merry Christmas week....try to enjoy it with the people you love, and make your time together a gift.

(Tr)Ader Joe's

Cali Christmas Part 2

Will has this funny habit lately of offering you something encouraging you to "rock rock" it :) Sometimes it's a bell, a truck, a book or even YOU ("rock Daddy"). I literally found Billy sitting in his lap the other day so Will could "rock" him :) LOL! 

This time, he handed his sister her doll and in good fashion, told her to "rock rock" the baby. They are so cute together...he play's really nicely with his sis, and she totally adores him.

 Last night we had a really nice evening with Grandpa (Gpa) and Grandma (Gma) E., Uncle Herb (Suzanne's brother) and Aunt Brenda. We enjoyed a nice bowl of warm chili and homemade cornbread (I missed my cast iron when making it!) on a cold night, and we watched Ice Age Christmas and Cars 2. Will was throwing kisses and "I love you's" to me across the table and Emma enjoyed catching up with her Pops (who had been out of town for a few days on business in Austin, TX, of all places!).

Everyone was highly entertained by the kids, and Gma especially loved showing them her santa-popping out of a gift-box lapel pin. She said when Billy and his bro's were little, they loved it too (that's a long time to keep a pin!) Will would count to three for her to pull the string, and Emma would mainly just try and put it in her mouth :) She's turning into quite the skilled fine-motor girl, undoing her Nana's pins multiple times in a row. .

Gpa and Gma brought the kids some great new books, and a very nice gift for Billy and I. It's times of gathering like these that we are so thankful for good people we get to call our family.

California Christmas Part 1

Billy's annual work Christmas party landed us in Las Vegas over the weekend. It was great to catch up with all the co-workers and their special someone's, and meet the many new faces added to the company this year. We were treated to a nice dinner and a night's stay at the Bellagio, a gift exchange, Cirque du Soleil's "O" and a yummy brunch before we dashed off. Will and Emma loved all the Christmas decor and fun animal displays the hotel offered in their Conservatory, and thankfully we had church friend of a family member that was able to come care for them during the late evening show. This was our first time out of the Vegas airport...and a nice trip. Oddly enough, we never took our camera out to take any pictures while we were there! Shame on us!

When we left Vegas, we took a little detour....and flew out to visit...Nana and Pops!'

and Grandma and Grandpa B....

they totally loved seeing the kids (and meeting Emma). 

Will found it very interesting that Grandma had her own walker too, it was so cute how he chased her all over the house. We are always thankful to get another visit with them

Emma girl has been on the move, scooting around on her bum, or getting onto her knees. She's also been pulling herself up a little on things like the coffee table.

Somebody's about to crawl

Sunday we had an early Christmas, so the kids could have some fun toys to play with while we're here in Cali. It was so fun to see Emma light up about the wrapping and bows! She got an adorable giggle doll, a purse and my pal Violet. Will loved his farm and cars and is starting to warm up to the idea of liking the Singamajig:) They both had new clothes and accessories in the closet when we came. Billy and I were blessed with cash and presents too and we feel so loved for all the gifts the B's gave our family.

Will and Emma are both having a lot of fun playing with all their new toys and books, and Nana and Pops are eating them up! We were promised a date night, guys fishing trip and girls spa day, so more pics to come!