Norah - 4 Months Old

Norah is 4 months old.  We had her check up yesterday, and despite the chunky size she started out at, she is now only in the 48th percentile for weight (14 pounds) but still quite long, in the 94th percentile for height (25 3/4 inches).  Maybe she will be tall & slender, like her Auntie Kir.

Norah spits up...a LOT.  As my dad just said, she's a "World Class Vommiter" (we are so proud).  And when she does spit up, it's no small amount....she goes through an unprecedented amount of burp cloths and clothing each day. If you see me, and I smell like baby spit-up, please love me anyway...even if you have to maintain some distance.  While I do not at all enjoy this, it's impossible to get upset at this sweet girl.  I mean, just look at this precious face...

Norah sleeps pretty well.  She goes to bed at night around 7:30, and sleeps all the way until 7:00-ish.  There have been a couple of times this past week when she has woken up for a 5:00 am (or so) feeding, but for the past 2 weeks, she has pretty consistently slept about 11 hours straight.  Thank you, Norah!!  She usually takes 3 naps during the day, though times/lengths of those naps often vary, depending on the day's schedule...thankfully, she does really well with "going with the flow"...she gets that from her Daddy, obviously.  

Norah has an amazing smile, and her giggles are adorable.  She is quite talkative, and while I look forward to the day when her words are understandable, I must admit that I love the gibberish that comes out at this point.  

She loves to grab on to things and bring them to her mouth.  She especially likes her Sophie the Giraffe toy that Grandma bought her for Christmas.  Unfortunately, Cubbie (Grandma's dog) also really likes Sophie, so we need to keep it hidden and out of his reach!)

 

Our doctors gave us the go-ahead to start solid foods with her, but we will wait another month or so, unless it seems that she needs it before then.

Norah has occasionally rolled from her belly to her back, but it is not something she does consistently yet.  She does wiggle around a lot when she's on the floor or in the bouncy seat (strapping her in is essential!), so I imagine that mobility in some form is on the horizon.  But, no rush on that one, please!

 

She loves to snuggle, and loves kisses.  And we sure do love to snuggle & kiss her!  The big kids are still so loving with her, and get excited when she does even the smallest of things, like grab on to a toy.

Happy 4 Months, Norah Jane!

In This House

A letter to the kiddos, started last week, a couple of days before our official move-out day.....finally getting around to posting. 

Thanks to Lisa for coming over on our last day to snap a couple of quick pictures!

Dear Little Ones,

In less than 48 hours, we will be leaving this home.  This home that has been your safe place for the past five and a half years. Your comfy place.  Your place to keep your blankies and your toys and your sippy cups and your jammies.

It was in this house that you have learned to step and to sing, to eat from a spoon and to drink out of big kid cups. In this house you have learned to decorate Christmas trees, write your letters, make pictures with chalk and run through a sprinkler.  You have learned to hug and to kiss and to smile, in this house.

In this house you have grown.  From itty bitty babies to bigger babies to toddlers to preschoolers to grade schoolers.  You have grown by inches and pounds in this house.

In this house you have learned to pedal bikes, to climb ladders and to jump on beds.  You have learned to throw baseballs, throw food off of your trays and to throw tantrums.

In this house, you have welcomed new siblings and children who needed a temporary home.  You have hosted playgroups and birthday parties and small groups and family for the holidays.

In this house, you got your first owies and your first teeth.  You received your first baths and your first birthday gifts.  You painted your first pictures, baked your first cookies, and learned to go potty on the toilet.

In this house, you've learned to recite Bible verses and your ABCs.  You've figured out how the DVD player works and how to open doors.   You have become attached to pacis and blankies and to each other.

In this house, you have experienced your first ear infections and your first skinned knees (or foreheads or noses or elbows).  You have felt your first hurt feelings, heard your first songs and tasted your first bites of ice cream.

In this house, you have learned that you aren't supposed to color on walls, pee on the floor, climb on top of tables, or play with cords.

In this house, you have begun to figure out how to treat your brothers and sisters, though you still have some learning to do.  You have begun to figure out what you want to be when you grow up, though you have plenty of years before making that decision an official one.  You have begun to grow into bigger people, though Mommy would be very happy if that process would slow down just a little.

In this house, you have helped to make our family whole.  You have contributed in ways you can't understand now, and you have blessed in ways I can't explain in words.  In this house, you have grown us to 6.  You have brought chaos and craziness and an unprecedented volume level.  You have also brought immense love and sweetness and newborn-baby-smell and stinky-diaper-smell and smiles and giggles and pure pure joy.

In this house, you have turned me from a new Mommy into a more seasoned Mommy.  From a clueless Mommy into a Mommy who has learned a whole lot yet still has a loooooong way to go.  You have shown me that it's possible to love multiple babies equally and completely, and impossible to imagine life without you.

As we leave a lot of what you have known in your short lives in order to begin a new part of our story, I am thankful for the memories you have helped me make in this house.  And I can't wait for what's next!  Oh there is still so much growing and learning and falling down and getting back up in our future. I am sad that I will no longer be able to walk through the rooms in which so many of your firsts occurred, but I am equally looking forward to new firsts and new memories in new rooms.

In this house, our journey was just getting started.  I want you to know that no matter what house we might happen to be in, our family will be home, largely because of the four of you.

Love you,
Momma

Easter 2013

 For the previous handful of years (since we have been married), I have hosted Easter at our house.  Because we are all set to move (this week, ahh!), our house is currently not fit to host much of anything.  As of this past Saturday, the only furniture we have left in the house is our kitchen table and chairs (yes, that means that the kids are sleeping in sleeping bags on the floor - which they love, and we are sleeping on an air mattress - which I do not love).  No couches, no extra seating (unless you count moving boxes as such), and 99.9% of everything in my kitchen has been packed and stored for the 3 weeks of transition between this house and our new one.

Thankfully, my wonderful and gracious parents had us over, and my mom served such a fabulous meal (as always).  She had more treats for the kids, and hid eggs for them to hunt for.

Some things were just the same as always....we did the Resurrection Eggs with the kids this week, and listened to a lot of Shout Hosanna.  We did Eater baskets with the kids like usual, though I didn't manage to take one.single.picture of that (crazy, I know).  But, most importantly, we celebrated the greatest event in all of history - Christ's conquering over death.

I did manage to get a few pictures of the kiddos before church...

First Easter!

Don't mind their flushed faces/crusty noses.  All of the kiddos had colds....Meredith & Shane ended up getting diagnosed with double ear infections.  Poor babies.

Looking for eggs at Grandma/Grandpa's...

Littlest Love

Unit Theme: St. Patrick's Day/Rainbows

Book: The Story of St. Patrick (Voice of the Martyrs)

 This book was great.  It tells the true story of St. Patrick.  It's a bit wordy for a picture book, but it was perfect for Caleb.  He (and Mom and Dad) learned a lot about St. Patrick, and his mission to tell people in Ireland about Jesus.  I bought it at the Christian bookstore, but it can also be found here.

Responsive Writing

It is important to tell people abut Jesus...
So they can go to Hevin.

Theme Verse: 
Matthew 1:20 - Store up your treasures in Heaven.

The kids' understanding of treasure is the stuff that pirates get.  We talked about how treasures are any things that are valuable - to us and to God.  We also talked about how certain treasures will be gone some day (ie: money/gold) and how others will last forever (ie" relationships with family/friends)...and those "forever treasures" are the things we need to be storing up!

Rainbow Hand Print Craft

 I painted each kid's hand in rainbow colors, and then they made a hand print on paper.  They then colored and cut out a pot of gold with Matthew 1:20 on it.  Finally, they added some shamrock stickers and we were good to go.

Caleb's

Shane's

Meredith's

Book: There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover

For some silliness and fun, this a cute book.  The kids loved it, and I did too.

Tissue Paper Shamrocks

Good ol' scrunch-up-the-squares-of-tissue-paper-and-glue-them-on-the-paper craft.  Meredith and Shane were not too into it.  They were both sick at the beginning of the week (strep throat), so I don't blame them.

Caleb's

Shane's

Meredith's

Pot of Gold Counting

I intended for this to be something I could do with Shane, but he wasn't too interested.  So, Meredith did it instead.

She filled pre-labeled plastic cups with the appropriate amount of beads.

Rainbow Dot-Art

The kids used dot markers to make their own rainbows.  They are hung up on a window, with the light coming in behind them, which is why they look a little florescent.

Caleb's

Shane's

Meredith's

Theme Verse:
 2 Corinthians 1:20 - All God's promises find their yes in Him.

We of course can't talk about rainbows without being reminded of how they are beautiful reminders of the truth that God always keeps His promises!

Book: The Rainbow Fish

I love this classic story.



We made our own rainbow fish after reading the story.

Meredith & Shane got bored really quickly (I blame the strep throat again, as this is usually the type of craft they both enjoy).  So only Caleb managed to finish...

More Colorful Fun

The dropped wooden colored beads through the corresponding colored tube, and tried to get them to fall into the correct plastic cup.

We also got out some of our color-themed Busy Bags from our busy bag exchange last Spring.

Felt rainbows are always fun.

Color Experiment

I came across this idea at All for Kids, and it was really neat.  Basically, you need 3 clear plastic cups.  Fill 2 of them with water and add several drops of coloring to both.  

Leave the 3rd cup empty and place it in between the 2 cups with colored water.  Use rolled up paper towels to "connect" the colored water cups to the empty cup.

The paper towels will immediately begin to absorb the colored water and transfer it into the empty cup, creating water in a new color!  I have to admit, this was amazing to see, even for me.  =)  So simple, yet very very neat.  It's also good to know that the paper towels we use are truly absorbent! 

 Yellow + Blue = Green

 Red + Yellow = Orange

 Blue + Red = Purple

After the experiment was complete, Caleb & Meredith reflected on what happened.  They both painted (water colors) some diagrams to show the color mixing, and Caleb also wrote a little about what happened.

What happened in the middle cups in our color experiment?  "the colors mixd."  Why did that happen?  "it went up the paper towls."

Paper Plate Sun & Rainbows

 Paint a large paper plate.  Staple on yellow triangles and rainbow-colored strips of construction paper.  Add some cotton balls for clouds.  Easy peasy, and so cute.  Perfect craft for the first day of Spring - too bad it's still freezing outside.

Caleb's

Meredith's (she didn't want to add clouds)

Shane's