what season is this?

Most people think of snow in December...or at least cold weather. We've had a weird weather week. We haven't seen the sun (nope, not one peek of it) but the clouds have kept the weather warm. We've had highs in the 70s. It has been a great week to put up outside Christmas decorations (Yeah! The first year ever that we have actually put any outside) and play in the leaves. I have some great pictures of both of these events on my camera, which only hooks up to the other computer. I'll try to get online tomorrow to post those pictures.

The Christmas spirit is high this week in our house and the boys are busting with excitement. Just the decorations in the house are enough to let them know that something is different. Plus, we've been making cookies, singing carols and visiting friends. Andrew wants to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus every night when we light the Advent wreath. Their favorite countdown tool is the chocolate advent calendar that my Aunt Martha gave us. They never forget to ask for their chocolate after dinner and count how many more windows they have left to open. It truely is fun seeing Christmas from a child's perspective.

A great week

As I was on the phone with my Mom this morning telling her about our week, I realized it had been one of those rare weeks where I can actually see progress in all three children.

You see, when I worked outside of the home, one of my favorite times of year was the big Annual Review. It gave me such satisfaction to put together the report of all my tangible accomplishments for the year and what my plans were for the following year. Even at the end of most weeks, I could look at my To-Do list and visibly see what was accomplished for the week.

Well, I've realized that I don't get many such opportunities in Motherhood. Sure, I can tangibly count the loads of laundry and diapers changed, but as for my main goal of raising well-balanced, educated, socially minded children...most weeks I just hope and pray that we are on the right path.

This week was different. Somehow, as I talked with my Mom, I realized I can visibly see how all three of my children have changed and grown and are different than they were on Monday.

For instance, Scott has just this week started reading simple words from books and is doing great with the pattern work I'm giving him for Math. Andrew suddenly decided this week that he was not wearing diapers. After months of cleaning his messes and getting frustrated and going back to diapers, he suddenly has figured it out. And Amanda has little hairs on top of her head that are visibly longer than they were on Sunday. Just today, she "graduated" from sleeping in her carseat to sleeping in the crib. She is having much more awake time this week and smiling so much.

It is little revelations such as these that remind me that all the hard work is worth it.

Third Time's A Charm!

What they say is true. After two unsuccessful attempts to get the Christmas Card photo, I was finally able to take it this morning. The first attempt was at Thanksgiving and everyone was hungry and tired of photos by the time we got around to our family. The second time was before church a few weeks ago. Typical of a Sunday morning, we were rushing around trying to get everyone ready and just could not get a great picture.

This morning we had all the time in the world. And, I'm not above bribing to get sweet smiles. Here is a picture of them enjoying the reward - candy canes. And below is a special holiday video.

Farley

It has been a while since Farley has been featured in a post. I couldn't resist taking a picture of this special treat. One of his self-appointed "jobs" is to pre-clean the dishes in the dishwasher. This weekend, he was attacking with vigor an empty peanut butter jar and I decided just to give it to him. A few minutes later, I wondered where he had gone. I found him in his crate daintily licking and being very possessive of his treat.




His other "job" is to entertain the boys (mainly Andrew) when I'm tied up with Amanda. Their favorite game is to run up and down the hall yelling "CHARGE!" Farley bounds after them with his tail wagging all the while. It is a loud game, but one that they all enjoy.

for my Uncle Marvin

Thanksgiving was weeks ago and I'm so behind on updating my blog that I thought about skipping the Thanksgiving post and moving on to more current things. But my Uncle Marvin is one of my most faithful readers and I know he will want to see pictures of the entire family. He is my Mom's uncle and we were with her side of the family for the holiday.

We had such an enjoyable time visiting with my brother and his family and my Uncle Bob and his family. Click on the pictures to make them bigger.

I'm becoming my mother...

..or maybe just becoming a Mom.

I guess it was bound to hit me at some point - yesterday morning, to be exact. As Derrick backed the van out of the driveway on the way to church, the voices in the backseat were asking for Silly Songs on the radio.

Let me give a little background before continuing my story. First, requesting certain music while in the car is a relatively new thing for the boys. Gone are the blissful days of NPR. Now the songs that I hum in the shower and wake up in the middle of the night singing are "She'll be coming around the mountain", "Found a Peanut", and "Where is Thumbkin?"

Second, I remember distinctly when I was a child that every Sunday morning, we would travel the 15 minutes to and from church listening to "The Sounds of Faith" on a local radio station (94.9). It was a local show that played "church music" (choirs and the like) on Sunday mornings. My brother and I would groan from the backseat and hope that the program would be over by the time we headed home from church so we could listen to something else.

I bet you can see where this story is going...

Yep, I played the "Mommy sits closer to the radio controls" trump card and immediately switched to our local Christian Radio station, hoping to listen to their normal Sunday morning program - Sunday Morning Celebration. They are in the middle of their 24 hour Christmas music (ugh), so guess where we ended up. You guessed it - The Sounds of Faith.

I could almost feel the relief from the back seat when we got back in the car after church and the program was over. It didn't take long for the boys to request Silly Songs again and for the sounds of silliness to fill the car.

Grandma's Visit

I just realized that I uploaded these pictures a week ago and never posted them.

Derrick's mom came to visit the week of Nov. 9th. We had such a wonderful visit with her!! I'm trying to decide who enjoyed her visit the most. Derrick loved seeing his mom. Scott and Andrew loved playing games and visiting (and the extra attention.) Amanda LOVED being held all of the time. And I really enjoyed the company during the day and the extra help with the kids. We certainly missed her last week when she was gone.

It's a Girl!

Amanda looked so cute and girly on Sunday. It was her first experience with tights. The "shoes" are really socks.

siblings

The other day Derrick asked Scott to hold sleeping Amanda when I was doing dishes and he wanted to switch the laundry. It was the first time Scott had held her semi-unsupervised. I decided dishes could wait - this was a photo moment. The funniest part is what Scott was saying as I took the pictures:

Laughing - "Mom, she just tooted!"


After about 15 pictures - "Mom, you are going to wake her up."


Sure enough, I woke her up. Here he is replacing the pacifier.


A few minutes later, Andrew started to help. Here are the three siblings.

Photos to match my new background

I love fall colors and we have the most beautiful orange tree at the entrance to our neighborhood. Last night, we walked (Scott rode his bike) up to the tree and took some pictures.

How is she sleeping?

According to my most un-scientific research, the question of "How is she sleeping" is the third most popular question one is asked when carrying a baby. The first being, of course, "Is it a boy or girl?" (Of course it is a girl - my boys never wore so many ruffles, butterflies, strawberries or flowers in various shades of purple and pink.) The second is "How old is she?" (Today, 6 weeks and 3 days, although normally I just answer "6 weeks")

So why is it that the sleeping question is so popular? Of course, when my Mom or a good friend asks, I know it is because they are concerned about my sleep - directly related to how much sleep Amanda gets. But, we were at the grocery store yesterday and the stranger behind me in line asked the question. Now, she could not possibly be concerned about my lack of sleep. Why would she care? What is her motivation? Maybe she wanted the opportunity to brag about how wonderful her babies were who slept through the night at 2 weeks. Or possibly she wanted to commiserate about the children she had who did not sleep for a full year. Or maybe it is just an attempt to make a connection with a stranger. Everyone who has had children knows what it is like to lose sleep on account of a newborn.

So, whatever your motivation, in case you have that question on the tip of your tongue next time you talk with me, here is the answer:

She is sleeping great for a six week old. We put her down around 8:00 and, after some protests, she generally falls asleep until 2:00. If I remember to put her back in her bed after that feeding, she will sleep until 6 or so. I'd say that's a good night sleep!

Oh, and if you are wondering, the fourth most popular question is "How much did she weigh at birth/How much does she weigh now?" As I haul her in my sling, I guess people want to know how much weight I'm carrying. Her 9+ pounds only account for half the weight. On the other shoulder is her diaper bag, a bag for Andrew and my purse. No need to go to the gym to lift weights around here!

Halloween #2

We had a wonderful Halloween evening at our church "Trunk or Treat." We were all clowns, except Amanda who wore a chicken costume given to us by friends. Don't all clowns have at least one chicken?

Well, I say we were clowns. The costumes did not pan out as planned. Nana made the boys orange pants, hats, and vests and all of us had bow ties. Turns out that Andrew did not want to wear his vest and bow tie. Scott wanted to wear his tie dye shirt under his long sleeve shirt. And in the flurry of trying to get out the door, we managed to leave Derrick's costume at home. When I suggested he could drive home and get it, he said he would "sacrifice" in an effort to save fuel and not wear one.

However, we all managed to get our hair sprayed orange. I asked Derrick and Scott to not cut their hair for a few months so we could fluff their curls. Well, Derrick truly looked like Bozo the Clown! Enjoy the pictures.




Who is that under the chicken costume?


OH!! It's Amanda!

The highlight of the evening for the boys was collecting all of the "loot."

Halloween Part One

Halloween pictures of our little pumpkin! The shirt was a gift from Grandma.


Look at those cheeks! I wonder what she is storing in them.


We carved our pumpkin this evening. The boys loved helping get the slime and ooze out of the middle.

Fall is Here!

The fall weather is here. We had a great time yesterday gathering fall objects and observing and sorting them. Then, we did a special art project - acorn art. We took acorns, covered them with paint and shook them in a covered container, lined with paper. It made beautiful art. (Yes, Pop, we found yet another use for those coffee containers.)

Oh my! 10 days!

If I have any faithful readers left out there, I must apologize for the 10 day delay. To be quite honest, three children is somewhat overwhelming at times.Well, really it's the combination of a newborn who is on no schedule and boys who think that chasing each other up and down the hall is a good way to pass the time while I'm nursing or changing a diaper. Add to that the fact that the newborn is quite picky as to where she sleeps - in someone's arms or not at all! Needless to say, that doesn't leave me much time for blogging (or laundry, dishes, etc.)

But, the great news is that we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Just this weekend, after rejecting the cradle, crib, bouncy seat, and swing, Amanda decided she could tolerate sleeping in the car seat. She has given me five hours between feedings for the past three nights! Today, she took two good naps, which gave me time with the boys and time for myself (to start this blog.)

And, the brightest light we have seen is the beautiful smile that pops up on her face every once in a while. It's just a glimpse that maybe she appreciates what we do for her. Of course, we won't really get that "Thanks" until about 30 years from now when the next generation is born.

Here is a photo of our five week old in her new sleeping quarters:

Apples...

Derrick was on Fall Break last week (don't we love vacations!) While most of the week was spent at home working on projects, Monday we went on a field trip with our Homeschool Co-op group to an apple orchard in North Georgia. We had a great time taking a wagon trip around the orchard, picking apples, and seeing how they were processed. Here are some pictures:

Here is Scott using the right technique to pick the apples. In case you are wondering, you twist the apple off of the branch. Don't pull it or all of the apples on the branch will fall to the ground.


Aren't these apples beautiful. I wish I remembered the name of them...black something. (Derrick remembered - Arkansas Black; I was close.)



Daddy helped Andrew pick his apple.

After we picked the apples, we walked to the area where they process them. It is a small orchard, so their process was fairly simple. Here you can see them being washed.


Below is the entire processing machine. They are first washed and then sent over a screen, where the little apples fall out. At the end of the line, the man boxing the apples checks for bad apples while boxing.


The boys were so interested in the process.

...and waterfalls

After we left the apple orchard, we decided to venture further into the North Georgia mountains. After all, we were already halfway there and did not see another time in the near future that we would be able to go hiking again.

We ended up at Anna Ruby Falls, near Helen. Monday afternoon is a great time to go hiking, since there aren't as many people around.

Poor Andrew was working off of a thirty minute nap that he took in the car. Here he is hitching a ride on Daddy's back while heading toward the falls. Amanda is snuggled in the baby sling. Most people we passed had no idea there was a baby housed in there. One asked Derrick if he was carrying Andrew's stuffed animal.







Amanda finally came out of the sling at the end of the hike. Here is proof that she was with us, and not, in fact, Andrew's stuffed animal.

Four Generations

Another highlight of Derrick's Fall Break was visiting my parents in Atlanta. It was Amanda's first overnight away from home (not counting the hospital, of course.) While we were there, we visited my grandmother. Gramma's name is Christine and she is the first in a long line of Christines. My mom and my middle names are Christine. When I was little (well, actually, up until five weeks ago), we were known in our family as the "Three C's." I guess now we will be the "Four C's," as Amanda Christine has been added to the list.

The sad part of the story is that Gramma now has Alzheimers and does not recognize any of us. But, she absolutely loved Andrew. Of the 50 or so pictures that we took that day, all of her smiles came from her watching Andrew.

Puzzle Time!

Here is something fun to get us ready for Halloween. My cousin-in-law (is that what you call your cousin's wife?), Holly, made us this super-cool puzzle. Richard (the cousin) cut the pieces from wood and she painted them. I think the hardest part would be figuring out how each little piece should be painted, as she did not have a design or directions for it.

And here is the proof that my Carolina education wasn't all that bad (Richard and Holly are NC State grads and fans.)

my, hasn't she grown!

Look how much Amanda has grown this week!


OK - so that isn't really Amanda. My friend, Sara, and her 6 month old came to visit this week. It was such a blessing having another adult in the house, especially when she came with her beautiful baby. We took the picture below with the self timer. Have you ever tried to gather four kids together when the timer is ticking? Well, this was as good as we could get.


It was slightly easier to get the picture of the two girls together, but we were afraid to put them too close together. Hannah is rolling and grabbing everything in sight! She was fascinated with Amanda. I guess it is true that babies just like looking at other babies.