Random May

Yes, we're alive and well. I'm just way behind and not worrying about it too much. We left Philly/Wilkes Barre on Thursday evening at 8pm and made it to Salt Lake City on Saturday morning at 9am. It was a very quick trip,especially with four kids and a 2-month old baby. We pretty much drove straight through, stopping only to fill up, feed a baby, switch drivers or take a couple hours to sleep. Other than being tired, we made it great! Jeff flew back to PA on Sunday afternoon and I took a couple days to visit family in the area and now I'm with family. I'll write more on this later, but here are some pictures from the past month.

Last day of church in Philly

My good friend Cindy in Wilkes-Barre had her 7th baby, a beautiful little boy. Amy and I were able to visit her in the hospital. It was so fun and made Emily seem huge!
A few fun ones of Emily from the month of May


At the ward picnic in Wilkes Barre. We had been packing in Philadelphia that morning, but as fate would have it, Jeff got called in for an emergency so we had to drive all the way back. Luckily it meant we got to go to the picnic, bad news meant we had to turn around and go back again the next day to finish the packing & cleaning.
Caleb, Jenna and Grace
Saying goodbye to our sweet neighbor Beth. She always had a fun treat for the boys and loved it when they made snowmen in the front yard.
Jeff took the boys out to the pool one last time on Memorial day while I finished cleaning the apartment.
We had a BBQ with our good friends the Olsens. It was fun to get togther with them. We totally think that Caleb and Grace should hook up someday. We're really going to miss their family.

Jamie and Jeff (and emily)

Playing at the park

Hiking

Last Saturday, we decided to take advantage of some of the hiking trails that are just 10 minutes away. It was a beautiful day and so much fun to just get out and enjoy the beautiful scenery. We are definitely going to miss all the beautiful green rolling hills, trees and greenery of the East Coast when we leave. It is beautiful!
The boys absolutely loved hiking up the trails, collecting sticks, rocks & bugs, and playing in the streams. Being outdoors is a little boys' paradise. It was a great hike for everyone, and a perfect way to spend the afternoon.

It was fun to watch Matthew. He kept up great, and I think he thought it was his personal responsibility to make sure that I kept up with the group. He kept turning around and saying, "Come on Mom!"

Contrary to what you might think based on seeing the first picture, Emily really did have a good time. She loves being outdoors and seemed to really enjoy the afternoon. She's still a little small for the front carrier, her face barely pokes over the top.

Daddy and the boys.

By the end of the hike, Emily was pretty tired and took a little nap in the carrier.

Last Day of School

May 5th was Jacob and Caleb's last day of school and preschool. They have both had a great year with preschool and kindergarten. They've had wonderful teachers and have both made some great friends. Technically the school year doesn't end until mid June, but with our moving/rotation schedule, we thought that May would be the best, so Jacob wouldn't have to transfer schools for a month of school. I've been staying alone in Philadelphia with the kids Sunday through Wednesday so they can go to school, then we travel up to be with Jeff until Friday afternoon, then we come back to Philadelphia on the weekends. I wanted the kids to get in as much school as possible, but I didn't love being away from Jeff so much. Being one mother with three boys and a newborn daughter can get a little tiring. There is definitely a reason families have a father and a mother, and I'm amazed at the wonderful single mothers who do it.

Jacob's school. It's pretty old, it even has a fall-out shelter if that gives any idea; but we've really come to love this building, even if it doesn't have a playground. We'll miss seeing this place every morning.

Jacob and his fabulous teacher, Ms. McGlynn. She was such a great teacher and we'll really miss her. She was so easy to work with and absolutely loved Jacob.

Jacob and the assistant teacher, Ms. Lynch. After spending a lot of time helping out in the classroom, I could fully understand how helpful an assistant teacher can be. Ms. Lynch was great and kept things running smoothly.

A familiar scene- watching the kids walk into the building in the mornings. I'm definitely looking forward to not having to send Jacob to school in a white polo and navy slacks everyday. Uniforms are helpful, but seriously..who's idea was it to have white be the only shirt color?

This was a scene from Jacob's last day. It was so sweet, a bunch of his friends were giving him a big hug and didn't want to let him go. We'll miss these guys!

Ms. McGlynn not wanting to be left out either :)

This is Caleb's preschool. It just so happens to be at our favorite, Houston Park. During the nice weather it was fun to pack and lunch and play at the park after we picked him up. Caleb always thought he was pretty lucky to get to go to preschool at the park.

This was Caleb's absolute favorite teacher Miss Joy. Caleb is always full of energy, and sometimes that can tire people out, but Miss Joy loved it. She has three daughters & one son (exactly opposite of us) and always said that Caleb reminded her of her son. She always gave him special attention and loved to listen to his stories. I was so grateful for Miss Joy- and I've never seen anyone fit their name better than she does.

This is Caleb's other teacher, Miss Pat. She was a great teacher to work with too. She actually lives near the preschool, and the kids loved going on walks to her house to see her pet ducks.

I'm sure grateful for the kids' wonderful teachers and for the great experience they both had this year with school. You definitely have a better appreciation for good schools when you're a mom!

2 Months

Emily turned 2 months on May 19th

22 Inches (17th percentile)

9 lb 13oz (12th percentile)

-Emily is a mover! She's already at a point where I can't leave her on a high surface on her tummy because she scoots and moves around. I can put her on a blanket on the floor, come back a couple minutes later and she's completely moved off the blanket.

-She reminds us a lot of my baby pictures-I'll have to dig some out. We see similarities between siblings, but think she has her own unique look.

-She still pretty much drowns in most of the 0-3 month clothing. Although it's definitely smaller, she can still wear the outfit she came home from the hospital in.

-Emily is still such a sweet, happy little girl and we love the smiles and giggles she gives. I'm still having a hard time capturing some good smiles on camera because when I pull it out, she just stares at it.

-She's really starting to talk and coo and laugh. We could all sit around for hours just watching and talking to her.

- Her hair is still pretty dark and her eyelashes are getting so long.

-Emily loves to be right in the middle of everything and everyone, it's a good thing because when you have 6 people in the family, it doesn't allow much quiet time. I can put her down on a blanket in the room and she's just happy as can be listening to everyone.

- She loves it when her brothers talk to her and give her attention.

-She's still been doing great with sleeping, she's even given a couple stretches from 10pm to 6am

-When she's really tired she can get fussy; and the best thing to do is to just lay her down- she'll usually go right to sleep.

-She likes to suck her fingers. It reminds us of Caleb. I'm trying to keep with the binky!

-She does NOT like to be in her car seat. She loves having her diaper changed, she loves taking her baths, but she usually starts to cry as soon as she's put in her car seat. Hopefully that changes before our 34 hour drive coming up next week.

-We love this little girl! (Even when she does cry:)

1.5 Months

Emily is just over 1.5 months old. She's getting more alert every day. She has been giving lots of cute smiles, and we love those big blue eyes. She is such a sweet little baby.

Emily & Her Brothers

I've been meaning to get to this post for a while now. It's been so fun to see everyone's adjustment to Emily, especially her brothers'.

Jacob is a great helper and loves to talk to Emily and help her when she’s sad. He’s very sweet and patient. I love listening to his voice when he talks to her, so sweet and kind. He loves to touch her head and says she is the “prettiest little sister in the whole world.” He loves having a baby sister and told me he hopes we have another sister in the future because “we don’t have very many girls in the family.”

Caleb loves to try and entertain Emily. Although I’ve tried to tell him that she won’t really respond at this age, he still likes to perform various tricks and funny things for her in hopes of getting a laugh or smile. He is always asking to hold her. He loves to hold her little hands, and always tells me how much he loves his little sister. His line is, “She’s cute!”

I’ve been so pleased with how well Matthew has done with a little sister. He’s definitely had moments of acting out for attention, but towards Emily it’s always been pure love. He always calls her “Baby Sister” and loves to be involved with her in any way. He always asks to hold her, “Have It!” with arms outstretched. He loves to pat her head, kiss her cheeks, and touch her hands and feet. He’s taken it on as his personal responsibility to always make sure Emily has her binky (whether or not she wants it). I don’t know how many times I’ll find him at her side making sure that binky is in place. Whenever Emily cries, Matthew is immediately at her side trying to make her happy. She was sleeping on my bed one afternoon and woke up & started to cry. Before I could get to her she stopped crying. When I walked in the room, Matthew was up on my bed, lying right next to her. He had given her her binky and was lying carefully by her side with his arm gently around her. It was such a sweet little moment. Of course I do have to watch him, he’s not always that gentle, but there’s no question of his love towards her.

We love this little girl!

Goodbye Picnic

On Saturday, May 1st we were able to stop packing for a couple hours to go to the park to have a picnic with friends. It's kind of become a tradition to have a goodbye picnic every year. It's nice to get together at the park and enjoy a picnic dinner while the kids play and the adults visit. This year was no exception. The kids love the playground and also playing in the dirt on the baseball diamond. Another favorite is the merry-go-round, it's always interesting to see which child is going to go off first, Matthew had a pretty impressive digger this time, but he hoped right back up and was back on. Needless to say, all three boys earned a much-needed bath that night!

It was fun to see and spend time with friends. I hate thinking about the goodbyes that will be said in the very near future. These friends have been our family away from home. There are 17 families leaving this year, and most of us are headed to different areas of the country. We've shared a lot over the past few years, the up's, down's and everything in between. We've had a lot of fun and created some great memories. We're definitely going to miss this great group. (not everyone was able to make it, so the picture is missing a few families).

L-R: Amber, Lizette, Jordan, Teresa, Angela

L-R: Teresa, Natalie, Stacey, Jenny, Deborah, Sarah, Kelley, Angela

Julian and Jacob

Derek with Bryce and Emily

Matthew after his launch off the 'merry-go-round.' This kid literally had a mouth chucked full of dirt. It didn't phase him too long, he went right back. It was pretty funny.

Jacob, Colin, & Julian

Us & Farnsworths with 3 of our 7 kids

We also had the last 'girls night' in April before all the graduating people leave. Unfortunately I left that afternoon to travel up to be with Jeff so I wasn't able to be there, but at least I got a picture of the group & heard it was a blast. Love these girls!