Grandma's Visit

This past week Reese was able to meet

Grandma Ginger

&

Aunt Kelty

Being the wonderful baby she is, much of the time she just hung around like this...

 It was her older sisters who really relished time with them.

During the week Grandma was here she was put to work and play!

One afternoon she made Brinley's day by showing up to join her for school lunch.

Now that is a labor of love.

I know because I've experienced that wild lunchroom time.

As mothers with multiple children know, 

the most helpful thing when a baby arrives if for the older children to be otherwise engaged.

Our girls have enjoyed an abundance of these "big sister outings" since Reese arrived.

Grandma found a variety of ways to keep them occupied

around the home front and around town. 

One morning they went sledding in the first real snow of the winter. 

Apparently Avery enjoyed not only sledding, but also

rolling down the hill.

Last Sunday was Reese's baby blessing. Cody offered such a beautiful blessing.

I am crossing my fingers that the part about Reese being a  

"peacemaker in our home" comes to fruition!

Grandma took the girls to their 6 month dentist check-ups, but this
time Aspen was able to join in the fun.
Our pediatric dentist manages to make each visit a fun experience for her patients.

Aspen had been looking forward to this day for some time and she was sure brave, 

but still wanted to hold Grandma's hand during her turn.

Go HERE to read about the bedtime story ritual AND 

to enjoy a more detailed posting of Grandma's visit here.

Grandma, thank you thank you for coming to care for our family.

We sure love you!

Pictures from Kelty's visit coming up next.

Reese Take Two

 

This beautiful baby was blessed today!

Reese Take One

We had these pictures taken when Reese was only a 10 days old, but we wanted to 

wait to share them until the birth announcements had been made, mailed and received.

More pictures to come next post!

Smiley

Our sweet second born daughter is known as 

"Little Miss Smiley" or "Little Miss Sunshine."

Avery has a delightful zest for life 

which brings joy, excitement and lots of laughter into our family.

This picture, taken during Reese's photo shoot, depicts Avery's smile 

and the twinkle in her eyes perfectly.

I absolutely love my darling daughter Avery!

Baby Sprinkle

Friday mornings have become a time to look forward to ever since my friends 

Dana, Charlotte, Mary and I started our weekly tradition of getting together at that time.

A couple of weeks before Reese was born I waddled into Panera, 

that morning's meeting spot, and happened upon a surprise "baby sprinkle."

I was so touched and taken by surprise that the girls would plan this. 

We had another friend Angila join us that morning, she was kind enough to be behind the i-phone taking this picture. Thank goodness for my friends' savvy phones!

Each gift was lovely and my friends' expression of love gave 

me just the boost I needed to get through the end of my pregnancy.

See you guys Friday morning!

A Great Two Weeks

Two days after Christmas Auntie Yvette arrived to meet 

little Reese and help our new family of six.

It was such a delight to have her with us during this special time.

Among many other helpful endeavors during her time here 

she took the older girls on a number of four to five hour excursions.

These were fun and delightful outings for not only the girls, but also for their parents who enjoyed several mornings of blissful peace and quiet with the new baby.

Yvette also convinced us to sneak off for a

date night while she and the big girls had a fun night together at home.

 Leaving her family and taking time off work during Christmastime was certainly evidence of her love for our growing family.  She was even upbeat and sincerely happy to experience nearly all the kid-friendly things to do 

in our city while keeping the kiddos entertained and allowing parents some R&R.

We sure love you! 

Thank you for being you!

 We are all enjoying loads of sweet baby snuggles.

My dear friend Paige (seen in picture collage above) made the trek this past weekend, by car from Chicago, to meet Reese and help out.

What makes her weekend with us so special is that she is only weeks away from giving birth to her 3rd child...now that is one heck of a friend I tell ya!

She made some incredibly delicious food, gave me foot rubs and played with the girls all in a quick trip's time. Mostly I was just happy to be near her and
talk just like we did back in the good 'ole days.

 

Of course Reese's first bath was a family affair and each
sister insisted on participating equally in the event. 

Brinley (AKA Mother #2) has learned to multitask while holding Reese so
as to never miss out on a baby holding turn.

Avery (AKA Mother #3) is lively while holding Reese and is learning that her sister enjoys
"peaceful hands" more than hyper ones.

Aspen (AKA Mother #4) is always ready to bark out complaints about her big sisters when she feels that she has not had enough time with Reese or when they are not
caring for her as she thinks they ought to.

Daddy is simply just doing his best to survive in this tearful, joyful and crazy household with 5 girls surrounding him at all time and he is doing a darn good job at it...although I wonder if he is secretly having dreams of going back to work after
this week of paternity leave is over.

A Must Watch!

This is the single most compelling documentary advocating healthy eating 

that I have EVER seen...and I've watched my fair share.

Cody and I have also read a number of books advocating a  

whole foods plant-based diet, 

and still watching this film was, by far, the most compelling for us both.

We would highly recommend that you watch this if you are:

a) A human.

b) A human who eats food.

c) A human who eats food and wants to live well.

so, that's basically everyone out there. 

We all read owners manuals for a appliances, electronics and even cars,

so doesn't it seem natural that we ought to spend a bit more time reading or watching 

a sort of "owners manual" to help us keep our bodies functioning properly?

You can watch it for free on Netflix.com

Sneak Peak

On Saturday Reese participated in her first ever  

photo session with photographer NOELLE!

This is just a little sneak peak photo, 

can't wait to share more when they are edited and ready!

PS- Rooting for food is Reese's favorite past time.