My little salsa eater

He caught me sneaking a few bites (baby doesn't like me to eat salsa right now), and he couldn't resist.

And yes this boy is wearing a long sleeve shirt when it is 80 something degrees outside. He is very opinionated about his clothing. :p

Finished product

Here is the new porch in use. We really enjoyed it this weekend with the beautiful weather!

Baby holding

Gloria is now my most frequent requester of holding time. So sweet.

Here she was really chatting with Allia

Here Mariana is trying to teach her to take her paci so she won't always cry when I am not holding her (she is quite the Momma's girl!)

Blessed boyishness

Stephen likes to tell me, "Momma, I am Jedi." You sure are buddy! Avoid the dark side!

Little giggles

Last night at dinner I sat Anastasia in my lap facing Allia while I ate. Allia started talking and joking with her, and she giggled several times at her...so much so she ended up with hiccups! Her first little giggles were so sweet!

Sweet talk

Anastasia loves this little smiling sun in her baby gym. She was just talking so sweetly to it!

Baby time

Some moments with our growing girl...

Daddy usually gives Anastasia her last nap of the day in the Moby so I can have a little break. Nice father-daughter bonding. Here she just woke up. :)

 Pawpaw squeezed in a little baby time amidst the big project

This girl loves to chat on the changing table! She is so much like Mariana as a baby it is amazing to me! I have a similar photo of Mariana beaming with joy on the changing table too.

Concrete project

They finished! What a project. Here is the before...well, sort of. Austin had already dug up the grass, but you get the idea. Lots of stuff crowded onto small porch (sandbox, grill, picnic table) and lawnchairs out in the yard because there wasn't room for them. (I am a fan of classic southern architecture and miss the good old wrap around porches!)

During: Putting in the forms and the children and their neighbor friends mesmerized by the concrete truck and the process of wheelbarrowing it to the backyard!

Finished! We have to let it set fully, so I will add a photo with all the forms removed and stuff back in place after this weekend. We are excited to use our new porch in this beautiful spring weather! A special thanks to Pawpaw for all his help and hard work! They did a great job!

Dirty fun!

Stephen loved watching the dump truck deliver this dirt. By the time they were finished, Mariana was coated from neck to toe! It provided a whole hour of dirty fun!

What to do

when it has been raining for three days, and you are in the middle of a concrete project? Play in the mud!

 Oops!

Manah's turn

Nothing like Manah snuggles to comfort a sick baby girl.

They're back!

Pawpaw and Manah, that is. Here Anastasia is enjoying chatting with Pawpaw. And you see Gloria anxiously waiting for her turn. She hasn't been allowed to hold the baby for days now due to illness. But alas, my efforts failed, and the baby is sick too. Major :( So she may as well hold her and enjoy...except that she has to share with Pawpaw and Manah now! Sweet sister.

 Some serious talk!

Reading Stephen

I was wearing Anastasia in the Moby for a nap and trying to *quietly* get dinner ready this evening. I sent the children upstairs to play, but this little guy snuck back down. He knew he had better be quiet so as not to get in trouble for coming down, so he sat and started looking through books. It was soooo sweet to see those big brown eyes staring so wonderingly as he turned the pages. Then he started reading this one, "The Wheels on the Bus," and was even doing the hand motions I do when I read/sing it to him. I love this boy! What a smile it brought to my face. These little joys of motherhood make all the tough moments just melt away! I love you, my Stephen!

Outdoor time

I just love it when all the children run outside to play and do so happily together. Yesterday was one of those days. They played most of the morning together with no fighting or crying. I even let them bring their lunch outside because they were having so much fun!

2 month update

Anastasia went in for her "well check" this morning, even though she and the other children have some sort of cough/cold thing. She weighed 10lbs 8oz (I thought surely she was 11lbs!) and was 21.5." She was around 50th percentile. :)

First 5K Race!

Allia ran her first 5K race with Austin this morning. It was a gorgeous morning, though a bit chilly. They had a great time, and Allia finished 3rd in her age group. (Maybe she has my runner genes?). I am so proud of them. It has been tough for them to sneak away and run together with a baby in the house, but they were committed, and their training paid off. Yay! Next time, maybe I can run too. :)

2 Months Old

not a perfect photo, but I like how you can see her red hair and eyebrows!

 At the risk of sounding trite, I can hardly believe she is 2 months old already! She goes in for her Dr. visit Tuesday morning, and we will have her latest stats and probably a few shots. p

Anastasia is a sweet baby. She seems a little more serious than Stephen was. She often makes a concentrating type of face (not when making a diaper!), but does offer sweet little smiles here and there. She is also starting to coo and goo at us. So nice to hear her voice without her crying! She loves when her siblings sing "Twinkle, twinkle." She is a good sleeper so far. I nurse her at 8pm and usually lay her down for the night around 9:15pm. Most nights she will sleep until about 3:15am. But of course she is not a robot so that varies. Sometimes it is only 1:15, and a few times she made it to 5am! Her naps are around an hour and usually happen in the swing or Moby wrap because I just don't have time to rock her to sleep every hour, and she stays awake for about an hour inbetween. She is already getting to the point where she will not sleep out and about. :( She will still sleep in the car as long as it is on but wakes up as soon as you take her out. So I have a feeling our outings will be dwindling for a while until she can stay awake a little longer! It is no fun shopping with a tired screaming baby.

She looks a lot like Mariana's baby pictures, so Mariana has decided she will grow up to look exactly like her. I wouldn't mind that...she is beautiful girl!

We sure are thankful for this sweet baby girl and are happy to watch her grow.