Happy Valentine's Day 2013

Just  a little love from our sweeties in time for Valentine's day. xoxo

let me make you breakfast

this morning peter did something new. he's often the first one up and usually he comes to the living room and lays on the couch with baxter for a bit. today i guess that went on too long...i can't believe i didn't hear him, momma must be sleepy.
today i woke up to a breakfast of sorts in full prep.

banana peel (empty) on the counter. guess he helped himself.
beverage containers on the counter. grateful he didn't attempt to pour, just set out the options.
(dirty from sink) bowl on the rug with one egg in it (cracked) with minimal eggshell.
11 eggs in carton  and 1 neatly cracked/empty shell IN the container sitting on rug next to bowl.

way to go montessori for the "i can do it myself" attitude. way to go pete for being helpful and tidy about what could have been disastrous (think of the potential mess one dozen eggs could make). so grown up.

snuggly "naptime" with baxter on momma's bed while i organize daddy's closet. you're welcome, babe. xoxo  and don't worry, the silly pirate pants made the cut. they are waiting for you!

beverage options he carried from the fridge to the counter.

this WAS on the floor...

a little writer

he just keeps growing and growing, this big boy of ours

peter took this picture of grandma and baby curtis - he loves to use mommy's fancy camera

reading to lady betsy before her bedtime - its fun when friends come over and grab your camera. i love being in at least a few photos around here.

me and my boy bax

he loves to write! if you look closely you can see all the letters of his name below my example. it made me SO proud of him to see him doing it so well - and he was so excited to be writing.

he switches between using his left and right hand. his letters are better with his right hand but his grip is less awkward with his left hand.

curtis is one month grown!

our little june bug is growing and growing and time is zipping by. as i was taking out the trash this morning, scurrying to beat the arrival of the trucks, i was marveling how it was already another trash day...another friday...almost halfway through march. we are zooming right on through this early part of the year and racing toward summer - and i am rejoicing that this busy pace keep shrinking our countdown to daddy chain each night after dinner.
curtis is such a sweet cuddle baby. he loves to be held and snuggle in for a snooze, sometimes its hard to keep him awake to get in a full feeding and we end up nursing on and off for a few hours. and while i am tending to two big kids and a house and an international move and a birth educator certification in the "other" minutes of my days, i am doing my best to luxuriate in those moments of sitting and snuggling as i watch my bigger kids race around the house, literally climbing the walls, only stopping occasionally for a drink or a bathroom break or to take a breather hiding out under the kitchen table.  i remember when each of them were tiny snuggle bugs too. now that they are bigger they still love to be held and have hugs and give kisses on my forehead, but as quickly as they come for a high five or a tickle, they are off again to find their pirate ship or their chef's hat or the mouse and its house or to build a support beam under the parking garage for their cars. their imaginations are blooming and its FUN to watch and participate in the new exploration of what is possible in their play.
but back to curtis...his sleep chunks are getting bigger and a bit more predictable which has given me a tiny bit of uninterrupted sleep. who knew four straight hours of sleep could make you feel like a rockstar in the morning?!!?  i love to sit and watch him - i think i can actually watch him growing and changing. i love to watch his eyes dart around the room, taking in his little world - this house that we share. i love to imagine him in another month. i love to imagine him this summer at home playing in the grass with a sprinkler nearby, watching the big kids run and play. i love to imagine him as an 8 year old - what will he be like? what will they each be like? these three are already so in love with each other and are proving to be great friends (despite the moments of insanity-induced rudeness), they will be such individuals with their own personalities and interests and skills and ideas, yet i hope and pray they will be great playmates and someday grown-up friends to support each other through all of life's journeys....celebrations and transitions and challenges and explorations and...babies....here's hoping.
anyway, in those crazy moments when all three babes have different needs moving in different directions being communicated with crying and tugging me toward whatever it is that the need, in those chaotic bits of our days when i doubt myself and wonder if i am really enough, i just think to the future when i know with all of my being that i will look back at these early days with three tiny babes under my wing and miss every tiny speck of those beautiful days. and so, in the midst of chaos and not-enough-time and too-much-to-do, i am doing my best to really digest the awesomeness that it is.

thoughtful big kid gifts keep coming with the welcome baby goodies. thank you!

the coloring books and stickers are a BIG hit...they both sat and colored quietly for quite awhile and i got a lot accomplished. then i realized little sister was happily, quietly enjoying sticking her stickers on the kitchen table. woops. you'd think i would have learned not to mistake "quiet" for "not requiring supervision"

new sleeper from deedee...and he will wear it exactly once. he is GROWING FAST!

dressed herself in big brother's shirt as pants (legs in armholes), big brother's shoes, the backpack and the shapes satchel on her arm and then headed outside.

brothers enjoying a new blanket in the sun coming through the patio door. its 80 degrees today!

big yawn from a one month old june bug!

this is how he sleeps

enjoying his plan toys pirate ship. he got it for christmas and quickly discarded it as uninteresting. earlier this week i brought it out from the closet and its seen non-stop play. there have also been several requests to watch peter pan as he's fascinated with it - and even more fun to recreate the pirate play with his ship. its cute to hear how many songs he picks up from just hearing once or twice in a movie and sings all day long.

thanks annie and alison, the blankets are beautiful...we ALL love them!

snack time for lady bug - her pigtails are getting so long!

both big kids have been choosing rain boots as their footwear of choice lately.

growing a family of littles

with the arrival of curtis, our already very full days have become even more full...which has, and will likely continue to, kept us at home more often than not. big brother and sister have gotten used to letting momma and curtis sleep a little later than the rest of the house (something that will end when deedee leaves on friday, but my goodness i have appreciated it while it lasted!) and as soon as they hear him fuss in the morning peter is at my door knocking and asking to please come in. they love to come in and check on his, say hi, give a hug and a kiss, and then after watching curtis and i do our best trick (nursing) for about half a minute, they are bored and move on to something else a little more exciting. betsy, however, tends to stay a bit closer, telling baby "its ok, baby curtis" (even when he's not crying) and patting his head, and asking to sit on my lap or just stand next to me. she loves to be close to her momma which makes my heart happy, and keeps me plugged into where she's at - she's big but she still needs her momma. with these three littles, each with their own set of needs and desires i will have to learn to dance a balanced jig around here to meet them exactly where they are right now.  pete is mr. independent but needs a lot of encouragement, support and praise for his endeavors. he's also full of things to share and i love hearing his endless chatter - need to make sure i stay tuned into what he's telling me, because there are so many interesting stories to hear. i love watching his imagination explode onto a whole new horizon of awesome ideas and inventions.  he also needs a big space to move and jump and run every day, its part of his dna.  he loves to cut paper with scissors (zizzors) with a super-serious concentrating face involving a lot of tongue-sticking-out and he is quite into drawing now. i love that he verbalizes what it is that he is drawing as he goes, its fun to get a glimpse into the amazing amount of brain activity taking place in his happy little head. there are lots of drawings of family members, trains, daddy's jet, but then he also adds a lot of other random things. its just so cool to see it all unfold - all those thoughts and ideas, along with a lot of letter "P's".  betsy is full of go-power too and more than ever also needs a space where she can be her spider-monkey physically strong and busy self. she too has a lot of chatter, her favorite phrases are "don't do that again, peter!" said in a very stern voice and "look at me!" as she very purposely does something she is definitely not supposed to be doing (like dancing the cha-cha on the coffee table, climbing on top of the television...the list is long, actually!).  she is busy and fast and full of questions - she is a sponge and wants to know what everything is and discuss the details of what she sees and hears everywhere we go.  she's also become very good at concentrating - its amazing to watch her do puzzles, she actually examines the puzzle and the pieces and puts it exactly where it should go (her style is a bit different from pete's early puzzle attempts where he'd try to power the piece into every available hole in the puzzle and then end with a dramatic squeal of frustration...luckily he's gotten better now!).  she does an amazing job of keeping up with her big brother. and then there is this growing babe of ours, at 13 days old he's now a big 9 lbs 4.5 oz (up from 8 lbs 2 oz at birth), we're just watching him grow by the hour - legs and cheeks filling in, his color is beautiful now that all the jaundice has worked its way through his system. he's starting to sleep in 2-3 hour chunks which feels soooooo luxurious for this momma (last night i was asleep for 45 minutes before he woke up for his first night feeding and it was odd how refreshed i felt after such a short sleep - am grateful that i am sleeping hard as soon as i'm able to lay down again). he's having longer and longer awake periods each day with his eyes wide open, exploring the shadows and movement of the room. his little mouth is starting to busily explore his hands and fingers to see just what he can do with them, i'm sure he'll find his favorite finger to suck very soon.  he has all kinds of facial expressions that he showcases mostly when he is asleep. his awake face is mostly full of wonder as he takes in his surroundings.

checking on their baby

getting his finger prints and foot prints

filling the tub for his first bath - unfortunately the room was too steamy for good pictures, but we have video footage to share. like our other babes, he seemed to accept the warm bath without any fuss. he didn't love the drying off/chilly part of getting dressed but once he was bundled up and had a full tummy, he was happy to fall asleep for a nice nap.

post-bath naptime :)

loving this little one's nice long toes

helping deedee plant some new flowers in our sad empty flower pots

Happy groundhog's day!

so fun watching a tiny tidbit of that crazy groundhog checking out his shadow and all the top-hat-wearing hooplah surrounding his revelations this morning during breakfast. and i am falling in love with preschool even more as he comes home toting cute little creations like these, always a glimmer in his eye. these are my clues into the three hours he spends in his own special little big-man world away from momma twice a week. xoxo

sneak peak: pete's quilt

finally...the quilt is pieced, sandwiched and pinned, ready for quilting! i've had the fabric for over a year, just waiting for attention. and of course, in typical sarah fashion, i've decided that its imperative to finish this quilt before our third baby arrives sometimes in the next....5 weeks. i know that seems like a big window but the "welcome baby" sign goes up at 37 weeks and extends to 42 weeks, although i'm expecting he will be timely to somewhat early. we'll see.
back to the quilt.  i got some inspiration about making a strip quilt after looking through some ideas on pinterest. it seemed quick and easy and painstakingly NON-precise, exactly what i needed. it is momma made with love and cozy and gorgeous, with organic fabrics and a delicious organic fleece for the backing. he asked me again today, "is my blanket all ready, mom?" (he calls me mom now, stop growing up child!)...i told him it was almost ready for his bed. its a twin bed size quilt, meant for his bed. i chose a little more grown up fabric, hoping it would grow with him and someday make an excellently oversized cuddle quilt for two (imagine my little man, someday snuggled up with someone special - yay!). i am hoping it lasts the test of time and is a tangible gift of love from his momma that he will always keep close.  so...let the quilting commence and fingers crossed that baby and i time it just right to finish this one last project before he arrives in our world.

Nature Walk ORGANIC Collection, Cloud 9 Fabrics - plus additional corduroy from my stash to make it the right dimension.

little musicians

these two little busy bugs have been digging on our musical instruments this week! in addition to loving the "horn" they got for christmas, pete has busted out the drums. he tells me its like the boys in the street in the parade - he was fascinated with them and marches around for an hour, making the loop through our hallway, banging as hard as he possibly can. he loves it. betsy loves it too but doesn't get much drum time so she opts for bells or other percussion-like instruments. even gave the harmonica a good run for its money yesterday. its fun to see them starting to co-play more now. however, this co-play has also turned into "ganging up" on mommy a little.  one kid does something borderline naughty (spitting milk), they both crack up. encouraged by the others response, they both continue the naughty behavior, whatever it might be, and continue to crack each other up. its like they are in their own little planet together. and as much as i wish i could stop the naughty behavior, i have to admit i do get a little giggle myself out of hearing them squeal at each other and laughing their heads off.

this little man in my belly is demanding a lot of my energy and is leaving me completely exhausted by the day and at 34 weeks, we still have a long few weeks ahead while he grows strong and ready to meet us....so the co-play is even more welcome!

this week

its been an odd week for us. with major teething troubles, a mysterious 48 hours disease that put this momma down hard, some random night-time sickness for pete and an ear infection for betsy (this is the first time they've been sick....ever!), we have been at home and inside more than ever before. in some ways its been a nice change to slow down, stay in jammies and enjoy some new birthday gifts, we have all had some serious bouts of stir-crazy setting in.  just a few pics i've snapped this week to share of our babies  in the midst of their business.

i came into the room to find them like this on the bed

then betsy tried to get up

big brother gently telling her he would like her to lay down with him "nice and cozy"

she gave in and joined him after mommma intervened and rescued her from his "mildly misguided" attempt at communicating