Longing for April...

I was planning my garden last night, doing some more research on companion planting. Getting all excited. Then I woke up to... Snow! I am so done with the snow. It's beautiful out right now and normally I would be so excited but I can't take this winter any more. I need nice weather. I almost want to cry. Of course lately my hormones have been all over the place and just about anything with bring tears to my eyes. So crying over snow wouldn't be that hard for me to do. It's been along time since I've had to deal with the monthly hormonal ups and downs and I'm not dealing with it very well. Plus Lala is slowly nursing less and less and I always seem to go through a major hormonal upheavel during this time. If only spring would hurry up and show it's lovely self, I just know I'll feel better then. *sigh*

Getting it on paper, sort of...

There has been so much going on, and lots swirling around in my head. But I never seem to have the time to blog about it. I want to, I think up great posts... but they stay their unpublished in my head, and soon forgotten. Sad.

My girl is growing up so fast. I'm not doing a very good job with journaling that this time around. So it's not just the blogging, I can't seem to write in her journal either. Or get any scrap booking done... I haven't even started on her baby quilt! Shesh. I've written a little in her baby book, but I bet it's time to update that as well.
She is my fearless one. Climbing to the top of the boys bunk bed in the blink of an eye. Always trying to keep up with her brothers. She is talking up a storm, new words every day it seems. Singing. Love the singing. She will bust out with Ol' McDonald had a farm, and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star or the ABC's song and it's really super clear and absolutely adorable. She loves to beat box {her daddy taught her how} and dance. She hears music and she starts bopping. She can be nursing or half asleep but if music comes on she shoots up and starts moving and grooving. It's really funny. She's got some good moves too, dances better then her mommy already. {that's not really all that hard, ha ha!} She's only nursing a few times a day now... but she would still nurse all day if I let her. I have a feeling she is not going to be easy to wean. If I sit down to do any thing she assumes that it must be nursing time. I often read while nursing her, so now when she want to talk me into nursing her she will go grab a book and follow me around the house saying "Oobie, oobie, oobie". {All my kids have called nursing oobie, Lala did say Aboo instead for a short bit, not sure why.} She's sleeping on her own now for the most part, although she still wakes up way too much. I don't lay down with her anymore, but I often fall asleep at the foot of her bed, cause I'm so stinkin' tired! She can really pitch a fit. Really. And she's starting to do it a lot. She has also been hitting her brothers quite a bit. Some times the house will echo with "Baby sister hit me!" I've given her a few time outs, and she will sit there f0r her 1 minute and then go tell which ever brother it was {or all of them as was the case yesterday} that she is sorry. It's cute. The sorry part. Usually said with a kiss and then all is forgiven. I don't think her brothers can stay mad at her. She's taken up screaming when she has something one of her brothers want, that she most likely just grabbed away from them. She will run away on her chubby little legs as fast as she can, screaming like her life depends on it. It sounds as if she is a little terror {which she sort of it, but a cute one...ha ha!} but actually she has lots of shinning star moments where she just melts me. She's so sweet, and funny. So smart. She loves to cuddle her mommy, and follow me everywhere. She love to help me with everything. She loves shoes. Really loves shoes. Especially her red shoes, and now her new pink cowboy boots. She has one set of molars in, and that was a nightmare. Glad those are all the way in now. She puts them to good use too, as she loves to eat.

I've been working on putting together some gifts for my sister in law who just had a baby boy. I made her a really cute monkey themed diaper cake, don't have a picture yet as my camera is dead right now {so sad}. They didn't have much in the way of baby boy clothes as the last kid was a girl, and they weren't really planning on another. So I asked a bunch of my wonderful friends to find gently used clothes for me to gather up for her. They of course came through with some really cute stuff and so I have a ton of adorable little baby boy outfits for her now. All washed already so that she won't have to. I'm also making her a few dishes of food for the freezer so that she can skip on making a few meals. We are going to visit them next weekend {it's about a two hour drive} to see the baby for the first time and I am so excited! I also bought way to many outfits {all a deal of course, because I love sales} for her, and one of the cutest baby blankets I've ever seen! I love buying kids clothes, there just so cute. Way better then shopping for myself, which I hate to do.

My boys are growing so fast. I look at them and can't hardly believe it. How are they not babies any more? The things they say now, the games they play together, they all have such a good imagination. Love it. Atty has a harder time with imaginative play, but he goes along with the games his brothers come up with. His vocabulary is expanding rapidly, and he is starting to use more expressive words now which is great to hear. Spike is such a little brother. He loves to pester. It can get really frustrating. I mean he really loves it and has perfected it. He's the brother that does the whole, "I'm not touching you, I'm not touching you" with his hand hovering right there and the other child screaming, thing. With a smile on his face. He's so smart too and knows every ones weaknesses. He really seems to need constant attention, which is part of the reason why he pesters so much. He asks me for hugs all day long. I've been making a real effort to sit and snuggle him more. I have also been trying to remember to use more praise for him too, as he needs it. Well they all do of course, but he often gets in trouble a lot, which gets defeating for him, so I have to try and focus on what I can praise him for. Some days, I'll be honest, are a lot harder then others for that. He can be so sweet though, and really takes good care of his baby sister. They all do. You can see how much she adores them because of that. Bubu has been on a helping me roll. He loves feeling like a big kid, doing chores with me that the other kids can't do yet, like hand washing dishes. He's pretty good at it too. Because he's an oldest, he sometimes gets frustrated with his younger siblings, gets over whelmed by them when he's trying to do something and they keep getting in the way. So he's been asking for more alone time in his room, me time as we call it around here. He has always been one for playing on his own and being perfectly happy that way, so he will some times go into his room and build with blocks or what ever. He just needs that break. So far he's the only one who asks for it. I think because I am an oldest of four siblings I understand Bubu's need for alone time, and I sympathize and related to him more. I have a harder time understanding Spike, and probably Lala here pretty soon. I guess I will need to ask my little sister to interpret for them, ha ha!

Well I took a moment to ramble on about the kids, but that just scratches the surface of what I've been mulling over in this brain of mine. As always though, all the kids are up, daycare kids will be here any moment and breakfast needs to be made. Then the cleaning, the schooling, and everything else that takes up every spare moment of my day needs to be done. So I guess once again all those thoughts will stay in my head, and who knows maybe that's were they belong. Just thoughts in my head.

Birthday Photos...

Look at those curls!

Got to have those special birthday pancakes. Made these with almond flour and he loved them.

These are meat loaf cupcakes with ketchup and mustard. I used almond flour to make them and Atty loves these as well. He had the mustard topped one. Sounds gross, but the kids thought it was awesome.

I some times can hardly believe they are all mine, how did I end up with four kids! They are growing too fast...

Our superman! Opening his birthday presents. His daddy made him that bird house and he loved it. He's really into birds and all things bird related right now. The boys all got binoculars for his birthday so that they could spy on the birds in our yard.

Atty got a bike, now the boys all have their own bikes... I'm thinking there are going to be a lot of outings with the bikes this summer! {Although it's going to take a lot of work to get Atty at the point where he can ride his bike.}

Birthday cake!

Made of course out of almond flour, with whipped cream for frosting {he can tolerate a little} and blueberries to make it fancy. It ended up being pretty yummy, surprising for a first time try! He loved the blueberries, he could only have a little bit so I had to count fast as he stuffed them in his mouth before I could even cut the cake!

And now you are four... Happy birthday!

To the moon and back birthday boy...

Because it is your birthday my heart child, my fiery redhead, my love, I had to put a baby picture up. Look at those cheeks! Be still my heart, *sigh*...

One year ago to day things looked a lot more like this...
You were having a hard time talking, walking, feeding yourself, or bathing. You could no longer use the toilet. You were drooling and falling over all the time. You were sad, understandably. You were frustrated, overwhelmed and scared. You slept all the time, and could only watch your brothers play. It all happened so fast. You went from our normally happy Atty, active and playing... to seizing all day long. The day before your third birthday I was begging and praying for you to be released from the hospital so that we could celebrate your birthday at home {after a nine day hospital stay}. We did get home in time, but as many of you know the storm continued for many more months. The up and down roller coaster ride. So much has happened in one year. I am thankful beyond words that we are now where we are today. You my son are amazing.

To see you walking and talking. Witnessing how far you have come. Hearing from your doctors at Children's how amazed they are by you. You are a miracle. Your doctor told me there has never been another case she knows of at Children's where a child recovered so well when they didn't even know why the seizures started in the first place. We might never know, but I am so thankful we found out how to stop them. I'm so glad we were able to put you on the Modified Atkins for seizures diet and that it worked for you when six different medicines wouldn't. It's not easy, but I hope you know that I would move mountains for you. I love seeing how excited you get when I figure out another recipe that you like. Thanks to almond flour I've been able to figure out recipes for muffins, bread, cookies, cake, and things like meatloaf and breaded chicken. Every time I figure out something new I feel like the diet gets even more successful and it warms me. Makes me feel good inside, because it's something I can do for you to make things better. I know this diet can be hard on you, some times you talk about candy with a gleam in your eye like any other little kid, but you can't have any. You can't join in for ice cream or have the same cake as everyone else at a birthday party. You can't have anything made from grain. You can't eat unlimited fruit or vegetables with every one else. Every time you eat you have something different then the other kids. We try to keep the stuff you can't have out of your life, but there are times when it's unavoidable. And you cope. Because of you this diet works. With your help Atty we have made you seizure free! So now today on your 4th birthday we celebrate not only your birth and your life, but also how far you have come!

I love you more then life it's self Atticus. To the moon and back, quack, quack...