Happiness

    It was  the Best Mother's day ever!

While my Mom and Dad were here, helping with the baby, we celebrated my Mom's 65th birthday! For dinner we had Chili Cheese Fries- per her request- and a yummy chocolate cake that she made herself! I had each one of her children and some of her siblings each write her a note of appreciate for her. It turned out really well! Happy Birthday, Mom! We love you!     The kids, goofing around  

Declan turned one month old last Saturday. He is getting bigger every day and it's fun to see how he's growing and changing! At one month he: -Stays awake for longer stretches of time- about an hour in the morning, at lunch time and in the evening. -Loves to stare at contrasting shapes- our shelves from Ikea, the ceiling fan, the blinds, etc. -Is very smiley and will smile also every time he wakes up from a nap and after he eats. -Is very passionate- eating and sleeping and being awake all very intensely. He eats quickly, sleeps soundly (for the most part) and likes to be entertained when awake! -Had his first laugh on Monday! I was holding him in front of the mirror and bounced up and down with him and he thought is was hilarious! Of course, it turned into a cry after about three times and he didn't like it anymore. It made my Momma heart soar! -Enjoys watching his older siblings. They find him very fascinating and ask lots of questions. -Still doesn...

The kid's last day of school is on Thursday! Summer is almost here! I have to say that I have mixed emotions for summer. I am excited for the kids to be home so that I can spend more time with them. They are a fun bunch and I really enjoy being with them and getting to know them better while making good, fun memories. But, I also have a newborn. Who doesn't lreally ike his carseat and needs to eat almost every 2 hours. In the past, we have had the kids do Centers- a reading center, a writing center, a computer center and a Mom center. This year I got some ideas from the Power of Moms Summer Survival Kit. We'll still have them do some reading and some writing but we will add chores to the mix and an extra activity that they get to choose- art, typing, etc. This year, they will get to earn money for each day they complete their must dos and then they will use that money for a fun trip at the end of the summer- a local water park or whatever they decide they want to ...

Ethan Jonah     Ethan and Jonah turn 10 today! 10! How did my twin boys get so old? Ethan loves: -to make crafts. He is often found in our guest bedroom (aka Grandma's Room) cutting, gluing, taping his own craft projects- monsters made out of recycling materials, build-your-own catapult out of popsicle sticks and water bottle caps, etc. -to read. He is often found reading on the couch and recently finished 2,000 Leagues Under the Sea. He told me the other day that the other kids at school say he is a fast reader. He told them that he is not fast- he just reads a lot! Very true! -save his money. He works hard at doing extra chores and saves every last penny. Even when he is tempted to buy something he really wants (like a book at the School Book Fair), he won't buy it since he wants to save his hard earned money. -recently earned his Bear Badge for Scouts, along with his Religious Knot which we worked hard on at home as well as 3 arrow points. -has a ...

 One of the Young Women in our ward is a Photographer and volunteered to take newborn pictures of Declan to add to her portfolio. I happily agreed! She came over and took them when he was 6 days old- still pretty little! I could just eat him up! Thanks, T!  At one point, he was sleepy, so we wrapped him up and he fell fast asleep. Then we unwrapped him to take more pictures. After a while he was done though! She had planned a picture with him in a basket but we didn't get to it.  He has really long fingers and toes- we think he is going to be pretty tall! (His length is in the 75th percentile). What a sweet, little boy!

Our First Family Picture- a family of seven! (don't you love Elizabeth's pose?) At 3-4 Days old Declan started getting super fussy (right when this picture was taken). He would have hour long stretches of fussing and crying and not being able to settle. While it was definitely inconvenient during the day, the hour long stretches at night were the hardest. After some discussion with some friends, I decided to try and cut out dairy and see if that made any difference. It was hard to do right then, because people were bringing us meals and I had no idea if milk was in them or not. But, after a few mistakes- putting butter on my English muffin late at night, eating the spaghetti sauce that had cheese in it, I was able to go for a long stretch without any dairy. That, plus a frequent use of Milacon drops, has made a wonderful difference! He no longer cries for those hour stretches like he used to. He is happy and eating and sleeping pretty well. Helping him fall aslee...

  All Dressed Up for Church (Declan was sleeping).   The Boys!   Sunday Morning! The Easter bunny came! This was before he hid the baskets and left a clue for the kids (they were on the picnic table outside!).   We dyed eggs the Wednesday before Easter- the day I went into labor! This was Ethan's egg. It was so pretty he didn't want to eat it!   Elizabeth holding Declan. I wanted to get a picture of all 5 kids on Easter Morning, but Declan was sleeping and I did not want to wake him up. Then, Declan peed out of his cute Easter onesie and when the kids came home from Church they all changed before I could catch them.     Asher holding Declan   Grandma holding Declan   Hanging out with his Giraffe   A Neighborhood Egg Hunt the day before. They got way too much candy!   A Happy Easter!

As I sit here, typing this, Baby LulLaby Radio is playing on Pandora and Declan is asleep in his chair- his little nose peeking out of his wrap (he is doing quite well eating and sleeping now! Knock on wood!). Wipes, a boppy, a swing and several blankets are spread across the room. Life sure changes with a baby around! But I am SO glad he is here! We took him to Church for the first time on Sunday and it felt so good to have everyone together. So good! Declan is almost 3 weeks old (this Thursday) and so, I am a little behind on blogging! We brought baby home to several VERY excited kids! It took us a lot longer than we thought to leave the hospital and the kids had been waiting at home most of the day for him to come (they had no school that day since it was Good Friday).   He wasn't too happy about being strapped into his carseat! The kids had made and decorated super cute Welcome banners for Declan. They also wrote cute messages in chalk on the front porch...

  Meeting Baby Declan! After school got out that Thursday, Josh went and picked up the kids and brought them to the hospital to meet their newest brother. Asher was so excited and was flailing his arms, saying "where is he?"- or something to that effect. It was so cute to see them meet him!   Jonah and Declan. Ethan and Jonah didn't want to hold him at first, thinking they would drop him, but we convinced them that they wouldn't and to go ahead and try.     Ethan meeting Declan   Asher meeting Declan. He was moving around a lot- Asher that is.    Elizabeth meeting Declan. She's been a great helper so far!      Declan checking out his Dad.     Meeting Grandpa Hulihan for the first time!   Welcome, Baby Boy!