Today I am 1 month old & growing fast. Although I am still tiny, I've gained 2lbs .4oz. since my birth-day.

I love to eat & do so every 2hrs., sometimes more, depending how awake I've been.

I'm slowly growing out of my newborn clothes & advancing to 3months sizes

I'm starting to have more (happy) awake moments throughout the day. The 1st few weeks, I slept at all the wrong times & fussed when I was awake but I'm working on that:)

I'm starting to focus more on objects, my surroundings, & the people that love me. Sometimes mommy hugs me so tightly that I let out little squeeks:), I know she loves me very much! & those kisses...my chubby cheeks must be irresistable cuz she just can't stop kissing them.

I'm sleeping longer between feedings at night, which must make mommy very happy cuz she hugs me extra tight when she comes to get me from my crib.

when mommy, daddy or my brothers & sister talk to me I turn my head to the sound of their voices, & when mommy puts her face next to mine, I love to snuggle my face into hers.

That "big"little brother of mine seems to think my little nose is a horn that needs to be honked, he comes to stand next to me & pinches my little nose & says beep-beep, it doesn't hurt, but it is ever so annoying, just wait till I'm alittle older...now mommy needs to stop typing & come pick me up cuz I'm making my hungry sounds.

 

Survival Mode

These past 21/2 weeks my body has gone into survival mode.

Our family is one who thrives on a schedule. Bedtimes @ 8:00, mornings start @ 7:15, lunch is @ 11:00, nap time is 1:00...you get the idea. And our schedule has been turned upside-down & inside-out since the arrival of our new baby boy!

Newborn stage is the hardest for me, & the most work. I love how snuggly they are as newborns, but I'm usually too exhausted to enjoy it much.

I'm not complaining,It's just life as we know it right now.

Usually around 3months our babies make their own schedules & things start running alittle more smoothly.

Love his tiny hands, toes & button nose...he is tiny & perfect in every way.

 

River absolutely adores Asher,I can't wait till Asher is alittle older & they are really able to interact & play with eachother, I suspect they will be great partners in crime:)

Thanks to a dear friend who stopped in and captured some newborn moments of Asher, these photos will be treasured for a lifetime!

here are some other moments that were captured also...

My heart is full, my family complete...

Merry Christmas to you all, from our family to yours!

 

I started this post at 8:30 this morning & just now posting due to projectile baby vomiting, constipation & tummy troubles, bathing said baby, a whole roll of toilet paper rolled into the toilet(River), a full box of wipes emtied & destroyed(also River), hotdogs for lunch for the 3rd time this week, 2 Aleve(due to a sleep-deprived headache), & finally a blissful 2hr. nap with my boys!



Just waiting...

So tonight I'm really feeling the need to put my thoughts in print, theres just so much going on & maybe it will all make more sense if I just type away at my keyboard & possibly leave all the stress here instead of in my head...

5 more days...5more days till we find out if baby has done his flip & is in the proper position for a natural delivery. Next week Wed. my Dr. will be doing an ultrasound to see what our little guy has been up to, PRAYING, WISHING, HOPING, & BELIEVING that God will work this miracle for us. Asking you all to join us in prayer in hopes of the baby being in the right position. Although if the baby hasn't turned by then, my Dr. will be scheduling an appnt. to try & turn the baby herself (something that I've been told can be extremely painful & not always successful:().

These last few days & weeks have been a mess of ups & downs, I'm down to one pair of "shoes" that I can squeeze my ever swollen, water-retained feet into (my flip-flops). I have exactly one maternity shirt that still fits, & on a good night I'll be awake often enough to look at my alarm clock at least 5 times. Last night I saw 12:30, 1:30, 3:30, 4:45, 5:00 & finally at 7:00 when I was exhausted enough to fall asleep, it was time to get up & get the kiddos ready for school.

And did I mention, we still don't have a name? Last week I reserved ALL 7 baby name books that our Library carries, went through them all in one day & still don't have a name.

 My mom is convinced the reason we can't decide on a name & the reason I'm so emotional this pregnancy is because, despite what the Dr. has told us, she is convinced we are having a girl.

You think what you want Mamma, I saw the evidence otherwise. Unless that was a very strategically placed umbillical cord.

 

November 13th is another big day for us, coming up soon, is Weston's surgery. He will be getting his tonsils & adnoids removed due to extremely enlarged tonsils that are causing him to have some wheeziness, chronic snoring etc...although I'll be very thankful when it's over with, the thought of someone cutting into my child is alittle traumatizing for me. And having it all happen so close to baby day & the uncertainty of it all has me alittle frazzled.

 

On a happier note, we did get our van back this evening, after having it sit at the body shop for 5weeks! No more trying to squeeze our family of 6 into a 5passenger Explorer! Everyone gets their own seatbelt with room to spare for one more:)

 

Now Hubby just came home from the gas station with a big old Milky way-Midnight Dark candy bar for his distressed wifey. so I'm going to go make myself a big cup of rich, hot chocolate to enjoy with my candy bar & drown my stress in chocolate:)..........if the saying is true, that a piece of chocolate a day will make a happy,content baby???........we should have the best, most content, sleepy baby ever;)

 

good-night to all!

 

 



Whats in a name...

No, I'm not gonna go all Shakespeare on you, but seriously, how hard does it have to be to choose a name for our son. Maybe when it's the 4th one you kinda run out of ideas.

We have searched names by meanings, most popular lists, most unusual name lists & on & on...you get the idea.

There you have it, what we've come up with so far. All these names are being considered at this point. Only problem is, if we like a first name, what do we use for a second name & vice versa.

We were talking baby names last weekend, The children were helping:)

As soon as the name Carver was mentioned, Dawson insisted thats what we call the baby, He even went as far as telling someone yesterday, thats what the baby's name is...Goofy kid!

Aalyvia came up with Noah, Daddy is not on board with that one...yet.Weston kept coming up with names of his little buddies in school:)

Eli is also being considered as a 2nd name, both Andy & my Grandpas were named Eli so we thought that might be an option. Very likely this list will be taken with us to the Hospital & when the baby is born, we will determine what name suits him best:)

 

 

feel free to comment any combination of these names or names that would work well with one of these:) you may win a prize if the name is chosen...probably not, but you would have the satisfaction of knowing we chose yours;)

 

Happy Monday to you all...

sewing blog 2

    I've been on a major sewing spree lately. Maybe it's the nesting kicking in or maybe it's just so much cheaper to make the items than it is to buy them. Probably alittle of both. And it really helped, that every time I went to purchase fabric, the fabrics I found that I loved or needed were hugely discounted!

 

This skirt fabric I purchased at my local Wal-mart for less than 2.00 & I had the lace & elastic. You can't buy a skirt for that!

This is also Wal-mart fabric,also purchased for less than 2.00!

For the 2 skirts above, I simply took a 5/8 stip of fabric & sewed a 1/8 strip to the that I folded in half (length-wise) & sewed it to the bottom of the skirts, then added elastic to the top. Easiest skirts I've ever made. Less than 20min. from start to finish!

This one on the other-hand took me days to finish. It was one of those sew,re-make,repeat...

It was so frusterating but it turned out to be my favorite of the 3 by far!

My sister spotted this sheer fabric at Jo-Ann fabrics, on their bargain table for 6.00 a yrd. & was discounted even more to 40% off the 6.00! I later went back in to find the satin lining for 3.97 & it was also on sale for 40%! If my math is correct, thats a beautiful little skirt for about 6.00, And it was worth all the re-vamping cuz I hated the original version.

 

I hardly ever use patterns so tutorials are almost impossible. For this dress I used the bodice pattern of an antirely different dress that I knew fit my daughter & just cut it straight down the sides from there to the length I wanted. I wanted the sleeves to have alittle bit of gathers at the shoulder so I just cut the sleeves alittle wider than what the pattern was,then added the faux pockets. I just through the scarf on the hanger for effect:)

 

And I've been sewing for baby boy too. I saw a pattern of this type of car seat cover on pinterest & didn't want to go through the bother of printing out a pattern, so this is my version. I simply took a yard of thick, no pill fleece, cut a 3inch strip off the side that I folded lenght-wise & sewed along the open edges ,turned the right side out, cut to the right length, added button holes & buttons & I had my loops for the handle. I then found the center of the remaining fabric & sewed the loops to the center. I then attatched the loops to the the handle & let the fabric drape over the car seat. I then trimmed all around it to make so it covered the car seat well & sewed a finishing seam all the way around the edges. It took very little time & was very simple to put together. This fabic was also purchased at Jo-Ann Fabric on sale @ 50% off so I paid about 6.00 to make it.

 

These are burp cloths, brown terry cloth & super-soft flannel, both purchased at Jo-Ann Fabrics. It only took 1yard of fabric to make 6 burp cloths, I cut the yard in half (on the fold) then cut each pc.in 3rds, it came out perfectly. these came to about 10.00 for the 6 cloths but it was so worth it! They are thick & will be very absorbent. The flimsy ones you buy at the stores are so thin & hold so little, &if I'm not mistaken, you pay about 7.00 for 3, so these were well worth the extra time, money & effort!

 

until the next sewing spree...happy sewing:)



10 weeks & counting!

I can't believe that I have less than 10weeks left till the arrival of our baby boy!

This pregnancy seemed to go really fast,with all the Summer busy-ness,school starting again & all the canning,preserving, & freezing that I've been doing.

 

 

I have so many questions about this little guy....

will he look like his brothers did when they were born? tiny,very little hair,all weighing in at approx. 6lbs. 4oz.

Or will he look like his sister? chubby,lots of rolls & thick,long black hair,weighing in at 7lbs. 71/2oz.

Will he be fussy & need very little sleep like his oldest brother? or Sleep alot & be very content like his other 3 siblings?

 

 

In the beginning of this journey,we really wanted to be able to give Aalyvia a little sister.

Since then God has shown me in so many ways, why he chose to bless us with a little boy.In these last few weeks,I have been SO thankful that we are having a boy & not a girl.

Not only will it be great for River to have a brother so close in age(there is a 4yr gap between Weston & River),but I also don't need to go do any MAJOR shopping for this little guy. And to be truly honest,had this baby been a girl,we would likely never have made it to church in time for the sermon!-true story.Boys are easy! & Aalyvia is loving the fact that she never needs to share her room,girly toys etc.;)

 

 

According to statistics our little guy is approx.15in. long,3.5lbs & about the size of a large cabbage.

I'm no longer feeling the tiny sporadic kicks that I was feeling before,there are little baby rolls & turns & kicks. This is probably my favorite stage of my pregnancies,I'm on the home stretch,I'm finally feeling more normal,the emotional ups & downs aren't quite so crazy. Yes,I am larger & more uncomfortable in that sense,but that only means I'll be meeting this little guy very soon & I CANNOT wait!

 



Baby E's cuddle blankets

Yes,I did just do that. Name drop-Letter drop,in this case:)

We finally have a name for the little guy that Andy & I both agree on. And with all the baby boys that are coming soon,we just want you all to know that if you have a son before us & use the name we have chosen,we will be comin for ya! no, just messing with ya:)

but in all seriousness,our son's name will not be changed,regardless of

what you all name your boys:)-

I found this fun Giraffe skin print at JoAnn Fabrics,I bought a 3/4yrd. for 12.00 & was able to get 4 cuddle blankets from it.If I would've bought his cuddle blankets they would've cost me 12.00 for just one! & I like to have a few spares:) I had bought some black satin, blanket trim to trim them with, but with the thickness of the fabric it just got really bulky & stiff,not something a child would want to snuggle with. So I just sewed around the edges,turned the right sides out & sewed a reinforcing stitch all around the edges to give it some detail & they turned out great!

I'm not sure why I'm loving the animal prints so much this time,but thats what I keep buying:)

I purchased this leapord print blanket with a fleece lining at Kohls with a 30% off coupon & it was already on sale @ 20% off & it ended up being only 12.00!

Next on my to-do list is to make some burp cloths,hoping to get to those very soon. The days & weeks are passing so quickly that there are days when I feel like there will not be enough time to finish getting ready for this little guy.



Little Miss' Room

I love this little Miss' room! from the glass chandelier to the pale blue walls(her choice),to the painted,pressed wood flooring. I'll be alittle sad when the carpeting goes in. I know it will be cozier & more practical(less flooring to mop),but I like the look of the painted floor.

She has her own little table & chairs,rocking chair & highchair for playing dolls. Someday they will all get painted,I just haven't decided yet what color they should be.

For her birthday this year,one of the first things on her wish list was a bouquet of flowers to put in a vase on her little table,these are the ones she picked:)

Right now she has a hodge-podge selection of blankets & throws on her bed,I've sewn a patchwork quilt for her,I just need to find the time to get it quilted. Maybe this winter I can get a bunch of Aunts & Grammies to help me out with that. The afgan is a colorful,rainbow throw that I found at our local thrift store that I snatched up for 8.00,she loves it!

Her dresser is in desperate need of some TLC,it needs a fresh coat of paint(can't decide if I want to go with a bright,fresh color or just repaint it white) & then I'd like to change out her old,falling off,wooden drawer pulls with some pretty glass ones.

this hope chest also needs painted & re-upholstered. & her little nook is begging for something to be done with it also. Since the pictures have been taken,the chest has been moved to the foot-end of her bed. Hoping to make this a quiet little reading nook w/ a comfy vintage chair(that I just bought & will be perfect!)

And the girl has more closet space than me! now she just needs closet doors:)

like the 2 posts before this one,once I get all my to-do projects done in their rooms & the trim & carpeting get put in,I'll be posting up-dated versions...until then.



The Playroom

Wow,trying to gather my thoughts...I had all the kiddos quietly playing Legos & as the photos uploaded the fighting ensued! now all the Legos have been put away & they have all been sent outside to play & wear off their angry energy.

 

The children finally have a room that is entirely for toys,no mounds of toys in the living room,kitchen or bedrooms,it's a beautiful thing! Although they do keep their favorites beside their beds for safe-keeping from the littlest Hilty who can make a disaster with toys pretty quickly:)

 

I really should have taken before photos of what this room looked like before I had it cleaned up. I literally hauled out 2 garbage bags of trash/broken toys etc. that simply got burned. Followed by 2 big boxes of things for the garage sale. along with a few larger items that the children had outgrown & no longer wanted,it was very liberating!

The after photos make their playroom look pretty sparse but thats o.k....Christmas is just around the corner & the house tends to get full pretty quickly when the Christmas gifts start rollin in. Now theres a place for them all to go:)

I had a few cute creepers who kept wanting to get in on the pictures:)

Eventually I would like to get some matted frames to hang the children's artwork in here, on one wall. Another wall will get a large chalkboard painted on it. Lanterns or string lights of some kind would also be a nice touch,I think. It needs to become a place where they love to play. I'm hoping to get this project finished before the snow flies & they are cooped up inside more.

Any suggestions on how to make this a much-loved,much-used playroom? I would love to get some ideas that I could use in this space!

The Boys' Bedroom

The boys' room is far from finished but I keep posting about all thae painting that is getting done around here & thought I'd share some photos of what it looks like so far.

I also ended up cleaning their rooms this week & it took me about an hr. per each room so I thought I'd snap some photos before it looks like a pig sty again:(

The map I'd like to get a wide wooden frame made for it in a dark stain. The antlers are 2 of the( probably 100) that my husband has stored in the basement,well maybe not that many,but close. Dawson wants his daddy to make them wall hooks out of some of the antlers that haven't been mounted yet(that will be a project for this winter when everything slows down a bit.

I see now that the rug would look much better if I would of placed it sideways but here is the view of their beds. The comforters were a steal I found at Wal-mart for 12.00 each.I made the green pillows & sewed the 1st letter of each of their names on the front.

Weston still needs a bedsides table & I'd like to find them each an old trunk to place at the end of their beds to put all their treasures in:)

the color scheme i'm going for in their room is charcoal gray,grass green & some brown/tan wood tones. Weston also still needs a chest of drawers to call his own...high-time to go flea-marketing/garage-saling for furniture for the rooms upstairs!

The upstairs bedrooms still need to be trimmed out & carpeting put down but I am just so thrilled that the children have been able to spread out into 3 different bedrooms that if the those 2 things don't get done for awhile it's fine by me.

each room also has one of these little dormer nooks. I'd like to eventually hang a rod across the top of the wall & hang curtains from floor to ceiling so they have a quiet little reading/playing nook with comfy chairs or oversised floor pillows & possibly little crate-like baskets mounted to the wall for their books.( had some images that I pinned of how I want it to look but for some reason I can't get them to upload to my blog.....NETTIE,little sis needs your help!

And the closet space...long pause in thankfulness for all the closet space that I've gained  by having finall finished out the upstairs....

O.K.,where was I? O yes, the closet space. once upon a time,there were 3 small children who all shared a TINY bedroom & a TINY closet that wasn't near large enough for any one of them to use alone but somehow I managed to fit all their belongings into one space. I will be forever grateful for the 3 closets that are upstairs & a room entirely made for toys(that post will be coming soon).

well that is all for the Boys' room,when it is completed exactly to my liking I will post another entry...until then.

 

 



The last hoorah of the Summer...

This Summer we've been doing quite a few things with the Hilty & Raber families & some activities with our church group, but we hadn't done anything that was just our little family. We left it up to the children, what they wanted to do. They were all in agreement that they wanted to spend the night at a Hotel to swim & sleep,then go to the Zoo the next day, so that is exactly what we did.

This little guy turned into a wild child after we got to the Hotel,(too much sitting for too long,in a car-seat). jumping up & down on the beds,tackling his brothers & sister...

This one had no fear of the water at all! He jumped off the sides of the pool for daddy to catch him & screamed when daddy hung on too tightly,he wanted dipped & caught & spun around in the water:)

The others preferred the hot tub, it was warmer & they felt safer in an area where they could touch the bottom. They swam for about 2hrs. then I took Aalyvia & River upstairs to get started on baths.

    We weren't upstairs more than about 15min when I heard a terrible goings-on outside in the hallway. It sounded like some parents screaming at their kids so we opened the door to see what was going on, only to be told to quickly get back inside by Hotel staff, but I had seen enough to know that we didn't want to leave our room till things settled down,there were 2 men & a very unsteady,uncooperative woman...Police were called & about 20min. later things settled down again. We found out later it was domestic violence & lots of drinking involved.(there had been a wedding at the Hotel earlier that eve.)

That night I was wishing for my own bed,in the country, where I felt safe & sound! there wasn't much sleeping for this mama that night!

these kiddos slept amazing though,for which I was very grateful! wasn't expecting them to because there were loud,drunk people roaming the halls till about 3:00 in the morning followed by banging Hotel room doors.

    The next day we were off to the Zoo...

Sleepy Koala-Sleepy Baby

by the time we got to the Northern treck of the Zoo, we had one very tired baby & an exhausted mama, when we found out that the tram for the Northern treck was no longer running, I quickly decided it would be a good idea for me & the little guy to stay at the bottom & let him sleep while the others took off on another adventure. Which turned out to be a VERY good idea because when they got back down & we got through the rainforest I was dead on my feet. 6hrs of walking, uphill & down,carrying along a 6month belly & pushing a stroller...lets just say,this hiney was ready for a sit down!

what have you done this Summer with your families?