Fall/Advent 2015

I thought it would be a good idea to finally unload pics from the last few months so there is room on the camera for Christmas pics :)  The last few months have flown by, and after a busy, yet peaceful, Advent, we are ready for Christ to come into our hearts and help us grow in love this Christmas season!  A look back at the past few months...

Science group- learning about how hard it is for astronauts to pick up things and push buttons in space with gloves on!

Measuring shadows to see how they change after a few hours.

Homeschool science fair!  Alex chose a space topic, of course :)

Making papyrus at co-op.  They have also dissected several things during science, but I usually don't get many pics because the kids are all crowded around.

Josie, my mother's helper!  She helps me out with the kids once a week, and has been such a blessing.

We attended a children's memorial Mass to celebrate our little Joseph Francis at the Archdiocese of Denver Mortuary.  It was beautiful, and they had a balloon and dove release after.

There were also other memorial events going on during October since it is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness month.  I didn't attend this one, but they lit a candle for him and then posted pictures of all the candles.  Miss you, sweet baby!



My crazy kids!

This poor girl has an awful case of cradle cap.  She is uncomfortable and scratches a lot.  I have to scrape the scales off daily, and have found that breast milk removes the crusty stuff the best.  I use lots of shea butter and coconut oil, but it always returns :(

All Saints Day party- Alex is St. Paul, and the girls are angels.

Mary's lego bird, lol.

The first big snow of the year.

The kids though Juliana should be dressed for weather too. Haha!

Our new godson, James Francis, was baptized on Nov. 29th!  Welcome to the Church, Frankie!!

Some pics of my big THREE year old!!

Here is the pic I would have used if I had done Christmas cards this year.  Whoops!

On to December!  St. Nicholas feast day, with the traditional chocolate coins in the shoes, and a new book for each kid.

 I dressed up Lucy for her name day, and made a cinnamon roll wreath for breakfast :)

Our new nephew was born Dec. 3rd!  His name is Maddox, and he is a sweetheart.  He is going to pass Juliana up size-wise in no time.  They are just over 3 months apart, and he is almost as big as she is!

Cousins!

This is our favorite house to visit when we drive around looking at Christmas lights.  The guy puts out hot chocolate, and has lots of train sets running in the backyard!

The boys went to see the new Star Wars movie the other day. They were so excited!  Can you see the        start of Alex's beard?  We'll see how it turns out :)

 Have a blessed Christmas!

September 2015

When you have baby #4, there is no more sitting around the house for weeks while you adjust to the newest member of your family.  The bigger kids have their activities, so we had to jump right in as the new school year started up.  Luckily, Juliana slept for hours in the wrap while we were out and about.  

Here is the first day of our science group.  The theme was water, and the kids learned about water displacement, volume, and absorption.

Our co-op is a bit different this year.  It is only 1x/month, only a few families, and is at our parish!  It has been a nice change, especially with a new baby.

Our first picture as a family of 6 :)

We think she looks most like Alex, and she has the same facial expressions that he did as a baby.  She frequently has a furrowed brow, or a wrinkled forehead, just like he always did.

Juliana's baptism

Here are some pictures from Juliana's baptism on Sept. 20th. God bless you, baby girl!  May you love and serve Christ all the days of your life.

Her godparents gave her this picture of the icon crucifix that is hanging above the altar in our church.  You can see the bottom of it in the family picture below.  It's beautiful, and I can't wait to hang it up!

Welcome, Juliana!

Our new baby is here, and we are so happy and in love!  The morning of her birth started out super scary though.  I couldn't feel her moving at all, even after taking a shower and eating breakfast.  She was always active in the mornings, especially after I would eat or drink something.   Still unable to get any movement after laying down and poking and and pushing on my belly, I panicked and called the doctor.  They told me to go to the hospital to get checked out.  I rushed to get the kids packed into the car, and then headed to the hospital in the middle of rush hour traffic, praying that she was ok, and thinking I couldn't bear to lose another baby.  Having to sit in traffic made it that much worse, and on top of that my phone had died right after I called Alex to tell him I was going in, and I didn't have a car charger.  Once we got to L&D, they had me go into the bathroom to put on a gown on. I noticed a little blood, so I called to the nurse and asked if they could please check for a heartbeat.  I don't know why they didn't do this right away, but they finally got me hooked up and were able to find her heartbeat right away.  I have never been so relieved!  They left the monitor on for awhile, and I felt a few kicks now and then, but not as much as I was used to.  I'll never know why I wasn't able to rouse her, but I'm so grateful that she was ok.  Since I was 39 weeks, we decided to go ahead and induce. After Alex arrived, and my mom came to take the kids, they broke my water and I was able to walk around for a bit to see if I could get things going on my own.  No such luck.  Shortly after 2pm, they started a low dose of pitocin.  I started feeling contractions about 3pm, and she arrived a little over 2.5 hours later!  I never like being induced, but short labors are awesome :)

Here she is!

 They let me hold her as long as I wanted, and I got to nurse her for awhile before they cleaned her up and got stats.

5.15 lbs. and 18.5 inches.  Probably my smallest baby, considering gestational age.  Mary was also 5.15, and Lucy was 5.4, but they were both 37 weeks.

The kids were beyond excited to meet her, and in awe at how tiny she was!

Our stay in the hospital went well.  We had to stay two nights, because her bilirubin level was elevated, and since it peaks on the 4th day, they wanted to make sure her level wasn't climbing too high.  The day after we got home, I took her to the pediatrician to get another blood draw and luckily it wasn't high enough to require light treatment.  Yay!

It is SO great having a newborn again.  Oh, how I have missed having a tiny baby snuggle up on my chest.  It has been an easy transition, and I find myself more relaxed and better able to fight the urge to get up and clean or work on my to do list.  It helps having bigger kids too, of course. They are very eager to hold her and run get whatever I need.  I love my growing family, and feel incredibly blessed! Thank you God, for this precious little soul!