five

Remember this video?
Announcing baby #5 is on the way.

...well now baby 5 is 5 months old.
And it's crazier than ever.

I don't have as much time to blog as I'd like - so some snippets of time get a short recap.
This will be one of them.
 
So how's about this - 5 darling pictures of Neve to try and capture her at 5 months:

First, she loves to be held. This has been true since day one...and I love to accommodate my babies with this request.  It just gets a tad harder when they're in cranky mode.  She's cranky sometimes?  You betcha!  But if she has a face to look at, it makes things a whole lot better.  Here she's trying out the Ergo for the first time.  And though this face shows pure joy, in general she isn't much of a fan...unless I'm looking down at her.  She much prefers the bjorn carrier where she can keep tabs on her brothers.  :)  My mom says she sees some gray in her eyes, but Daddy and I are pretty confident that she will have true baby blues, like all her bio brothers.

Secondly, she is a tummy baby.  Though at night she's starting to prefer to sleep on either one of her sides, she loves to be on her tummy during the day.  In fact, diaper changes are getting quite a bit more challenging because the instant you lay her down on her back, she tosses her legs over and in one quick heave-ho she's on her belly.  Good core strength.  :)  Here we have a picture that I posted on facebook stating that she is in fact, a lady.  We've had two mistakes, but I'm certain they weren't really paying attention.  That, and behind that little bow is a head full of poofy, dandelion puff hair (that both Sheppy and Cale had).  We had hoped she'd get Thad's locks, but at least hers is growing out now, and didn't really fall out.  Isn't she adorable?!

Third, Miss Neve is a strong little thing.  Three days after the five month mark we are seeing her sit up unaided for periods of time (to be captured in next month's photo shoot).  She can hold on to things and stand as well, but I have to stand behind her just in case.  No more bouncer, no more floor mat.  She'll stay in the exersaucer for a time, but really prefers not to be confined.  She's gonna be a tough little cookie to mess with all on her own.  A few rolls are featured here, but she isn't very big.  Scale says about 13.5 lbs, though we're behind on her doc appointments (oops!).  Her little face resembles every member in our family just a little bit...but she doesn't look "just like" any one of us.

Fourthly, she seems ready to do whatever we are willing to throw at her physically.  We started her out on baby food this month and instead of all the gagging faces or spitting out her first trial runs, she's been happily accepting this new form of feeding.  Now in her fifth month we're going to start twice a day.  I don't have huge hopes that it'll make her sleep better or anything like that...(does any one thing actually do that?! -I think everyone would do it every time if there was) but she's growing, and it's just the next step. :)

Fifthly, the happiness.  She is very happy.  And adorable (even with the hair. ;).  Her name means bright and radiant, and she is...most of the time. She enjoys being outdoors and experiencing the noise and feel of it, but when she is tired, she wants nothing else than her own (our) room for a nap.  I've got another "doesn't wanna sleep anywhere but her crib" kid - but as stated in previous posts, we don't get out too much.  Routine, routine, routine.

And there ya have it, another month gone.
Hard to think next month will be the half-way-to-a-year post. 
But let's end on one more picture - because they all are adorable, and because we finally got IPhones!

Mom Confession

This mom needs to fess up.
And I'm gonna do it publicly.
So, cozy up...this is gonna be a good one.

Years ago, when I just had 1 kid (hard to remember back when I know) I had a friendly.
A friendly = 'friend' who you talk to when you see them, but don't necessarily hang out with them.  Though they'd probably be willing to help you out in a jam, you most likely wouldn't think to call them.  (self defined)


This friendly had 5 kids.  And I will tell you that I have thought of this friendly so much over the last year or so because I apologize.
I apologize to you Friendly!  If you are reading this and may have figured out that I'm writing about you - call me, email or text and I will apologize again!
Because this friendly had a messy house.  MESSSSSSY house.
And unlike mine (thank you Lord!), she had a husband who enjoyed inviting people over at random.
Without checking with her.  The wife.
The housewife. 
...Who may not have had time to push all of the dirty laundry in one room, or wipe things down, cover up the never-ending pile of dishes or empty the trash.

And.......gasp.  I judged her.
I judged them.
Again, I apologize.

Not because I couldn't forsee myself with 5 kids, or thinking that my house was always fit for company, but because I felt like I would never allow others to view it like that.

But...I have 5 kids.  My home is a mess.
And I have allowed others to see it as is.

BUT, I just cleaned the bathroom, y'all.  
The upstairs one that no one sees but Tim and I.
Because it has been neglected.  And it was getting pretty grosse.
Not the kind of nasty that the boys bathroom is...
(sometimes little boys ARE as nasty as the rumors say ;)
But still very unpleasant to the eye -
SO, I pulled out the cleaning supplies, took a deep breath, and got to it.
I found the usual things - hair clips, toothpaste cap, empty toilet paper roll....but I also found the unusual - Neve's tiny little hospital bracelet (I don't know why it was there either), one solitary tylenol w/ codiene (actually put that aside for tonight), and the toilet scrubby brush (presumably there from the last time I cleaned...)
But it's done now!
COME OVER AND LOOK!!  (just don't go anywhere else).
Because here's how I assume we all be rollin' - (moms with tons of kids) - we throw balled up diapers on the floor in the direction of the trash can to pick up later...we sweep dirt from our walking path alone, and we leave uneaten corn-on-the-cob in its water overnight.

For those of you with 1 kid, maybe 2 who think this all sounds horrific:
Please know...it's not that we don't enjoy a clean house - it's that on our way to vacuum we find dirty chocolate hand prints on the wall and need to find the kid they belong to, or need to spend our free time googling how to get vaseline out of clothing and hair....
Sorta sounds disgusting.  But really, we're not. We are just living in a mess.
And we do clean.  We just can't have it done all at once. :) 

So, unless you're over-night company that will be spending time on multiple levels of our house - you will most likely be invited to hang out in one or two clean rooms.  But I forbid entrance into the others unless you're interested in seeing laundry baskets (both clean and dirty) piled to the ceiling or toys shoved under the bed.....

Take this as a lesson:
Do not repeat my mistake.
Do not judge a messy house.
And try not to judge me.

Then I'd be happy to be your friendly AND your friend if you wan't!  :)

K done

This might step on a few toes...
I assure you it is not meant to do it.
Homeschooling moms, home-schooled kids - I mean you no harm!! :)

I'm just feeling very good about Cale's first year of school.
As he came flying off the bus After he carefully (and sloooowly) chose a snack from the box of goodies his bus driver was offering, he stepped down off the bus and greeted me with his usual big giant grin.
"I'M IN FIRST GRADE NOW!"
The kids face was one big smile.
He got to take home his clip that his teacher had been using all year to keep track of everyone's behavior (and informing parents of such).  He had tons of papers he was just dying for me to see.  And he had a few new books for 'summer reading.'

As Neve and I cozied up on our bellies, sprawled out on the outside blanket I flipped through the papers in his bookbag.  Not unlike any other day of the school year...but this was his LAST day of Kindergarten.  He's done!
Little stories he's written, math problems solved...and at the end of his paperwork - signatures from all his friends.  I had heard their names throughout the year and got glimpses of their faces when I came in to meet his teacher, but they were little people too.  Cale's friends.
I asked him if he'd miss his friends next year or his teacher...but, he didn't seem bothered.
A tiny little Kindergarten year book has me reeling back to my years in school and I started choking up.
Is that bizarre?!
His teacher has gotten to know him...he's influenced (whether he knows it or not) other children, and they have him.  He "lived" in the real world for his first year and survived!
And he loved it!
While I perused the rest of his 'artwork' and report card he took out his notebook (the kid LOVES to write) and started saying how much he loves the summer and how he can't wait for school to start cuz he'll be in first grade!
I know it's sorta strange for some - thinking that their children will be away from home for so long, but Cale's empowered!  He's been able to enrich other people's lives at his tiny age (even the janitor was fond of him!), and others have influenced his.

So, I thanked God for his little school (wonderful that He answered my prayer for something small and quaint) and that he had a young, energetic and vibrant teacher.  And that his little heart is strong and would let us know if he heard something "we shouldn't say."
Cale is cool.
I look forward to the summers weeks, and the start of his 1st grade year!

Starting Kindergarten - August 2012

 Ending Kindergarten - June 2013

double trouble

I have to keep a running list....
So when my twins are grown and have their own kids I can say (in my most empathetic yet secretely sarcastic voice): "Oh yeah?  Your toddler spilled his milk? on the kitchen floor?  That's too bad - HERE'S A LIST OF WHAT YOU and your twin DID AS KIDS!!!"
bwahahahahaha!

T- spilling half the laundry detergent on CLEAN clothes (at least if they were dirty clothes I could have marked it down as a chore) ;)
??- leaving banana parts hidden in the cabinet drawer as a surprise to find later...
T&S - drawing on every wall with markers, chalk, pen, pencil and crayons...oh yeah, and the couch too.  and the bench, cabinets, futon, toys, tables, counters..............
S -getting the windex and spraying his brothers in the face with it.
S- stripping himself "nahhhhkie" after having pooped...then proceeding to rub his bum all over 2 bare mattresses. NASTY.
S - slicking himself down in soap while T sprays him with Lysol.
T&S -getting into the ethnic hair care products.  There's a reason it's not for "peach hair." ;)
T&S -enjoying 'naked dancing time' with Daddy, only to thank him by pooping and peeing on the floor.  Daddy regretted that decision immediately.
S- spilling a bottle of water on the couch.
T -spilling his cup of ice tea on the couch.

...no wait.  That was the other T - Timbo!!. ;) 

.......I can only surmise that's where all of this mischief comes from, must be a distinct Nester gene....... :)

 

And the list grows every day it seems.  

I'm sure in a month I'll have a whole new post full of naughty things they do.

I'll keep you posted. :)