Lots of baby deliciousness.

The girls and I have taken a gaggle of photos of Nolan the last few days. Who WOULDN'T want to take a bunch of photos of a cute baby and then post them for others to silently view? (I'm sure you're thinking I can think of someone: Me.) But since I love my little squishy man I'm posting the pictures anyway. ☺

Em snapped this cute shot of Nolan and I. "Why the hat?" you may ask? Well, I had to take Nolan to the doctor by 8 am, and thus I was having a particularly bad hair day. Bad hair = hat day.

Emma wanted me to take a picture of her and Nolan at Menards. Okay, Em.

Nolan is fascinated by the show Yo Gabba Gabba. It makes me lchuckle whenever he stares at the television, like in this picture.

 

My show is done, so I will now blow raspberries.

 

Nolan has started to sit by himself. Milestone!

 

I was trying to get a decent picture of Nolan alone, but Abby kept asking to be in the pictures, too. At least she likes her brother...for now.

Finally all by himself, and he moves too much!

 

After his nap this afternoon Nolan was very content just to snuggle by his mama.

 

Making the kitchen better. I still don't want to cook.

A few weeks ago we started updating our kitchen. The bathtub in the bathroom above the kitchen had leaked a few years ago, and thus the wall and ceiling were ruined in the kitchen below. We--and by we I mean David ;-)--finally got around to beginning to fix it.

I grabbed a few color pamphlets from Ace Hardware to help us get ideas for paint colors, as that was the first item on our to-do list: Repaint. One pamphlet was for historic homes, and since our house was built in 1915 I figured our house qualified as "historic". ☺ We found a palette that we both liked, and more importantly that EM liked. She is a budding interior designer. ;-)

 

Michigan Dunes for the kitchen walls, Blithe Spirit for the dining area, and Ala Mode for the kitchen trim and cabinets. The orange color we would incorporate via a copper ceiling. (I'm SO excited for that!)

On a snowy day in December we began painting. Our walls were a particularly abysmal shade of blue.

 Abby helped paint, too. She used a small brush from our school paint set, and she painted the bottom of the walls. She was very careful and stuck with the project for awhile. Well done, Abby!

 

Look at my shirt, Mom! I'm advertising for Ron's Repair!

 

David and I were slightly perplexed by Emma's method of painting, i.e. paint a large circle on the wall. But at least she was helping. Beggars can't be choosers, right?

 

In one day the three of us painted the dining area/entry way and a large chunk of the kitchen. We started painting the trim as well, just to get an idea of what it would look like. I was absolutely convinced that the kitchen wall color was mixed incorrectly. The color looked very yellow to me; not the way I saw it on the color sample. But once we got the white trim next to the yellow color--and away from the harsh fluorescent ceiling light--the color looked better to me. Now I really am happy with it.

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 Hi, Kitty.

 

 Before we began our kitchen project my mom gave me a table cloth. It matches the new colors perfectly!

 

Those shades are every bit as hideous as depicted in this photo. We plan to replace them with white shutters.

 

Yesterday during lunch hour David replaced the fluorescent light that was our kitchen lighting. We now have drop-down track lighting. And then tonight he installed spot lights that shine down on the counter.

I will now have to keep my kitchen counter extra clean. ☺

 

Eventually those dark cabinets will be white, and we plan to install indirect lighting all around the room. David will also put up that faux copper ceiling I mentioned. I cannot wait to see the entire kitchen come together. I know it will take awhile to complete, but so far I am really enjoying the little updates as they happen. It makes me smile to see the freshness. But like I said in the title of this post: I still do not like cooking. But I love to sit and drink my cappuccino in my cozy kitchen. ☺

 

Baking and babies but not baking babies

Mom invited the kids and I to do some Christmas baking at her house. We took a day off of school and instead enjoyed a nice day of cookie and popcorn making. It was delicious! I wish I could say that the goodies lasted until Christmas, but David and the kids and I tore into those treats like we were ravenous beasts. ☺ Can we make some more, Mom? ;-)

I was very meticulous while decorating my cut-out cookies because everyone knows that when you see a poorly-frosted cookie it doesn't make you want to eat it! :-P

 

While at Mom's I decided to give Nolan his first official taste of solid foods. He had some applesauce, but he didn't really eat it. He still prefers his yummy milk.

He looks so tiny in that high chair!

 

Miss Abby turns 4

Last Tuesday we celebrated Abby's fourth birthday. Like all parents I have succumbed to using the old adage, "They sure do grow up fast." And they do. ☺

Abby is very eager to be just like her big sisters, trying to do the things they do like playing the DS or a Lego game on the XBox. Or you will find her building a house out of Legos with Emily. Abby enjoys making puzzles, but she often insists that I come help her make the puzzle even though I know she'll only allow me to put maybe four pieces together, and then she'll decide she can make it herself. That makes me smile. She also loves to play board games, especially Dora Memory. I don't even have to let her win; she beats me fair and square. Speaking of Dora, Abby still is a large fan of the little bilingual explorer. Abs HAD to have a Dora birthday cake for the second year in a row. I suppose that took the guesswork out of choosing what kind of cake to get. :-)

My favorite Abby-birthday moment was before we had her party. I asked Abby about a month beforehand what she wanted for her birthday. She replied, "A cash register from Runnings." !! A very specific request. ☺ Apparently she had seen the toy during a shopping trip with Gram Gram. Every time I asked Abby what she wanted it was always the same: the cash register. So we went to Runnings, and Abby took us to the back wall of the store to the exact spot where the toy cash register was. The whole scenario was so sweet and cute.

I love my little Miss Gooby!

Abby really enjoys reading Barbie books. Every time we visit the library she and I have to go to the Reader's section and find as many Barbie Readers as we can. Now she has her own. ☺

Concerning Hobbits

Yea! After a very long time of waiting, I finally got to see The Hobbit movie! I have seriously been waiting for this movie for years, dating way back to when I first heard that Peter Jackson wanted to make the movie. He wasn't even in preproduction yet; he was just tossing around the idea.

Simply put, I'm a Tolkien fan. I often feel that perhaps I am too much of a fan, even going so far as to purchase a book of maps to go along with his books. ☺ My favorite of Tolkien's books is The Hobbit. The story is full of action and adventure, and I enjoy the characters. As I was reading it for the first time--years ago--I remember thinking that it would make a great movie.

Fast forward to today. ☺ David and I took Paige and Em, who have become Lord of the Rings fans thanks to their nerdy parents, to see The Hobbit, Part I in Mankato. I was very excited to get to go. I had to see it in 3D, and I am so glad that I stuck to that notion. The movie was amazing! Right away we got to see into the dwarven city, and the cinematography during that scene was unbelievable. It's truly mind-boggling what can be done with technology in our age.

The movie was very faithful to the book, right down to the dialogue. And I felt that Martin Freeman portrayed Bilbo well. My favorite scene was the riddle exchange between Bilbo and Gollum. It was spot on! I am anxious to see the movie again.

Now begins the long wait until next December for Part II to be released. Guess I will go play some Lego Lord of the Rings in the meantime.

Em's accomplishments

Emma completed another session of gymnastics last week. She has learned quite a bit in a manner of a few months. She is constantly practising handstands at home.

And she landed it!

 

 

 

Mr. Smiley Man

He is such a happy little guy, even though he's teething.

I still have a blog?!

I found myself remembering my little sounding board this past week. My mother informed me that she still checks my blog, and that's when I realized that it has been a year and a half since I last posted. :O

I had abandoned this blog for a very good reason: About a week after my last post (in the final weeks of October), I discovered that I was pregnant again for the fifth time. Right away I knew that I would soon be getting very ill and tired, and blog-writing was going to have to take a back seat. And boy, was I right. I struggled with simply keeping up on home schooling the girls and my household duties. David and the girls demonstrated wonderful patience and love towards me because I basically stopped preparing meals altogether.

But, that particular trial has past, and by God's grace we all endured...and survived. ☺ The girls still enjoy peanut butter sandwiches, despite having eaten them so often. ;-) And we have a new family member: Nolan Shawn Sowers!

Nolan was born on June 22, 2012. He arrived ten days early (thanks be to God!), and he weighed 8lbs. 4oz. He is now five months old, and he is such a little honey. He flashes his big, gummy smile at us often.

Since I have found myself having a smidgen of extra time again--and I no longer am pregnant and feel like death is nigh ;-)--I hope to begin writing on my blog consistently, if the Lord wills.

Thank you for your continued interest in myself and my family. I will leave you with some more recent photos of our family. ☺

My little kiddos are so precious!