Little Momma

Claire has been taking very good care of her new baby that she got for Christmas. Babies are a lot of work!

She sings to her at naptime "Baby Jesus, baby Jesus" in the highest pitched voice. The bedtime/naptime routine has pretty much doubled since she has to settle her baby before I can get her settled.

Everybody's tucked in for nap time.

She sets her baby up with toys for room time.

Double room time with snacks!

Baby must be fed the same food as my baby; she even tidies up the dishes and puts them in the dishwasher.

And she's a pro at baby-wearing!

1st Birthday!

Our baby turned one!

For his birthday, we headed to Disneyland. (He's one, so really it was just a convenient time for us to go, but his ideal day involves being held by mom all day, so he liked it, too.)

First visit for Josiah & Samuel; Claire was a pro because Grandpa & Grandma had taken her the week before.

Samuel loved the Tikki Room -- he clapped the entire time.

His other favorite ride was the carousel. All smiles!

They decided it was okay that we took the birthday boy to the un-birthday
tea party since he slept through it.

And a fun time was had by all until way too late at night!

And the next day was his family birthday party.

Grandma took the whole crew to the park while
I finished getting dinner ready.

Full table: both sets of grandparents, great grandparents, an uncle, and a great-great uncle:

He thought his carrot cake was pretty tasty and insisted he have a fork.

We love you, our dear little one year old!

Year in Review: June

In June, I packed up the kids and headed to Arizona, so the boys could spend an awesome week at my sister's horse camp.

It was pretty much the best week ever for them: horseback riding lessons, crafts, and snacks all morning and then swimming with cousins every afternoon. The last day, the boys could choose between riding home with me or Aunt Elizabeth, and they chose their aunt. Which sums up how much they loved horse camp.

While the boys were at camp, the littles and I played.

Hiking turned out to be way more popular with
girls than playing at splash pads. It was only 100 degrees.

 Then home for a week of regular summer fun before heading up the coast (separate picture post).

Summer favorite: Artichokes from the garden

To finish out the month, we fly home from Seattle late on a Sunday, and Dustin started his new job the next morning, and the kids and I dived into our church's VBS.

Year in Review: May

May focused on finishing up the school year well; Elijah had a great end to first grade! It was hard for me to say good-bye after teaching co-ops for eleven years, but definitely the right decision for our family for this season.

My view all day, every day:

They did extensive pipe work during the spring

They love each other so!

The boys enjoyed having Samuel be more interactive
(now they fondly remember when S stayed still in their arms)

Mother's Day!

Lots of fighting

Getty Villa with cousins! Such a beautiful place!

Ready for something!

Our garden did quite well in May, thanks to Dustin's hard work:

The surprise hit crop -- the kids absolutely loved artichokes

Bosenberry picking

And, we said good-bye to some of our dear small group friends as they headed off to grad school.