I cannot get over this picture of my boys from last night! Every night as Jonah gets tucked into bed he says "baby!" and has to snuggle his brother before he can go to sleep. Last night Thomas was quite content to just sit there with Jonah, and it was so sweet to watch Jonah talk to him and kiss him.
These are the moments that make the difficult parts of motherhood worth it.
Ellie needed a new church dress, so we decided to make a date out of it, just her and I. Well, and Thomas got to come because, you know, nursing baby...
We were kind of in a hurry to get out of the house, so I threw my hair up in a bun and Ellie wanted the same thing. It's a lot cuter on her!
She was so incredibly excited to shop for a new dress! We went to Old Navy first because I had to exchange some things, and she had a blast looking in the mirror at herself and dancing around. I hope she can always retain the confidence she has now!
After Old Navy we ran to Target to look for dresses for her. They had a few cute options since it is getting close to Easter.
This one eventually won out:
She was very proud that she got to carry the bag.
After Target we stopped to feed Thomas. While he was eating, Ellie decided to explore the car and found some banana chips that Sam had in the glove compartment. She was thrilled that I let her eat in the car!
After that we stopped at Winco for groceries and then headed home. Apparently so much shopping is tiring! Especially when you get to skip naps to come.
It was fun to spend time in the car being able to pay complete attention to everything she was saying. (She loves to talk, and sometimes we have to let her brothers get a word in too!)
On the way home she asked me if the next day was Sunday so she could wear her new dress to church, and when I told her it was, she screamed, "Yes!" and threw her arms up in the air. I love her excitement about life.
I am so glad my girl and I got to spend a little time doing "girl stuff" together, and I look forward to many more trips like it in the future!
Why are kids so stinking cute and lovable when they are sleeping?
Ellie has been sleeping down in the guest room for naps because she and Nathan have had a hard time falling asleep at nap time since they started sharing a room. Sometimes she plays for quite awhile before falling asleep, and sometimes she falls asleep quickly. Today she fell asleep really fast, but not before she tucked her babies in safely next to her.
Nathan plays "musical beds" at nap time each day. Sometimes he asks to sleep in his bed, sometimes on the floor, sometimes in Ellie's bed, but for some reason his favorite place to sleep for naps lately has been in his closet.
We transferred Jonah to a toddler bed after I had Thomas because I couldn't lift him out of the crib, and the transition couldn't have gone more smoothly. He loves his big boy bed, though sometimes I find him sleeping with his blanket and pillow right next to his bedroom door. Today he wanted to eat lunch in his bed, and he didn't quite finish completely before he fell asleep.
Thomas has had a stuffy nose pretty much since he was born, (thank you winter and 3 older siblings!) but a few days ago he started to get even more stuffy, and now his eyes are goopy too, and he has a cough. It breaks my heart to watch him be so sick. He is just miserable. But at least he looks happy and peaceful when he is sleeping!
It's funny how whenever I check on my kids while they are sleeping I have this overwhelming feeling of love for them. Of course I love them when they are awake too, but there is just something special about sleeping kiddos.
Today Nathan woke up first from his nap (which is unusual), and he wanted to sit and tell me "all about my dream." For some reason Ellie and Nathan love making up stories and calling them dreams. So for about 15 minutes we sat in a quiet house, and I got to rock my oldest boy while he chattered away. It was really sweet because quiet moments like that don't happen very often.
And yesterday, he followed me around while I did housework and made bread, and just talked and talked to me. It was so fun to listen to him talk about what was on his mind. I love watching my kids learn new things, but I also don't want them to grow up! They are in such fun stages.
Parenting is hard, and most days I feel inadequate, overwhelmed and stretched to my limits, but being a mom to my four cute kids is my greatest blessing.
Two weekends ago Sam went on an overnight campout with the scouts, so I decided that for our traditional Friday night pizza/movie night I would introduce the kids to one of my favorite movies of all time: "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." I hadn't seen it since Sam and I were dating, and I still love the music just as much! It's just so, so good.
Anyway, I kind of thought the kids would be bored, and they were at first. Sam had told them a little bit about the movie, so for the first little while Ellie and Nathan kept asking "When is the guy going to put the girl over his shoulder?" But when it got to the part where Millie was teaching the brothers to dance, this is what they all did:
From that point on, their eyes were glued to the screen. (Though I did make them back up.) Ellie didn't like the part where the brothers got into a fight with the other guys at the barn raising, but they all LOVED the barn raising dance.
And Nathan had to copy the brothers when they were chopping wood:
I am so glad they liked the movie! And I have to admit, it was much more fun for me to watch than some of the kid movies we usually watch on Friday nights... I find such great joy in sharing things that I love with my kids. I know they won't always appreciate the gesture, so I will take advantage of it while I can!
