Missing May

I really am missing May. When I taught, I waited, and waited for May to arrive. It meant end of school, the arrival of warm weather, and summer time.   May! Where have you gone?!   This May, we spent our days eating chocolate pudding  

 

using all of the powder room toilet paper and getting caught not replacing the roll!

 

{Oops!}

: )

 

Playing at the park

{It did snow on Mother's Day here in Colorado, but it was our last snow!}

 

And riding bikes.

 

David splurged and bought a Trail Rider tandem bike for Harbor, which attaches to his bike.

Henry attaches to Harbor- which allows for the new baby to eventually sit beside Henry.

It was a big purchase {not cheap!} but so SO worth it.

Those boys of mine ride almost every single day.

 

On cooler days, we've stayed busy with crafts.

 

And more recently, a sweet, dear friend of mine, Melissa, offered to take some photos for us.

Melissa is a new friend here in Colorado and her husband works with David.

She did a wonderful job- and we were so excited to use the shoot as an opportunity to announce our newest little one's name.

: )

 

Cannot beat beautiful Colorado backdrops!

 

She took hundreds for us, but those are some of my favorites.

Little Hollin is loved so much.

 

I've connected with the same uber talented woman to design Hollin's crib bedding that designed Harbor's over five years ago. She lives in a different state, so it is all happening long distance, but if you are in the market for crib bedding, visit: http://www.pishposh.com. She is excellent!

 

Hollin has started to receive a few things in the mail from friends and family, like this precious box all the way from a darling friend, Annette, in Michigan. We love and miss our Detroit buddies so much. Moving cross country grows your heart {and your Christmas card list!} in the best possible ways!  Thank you, Annette!

 

I started working on a few festive 4th decorations and got the hair-brained idea that I could assemble my own giant pinwheels from card stock and grommets.

Thanks a lot, Pinterest!

Ha!

They took forever, but my mantle is finished.

 

Hopefully, a 4th of July post will be coming your way soon.

I love documenting all the holiday decor for my kiddos so someday they might not forget all we worked on together.

 

This guy has officially ended his baby days.

He is 16 months old, talking up a storm, and sleeping from 8:00 pm until about 7:00 am straight. His favorite foods are cheese, bread, cookies, and milk.

He asks for all of them by name.

He is no longer nursing- and though I'm sad about that- I am glad we made it to 16 months and have weaned before Hollin arrives. He is a precious boy and has a big personality.

 

This little boy is a great big brother and is my quiet, introverted son.

 

He loves to draw, design machines, read, do crafts, and play outside.

He loves to eat pasta, nutella, apples, and Sonic Jr. burgers with chocolate shakes.

He also has his first loose tooth!

: )

 

He is currently taking swimming lessons and has been enrolled in an "invitation only" Classical Academy for kindergarten. We have been on the waiting list for months, but thankfully have secured a seat. He will only be gone a few hours each day {about 3.5}, which gives us the opportunity to home school in the extra hours he is at home. It is a uniform only school, so I'm excited to see how he enjoys it.  It has been tough finding the right solution for our family, but we're hopeful a kinder/home school mix in a classical environment will be a good fit for our Harbor. He is nervous and isn't too thrilled about going -he wants to stay home and school here- but socially, he really needs to be involved outside of the home, especially in music and PE. I'd love to keep him home with me, but I think the Lord would have me try this option first. As a former public school teacher, I am a big fan of the public system. I saw SO much good there, but I really felt, after looking at our local options, that this may be a better fit for him.

My boys keep me busy.

There is hardly a moment to myself, especially entering this 3rd trimester and working on baby related things.

It is a fun, but busy season of life for us.

 

Lately, Harbor has been working on different biomes and has been using my phone {supervised, of course} to look up pictures of plants and animals. Our house is plastered in his art work. It is a fun place to spend my days.

 

The boys have been consuming lots of watermelon

 

and popcorn

: )

 

Lastly, we took a family trip home to Arkansas over Memorial Day and I hope to share those photos soon. My family threw a wonderful surprise baby shower, and it was a great treat!

{Memorial Day Arkansas picture}

 

 

In other new, just for documentation purposes on my part, the last month has been really difficult for me health wise. I'm not one to tell many people or share news that is less than happy, but at 23 weeks I was hospitalized for extreme chest pain. Ultrasounds of my spleen, liver, and gallbladder revealed multiple gallstones, sludge, and a stone stuck mid way in my bile duct. Apparently, this is pretty common in pregnancy, but can be managed with diet. Sadly, diet hasn't been helpful in my case as my attacks come from about anything- fruit, apple juice, and even toast. Since then, I've been hospitalised twice more. I've been monitored each time, given IV fluids, morphine, and had more ultrasounds. Stones stuck in the ducts can be very dangerous- and even deadly- and they are extremely painful. I had both my boys without epidurals and I would rank the attacks up there with natural labor. They last about six hours each and leave me needing fluids and pain medication. This last hospitalization was this week, and the surgeons agreed that surgery to remove the gallbladder is just too dangerous as Hollin's chance of survival is not great. My uterus is too high and the risk of blood clots in my lungs too dangerous. It is a difficult situation. We're praying for a smooth final trimester and know the Lord is ever close at hand. Please pray for me to endure and to manage this pain effectively. Living here without family means the whole crew winds up in the hospital for seven hours while I lay hooked up to machines. My Hollin is worth it and I'm determined to endure to the end. The Lord is always good, always!, and I know nothing happens that He hasn't already foretold. I'm thankful for His promises and believe them without question, without doubt.

Just keep me in your prayers as we head to our September due date.

 

New State, New Season

The weather this week has been glorious in our part of Colorado.

Sunny and cool, hovering in the low 70's and upper 60's with a scant splattering

of snow on the mountain peaks. 

 

We're unpacking our winter boxes from Detroit, preparing to switch out sandals for boots.

Fall is, without doubt, my favorite time of year.

I tolerate the summer, but Fall is my happy place.

 

We've spent many Saturday mornings on the couch, listening to Pandora, planning our day ahead.

 

 

It seems we are always on a trail.

If we're not hiking it, we're biking it.

 

And lugging the tripod with us.

You just never know when a picture will present itself.

: )

 

Or a perfect picnic spot will stop you in your tracks.

 

At home, we're easing back into a school schedule.

I always seem to get asked a lot of questions about our schooling.

I do have an education degree, and I did teach for six years before staying home,

but I taught 5th grade.

However,

I have been photographing our school routine and plan on posting soon-

our schedule, our routine, etc

So, stay tuned if you have a little one and would like some preschool prep ideas.

 

Part of our routine is that Harbor works on his scripture references for church.

 

And receives plenty of breaks for fun play!

 

And poor Henry.

What can I say.

He is a little brother, now.

 

Soccer is almost over

{sniff, sniff!}

 

Somehow, someway

{I have no clue how!}

I turned from a,

"I don't want to spend all Saturday on the field"

to a

"Go, Harbor! Get it, Harbor! RRRUUUNNNN, Harbor!"

kinda mom.

 

Seeing little ones run around and chase soccer balls is just too hilarious.

I love it.

 

And my sweet cheeks, Henny-Penny, is just growing bigger every day.

 

While they don't always play together, Harbor loves the attention of Henry following after him.

Blocks are always a favorite around our house.

 

Harbor told me this was his "Camp" site.

The white tents are actually cardboard corners off of a painting.

 

And these were the mountains beside his campsite.

Looks like someone has camping on the brain.

 

So, Harbor and I sat down and created our very own Fall checklist.

He made sure to tell me what was important to him.

Camping made the list.

Do you recall this post?

Apparently it made an impression because it made the list, also.

 

{Feel free to right click and save this Fall checklist for yourself!

If you pin to Pinterest, just make sure it links back here.

Thanks!}

 

You can cut our names off of the top.

It will print as an 8.5 x 11 on a home computer.

 

I still can't believe we are celebrating Fall again, in another new state, again.

New state, new season.

 

We're ready!

: )