Tis the season for BAKING!

Last year I decided that it would be fun for my GIRL SCOUT troop to bake some yummy pumpkin loafs as a little Christmas gift. I put a little spin on it by making them in some really cute loaf pans that I happen to find at the Christmas Tree Shop for a dollar each. So I managed to scoop up 2 for each girl. We decided it would be really nice to give one away to someone, and keep the other. We had so much fun doing it, that this year we continued with our Christmas tradition. With 12 girls in the kitchen, I am blessed right now to have a double oven. It sure does come in handy to get things cooked at the same time. Especially when you have that many pans going in at once. The girls really did a great job listening, mixing, pouring, and stirring. Everyone got a little something to do, but I let the leaders take care of the actual filling of the pans, just to keep the mess down to a low. This is the final outcome of of the girls hard work. WAY TO GO!

Pumpkin bread. Neatly wrapped and packaged and ready to go!

 

Snow Day number 2

It started snowing mid morning, I would say around 4am. We weren't expecting snow at all, so I was a little surprised when I woke up to see the ground covered in the white stuff. Rain was the only thing on the forecast. Needless to say, the rain, mixed in with snow, has made the roads yucky. Of course, on the day I have a million errands to run, and my husbands office party. We have decided to stay inside for the better part of the day, and Jason will come and pick us up tonight for the party. Unless due to bad weather, they have canceled it. We will see. Until then, here are some pictures of our "messy winter wonderland" outside.

The backyard covered in snow

 

Looking through the garden window of the kitchen. See the rain on the window, blah.

 

Ezme is 3 Months Old

Gosh, its doesn't seem real that Ezme is 3 months old today! I wish that it wouldn't go by so fast. I spend 9 1/2 months waiting for the little peanut to arrive. And then when they do, bamn, their growing up goes by faster then the speed of light. Its been a great 3 months so far. She is such an easy going baby. In the beginning she wanted to make it known she wasn't anything like her big sisters or big brother, but we found a great routine and for the most part, we stick to it. Right now she is busy eating her breakfast and happily watching cartoons with her big sister Olivia. Ezme definately makes our house a lot more fuller and we are all so much in love with her. Here is a little rundown of the things Ezme can do now.

* Giggles and laughs hard when you tickle her under her neck
* Wakes up at 8:30am despite the fact that her siblings wake up at 7am
* Eats about 8 1/2 ounces in the morning and about 8 just before bed
* Is starting to hold her head up more
* Is working harder on focusing and following objects. Still struggles, but is doing better then she did a month ago.
* Loves to bat at toys
* Loves to talk to herself in the mirror and her buddy "Mr. Monkey"
* Enjoys cuddling, being held, and put to sleep at night by someone holding her
* Is starting to roll over, but hasn't reached the other side just yet
* Is sleeping through the night still from 8pm-8:30am
* Stays awake for 2 hour stretches
* Loves to suck on her fingers
* Can hold toys and bring them to her mouth
* Enjoys standing
* Enjoys playing with her feet

As you can see, she is a pretty amazing little girl. We are so in love and can't wait to see what the next 3 months will hold. I am sure it will go by just as fast as the first 3 have. HAPPY 3 MONTHS LITTLE EZME. WE LOVE YOU!

Ezme 3 months old

 

Smiling for Mommy

 

The new way to sleep

Last night I went upstairs to check on all the kiddos before I finished up the last of the laundry and heading to bed myself. As I was getting ready to tuck Emma-James in, this is how I found her. I guess you can be cool looking even when your dead asleep. Thanks to hubby, he managed to capture this on camera! I also want to say that Emma-James has the second biggest bed in the house. And still managed to sleep right on the edge every night. Despite me trying to move her closer to the middle.

Emma-James and her Thomas sunglasses. Snoozing away!

 

First New England Snow

Yup, you read it right. The first snow fall of the winter season is upon us as we speak. Its been snowing here since 6pm. Yucky I tell ya. As much as my kiddos love watching the beautiful white stuff fall from the sky, I have to say, I am not a lover anymore. Its cold, its wet, and its a pain to drive in. It makes the roads slick, and dangerous. And people seem to be crazy when it comes to their driving skills. It will probably be a day where I sit inside and be thankful I can rest easy without having to brave the roads. Tomorrow is jam packed full of cleaning, laundry and organizing. WOOT! The kids were hoping to go outside to play, but no one has boots, hats, gloves, or snow gear, so its a "stay inside helping mommy out" sort of day. They don't mind. Tomorrow is a great day to do our yearly toy donation. We go through all the toys, books and clothes and donate a good bag or two of things to give away. Plus this year, the kids and Jason and myself decided to go shopping for other kiddos and save Santa visiting for another year. Plus, Santa was pretty good to the kids this summer. Along with Santa, the Easter bunny and Grammie and Grampa helped buy a nice big playground for them! But I think he might drop in for a small gift for each of them. They have been pretty good all year!

The Princess and the Owen

I took a few fun pictures of Ezme yesterday. Its hard to capture her at just the right moment where she isn't crazy or tired. Its either got to be right at 9am or about 9pm. So, I took some last night while the other kids where sleeping. I also managed to score a few good pictures of Owen using a big boy cup. I think we will be retiring the sippy's pretty soon. We will only use them occasionally. The still come in super handy sometimes.

Owen drinking from the big boy cup

 

"I big boy now mommy" (What he said to me when he was done)

 

Ezme Smiling

 

Big blue eyed Ezme

 

Ezme in the Tub

I really haven't taken many pictures of Ezme taking a bath, but here is one for your viewing pleasure. We had just arrived home from Maine, and while the big kids were in the bathtub, Ezme got her own wash down in her little chair in the kitchen sink. It took her a few moments for her to realize where she was, because she truly HATES being wet.

Ezme in her bath

 

Watching my new friend

I was reading the new posts that my friends from Arizona updated about the little kiddos Abby and Rachel. I had Ezme in my lap while I was watching some of the videos they posted. Well, as I was watching them, Ezme's eyes were glued to the computer screen. Jason happened to come up from the cellar at the same time she was watching the video, so he snapped a picture. As you can see, she is completely in love with watching her far away friends.

Ezme watching Abby and Rachel on the computer

 

Floor time

I happened to look on kids.woot.com one afternoon and found this terrific floor mat for Ezme. It is awesome! Really colorful, the toys are so cute, and it even moves. Thats right, the whole thing moves back and forth to music. Its really cute to watch. At first, she was a little angry to have been put on the floor, but after a few minutes, she realized that she loved it. The music especially. She has two favorite toys at the moment, Mr. Monkey whom she will talk to for a good hour. And of course, every baby's favorite thing, the mirror. She loves to giggle and smile in the mirror and see the other baby smiling back at her. Its cute to watch. I was able to capture a few photos of her while she was happily playing.

Ezme enjoying her floor mat

 

Half smile

 

Watching the mobile move

 

Pictures came out fantastic!

We were able to go this afternoon to order pictures. They came out so great. I am really pleased. We ordered Christmas cards and then a few pictures for ourselves. I hope everyone enjoys them as much as we do. Sadly, you will just have to wait two weeks before they arrive, and probably a few days after that before they are delivered. Until then, happy waiting!

Picture Day

Jason got a quick snapshot of Owen before we headed out for pictures. Isn't he cute

My handsome little man

 

Christmas Pictures 2009

Ahhhhh. The yearly Christmas Photo. The one, where you spend an entire month picking out outfits, deciding on hair do's, making sure everyone matches, and looks fantastic. The one day out of the whole year everyone in your family will be in a picture together, smiling, looking happy. Well, in previous years, its been a true NIGHTMARE. Last year alone it took two days, 3 hours each just to get a decent family photo and a group shot of the three kids. I was sick inside just knowing how bad it was going to be this year around with the extra little one. So I took this as a sign to figure another way of getting a good family Christmas photo without the tantrums, whines, and screams. This year I decided to call and give the gentlemen who does our kiddos Pre-School pictures a call. He does a fantastic job, has managed to get not one, but both of my girls to smile. They have come out awesome and I have never once complained. I figured, if he can work magic on them, I wonder what he can do with 6 of us!!

So today was the day. I got up at 8am. Thanks to my husband everyone was fed and ready for my instructions. I managed to get all the kids dressed, hair done, baby fed, and myself showered and dressed by 9am. We were out the door by 9:10 and surprisingly were only 5 minutes late due to road construction. So far so good. Everyone was happy, kids were smiling, no fuss from anyone. WOOT! We got there, and finally got to meet the Man of Emma's dreams. She talks about this guy all the time. Mr Genes this and Mr. Genes that. Well, Mr. Gene indeed was a nice guy and I can see why she loves him. It took 40 minutes, yes I said that right, 40 minutes to have a family photo done, individual shots of the kids, and a group shot of all the kiddos together. I was amazed. Owen was completely in love with him. The girls did everything he asked. We were in and out in an hour. SHOCKED I TELL YOU!! We will go back this afternoon to pick out our photos. I am hoping for another great outcome. I need headshots of all 4 kids, family photo, and a kids photo. I plan on keeping things simple this year. Card photos to family and friends, and just a large photo for us of the kids and the family. Money is tight, so sadly I can't do large orders like I use too. However, if you want something bigger, let me know. I will be happy to order it for you if you want to pay for it.

I will update everyone how how this afternoon goes. Wish me luck that there are plenty of nice ones to choose from! I will not be posting photos until after I have mailed out the cards!!