Tuesday, May 31, 2011

welcome baby Colin - the story of how i spent my memorial day weekend.

following the Murphy's law, labor began on Saturday after we had stocked up for our holiday weekend, hamburger patties, buns, a watermelon, etc.  i felt contractions starting at about 11am, so of course I cleaned the house, took a shower, got dressed, went to Target, got a few last minute essentials, and generally freaked Jason out.  by 4 or 5 the contractions started to be less than 5 minutes apart.  now, i didn't feel ready to go to the hospital, but Avery came so quickly we were both afraid of having this baby at home.  so we started getting the girls squared away.  by 7 we were in triage, being told I may have to go home.  lucky for me, the nurse was a mother of 4 and got my drift on why i thought i should stay.  by 11 I was officially admitted, and after a rough "event" with the epidural, our SON was born at 1:56 am, Sunday, May 29th.  he was just one day shy of his due date.  (though the Dr. thinks he may have been a week or so over actually)
 needless to say, we were SHOCKED to actually have a boy.  of course we knew it was a possibility, it just didn't seem like it would really happen.  everyone was excited to see how much he weighed because clearly he was a big boy.  9lbs, 10oz, 23.8 inches long!  a whopper!

 he had come too fast for me to get a full round of antibiotics before he was born, so he had to be in the nursery to get an iv for the first day.  once i got him back, i couldn't take my eyes off him!
 the girls were over the moon excited.  i told my parents they could tell them what we had, but Jason said they were so excited he wanted to wait until they came to the hospital!  they were over the moon.  i know they would have been just as excited for a girl, but a BOY, we were all blown away. 
our first family photo:
 we were showered with family, gifts and flowers.

 then came the naming process.  by now we have realized that we have to spend time getting to know our infants before we can name them.  so, we came to the table with basically nothing.  that is except the fact that for over a year the girls have been talking about their baby brother "Colin".  last march while we were on vacation, they literally drew hundreds of pictures of our family, including a baby boy named Colin.  we thought nothing of it.  we set out to think of some names, we even liked a few.  but when it came down to it, we realized the girls had named this baby a long time ago.  once we submitted to the obvious, it felt great. 
Colin Beardsley Earl!
 this baby is almost never put down on his own, he is held around the clock!

we adore you baby Colin, welcome to the family!!!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

when we're helping we're happy - and rich!

the girls have been learning about work and budgeting.  they have required chores and then extras they can do to earn an allowance.  Anna has been especially helpful lately logging as many extras as she can to fill her piggy bank:

Madeline hasn't been as consistently enthusiastic.  only after we tally the week's payments does she jump to and try to get stuff done.  it's so funny to see their different personalities develop. 

Sunday, May 22, 2011

helping dad murder innocent trees

as part of our pool project, Jason has decided to cut down 4 trees in our back yard.  it seems a little drastic, and he actually feels pretty bad about it.  but the root systems were out of control, and apparently we've been wreaking havoc on our neighbors pool for 6 years.  so, the trees had to go. 
 the girls have been super good about waking up bright and early to go out and help dad.  this helps me get a little bit of extra sleep!  hurray!
 i love that they're out there in their jammies and flip flops. 





where's Madeline you may ask?  she's a later sleeper than the other girls, she'd also rather be snuggling in bed with me than working out in the yard.  i want her to have a good work ethic, but this makes me smile. 

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Anna's first sewing project!

Anna got a sewing machine for christmas from my parents.  unfortunately, it only sews a  chain stitch so if you aren't really careful, you can unravel the whole thing just taking it off the needle.  so, frustrated by this, i just taught her how to use my machine. 
 she designed, appliqued and sewed this blanket for her dolls:

super proud of my little martha, and excited to work on more projects together!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

new dress - the only photos i took on mother's day

Anna wore her new dress on mother's day.  she was all dressed and ready by the time i got up.  necklace, flower and all! 

she is getting so independent.  it was really a wonderful day.  daddy and the girls made me a delicious breakfast in bed, including a cheese omelet, fruit, yogurt and fresh cinnamon rolls.  great church meetings, and fun dinner with family. all in all, a great day, i'm a lucky mommy!

Friday, May 13, 2011

nesting

when we moved the big girls to a shared room, i asked Madeline if she wanted to keep her own duvet or pick something new that had more color, like Anna's.  her reply, "i want it like Anna's.....didn't you make hers special?"  gulp, why yes i did. so Maddie and I searched through my stash and put together her very own special quilt.  i even has some left overs from Anna's, so there's some coordination there.  i love the results. 


 also, recently my parents brought us some dressers from their house.  i painted them (one for the fourth time in my life, that was funny.)  and this little beauty landed in the girls' room.  i love the pink knobs. 
the girls a so happy to be sharing, and Avery can't wait to transition to her "big girl room."  i just need to do some finishing touches in there, but i'm resting for now!

Thursday, May 12, 2011

bored at mc donalds

we had our tires changed today, which called for an extended stay at Walmart.  since i'm not too keen on walking around lately, we opted to spend most of our time in McDonalds getting a treat.  being bored, i whipped out the point and shoot for a little silly time!
 this girl can get engrossed in anything on tv, seriously, it doesn't matter what's on she's like a zombie.  when she was a baby, she would even stare at the security monitors in stores. 
 the girls love to do silly poses and then see themselves on the monitor.



after a bunch more of these, our car was finally ready.  and i was ready for a nap!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

girly girls!

we had some family pictures taken tonight to commemorate the 4th belly.  i think we got some great shots in studio, but i couldn't resist snapping these of the girls dancing around the house when we got home. 



it'll be interesting to see who we get when this baby is born.  another princess, twirling around in our lives.  or a  prince, not quite sure what he would do in this scenario!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

tile!

the humans are not the only ones around here excited about the pool!  Nalu does her fair share of sniffing around the work site, inspecting the latest. 
 and the latest is: tile!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

party!!!!

the Honeybees had their end of season party today.   coach Paul set up a bunch of fun games and treats.  fun was had by all.
 the girls were so excited to get their awards.  Anna's certificate was for "great team spirit".
 and Madeline received "phenomenal potential" and award for being the hardest working 4 year old on a team of girls turning 6!
 and the most exciting part of course: the trophies!

great season girls!!!

Sunday, May 1, 2011

pool update

the back wall of our pool is built and ready for tiling. 
 i think Jason has a hard time going to work rather than hanging out watching and participating in construction. the girls love "helping" him.
 we can't wait to be swimming this summer!!!