Two Months With a New Baby

It has been just over two months since our family expanded to 5, and a busy few months it has been.  Nothing more than ordinary life and a baby in the mix.  Some days I just could not figure out where the time would go.  It would be 4 pm and I would still have on my pajamas with not a clue what we might eat for dinner.  The good thing is, every week has gotten better and we have found our new routine that ensures dinner is on the table and we are out of our pajamas for the day.  Sam and Zeke have both been so helpful with their baby sister.  Zeke loves to play his guitar for Gabby when she upset and Sam will talk to her in the sweetest voice.  She has her daddy wrapped around her finger already.  The changes from birth until two months is incredible and we have all cheered on our little girl with every new thing.  Gabby is cooing and interacting and just loves to have a conversation with anyone who will listen. 

It was an incredible blessing to have my parents here for Gabby's birth.  My mom stayed for a whole month to help us out and it made the transition to three kiddos so much easier.  The boys enjoyed lots of Nana and Papa time and even got to show them a few parts of the island.

We have wrapped up our official school year and now will just do a few things here and there to keep our brains fresh for next school year.  It amazes me how much a Kindergartener grows in a school year's time.  Sam has stretched out in height and looks like a young boy (plus some long curly locks).  Zeke has done well giving up his position as the baby of the family and he really wants to keep up with everything Sam is doing now. 

Here are a few snapshots of what we have been up since the last post.

Zeke has kept himself busy putting out lots of fires the last few months.  This boys imagination is so fun to watch come to life.

Zeke's been busy putting out a lot of fires the last few months.  This boy knows how to keep himself busy with his imagination.

Sam has kept himself busy creating and building with legos.  I love the vehicles he comes up with on his own.

Every childhood needs a slip n' slide

a comparison from beginning of the school year to the end.  my how they have grown.

A Photo Shoot or Two

I had many more cute poses picked out to take of Gabrielle, but I did not take into account the lack of sleep and caring for two other kiddos that just might get in the way of those plans.  However, I did manage to snap a few poses of our beauty and even a family shot, too.  It has been a busy few weeks since her arrival, but we are all adjusting and finding our new rhythm.  Zeke loves to cover Gabby with kisses and Sam asks to hold her whenever she is not sleeping or eating.  She is a much loved little girl.

Welcoming Our Newest Member

We are officially a family of 5.  Sam has been praying for our family of 5 since we knew we were expecting this little one.  She is here and has filled our hearts with so much love.  Gabrielle Nancy was born on February 23rd.  She made a very fast entrance into this world and into her daddy's arms.  After only about 3 hours of labor, we just made it to the hospital parking lot when this little lady came into this world.  I expected a faster labor this time, but never did I think it would go this fast.  She was born in Hans' truck, in the parking lot of the hospital, at 11:30 pm.  Just in time to be born on her Nana (her namesake) and Papa's anniversary.  She has quite the birth story to tell.  Hans and I were incredibly calm and prepared.  After two previous natural, Bradley, births, we knew just what to do.  The doctors and nurses in the ER, on the other hand, were a bit shocked when we pulled up with the baby in my arms.  Gabrielle was healthy, alert, and very ready to enter the world. 

My parents were here and able to take care of the boys.  What a blessing to not have to worry about them and to know they were getting extra special attention.  It's been a whirl wind between our little girls' exciting entrance into the world and adjusting to three kiddos at home.  Here are a few pictures of our little lady.  Stay tuned for updates on our new family of 5. 

Waiting for Member #5

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our 5th family member.  Sam has been praying every night for our family of 5 since we found out we were expecting.  This is such an exciting time as we wait with such excitement to meet this little on and to see the little on that God has created to make us a family of 5.  I have hit full nesting mode and have focused on getting the house organized and getting ahead with our school lessons.  This blog has been on my to-do list for months now.  Finally I am getting to it.

We are expecting a baby girl, although we know there is a small chance that the ultrasound tec misread the ultrasound.  Our home is ready for a baby girl, but mostly we pray that this baby is healthy and happy.  Hans built the crib for the baby.  He has quite the skills.  After having hand-me-down cribs for the boys, I really wanted one that we would keep and cherish.  The bedding is all custom made by me.  Sewing is something I enjoy, it's that being patient and cutting straight lines that is testing.  I am so glad I took on this task, but I think I may give sewing a rest for a while.  This Hawaiian born baby is destined to love the ocean and the beach, thus I felt the island themed room was appropriate.  Our very talented and sweet neighbor painted the adorable mermaid print to match the room and Hans' mom and I worked on stringing beads and shells to complete the mobile. Sam and Zeke picked out the bunny lovie for their sister.  It's all ready and waiting for the arrival of our little one. 

Soccer Fun

The last time we tried soccer for Sam it did not go so well.  The program was so disorganized and Sam did not have any fun.  We decided to give it another try with a new program and enrolled both boys.  It has been a great experience for them both so far.  They are still working on mastering the rules of soccer, but we see improvement every week.  Zeke's age group is hilarious to watch.  It's like watching a heard of little cows running around, and then randomly you will see Zeke go off in his own direction just smiling and waving at us.  He has fun and has no problem taking a seat on the ball when he feels the need for a break.  The highlight for Zeke is the snacks provided after the game.  Sam enjoys playing  and it is amazing how much better he is doing with soccer since trying it less than a year ago.  Great coaches make such a difference. 

School Days

I realized that I do not have a lot of pictures of our school days.  Homeschooling keeps us busy every morning and it seems I should slow down one of these days and document in pictures just how hard we have been working.  Teaching our children is a blessing in so many ways.  There are challenging days, days when none of us are motivated, but the sense of accomplishment and the joy in learning far outweigh those moments.  We have been beyond blessed to find a Classical Conversations community here and with that have met so many wonderful friends.  The boys love going to our community each week and learning the new material with their friends.  Zeke comes with to Sam's class and joins in at times or just sits in the back and soaks in the information.  Each week we learn a new history sentence, timeline points of the history of the world, math, English grammar, Latin, Science, Geography, and either music or art.  It's a lot of information and our brains fill full after our class day with our community, but we enjoy working our way through all this information and mastering it together throughout the week at home.  I love our relaxed afternoons together and the that the boys get so much time to play and be creative together.  Here are a few pictures of the boys working hard.

Hiking The Island

We have checked off a few new hikes from our list since the year began.  One was a sunrise hike without the kiddos and the other a sunset hike with the kiddos.