February 10

Do you remember two days ago, when the kids were catching snowflakes on their tongues?

Yeah. It was 68 degrees today.

We celebrated by spending almost all day outside. The kids' favorite place to be is the narrow strip of woods that aren't even really woods behind our house. They call it their "Secret Hideout" and Caleb and Daisy routinely disappear back there whenever they can. Eli and Lily are starting to get in on the action, too. I only trust Eli back there right now because the lack of anything green means that I can see him at all times.

He is quite pleased with this situation. I'm not sure what Lily is saying, but that looks like her "grownup" face, so she is probably being in charge.

Doesn't she look like a wild adventurer in this picture?

Please disregard our crumbling retaining wall. It's not getting fixed anytime soon. It must have once been a planter, but we use it is a place to store all of the leaves we rake up, and the deer like to sleep on the "leaf bed", and then the leaves decompose nicely to make a great amendment to my garden. So it stays as-is.

Also, the kids like to climb it.

Caleb found a big stick in the woods. (See how close the house behind us is? I'm actually in the woods, so it seems closer, but still. Luckily, the strip of trees provides a lot of privacy!)

Behind our property sits more homes (see above) and a steep hill up to a man-made pond. But this pole with barbed wire reminds us that when the house was built nearly 50 years ago, the land behind us was a cow pasture. Somehow, the fence got to stay even after they developed the land into a subdivision. I like the little remnant!

Speaking of remnants, Daisy found this remnant of the snow and cold two days ago. The chunk of ice was sitting in their wagon. Winters around here are so strange!

Remember the birdseed heart ornaments we made for my mom's patients? We kept one for ourselves and hung it up on the fencing around my barren garden. A mama and papa cardinal have discovered it, and like to perch on the fence while they nibble. It's actually a perfect spot, because the squirrels can't get to it!

They were supposed to be picking up sticks and loading them into the wagon.

He was supposed to be helping with those sticks.

Still, it was a lovely day and all of the sunshine was a balm to our winter-weary souls.

February 9

These kids are so funny.

We have finally turned a corner, and it is no longer dark outside when Eli and Lily wake up from their afternoon naps. Today, the sun was shining into our west-facing windows, and my bedroom was warm, bright, and cozy.

Caleb was busy reading a book, but the younger three instinctively flocked to my bedroom, where they began a giddy wrestling match on Mommy and Daddy's big bed.

Is this kid cute, or what?

(No, it's not your eyes; the focus in this picture is a little soft. But it's so stinking cute that I don't care.)

Happy wrestling sisters.

Wild, post-nap hair.

(Also, the leggings Lily is wearing are Daisy's hand-me-downs. They are size 4. I am not ready for Lily to be wearing size 4. Not ready, I tell you!)

Tickles and tackles!

And a treacherous perch! (Don't worry Mom, I had an eye on her. She later got stuck in the footrail, and we discussed the fact that it wasn't a ladder or climbing tool.)

February 8

Our only goal for the morning was a trip to the library to return some books and pick up some that were on reserve.

It didn't happen.

This happened, though:

That's "Super Eli" wearing Caleb's night vision goggles.

There was also lots of screaming, some crying, plenty of mess-making, and a lot of frustration. It was not our best morning. I started trying to get the kids ready to go to the library at 8:30. By 11, I finally had everyone in the van, and Eli was not having the car seat buckling. At that point, I knew it was a lost cause. But I had the kids in the van, so we were not going back into the house. 

I drove them to the library, talking the whole time about behavior and consequences. I'm sure I sounded like Charlie Brown's teacher to them.

"Whomp whomp whomp, whomp whomp."

At the library, I stopped at the curb and dropped the books in the outdoor drop bin. Sadly, we have no curbside pickup or drive through at our library, so the books on reserve had to wait. 

Then we drove to the brand new drive-through Starbucks (praise Jesus) and I got myself a drink. The children are much more manageable when buckled into car seats, and I wasn't ready to go home yet, so I asked them where they wanted to drive to.

"McDonalds!"

"The Arch!"

"FLORIDA!!!"

We settled on a road they'd never been on before, instead. At each major intersection, I asked them to choose left, right, or straight, and we explored. 

Eventually, we ended up at a place I've been wanting to visit since May or June. In the summer, it is a gorgeous field of yellow wildflowers. In the winter, it is tall grasses, carved with deer paths. Since I was planning on a quick library visit, the kids only had light jackets on - not appropriate for the 33-degree weather. Still, I let the kids out and they ran through the grasses, followed the deer paths, and explored to their hearts' content. It was a little thing, but it was just what they needed. Their little noses and cheeks grew ruddy, and my heart was content. 

It was a "reset" button for our morning.

Eli was watching the birds, instead of the camera.

Caleb and Daisy were off exploring.

They found a spot where deer must have bedded down, and they pretended it was a trampoline.

Back at home, I finished up some bird seed ornaments the kids and I made a few days ago. We are going to give them to my mom to take to work for her patients. February is Heart Health month, and since Mom is an RN who works with patients with cardiac issues, hearts matter to her.

As I went to put the little ones down for naps, we noticed something odd: 

snowflakes

Yesterday, we were at the zoo, wishing we had short sleeves on. Today, snowflakes. Gotta love the midwest! After I put Eli down, we went out to catch snowflakes on our tongues. 

This girl. She looks so grown-up with her hair in a ponytail!

I can't resist the black and white for these.

I get great satisfaction out of all of these images of the children with their tongues sticking way out. All three were tongue tied, and each had a procedure done to revise that tongue tie. We worked hard to achieve those long tongues!

Cold, but handsome. Those eyes are why I married his Daddy.

Sweet Lu, with a dirty face, scraggly hair, and her favorite sweater from Auntie Grace.

I think she caught one!

February 7

Our Classical Conversations group had the day off today, and when I saw that the forecasted temperature was somewhere in the sixties, I knew we had to do something fun. I asked the kids at dinner last night what they wanted to do, and Eli immediately shouted, "GO HIKING!" 

The other three picked it up, and soon all four children were shouting, "HIKING! HIKING! HIKING!"

A decision was made.

But the day dawned rainy and gray, so I suggested the possibility of a zoo visit instead. Eli was thrilled, and when I asked him what animal he wanted to see, he immediately replied, "Giraffey!"

Well then.

So off we went to the zoo! Apparently it has been a while since I last took the kids, because road work ruined our typical parking spot, and they changed the free hours around on us. But it all worked out in the end, and within fifteen minutes of being at the zoo I had already run into two different friends there.

These kids are so funny - they cannot pass up a face-cutout-thing. (Is there a technical term for this? I don't know.) They were very disappointed that the fourth hole was too high for any of them - especially Eli - to reach, but we made do.

Eli was adamant that we ride the "Carou-self", and he was thrilled when we were able to ride it two times in a row.

Daisy loved her choice of a zebra.

Lily (who chose her complete outfit all by herself, down to the bow in her hair and the boots on her feet) felt like such a big girl riding an up-and-down animal without any help from me!

And Eli? The boy who insisted on riding the "carou-self" panicked as soon as I stepped foot on it. Though he has cheerfully ridden animals on it in the past, this time he flipped out and clung to me for dear life. He was terrified that I might try to put him on an animal without his consent, and thus I had to have both hands on him and be nowhere near a vacant animal at all times. Then, he was perfectly pleased.

Hi, Caleb!

The second go-round, I wised up and made the big kids choose animals near the bench, and Eli and I sat there for the ride. (Funny: at dinner tonight, the kids were telling Chris about our visit to the zoo. I asked Eli to tell Daddy about the carousel, and he thought for a minute, then said, "I ride on couch with Mommy!" He called the bench a couch, and it was too cute.)

He insisted on wearing his doggy hat all morning, and even let me wrap him a little bit! (Pardon that sloppy candy cane chest belt; I'm clearly out of practice.)

We got up close in personal with Kali, the polar bear, as he swam in his habitat, and Caleb had in-depth conversations with several different docents about the diet of polar bears, the habitats of guinea pigs, and who knows what else. 

The giraffes were inside, but we got to see them anyway. We saw a baby orangutan (Ginger, who was born the same day as our friend Lydia, a fact I find hilarious), many snakes and turtles in the reptile house, and a baby zebra. On our way out, we walked through the sea lion tunnel, and the kids were delighted to find that the seals and sea lions were especially active.

Daisy borrowed my phone and snapped this picture of the baby zebra. She was quite proud of her work.

On our way out, we stopped by the elephant fountain for our now-traditional photo there. 

I can't believe Eli is big enough to sit on the ledge without me worrying now! Caleb looks grouchy in this picture, but it's only because Lily is hugging Daisy, instead of him.

Even though I packed a lunch, the kids were starving. We drove through McDonalds and bought cheeseburgers for everyone before I dropped Caleb and Daisy off for Special Time with Grandmother. I took the little ones home, put them down for naps, and enjoyed a quiet afternoon with the windows open.

When Lily woke up from her nap, her hair was damp with sweat - the sign of a good nap. She sat down to play with puzzles, and I couldn't help but grab my camera.

This is a fairly accurate representation of life with Lily Clare.

messy hair

toys everywhere

wild clothes

sweet, sweet, sweet

February 6

We had a playdate with some of the ladies from my MOPS table and their kiddos. It was a Valentine-making playdate, but I decided to get out my camera and shoot some sweet little Valentine's day pictures of each of the kiddos. I've been working on these for a while, and have some of my kids from a few weeks ago that somehow I never shared here. Today seems like a good day for that!

(disclaimer: some of these were taken on different days, and many were edited at different times, so I apologize for any lack of cohesiveness in wardrobe, lighting, or editing style)

Daisy and her "American Girl" doll, Anya.

Sweet Lily. Isn't she the cutest?

Lily and her best friend, Naomi. They were so excited to have their picture taken together, and were so adorable as they hugged and giggled while I snapped away! Jill and I are hoping to recreate this picture in 14 years, when they graduate from high school.

My kiddos are pretty cute, too!

I love this one - they knocked Lily over with their kisses!

They were so happy!

I think this one is my favorite of all four of them. 

But Eli's smile in this one is pretty precious.

It is so rare that they cooperate like this for pictures. 

Caleb later tore a hole in the knee of these red jeans, so these are the last official photographs of his beloved red pants. He wore them for a year and a half, so I call it good.

I know, right? Is he cute or what? Even cuter, the message on the board was all his idea. This boy is so loving and thoughtful!

The pictures above were all taken a week or two ago; the pictures below were from today. 

I was testing my lighting, and Eli immediately walked up to my set, sat down in the middle, and posed. Kid knows what is  up.

This Superman shirt was the only thing we bought him for his birthday, and it was $9 well spent. He loves it.

He also loves the Veggie Straws clutched in his hand.

I then went on to photograph several other children. During a lull, Lily walked up, sat down in the chair, and looked up at me like this: 

One shot. The girl totally nailed it in one shot. I have been trying to really capture Lily for a while, but always get the over-excited cheese faces. This is her. Messy hair, princess dress that is ragged from being worn and washed so much, and the sweetest smile you've ever seen. She is just precious.

Daisy nailed hers in one shot, too. She is getting bigger now, and I love the way her curls are becoming soft and loose. Side-by-side, you can see how these two resemble each other. We sure are lucky!

February 4

I have been busy with photography stuff, but I haven't been good about picking up my camera for family stuff. Today, I took cell phone pictures. It was a lazy Saturday with no real agenda, which was really fun. I had an early photo session, did grocery shopping on my way home, and the rest of the day was wide open.

Like these pictures of Chris helping Eli do pull ups.

Look at how happy they both are!

I mean, seriously. Does it get any cuter?

Don't worry. I have video.

I love these boys.

Later, Caleb and I took a trip to Target while the little ones napped.

I wore these new Noonday Collection earrings (my friend Jessica is an ambassador, raising funds to adopt a child later this year!) and felt pretty spiffy, so I snapped a child-free selfie.

Caleb and I stopped at Starbucks before our Target trip. I had a gift card for Starbucks, and he had a gift card for Target, both courtesy of one of our favorite people. I enjoyed my flat white, and he found a Lego set he was thrilled with. It was a good day.

February 2

Today was a lovely MOPS day, which meant no school until the afternoon.

Daisy is really coming along with her reading. Her current favorite is Amelia Bedelia. She has read it several times now, and today she was feeling confident enough that she let me record a bit of her reading it.

Eli was an eager audience for her.

Eli kind of interrupted us, and Daisy has a lot of the book memorized now, but at least it's a snippet of her reading!

February 1

He let me wrap him again!

I was in the middle of making dinner, so the wrap job is hasty and the picture isn't the best, but...

HE LET ME WRAP HIM AGAIN!

I think something has changed since his birthday, when he rode on my back in my meh dai at the Ice Festival and again for our hike. Eli didn't complain either time, and he really enjoyed our hike. Since then, he has let me wrap him on my back on three separate occasions. Maybe I don't need to sell all of my carriers, after all!

School lately has been a struggle. We are having a hard time finding a rhythm, and Caleb is having a hard time, period. There is a lot of yelling and crying happening around here, and not a lot of formal school.

Today, while Caleb napped in his room instead of doing school, I worked with Daisy. I am currently leaning toward sending Caleb and Daisy to public school in the fall, so I went over the state's grade level expectations to see how Daisy is doing. 

This girl is right on track.

After dinner, Lily showed me how she is really good at wrapping. 

She informed me that now she teaches new mommies how to wrap their babies.

She was really proud of this particular wrap job, which she called the "backpack" carry.

I love Eli's excited little face in the background. He is her #1 fan.

What? Video? Why of course!