October 25

Tuesdays are hectic for us. I have blogged about this before. Thankfully, my sweet mother-in-law makes things so much less hectic, and in the middle of the chaos that is Tuesday, I get at least a 2-hour respite. It is fabulous.

I used my break today to prep dinner and work on editing photos. When Eli woke up from his nap, I was ready to snuggle with him.

This boy never wants to hit the ground running when he wakes up from a nap; he always needs a few minutes to snuggle Mommy. However, we can't snuggle in the chair in his room, because then he thinks I am trying to put him back to sleep. So I hold him and walk, or we snuggle on the couch. I love that I have birthed four very snuggly children!

Meanwhile, Lily woke up and treated us to a concert. She is dressed in full Elsa gear, singing into a musical microphone. It was hilarious.

And then the buses started driving by and it was almost time for Caleb and Daisy to return, so Eli and I snuggled on the porch swing together.

This was our view. Remember the post the other day about Caleb's hoodie? I feel even more fondly toward these red Converse. All four of my children have worn them, and I love them so much. I think these will be one item we keep for future grandchildren.  Not bad for a $4.50 clearance purchase 7 years ago!

October 24

I only have one picture from today, but it's awesome.

I got out of bed this morning  and got to work making breakfast and doing my morning stuff, while Caleb worked diligently on a project at the dining room table. Finally, he finished and proudly showed me this advertisement that he had created all by himself. I was beyond impressed! It's Alien Super Power Juice, and it only costs $5.58. As you can see, it is new and you can purchase it at the Monkey Stoer. It gloes in the darek, and it gives you super powers. See the man with big muscles, lifting the elephant? We are talking serious super strength. But best of all, it is also good for your brane!

I mean, really. Who wouldn't want to buy this stuff?

October 23

Oops. Somehow I went a few days without taking any pictures on my phone OR on my camera! I'll blame it on the fact that, between the ACT and photo sessions, I was home for a grand total of maybe 3 hours on Saturday and during those 3 hours, the kids were napping. The fact that busy photography season overlaps with soccer season, and we now have 2 kids playing, makes things hard. I haven't been to a single one of Daisy's practice/games, and I've only been to one or two of Caleb's games and practices. Poor Chris has had to shoulder so much of the burden, and we haven't had much time to have fun and relax together as a family lately. On Friday, though, Chris' parents came over and watched the kids so that Chris and I could go out to an event. That was a really rare and special opportunity for us, and we really appreciated it!

Today was full, too. We had church in the morning, and it was our turn to serve in the nursery. Caleb had a 1:30 soccer game, and I had photo sessions at 4:00 and 5:00 at a spot I'd never used before, so I had to get there extra early to scout locations. Still, I managed to take a few pictures before I headed out for my photo shoots.

Eli wore this sweet little cardigan to church today. It was a gift from my aunt Deb when Caleb was a baby, and it has always made me laugh with its cuteness. Eli felt like hot stuff when he wore it, and when I asked to take his picture in the cardigan, the kid actually posed for me.

Isn't he cute?

Lily, meanwhile, put on the Queen Elsa costume as soon as we got home from church. She felt pretty fancy, too.

I wonder what she's thinking?

This girl is by far our most imaginative and creative child. I love the stories she comes up with!

And then I asked Eli and Lily to hold hands.

How sweet are they?

Then Eli posed for me a bit more. He really felt fancy in that cardigan!

Cheese!

He's shouting, "Hi!!!!"

Chris, Caleb, and Daisy returned from Caleb's game just in time for me to head out to my photo sessions. I was ready to leave, but Caleb was so handsome that I coerced him into the back yard for a few pictures.

This boy has learned and grown so much this season in soccer! He hasn't scored a goal yet, but he has come close, and has learned the importance of passing and working together as a team to score goals. He has gone from standing in the field, staring into space, completely disengaged during games and practices to actually getting into the action and working with his teammates to move the ball in the right direction, and protecting his goal. I am so proud of him.

And you know what? He is proud of himself, too. 

And this girl? Well, we love her a whole lot, even if this is her face a lot of the time right now.

October 20

Slowly, slowly, I am playing catch-up with the blog! I still have 3 photo sessions to edit for my business, and I have 5 sessions scheduled for the upcoming weekend, but I am making time to tend to this blog because it matters to me.

Today was a MOPS day, which is always fun for all of us. I love that my group has enough homeschool moms that they are able to accommodate the older kids, and not just the little ones.

It rained today, and when the little ones woke up from naps, they played outside in the sprinkles.

Look at that sweet boy! I still remember when Caleb wore this hoodie - it was when I was very pregnant with Daisy. With hand-me-downs and random finds, Eli has ended up with five or six hoodies, but this one is his favorite, and that makes me happy because I have such fond memories of it. Remember this? (Side note: Eli is also wearing those shoes now, and he loves them. I'll have a picture of them in a few days.)

I don't know how I thought I could let him play outside and he wouldn't get soaked. Wishful thinking, I suppose. Still, he was mostly good. 

Also, it's funny how doing several blog posts at a time helps me notice patterns. I haven't seen much of Caleb and Daisy in the past few posts. Part of it is that they are always off adventuring, or Caleb always has his nose in a book. Also, older kids come with more attitude, and often they don't want their pictures taken. And now I'm also starting to think about trying to respect their privacy more. It's a tricky balance, this blogging thing. I love sharing our stories, and want to preserve our priceless memories. But the time will come when they don't want those stories broadcast to the world, and I need to think about how I will handle that. 

But the little ones don't mind, and they are happy to share their stories.

Sweet boy.

(Sweet boy who is currently trying to pry my hands off the keyboard as I'm typing because he wants to be held. I hear your message loud and clear, little man!)

October 18

Tuesdays are usually really busy for us. Luckily, our homeschool group took today off for "Fall Break", so we got to have a do-nothing Tuesday.

Some things we did on Do-nothing Tuesday:

A random tandem carry, just to see if we could do this.

(conclusion: we can do this, but it may not be advisable. This kind of carry is better suited to much smaller children!)

A much more comfortable tandem carry, just to ease my pride after the last one was so awkward.

Apparently Eli really likes this cheapie pouch sling? Who knew?

This is one of Eli's favorite spots. He sits in front of the big glass door and empties ever car and truck out of the car bin, leaving them scattered around the floor. Makes me crazy. But boy, is he happy!

Hi, cutie!

Yep. Shorts and a t-shirt in mid-October. Whatever.

Then it was costume time! 

My mom found this giraffe costume at a thrift store when Lily was little, and now it fits Eli perfectly. It is his favorite.

Lily put this ensemble together herself. I have no idea what look she was going for here.

'pinning.

She is so focused on her dance! Look at that little tongue!

Meanwhile, my adorable giraffe was... adorable.

Seriously. I've never seen a cuter giraffe.

And at bedtime, Eli wanted up in that pouch again. 

Happy baby!

We may need one of these!

(I feel like Caleb and Daisy have been underrepresented on the blog lately. Believe me, they are HERE.

October 17

Today was a warm, sunny Do-Nothing Monday. It was just what we needed!

Caleb earned some Lego time, and this was what he created. There is a story behind it, but I've forgotten it.

I set up the teepee in the driveway, and I sat on the porch swing while the kids played. It was lovely.

I think her exact words right before I took this picture were:

"Le's pwetend dis teepee is mine home and I wive in here."

Lily's imagination is going 100 miles per hour lately, and it is so fun to watch.

It is also fun to snuggle my sweet baby. 

Isn't he cute?

Then the babywearing began. Eli and Lily both asked me to wrap babies onto their backs.

It's not the best wrap job I've ever done, but it sure is cute!

And goodness - Look how happy Lily is to have a baby on her back?

This girl is too cute!

Awww. My babies, wearing babies. (And Daisy in the driveway, wearing one of my scarves because why not?)

October 15

Today involved three photo sessions and a soccer game.

This is the only picture I took.

I have no explanation.

October 14

It was chilly today, and the kids were so excited to get out their hats and gloves.

I mean, really. Is this kid the cutest ever, or what?

Also, today he brought me a baby doll and a blanket and asked, "Sling? Back?"

He wanted me to wrap the bay doll on his back. I nearly died from the cuteness. In fact, maybe my blog is so far behind because I *actually* died from the cuteness, and I am now writing this from the afterlife.

(Can you tell I'm tired? I'm exhausted.)

Still. Cute baby. He reminds me that maybe I am doing something right.

Chris came home from work and it was decided that tonight was a good night for a bonfire and s'mores. The kids were thrilled!

Happy Lily, happy Chris, and Eli with a head lamp, inspecting the chocolate.

Head lamps for babies are equally hilarious and practical. In other words, they are a total win.

I love this shot of Lily, inspecting her sticky fingers. The polka dotted jammies tucked into polka dotted rain boots, all under a Hello, Kitty nightgown cracks me up.

My handsome boy.

He is so big now that he can toast his own marshmallow!

Apparently Daisy is only in the background in these pictures, but those are her arms wrapped around her daddy. It was a fun way to spend a Friday night!