The New Queen

For several years now, James has been dubbed "King of the Kids". Whatever he wants, everyone is happy to give him - and we are rewarded only by his endearing smile. Well, as he has approached his 3rd birthday, he has become less and less benevolent of a ruler. Sure, it's funny when "Odie" says ouch!, but it still isn't nice to hit him!...and everyone has to learn to share toys sooner or later.

So, we think it's all for the best that Queen Cozette has arrived and drawn a little of the attention and deference away from James. There is always a line to cuddle up to Cozette, and James, far from being resentful, is usually at the front of the line!

Cozette has started smiling more often, and Sofia swears she heard her say "owl" the other day. She has started looking around more. I'm just glad she still has a bit of the newborn look left...it's fading fast!

I was sure I would feel very "finished" after Cozette arrived. Surprisingly, I don't feel that way. I mainly feel irritated with doctors who thought I was going to hemorrhage and warned me about the horrible postpartum cramping I was going to have because it was my 6th child. Goes to show what they know. I can already imagine their annoyingness if I decide to have a #7. Oh, I guess I should talk to my husband about that idea before I make too many plans?

Slow and Steady...but definitely slow!

A long, long time ago, when I was still pregnant, I (actually we, thanks for your votes!) chose out some fabric for curtains in the girl's room. Once I ordered the fabric, I realized that the huge pattern was going to make it very hard to get two matching panel out of four yards of fabric. I spent another couple months searching for a contrasting fabric to lengthen out my panels. No luck at all, until Sarah gave me Cozette's baby quilt. The binding fabric matched my curtains perfectly AND was from Joann's.
I've been ironing and sewing about a seam a day all week, and now Happy Mother's Day to me - they are finally finished!
I think they were worth the wait, since they have every color I could wish for in one fabric - with just enough red to let me bring it in as an accent color!
Now we just have to keep the bunny from chewing them to shreds in her spare time.

At this rate I just might have the house decorated by the time we move again!

Happy Birthday to BOO

Yesterday we celebrated Booboo's 3rd birthday. I still can't get him to say that he's three, and whenever I try to show him a present or card (yes, even his Thomas shirt), his only response is to hit it and say, "NO BIRTHDAY!" Can you guess why we haven't potty trained yet?
James did like a few things about his birthday.
1st - We went to a McDonald's with a play area for lunch - a big treat, seeing how our trips to the park have become significantly less frequent since Cozette showed up.
2nd - He LOVED the glazed lemon cake I made (an easy and not at all fancy family favorite). James ate three pieces.
3rd - He thinks his new big wheel is great. Boo even helped Daddy put it together. (Mommy is very happy that she didn't have to put it together.)
Happy Birthday, you cute little stinker!

In other news, I'm sad to report the death of a long-ill member of the family...our trampoline. We will all morn it's passing. At least Tony was able to give it a proper burial at the dump. Farewell, Trampolampa!

The Sewing Sanctuary

Yes, unfortunately the first picture is of my sewing area - just a small portion of the craziness that is my room.
The beautiful desk belongs to Sofia. It's part of my attempt to lure her away from my own sewing machine. Now that it's in a tidy, attractive setting, I'm hoping that she'll be drawn to her own cute little machine.
This corner of her room has been a huge collaboration. Grandma Tunnell repainted and stained the old desk (and made the pin cushion), Grandpa drilled holes for the new knobs, the Kangs painted this cute thread rack for Sofi's birthday, the Hetricks sent us the origami ages ago (so happy I finally found a cute way to display them), and I repainted an old frame for the new print I bought on Etsy. So many loving friends!
Maybe I'll start sewing in Sofia's room?

Just Ducky!

One of the joys of having grandparents is that they let you do all sorts of things that your parents never would: eat cake for breakfast, go days without changing your clothes (given - there was camping involved), buy a box full of ducklings... Thank goodness for Grandmas and Grandpas!

Before we left my Mom and Dad's house, Dad and I took all of the kids to get this year's ducklings at the feed store. (I could actually use a duck to eat some of my slugs, but I'm pretty sure my neighborhood has a restriction against poultry.) The older kids had fun grabbing the aptly named "runner ducks" for Grandpa, and James and Britton just enjoyed looking at all of the chicks, goslings, and ducklings. For the record - baby turkeys are surprisingly cute.

While Grandpa was paying for the poultry, I got drawn into a conversation with a very pregnant woman sitting on a bench nearby. She asked about the baby and (the usual) whether or not all of the children belonged to me. One of them actually didn't this time (my little niece, Britton)! Once she had figured out that I had six children, I asked how many children this baby would make for her...eleven. Yea! I love meeting people who have more children than me for a change, because then I know they aren't thinking I'm totally crazy for having such a big family. Although, if they spend enough time with me, they might find other reasons for thinking I'm nuts! :)

Tromping Thru the Tulips 2

On Friday, we woke up to the beautiful sunshine and decided that it was much too nice outside to sit around doing school work. Field trip time! Where could we go that would keep us out in the lovely warm sun? I decided to take my cue from Sarah and make the trek to the tulip fields...but not the ones in Oregon. The kids each packed an overnight bag and we headed over to Mt. Vernon.

When we made a nursing/diaper-changing pit stop at Grandma and Grandpa's house, the children scattered. Between the new hammock, lots of fun cousins, and the tree house, everyone found something fun to do. The tulip fields were long forgotten. I eventually mustered to energy to herd the hooligans to the car. We are going to the tulip fields - whether you want to or not!

Once we got there, they were all amazed by the huge fields of colorful blooms. Cozette got her first ride in the sling, and Anthony had fun racing up and down the paths, pushing the stroller at top speeds. Jonathan and Anthony kicked up massive amounts of dirt into billowing clouds (which does wonderful things to your feet when you're wearing flip-flops). Annika and I each bought a bouquet of tulips as we were leaving. Mission accomplished. After five (although not consecutive) years of living in Washington, I've finally made it to the tulip fields! Every April, it seems like we're either moving or having a baby, but this year we didn't let it stop us!

Sorry, Sarah!

I finally added a link to my lovely sister's photography site - really the least I could do when she drove up here to take Cozette's pictures for me. If you click on Smiling Eyes Photography, you can see a few more of the cute photos she took. The bad news is that I can't seem to get the button to look as nice as it did when it was sent to me. :( Sorry, Sarah. If you have any advice on fixing that, I'm all ears.