feeling grateful

i've been feeling pretty grumpy the last couple days

just kind of stressed out having all the kids home all week

and noah had a dentist appointment yesterday

and today

to get a couple fillings each time

so i was nervous about taking all the kids to do it by myself

and just generally not really happy 

but then i was looking at these pictures to write about our last few days

and i am filled with gratitude for these perfect children

who do such a good job putting up with their imperfect mom

noah and henry are the sweetest brothers there ever were

i am so grateful they have each other 

so grateful

hazel has more patience in her at age 6 than i ever have ever had

she seriously fills in the gaps in my parenting

when i am too busy or too stressed to handle things, she steps right in

i never have to ask, she just does things

she is a peacemaker and a teacher

she will be an amazing mother

i am so grateful

noah's post-dentist smile was seriously the best

i couldn't get enough of it

look at these cute goofballs

olive (and eleanor) are keeping me on my toes lately

but the good definitely outweighs the bad

it's not hard to see who hazel got her patience from

michael got home from work and got to work on our mantle

henry is obsessed with michael these days

and got sad when michael would walk away from him

to go make cuts in the garage

so michael took him with him every single time

has there ever been a better dad?

or a cuter little assistant?

plus the mantle is looking amazing

pretty girl in the tooth fairy house at the dentist

my life is pretty great

i need to remember that

and count my blessings more

because i couldn't have asked for a better husband

or more wonderful children

i am so blessed

boise holiday parade

we went to our first parade in boise today

and it was so much fun

luckily it was warmer than it has been in a few weeks, about 35 degrees

 henry hung out in the ergo the whole time

 michael and the capital

 miniature ponies 

 we were pretty chilly by the end

so we went to the district coffee house for some hot chocolate

and to watch the parade pass again

 olive's posing is the best 

and she looks so cute in hazel's old hand-me-downs

 i also finished henry's pillow today

i started it so long ago

and then we moved

and then we moved again

but it's finally done!

i think he likes it ;)

and now we (michael) are working on the on our mantle

so exciting

he had three cute girls helping him clear away the old floor where it's going

tidbits

olive picked her own outfit

down to the hairstyle, necklace and belt

i thought it was pretty cute

 henry is mastering the stairs

a little early for my liking

he's made it up about 5 so far...

 i really don't know how eleanor can see most of the time

i'm trying to teach her to push it out of her way

because she won't keep a bow or ponytail in her hair

oh, and she chipped her teeth a week or so ago

which is not great 

but kind of cute

 henry's separation anxiety is killer lately

he cries if i try to walk away from him

so i let him nap on me the other day

 happy hazel during dinner the other night

 and noah

it's hard to get pictures of these two because they're at school all day

 i was trying to get a picture of henry following michael's food around

but instead he just looks grumpy

but michael is cute

 early morning cuddles 

hazel misses henry and eleanor all day while she's at school

henry has the best eyes

 eleanor, henry and i spend so much time in the car

waiting for kids to get out of school

 poor girl got wiped out after grocery shopping at winco

and a trip to the post office

it wiped me out, too

 henry and eleanor have so much fun together in the tub these days

 while i was sewing, henry was jumping

and then he was sleeping

a minute later he woke up a little and started jumping again

 michael thinks eleanor's hair is straightening out at the top

we'll see what happens

she's so pretty

and such a good sport riding around in the car all the time

 on the way to school the other day

 noah said, "mom, instead of buying me pajamas, will you make some?"

so sweet

and hazel said, "yeah, will you make us Christmas pajamas?"

so i got to work

and now i'm done with everyone's jammies

i love them

i'm so excited for noah and henry to match

i'll need to find them some shirts

 eleanor fought her nap so hard today

which is terrible because i'm not ready for her to drop her nap

(even though all her older siblings had by this point)

i found her asleep on her floor wearing her backpack

 we went thrifting tonight and had some awesome luck

look at that vase

and those nikes! i was seriously just wanting to buy the exact same ones

plus cute boots for hazel next year

and an awesome mexican blanket

we have no plans for the weekend but may get started on our floors

we're looking forward to a week off next week

and thanksgiving

snow days

 the kids only had school wednesday and thursday this week

because friday was a snow day!

yay!

they had so much fun playing outside and staying in pajamas all day

 michael and i thought hazel was so funny opening the fridge and then just standing there

reading her book, not getting any food because she was too busy reading

 henry was the cutest little snow bunny

and didn't seem to mind the cold much

 out playing with the neighbor kids

 hazel and olive found the biggest icicles

 they didn't care much that i'd gone out with them in the morning

but they couldn't wait for michael to get home to go play

 of course the built a snowman 

 here he is

 we stayed home all day saturday, too

and painted the plank wall white

 it looks so good! sorry about the terribly dark picture.

it is going to be so awesome with a mantle

 i also made a french silk chocolate pie from scratch

because our ward was having a pie night

 which we skipped so we could hang out with our friends the hunts instead

 the kids get along so well

and so do the adults

so we ended up staying until 1:30am!!

we're such irresponsible fun parents

the kids slept in until 10 the next morning

and we were even on time for church

so it all worked out! 

it was a really nice, low key, weekend