goodbye 2014

wow! 2014 has been a BIG year

maybe the biggest ever

and it came with a lot of growing pains for me personally

this year we had our fifth baby

in one weekend michael finally graduated from college with his masters

noah turned 8 and got baptized

and henry was blessed at church that sunday

it was such a big weekend and i was only 4 weeks post partum

it probably took a few years off my life

not to mention the stomach flu that plagued us for henry's first 6 weeks off and on

we moved from utah to idaho

bye tiny house!

michael started his first real job

and i had to adjust to having 5 kids and no husband ever around to help anymore

and moved again when we bought our first house

we have been working on our new house like crazy ever since

i cut my hair off and went and saw my sister in chicago

the kids were adorable for halloween

we went and visited my grandma jordan one last time before she passed away

we went to washington again for thanksgiving

and had a nice Christmas at home 

the first one in our first home

somehow i have negative feelings about 2014

it was a really good year

but having a 5th baby, moving twice in one year and buying our first house

was a lot to handle

and really the adjustment to michael being way less available was mostly what was hard

but we're adjusting

and we're happy and so blessed

we don't have many big plans for 2015 but i'm pretty happy about that

i'm so sick but...

 everyone loves it when michael gets home

especially these two

this was from last week before michael shaved and started looking 16 again

 olive is such a diva these days

 always posing

 i was trying to capture how similar these two look

but it didn't go so well

they are looking so alike lately

especially their profiles

 eleanor got herself ready for church on sunday

moccasins, pajamas, backpack and bedhead

 here she is actually ready

with her first set of real pig tails! so darling!!

the moccasins and backpack were non-negotiable 

 pretty girl

 hazel was trying to help henry stand on his own

 the butcher block is finally installed! HALLELUJAH!

it's been a long road

but it's installed

now it's time to finish it up with stain and sealant 

 henry is SO close to cutting his first top tooth

but he's been so sweet and tries to stay happy

even after long grocery trips in his pajamas

 here's how i looked last week

versus this week...i have had a fever, headache and sore throat

it's a bummer right before Christmas

i'm really hoping the rest of the family doesn't get it...

 eleanor was positive she was supposed to go to school with the kids the other day

she got her shoes and coat on 

and then slipped out the door with them and walked down the path

i had to chase her and bring her back

she cried for probably half an hour at the door afterward

poor girl

 i love that noah is still so sweet and cuddly 

he was laying in my lap

 we  took michael's lunch to him today because he forgot it

it was fun to see him

 eleanor played outside without a coat and came in super cold

so i showed her the vent in the kitchen under the sink

and she loved it

she stayed and warmed up for a long time

 this cute little lumberjack stood and balanced for a second today

he let go of the couch and stood unassisted for a second before falling!

i can't believe Christmas is next week

there's still a bit to do but i'm excited to spend it at home

what shopping at costco with 5 kids looks like

because what else do you do on a friday night? 

things of note...

eleanor is in the ergo because she is a runner otherwise

she handled it much better than she normally does

henry is a big boy and likes sitting up in the cart

hazel and olive prefer to walk

it's annoying and they're often in people's way

but ya gotta have room for groceries

am i right?

noah is in the cart playing the tablet because the less kids walking the better

walking often means running, teasing and being loud

eleanor thought it was super fun pulling on my hair

to make it a "hat"

and scratching me with her fingernails

it was really one of our better trips

there was way less screaming out of eleanor than there has been recently

which resulted in lots of sympathetic smiles rather than judging glares

other things we did tonight...

picked up michael's suit from the dry cleaner

ate subway for dinner

and rented maleficent  (which we watched with the kids)

and guardians of the galaxy (which we're watching without them)

here's to the weekend!

a little recap of our week

we've got our tree hung and i've started wrapping presents but i'm still not allll there when it comes to christmas this year

what is my problem? i can't muster the motivation to do christmas cards or reallly get in the mood.

maybe once our projects are all wrapped up....

 while driving around with the kiddies after school the other day

i realized i feel a total sense of relief once they're all home from school

and back with me

i love this car-full

and it makes me feel like such a mom to have everyone with me 

 eleanor and henry are good friends these days

 sillies

 i've been thinking about how time heals things

and noah's been asking lots of questions about my ex-husband/his biological dad

and i'm just really happy to say that i'm happy

at thanksgiving, my sister monica asked if i hate my ex-husband

and i don't

and i'm glad i took the path i did

and i'm happy to be open with noah about our past

it's just nice to know i've healed from such a terrible time

and i got the very best thing out of our marriage, noah!

the reason i looked like a baby is because i was one

and now i get to balance 3 kids on my lap at once!

 last night we went to a near-by retirement center to sing Christmas carols

and play bingo  for scouts

 i was so, so proud of noah for sticking back and asking a sweet old lady if she'd like to play bingo

and slowly walking her in the other room

while holding her hand the whole way

 then he pulled out her chair

and helped push her in

 michael helped olive and eleanor play, too

or at least eat all their m & ms

 hazel played, too

 noah helped her mark all her numbers

and when he won a round of bingo,

he gave her half his candy cane

i could not have been more proud of him

he's such a sweet boy

of course everyone loved henry, too

they gobbled him right up

and i'd tickle him every time someone smiled at him

so he'd smile back and they LOVED it :)

now i'm ready for the weekend

i don't feel like i've seen michael enough (he went to bed super early last night)

and i'm tired of doing all the parenting

five kids are a lot of work....

happy weekend!!

lately

 time with newborns is funny

it feels like it goes so quick and lasts so long, too

some of that has to do with sleep deprivation, i'm sure

it turns out henry isn't a huge fan of sleeping at night

but hopefully that'll change soon

he is such a doll

i love him so much

look at those eyes

i was starting to organize our linen closet the other day

but got busy and left it open 

so olive helped herself to the linens and fell asleep in them at bedtime

silly girl

 noah's last picture as a 7 year old

 this picutre of hazel makes her look like an adult

and i don't like it one bit

but she sure is pretty

 olive is a total helper with henry

and always very concerned about him and his well-being 

 eleanor ate noah's birthday cake with her fingers

and looked pretty cute with frosting on her face

 those eyes! he is so aware for such a young baby

he's been looking at me square in the eyes since day one

i love it

 this one is a week or so old

i was going up to take a nap with henry and noah wanted to join us

it was a pretty sweet moment

 that same day was an excellent mail day

most of what you see i won from an instagram giveaway

and i also got some jammies and bottles i ordered for henry, too

 i taught noah and hazel how to thumb wrestle recently and they thought it was pretty fun

 each of the kids have had a hard time since henry was born

olive held it together really well the first week

and then had some meltdowns the second

 having my body back to myself has been pretty nice

not only am i not pregnant anymore, i'm not nursing, either (i wish i were...)

it's seeming to be a lot easier to lose baby weight this time which i'm grateful for

and every day my incision hurts a little less (hallelujah)

  oh michael

i am soooo grateful for michael

he has been so amazing since i've had henry

this shouldn't be surprising to me since michael is always the best

but he's just known exactly what i've needed

and picked up all the slack so i could heal and rest 

so helpful and loving

i am so grateful for him

i am a lucky girl, for sure

it was a little rough for the first couple weeks

but i feel like we're getting the hang of things, little by little

thank goodness for sweet friends, helpful grandparents, darling children

and a wonderful husband to make this transition to 5 kids so much easier

i am so grateful