April Gems

The first day of April was Easter this year, and also the first holiday for us in this holiday filled month.  Last Easter we had no idea how much could change in a year!

I love the holiday services at our church, and this Easter was even better, with Opal in our arms.  Our lovely church was so sweet in welcoming Opal, and I had three different women tell me with tears in their eyes that they raised four girls too.  I know I will be one of those women someday, looking through misty eyes of a younger version of me.  What a privilege to share this bond with otherwise strangers but once this detail is known, strangers never more!  Below is our first family photo at our church, Charlie showing the girls how many eggs the Easter bunny left each girl in the yard, and our four girls, ready for their annual Easter egg hunt after church.

Charlie had fun chasing the girls while the girls hunted for their eggs.  I swear he even gave away some hiding spots!

April Fool's Day was on Easter this year, and because Will wasn't at work, we had to deal with his shenanigans.  Yes, he hot glued each googley eye on every container in our kitchen, including inside of our fridge.  I'm grateful that most years he is at work for this holiday and his coworkers can enjoy his creativity.

The next holiday at our house was Emma's 7th birthday!  Emma asked for a diary this year complete with a lock and key.  She was happy to receive it, along with Legos, a jigsaw puzzle, an LOL that turns colors submerged in water from her sisters, some books, and Lucy even passed on to Emma the statue that my friend gave Lucy from her childhood - of a girl, holding a cat, with the number seven on her dress.  Ironically, I had that same figurine when I was seven, but donated it long before I knew I would one day have four daughters!

The girls love the magnetic chalkboard in our dining room that I use for school, and I promised them that they could decorate it on their birthdays but every other day of the year it was mine to use.  Here Emma is below in the bottom, left hand picture, decorating with chalk markers to her heart's content.  Emma picked brownies with cream cheese frosting and strawberries for her birthday dessert and enjoyed helping make them in the kitchen, without having to share the baking with her sisters.

Our final holiday of the month was Lucy's 9th birthday.  Here Lucy is below, showing off some of her gifts which included the musical Hello, Dolly! (one of her favorites), the Lego set she was hoping for, books, and a jigsaw puzzle too.

Lucy was happy to erase Emma's artwork on the revered chalkboard and fill it with her creations.  She requested a chocolate bumpy cake for her birthday.

 We spent time with family this past month and in the pictures below in clockwise order from the top left: the girls and Grandma T playing shuffleboard against Grandpa T, Grandma Hines and Lucy holding Lucy's scarf over Violet on a hike that got hotter than we had planned for, cousins putting on a show for us, and the girls posing before birthday cake with Grandma and Grandpa T and proudly displaying the umbrellas they got from them for their birthdays.

 We spent time with friends...

...and still found time to continue with our schoolwork.  Keeping the girls on track so that we can end the school year on time is getting harder and harder to do.  What with all of these holidays and the weather getting nicer outside, the girls are easily distracted and not too motivated.  The photos in clockwise order from the top left below: Violet showing off her number cards that she put in order with a little help from her sisters, our haul from a regular visit to the library, Emma on her balance board doing math flash cards, our return stack for the library, Violet doing the last page in her preschool cutting book - she has come so far in one year with her scissor skills, Emma and Lucy showing me their art from their weekly drawing class, and finally in the center photo, the girls at their end of the year Catechism party where we did volunteer projects for various organizations.  Their favorite is pictured, making beaded bracelets for kids in need.

Will does a great job of involving the girls in the kitchen, and is more laid back about the dangers of knives and stoves.  No one has gotten hurt on his watch either, and the kids just love cooking with him.  I admit that this is not my gift - it stresses me out to have more than one kid helping me at a time, as their fighting over whose turn it is to do what wears on me, and our compact kitchen feels too crowded as well for my liking.  Will on the other hand just goes with the flow and because of this talent, the girls have learned how to make macaroni and cheese, tacos, sloppy joes, breakfast sausage and scrambled eggs.  In the pictures below in clockwise order: chicken empanadas made in bulk and ready for the freezer for some fast work lunches for Will, Will wearing a chef hat from one of Lucy's old Halloween costumes while having fun with the girls and cooking a delicious meal, beignets from a mix our neighbor brought back from New Orleans, and finally, a carrot that Will and Violet found in our garden as they were prepping it for the new growing season.

The girls love playing with the play silks a friend of mine made for us years ago, and it is one of the top ten things in our house that they play with.  Lately, it is scenery and wardrobe for the shows that they put on for us.

More indoor play is featured in the below pictures in clockwise order from top left: Violet who gave me a start when I thought that her baby doll was Opal, me reading bedtime stories with the girls, Violet explaining the story of the Three Little Pigs to me after she colored and built a story kit about them, Violet being a goof and tying herself to her chair with a sweater that was hanging over the back of it, and Emma soaking her feet to ward off the start of a springtime cold.

The start of April was unseasonably cold but the snow did melt and underneath it we found a pair of frozen solid mittens that the girls had lost earlier in the year.  The top, left hand picture below is Will coming in with the mittens, announcing to the girls, "Guess what I found!"  Keep in mind, they were still frozen stiff and flat, which gives a good indicator as to the spring we have had.  We did enjoy Opal's first walks this past month though, and the girls also enjoyed playing "restaurant" under the shrubs in our yard and also playing in general without the bulk of winter coats to weigh them down.

Towards the end of this month it was finally warm enough to eat outside, and even go for a bike ride or two.  Will installed a tree swing that the girls have really enjoyed riding, and in the bottom left hand picture below is a headstone we discovered in our neighborhood cemetery that appears to have sunken into the ground.  Talk about creepy!

While I was pregnant with Opal, I developed an allergy to my honey.  This is probably the worst thing I could ever become allergic to and after having allergy testing done, the blood test revealed that I am allergic to honey bee venom.  My raw honey has honey bee venom in it, and hence why I was unable to eat it.  I am hoping to not be allergic, now that I am not pregnant, but until I can be retested this summer, Will is handling the bees for me.  He knows how sad I am about this, and so is trying to be as sweet as possible about it.  The photos below in clockwise order from top left: Will, texting me a photo of him installing the bees at our friend's property north of us, Will installing the bees at our house, Will helping to package up our online yard sign orders, more online orders being packaged up, and finally, the bees with the sunset behind them.  Oh, so beautiful, and I can't even tell you how happy it made me to get the texts from Will of his happy face with my bees that he set up in the background.  I couldn't ask for any more, except to pass my allergy test this summer!  In the meantime, I am a lucky gal to have Will bee a keeper too.

 Our crocus were still in bloom in April...

 ...followed by the daffodils, dandelions, violets and tulips.  Everything bloomed late this year, but we were still able to find Emma's flower, daffodils, that bloomed the day she was born, Lucy's flower, tulips, that bloomed the day she was born, and Violet's flower, violets, which of course bloomed the day she was born.  Our front lawn was covered in violets at the end of this month and Violet was practically rolling around in them.  She proudly told me, "It's like the whole world is my name!"

These days, my life is full of busy times with lots of demands on me and seemingly like not enough of me to go around.  There are gems of moments sprinkled in however, that keep me going, that keep a smile on my face, that remind me that this hard-work chapter of my life is so worth it, and that there is no where else I would rather be - or anyone else I would rather be with for that matter.  Most of the photos on this blog are snapped during the "gem" moments and I hope that I remember the harder moments as time goes on too, so that the golden haze of memory is realistic.  However, who wants to pause and take a photo of the tough times?  I usually remember during the best times - and below is no exception.

I took this picture to remember the feeling of overwhelming pride and gratitude as I enjoyed a beautiful spring walk with my four beautiful girls.  Why life demands a price for such happiness, paid in sleep-deprivation, not enough of me to go around, cold meals and Opal's screams on car rides is a question I still ponder.  But, I think the more appropriate question is why must gratitude, which leads to happiness, only be truly appreciated when experienced through challenges?  This is a special time in my life right now, with such extremes between trials and joy, that my hope is to be fully present for it so that I may remember this time, filled with both tough times and gems, combined together to create one very grateful, and easily made happy (think hot shower, hot meal, hot tea, a quiet moment with all of my children content) woman.

Opal's Second Month

At two months old, Opal is an integral part of our family.  She is smiling and cooing now, and when she looks into my eyes and smiles I swear her soul is shining directly into mine.  When Lucy was a newborn, I cried with every gained milestone, wishing she could stay my baby forever.  As sentimental as I still am, at least now I have the experience of what is to come, and that it just keeps getting better.  I love that Opal can smile and "talk" now.

Opal has an opinion of her own, just like her sisters.  I would be concerned at this point if she did not - I mean, how would she manage with three older sisters if she had no opinion of her own?  Her current opinions - baths are a terrible waste of time and doctor appointments aren't that great either.

She seems to enjoy walks and really prefers to sleep in her Rock and Play bassinet if she can't first sleep in her mom or dad's arms.  Some days she sleeps better than others, but it seems like lately, she goes for several day stretches where I can't even set her down for a nap.  In the bottom, right hand picture below, I am having a rare moment with hot tea and a sleeping baby that isn't in my arms.

 A friend of mine reminded me of the convenience of soft baby carriers for when I still need to get stuff done and Opal prefers to nap while held.  I don't know why I forgot about that, but am happy to say that it seems to be the perfect compromise for Opal and her mama.

Opal loves her daddy, and takes great naps snuggled on him.  And, just like her sisters, she already has Will pegged for the funny guy, and will stick out her belly and smile so big whenever she spots her dad.  

The sisters are still infatuated with their baby sister, and we are still discussing what the opposite of help entails.  Fighting over helping me with Opal is in fact, the opposite of help.  Lucy has been granted the responsibility of being able to hold Opal while walking around, and has even gotten Opal to sleep for me several times.  I think Opal may even regard Lucy as her second mommy, which fills Lucy with such pride.

Opal met her Uncle Tim and Uncle Chris on Easter, and even sprinkled her Uncle Tim with infant urine.  When he was holding her she also pooped crazy amounts, and we kept reassuring Tim that her poopy diaper wouldn't leak on him as he kept mentioning he felt "damp".  Sure enough, after he handed Opal back to me, he needed a shirt change.  This is the stuff family legends are made of.

 In the top, left two pictures below, Opal is sleeping through Easter in a vintage bouncer from when her daddy and Uncle Tim were babies, and also in a lamb dress that we bought after Luke told me in a dream we would have a healthy baby girl named Lucy.  It's been such a gift to see all four "healthy baby girls" wear it.

 Oh Opal, you look so much like your sisters, and despite our exhaustion, we are glad that you have opinions of your own - you will need them to hold your own as the youngest of four girls!

March Left Us a Little Lamb!

For us, March did not come in like a lion.  Since I had cleared my calendar of obligations for a couple of weeks leading up to Opal's birth, the first part of March was quiet and cozy with my girls and Will. We still had winter temperatures and snow, and that helped us feel extra cozy in our hibernation.  And, just as Opal's birth ended our hibernation, so too did the weather, which finally warmed up enough to allow for a few meals outside and sightings of the first spring violets in our yard.

I love the above picture of my four girls and Charlie.  Will was working late that evening, and eating outside became a party - no plates needed, and I was basking in the fact that I had all of my girls with me.  We had found a way to thrive, despite pizza boxes for plates and Opal not allowing me to set her down.  I am happy to say that several pizza box meals were had this past month, and in each scenario, Will was working late and either my friend or a delivery guy brought them and we enjoyed our pizza parties thoroughly.

The girls have played so well together this past month when they weren't fighting over whose turn it was to hold Opal.  Truly though, they have played together so well that my mama heart couldn't ask for more happiness than that.  In clockwise order from top left below: playing with their magnetic doll dress up set, putting on a dance show while jamming to Pandora, playing Barbies, and playing Legos.

After Opal was born the girls enjoyed lots of crafts given by friends and family, and Will even tried a craft of his own - super gluing a Barbie head back on one of Violet's broken Barbies.

Back in September, I had planned into our homeschool year an extra week or two off for when Opal arrived.  It really worked out great, and during the two weeks off as we all adjusted to Opal, the girls read lots of library books from the giant stack I had conveniently gotten less than 24 hours before Opal was born, did flash cards with my parents, practiced the piano and enjoyed cooking and baking projects.

Lots of games were played with both sets of Grandmas and Grandpas, stories were read with visiting aunts, and fun was had with visiting cousins...

...and visiting friends.

Memories were made in the below photos in clockwise order from top left: the girls and Grandpa T. making a snowman, the girls ready to eat some adorable Easter cookies from our aunt, the finished snowman with Grandpa T. and the girls, Violet ready to blow out a candle for Barbie's birthday, Violet holding a "blue haired doll" that she requested from her God mother as a big sister gift (and my cousin actually found), and finally, the girls celebrating Barbie's birthday with Grandma T.

It was so nice to have the flexibility of taking those two weeks off so that the big sisters could also be a part of our transition into our new life with Opal.  Violet had the most adjusting to do, and my mama heart ached for her and I both, as we learned how to be with each other in our new normal.  I had almost four years with Violet as my baby, and although Violet has nothing but love for her baby sister and her mama, she still had struggles with regression and melt downs.  Violet proudly tells people though that she is the reason "Opal got borned" because my water broke when I was fixing Violet's covers.  She also likes to tell us at times that she was the last baby I had before Opal, as if she is still adjusting to the idea of it all.  I am missing the free arms I once had to hug and snuggle Violet whenever she needed it, and also adjusting to just how big and independent Violet is becoming, especially when compared to her newborn sister.  In the top, left hand picture below, as well as the center picture below, Violet and I had some special time in her play tent reading stories on the first full day I was back home after having Opal.  I was so sleep deprived and in desperate need of a nap, but both Violet and I needed that time together in the quiet space of her little tent while Opal slept and I don't regret that missed nap for anything.

All of the big sisters have grown so much this past month.  Their anticipation of my needs, and ability to soothe Opal so I can finish my dinner or a shower before tending to her have really made me so proud of them.  I mean, they fight over who gets to help me (which really isn't as great as it sounds)!  Hence my well-used phrase of "don't be the opposite of help!"  In the next several weeks all three big sisters will be turning a year older, and I wish I could just slow down time.  As my hormones level out and real life continues to exhaust me and amaze me at the same time, my girls continue to grow.  Here Emma is below, sporting more lost teeth - two to be exact this past month.  Emma is still not a fan of losing teeth.

Oh, the hormones must be playing on my sentiments as looking at Emma's adorable toothless grin only magnifies the thoughts of how fleeting this time period really is.  Time to bring it back to real life with a home improvement project that was supposed to be finished before Opal arrived, but in true home improvement style, my house was a mess as things never go as smoothly as planned, and Opal arrived before it was finished.  Either way, the dresser install in the girls closet is now complete, and it has made a huge difference in the space and organization of their room!  Please note that I specifically had twelve dresser drawers designed into the dresser, just in case Opal joins them in their room one day - dresser drawers that can easily be divisible by three or four, as the size and number of our bedrooms are definitely not so easily divisible!  Maybe one day we will have all four girls bunked in one room, and we can turn the smaller room which is currently the nursery, into their play or study room.

The month of March will forever go down into our family history books as the month that Opal joined us earth side and I will say from here on out that March left us with a little lamb!

Opal is Here!

For the last couple of weeks of my pregnancy with Opal, I cleared my calendar and decided to do my best to enjoy my remaining time with just three girls to care for and spend quality time with them, as well as take quality time for myself.  Once I shifted my perspective from the challenges of being extremely pregnant to one of savoring the last few weeks of life as I currently knew it, the girls and I had a lovely week or two.  This could be my last time being pregnant, and it was definitely my last few weeks with Violet as my youngest baby.  We were having such a cozy time of it that when Opal decided to arrive six days early, I was almost disappointed!  Almost.  I was of course excited to meet my littlest gal, and hold her safe in my arms.  In the below pictures in clockwise order from top left: the girls and I snuggling just days before Opal was born, my parents making freezer meals for me that fit my dietary issues, and the pacifier clips and bunny ear teether that I made for Opal with the fabric that reminded us of an outfit of Luke's that we found when I was first pregnant with Opal.

Early Sunday morning of what would be Opal's birthday, I got up to use the bathroom for what felt like the 100th time that night, and as was my habit, went to check that Violet's covers were neatly on her, as that guarantees that she sleeps better.  As I reached down to adjust her blankets, my water broke.  About two hours later, after the fastest and most intense labor of my life, Opal arrived!  We were lucky we made it to the hospital in time, and I was lucky that her labor was so fast that I didn't need any medication intervention, as I was very nervous that I would be allergic to them based on my issues during this pregnancy.  

Once the shock of her fast arrival started to wear off, Will and I settled in to enjoy our newest little gal while we waited for our other three gals to wake up so that we could call them and tell them our news.  I couldn't wait for them to come and meet Opal and as we were talking to them on the phone, a nurse in my room mentioned that no children under the age of 12 were allowed to visit, as it was Flu Season.

Oh, the heartbreak as we told Lucy, Emma and Violet, that the moment we had all been waiting for was going to be delayed another 48 hours at least.  I had bought matching headbands to surprise the big sisters with when they came to meet Opal who would be wearing a matching headband in the hospital.  Will and I quickly regrouped, and he went home with the older girls headbands and we agreed to FaceTime with them wearing the headbands.  This helped the girls a little bit, and when Will returned to the hospital, he brought gifts from the girls for Opal.  Here Opal is below in the top, left hand picture wearing the bracelet Lucy made for her, next to the picture that Violet colored for her.

The rest of my stay at the hospital was very quiet.  I had a great view of a frozen pond and some woods from my window and even enjoyed watching gorgeous, big snowflakes fall from the sky.  As much as I wished the girls could come and visit, it did make for a relaxing and peaceful oasis for me, away from the hectic life I would soon enter back into.  I had brought my essential oil diffuser to use during labor (there was no time) that I then used for the next day or so (until a nurse came in and unplugged it and said they were not allowed in the hospital - ah well, I still got good use out of it prior to that!) as well as a meditation book, my favorite teas, and even a grounding mat (connects you to the calming energy of the earth by plugging into the grounding hole in a standard electrical outlet).  Despite my long nights in the hospital of no sleep and no help (Will spent the next two nights at home with the girls), I have to say that my time spent at the hospital with Opal will be a cherished memory of mine, as just Opal and I got to bond, get to know each other, and relax in quiet and peace.  It also helped that all of my meals were brought to me on a tray.  

And then, the happy reunion when we got home!  Here my girls are, all together at last.

Since Opal was due on St. Patrick's Day, which was also the day Luke was supposed to be born via a planned c-section exactly ten years prior, the headbands I had bought for Opal's arrival had shamrocks on them.  Nothing like matching accessories to help bond sisters for life.

The next excited family members to meet Opal were the Grandmas and Grandpas.  Opal is the fifth grandchild on Will's side, and the tenth on my side.  I'd say those are both lucky numbers to be! 

Here is Opal below meeting some of her aunts and uncles.  In clockwise order from the top left: Uncle John, Uncle Mike, Aunt Jenna, Aunt Jane, Uncle Pat, Aunt Cate, Aunt Joelle, and Aunt Maureen. 

And here is Opal meeting her cousins for the first time.  She has one more cousin to meet who was born in December and lives in Florida and who happens to be her God Sister too.

Next to meet were all of our friends.  Below are friends giving Opal sweet snuggles...

...and more friends giving Opal love.

The big sisters were so excited about their new baby, that we ended up putting them on "sister shifts" as the fighting over whose turn it was to hold Opal was wearing Will and I down fast.  

Statements like, "we don't kiss eyeballs" and "please don't yank her head" became regular requests, as the girls adjusted to life with a newborn.

 Opal had some jaundice after we brought her home and was extra sleepy from that.  She was very difficult to wake up when it was time for her to eat, and because of that, we ended up having to take her for weight checks at the doctor every other day until she turned two weeks old and regained her birth weight.  Once her jaundice cleared up, she began eating and gaining weight like a champ.  Here Will and I are below, enjoying newborn cuddles and me, breathing in that wonderful newborn scent.

 Pictures in clockwise order from top left below: Opal at her first chiropractor appointment, crocus that were in bloom in our yard the day Opal was born, Opal by the running faucet at the kitchen sink as the sound helps soothe her crying, the big sisters waiting at one of Opal's weight checks, and finally, Opal in a deep sleep at one of her weight checks.

 One of my favorite newborn things to do is take my babies to the nearby pottery studio for a tile with their footprints on it.  Here Opal is below, of course sleeping through the entire thing.  We did not live by this pottery studio when Lucy was born, and we never got to bring Luke home, so one Christmas a few years ago, Will surprised me with their footprints on tiles.  He had gone to the studio with their ink footprints from the day each of them were born, and replicated them onto the tiles.  One of my most favorite presents from Will ever (I'd say most favorite, but Will excels at perfect gift-giving).

Once Opal's jaundice cleared up, she became a lighter sleeper and also more vocal about her likes and dislikes.  She does not like diaper changes, getting her clothes changed, or baths.  She also prefers to sleep in our arms, or in a small cradle type seat called a Rock and Play that we got when Violet was a newborn and is in my opinion the only other piece of equipment besides the car seat that you need for a newborn (Violet and now Opal prefers to sleep in this over the crib at this age).  Even baby bath tubs are optional in my opinion, as you can see below in the top left hand picture.  Opal getting her first bath with an underwhelmed Violet who had been counting down the days until she could take a bath with Opal.  Opal screamed at the top of her lungs the entire bath, and my heart hurt for Violet who had expected a much different experience.  Perhaps Opal was voicing her opinion about how her very first bath was also underwhelming to her, as we didn't use the infant bathtub, and she had to share the water with a sister.  Fourth daughter problems for sure!

We also decided not to do the professional newborn photos at the hospital that we did with each of her older sisters because they were a ton of money - I swear the price has gone up with each child to the point where now it's just crazy - but also because her sisters were not allowed to come to the hospital and if we were going to pay that much money, we would have wanted everyone in them.  So, we tried to replicate the photos at home.  Once Opal's jaundice cleared up I was able to get a couple of good newborn photos with her eyes open.

But, I still wanted professional photos with the entire family.  My friend Emilee does amazing work, and has been photographing my family since Violet was a baby.  Here are the photos below that she took when Opal was about four days old.

The top two photos below depict such a real life moment at our house with the kids climbing all over Will, with me looking on with amusement.  Soon enough Opal will be in the mix, wrestling with her sisters and Will.

The above two pictures show so perfectly Will's and my thoughts and feelings on our bonus baby.  We are so glad that she is here safe and sound, and as for Will, it is the culmination of a vision he had before we were even married - that we would have four girls.  He was so certain of his fate, that the Christmas BEFORE I was pregnant with Opal, he had secretly gone to Target and bought the fourth color choice of the matching bed quilts I had bought Lucy, Emma and Violet for Christmas.  He proudly revealed this quilt to me after we found out that Opal was a girl.

And below are the three big sisters, so happy to have their own real life baby doll to mother and at times, smother with their love and affection.  The photographer asked Emma to pick out a book to read for the below photo, and I had to smile when I saw the book Emma picked: "I'm a Big Sister".

I think it is safe to say as I type this on Opal's six week birthday, that we are almost adjusted to our newest addition.  The girls have been a great help after the learning curve was figured out (yes, you have to share her with your other sisters, and no, eyeballs cannot be kissed) and we seem to have settled into a new routine which involves lots of flexibility and low expectations.  A friend of mine likened life with a newborn as caveman-esque - only the essentials like sleeping and eating are a priority, as we must conserve energy.  This is so true, and I am also reminded of advice someone (or I read in a book?) gave me a couple of babies ago about how in the beginning there are just tough weeks.  Then, as your baby grows, it becomes tough days with good days sprinkled in.  And then before you know it, it becomes just a few rough moments in otherwise great days.  Finally, you look back and realize you've made it and your life can afford more than just the essentials and you are doing creative craft projects with your kids and cooking meals that actually use multiple ingredients and a recipe. I do not want this phase of survival to be rushed, as newborn smells fade and once they can move, the snuggles become fewer and farther between.  It just helps to get through the rough spots of newborn life with a little perspective, thanks to Opal being my fourth daughter and the wise advice of family and friends.