2 Years In

 We have reached 2 years into this pandemic and I want to journal and remember what I can about these days.  I've posted a few updates over the years so want to get this milestone written down.  First of all, I cannot believe we've been living this way for 2 years now.  At least in the state we live in, we've been pretty conservative about getting back to "normal".  

Over this last month it is the first time that I feel like life really feels back like it felt before all this happened.  The kids are pretty much back to all their normal activities and keeping us super busy running them around! They have been so patient and willing to adapt. They've sacrificed big birthday parties and multiple activities that they love.  I am thankful that they didn't have to deal with all the adjustments to school that so many other kids have been dealing with!  

I remember when Peter was first sent home from work and it was so exciting, almost like a snow day. We thought he would be home for a couple weeks and then we thought for the month of April. He hasn't stepped foot in an office since! If there was a silver lining to all of this, I think it is definitely that he now has a full time remote job and doesn't have to commute anymore. It has presented unique challenges for him and getting to know coworkers but the trade off of more time with the family seems worth it! When Eli required a trip to urgent care last week for a bad cut, I was so thankful he was here because it would have been much more difficult to figure out what to do with 6 kids and getting him the care he needed if Peter was working 90 minutes away.  It has completely changed our family life for the better! 

While the big kids were definitely impacted, I think the weirdest part of it all is how it impacted having little kids.  Ayla was born before all this started but she has spent almost her entire life as a "quarantine baby".  Seeing people in masks is completely normal to her and she has barely been away from me at all in 2 1/2 years.  Being pregnant and having a baby in the midst of the worst wave was very interesting and a bit unsettling. I hated that the kids couldn't come and meet their brother in the hospital.  I thought wearing masks while giving birth was going to be super weird but I was in so much pain I didn't even notice until the nurses told me to take the darn thing off (and things moved so incredibly fast that they didn't covid test me until AFTER the baby was born).  The absolute hardest part for me was not having any support system in the NICU as they only allowed one parent at a time in, That was so exhausting and so hard!  It was also very disconnecting to have to be so cautious towards the end of pregnancy as Delta raged on and then be so cautious with a newborn. It was definitely a hard time to not get to show off or share my new baby boy the way I wanted to and very isolating during the post partum phase. I try to be optimistic and all of that is behind us now and I am so grateful that we got through pregnancy and these first 5 months with a completely healthy baby! 

Honestly the pandemic has just sucked. It isn't even the virus itself anymore, I feel like it is what I have seen it do to families.  I know far too many families that it has destroyed, between differing opinions about masks, vaccines, vising etc.  It is truly a sad situation and my heart breaks for the long term impacts this will have on relationships.  It feels weird to be coming out of this (hopefully for good) and getting back to living life the way we actually want.  Peter and I went on a date, in a crowd, without masks or vaccine requirements for my birthday and I told him that was the most normal thing we've done in 2 years!  It is weird but also nice to feel like we are moving forward and I really hope this trajectory continues. It has been a long, difficult 2 years but we are looking forward (at least for awhile) to seeing friends and family more and hopefully having more normal birthdays and holidays this year!     

Leeland 5 Months

Baby Leeland Dale is 5 months old now! We are having so much fun with him as he continues to grow and really start exploring the world around him! This month has been full of adventure for him as he rolls all over and is super close to crawling. He's really competing with Ayla for that title of earliest crawler!  He loves to sit up (with assistance) and is getting really grabby for toys, hair, glasses!  He loves his siblings and has a particular fondness for his brothers and daddy!  But I also notice he likes to know where his Mommy is might be starting to get some separation anxiety.

He is 16 lbs 3 ounces now, still pretty lean. At his check up this month he was around 35% for weight and 80% for height. I went down with a pretty yucky infection for a few days this month and we tried to supplement with bottles while I was on some meds and this guy went on a complete hunger strike (he also did the same for the babysitter this month).  My supply completely tanked to basically nothing and I was so afraid our nursing days were over but nope, we powered through and thankfully all is well now!  He is exploring all sorts of new flavors of baby food. So far he really loves his veggies (sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, squash) and hates most fruits he's tried (peaches, mango, guava, banana) but will tolerate apple and pears.  

Sleep is still very interesting. We were finally seeing some progress but then had to deal with that darn time change that lost us an hour of progress.  We are still struggling with pretty late nights like 10:30 to 11:30 before he goes down. And then about 30 minutes after he goes down he needs a little snuggle and then is down for the count.  Some nights that means he is awake every 2-3 hours during the night and other nights he will sleep for 7 hours straight.  We are just rolling with what he needs knowing that this is just a phase that will pass.  He is spending more time awake during the day and is pretty regularly on a 3 nap a day schedule. Unfortunately most of his naps aren't very good but we will keep working at it. A lot of his problem seems to be that he doesn't like sleeping on his tummy yet and when he inevitably rolls onto his tummy he generally wakes himself up.  So the sooner he becomes content with tummy sleeping, the better for all of us at this point! 

We really don't have much to complain about at all. Leeland has made our life even better and is a very sweet, giggly little boy that makes us smile!  We all adore him and couldn't ask for anything more!

Leeland, you make this mama so happy! You are so kissable and snuggly and it kills me that you are already 5 months old! I just want these snuggles to last a bit longer but I am soaking up the days I do have with you before you start moving and growing in that independence! The days are long and exhausting but so special and I know I am going to miss this time with you sooo much! You are perfect in every way and so sooo loved! 

 

Life at 36

 Well life just keeps moving faster than I ever could imagine it would.  I am now moving towards the back end of those 30's.  What do I think about life at 36?  I feel like life is passing really quick. I just want to soak up every second I can with this family I have right now because while it is crazy and chaotic, I love this life!  It is richer and better than I ever thought it could be!  The 30's are where I feel like we really hit our groove and got to a point where I feel like we are living the very best days of our lives!  We have a house full of kids of all different ages and stages, we are happy in our marriage, Peter is cruising in his career, life just feels really nice!  

I won't say that year 35 was easy by any means, in fact there were lots of challenges and it was probably one of the harder years overall.  We had to grow in our faith more than once! But there was also so much good. It was a year where life was still slow and simple and we focused on building relationships inside our home.   I was blessed to carry another baby and welcome our 3rd son into the world!  I have grown and been stretched as a person and our family has navigated through quite a few hard life events and grown through it all.  

 I feel so immensely blessed!  I know how fortunate I am to get to live the life I do.  I also know the life I live wouldn't be for everyone.  But for me, it is perfect and challenging and exactly what I feel God called me to be.  I look forward to continuing to be "mom" to these kids and have many areas I want to grow this year. I know there are areas I need to let go of and push my focus into the things that make the most sense. Life is very busy with 6 kids and I cannot do everything I want to do. But I am figuring out what matters most and have some ideas of the things that just don't work right now in the time I have. 

All in all I am just so thankful.  I have it so good and I am thankful for every single person who makes my life richer! I definitely realize the older I get what matters most. I look forward to focusing on family time and memories with these growing kids, enjoying some hobbies as time allows like cooking, scrapbooking, house projects and self care in the form of devotions, exercise and maybe a bubble bath with a book here and there! God has been so good to me! 

February Recap

February was another very busy month that flew by around here!  We spent any free moment (which wasn't many) working on interior projects including lots of trim paint work.  We are hoping to lighten up the entire interior this year but we are doing it in sections because between walls and doors and trim it is pretty time consuming work! But we are so happy with the progress and how great things are looking!

Seeing this carpet disappear made me so excited! I have been ready to tackle this part of the house for years and it is finally time! 

Potty training Ayla has continued to go great! 

Eli had his birthday

Trying to be patient waiting for some cake!

A great trip to Central Oregon to unwind a bit!

 

We came home for the Super Bowl battle! Of course they had to root for opposing teams to keep things interesting. 

Then we jumped straight into Valentine's Day! We had a sweet and simple day with the kids. Heart waffles and a few treats. Ayla was hopped up on sugar ALL day but we enjoyed the love holiday! 

 

We also cooked a ton of steaks!

 

This picture was just one of those moments where I had to snap a pic because you look across the room and just realize how many kids you have (and one wasn't even pictured)

I feel like all 4 of the big kids are growing so much right now and looking so much older, it is crazy! 

Amazingly the weather was super warm and we even had a couple days worthy of shorts!

Another big transition this month was moving Leeland to his room. I am never ready for it but he is a very light sleeper and is rolling everywhere so he couldn't really use the bassinet any longer. I know it was time and I am glad that transition is behind us now! 

Groot had his yearly check up. This requires a full afternoon of keeping him awake (he's quite lazy most days) to play or else he gets so excited to see the other dogs that he becomes a handful for Peter.  So the kids played with him all afternoon and then the vets hyped him up like crazy (he loves it and all their attention) that he comes home completely exhausted. He was so worn out that Ayla was able to walk him around the house on his leash and she loved every second of it. He followed her on the leash like a perfect gentlemen for the reward of his favorite snack, a cheese stick! 

We finally got around to that 100th day of school. We usually hit it about a month sooner but Leeland's arrival and the holidays put us a bit behind that. We have no problem with school taking us into May or June and that is part of the joy of homeschool! 

Another big project we started on was ripping up the carpet in the halls of the upstairs and putting down laminate. I had painted this area last month so now we still have to conquer all the finishing work of new door and floor trim and also updating with new doors to give it all a fresh look! 

We had even more fun tea times, which really has become a highlight of the week. With the weather being so nice we even transitioned into spring decor!

All the kids had another date night this month. Ayla was adorable because she went to the bakery and was told she could pick out any item she wanted. She requested 2 cookies which Peter indulged her with and he brought me home a cupcake.  Well, in true toddler fashion, she decided my cupcake looked more appealing than the cookies she picked out. 

Ayla loves to try and do school with her big siblings! She will be very ready for her turn by the time she starts!

 

Cooking and baking is something I really enjoy and last year was a huge struggle in this area with not feeling well through the entire pregnancy and then adjusting to 6 kids. I am loving the time I get to spend back in the kitchen and it is always nice to have helpers who enjoy cooking with me too! 

Another fun goal of mine this year was to become a grill master. We finally got the grill and I am having so much fun with it and I'm getting rave reviews so far on my grilling!

My niece (hard to believe she's a full fledged adult) has gotten her esthetician license and Sabrina and I couldn't wait to go in and get some highlights and new cuts!  

To celebrate Mardi Gras here at the tail end of the month (yes, officially Mardi Gras was in March) we had a little feast of cajun chicken and cajun shrimp fettuccini, corn fritters, and a king cake to top it all off! 

I also decided to go back and start experimenting with our sourdough again. We started our sourdough start about 2 years ago and this last year barely did anything with it. But we are back to making pancakes, crumpets, english muffins, and the fancy loaves! 

All in all it was a fun and busy month.  Peter and I both commented late last night about how good life is feeling right now. He is loving his new job and we are settling into roles and routines again. After 2 years we finally feel like life is "back to normal". The kids are getting back into all their old routines and have us running in all different directions between swim lessons, sports, homeschool science classes, and piano that we are just excited to finally feel like we can live life again!  We won't take these normal, busy days for granted anymore.  

As we look ahead into March we can't wait for spring to officially arrive! We are clearing out the freezer fruit in anticipation of fresh Oregon berry season (starting with strawberries in about a month) and the start of spring sports! It is warm enough for us to start to take the baby out to barn church and get the yard prepped for a garden and more days spent out there with the kids (and more and more bbq).  We definitely feel like we are living in "the good days" of our life and are so thankful for all that is right in our little world, even when the big world  feels heavy!