Garden giddiness

 

 

 

 

 

Ohhhhhh how I love to grow my garden!
Whether it be flowers or food
it's all such a feast for the senses.

Our garden is growing gangbusters right now
with strawberries, lots of herbs,
tomatoes, chard, kale, zucchini and lettuce.
I gave baby J a leaf of chard to play with
and she had a ball, whipping it
back and forth until it was shredded.
She is also obsessed with the strawberry patch.
I can't keep her out of them, nor do I want to.

In the flower garden we've got gladiolas,
sunflowers, foxgloves, and dahlia's
that are just starting to poke
there sleepy little stalks and leaves
out of the earth (hope they bloom before we leave).

Maya has created her own little garden
which is dedicated to a friend
that passed away earlier this year
and fittingly named it "Jolea's Heven".
The loss has been tremendous to her
tender little heart and difficult to
explain or understand,
but each time we acknowledge
and pay tribute to her memory
and to the little miss's feelings
we are taking steps toward healing.

The photo at the top is, of course, baby J
with her goofy self...
running all over the house
with a nesting box on her head
in her usual Josie style.
She is such a nut ~
a girl after my own heart.

Hope you are enjoying all of
the blessings that June brings.

xoxo

What a difference a year makes

March 2011

  

March 2012

Was looking back through photos today
remembering what a little bundle
our baby J was...
and what a firecracker she is now.

Reminscing the yesterdays.
Loving the todays.
Pondering the tomorrows.

baby love

November 2010

How does one year produce

this much change,

this much beauty,

this much growth?

December 2011

feeling blessed more and more

each and every day.

A year already?

Time is flying by and I'm trying to soak up

every little morsel of goodness that

our little peanut brings into our lives.

She it going at turbo speed now

and into EVERYTHING.

The house looks like a tornado

has swept through and left every

room completely Josiefied.

She is all about mama

(which makes me even more smitten)

but doesn't really ever have stranger anxiety.

She will go to pretty much anyone

(although I haven't tried Santa yet)

and be a content little lady.

Her first teeth are finally coming in

on top and all at once.

Our little peanut is a sweet heart and

a firecracker all at the same time.

She's fun and frisky and a tad bit feisty.

She has captured our hearts in this

first year of life and

brings us pure joy each and every day.

We had a little evening celebration for

our sweet babe while we were in Austin.

Big J and little J

Happy Birthday little love!

She's on the move

and well protected



Our littlest peanut started walking
last month
and has just begun cruising
the whole house
this last week.

We don't really keep this helmet
on her all the time,
just while she's awake...haha.
We're hoping to get her
into a bike seat soon,
but the helmet is gigantic,
and she's just really teeny-tiny.
And we love her that way.

A little more than two weeks
til our sweet babe is one.
CANNOT believe it,
but believe it I must.

I have written absolutely nothing
down about this little one's first
year of life,
which I so regret,
still....
just trying to soak up
the moments
each and every day.

beenawhile

summer has come and gone and i've missed
this blog so much, but just haven't found
the time to fit it in. 
so very, very much to share that i
don't know where to begin.
i'll have to go wayyyyy back and
try to post a few times a week.
hmmmmm, can i commit?
yes, by golly....
i think i can.
i think i can.
i think i can.

no real reason for this photo
except i think it's adorable.

eight months

since this little beauty was born.
time is going by way too fast.

our littlest peanut is crawling, standing

and loving the exploration of

this big beautiful world.

i started her on solid foods at six months
and before i knew it
she was rolling over,
sitting up, crawling,
and standing within weeks.

i love seeing her excitement over
all things new.
she is so very edible right now
and i'm trying to resist
eating her all up.

i LOVE being a mama.

eat her up...i could

i know, i know, i haven't been posting at all lately...
and when i do, i'm usually gushing all over
this little creature.
i just can't help it.
i'm so in love
with each of my children
more and more every day.
this morning though, this little beauty
just takes my breath away.

sleeping beauty

it seems that i haven't had much to blog about lately,
so i've decided to post some photos at the very least.
i may post something from my day,
a photo from the past,
or maybe something that reflects my mood.
or maybe it will be something that's just too stinkin sweet not to share...




big hugs to you all.

sweet escape

last month the mr. and i went on a mini vacation
where we soaked up the sound of the sea,
hiked in the mountains and
watched the sun melt away
leaving the most beautiful canvas of color.

we were blessed to stay in a beautiful house

with a backyard view of dolphins and seals.

we brought our littlest lovebug with us

since we are attached at the hip breast,

and introduced her to beach life.

as busy as life has been lately,

it's been so nice to take time to stop

and breathe in the day and all that is held in the present.

hard to resist

i'm really bummed that i haven't posted for a month.  there's always lots to share, but i find myself a little busy these days.  our little peanut is growing like crazy and keeping me occupied.  could you resist spending every moment with this little lovebug?

meet the nanny

After a day at school our premier chef/au pair
cooked us up a dish of
tortellini with chicken and homemade pesto
with a spinach salad and parmesan rolls for dinner.
It was outstanding.

She then decided to hold the little peanut
so that I could clean up the kitchen
(that's the deal at our house,
you cook ~ I clean and vice versa)
so she strapped miss love on
and decided to do some light reading.



 

It's so beautiful to watch my
sweet Bri growing into a talented,
 multi-tasking (you have no idea until
you see a teenager maneuver the incredible
world of technology) woman,
but I especially treasure this view~
my first true love nurturing her younger sisters.

Our girls

I've been wanting a new camera for ages now and my sweet friend Becky let me borrow her Canon Rebel for a few days to try it out and capture the newness of the little peanut before she turns into a coconut.  I was really happy with the shots I got of all my girls and thought I'd share after a little nudging from mama wicky.  I had so much fun using her camera that I've put it on my Christmas list to Santa with the hope that I haven't been too naughty.

My time has been pretty used up these days with nursing, swaddling, rocking, diapers, storybook reading, and trying to get a few extra winks in from time to time.  Friends & family have been incredibly thoughtful by bringing us meals, helping with the little miss, and sending gifts of love.  We are grateful to be surrounded by our little community of friendship.  You are all a blessing to us. 

The littlest sister

Sweet Josie Love joined our family
 on Sunday, November 21st at 3am
 in the comfort of her daddy's arms.
She was born a healthy 6 pounds and 12 ounces
at home while her youngest sister slept.
Her biggest sister was an incredible help
throughout the labor and birth
and stayed up with us until dawn
welcoming our little peanut.

Josie's birth story:
The "due date" for our baby was said to be November 20th which we were skeptical of as the other two girls were born ten days and two weeks later than the projected date.  Needless to say I was a bit surprised (although excited) by the contractions that started around 4am on Saturday the 20th.  I asked Matt to call in sick as I was sure the baby was coming.  He did.  And within 3 hours the contractions had stopped almost completely I was so disappointed.  We went on a walk around our neighborhood, visited friends at a birthday party, and laid low for the day.  Matt debated going in to work that afternoon since there was no sign of labor, but stayed home at my request.  By 10:30pm the contractions started coming much more
 regularly and with more power than before.  Bri got out of bed when I told her I thought the baby was coming that night and kept me company until around 1am when I decided to wake the Mr up.
It was not a friendly wake-up.  It was a "why the hell are you sleeping while I'm suffering" awakening.
Needless to say he was slightly dazed and confused by my crankiness.  I wanted to know when the heck he was going to call the midwife cause the contractions were coming fast and furious.  The next couple hours were somewhat of a blur.  My daughter, husband and midwife were readying the room while I concentrated on getting through the contractions.  They took turns assisting and comforting me between preparations.  At 3am our little girl made her entrance with my oldest daughter and husband by my side.  Mr. N held her as she came into the world and announced to me that we had another little girl.  I looked up at Bri who had lost the color from her face and looked like she was about to drop on the floor.  She was helped to a chair where she could regain her stomach.  Josie was wrapped in a towel and brought to my chest immediately.  My Mr woke Maya to meet her new sister.  We were left alone as a family to enjoy our beautiful new gift.

I loved having our little Josie at home.
I loved being in my own room, in my own bed.
I loved the sweetness of our time to enjoy
our little beauty and embrace her new life as a family
in the warmth of our nest.
I loved the peacefulness that surrounded us
from the moment I went into labor,
throughout the birth and after she arrived.

I love my little Josie.
She is yet another blessing in my life.
I am thankful beyond words.