Our Magic Number 7 Baby

I titled this post "Our Magic Number 7 Baby" for several reasons. First, she is the last baby for our family so 7 kids is our perfect number. Second, 7 is kind of magical/spiritual number. Third, she is so overwhelming loved by all of her siblings and her parents and her smile and laugh are magical. She has the ability to chase away any sadness with those two "secret weapons." We haven't been able to get her smile on camera yet. As soon as the camera/phone comes out, she has to stop and stare at it. She is such a people person. She loves to just watch and observe you and she loves to jabber at you. From a much younger age than any of my other kiddos, she wanted to be able to communicate. It hasn't been that easy for her. You can see the wheels turning in her head through those sweet eyes. It sure makes us wish that we could understand what she is trying to tell us and it reminds us that these little ones must know so much about the heaven which they just left. If only they could share with us their great wisdom. Perhaps we are not prepared to hear all of those amazing things.
                                                     

Rachel at 7 weeks

Rachel at 3 months. Sorry her face is blurry. My phone camera isn't the best. Love those chubs. She has cankles to spare.

Sleeping sisters

Sweet baby laughs

Matthew's Aha moments

So I know it has been forever since I have written anything on this blog, but my hubby reminded me last night that I should be writing some of these life experiences down, so I am doing that right now.
Yesterday was one of those days that make me so happy. My little 3 year old Matthew had a big day for learning. Or so it seems. It may be just that he has known it for a while and yesterday, he was just able to express it more clearly.

I had some extra time yesterday to work with him on his letters. We have a Leapfrog Fridge Phonics magnet that speaks the names of letters that are put into it. All of my kids have loved this little thing. We've had it since Joshua was little. So I got out all the letters and we got down some colored rice that I also used with Joshua when he was in preschool. The rice was for him to practice writing the letters we were learning. I spread the rice into a small bar pan and then we started going through the letters that he picked out. He started recognizing and remembering letters right away and he played for a good 20-30 min. with these letters. He stacked them  inside of the rice and eventually left them there at the table. Anyway, later on when we were cleaning off the table and putting away the letters. We had left out the rice and the bar pan. He came in after playing outside for a bit and said very emphatically, "Mommy, why did you put the letters away. I was learning." Now, I know that there is no way for me to express in words how exactly he said those words, but it was pretty cute for him to associate his play time with those letters and learning.

Another moment yesterday, he was standing on a 5 gallon water jug in the kitchen next to the me and the counter. This is a common occurrence for him, but usually he is trying to reach something on the counter or in the cabinet. This time he was trying to help me with dinner. I was cutting potatoes for our soup and putting them in a bowl of water so that they didn't brown. He decided he wanted to help put the potatoes in the water for me. Out of the blue he says, "Mommy, I just love the Christmas season!" I have no idea if he heard someone in the family say that or what, but that little statement sure filled my heart with joy, because I love the Christmas season too, and although in his little 3 year old mind, he may like it for different reasons than me, it was still so sweet to hear him say that.

And last, but not least, I can tell that this little boy is becoming quite observant. His baby sister is now 3 months old and last night I was nursing her on the couch while he snuggled up next to me. He looked down at his baby sister and said, "Mommy, she's sucking on your elbow." I couldn't help but giggle to myself. He's been in that very position many times and has never said a thing about her nursing until last night. We had a little talk about how babies get their food from mommies.

These kind of moments, I really need to remember to write down more often. It is so fun to go back and remember what they said. I love these kinds of memories.

Elena's Baptism Day

Yesterday was a special day for this little girl. Ever since her big brother Jakob got baptized, she has wanted to be baptized. After 4 years of waiting, she finally got to have her special day. She had a little hiccup during the introductions of all the kids getting baptized that made her embarrassed and we had some tears to overcome before she actually got baptized, but in the end she was all smiles and said she felt clean and she felt the spirit. Her friend Lydia was baptized yesterday as well and they both happened to have matching dresses. Gotta love Costco!

Now I just wanted to share some of her baptism pictures.  

Her invitation.

Photoshop is awesome!

As if this post wasn't long enough, I can't help but include a couple of things about her at this age. 

~She always bears her testimony every Fast and Testimony meeting. She is much braver than me.

~She is the best big sister to her little brother Matthew and is constantly helping to get him dressed or take him to the bathroom or just all around fulfill his needs if I am not able to do so at the moment. She plays well with her younger brother Eli and often includes him in her playtime with friends. There are no boys on our street where we live that are close to his age, so she is sweet enough to always include him. They are really good playmates. 

~She loves to dance, sing, play the piano, and read to her younger brothers.

~She is really hoping that she will get a baby sister, but will be happy still if it's another baby brother. 

~She is a pro in Math and made a goal to finish 3rd grade math before the end of the school year. She finished in April and started on 4th grade. She is only starting 3rd grade this next school year. 

~She likes to play soccer and can't wait to start again in the fall.

Spring Piano Recital 2015

This year, for my spring piano recital was themed "A Night at the Movies." All of my students played songs from movies and then I told them they could dress up like a character from that movie and play their piece. It was so fun to see them play in costume.

Caleb was Gandalf and played "I See Fire" from The Hobbit
Jakob was Jack Sparrow and played "End Credits" from Pirates of the Caribbean
Elena was Belle and played "Beauty and the Beast" from Beauty and the Beast
Joshua was Olaf and played "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" from Frozen.

We had a Cinderella, Indiana Jones, Darth Vader, Ana, and Rapunzel.

I had a Hollywood star for each of my students taped to my "red carpet" that they walked down to come play their piano piece. Then they each received a music trophy with their names and piano pieces on them. The music notes were made out of rice crispy treats. Found a really yummy recipe on Pinterest that made it so these treats stayed soft for longer than the usual recipe.

It was a fun night and hopefully a memorable one for all those involved.

Miss Elena's Rockstar 8th Birthday Party

This week we did a fun little party for Elena's birthday and her friend Lydia also had a birthday this week, so we decided to make it a double birthday party. Her mom and I were in the Primary Presidency together and our girls love playing with one another so it was a perfect fit for them. 

I attempted to make some microphone cupcakes and then Amanda- Lydia's mom, brought the donuts and pizza. 

We took some paparazzi pics of the girls dressed up. I made the tutu. It was fun to kind of splurge on girl stuff, since this is Elena's first friend birthday party. The girls were all too cute!

My goofy boys wanted to make the little girls laugh, so they got in on the action. The girls giggled a lot from this little show.

They swam afterwards and I think it was a memorable time for all of them. 

Sidenote: We usually take our kids on a Mom and Dad date to a movie or out to eat. Elena hadn't seen the new Cinderella yet, so on her actual birthday, we went with Amanda and Lydia to go see it at the theater. Daddy was working and he didn't have an interest in seeing that movie. We loved it! It had such a good message of showing kindness even when it is hard. Something that seems too often forgotten in today's world. We give "Cinderella" two thumbs up.  

"All the World's a Stage"

 This year our family joined a Commonwealth school which is like a homeschool co-op. It has been a great experience. My kids have all loved it and have enjoyed the friendships that they have made with the kids in this school.

Joshua was able to take a Shakespeare class where he had to read, watch, or listen to 17 Shakespeare plays. I haven't even read that much Shakespeare. He also took part in one of Shakespeare's great comedies, "As You Like It." Joshua played the part of Jaques, which means he got to quote one of Shakespeare's most famous soliloquies starting with, "All the world's a stage." He did a great job for his first real play and a Shakespeare play at that, which would be much more difficult in my opinion.

He has grown leaps and bounds this year, not only has he grown in height (finally), but also in his leadership skills. He has gained a lot more confidence in himself and has overcome some of his social fears. He has made some good friends from this Commonwealth school and for this I am so very grateful that the the lord has brought this opportunity to our family. It has been a great blessing.

My baby turns "3"

So, I am kind of in shock that my youngest is 3. This is the longest amount of time that we haven't had an actual baby in the house. Time continues to go quickly and I find myself wishing that I could cherish each moment a little more with my kids. 

Some things about Matthew: 

~He is almost fully potty-trained. He can't quite seem to get the #2 part of potty training down. Some days he's good, others not so much.  He gets excited and thinks that anytime someone goes to the bathroom on the toilet that it deserves a clap and a "Yaaaaay!  Good job!"

~He is talking up a storm and carrying on full conversations. 

~He likes to do his "school" like his siblings, which normally consists of Reading Eggs online and whatever book about colors or shapes he gets read to him.

~He enjoys counting to 20 and backwards from 10. Sometimes he mixes up or skips some of his numbers, but still he loves to count. Caleb was trying to teach him to count in Spanish as well, but I think he only knows "seis" because that's what number of child he is in our family.

~He thinks that he has a baby in his belly because Mommy has a baby in her belly and we remind him often not to squish the baby. So he will pat his belly and tell us his baby is getting hurt if we lean him up against the sink to wash his hands. 

~He is the biggest sunshine in the morning. He is always smiley and always wants loves. But he's not always sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes we think he might be a little bi-polar. He can go from really happy one moment to crazy upset the next. 

Of course, we are very grateful to have this little buddy in our family and know that we needed him when he came, even if he was a surprise. Happy birthday to my little guy. Love you!