watch this girl grow!

I asked Anna to hold off on the whole growing thing for a while (at least until I had a chance to blog about her a bit), but so far she has not complied:  every day she gets a little bigger and even sweeter.  Of the four girls, I'm pretty sure she is the cuddliest baby we've had, and I'm trying to savor every cuddle and snuggle I can while she's tiny.

I took her to the pediatrician last week for her two-month checkup.  She was up to 11 pounds, 10 ounces, and 22 1/2 inches.  She started "sleeping through the night" at around 5 1/2 weeks old (going a good 6-7 hours), and the last few weeks she has been sleeping 8 hours pretty consistently.  Anna smiles easily at her sisters, daddy, and mommy, and she loves to talk to us in sweet, earnest little coos.  When I talk back to her, Audrey always wants to know what Anna said to me.

Here are week-by-week photos of sweet Anna, minus a current 10-week photo, which I'll post soon with further updates:

Just minutes after delivery

One week old

Two weeks old

Three weeks old

Four weeks old

Five weeks old

Six weeks old

Seven weeks old

Eight weeks old

Eight weeks old again--with a bow!

Nine weeks old

Anna Kristine

I've been away from the blog for a long time!  While there are many, many updates I could post, here is our most significant one:

Anna Kristine was born April 2nd!

We couldn't be happier with our newest little girl.  It is a joy to be doing the "new baby" thing once again, with days full of newborn squeaks and snuggles.  Of course, her big sisters are thrilled, and all three are determined to be big helpers.  

I really do hope to get back into the blogging groove here soon, with more details about little Anna, as well as updates on her sisters.  Until then, here is the verse we selected for her birth announcement:

Isaiah 25:1  

LORD, you are my God; 

   I will exalt you and praise your name, 

for in perfect faithfulness 

   you have done wonderful things, 

   things planned long ago.

just wondering...

...how much easier (or harder?) it is to create a blog post on my new(ish) computer...

Hmm...I guess it's probably a bit easier.  I'll have to try it again sometime...soon?

too many thoughts...

I gave the girls baths tonight before tucking them into bed. While I was combing Eloise's wet hair, Evie asked me, "Are you always thinking about something?"

Have you been reading my blog? I thought, remembering this recent post. But instead I said, "What do you mean, honey?"

"Do you always think?"

"Well, I think so. Do you mean, do I always have some ideas or people or something going on in my head?"

"Yeah."

"Yep. I do! I really do. Do you?"

"Yeah. And I don't like it."

"You don't like it? Why not?"

"Well, sometimes there's just so much stuff up there, it kind of hurts."

"Hmmm. Like, you'd kind of like your head to just be empty for a while? With no thoughts?"

"Yeah. I have too many thoughts, and my head starts to feel heavy."

"Well, Babe, when your head starts to feel too heavy, ask God to take away some of those thoughts. He will. He really will." Then I wonder, And why don't I remember my own advice about this sometimes?!?

Maybe her head was too heavy when she took this picture of herself...

the princess party

Well, after putting it off for nearly two months, I am finally blogging about Eloise's fourth birthday party. I'm not really sure why, but I've always avoided anything too princess-y with my girls. Cinderella is one of the probably four movies the girls have ever seen (Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, and White Christmas being the others), and they love it, and I've enjoyed watching it with them. But I just haven't pushed the whole princess thing...I think it can be a bit overdone, I guess. However, this year our preschool curriculum includes lots and lots of fairy tales, so Eloise has been exposed to "The Princess and the Pea" and "Sleeping Beauty" and "The Frog Prince," as well as many others. And, apparently, she likes them, because when it came time to plan her birthday party, she announced that she wanted a princess party, with a castle cake. So, I obliged:

Decorating princess hats

Goofy princesses (and a prince)

Evie explains "Pin the Kiss on the Frog Prince" to Tristan

Eloise tries her hand at pinning the kiss

The castle cake

Opening princess presents

The girls had fun dressing up in their princess garb. I didn't capture them in any of the photos, but Eloise also wore her yellow, sparkly, high-heeled (for real!) Minnie Mouse shoes. I think she really enjoyed herself, which is the most important thing!

Next up: Thanksgiving! (Unless I change my mind...)

checking in

Man, I love my girls. I love to sit and watch their expressions, to see them thinking and understanding, to hear them laugh and sing. I love reading with Evie, and talking about what we've read. She rarely misses a detail, and her depth of understanding amazes me sometimes. I love talking with Eloise about life. Her four-year-old perspective of things is so honest, her compassion so genuine, and her zeal so pure. I love playing with Audrey. She pushes baby dolls in strollers, bringing them to me to hug and kiss and change their clothes. She dances dollhouse dolls through the dollhouse, turning to me from time to time to babble her explanation of what the characters of her play are saying and doing. She marches around blowing into a plastic recorder, pausing frequently to shove the slimy thing into my face for me to try. I just love them!

some thoughts about thinking (and blogging)

I was just telling my sister, Molly, how I tend to think things through a lot, without saying anything until it's all thought out. A lot of times, I don't even say anything at all. Often I realize it was a silly thought to be thinking, or I am simply satisfied with my own conclusions and don't feel like anyone else would care much anyway (not in a "poor me, nobody likes me" way, but in a "that certainly isn't earth-shattering!" way). As I've been thinking about my thinking, I've realized that I fail to blog for a lot of the same reasons! When I was trying to keep up with the 25 Giveaways of Christmas--and I did better than I had expected!--it was easy to sit down and type up a quick post because I had a question to answer: Jill Savage wanted to know something, at least hypothetically, so I told her. (And no, so far I have not won anything in the Giveaways! She still hasn't posted a winner for the grand prize, so there's still a ray of hope, but I'm not holding my breath...) But over the past couple of weeks, it has occurred to me at some point each day, I really should blog today...maybe I'll write about such-and-such... And as I think through a potential post on "such-and-such," I eventually think myself out of posting it, because, really, who cares? I don't even know if I care! (And, yes, I do realize that I have failed to blog about anything related to Eloise's November birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years...I plan to do those things once I get things figured out with my camera and computer!) However, for the sake of posting something in the year 2010, here are a few thoughts that seem to surface frequently as of late:

• It is a good and noble and right thing to do something for another out of Christian love, but when it is not truly a sacrifice--when it costs the giver nothing--is it really love? Am I really sacrificing for others, or simply giving what is convenient?
• Or, if one does make a sacrifice of comfort or resources (time, money, energy) to do something for another, but proceeds to complain about the inconvenience of the act, whether aloud or to himself, can God be completely glorified? Am I at all turning the spotlight toward myself, that I might receive recognition or pity? Do I realize how wretched I look in the light designed to shine on my holy God?
• Speaking of resources, am I ever mindful of the immense blessings that surround me, or do I always wish for more? Do I consider the wealth of resources my own, using them to make myself "happy," and giving God the leftovers? Or do I remember that everything I have is really His, and make every effort to put the time, money, and energy He has given to me into things that show His love and further His kingdom?

I guess if I made any New Years resolutions this year, they would probably have to do with these (and other) thoughts I've been contemplating...I truly hope 2010 is a God-Glorifying year of Great Gratitude and Giving!

25 Days of Christmas--Day Twenty-Six!!!

It's a bonus! Jill Savage offered an extra day of her 25 Days of Giveaways! The question for Day 26: How do you take some time for yourself over the holiday season? One thing I love to do, that I very, very rarely allow myself to do, is to just sit and read! Some time between Christmas and shortly after New Year's (on a day when Mr. B is around to take care of the girls), I love to curl up with a good book and just read, read, read! I'm hoping to make time for that some time over the next week. I have a LOT of books to read...but I'll have to blog about that whole thing later! Stay tuned. :)

25 Days of Christmas--Day Twenty-Five

Here we are at last--Day 25 of the 25 Days of Giveaways! Here's what Jill Savage asks for Day 25: What are your Christmas Day traditions? Well, the girls are usually up very late the night before, so one Christmas Day tradition is sleeping in a bit. I love that tradition. :) When we do get up, we check out our stockings. This year I was a little more generous than last year, I think (last year was the year of scotch tape and glue sticks!); the bigger girls each got a toothbrush, a kazoo, a little Polly Pocket set, and a tiny lotion/bodywash set. They were so pleased with their stockings that I asked them if it was okay if they didn't get any other presents, and they actually said, "Okay!". I'll have to remember that for next year! After stockings, we open the other gifts. The girls give gifts to each other, as well as to Mr. B and me. I really enjoy watching their excitement over the gifts they give. This year, Mr. B and I gave them each a new winter coat--Evie and Eloise's came with matching snowpants--and a hat and mittens set. Evie and Eloise got their very own ukuleles (not toys, but real instruments!), and Audrey got the Fisher Price nativity set. The big girls also got recorders from my sister Molly and her husband, so between the kazoos, ukuleles, and recorders, Christmas Day was a very musical day! Once the gifts are open, I usually begin making the big breakfast, including the traditional blueberry muffins. This year was fun because Molly helped me in the kitchen. The others relaxed, played, and watched White Christmas until breakfast was ready. After breakfast, we typically do some more relaxing, perhaps some cleaning up, the girls take naps, and then we head over to my mom's for Christmas with my family. That's pretty much exactly how things went this year, too! We had a great time at my mom's. I'll probably blog more about Christmas later, but for now I'll ask you: how do you celebrate Christmas Day?

25 Days of Christmas--Day Twenty-Four

Welcome to the home stretch of the 25 Giveaways of Christmas, hosted by Jill Savage! This will be the first of three posts for tonight, as tonight is the deadline for my posts to count as entries for the Hearts at Home conference registration...I'm really hoping to win. :) For Day 24, Jill asked the following question: What does your family do on Christmas Eve? This Christmas Eve was very typical: we attended the candlelight service at church in the early evening, then went to Mr. B's parents' house to celebrate Christmas with his family. One thing that was not typical about the celebration at his parents' house, however, was that Mr. B's brother brought his girlfriend. If you know us, you know what a big deal this is. I may or may not blog about it later, but I will say now that she was very sweet! So, what about you? What's a typical Christmas Eve like in your family? Or what did you do this year?

25 Days of Christmas--Day Twenty-Three

Continuing with the 25 Days of Giveaways, here's Day 23's question: What is your favorite part of the Christmas story? Although the entire story is so amazing, I really love how, when the shepherds have heard the "good news of great joy," and gone to Bethlehem "to see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about," they worship the Child, and then they spread the word about what they have seen, and everyone who hears it is amazed. It is such a good reminder that we are supposed to share the Good News of Christmas, not just go on with life as usual! What's your favorite part of the story?

25 Days of Christmas--Day Twenty-Two

Well, we're nearing the end of the 25 Giveaways of Christmas. I'm having a lot of fun playing along (but I still haven't won anything...oh, well!), and I hope my answers to Jill's questions have been somewhat entertaining or at least informative. Here's Day 22's question: What are you doing during the holiday season to keep your marriage a priority? Or maybe the question is, what will you commit to doing during the next few weeks to invest in your marriage? I don't really have a very good answer...Mr. B and I have not been very deliberate about "scheduling" time together lately. However, between Christmas and New Years, things usually slow way down, and I anticipate several evenings where we can tuck the girls into bed and enjoy a quiet remainder of the evening, probably playing a game or watching a movie. If any of you have any suggestions for keeping marriage a priority, especially during a hectic season, I'm all ears (or, in the case of my blog, "all eyes"!). Mr. B's audit season begins in January, and if you were around, you know that last year's audit season was rough. You also know that I just made a huge understatement! So...any thoughts?

25 Days of Christmas--Day Twenty-One

I just got in from some last-minute Christmas shopping, and I'm almost out of time for my 25 Days of Giveaways post! Here's the question for Day 21: Have you ever taken a fun, creative family picture? Short answer: no! We haven't ever really tried anything fun or creative. :) We're pretty traditional, with the picture of the girls in front of the tree. Maybe next year we'll try something fun, though! How about you? Any creative family picture ideas?

25 Days of Christmas--Days Nineteen and Twenty

I missed my "deadline" yesterday for Day 19 of the 25 Days of Giveaways (I have good reason, though: my sister, Molly, arrived from Texas, and we stayed up late talking!), but I'll go ahead and answer the Day 19 question: What do you do during the holiday break? We don't really do anything, and it's nice! Between Christmas and New Years, we usually don't have very much going on in the evenings (most church activities are on "break," too), so we get some quiet family time. I have to admit that we're a little bit behind on our schoolwork right now, so we'll probably be doing a little catching up next week, too. Hopefully, I can get my office organized again. Overall, it's just a nice time to slow down, catch our breath, and get back on track! And before I miss the deadline for Day 20, too, I better answer that question: What do you do during the holiday season that has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas? I don't know! It feels like everything has to do with the holidays right now. Even Saturday morning, when I took Evie to her dance class, I took advantage of the "free" time to put my Christmas cards together. [Yes, I think I was later than ever with our cards this year...the first tree we bought was rotten and wouldn't stay standing up in the tree stand; after removing the lights and exchanging the tree, we finally got it decorated nearly a week later; however, Audrey had a fever of 103+ for several days and was not up to looking happy for a picture, so I had to wait until Tuesday (and of course I had a coupon for $10 that expired Monday!) to have the girls sit for their traditional picture in front of the Christmas tree; two hours and probably a billion pictures later, I still hadn't come up with the perfect photo, so I had to settle for one where all three were at least happy, even though they were looking in three different directions; I ordered the cards that night, and they arrived Friday...] I guess one thing this month that was not Christmas-related was my sister, Sarah's birthday. We celebrated here last weekend. Happy birthday, Aunt Sisi!

25 Days of Christmas--Day Eighteen

Here we are at Day 18 of the 25 Days of Giveaways, hosted by Jill Savage! I have to admit, I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep up with the posts (and I have missed a couple of days and made them up late), but it's been fun reflecting on the season so far. I do hope to put up a "regular" post one of these days--the girls have been up to all kinds of craziness and cuteness--but for now, here's Day 18: Who does the Christmas shopping in your family? I do! I keep Mr. B informed as I go, and I ask for his input on pretty much everything (even though he usually has little to no input to offer). I really hate going out into the crowds, so I try to shop online as much as possible. As I alluded to in this post, I even buy several small gifts for Mr. B to have the girls give me for Christmas. It sounds a little rotten or selfish, but it really makes life easier for everyone--it spares us time, money, and stress! Does anyone else out there shop for themselves? Who does the Christmas shopping in your families??

25 Days of Christmas--Day Seventeen

Day 17's question in the 25 Days of Giveaways is giving me some trouble. Here's the question: What is your favorite Christmas memory? Seriously? I have to choose one?!? I can't! Here are...several favorites:

1. The Christmas I was three we went out to California to visit my dad's family. We stayed at my Aunt Dana's house--a big, old Victorian, which probably influenced my love for old houses--and I remember having lots of fun with my older cousins. I got to hear my Grandma Rugh play her ukulele. Gift-wise, I received some owl binoculars that year, as well as my Baby Feels So Real doll, for whom my mom had sewn several outfits and a set of cloth diapers. My cousin, Grant, dressed up as Santa, which, as you already know from my last post, was silly to me; he passed out peanut brittle, and I didn't care for it; but it was still fun being part of the big family celebration that year. When we returned home from that trip, my other grandparents met us and had a little Christmas with us at our house, and my sister and I got the refrigerator for our Holly Hobbie kitchen set. I remember everything that season seeming so wonderful and special.
2. I remember lots of years just sitting in front of the Christmas tree, staring at the lights, listening to "The Christmas Tapes." My dad had put the cassettes together for our family from many different albums, some of which he had access to from the radio station where he worked (I think?). They truly were the best of all Christmas music...the real stuff! I remember wearing my tap shoes--I was probably four--and standing on what we called "the board" (not sure what it really was--a piece of countertop maybe?--but we kept it under our couch and slid it out to use as a hard surface for writing and such sometimes, and other times for tap dancing!), tap dancing to "The Little Drummer Boy." What's really cool is that in 2002, Daddy put most of "The Christmas Tapes" on CD for each of us. In fact, I'm listening to CD #3 right now! If only my tap shoes still fit...
3. I think I was in fourth grade the year that my grandparents stayed with us for Christmas, and my grandma got a stomach bug (that's not the good memory). Early in the morning Christmas day, someone asked me to get her some medicine from the downstairs bathroom. I was thrilled at the chance to peek at the tree and any gifts that had appeared since we had gone to bed the night before. As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I was startled to see little Molly, who would have been two, standing in front of the tree. I scolded her and told her to go upstairs, but she didn't move! I told her again, but as I spoke, I realized that it was a doll standing there--a doll the same height and with the same coloring as Molly. It was very exciting all four of us, and we named her Polly. Polly stuck around our house for many years, even after one of her arms fell off and her hair grew quite ratty!
4. The year after Polly showed up was even more special. Katie and I shared a bedroom, and in the middle of the night we woke up to a noise...it kind of sounded like a bird chirping. We stayed up the rest of the night listening for the noise, speculating what it could be. We already had a guinea pig, and we'd gone through a couple of hamsters, so it seemed unlikely that our parents might get us a bird. When morning finally came, we rushed downstairs and found a wrapped copy paper box (box and lid were wrapped separately). Out of the top of the lid were cut several holes, and poking out of one of the holes was a tiny paw! Our parents had gotten us a kitten! We'd never even dreamed that we'd ever have a cat. She was an adorable calico kitten, and we named her Ramona. In addition to Ramona, we received another life-sized doll that year: this time, a baby doll, probably 6-9 month sized. She came in a pretty Christmas dress, and we had fun dressing her up in real baby clothes. Seriously, I think Sarah was still taking care of Anna when she was in middle school!
5. When I was in college, I worked at a daycare center in the summers and over my Christmas break. On Christmas Eve one year, I was subbing in the five-year-old room. It had been a gray December, with minimal snow, but when I woke the kids from their nap/rest time and began opening the blinds that day, we all were delighted to see the most beautiful snow falling outside. It was such fun to spend the rest of the afternoon with the kids, as they were so full of joy, wonder, and anticipation. It was difficult driving to and from church for the candlelight service that night, but that Christmas snow made everything seem extra calm, extra bright.

I am leaving out lots of other special memories, mainly because I need to get back to making memories for the here and now! It is so fun to reflect on these precious things, though...Christmas can stir up many difficult and undesirable memories and emotions, but it is good to hold onto the purely lovely ones!

25 Days of Christmas--Day Sixteen

To Santa or not to Santa...that is the question for Day Sixteen of the 25 Giveaways of Christmas: What about you? Santa Claus or no Santa Claus? For us, no Santa. We try to keep Christmas focused on Christ, and sometimes that's hard even without including that right jolly old elf. When I was little, my parents told us right off the bat that there was no Santa. They did tell us not to tell other kids, though, because it might make them sad. I remember one evening my mom's friend, Robin, stopped by with her daughter, Marcie, who was a year older than I. Marcie came in to talk with my sister and me. Our conversation went something like this: Katie: There is no such thing as Santa Claus. Me: Katie! Mommy said you're not supposed to tell people that. It might make them sad. Marcie: Yeah. And it did make me sad. You really hurt my feelings. (She did not, however, look very sad, and I suspect she already had known the truth.) It was a year or two later that my mom and I were walking through the mall, just the two of us. There was Santa, sitting in the middle of the mall, with a line of kids waiting to sit on his lap. I was shocked when my mom asked if I'd like to go sit on his lap! I reminded her that Santa wasn't real. She said maybe it would be fun to pretend, so I got in line. When it was my turn and Santa asked me what I would like for Christmas, I told him I wanted a "Make It and Bake It." (It was this little oven in which you could bake suncatchers. The heat of the light bulb inside the oven melted the little colored crystals you carefully put in the frame of the suncatcher. I had seen the commercial for it numerous times while watching the Smurfs on Saturday mornings, and it looked neat, but I'd never told anyone I actually wanted it.) I hopped down from Santa's lap, he handed me a little candy cane, and that was that. As I enjoyed the candy cane, my mom asked me what I'd said to Santa, so I told her about the Make It and Bake It. That Christmas morning, I was so puzzled when my grandparents gave me the Make It and Bake It. How did they know I wanted it? I looked questioningly at my mom, who responded, "Maybe Santa told them!" And then I realized that she had told them. (Much later, I realized that she had probably even bought it for them to give to me!) So, I probably almost believed in Santa Claus for about four seconds! I'm not sure when--I suppose it was when all four of us girls were definitely old enough for them to be completely certain we knew the real reason for Christmas--but my parents suddenly began giving us presents from "Santa." When we got even older, we started giving them presents from "Santa's Elves." It was fun, but not the focus for us. Anyway, I'm not totally against Santa Claus, but for our family, at least right now, we do not have Santa. What about you? Oh, and by the way, I still have that Make It and Bake It!

25 Days of Christmas--Day Fifteen

Welcome back for Day 15 of the 25 Giveaways of Christmas! We've talked about movies, music, decorations, trees, cards, and food...so what's left?!? Gifts! Specifically, gift wrapping. Here's Jill's question: What gift wrapping traditions does your family have? Let's see...we are definitely wrapped-gift people (as opposed to gift bags). I do most of the wrapping, although the girls help with all of the gifts they each give to others (and it is for that reason that I always stock up on scotch tape!). I read about some moms who use a different wrapping paper print or color for each of their kids. I think it's kind of fun to open gifts wrapped in all different types of paper, though. Plus, I'm not sure I'm that organized. Plus, as I mentioned before, we don't really give our kids that many gifts anyway, so I'm not sure it would mean much to anyone if I tried to do this. When I was growing up, the first presents under the tree each year were "the white presents": a present for each of us from our parents, wrapped in white tissue paper, tied with pretty red plaid ribbon and a candy cane attached at the bow. The presents had our names written in my mom's fancy handwriting with a red Sharpie. When we were older, she started tying a special ornament to each gift, too, so I have quite a collection of "white present" ornaments. My mom still continues to do white presents for us, and she has added the tradition of them always being something from IKEA. Do you have any gift wrapping traditions you'd like to share? Leave me a comment!

25 Days of Christmas--Days Thirteen and Fourteen

Yesterday was an unbelievably long day...I woke up at 4:30 a.m., was gone all day, and finally returned home after midnight. Needless to say, I missed my 25 Days of Giveaways post for Day 13. I'll go ahead and answer Jill Savage's question, even though it won't count for the fun drawing. Here's Day 13's question: Do you and your spouse have any "gift giving" traditions for the two of you? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Nope. Sometimes we get each other biggish things, sometimes small, sometimes practically nothing at all. Last year, we remodeled our bathroom in the fall and decided to consider that our gift to one another. One thing I started doing a few years ago, though, is buying myself small gifts for Mr. B to have the girls give me. Because he doesn't have to come up with any ideas or take the kids out shopping, it makes things much less stressful for him, and I'm always very happy with my little presents. I also can watch prices and get good deals, which saves us money over the run-out-Christmas-Eve-and-try-to-find-something-nice-for-Mom routine we had going for a while there. Okay, that was easy! On to day 14: So what food does your family prepare on Christmas that is a part of a long tradition? I grew up having blueberry muffins for breakfast Christmas morning. As we came up on our first Christmas after we were married, I told Mr. B, "My family always has blueberry muffins on Christmas morning." He responded, "Well, my mom always makes a huge breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes..." To this day, I'm not sure whether he was serious, or if he was just trying to start a new tradition, but I make a really big breakfast that includes blueberry muffins. Here we are last year, eating our traditional breakfast:

25 Days of Christmas--Day Twelve

It's getting late, but I'm going to quickly squeeze in a post for Day 12 of the 25 Days of Giveaways. Here's Day 12's topic: What Christmas card traditions do you have? We send Christmas cards each year. Since Evie was born, we've sent photo cards. We use a photo of the girls in front of the tree; at least one of the girls sits in a rocking chair we have from my childhood. I don't do Christmas letters...I am intimidated by the thought of writing one...afraid of leaving out an important event, or gushing too much about how wonderful my kids are, or boring everyone to tears. Besides, I have a blog, which is kind of like my chance to do all of those things anyway, all year long! The girls really got into the Christmas cards we received from others last year, particularly photo cards. It is fun for them to put faces with names of far-away friends and relatives. Do any of you have any fun card traditions? Leave me a comment and tell me all about them!