a sunday morning

When I was a little kid, Sundays were my favorite. We would all sleep in and then one by one, us four girls would wake and run into my parents bedroom, jump on their bed and have a tickle-fest. My dad would always win because his stinkin' morning scruff was just about the most ticklish thing there was. Sometimes my mom would make bacon or pancakes or on special occasions this amazing breakfast egg casserole. There was just something totally special about Sundays. I almost always think of those fun Sunday mornings every Sunday when I wake up. It is imprinted in my mind. How awesome those times were.

Today, was the first Sunday that our family woke up and knew we were all going to be around each other all day. Mike has been working tireless hours at the airport for the last seven weeks on Haiti Relief and yesterday was the last airplane run. He and Landon had a "camp-out" on a mattress in the living room last night and we all woke up with incredible enthusiasm just knowing our daddy would be home all day. I got that Sunday morning feeling that had been missing for quite awhile.

So as Landon and Daddy were working in the backyard, building Landon a new sandbox, I thought about some great photos I had from the last few days. And since most of our photos these days have revolved around a growing little girl, this post is mostly about Lando.

Landon has these friends. Siblings, more like. My best friend Yajaira's kids. Yesika, Nehemias and Hanani. It's amazing the friendship these four kids have. Language barrier and all. The other day it was hot. We had just gotten a sprinkler and invited the kids over for some spring-time fun. It was captivating. Watching their imaginations run. Watching them care for Landon. Watching them play. I got goosebumps just standing there soaking in the fun you can have with a little water.





Yajaira is always teaching me Dominican things. Things a Dominican wife does. Things a Dominican mother makes. Something very Dominican is this chocolate drink that is coffee-based. Landon and I decided to make a project of it and turned our kitchen into Starbucks. We made the coffe/chocolate drink, added a little ice, blended it in a blender, topped it off with whipped cream and sprinkled nutmeg...and vooahlah...Frappuccino Dominicano. Eat your heart our Starbucks. Our drink was WAY better than anything you have to offer.





And without leaving a cute little girl out of our fun the last few days, I took this picture of her first halter-top dress. It just amazes me how different she looks from photo to photo. Sometimes I feel like I have four daughters all with the name Nohemi.



So with the post completed, I'm going to go start some lunch. Maybe something a little more special than usual. Or maybe something easy so I can have more time with my family. It doesn't matter either way. It's Sunday morning, and the possibilities are endless.

4 months old!

I can't imagine that another month has flown by, but it has. Our little Emi girl is 4 months old! And look at me...I'm only 1 day late in posting pictures!

She's 24 inches long (up 5 inches from birth) and about 14 pounds (up 6 pounds from birth). We weighed her on a scale at the airport so who knows if its dead on or not.

Sister wants to sit up ALL the time. (Sister is what Landon calls her) She can't do it on her own yet, but she wants to be propped up whenever possible so she can look around at the world. Emi is still super quiet. She doesn't talk much but she coos at you like she's having a conversation. Always flashing her adorable little smile when your face does something funny. Oh, but she's a thinker. Always pondering, and crinkling her little forehead as if she is concentrating to take in the world around her. She absolutely LOVES cartoons. I know, I know, people say, "Don't let the TV raise your children..." I'm not...but...its so fun to see her face light up when she sees all the colors in Dora and her little legs and arms go crazy in her bouncy seat. Love it.

She has totally expanded my heart's capability to love.

3 months old!

Nohemi is unbelievably 3 months old already!!! I know I said that time flew when Landon was little but this is ridiculous. I just blink and another month has passed. Crazy.

Emi is such a sweet little girl. Her personality seems to be a lot like her Daddy. Calm demeanor, always smiley. And did I mention she sleeps an average of 12 hours a night!?! I mean seriously, I love this baby! She is doing so many new things. We've discovered lately that she loves being on the floor and she just scoots herself around on her back. She's even attempted to roll over a couple times. Her brother didn't roll over until he was 8 months old...we may have a baby genius on our hands :)

She has these super dark, blue eyes. They just stare into your soul. I don't know how this littler girl does it but she just instantly makes you happy when you're around her. You just drop the cares of the world off at the door and melt into her little grin. I love her for that. I love that I feel better when I'm with my little girl. I love that she makes me feel, already, like I'm the best mommy ever (even though I'm clearly not).

I often feel totally guilty, though. I feel like she is WAY more neglected than her big brother was. She spends way too much time in her bouncy seat as I'm attending to her demanding brother, or editing photos or staring blankly at my messy house wondering when it's going to start cleaning itself. But when I feel the guilt sink in, I look over at her and almost immediately she flashes me a little smile. Almost telling me that she totally understands and that she's content right where she is. What an incredible little baby. I can't wait to be apart of her journey. I'm so blessed for the three months we've already had.

Nursing Nine

I just had to take these pictures of our sweet little Finley today. Poor thing. That's all I can say when I see these cantankerous nine puppies thrusting themselves at her, fighting over which "one" is theirs....ugh. I only have to nurse one and there are days when I want to quit. Can you imagine nine?

I seriously can empathize with this poor little lady.

Hungry pups!

Look at this face, it says, "Help me!"