Turkeys 4 weeks later.

The turkeys are 4 weeks older. A few days after we got them, the runty-looking one died. We knew on day 1 that it was likely and we were surprised that he made it for 4 days more. So at 4 weeks old, we have 11 healthy turkeys left.

Here they are a week ago, already filling up their second home.

And taking flight!

Looks like time to move! So I fixed a hinge and put them in the small temporary pen next to the goats.
(just for clarification, those are wet woodchips in the bottom of the water)

They have more room to move around, room to test their wings, and room for the really big tube feeder! They seem very happy there, very peaceful.

Turkey day

My turkeys arrived at the feed store today. I ordered 10 but ended up with 12. With our large family attitude, we just shrugged and said, "what's two more?" Notice the little hornlike thing on the end of this one's beak. This is to help him peck his way out of the egg. They shed these in the first day.We put them in a box with the red heat lamp, water, thermometer and a pie plate full of food. When they are put in the box, we dip their beaks in the water to teach them to drink. Then we teach them to eat, tapping the pie plate to encourage them to peck at it. The temperature needs to be approximately 95 F for the first few days. They will stay in here for the first couple of days to stay warm. Then I will move the set up somewhere bigger.

Weird effect.
Every year we have to remind the girls to stop playing with their food!

False labour

Goats can have false labour just like humans!

Yesterday I was supposed to drive Damon and another boy to a hockey game out of town, so I got up to get ready. At about 8:30, I went out to feed the goats, Daisy wasn't coming in for grain. This is a big deal. Daisy is usually jumping up on me trying to get the grain from the scoop. I found her out in the yard alternating between stretching her back out and arching it. Then she would lie down. I checked her tail ligaments and they had changed. These are classic symptoms of a goat in labour, and everything I've read has mentioned that once labour has begun, it is usually completed within 12 hours. I was concerned that maybe she was having a stillbirth or miscarriage, because she isn't due for another 4 weeks. And I still had some prenatal supplements, vaccines and dewormers to give her before the kids arrive. I could be off on her dates by about 10 days, but that would still be more than 2 weeks early, which is not good for a goat. Her udder is not ready either. I made Matt drive the hockey players so I could stay home and get the birthing room ready (something that I had tried to get done on Friday) and keep an eye on Daisy.

With help from the 4 youngest kids, we cleaned out the old meat bird coop. The kids moved out their bikes, the apple crates they had been using as furniture and their toys. I swept it all and Campbell shovelled. Then Campbell and I flooded the floor with bleach and water and squeegeed it until it was almost dry. Then we put fresh straw, hay and water bucket in. Then I repaired the door hinge that had been broken during the kids' build-a-rabbit-hutch-indoors-and-THEN-try-to-get-it-through-the-door experiment and I even trimmed the bottom from the door, so it could finally close properly.

In the meantime, Daisy was not herself at all. She was very sedate, she's normally a friendly troublemaker. Other than her behaviour, she did not appear to be in labour, so I started to wonder if there was something else wrong with her. The girls took turns walking her around the yard, just in case she was beginning to bloat. She slowly walked with them, continuing to alternate between arching and stretching. She also spent a lot of time with her head pressed against us or a wall. This went on from 8:30 until 3:30 when I had to go out. I looked on the internet and started reading a post about goat with similar symptoms, I followed the thread for many pages before realizing that a month elapsed between the first post and when the goat finally gave birth. Phew! Maybe she's just getting the babies into position. I called a friend to see what she thought, she advised that I take her temperature to see if it is illness, and if her temperature is normal, then to just assume that it could still take some time.


I worried about her while I was in town. Patrick checked on her when he got home at about 6 and said that she was standing in the birth room with her head pressed against the corner. When I got home at 8 pm, she was out in the little turkey yard, and climbed the fence when she saw my van pull in. She was behaving completely normally again. This morning, she isn't eating any hay, but she is otherwise normal. I feel like a pregnant woman sent home from the hospital after a bout of false labour. I don't know what to expect now!

Apple pruning

Our apple trees are mostly pruned now. There are still a few things I need to snip away at. This is our fourth year of pruning, and we are still learning. There are rules to pruning, and I am still learning to properly apply the rules, but I thought that now might be a good time to share what I have learned. My trees are open center, for many years they have been trained to form like a vase, with no central leader.

Before I even start, there is the great "when-to-prune" debate amongst the neighbours. One neighbour starts and finishes pruning well before blossoms appear. The other one purposefully waits and chides the first one while he works, and then finally springs into action when his trees are loaded with blossoms. From what I've seen they both end up with loads of apples, but I'm starting to realize that the second neighbour has a better chance of pruning in nice weather. Something to consider.

First, remove all suckers! There are usually many of them on the big old trees. They are easy to spot, they point straight up, which would never work. Get rid of them first so that they don't distract you. Done.

Second, take a look at the tree for any branches that have been broken or are damaged.

Third, anything that points down is bad news, weighs down the branch and doesn't get enough sunlight. Snip.

Fourth, prune any branches that cross or rub on each other. Then just use your discretion to choose one or the other, choose the one that is healthier, or balances out the branch better.

Fifth, prune anything that points up. These branches would be prone to breaking when they are loaded with apples, so they need to go.

Sixth, any branches that point back toward the center of the tree.

Seventh, see here is where it gets harder for me. I have to look for narrow crotches and prune them. I do what I can, but I'm not perfect.

Next I look at the height of the tree, if it is too tall and requires a ladder for pruning, thinning and picking, it needs to be cut back. If a tree is too tall, the sprayer isn't going to reach it either.

Finally, for some of our older trees we've had to look at the length of some of the branches. In the first 2 years we lost some limbs, and even an old tree due to weakened limbs that had not been pruned propely for many years. When they get too leggy, they weaken. So I get Matt to cut them back drastically and we try to encourage some interior growth.

Happy Birthday Campbell

Campbell turned 11 today! What can I say about Campbell? Ambitious, determined, and charming. He eventually succeeds at anything he sets his mind to, not necessarily because it comes easily to him but because he set his mind to it! I know that we are all very proud of him and enjoy watching the young man he is growing up to be.

An unfortunate series of events...and a laundry tip

Today began badly. Before I even woke up, I could hear the rain pounding on the house last night, the wind blowing around the outdoor furniture we had just cleaned yesterday and placed on the patio.

I thought I set my alarm clock for 6:30 this morning, but when I rolled over, peeled one eye open and looked at the clock, it said 7:45. The kids' bus arrives at 7:21, school begins at 8:15, and there were lunches to make.

At least I had turned on the dryer for Patrick's school uniform before I went to bed. I woke up the kids and went to the laundry room to get Patrick's dry uniform. I opened up the dryer and was greeted by a big pile of wet clothes. So I took out everything except Patrick's uniform and Kira's coat. I went and made lunches. I opened up the refrigerator and a big jar of strawberry jam jumped out at me and landed on the floor. I did a quick tidy, mostly just removing the broken glass, hoping to wash the stickiness off the floor once the kids were at school.

Campbell: I have a headache. And a sore throat.
Me: I think we all do, can you still go to school?
Campbell: I think so.

I made lunches, and then ran down to the clothes out of the dryer. I opened the dryer and to my horror found pale blue crayon all over everything! I had removed a skipping rope, 3 crayons and a small ball of clay from her pockets, but it became apparent that I had missed something. I promised that I would find a stain removal tip from the internet and have them cleaned by the time he got home from school, and he begrudgingly wore his "winter uniform".

5 lunches were packed, 6 kids were dressed, we were mostly ready to go. Kira started coughing and couldn't stop. She needed to use the puffer. Clearly she needed to stay home from school "just one more day". During all of this, Patrick and Campbell offered to take the little ones to the van, but they need my keys. Keys. Not in my usual spot, not in my coat, are they in the door? Nope. At this point, I am thinking that God is trying to tell me something. Campbell checked my purse where I don't ever put them, bingo. In the excitement, somebody has knocked a cup of apple juice off of the table in the hallway. I grab something to blot it with, again the sticky floor can wait.

As we are going out the door, I remember that my van is 6 kms to empty, and I'm 9 kms to the nearest gas station at which I will be stopping. I suddenly remember that I have 2 "free plays" for the 50 million dollar lottery that I need to cash in. I figure that in 45 minutes of being late, I've already had a big dose of bad luck, so I am due to have a little bit of good luck. I get my gas and my lottery tickets and we are on our way!

We pull up in front of the school, and Campbell's headache is now worse, so only 3 get out of the van and trudge into school late. I drive off, stop at the grocery store for a few things. Then I go to the bank and use the machine. The machine won't process my transaction and I need to call a 1-800 number to get it fixed. When I call at home, they say that I need to go into a branch with ID because they can't restore my card over the phone. I appreciate that banks are looking out for customers, but this has gotten ridiculous. I should mention this happened last month when I tried to move UCCB money from that bank to the bank I do all of my banking at. Apparently, me using my card at another bank's branch (and paying the $1.50 charge) is considered "suspicious activity". They cleared me the last time, and yet froze everything again this month for the same reason. It's a good thing I wasn't in need of that money to put gas in my van or food in my children's bellies. Yet.

My friend and I were trying to get together and go for a walk maybe just with Griffin in a backcarrier, but between the other 2 sick kids, the rain, and Griffin's runny nose, I asked for a raincheck. Another friend dropped in for a spot of tea.

Finally I got a chance to go online and googled "crayon dryer remove stain", I looked at several of the tips and most of them involved ironing with a paper bag (I am usually pretty good at avoiding my iron), spot treating with storebought treatments, or scrubbing by hand. I remembered something about ammonia and crayons though, but everything online said to use ammonia for crayon in carpet. The ammonia bottle did not mention crayons. I tried it on a spot of the uniform and it dissolved right there. So I followed the directions on the bottle of ammonia and added 1 cup of ammonia to the washer, I threw in some of my homemade detergent and the stained clothes. As you can see, I am very lucky that the stains came out in one wash with NO SCRUBBING, NO IRONING.
Before:

After:

Let's just hope that there is just a little bit more luck left to cover my lottery tickets.

March Break Photo Recap

"Ummmmmm, take a picture of us Mom, we're mendatating."

My mother, my sister and a couple of friends were over, but Shrek may have snorted a few too many Guinness that night.
The next day Shrek went to the Sportsman show and look at what followed him home...

It wasn't actually a spur of the moment decision. He took all of the courses last fall, waited for his license to come, installed a gun safe, pored over hunting websites and then made a shopping list. Have you ever seen a boy more pleased with his toy? I love the way Kira jumps in there.

Problem, nothing is going into the septic. At this point we have a bathtub full of sewage and a toilet that is overflowing onto the floor. When Matt and Damon dig up the septic tank lids, we think we might know what part of the problem is...groundwater.

Saved by Larry the Septic Guy. The septic tank was indeed full AND there was a clog in the main sewer pipe that comes out of the house. but as soon as it is pumped out, it fills with ground water. The septic field is draining back into the tank! So now we have to watch what is flushed until the spring thaw is completely finished.


Hanna and her cousin play with Lily.

There were also some hockey games, afternoon of horseback riding, a train ride and 3 day in Hamilton and a daytrip to Picton that weren't caught on camera.

Goats are the best patients!

The snow has been replaced with mud, but I found this photo of Daisy on my camera and thought it was cute.

I was dreading giving the goats their Ivomec today. I was planning to do it last week, but thought it would test my patience, during March Break, so I waited until today when the children were at school. I had visions of squirmy goats, maybe a horn or two in my leg, maybe some nipping, I would have guessed that it would end with goat saliva and liquid dewormer being spit up on my sweater. I had a tainted view of giving liquid medication because of all of the nights I wrestled feverish toddlers just to give them a tiny squirt of liquid Advil. It always ended with me wearing it.

The goats couldn't have been easier! They practically lined up waiting for their turns! They stood still and let me open their lips, I squirted the dose into their mouths, tilted their heads back, they swallowed and then licked their lips and went back to eating their hay. Lily wanted more when I was done.

I adore my children, they bless and enrich my life, but my goats are better patients!

Tomorrow I will spend the day starting seeds indoors.

40 Bags in 40 Days: Days 1 & 2

So far so good, this is only my bedroom closet and my desk!


The homemade detergent is great!

The supplies I bought were less than $15, and I only used 1 cup from a 3 kg box of soda, and 1/2 cup from a 2kg box of borax. I couldn't believe how fast and easy it was to make and the recipe made 10 gallon-sized jugs of detergent. That should last us for more than 2 months and it only took m0e about 1/2 hour of work. I did a load with it last night and it seem to be as clean as usual and has a light lemony, soapy scent to it. I still want to add some scents like lavender, so I think I'll go visit Prince Edward County Lavender.

40 Bags in 40 Days

I came across a brilliant idea through my online friend Melanie. She shared a link to a post at Clover Lane Blog. The idea is that for the 40 days of Lent (not counting Sundays) we declutter one bag every day. Then when Easter comes, we can celebrate it with lighter hearts, clearer minds and cleaner houses.

On another note, with a bit of trepidation, I am making my own laundry detergent for the first time. I am trying the recipe from the Duggar Family's website.

The bar soap I have smells great, so I assume the laundry soap will smell nice. But I'm on the lookout for some essences to add. I'll let you know how it goes.

Spring?

I was going to blog about some signs of spring that I noticed today, but then I came inside and the TV was saying that Environment Canada forecasts colder than normal spring. BLAH.

Eggs

It has been about 2 1/2 years since I found the first egg from one of our hens. I was giddy. I still smile when I look into a nest box and see the multi-coloured eggs lying in the straw.

Yesterday when I fed the chickens, I collected 17 eggs, today there were 19. A sign that the days are getting longer. I rinse the eggs in tepid water, then I let them dry before I put them into their cartons. Today, I took photos of the eggs drying.

Each hen's egg is different, like a signature. I can't say I know everybody's signature, but I know a few.

After a chaotic morning of getting kids to the bus, somehow the subtle shades and smoothness of the eggs comfort my soul.


This week I will be selecting some of the Ameraucana hens that lay the green eggs and putting them in a pen with Snowman (Ameraucana rooster). Then I will collect some eggs and put them under my Silkie hen, Jill.

Sad day

This morning I made a sad, but not shocking discovery. Combs, my Buff Catalana rooster, had passed away in the night. He had suffered from frostbitten comb and wattles from a couple of weeks ago when the overnight temperatures here broke records at -30 celsius without any windchill. Normally he would have been warm enough in the coop, if he slept up on the roosts as usual with the others. That evening something must have happened between him and Sandy and Rodney (see previous post) and when I was locking up the barn, I found him huddled in the northwest corner of the coop, cold and with a big wound on the back of his head. I grabbed a dog crate and placed it close to the heat lamp and put two hens in it to keep him comfortable. By the next day, I could see that he was going to lose some of the tips from his beautiful comb, and possibly part of his wattles to frostbite. He still seemed to be huddling a lot and I worried about his survival, but over the next few days he seemed to improve. He enjoyed the cuddles and attention he got when I put ointment on his wounds and as horrible as frostbitten combs look, he seemed to be healing. Last night I noticed that he started huddling on the floor of the crate again, but he was still close enough to the heat lamp that I figured he would be fine. The temperatures dropped down again last night to -20 something. I'm not sure exactly what it was, the cold, maybe infection.

Frostbitten extremities are a risk that chickens in cold climates face, and a good reason for choosing breeds with smaller combs. Because they are a spanish breed, Buff Catalanas are a very poor choice for our climate, but this is the first winter we've had any problems with frostbite.

Combs was my absolute favourite bird in the coop. He was the classic rooster in looks, but his personality was very sweet. He was a favourite of the hens. He loved to be held by people.

View from here

Here are Penny, Lily and Daisy with their visiting buck, Sampson (he's third from the left). He will stay with them for about another month and hopefully in June we will have kids. The girls have gotten to be quite big, Lily is even larger than Penny now, but rounder and fatter.

Puck, true to his breed, sniffing out something.

Most of the flock. These days, they usually only venture out when I am dumping table scraps into their yard.

This is Sandy, he's the lone surviving chick who was hatched in a nest behind the mock orange bush in my front garden last May. His mother was a barnevelder hen, named Brownie, but he is the spitting image of his father Rodney. The two of them have been getting very close lately and Rodney seems to be grooming him as his successor. Rodney is top rooster, and it is the first time he has ever seemed to promote another rooster as his equal. Do you think he knows that Sandy is his son? Hmmmm. I have trouble believing what I see in the barn sometimes.

Happy Birthday Griffin!

We blink and it's time for another birthday. Griffin turned 2 today! Griffin is an awesome boy. Very entertaining, sweet and clever, he is so much fun to be with.

Happy Birthday Damon!

Today we have another teenager in the house! Damon you are growing into an amazing and wonderful man and we are all very proud of you.

Feathers

For Christmas, a dear friend bought a "feather" for each of us. It is part of a fundraising campaign to replace the large goose that overlooks the TransCanada Highway. The idea is you put your name on the feathers as John Doe did and they will put them on a goose to display in the Visitor's Centre. Our friend, knowing us, suggested that we didn't need to feel restricted. I brought out my acrylic paints and look at what happened. I wonder what Wawa will think of these.

They all have stories of course. Matt's is a scene from the beach where we vacation. Mine is a blue jay feather which is meaningful for a couple of reasons. Patrick's is a bald eagle, a bird we see frequently when we are in Wawa. Damon's moose is like one he saw on Griffin's t-shirt. Campbell painted a camping scene complete with blackbear eating blueberries. Kira painted an Osprey feather, because she likes the Osprey that fly over our house and has even found a feather that one dropped. Hanna painted daisies because she likes the wildflowers she can pick in Wawa. Griffin started off painting water, then he painted a boat (in the far left) and finally he painted "rocks". The kids had so much fun they even proposed that instead of "Family Game Night" we have "Family Arts & Crafts Night." Perhaps.

Happy 7th Birthday Kira!

I can't believe that it has already been 7 years since our daughter Kira came roaring into the world! Kira is a beautiful, intelligent and strong girl and we are all very proud of her. For her birthday she chose for us to do "make your own" pizza night. The kids had a great time and the pizza was very good too.

See the face? With spinach hair and a bacon necklace?

STILL in Post-Christmas recovery mode

I realize that I was a very bad blogger this Christmas season. I hope to get back on track now that life is slowly returning to the normal chaotic pace. I usually make it a ritual to get all of the Christmas decor down by the time I go to bed on January 6th. When I reminded the kids that we "undecorate" the Christmas tree, Hanna was in tears. Kira asked me "Please please, can't we keep it up until my birthday?" I was really not feeling up to staying up late, so I relented. The decorations stand today. But trust me, but Monday at noon, they will all be packed tightly in their bins and stacked in the furnace room.

Baby Jesus' heavenly condo

Hanna: Did Baby Jesus die?
Me: Well, he did, but not when he was a baby, when he was a grown up man.
Hanna: No, Baby Jesus died.
Me: No, he was an adult, and then he rose to heaven.
Hanna: Is Baby Jesus in his condo right now?
Me: Condo? No, he's not in a condo.
Hanna: Didn't you know that heaven has condos?

An Idiot's Cat Tale

Sorry I haven't been blogging much lately, a recent wave of blog comment spam has been irritating me. That and sick kids. Kira was off school for more than a week with croup. Griffin started acting sick on Tuesday, his eyes were producing more snot than his nose! By Friday, the 2 girls and I took him into town to see the doctor, who pronounced that he had an ear infection, a sinus infection and even pneumonia. Hanna was just happy that Griff used up all of the appointment time and there was no chance for her to get her vaccinations. Then I picked up the boys from school and then we all came home. It was mayhem when we got here.

Here's the part where I feel like an idiot.

With the subzero temperatures we've been having lately, we've been bringing Wicket, the outdoor cat, indoors at night. When he wants in he puts his face against the window in our front entry. He always comes running to the door when we call him, even when he's over at the graveyard, he'll leave what he's doing and come. Better recall that most dogs I know (Puck, I know you always come EVENTUALLY, but Matt and I don't appreciate the extended early morning excursions). So early yesterday evening, when the snow was coming down sideways, I called him in. He didn't come. I asked Damon to try calling him. Nothing. We tried several times over the next few hours. Damon checked to see if he'd been locked into the goats' stall, the garage, the breezeway. I finally called the neighbour across the road to see if he had taken him in for us. "Haven't seen him. He'll be fine." Bedtime came, and still no Wicket.

When I woke up in the morning and he didn't have his face pressed against the window, I started to have a sinking feeling that something had happened to poor Wicket. On my way to tend to the goats and chickens, I checked the garage one last time and found that a chicken had strayed in and couldn't figure out that she couldn't get out through the window. When I was leaving the garage, I noticed something on the dashboard of my minivan. I looked over and there was Wicket, desperately trying to get my attention. I was relieved that he was okay, and even more miraculously, he hadn't used the interior of my van as a litterbox!


weird

For Grandpa

Hanna: Mommy, I really want you to get a race car. Daddy can get one too.
Me: What would we do with race cars?
Hanna: You could race. When you are driving on the road, you could go faster than the other cars. You know, like Grandpa does.

Happy Birthday Patrick!

Wow, that was quick. My firstborn turns 15 today. Sniff. Patrick is such an easy going guy, he's always been such a good kid. As he gets older, he makes us proud every day. He is smart and extremely compassionate. Sometimes I feel like he is my own Jiminy Cricket. And he's developed a great sense of wit.

His birthday began with a lot of pain (much the way my day began 15 years ago). He had a headache and sinus pain but he seems to be feeling better now. Still not much fun though. It is a night of hockey practices (practices for him, Campbell and dryland for Damon) so we won't have much time to have a meal together as a family so we are postponing his birthday dinner until tomorrow. I'll make him a little carrot cake with caramel drizzled over it, just so we have something to stick a candle in.

Scenes from the barnyard

Dear old Penny, such a sweet quiet goat, so easy to take care of. See how fat and round her daughter have gotten. Thanks to Bernie's generous offerings of Swiss Chard and brussel sprouts, she has gained some weight too, but she is so saggy that the fat never covers her bones, and she just collects her fat around her belly and around her ribs. Gravity is not kind to goats either.


Of course what you won't see is what I missed when my camera battery died. The goat and the cat sniffed, then the cat rubbed his head against the goat's head. Typical of a cat. So then the goat did what is typical goat behaviour when something touches their head, headbutt it. Pop. Luckily Wicket is a pretty quick guy and mostly missed it.

Remembrance Day

This is a photo that I am guessing my great-grandfather sent to his future wife at home. On the reverse of this photo, it says,"Heavy Marching Order. We have to carry this outfit on Route Marches. It only weighs 65 pounds. Nothing when you get used to it. Taken after 20 mile route march."

The kids' school is doing a slideshow today, we had to submit photos of family who had served. Because we live in a community that is home to a military airbase, many of the children at the school submitted photos of their parents who are currently serving, and many had photos of generations of family members who have served. Damon really wanted to participate and since he has a newfound fascination with the history of WW1 and WW2 he wanted to show his family's participation in both of those wars, so he among many old military photographs chose this photo of my great-grandfather from WW1, and another one of 3 of my great-uncles, brothers (another of their brothers served in the marines and can be seen in a separate photograph)from WW2. Luckily all of these men returned safely, while others did not.

Late last week, I made a small donation at a store and picked up some poppies for the kids coats. Now keeping them on their coats is another story.

This morning, we had another chaotic morning of trying to get 4 of them (Hanna doesn't go to school today) out of the door to meet the bus at the end of our driveway by 7:20. Kira was up and ready with plenty of time. She went out and waited by the road with her older brothers. Griffin and I closed the door relieved that they had all made it to the bus in time. I turned my mind to changing Griffin's diaper. Then Kira came running up the driveway and knocked on the door. She was in a panic, "My poppy came off, I need to find it. It's Remembrance Day and Mrs. M told us we needed to remember our poppies." She ran around looking for it, while I went and grabbed the poppy from my own coat to put on hers. As this was happening, the bus arrived. The boys got on and with Kira running down the driveway the bus pulled away. One of the cars stopped behind the bus started honking it's horn, but the bus driver didn't notice and continued on. Kira came into the house with tears streaming down her face.

"This is the worst day EVER. It's Remembrance Day and I missed the bus," she wailed.

"I told her, it is a great day. It's Remembrance Day and YOU remembered to wear your poppy. I can drive you to school," I told her.

I started walking down the hall to get Griffin, Hanna and myself dressed for the drive into town, when somebody knocked on my door. When I open the door, it's Kira's adorable teacher, Mrs. M. She was the one honking her horn for the bus driver's attention. She offered to drive Kira to school. Kira adores this teacher, so I knew that she would love driving in to school with her. I explained that Kira was ready for school on time but had run back in to get her poppy. She laughed and said, "I have poppies to give out to all of the kids."

Kira hopped into the backseat of her teacher's car just beaming. I realize that now Kira's teacher (who I should note is a tiny adorable thing dressed up in heels and stylish business attire, a perfect makeup job and her long blonde hair has been styled in loose curls) has just seen me in my pyjamas, my hair to my waist hasn't been brushed and I've got a poopy baby on my hip. *sigh*

Happy Birthday Hanna!

My sweet baby girl turned 4 today.


Hanna is growing up much too fast. For such a long time she seemed like the baby. Even after Griffin was born, she just seemed much more needy than him. I even worried that she might not be ready for school this past September. Even though she could write her own name, she wasn't toilet trained and couldn't put on her own shoes. That seemed to change overnight and suddenly she's an independent little girl. She is shy, but very bright and artistic girl. She loves to dance and draw and lately she has been a bit obsessed with letters and reading. She brought home her school photo a few days ago and immediately named every child in the photo and told me each of their first initials. "That's Karissa, and it is with a 'K' not a 'C'. And Bradley, he's got a 'B' and 'R' together, like 'br'."

Every year we ask the kids what they want to eat for their birthdays and they get to choose whether we eat at a restaurant or at home. Hanna was very specific this year. She wanted homemade macaroni with ketchup and a cake. And the cake was to be a chocolate cake in the shape of a heart with white icing and a rainbow on it. While she was out picking out a present with Grandpa, I iced the cake, with 3 very willing icing assistants.

She is going to have a friends' party another day, but she is having a hard time understanding that day is not the day of her birthday.

Kira could not stay out of the photos! She wanted to model one of Hanna's costumes.


I hope all your wishes come true!