Fort

Jonnie made a pretty awesome fort the other day and it even has a lookout window in it.  Nothing funnier than seeing them look out the window-hahaha! Especially when you don't know they are in the fort and you look over and see a face peering out (: 

Valentines Day

I had a busy Valentine's day that started with a sweet little party at Sawyer's school.  I was so proud of him because this year he sang and did the actions! He was even smiling and happy throughout (:

Hugging a friend for one song...

They sang a lot of songs and said some poems and bible verses-pure cuteness!

Me and my valentine-he is growing up so much lately.

We enjoyed a frozen strawberry dessert.

It was very festive!

Then we helped the kids open their valentines from their friends and teacher.  Sawyer and I made a monster box this year.  He love it.

Julie and Kelsey

Cora was there as well, but I was really trying to make the morning about him.

When I got home, I made red velvet whoopie pies for the kids as it has become a tradition of mine to make the kids a "fancy" dessert on V-day.  The cream was cream cheese buttercream frosting and that was soooo good, but for some reason the cookies/cake with the frosting tasted too sweet to me (never thought I would say that about anything).  The kids loved them and that is all that mattered I guess.  Also, it seemed so wrong to dump a whole bottle of red food coloring in just to make it that nice red color.  I may not make them again.  I have however found a recipe that uses beets instead of all the food coloring and I may just try that one of these days.

Also, for the last few years I have picked up a heart pizza for Papa Murphy's, too.  My kids are all about tradition and I can't stray too far away from them.  Jon and I went out for dinner and it was very nice to be alone just the two of us for awhile (:

Oh, and Jonnie informed me the night before that he, too needed a Valentine box for school, so we made him a monster, too (:

Hope your day was filled with LOVE.

Seven Months!

Mama Mia!  The little lady is 7 months old! That means she is closer to one year than she is to one day old ):  She is such a sweet girl and pretty content and happy these days.  She is making new noises daily and some of them pretty hilarious.  I'll have to get some on video one of these days.

 Still no teeth as you can see and her hair likes to curl up on top most days.  Still not sure she will be curly, though.

 She's still not sleeping through the night yet and don't let her fool you, it's more tiring on me than it is on her....

Happy 7th months!

First Word

I know she's young, but the little lady has been saying her first word for a couple weeks now.  No that word isn't mama or dada, it's Hi.  But not a short little hi but a long breathy hhhhhiiiiii.

I hadn't counted it as her first word, but after hearing her say it to everyone when she sees them in the morning or greeting the big kids after school with a happy hhhhiiii for the past week or so, I am declaring it as official.

I'm still counting on her saying mama before dada. I deserve that after still getting up with her night after night, right?

 She also says "yaaaaaay" while clapping her hands.  Oh, she claps her hands now, too.

I can't wait to see what she does in the weeks to come!



Rock Candy

Sawyer and I like to do science experiments and since this one is so easy for everyone to do, we thought we would share it with you all so you can try it out yourself.  We have been learning about crystals and how they are created, etc. so we decided to make rock candy.

The first thing you will need is a clean medium size jar, two popsicle sticks, and some string.  Just make sure that the popsicle stick hangs and does not touch the bottom.

Like this...

Next get a medium size saucepan and add 8 measuring cups full of water.  Our measuring cup is 25 millileters.  Bring the water to a boil.

 And don't forget your safety gear! And apparently shirts are optional, too.

Next, while keeping the water boiling, add 16 measuring cups full of sugar and stir until all the sugar has dissolved.

 It helps to have a cheering section!

With the water still boiling and while stirring, add 8 more measuring cups full of sugar.

Take off the heat and let cool before adding to glass jar.  We are a little impatient, so we didn't wait too long...maybe 5 minutes.

When completely cooled (or you get impatient excited) add solution to glass jar leaving undissolved sugar in pot.

Wrap string several times tightly around the vertical popsicle stick.  Then tie it to the horizontal popsicle stick.  Next, place it in the solution.

Oops, take it back out again and add some food coloring of your choice.  We chose green.  Add how ever much you want.  Sawyer liked doing this so we added a couple dropper fulls.

It looks pretty cool going in...

NOW, you can place your stick in the solution.

And don't forget to chart your findings like all good scientists do!

Let stand for 24 hours (Let your sugar crystals stand longer to grow larger crystals).  One thing to keep in mind is that crystals will form on the surface of the sugar solution.  Just gently break up these crystals every time they appear so that crystals will form on the popsicle stick instead. 

You will notice the rock candy forming after 24 hours but we recommend waiting for about 4 or 5 days so it gets bigger. And here is the results after 5 days.

 All that is left to do is enjoy!

 YUM!!

Six months old

She is sweetness, and smiles, hugs and open mouth kisses.  She's blue-grey eyes searching me out where ever I go.  "I'm here Cora, I'm here."  Her hair is still dark, as are her eyebrows.  Her dad calls her Cora Karen in an Irish brogue and I call her Coraline and when she hears her siblings cry she worries. She is sensitive and soft and in need of affirmation, touch, love. Her eyes tell stories. And in her sleep she pats my chest, to reassure herself I am still there.   She is mostly serious, intense and serious, when others are around.  At home with her favorites though she is smiley, goofy, and on occasion a firecracker. 

 She is finally the owner of her very own high chair and loves being included in meal time.

 She is a whopping 15 pounds 6 ounces, sitting up like a big girl, and is sporting a lovely bald patch on the back of her head, as her favorite mode of transportation is to lay on her back, push off with her feet, and slide.  She also sports some lovely rug burns, too on occasion.

 She has the house wrapped around her little finger.  All she has to do is complain once and someone is there to scoop her up.  She is lucky to be number 4.

It amazes me to think it has been 6 months since I brought her home.  The months seem to go faster than the days at times.

And here is a look back at some other 6 monthers I have raised.

Alaina

Jonnie-who I still think Cora resembles the most.

and Sawyer

They all look a little similar and yet different.  I see Cora in each of them.  I am a lucky mom.

Hanging out with daddy

"Hey mom!"

The stare down...

"Hey dad, I think you need to shave!"