Evi's 9th Birthday

I always post a newborn baby picture for birthday posts.  I was feeling rather nostalgic this morning as I downloaded the birthday pictures from yesterday and looked at the ones taken around the same time from 9 years ago.  My oh my, how different things were back then.  Sawyer had just turned 3 and Jubilee was 18 months.  We were in the throws of the baby season...just at the half way mark with Evi being our true middle.  We were in our early 30's and so new to parenting...only knowing infants and toddlers, with plans and dreams of homeschooling and a larger sized family.  

2 weeks overdue and waiting..

Phil, pre gray hair days LOL!


This was my first "medical" birth.  Sawyer was textbook.  Jubilee was too fast and too intense.  Labor was progressing slowly and they wanted to try pitocin.  I was pretty fearful of pitocin so I decided to get an epidural as well.  As soon as they got the epidural in, I progressed quickly (without the pitocin).  Evi was born sunnyside up which explained the weirdness of the labor.  But all was well and I loved the last stage.  Normally, I can handle everything leading up to pushing.  I don't like the pushing stage, at all.  Honestly, to have the little bit of relief at the end and be able to concentrate on baby's arrival instead of fear and pain management made her birth really special.  Instead of relief, I experienced just a mama and baby blissful moment.  

Family of 5 now.

Helping clean the new baby.

My Dad, admiring his 4th grandchild (3rd granddaughter).




 And here we are today....Those toddlers and that baby all growing up so quickly.  I don't really like to think about it!  The old adage, "The days are long but the years are short." is so very very very true and I will probably share every year.  

Evi is such a wonderful girl!  We are so blessed by her compassionate and sensitive heart, her quiet and calm demeanor, her creative spirit.  She really brings a sense of balance in a house that is swayed by some pretty loud, outgoing, and opinionated people and I appreciate that about her so much.  As, I reflected on it, I am more determine to protect and foster her gifts and talents...as I am with all my children, but particularly this child who doesn't demand it.  


Birthday cereal (always a request) and gifts.

Opening Glorielle's gift (which was a bunch of her toys wrapped up LOL....Evi was such a good sport.)

To fit in Barton tutoring, the children have to get up early, and Evi goes from sleeping to hard brain work really quickly.  She is often wrapped up in a blanket trying to get warm and wake up.  I thought a cozy robe would be perfect for those chilly early mornings.

New paints and canvases...just what she loves.

Afternoon painting session.

We went and saw the new Star Wars movie in the theatre in the late afternoon with my parents and cousins and then had a big taco dinner feed at home with ice cream for dessert.  

Happy Birthday, precious 9 year old!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New Boots

Image
Last week, was snowy and cold cold cold, then rainy.  I continued to work on getting the yard cleaned up.  I dug out the ponds and refilled the holes with dirt.  I loaded up rocks, pavers, and bricks.  I cleaned out the water features.  I collected the strawberry runners so I would have starts to plant.  I unloaded 2 loads of bark dust.  The children were a tremendous help.  They loaded an entire trailer of firewood all by themselves and then helped with another load of rocks and bricks.  I am amazed at how much there is to load and fix just in the yard alone.  It is a lot of work for the simple concept of "curb" appeal.   Waiting for the snow to melt so I can put down the bark dust. Even with two pairs of socks, my feet were freezing so I broke down and bought a pair of Muck Boots.  The funny thing is, 2 years ago, I really wanted to have a new pair of winter boots but I just couldn't justify paying so much money just to have ...
Read more

Then Came Dense Fog and the Thunderstorm

Image
Sunday, I woke up to a dense fog and smoke cover combination.  I think this is probably the densest fog I have ever been in. Before the sun came up, it was white.  Once it got lighter outside the smoke color showed through. On the porch, looking toward the swimming pool (North) but unable to see it or the goat barn or the walnut trees. On the porch, looking toward the barn, only able to see the garden before the parking area. Outside the window looking at the tree block, barely 30 feet away. I am not sure how I let Phil talk me into (trying) going to the store...but the fog was supposed to lift by 11:00 and we were scheduled to gather at the Rawie's for church and I needed ingredients to put together something for the potluck.  (We ended up having to cancel our homechurch.) Our mailbox, we couldn't see any cars, so we had to roll down the windows and listen.  I was already terrified at this point and didn't want to continue. After having to slam on his brakes multipl...
Read more

More Hats

Image
The Etsy shop is still a work in progress and unfortunately the name Over the Top is already taken.  I have been tossing around the names Tip Top and Whimsy.  I managed to get 7 hats made during the month of November.  I have a couple that I can put on Etsy when we are ready to list them and several Christmas hats made for the children.  I have been timing how long it takes me to make a hat and I am surprised (and not in a good way LOL) at the number of hours I spend.  A baby hat takes over 5-6 hours, a child's hat takes about 7-8 hours, and an adult hat 10 plus hours.  It takes even longer if I decide to tear out the stitching because it isn't looking the way I had imagined.  The more yarn variety I use, the longer it takes me to weave in the ends.  I usually spend over an hour just with a tapestry needle making all the ends secure.  Minimum wage plus materials puts the hats in the 50-80 dollar range.  Yikes!  I would never pay th...
Read more