Squeaky clean and ready for bed...

The kids had fun picking out new pajamas for their adventure at Honey and Papa's house, but then they talked me into letting them wear the new jammies a few days early.

The biggest problem now is that it's nowhere even close to being dark at bedtime anymore. It's kind of tricky explaining to the boys why I want them in their beds when it's so lovely outside. Even with this little hiccup at bedtime, we're still loving the spring weather and longer days!

Morning play time...

Yesterday Asher told me that "Kacie is the cherry on top of our family sundae." Ha! I totally agree :) You know what they say... "The family that is an Ice Cream Sundae together, stays together."

Why do I even bother putting socks on those little feet?!

The boys were playing "super hero's". Asher was Superman and Caleb was Woody (he's a super hero at our house...). When I asked if they wanted to be in a picture with Kace, Caleb said "yeah, but me be just caleb only!" I guess that meant no more clothes.

Then Asher suggested maybe just the hat. Caleb thought that would be okay.

But he liked it on Kacie even better.

Hey, Cowgirl, where'd you go?

She was loving all the attention.

Okay, so...

Now that I've scared you all away from ever saying my daughters name, and heaven forbid you have to spell it for some reason, I'm going to change things up ONE. MORE. TIME!

kacie noelle carrier

I had been holding off sending in the paperwork to legally change her name. We knew she was Kacie but we went back and forth (and back and forth and back and forth...) on the spelling. I was still waiting for peace in my heart about the whole situation so it was easier to just joke about waiting until she was 18 and letting her pick her own name than it was to decide and move forward. Life is so busy after all ;) But really each time I would try to decide it would trigger the post-pardom struggles I had right after she was born. So, she waited patiently like a little angel for her name. We've been calling her Kacie (exclusively) since she was about 7 weeks old, but today (she's just over 6 months old) the peace came and I filled out the form.

I'm so thankful that Kacie has been my little lovey through this rough time. What a sanctuary she has been to me. My sweet kk, Thank you for all the snuggles and slobber kisses. For all the times you've reached up and gently rubbed my face when I was sad. What a blessing to be your mom. I love you, Kacie girl!

It was a good day!

Justin thought it was worth documenting. This form has been sitting on my desk waiting for me to fill it out for months.

So there you go, Dad. Kacie Noelle Carrier (final answer).

It has to be said...

She's my favorite girl in the whole world.

Absolute favorite.

This baby gets snuggled...

...all day long.

Do you see Asher's face sticking out of the blanket kissing her cheek?

Even with our fair share of bossing and bickering I'm overwhelmed and thankful for the way that they protect each other and include one another. Wonderful kids.

Putting it down...

My little kk can really put it down! I decided to skip the pureed baby foods this time around and use a method called Baby Led Weaning (...another great recommendation from shiree) instead. I'm loving how quickly she's caught on and how much fun she has at meal time. It's awesome to have everyone there at dinner and see her watching, learning and feeling included with the family.
Oh yeah, and she really enjoys the food too. Here she is eating some Coconut-Cauliflower Curry over Quinoa. ...but her favorite just might be oranges.

The boys didn't think it fair that I always take pictures of Kace at dinner time and not them, so here you go...

Asher using the "double spork" method :)

And Caleb with a make shift bib and a mouth full of food... and happy as ever. Someday we might even make it though a meal without this kid falling off his chair and flinging his food across the room. Sitting still just isn't his thing ;)

Hi everybody...

I had a fun week. Hope you did too!

Don't you just love sisters with good advice?!

And a listening ear. Those who don't mind when you call and cry about silly/important things. Unfortunately I feel like I am losing a lot of battles these days. It's nice to be reminded that I'm also winning the war.

They're happy, they're healthy, they're loved, and they love each other. They came into this world wanted and valued. Sure somedays they are still sporting their pajamas at 4 in the afternoon, but they are enough. And so am I.

"Essential, Necessary, and Nice". I'm going to be more mindful of this today.

I couldn't stop laughing...

This girl had the time of her life slurping on some broccoli the other night at dinner.

A few things...

This made me laugh. Asher was eating lunch and asked me to take a picture of his "Big Dip". He had arranged his cucumber squares in the shape of the Big Dipper.

Sleepy boys.

The boys got to put on some old painting clothes and help Justin with a project.

They did a great job!

Tuckered out...

These boys think they don't need naps. What do you think?

Asher had been flying around like Superman all morning, but assured me he was NOT tired.

And poor Caleb ended up snuggling with his shoes during his impromptu nap.

Asher drew a picture of me...

...and the likeness is just uncanny ;)

The boys were at the counter drawing while I was cleaning up the kitchen. Asher asked what he should draw and I said "how about me?" I heard him say "head, eye, eye, nose, mouth, lots of hair, arms, legs, and oh yeah, hand." Then I turned to check out his drawing. Totally awesome! But what I really loved was that he wrote -by himself- M O M at the top! I squealed. He asked if I wanted to watch him write everyone in our family's names. YES! So, he did. DAD, MOM, ASHER, CALEB, (i helped him spell KAYCEE). I kept squealing... until he said "Mom, stop screaming. You can laugh... but quietly." I asked what else he could spell and he wrote HOUSE then turned the paper over and wrote APRICOT. Wow, what a fun thing to watch!

Caleb (my little artist) was having fun too. He has mostly been into circles, but lately branching out to lines and rainbows :)

It makes me want to kiss those boys... and paint.