We had JD's birthday party here at our house on Sunday, July 28th. Our extended family joined us for some swimming fun and food. The birthday boy had a great time!
He was so excited he ripped through his presents super fast. We barely had time to see what he got! He loved his gifts and his brothers did too. They couldn't wait to open all the boxes and start playing.
I tried something different for the cake. I made an ice cream cake using ice cream sandwiches and an Oreo fudge filling. Cool Whip was the "frosting" and I used whipped cream and mini M&Ms for decorations. Except for having to work quickly, so things didn't melt, it was very easy to make. It was very good. I'll definitely make it again!
Happy 6th Birthday Pickle!
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Thinking of Roz
Although she isn't living with us on a daily basis anymore, we still think of Roz often. Justus thought of her the other day when he was eating a Little Debbie brownie. After a few bites the brownie looked like a mini-Minnesota. He said: "Let's take a picture and send it to Roz." And so we did.
Labels:
family life,
kids
Sunday, July 21, 2013
JD Lost a Tooth!
JD lost his first tooth! I didn't even know his two bottom teeth were loose. He complained that his tooth was bothering him while he ate. When I looked to see what was wrong the one on the right was barely hanging on. I asked him if I could pull it out and at first he said no, but minute later he changed his mind and let me pull it. It was out in one second.
I'm not positive, and I'm not about to dig out five baby books, but I think he might be the youngest to lose a first tooth. Eli doesn't count.
Annabeth was so jealous. She wanted me to pull out one of her teeth. I talked her into just letting me take a picture of her teeth instead. (Too bad it's a bit blurry!)
I'm not positive, and I'm not about to dig out five baby books, but I think he might be the youngest to lose a first tooth. Eli doesn't count.
Annabeth was so jealous. She wanted me to pull out one of her teeth. I talked her into just letting me take a picture of her teeth instead. (Too bad it's a bit blurry!)
Labels:
family life,
kids
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Too Smart for Her Own Good
Annabeth has quite the personality! She was an early talker so she has an excellent vocabulary. She frequently puts two and three word sentences together. Just recently she learned how to say her own name! Previously when you asked her who she was she would call herself by her nickname "Boo Boo", now sometimes she'll say "Annabef".
When you ask her what her favorite color is she says pink. If you ask her if she has any other favorites she'll say purple.
She can count to four although she usually stops at three. When you ask her how old she is she says "two" and holds up two fingers. We started working on saying two and holding up two fingers awhile ago (just like we did with saying one last year). It took her awhile... holding up two fingers is a bit more challenging, but she finally got it!
The brothers have a bad habit of saying "don't be a jerk" to each other and we, obviously, need to work on that! The other day when she found out Eli had eaten the last few M&Ms she was quite upset. When I told her she couldn't have any she said, "Jerk. Mean." I can't remember now what I did that upset her a few days later but she said, "Rude!" I just about fell over. She's not even two!
She is great with names too. Not only does she know all her family members (which are more than the average number!), she knows all the neighbor kid's names as well.
When I am hanging up laundry (which is quite often) she likes to stand next to me and tell me whose shirt I am putting on the hanger. I haven't stumped her yet! She also knows which swim suit belongs to each person and loves to point to each one hanging up and say whose it is.
Annabeth also takes after her mother and likes to stick to a schedule. She knows when it's meal time or snack time and nap time or bed time. Speaking of bedtime, she is a great sleeper, going down about 8pm every day and sleeping until just after 7am each morning. She goes down from nap at 1pm and usually wakes up between 3:30 and 4pm.
She is like her sister in that she likes to look at herself... in the mirror, in photos, and especially in videos. She also likes shoes!
She enjoys brushing her teeth, combing her hair, putting on chapstick and deodorant, flossing, and putting on any kind of lotion. I'm sure she would love to put on makeup if she ever saw anyone putting it on. As of right now she doesn't even know it exists!
She is also a momma's girl. She insists, sometimes to the point of plopping down on the floor and crying, that only Mom can put her in her high chair for meals.
She is pretty bossy for a seventh born child. She has no problem telling the boys what to do!
I'm hoping she will be an early one to potty train. She tells me when she goes. She'll even say, "change you" which translates to "change me". We bought a potty chair so we have it when she's ready. She loves to sit on it but has yet to actually go. Well, actually, she went on the floor next to the potty chair once! Pretty close!
She is a good helper. She loves to help start the dishwasher and wipe things up with a "rag". She often runs of with my dish cloth to wipe things. When she doesn't have that she asks for a wipe. I love when we holler for her to come help and she yells, "Coming!".
She is quite the book worm. She has books that are her favorites. She usually doesn't want to read anything else for about a week when she finds a new book to love. Some of her favorites include: Here Come the Teletubbies, Good Night Moon, Llama Llama Red Pajama, and Just Like You. She memorizes the pages pretty quickly and then likes to "read" the book to you. She knows to be careful with paper pages (as opposed to board books) and will say "rip it" when she really means be careful not to rip it.
Honestly, I don't even know how many words she knows. A lot. Probably more than any of our other kids at this age. It is kind of nice that she is able to so clearly tell us what she wants. The other day she asked for a drink but she told me which cup to use and asked me to put ice in it first. She's smart and demanding!
We are looking forward to her birthday in a few short weeks!
When you ask her what her favorite color is she says pink. If you ask her if she has any other favorites she'll say purple.
She can count to four although she usually stops at three. When you ask her how old she is she says "two" and holds up two fingers. We started working on saying two and holding up two fingers awhile ago (just like we did with saying one last year). It took her awhile... holding up two fingers is a bit more challenging, but she finally got it!
The brothers have a bad habit of saying "don't be a jerk" to each other and we, obviously, need to work on that! The other day when she found out Eli had eaten the last few M&Ms she was quite upset. When I told her she couldn't have any she said, "Jerk. Mean." I can't remember now what I did that upset her a few days later but she said, "Rude!" I just about fell over. She's not even two!
She is great with names too. Not only does she know all her family members (which are more than the average number!), she knows all the neighbor kid's names as well.
When I am hanging up laundry (which is quite often) she likes to stand next to me and tell me whose shirt I am putting on the hanger. I haven't stumped her yet! She also knows which swim suit belongs to each person and loves to point to each one hanging up and say whose it is.
Annabeth also takes after her mother and likes to stick to a schedule. She knows when it's meal time or snack time and nap time or bed time. Speaking of bedtime, she is a great sleeper, going down about 8pm every day and sleeping until just after 7am each morning. She goes down from nap at 1pm and usually wakes up between 3:30 and 4pm.
She is like her sister in that she likes to look at herself... in the mirror, in photos, and especially in videos. She also likes shoes!
She enjoys brushing her teeth, combing her hair, putting on chapstick and deodorant, flossing, and putting on any kind of lotion. I'm sure she would love to put on makeup if she ever saw anyone putting it on. As of right now she doesn't even know it exists!
She is also a momma's girl. She insists, sometimes to the point of plopping down on the floor and crying, that only Mom can put her in her high chair for meals.
She is pretty bossy for a seventh born child. She has no problem telling the boys what to do!
I'm hoping she will be an early one to potty train. She tells me when she goes. She'll even say, "change you" which translates to "change me". We bought a potty chair so we have it when she's ready. She loves to sit on it but has yet to actually go. Well, actually, she went on the floor next to the potty chair once! Pretty close!
She is a good helper. She loves to help start the dishwasher and wipe things up with a "rag". She often runs of with my dish cloth to wipe things. When she doesn't have that she asks for a wipe. I love when we holler for her to come help and she yells, "Coming!".
She is quite the book worm. She has books that are her favorites. She usually doesn't want to read anything else for about a week when she finds a new book to love. Some of her favorites include: Here Come the Teletubbies, Good Night Moon, Llama Llama Red Pajama, and Just Like You. She memorizes the pages pretty quickly and then likes to "read" the book to you. She knows to be careful with paper pages (as opposed to board books) and will say "rip it" when she really means be careful not to rip it.
Honestly, I don't even know how many words she knows. A lot. Probably more than any of our other kids at this age. It is kind of nice that she is able to so clearly tell us what she wants. The other day she asked for a drink but she told me which cup to use and asked me to put ice in it first. She's smart and demanding!
We are looking forward to her birthday in a few short weeks!
Labels:
kids
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Flock Update
June 29, 2013
Today was HOT. Like record setting hot. High of 119º. I checked on the chickens several times. The mister is on for them. They do seem to appreciate it, they all gather around it and relax. I put ice in their water and offered some frozen watermelon as a special treat. During one of my checks I noticed one of the chickens was acting a little strange. She ran around kind of crazy. I didn't think much of it at the time.
A little while later Jerry went out and found a chicken (we assume it was the one I saw acting strange) lying in the hot sun unable to move. We weren't sure what to do so we brought her inside and set her in the boy's shower. It was the only spot we could think of that was both cool and easy to clean. We gave her some water and a few grapes and left her alone while we hosted a birthday party for one of our friends.
By the time the sun went down she seemed to be doing a bit better. She had gone to the bathroom and was standing on her own. I never did see her drink or eat anything. I brought her out and she walked to join the rest of the girls. We don't have them marked (I want to do that!) so once she was returned to the group I wasn't even sure which one she was.
June 30, 2013
Found our first eggs!!
July 3, 2013
Went out to check on the chickens and could only find eight. After a short search I found one of the Rhode Island Reds already gone. Wesley was there with me and he said, "At least it wasn't a violent death." I have to agree. She seems to have gone peacefully and we know it wasn't a coyote or hawk or dog. We are now down to eight.
July 4, 2013
Our eggs are pretty little. Maybe "medium" size if you were buying them from the grocery store. I'm guessing they will get a little bit bigger as the girls mature. So I was surprised to find a big extra big egg. I was so impressed I took a photo...
July 6, 2013
July 10, 2013
Sent Wesley out to get eggs for me and he came back and said there were so many he needed help! We got four at once for a total of five today! The girls are still learning where to lay these wonderful eggs. We rearranged the nesting boxes because they weren't using them. It must have helped because they are using them more now. We still find an occasional one in odd places: under the coop, behind the shed, and once right next to the water faucet under the tree. We also found one under the roosting bar in the coop, one of the gals must have laid it before she even got down in the morning. Thankfully, the egg didn't break when it dropped!
July 11, 2013
We have one chicken that likes to escape. We call her Loose-y (Lucy) because she is always getting loose. She has gotten into the habit of jumping the fence and coming to the back patio door most mornings right around breakfast time.
We usually look out and there she is...
I think she would come right into the house if we would let her...
Eli usually volunteers to catch her and bring her back where she belongs. We don't usually see her out again until the next morning.
One last note:
Just for fun I've added an egg count on the sidebar. I've been keeping track and will update it (hopefully) at least once a week.
Today was HOT. Like record setting hot. High of 119º. I checked on the chickens several times. The mister is on for them. They do seem to appreciate it, they all gather around it and relax. I put ice in their water and offered some frozen watermelon as a special treat. During one of my checks I noticed one of the chickens was acting a little strange. She ran around kind of crazy. I didn't think much of it at the time.
A little while later Jerry went out and found a chicken (we assume it was the one I saw acting strange) lying in the hot sun unable to move. We weren't sure what to do so we brought her inside and set her in the boy's shower. It was the only spot we could think of that was both cool and easy to clean. We gave her some water and a few grapes and left her alone while we hosted a birthday party for one of our friends.
By the time the sun went down she seemed to be doing a bit better. She had gone to the bathroom and was standing on her own. I never did see her drink or eat anything. I brought her out and she walked to join the rest of the girls. We don't have them marked (I want to do that!) so once she was returned to the group I wasn't even sure which one she was.
June 30, 2013
Found our first eggs!!
July 3, 2013
Went out to check on the chickens and could only find eight. After a short search I found one of the Rhode Island Reds already gone. Wesley was there with me and he said, "At least it wasn't a violent death." I have to agree. She seems to have gone peacefully and we know it wasn't a coyote or hawk or dog. We are now down to eight.
July 4, 2013
Our eggs are pretty little. Maybe "medium" size if you were buying them from the grocery store. I'm guessing they will get a little bit bigger as the girls mature. So I was surprised to find a big extra big egg. I was so impressed I took a photo...
July 6, 2013
Went to make cornbread and used my extra big egg from the other day. Now I know why it was so big!
| A double yolk! |
July 10, 2013
Sent Wesley out to get eggs for me and he came back and said there were so many he needed help! We got four at once for a total of five today! The girls are still learning where to lay these wonderful eggs. We rearranged the nesting boxes because they weren't using them. It must have helped because they are using them more now. We still find an occasional one in odd places: under the coop, behind the shed, and once right next to the water faucet under the tree. We also found one under the roosting bar in the coop, one of the gals must have laid it before she even got down in the morning. Thankfully, the egg didn't break when it dropped!
July 11, 2013
We have one chicken that likes to escape. We call her Loose-y (Lucy) because she is always getting loose. She has gotten into the habit of jumping the fence and coming to the back patio door most mornings right around breakfast time.
We usually look out and there she is...
Eli usually volunteers to catch her and bring her back where she belongs. We don't usually see her out again until the next morning.
One last note:
Just for fun I've added an egg count on the sidebar. I've been keeping track and will update it (hopefully) at least once a week.
Labels:
farm
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Fourth of July
This 4th of July we went over to Grandma Molly and Grandpa John's for hot dogs and corn on the cob. We enjoyed our dinner and visiting. We brought some festive fruit (chocolate covered strawberries and watermelon) and our "traditional" cake.
When it was dark enough we went out to the driveway and Uncle Johnny put on a little fireworks show for us. They were quite good! Annabeth enjoyed them until one made noise. She votes for silent fireworks!
Since it was past Annabeth's bedtime we headed home right away. Annabeth talked about the fireworks the whole way home. She kept saying, "Mom!" and I'd say "What?" and she'd say "Fireworks!". We saw a few good displays on the drive home too. We even had to find an alternate route home because of a fireworks display road closure.
Schnepf Farm's fireworks started right after we put the boys to bed. Jerry and I watched them from the patio. Maybe next year Annabeth will be old enough to stay awake to watch the big fireworks and we'll drive a little closer to watch.
When it was dark enough we went out to the driveway and Uncle Johnny put on a little fireworks show for us. They were quite good! Annabeth enjoyed them until one made noise. She votes for silent fireworks!
Since it was past Annabeth's bedtime we headed home right away. Annabeth talked about the fireworks the whole way home. She kept saying, "Mom!" and I'd say "What?" and she'd say "Fireworks!". We saw a few good displays on the drive home too. We even had to find an alternate route home because of a fireworks display road closure.
Schnepf Farm's fireworks started right after we put the boys to bed. Jerry and I watched them from the patio. Maybe next year Annabeth will be old enough to stay awake to watch the big fireworks and we'll drive a little closer to watch.
Labels:
family life,
holidays
Monday, July 1, 2013
Very Expensive Eggs
After waiting months we finally got our first eggs Sunday! Back in February I guessed we would get our first eggs around the 4th of July... our chickens are very punctual!
I went out to the coop to check on the girls before heading to church. I found these two beauties underneath the nice nesting boxes we put up for them to lay in. I was so excited! I ran back to the house to share the news!
As you can see they are pretty small, but they should get a bit bigger. They had perfect shells and nice brown color! I've read that sometimes heat can affect egg production. If they can lay in this heat (119º yesterday) then hopefully they can lay any weather!
This morning I used 3 small eggs to make breakfast for myself. I let everyone try a bite. They were delicious!
Hopefully, my egg buying days are just about over!
I went out to the coop to check on the girls before heading to church. I found these two beauties underneath the nice nesting boxes we put up for them to lay in. I was so excited! I ran back to the house to share the news!
As you can see they are pretty small, but they should get a bit bigger. They had perfect shells and nice brown color! I've read that sometimes heat can affect egg production. If they can lay in this heat (119º yesterday) then hopefully they can lay any weather!
This morning I used 3 small eggs to make breakfast for myself. I let everyone try a bite. They were delicious!
Hopefully, my egg buying days are just about over!
Labels:
farm
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