A Trip to the Farm

The kids and I spent some time in Montana last week, and we were able to make it up to my grandparent's house for one day.

The last time the kids were there, Sawyer was just a little baby.  So, they were excited to be up there. Plus, it's calving time and nothing is cuter than all those baby calves.

It was so nice to introduce Fynn to some of his family and watch the kids play at one of my most favorite places in the world.

Rilyn at Six

I can't believe we have been parents for six years!  I remember looking at other six year olds thinking they seemed so old, and now we have one.

Rilyn is still our kind hearted, fun, extrovert.  Her personality has stayed very similar.  She still loves being around other people kids and adults alike.  She LOVES her brothers and is such a great caretaker.  She is really a big help with the boys and will help get them ready to go out the door or take care of whatever they need.  She also really loves to help me especially if that means we are spending time together.  She does a lot of chores around the house and will tell you her favorite room to clean is the bathroom.  She also still loves to cook and her and Tyler spend quite a bit of time cooking together.

She has started enjoying more arts and craft type projects this year and spends a lot of time coloring, cutting, glueing, using beads, and just creating masterpieces.  She really loves painting, drawing, and playdough.  She also now likes listening to audiobooks while she is creating and will chose to do that most days when given the opportunity.

Rilyn really loves babies still and may have collected anything you could think of needing for your baby dolls.  She has a few dolls she rotates in her play and really loves dressing them up and taking care of them.  Dress-up is another activity that she will spend a lot of time participating in.  Other than that she still doesn't really play with toys.  She has never been a big toy kid and I don't think she ever will be.  Occasionally, she likes to play restaurant, store, kitchen, and barbies.

Rilyn loves to wear dresses.  The bigger and sparklier the better, especially if jewelry and pretty shoes are involved.  She would wear a fancy dress every day if I let her.   She is trying to grow her hair out and likes to have it curled.  Also, having her nails painted is a favorite.

We are still homeschooling and that is going okay.  I love having her home and she likes to be home, especially since that means we get to go places and she still gets to spend lots of time outside and helping around the house.  She still doesn't really find enjoyment from academic related activities and doesn't have much of a desire to read although loves books.  She really likes to write and spends a lot of time doing copy work and writing books.  She likes to use meaningful math that she can use in her everyday life. She also likes to memorize poetry and her memory verses and she is very good at it.

Rilyn is very active and likes to hike, play outside, jump on the trampoline, and explore.  She has gotten into observing nature including rocks, bugs, and trees.  She spends a lot of time learning in our backyard.

Rilyn lost two teeth a couple of weeks after she turned six.  They had been loose for awhile and came out within a week of eachother.  She is a great sleeper and still naps a couple days a week.  I'm glad she has the opportunity when she needs it.  She usually sleeps from about 7:30 - 6:00.  She is still a great eater and will try a variety of food, especially if she cooks it.  She likes most vegetables and fruits, all the sweets, and I think her favorite type of food is mexican.

Rilyn is very sensitive and sweet and we enjoy being her parents.  It's been fun watching her grow into a young girl.  I love her sense of humor and spending time with her!

We did do a six year interview and here were her answers.

How old are you?

6

What is your favorite color?

Pink

What is your favorite show?

The Lego Movie

What is your favorite book?

Fancy Nancy

What is your favorite place to eat?

Red Robin

Where do you live?

Colorado

What do you want to be when you grow up?

A Ballerina Teacher

What is your favorite toy?

Princesses

What is your favorite animal?

Puppies

What is your favorite song?

Elsa

Who is your best friend?

Jane and Payton

What do you like to take to bed with you?

Kitty

Who is your hero?

Dadda

What are you really good at?

Games

If you had 1000 to spend what would you spend it on?

A huge barbie house with colorful clothes in the closet and with princess barbies

If you could have a wish what would it be?

A birthday party

Valentine's Day 2017

I love celebrating Valentine's Day with my kiddos.  This year, we had a local homeschool group party planned.  We met at a library and the kids played games, ate snacks, and were able to watch a movie if they wanted.  Then they all exchanged Valentines.  I think there were about 30 kids so they ended up with lots of Valentines and all the sweets that go along with them.

I packed them heart shaped sandwiches to eat on the way home.

After a little rest they were able to go through their bags and see all the fun they got.

That night we got our usual abundance of Chinese food.  Ryder got the most perfect fortune.  Ha, like he could ever have more energy than he does on a regular basis.

Fynn at 2 Months

Fynn turned 2 months on the 28th of February.  I didn't get a one month post up because #fourthkid.

Fynn is a super easy baby in comparison to the other babies.  We all love being around him and interacting with him.

Right at two months Fynn started going to sleep around 7ish and not waking up until 3ish.  He has been pretty consistent with that schedule since he turned 2 months and I love it!  He sleeps in his bassinet until that 3 AM feeding and then comes to bed with us.  He fights sleep unless he is in the bassinet, swaddled, with a pacifier, and some white noise.  He takes naps in his bassinet also.  His morning nap is very consistent and is usually at least an hour but some days two hours.  His afternoon nap varies.  Some days he just sleeps on me in the carrier and other days in the bassinet.  He is usually awake for an hour to an hour and a half but no longer.  I'm still enjoying a sleepy baby and really hope it doesn't change.  Having a baby that sleeps well has been such a blessing.  I'm a much better mom and feel like our transition has been so much easier.

When Fynn is awake, he likes to look at toys on his baby gym.  He doesn't last too long on the floor, but will tolerate it for about 10 minutes.  He loves being talked too and will coo and smile back.  The kids love talking to him and getting him to smile and he will pretty consistently look for Rilyn when he hears her voice and smile at him.  He's a mover and is always swinging his arms and kicking his legs.  He likes to be in the bath as long as he's not tired or getting washed up.  He also really likes the carrier and he will stay in that for hours.

Fynn is still nursing every 2 hours during the day, but doesn't comfort nurse at all.  When he has eaten he won't nurse again to even fall asleep.  Give that boy his pacifier and he's content.  Although, he is really trying to suck his thumb.  He still can't figure it out and that frustrates him.   At his two month appointment he weighed 11lbs 2.5 ounces (25%) and is 23 1/2 inches long (75%).

His eyes are blue, but I'm not positive they will stay blue.  I think so because they are pretty light blue.  His hair is a reddish brown and I keep saying he looks like a little leprechaun.  I'm sure his hair will get darker and be more like Rilyn and Ryder's color but as of now it's more red than anything.
Even his eyebrows are red.  He has some good chunky thighs that I love to pinch.  He still looks the most like Ryder did when Ryder was a baby.

Fynn has been out and about quite a bit.  He's been to the Children's Museum numerous times, the park, on walks, and to the library.  He does not like the car seat so that's been a little difficult.  I'm hoping that changes soon since everywhere we go is at least a 20 minute drive.  At least when we are there he is happy to be in the carrier and has been an easy baby to take places.

Fynn is still such an amazing baby and we are really enjoying him.  I wish he would slow down and stay little for longer but I know it will be even more fun as he gets older.  I can't wait to see his personality develop.