the end of an era

In the past few weeks we've had some big changes in our house. max went off to first grade…his first time at school all day long! ella has lost several teeth (taking her grand total to five lost). sam can all of a sudden count past 10. and henry has decided he's finished with nursing. that's the one that brings tears to my eyes.


i nursed all four of my children. ella and max did not nurse very long (in comparison with sam and henry), they both stopped around 6 months old. nursing wasn't as easy for me then, because i was working full time, which complicated things. sam nursed for about 11 months, but we had some issues that made it necessary to stop nursing him at that point. henry on the other hand, nursed for over 18 months. he's the only one of my kids that did not take to the bottle very well at all. i was in no rush to wean him, there was no reason to. i knew he would let me know when he was ready to stop. for the past 5 or 6 months he has only nursed in the evening and in the morning.
i loved nursing him, especially in the months after he learned to walk/run/climb, because it was the only time he would stop to cuddle with me. the beginning of the end was a few weeks ago, while we were on vacation. i would take him upstairs to nurse him and put him to bed, when all of a sudden he figured out exactly what that meant. if he nursed then he would miss the party going on downstairs and have to sleep. so, not only would he not nurse, but he would scream like crazy because he knew everyone else was having fun and he wasn't. i figured when we got back home we would get back into our routine. but no, he was finished. and just like that, it was over.

the end of nursing with each of my children was an emotional time, but it hit me the hardest with henry. he's our last baby, and each day he becomes more and more of a toddler. when he was cuddling and nursing in my arms he was my babe. don't get me wrong, he will always be my baby, but this is indeed the end of an era. it's not just about nursing babies, it's the about the harsh reality that my time with babies has come to an end, and that my children are growing up much faster than i would like them to.

so i will allow myself a little time to weep over the fact that my babes are growing up too fast, and then i will go back to enjoying every moment of watching them grow.

first day of school 2011

ella (3rd) and max (1st) headed back to school today.  they were so eager to go, and i'm hoping that this enthusiasm lasts all year long.  max wore his backpack for 45 minutes before we left today, he even ate breakfast standing up because he couldn't sit with it on.  ella was quietly excited...quick to hop out of bed, brush teeth, get dressed and fix her hair.  they both have great teachers this year, and i'm looking forward to watching them grow and learn. 

happy birthday to my sweet ella rose

My little girl turns eight today.  I wanted to write a sweet post like I did for Max's birthday.  But I'm just not great with words, despite my job as a card-maker.  And I couldn't pick the right pictures, there were too many, so I decided to do a slideshow.  This is my first slideshow, so please excuse any technical  issues.  We love our sweet girl, and feel blessed to have her in our life!  And one thing that is apparent after watching this video is that I've sure had fun dressing my little girl over the years!  Boys just aren't as fun to dress, buy them a superhero t-shirt and they are good to go ;)
Enjoy the video!  And a very happy birthday to my sweet girl, Ella Bella, Princess of Kentucky.

Max is SIX!

A very happy birthday to my second born child.  He brings great joy & happiness to our family.

Sometimes he is wild & wacky

Sometimes he is quiet & pensive

He loves a good book

He enjoys hikes in the woods

And he loves his legos

He's a good cook

And a great brother

He's just an all around fantastic kid!

No Training Wheels!

This week Ella learned how to ride her bike without training wheels...just in time for summer!  Many thanks to my Daddio for helping her master this skill.  This little girl is tough, and she learned in just two short sessions.  My parents' house has the best driveway for bike riding: long, straight & flat.  We bought used bikes this summer to keep at their house because the kids LOVE to ride bikes and I was tired of lugging theirs back and forth.  So kudos to Ella!  I'm thinking Max won't be far behind her this summer. 
Check out this video of the little biker mama:

happy birthday sam!

first communions :: now and then

i had several hours this morning in which to clean the basement.  see, i need to clean the basement in order to organize all my stuff for my yard sale, which is next weekend.  but instead of cleaning, i got distracted by a box of old pictures.  i started scanning in pictures and before i knew it, the time had come to pick the boys up from school.  sigh.  you know where you can find me tomorrow...in the basement, cleaning.  here are some fun first communion comparisons for you to enjoy...and i'm sure i'll be sharing more blasts from the past in the coming weeks.

katie & ella and our beautiful banners

michael & ella

katie & ella with anna mae, my father's mother

maternal grandparents:  me with my nana & bop, and then ella with her papa & nana.  both pictures taken in my parent's backyard.  their grass looks so much greener in 2011 with all of this rain we've had!  1985 must have been a dry year!

ella with her grandparents (michael's folks) and then michael with both sets of his grandparents on his first communion day.

and here's one of my favorites...me and sweet veronica on her first communion day, and then veronica (all grown up and a mother now herself) with ella bean.  these photos make me happy and sad all at once.  happy because i've watched my cousin grow into such a fine young woman, and a fabulous mother.  and sad because it seems like it was just yesterday that veronica was making her first communion, and i can't bear to think of ella growing up so quickly. 

ella's first communion

my darling ella bella made her first communion today, she looked like a little princess, and she was so very excited about this sacred event.  we followed the ceremony with a lunch at mom and dad's house, and i was ever so thankful that the rain stayed away all afternoon so we could spend some time outside.  my parents' front porch is one of my favorite places to be. 

happy birthday prince henry!

one year ago this morning prince henry entered the world to the tunes of vampire weekend.  he weighed in at 9 pounds, 10 ounces, the biggest of our four.  he has spent the past year trying so hard to keep up with his older siblings.  he loves them so much, and is always happiest when they are around.  he can stand, walk holding onto furniture, say dada (and sporadically call out mama if the mood strikes him), he can climb up onto rocking chairs, he loves pancakes, and broccoli, and he can dance (on rocking chairs no less).  he takes a few steps here and there, but his prefered method of movement is crawling.  he likes taking ALL of the wipes out of the box, figuring out how to climb up onto tables, and he loves to look out windows.  he's a very happy baby, but we are worried that he might be allergic to sleep.  he is healthy & growing, and learning new tricks every day.  we are all fascinated watching him grow up.  we love you prince henry!

look at me!

henry wanted me to hold him so badly last night that he just stood up and reached for me, cheered on by his siblings.  he was quite pleased with himself.  we were all excited about his accomplishment, but i'm a bit blue because he's moving closer to toddlerhood.

my baby ~ eleven months old

i don't know how this happened...

a major purchase

this morning michael and i became homeowners.  again.  four years ago we bought the home that we live in right now from michael's family.  the home we live in was built in the early 1950's by michael's grandfather, it is the home that my father-in-law grew up in.  our house is a two family home that can be converted into a single family dwelling, but for right now we are keeping it a 2 family for the extra income while i am working as a stay at home mother.  we love that our home has such a rich history, and that it is a family treasure. 
michael and i have kept a look out for years for more investment property, but have never seemed to find the right thing.  many are too expensive, or in too much disrepair.  we would love to support our family with more rental property, but cannot afford to get in over our heads. 
recently my aunties sent out an email to the family stating that they were going to sell a home that they inherited from my nana.  not just any home, it is the home that my nana grew up in, a home that has been in the family since the early 1930's.  it seemed like kismet.  another family home that was converted from a single family into a two family.  a home rich with history, and overloaded with charm.  we jumped at the chance to purchase this gorgeous family home.  and the best part is, the home is already rented out to two fabulous tenants, so we won't have to go looking for someone to rent to.  it is all just perfect.
this morning we closed, and the keys are in our hands.  and we are homeowners.  again.  you can call us rescuers of family homes.  that's our new role in life.

nana on her wedding day in the living room

nana & bop's wedding party in the front hallway (above) and the hallway as it looks today (below)

pocket doors!

old kitchen cabinets



i want this window in my house.  trying to convince michael to expand our front window to fit this in.  he is obstinately saying no.



the place needs some updates.  the tenants have been complaining about the bathroom for a while, michael will get to work on that soon.

watch me grow!

it's been a busy couple of weeks for henry! on monday he reached the nine month mark (that's 75% of a year, and it makes me very very blue that he's growing soooo fast).

but that's not all.  in the past few weeks he has:

learned how to pull himself into a sitting position

mastered the art of pulling himself into a standing position while holding furniture

taken a bath in the sink

helped with the dishes

eaten a book (appropriately entitled "just me and my little brother")

and learned how to wave "bye bye"

 while i love watching all of these new tricks, each one makes me cringe a bit.  i miss the newborn days, especially after visiting the newest newborn in the family.  but i am thankful that he is growing big and strong, and already showing such cleverness by helping mama with the dishes. 

welcome fall!

i guess you might have noticed, many of my blog entries of late have been centered around fall.  i love autumn, it's my favorite season.  i'm not a fan of heat and humidity...give me the cool, crisp days anytime!  soup, windows open, leaves crunching, sweaters...love it!  the next best thing will be a fire in the fireplace!  ok, enough about my excitement over fall.  today ella raked a little pile of leaves and we let henry play in them.  he LOVED it!  perhaps he will be a fall fanatic like his mama someday? 

henry just learned how to pull himself up into a sitting position this week, and he's oh so proud of himself.  he's been sitting for a month or so, if i put him on the floor in a sitting position, but on tuesday he mastered the trick himself.  and then on wednesday he pulled himself into a standing position.  oh my.  next thing you know....

sometimes i hate how fast they grow.

eight months old

ready for school!

seven months old

{this moment}

Inspired by Soule Mama:
{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

potty training sam style