All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go

 Lizzie asked if she could wear her new dress for Sunday today, even though she's not old enough to go to church yet.  So I humored her and added a little photo shoot.  I love these bold colors!

 Demonstrating her amazing cross-eyed abilities . . .

cutest little yawn . . .

 Thanks, Aunt Beth, for the cute dress and the middle All name! :)

 Is that a smile?  Yes, I'd like to think so.

Out cold on the floor--Mom wore her out doing Pilates!

Helping our Sisters

With the birth of this new baby, my biggest worry has been how it will affect the other siblings.  Because of this, and because school ended this week, I felt the need to seek some heavenly guidance as to how to keep the house together--Mom is gone, Seth had to go back to work--real life is setting in!

After some good observations from Mom's outside-looking-in point-of-view, I found that my kids work best when they have a list of jobs they can check off.  I've tried online job charts, I've tried drawing little pictures with boxes by them, and now I finally decided to simplify and just type up basic job lists.  They are the same for almost every kid--here is Gabe's list: 

GABE’S JOBS

       Table jobs (breakfast)

       Empty Dishwasher—cups

       Jump on Tramp or Exercise

       Bring Laundry Downstairs

       Make Bed

       Clean Room

       Tidy Bathroom (clean Sat.)

       Get dressed

       Laundry

       Reading

       Table jobs (lunch)

       Extra job ______________

       Summer School

That "Extra job" is awesome--it allows me to give the older kids something harder that I need to have done, and it lets me give the younger kids age-appropriate things they can do.

I realize that the novelty will wear off soon, but so far it has really helped get us going so we're not cleaning all day.  We try to be done by lunch time so we can do summer school afterwards.

Eleni & Gabe have especially done well with the lists, and the other day I walked into the kitchen to see Eleni teaching Evie how to wipe down the fridge.  I have to document and treasure these moments so I remember that they do happen! :)

 Gabe has been so happy about his little sister.  He wanted another girl "because Evie is so cute, and I want another sister like Evie.  Then when they're both two years old I can play with both of them!  Maybe we can name her Evie too!"  He got his wish (other than having 2 Evie's), and he has demonstrated how much he has grown up since Evie was a baby . . . for the most part! :)

 I love this video!

If you can't hear him, Gabe explains why it's good that Lizzie crosses her eyes so much.

Meet Miss Lizzie

I love this picture!  The kids listening to Grandma's story, trying to include Lizzie, and Seth playing his hand flute in the background--he is really good at it, actually.

Lizzie was especially happy to share her first few days with her Grandma Kaye.  My mom was wonderful--Lizzie is the last of 5 granddaughters born within the past few months, and Mom has spent time helping all of us.  Thanks to Daddy for lending her to us!  She was amazing at keeping the kids happy, fed, and occupied (and letting Seth and I sleep in every day--we will really miss that!!!)

 Lizzie's first bath--Grandma Kaye is the Queen of Bathtime!  I think she loves fresh, clean grandbabies, and she loves helping them wind down and get ready to sleep.

This bath seemed to do the trick for Lizzie!

 I don't know if you can tell how much happier Seth is now . . . he was incredible the week that Lizzie came home.  He was so much more engaged with the kids, with Lizzie, and more relaxed all the way around.  It was wonderful to have him around.

 Little yawn!

 I hope this video works--I have the hardest time uploading them . . .

 

I just found out something today that makes Lizzie's name all the more special; my great-great-great grandmother Sarah Melissa Clark and her mother, Sarah Melissa Hakes, both went by "Lizzy" or "Lissie."  I am sure she was sad to leave them in heaven!

Lizzie Beth--God is My Oath

After so many blessings that have come our way this year, the highlight was when we welcomed this precious little baby into our lives.  You would think that after five children I would be old hat at delivering babies, but I have to admit that I was very nervous.  There were some complications after Evie's birth, and I worried something worse might happen.  But thanks to Seth's priesthood blessing and many prayers in my behalf from my sweet children, this labor and delivery was by far my quickest and easiest.  I felt so incredibly blessed!

This is the sign that greeted us when we arrived home from the hospital--
cute Eleni was so excited to meet her new little sister!

For the first time, my water broke the night before I delivered, and when I went to my doctor's appointment the next morning, he recommended that I come to the hospital right away.  A sweet neighbor offered to watch the kids, and we headed in.  I had to be on antibiotics for 4 hours, so we waited as I started on pitocin.  I felt a definite difference this time--I just knew my body was working more quickly, and I could tell she was going to come as soon as she could--she was ready!  I knew there were many people praying for me and helping me, both here and on the other side of the veil.  The labor (yes, it still hurt!) seemed to be not quite as intense as it has in the past.

Our precious Lizzie Beth King was 7 lbs 7 oz and 20 inches long.  She has just a skiff of hair, and she is the sweetest baby in the world!  We went to the hospital with two or three names, and none of them fit her.  The kids have been calling her "Abi" for months, but we all agreed when we met her that that just wasn't her name.  

Later that night, over a romantic hospital dinner (why is post-delivery food so delicious?  It is by far my favorite part of the experience, other than the birth of the baby, of course :), Seth and I kicked around all the names we have liked.  After searching all kinds of names on babynames.com on his Ipod, he typed in "Lizzie," and I suddenly knew that was her name.

As you may know from the names we chose for our other children, name meanings hold a lot of weight for Seth.  He loves "powerful names," and when he found out that Lizzie (along with Beth and Elizabeth) means "God is my oath," he felt good about it too.  We both feel a desire to recommit to live worthy of the blessings we have received, to fulfill our temple covenants, and to serve more.

Side Note: Those of you who know me probably know why I was excited about the name--Lizzie Bennet from Pride & Prejudice, Lizzie Hexam from Our Mutual Friend, etc.--I have wanted an "Elizabeth" for years, but Seth put his foot down--he does not like that name.  However, Lizzie just felt right, and as we tried it with all kinds of middle names, Lizzie Beth seemed perfect, a tribute to my beautiful, wonderful little sister. (And a sneaky way to almost get an Elizabeth :)

Lizzie is the sweetest, most patient little baby!  I realize this is probably just the newborn, sleeps-a-lot stage, but she has been as near-perfect as can be (other than the first night home, when she wouldn't sleep until 4 am . . . that was a bit tough).  She has been sleeping really well, only waking up once to eat, and going right back down.  She has a very calm spirit--very patient with her siblings, who are loving her to death:

I love this picture of Eleni double-tasking--just like mom, reading and holding the baby at the same time. :)  While Mom was here, I asked Eleni to keep an eye on the baby as I ran to get some groceries. I came home to find that she had stayed in the same position for over an hour with precious little Lizzie sleeping the whole time.  I will say one thing--Lizzie has some very loving, excited older siblings!

The day after we got home, Seth's priests stopped by to bring us cookies.  Seth gave them all a chance to hold her--it was priceless!

There is something truly remarkable about a new baby that connects us with our Heavenly Father.  Look at the joy a baby can bring to a bunch of crazy teenage boys!  And the sweet calm you can see in my other kids feel as they hold her or lay by her.  I am so grateful for the privilege of joining with our Father in Heaven to provide a body and a life for one of His precious spirits.

Welcome, Lizzie Beth!

Before the Baby . . .

 My next post will be announcing some very special news . . . but first I wanted to share a few fun things that have happened around here.

Every March we feel pretty lucky because Grandpa Ben & Grandma Kaye come through St. George on their annual field trip to Southern California with Dad's Floral Design students.  We get to see them on Sunday, when they join us for church, and we get to have all Dad's students with us for dinner.  It's a lot of fun for the kids, and something we look forward to.

A few more random items of interest:  Eleni requested a bird's nest this year for crazy hair day.

 Evie--without the crazy hair, for once.

 Gabe has been quite obsessed with drawing pictures of Star Wars Angry Birds--he spends hours drawing the intricate Angry Birds scaffolding.

 We had a fun day at the annual Art Festival--we splurged and took a ride on the carousel.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, complete bliss for Eleni!

Backyard Blessings

 I can't believe the miracle this yard has been already!  I am so grateful that we were able to put it in.  Let me take you on a tour . . .  and if you get bored by plants and yard stuff, you can skip to the pictures later on.

Keep in mind that this is a panoramic view--it makes the yard look gigantic!  Our landscaper found some incredible boulders, which the kids love to climb on, sit on and eat on, or pour rocks and water into (that would be Evie--one of the boulders has these cool craters on top).  On the left we have a nearly-completed flagstone pathway--it just needs to be sealed and it will be darker and Evie-proof.

We got a little plant-happy . . . "we" meaning Seth . . . and planted bushes & trees in every possible space.  But it's been so much fun!  We have 3 fruitless mulberries, 1 aristocrat pear (not doing too well . . .), 2 Fan-Tex ash, 2 chitalpa's, 2 hollyoak, 3 pine (Monterey?  I can't remember the name but they are cool with curvy needles), 1 weeping mulberry, 2 Wilson olives, 2 Raywood ash, 1 magnolia, and lots of bushes; abelia, pineapple guava, privet, euonymous (what a funny name!), Italian cypress, and a couple chaste bushes, or "butterfly bushes," as my kids call them. Out front we also have star jasmine (my favorite!), wild roses, hawthorne, lavendar, something bamboo, grape vines, and English ivy.  

 It's been so much fun to place and plant these plants!  They are like extra children to Seth--he walks around every day after work and checks on all of them, making sure they are getting enough water and drainage, etc.  A few of them have struggled, and I have new appreciation for the phrase in Jacob 5; "It grieveth me that I should lose this tree . . . " Seth is genuinely grieved if anything goes wrong with the trees.  They are beautiful, though! And so soothing and therapeutic--it is a blessing to look out at green instead of washed-out tan.

 This is the nearly-finished fire pit, which should be a lot of fun!  Seth put his dart board out there yesterday--I think he's excited to have some spare time now to enjoy this yard with the kids! (I just hope no one pokes an eye out . . .)

 That little corner in the middle is my favorite--my magnolia tree is doing splendidly!  I fell in love with magnolias in England, and Seth was sweet to let me pick one out, even though it was expensive . . . He has come home with new bushes about half a dozen times, so I didn't feel too bad! :)  Next to it is my favorite, star jasmine, and I am so excited about how well it's doing!

 Here is our orchard!  We have 7 peach trees, all different varieties, and 2 thriving figs (each with one little fig on them).  There are grape vines in the background and tomatoes in the pots.

 And to top it all off, I woke up to this for Mother's Day today--breakfast not in bed, but outside on my new patio furniture!

And this is why I love my backyard:

 The kids can eat outside . . .

 they are learning to take responsibility for their pets (mostly Eleni, who LOVES THEM TO DEATH!!) . . .

 (this is typically what happens now, but that doesn't stop her from trying to hold all of them all the time)

 (there--now she can't escape!)

 . . . and Evie has been happy as a lark.  Here she is playing in the boulder with craters.  She spends much of her time outside watering the plants with "wawa-juice," gathering rocks, painting with water on the cement, pushing her stroller across the path, jumping on the tramp, playing with the "guh-gacks" (chickens), and playing with the kids outside.  She's just like her daddy--she thrives in sunshine!

Another blessing for Evie has been that she moved in with Eleni.  She was sharing a room with Gabe, but we've moved the boys in together.  Evie adores Eleni, and Eleni was excited to have company!  The only downside is that Eleni's room gets all the morning sunshine, so Evie wakes her up at the crack of dawn . . . hopefully that will pass!

The first day they slept together, Eleni brought Evie down all dressed and with every bow and clip we own in her hair.  "She just kept saying, 'Bow! Bow!' so I had to put them all in!"

I am so grateful for this happy time in our lives.  I know trials will come, and we've already been through a few, but I am so grateful the Lord has allowed us this time to enjoy each other's company, to  have fun with Seth and no doctorate, and to prepare for our new little baby.  I was due on Friday, 2 days ago, so we are eager to welcome her into this home and beautiful new backyard.  We are so blessed!  Hopefully we'll soon have news for you of our little arrival!