Juliet's Third Birthday

Juliet has been talking for a few weeks about her "pink" birthday. We weren't sure exactly where she came up with that, but I couldn't argue it was a great concept for a three year old girl =). So I headed to Target and grabbed every Hello Kitty party item I could find and then went home to make pink cupcakes (which by the way turned out terrible - never forego cake flour, if that's what the recipe calls for). We just had a few family members over for lunch and dessert, but she so enjoyed everyone singing and getting to blow out the candles. She's such a little girl now!

Here is Samuel lighting her cupcake:She loved hearing "Happy Birthday" sung to her.

Blowing it out!
And I had an excuse to buy her a pink flower arrangement from Costco. I always want to buy Costco flowers but never allow myself because I feel it needs to be a special occasion - this was the perfect opportunity to indulge!
I will never forget her crazy, hasty and scary entrance into the world three years ago! And she really hasn't slowed down since =).

Kid Pics (Happy Post!)

Here are some recent pics of the kiddos:


Colin had the kids help him make pumpkin chocolate chip bars:
Sissy is always good at taste-testing batters. And look at those ringlets!!
Samuel loves to hold Abe!
Oh, my. I could eat up those cheeks! He looks so much like Samuel and Jude as babies.
We are working on his neck muscles - it's hard when he hates being on his tummy!
More cheeks. He's been getting a lot of Papa time now that I have started chemo. It's a good bonding time!
Jude - crazy, as always!

Abe & Sissy

When Sissy picks out her own outfits, she comes up with things like this:And here is Abe in his 3 month onesie (he's turning out to be such a big baby!):
I love how intense his eye contact is.

Raised Beds

Yesterday Colin was determined to get the garden in (which is good, because our grocery budget is killing us!). All the kids jumped in the truck and went to get a load of new soil and upon returning, shoveled it into the wheelbarrow.After turned compost and new soil into some of the beds, they began planting peppers, zucchini, watermelon, lettuce, etc. I love that Sissy chose to wear a white outfit while gardening.

Hopefully in a couple of weeks (weather permitting), we will see some sprouts! Currently we are able to eat chard out of our garden - something that grows plentifully with very little attention.

Juliet's Watering Skills

I love when it's sunny and I get a rare moment to stand outside and snap pictures of whatever is happening in our yard. Today Jude gave Sissy a small container to help water the blueberries. I caught a close up of her face (I lure her in by telling her I will show her the picture). I don't know if I like the black & white:Or the color better:


She really enjoyed her job.
But maybe didn't so much enjoy me taking pictures of her =).

Memorial Day and Other Things

On Memorial Day, the boys went with Colin on one of his many trips to Home Depot and they came back with their faces painted. Samuel, of course, wanted to be Batman:
Sissy dressed as herself - in a diaper, helmet (have I mentioned that she walks around stores with this helmet on?), necklace and watch:
Jude got his face painted as Spiderman:
And Colin spent the remainder of the day in the nursery (it has just been completely remodeled) sanding/staining the floors:
I have implemented Bible time every morning as part of school. Samuel reads a Bible story of Jude's choosing - it really kills two birds with one stone - they get in the habit of devotion time and Samuel gets his reading practice in. He's reading from "The Beginner's Bible". It's the perfect reading level for Samuel and has enough pictures to keep Jude interested.

Portland Fire Awards Ceremony

On Monday night we attended the Portland Fire awards ceremony for Colin's promotion to Harbor Pilot. We were brave enough to bring the kids and luckily it only lasted about an hour. Here they are posing on Colin's fire truck:Ok - terrible shot (I was pretty far back with Juliet on my lap) but here Colin is shaking Commissioner Randy Leonard's hand:
Grandma Mary joined us and thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with the kids:
And Samuel took this picture:

My Kids This Week

I love when my kids enjoy cleaning. I didn't even ask them to help, but Samuel offered to clean the toilets again (something is wrong with that kid) and they all took sanitizing wipes and occupied themselves for about 30 minutes. Unfortunately, Sissy fell off the counter, but that was bound to happen, right? Joel and Sarah and Mom came over one night for dinner and I caught all the cousins watching a movie (ok - the smaller girls didn't really do a lot of watching):
Samuel drug out the Pack N Play and the kids spent some time making a fort and playing in there.
Sissy takes her baby doll pillow and goes "nigh night" on it. I couldn't resist getting down on her level and taking a picture.
And Samuel ask that I take a picture of him doing his schoolwork.

Juliet's Naturpath - Some Good Info

In April, Juliet paid a visit to a new naturopath in Milwaukie, Dr. Jesse Butler. In all honesty, I would rather forego traditional Western medicine all together and have my family just treated by naturopaths, but there are some roadblocks in the way, so for now we will just deal with Juliet's allergies and immune system.

After telling Dr. Butler that Juliet catches every virus and hangs onto it forever, we decided together to get her tested for food allergies and he also immediately put her on a strong probiotic powder and Cod liver oil (for her inflamed skin). I would return after her food allergy results were in and we would discuss from there her treatment plan. Can I just say how much probiotics made a difference in her right away? The boys caught a cold and she didn't ever catch one single symptom of it. She's been to church and remained healthy. Dr. Butler informed me that babies born before 39 weeks never get the bacteria in their gut solidified, and that hinders their little immune systems - which proved absolutely correct in Juliet's case.

After getting her results back this past week, I met with him once more and was informed that she is allergic to eggs (I laughed out loud at that one - I feed her fried eggs and toast almost every morning) and soy. He advised me of many things - not just for Juliet, for nutritional advice for our entire family. First - I have to remove eggs completely from her diet (even trace amounts) for one month and then if I want I can try them again later to see if she gets really sick. He let me know that everything we eat has an immune response - be it good or bad. If her (or our family's for that matter) immune system is working on processing bad food, then we can't fight colds/flu as well.

He also let me know that I should back off gluten. What?! He said that his family is gluten free by choice (they are not celiacs) because it is hard on our systems. He said that anything that can cause a major disease in other people should be avoided by everyone all together. Interesting thought.

Other interesting notes:

-Eat food that's as close to nature as possible and eat what is grown near you - not shipped from somewhere else. We adapt to our environment, so eating fruits grown in the tropics don't jive with our system well.

-Shade grown veggies (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant and peppers) should be avoided as they are inflammatory.

-Soak legumes before you cook them - it will improve digestion.

-Avoid all soy products, peanuts, dairy.

-Limit citrus - it's hyper-allergenic. (This is insanely true for Juliet - she breaks out in a rash the moment she consumes strawberries and oranges).

-Drink half your body weight in ounces of water per day.

-Cook only in stainless steel, Pyrex or cast iron.

I found all this information a bit overwhelming, but since this appointment, I have cooked mostly gluten free and given Juliet no eggs in anything. What a challenge!!

Sarah's Wedding

Jude and Samuel and I were a part of Sarah's wedding party yesterday and Colin caught a few pictures amongst all the business.

Aren't the boys handsome in their suits?!Sissy spent much time swinging from poles saying "Watch me!"


I never get pictures with my kids - I love this one. I technically am with my four kids in this picture - weird!
Jude playing with the paper cranes.
Our kids dancing was one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time.
Sissy and Grandpa Jeff.
Jude dancing with Grandma Jan.
Ella, the flower girl (who danced with Samuel a lot) and the boys.

Easter Egg Hunt

We headed to Corvallis on 4/17 to participate in an Easter egg hunt. The kids had so much fun! I love watching the kids' face light up over such simple things as hunting for plastic eggs. These are the moments I really don't want them to grow up - adults really can learn so much from children.

Ok - can we talk about her hair?! We have taken to wetting it down every morning and combing it, but it takes on a life of its own, especially if she has spent time in her carseat or her bed.
Samuel showing his loot.
Jude's jubilee at finding eggs. Yes, he wears superhero paraphernalia almost every day.

This is the best shot I could get of the cousins - I have a real respect for professional photographers who photograph children.