The corn harvest

We got to go out in the field and pick corn.

This nice man taught the kids how to do it.

And I think Ayla is about as good at following directions as me.

She chose to do things her own way.
Good for her.

Did I mention it was beautiful outside?!? Or that I love Iowa in October? It was and I do.

9 month and 5 years appointments...

Just got home from our "well-baby checks". I'm not sure when you stop calling them that, but we'll stick with it for now.

Ayla:
17 pounds on the nose (that's like the 10%...great, we have another Brigg on our hands)
26.5 inches...like the 15%
Developing great.
Most likely allergic to milk...no more dairy whatsoever. Only soy-based products.

Lani:
40 pounds (55%)
42 inches (60%)
3 shots...that puts her all ready for kindergarten! :) She did great. She's one tough girl.
Ear infection
Sinus infection
Currently on an antibiotic.

That's it. Hope she's feeling better before we head out tomorrow. She looks pretty miserable today. We've never had to deal with any "allergy" stuff really, so this could be interesting. We eat a lot of dairy in the house. More milk, yogurt and cheese than I care to admit to. So it will be a bit of a challenge. But apparently we can get soy in most of that...and I'm sure it will be MUCH cheaper! HA!

Fun with Ayla photos...

And little Ayla Lyn

i look at her and wonder what she'll be like. she is definitely her own little person. often times her mannerisms remind me more of brigg, but that sparkle in her eye when she smiles and leans forward is all nalani. although she is a little more leary of new people...sometimes giving them a good long stare right into their soul before offering a smile...which is definitely more of a brigg trait. she is interacting more and more and also becoming quite the little "talker". her personality is coming out a little more each day. so anxious to see how it develops over the years to come. i love them all so much and feel so fortunate to get to be their mommy!

A glimpse into dinner time around here...

My kids don't really like to eat. It's always an issue. Somehow each night they seem to find something else to divert their attention. Tonight it was Ayla. (Notice at the end Lani saying "Mommy, look at my meat!" That's because it's like pulling teeth to get them to eat meat. She was very proud of herself...she ate her complete serving of roast!)

Moving on...

We gave Ayla her first food tonight...Organic brown rice cereal. YUM! She actually did really well...at first. By the 4th bite or so, she started gagging. Literally. So we stopped. She's so funny!

The appointments...

They went well. Brigg gained a little weight and moved up from the 2 percentile to the 8 percentile. No more weight checks for a year now! Woohoo!! Ayla weighed in at 14 lb 4 oz. That is much smaller than Brigg and Lani were at her age, but she's still in the 60th percentile. No concerns there. Brigg and Nalani both had booster flu shots and did great. Then Ayla got her 3 shots and I looked over at Brigg and he had his sweatshirt pulled up over his face. I said, "Brigg, what are you doing?" as I pulled it down. When his face popped out it was bright red and he was SOBBING. He said, "I don't want Ayla to hurt!" Too sweet. Now that is one great brother! Love them all so so much...

Ayla has also found her voice...

And she uses it...A LOT!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

And Ayla has found her thumb...

Tis the season...

Just processing out loud

So I just got our budget all in order and was feeling so very proud of myself. This is such an issue around here with Paul being the primary income. (I do a little paperwork, but nothing to write home about!) So the budget was all in order for the new year and then a couple things came up today and now we are back to re-working it. I feel like throwing in the towel sometimes. I love staying home with these kids and loving on them all day. But I have days when I think it may be better for everyone if I just got a full time job to make ends meet. After so many years of living so tight, you start to have these moments where you think you just want some breathing room. If what looks to be small changes in your budget can make you stress at night, you start to think you need to make some drastic changes. I don't know. Just processing here and I know it will all work out. But for the moment I am just stressed about it. Thank goodness for free therapy...my blog! :)

2 months

Ayla had her 2 month appt today. She is doing great...weighing in at 11 lb 8 oz, she is growing like a weed. She HATED her shots. I have never experienced that with my kids. Brigg and Lani really didn't cry for their shots. Ayla screamed bloody murder. It was so sad! Overall, she did great though. I can't believe it's been 2 months already.

Our party animal

I don't think she really understands that although I love playing with her until 1 am, unlike her, I don't get to sleep until noon the next day!

oh that face...