and it's not even may...

it feels like we've already packed a year's-worth into life since the new year... and it's not even may yet! life does NOT slow down, so i've been more appreciative of those quiet times when it feels like time is standing still, just for a few moments. those moments are, more often than not, when max is nursing. 

anyway... my photos uploaded in reverse order and i'm not about to re-do it, or i'll never get this posted, so please excuse the time rewind. :)

 remi was diagnosed last night with shingles. yes, shingles. he's had the varicella vaccination, so given that and his young age, the attending resident insisted it was a bug bite or contact dermatitis on his little leg. however, a doctor asked to see it as we were in the process of being discharged, and he immedieatey diagnosed the rash as shingles. he said he'd never personally seen it in someone as young as remi, and someone from the pediatric unit  came down to look and to take pictures. he has a follow-up with a pediatrician this afternoon.

 and two days prior, we were at the e.r. for cole. he was goofing around on his bunkbed and fell off. x-rays showed no broken bones, so they treated him for a sprain and splinted it for stabilization. he'll keep it on for aweek, and he should be fine. 

 this little boy... melts my heart.

 huge pinecone, anyone? 

 cole lost his second tooth shortly after we got to aiken. this time, he didn't swallow it. :)

 miss madison enjoying her meal at cracker barrel one sunday. we went out with some friends and had a great time!

 three days after arriving, this happened. front end first...

 ...then the back end. nobody was hurt, thankfully, and after waiting for a week and a half, we were back to being mobile in a new van. 

had to share this... his dimples and smile just take my breath away! such a happy, contented little man, only cranky when it's warranted. great sleeper, good eater, smart, funny, loving... he's learned to give hugs. those tiny arms wrapped around our necks are just the sweetest thing. he says "na-na" (no-no) in context, copies us when we say "boo" or "what's that", says mama and dada sometimes. watching these four precious munchkins grow and learn is thebmost amazing gift!

southern living, the short version

so... we're in south carolina. we've been here a week and have already had our fair share of excitement. actually, it was just one incident, but it was enough to last us for awhile... our third day down here found us in a wreck. thankfully, the kids and i are ok (i'm still feeling it in my back, but it's not any worse, so that's good), as is everyone else that was involved. now we're just waiting on word as to whether or not the van is totalled. we're guessing it probably is, as the body damage alone is probably close to 70% of the blue-book value. the police that responded (and the emt's) were so nice, southern hospitality at it's finest! two of the policemen even took time to take three big kids to a grassy area and play tag with them. wow- i'm so impressed with their deparment!

anyway... we're in the camper to save on cost of living. it's an adjustment, to say the least. the kids are doing really well with it, sleeping through the nights without issues. kelvin's used it before, for travel work, so he's fine with it. i am another story... it's a complete and sudden 180-degree for me, and i don't do well with change at all. or with tiny camper bathrooms. or with no quiet place to escape to and unwind. but i'm dealing... and seeing how the kids love being with their daddy, well, that makes it all worth it! plus, the rv park that we're at is quiet. no noise at night, very little activity during the day... perfect. there's an on-site coin laundry, but hours are limited, so we find ourselves making more use out of driving 10 minutes to the nearest laundromat, since it's open 24 hours. there's also a fresh market up the road... hello, amazing produce! as in, a container of grape tomatoes lasts longer than three days (as opposed to the less-than-mediocre produce at our hometown grocery store), the avocados for max are huge. fresh market carries both organic and conventional items, so we can pick and choose according to our needs and what's on sale. perfect.

also, there's a dunkin' donuts. i've never had dunkin' donuts coffee until we first arrived here... oh.my.word. my brother was right- dd's amazing! also, hobby lobby and target are in the general vicinity, which is nice. and the drive into aiken is awesome... lots of flowering bushes, cute vintage street lamps instead of the standard lights-on-wooden-poles, large dividers between the lanes that look like pieces of a park, old brick walls that seem to go on forever, equestrian-crossing traffic lights... it's definitely a different feel down here. and i like it! oh, and the weather is nice- 80's on yesterday and friday, projected again for today. the camper has a/c, so we turn that on when it starts getting stuffy and warm. there are playgrounds nearby, which we will be making use of once we have a way to get around again. for now, while we're without a set of wheels, there's plenty of sand right outside the camper, and little kids + sand = hours of fun.

i'll post photos when i get a chance... between settling in and catching up on cole's schooling, we've not had an abundant amount of free-time. not to mention, max likes to "help" with everything, so it's a rare moment that i can use the computer without his little fingers finding their way onto the keyboard or moving the power cord to a more strategic location... oh, but that sweet, entire-faced grin makes it all ok. he's such a happy baby... just simply happy.

so, love and greetings to all our family and special friends from way down south- love y'all, and miss each one of you! <3

mr max (more updates to come)

oooh, max... he's growing so fast, and so stinkin' cute. and far too eager to keep up with the older kids: he started crawling shortly after he turned 6 months, right about the same time he cut his two bottom teeth. stinker! he is so alert, curious and sweet. cole and madi have done a great job of adjusting to max's mobility, mostly because they have their rooms to keep their toys in, completely inaccessible to max. remi's been a little put out by all of a sudden having to share the "community" toys, but he's learning to redirect his baby brother, or distract him with another toy. and cole in particular has done a wonderful job of modeling the redirection technique for remi. they allbthree get the giggles at max's latest antics, which involve attempting to start cruising, growling, making goofy faces when trying new/textured foods, or just hamming it up because he knows it's funny.
today marks a year of our family being legally reunited.... the re-birth of our family! i remember that day, feeling so anxious and powerless because  we were here at home while the hearing to determine our son's final fate was taking place states away... and then finally talking to our amazing caseworker, hearing the excitement and joy in her voice. i didn't need to hear the words, i could tell by her tone. knowing that she was so happy for remi and for us was so reassuring... not that there had been any doubt about her position/views of the whole ordeal. she had our backs from the second supervised visit, no doubt about it.
so today is a happy memory day... we are so blessed :)

mini-update

ack!! well, this is embarrassing. i've been far too negligent with my blogging. i assure you, laziness doesn't have much to do with it, though- cole's online kindergarten lessons take up a lot of the daylight hours. not that it's a bad thing, because he's doing really well at it and for now, the virtual school option seems to be a good fit for our family. i love watching him learn things, and i'm so thankful to have been the one to hear him read his first sentence- had he been in a brick-and-mortar school, i wouldn't have gotten that opportunity! (selfish, maybe...)

madison has turned 5. FIVE!!!! i refuse to believe it. she's just growing by leaps and bounds and has become a nicely balanced mix of tom-boy and girly-girl. she's entertaining, to say the least, and has developed a bit of a stubborn streak, so she keeps us on our toes.

remi... dear, sweet little boy of ours. oh, he melts my heart! he's starting potty-training, though it's slow going. he understands the concept and is praised and rewarded when he does go, and i'm sure that he'll get the hang of it soon. he's smart. like, really smart. there is SO much in his little noggin that he isn't able to express. his speech therapist was really impressed by his progress last week when she was here, and he's scheduled to be evaluated by the special ed department at the school here for speech, gross/fine motor and cognitive skills. since he's almost three, he'll soon be ineligible for the birth-to-three program, and he was referred to the school for any on-going therapies he might be eligible for. they like to do their own evaluations, rather than look at his in-take records. they'll determine whether or not he could benefit from more speech or occupational therapies, and if he does, it won't be anything hard-core. so we'll see what that brings.

and max. baby boy max. he just turned 7 months yesterday and is already an expert crawler with two little bottom teeth. he's the earliest to crawl and cut teeth out of all the kids, by several months. this little development is so exciting (isn't it always?), but also severely complicates things. no longer will he contentedly play or observe from a warm blanket on the floor... now he's off and getting into things, getting stuck, and "helping". so of course, normal routines now take a little longer because he often needs to be rescued several times! one of the drawbacks to early mobility is the lack of fear and the inability to understand "no" or a warning tone of voice, so this is a whole new ballgame for us. we keep being told, "oh, he'll be walking before a year!". yikes! he must be taking on the challenge, as he's also pulling himself to standing and has amazing balance when he's up on one knee and one foot. yes. already.

so besides the normal everyday stuff, i'm also slowly re-vamping my "green vanilla baby" stuff. new name, new products. that's also on my list of stuff to get my act together on. i won't be doing etsy anymore (at least for awhile), so i'll be relying on online networking and word-of-mouth for spreading the word. and if you're geared toward simple, natural products, you might just be interested. a little hint: healthy mouth. until i get things all sorted, switched, re-named and set up on the gvb blog, if you're interested in learning more, email me! or comment. either way. and by the way, this isn't an affiliate program or anything. this is homemade stuff, pure and simple.

so that's that, for now. pictures to come, eventually. i promise! (notice i'm not commiting to a time-frame there, hahaha!)

new design!

my creative side had a slight itch that needed scratching, so i decided to indulge. mind you, i'm not a scarf person at all... i mean, i love them on other people or hanging on those goofy hangers in the store, or even on a mannequin. but on myself, not so much. so i make them for other people.

i give you the muslin infinity scarf.

i haven't had much interest in knitting or crocheting lately. not sure the reason; maybe because it takes more concentration, what with counting stitches and all? not that i don't like it and will never do it again... i will. just not right now. 

anyway, i found a somewhat coarse weave, enough for a nice texture but not so much as to render it unwearable, and it's undyed amd unbleached to boot. big enough to make two loops and with a sewn-in twist... it's incredibly versatile too. office professional to weekend casual, as-is or with a flower or artsy piece pinned on, crisply ironed or crinkled up- any way you like it! 

right now i have this listed on etsy for $24.99. contact me here for a discount... and no matter where you order from, it ships free. 

(i promise, one of these days i will post photos from the camera, not just my phone. there is much to share! :) )

so here i am again, sheepishly admitting to my lack of updates. it really has been a tad busy! and regarding the photos... i'm doing this from my phone (first time... "hello, my name is lindsay and i'm a mobile blogging newbie"...) so they're a little out of order.

sorry.

max... half smiling. he's already 8 weeks (and then some). time is flying way too fast with him!

 he's been pretty strong from the time he was born. case in point: his tiny noggin as high as it will go in a mighty attempt to peer at the world over the edge of his bassinet. (our view was a bassinet with the tippy-top of his sweet little head bobbling around. so funny!)

 remi went on a veggie strike. as in, no veggies at all. mama got smart and bought veggie/fruit mix pouches. he loved them... and guess who ate his broccoli last night? problem (temporarily) solved.

 max and reid on wednesday.... hangin' out while the other 6 kids ran off steam at the farm. cousins!! (8 kids, aged almost-6-yrs to 8 weeks. whew!)

last saturday we spent the day in door county with aunt kandace and uncle duey... cole was excited about lunch being served via train. and he got root beer. double score. 

miss madi... tired and in no mood for pics.

i have more on the camera.... and when lufe slows down a wee bit, i may have a spare moment in which i remember to upload then. when i do, i'll post them. in the meantime, i'm off... another day with very special family and a birthday weekend to get ready for! :)

max

once again, it's been far too long between posts. i blame the events of the last year and a half... once remi was gone, i lost all desire to even touch my camera, and blogging was out of the question. i need to get back into the habit of both again! you know, with all my extra time and stuff (haha!).

so... onto the the newest happenings: the arrival of max! he was fashionably late (the midwife charted me at 41 weeks +1 day, but i think i was closer to 43 weeks, maybe more) and after weeks of early labor with NO progress, another instance of polyhydramnios (excess amniotic fluid) and a little boy that refused to drop down far enough to facilitate progressive labor, my amazing midwives felt that the safest route would be a repeat cesarean. they worked hard to support a vbac... something i REALLY wanted, badly... but in the end, it was another surgery.

max was born at 8:02 am on june 18th, weighing 8 lbs, 14 oz and measuring 20". he came out squalling, perfect in every way, apgar scores were 9 and 9. his hair is thicker than the other kids' were, and black instead of dark, dark brown. he has the infamous pheifer nose, never developed even the smallest touch of jaundice, is a great eater and at two weeks, is strong and alert. he even spent a few minutes cooing in his bassinett the other day!

("where the wild things are" onesie, courtesy of auntie elissa! it's sort of a theme, being that his name is the same as the main character's)

 

the kiddos have adjusted exceptionally well to max, in my opinion. remi is a little more sensitive these days, but at his age, that's quite normal and to be expected. lots of changes in the last two weeks, plus he's still figuring out his new place in the family- we can cut him some slack! still, he is quick with kisses for his baby brother, exclaims "oh, no!!" when max starts fussing, and refers to him as "MY bebe-ya". (he adds a "ya" to the ending of many of his words... it's kind of his trademark!). cole and madi are old enough that they can engage themselves in other activities independently, and cole especially, i think, remembers a little bit from when remi was born and understands that babies require a LOT of care and attention. madi has begun to show a little maternal instinct, voluntarily playing with her babies more than normal. kelvin was off for two weeks, which was great since recovery is a little slower with a cesarean (as anyone who's had one knows!)... and since painkillers make me sick, even motrin cramps up my stomach, it takes me a little longer to start moving around. and of course, since surgery involves a catheter, i developed the inevitable uti. nothing some cranberry and probiotic couldn't help. i won't lie- the day it peaked was miserable. i couldn't move without crying. but within 24 hours, things were drastically improved. so much so that i took cole, madi and max to story hour in waupaca with my mom. in hindsight, that was probably overdoing it some, but the kids had a ball and i was bored to death anyway.

(already sassy!)

 

max's first major outing was to one of the parks in the valley- last week thursday, we met some very special friends for a few hours. the last time i saw jennifer was early in the morning on the day we got to come home from arkansas- that was 6 months ago. far too long between visits, says i, but that makes the visits even more special. the kids got to play together in the park, max snoozed on a blanket in the shade, we had a wonderful chat, then had to part ways after a quick stop for ice cream.

anyway... i have to upload photos to share; it's on my list of things to do! i realize this post is sort of disjointed, but in my defense, there's lack of sleep, a fussing baby (it's feeding time!), and some wound-up kids distracting me. ah, the life of a mommy... wouldn't trade it for anything! 

(two weeks old today!)