Oh, James

Things I've said to James that I never had to say to Clare:

"No climbing in the pantry!"

"Dryers are for clothes, not kids."

"Get down from the window sill!"

"We go pee pee in the toilet or in your diaper. Not your pillow."

"Rocks are icky; no eating please."

"Don't play in the dog poop!"

"It's Mommy's job to take out light bulbs, not yours."

"Baseball bats are for balls, not people."

A Little Mama

Clare won't go to sleep until all -- I mean ALL -- her babies and bears are cozily tucked in to their own little beds. It's amazing to me how naturally nurturing she is and how much she loves taking care of anyone or anything deemed "little." She's getting so excited for her little brother or sister in just 7 short weeks!

*Note: This is not all of them. She literally had little beds all over her room.

Camping, peaches, friends...and one pregnant picture

We've had a fun few weeks spending time with friends and family.

Last month we went camping with Marc & Nichole and Andrew, Lindsey, & John. It was awesome! Just an overnight trip this time around, which turned out to be a great idea for James's first tent experience (he.would.not.sleep). We brought home tired and VERY dirty but happy kids, and everyone slept well the night we got home!


















Our tent. AKA: the biggest tent known to man. After camping in a "3-person" backpacking tent one time, Tom came home and immediately ordered from Costco an enormous 8-person tent, swearing he'd never again camp in those squished conditions. This sucker will last us at least through 5 more kids.












































I wasn't kidding about the dirt.

We celebrated Ceci & Steph's birthdays together a couple weeks ago, and one of Ceci's requests was a "Ty Lee" cake. She's her favorite character from the cartoon "Avatar," and she really had her heart set on it. So...we figured out how the pros do it, and Anna and I put it together. It turned out really well, and, more importantly, Ceci was really pleased with it.







































We got to see Amelia!!!! Kids had a great time running around together at the Point Defiance Zoo and then again at Mike & Kristine's for a BBQ. We feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends!



















James, Jack, Clare, and Avila looking at the otters playing.


















Clare was in 7th Heaven getting to hold a sleeping Baby Peter. Thanks, Amelia, for letting her sit there with him for so long!

I decided to tackle 48 pounds of peaches by myself one day. Here are pictures from start to delicious finish.



































Yes, I let my kids destroy the kitchen while I worked on the fruit.


















Here are the lovely results -- a dozen quarts of canned peaches, 5 gallon ziplocs of frozen peaches to use in pies and smoothies, and 9 jars of homemade peach honey.























Um, ignore the goofy facial expression. This is me at 31 weeks.