March Marches On

Here we are over a week into March! I thought I would do a quick catch up post today, so get ready for some randomness.

**Today I have been a cleaning machine. Besides the fact that the house just plain old needed it, Cream is sick AGAIN! Cream and Shortcake seem to be sick just about every other week right now. We are in good company as it seems like the entire upper-Midwest has seen extra viruses this winter. I just want all of the germs to go away. Please. Right now!

I won this adorable apron at the craftfest. The kids loved it and the bag it came in!

**I will do an entire post on this, but I was able to participate in my favorite Craftfest (EVER!!) the last weekend in February. It was a great time.

Chilling and reading on a Saturday afternoon.

**However, I was soooo worn out the entire following week. I was starting to wonder if that was how I was going to feel the rest of this pregnancy. Thankfully, I have been feeling much better this week.

The girls love activity books. After Cream spent an afternoon working on this Eric Carle sticker book, I decided to order some activity books for their Easter baskets. #Amzonprimewin

**We have had a lovely streak of beautiful weather the last few weeks. Monday was a perfect spring day. The sun was shinning, the snow was melting, the birds were singing, and it was almost 70 degrees out. Today is a bit more seasonable, but that taste of spring was lovely!

Shamrocks rock!

**The spring-like weather reminded me that last fall we planted tulip bulbs around the front yard. I can't wait to see how and when they come up.

My dapper guys!

**I took a little break from sewing last week, but am back at it this week with a consignment order. Actually, I haven't really started sewing yet, it has been all cutting and interfacing up to this point. I remember reading a comment from someone that wondered why they called it sewing because so much time was spent on cutting and pinning.

This picture was taken on beach day. I was showing them how to make the hang loose sign.

Here are the girls on decades day. #groovy (And a slice of real life in the background!)

**It is spirit week at the girls' school this week. They have been having fun dressing up each day. Peachy was all about planning her outfits all out. We went to a thrift store on Saturday and picked out a few items together. We are keeping our fingers crossed that Cream is feeling well enough to go and attend the pep rally tomorrow.

This was taken two years ago of Shortcake! Oh, new baby goodness!

**Mr Cherry and I are still working on name options for the new little one. (At this point we don't even have a nickname!!)

And here he is today!

**I am starting to feel the nesting itch. I want to rearrange our bedroom and figure out where we will put the babe when (s)he comes home. I also have an order of fabric coming to make a few things. Otherwise, I figure we will just bring out the baby clothes bins and make sure we have diapers! #fourthchildproblems

Shortcake: Two Years Old

A couple of weeks ago, our little man, turned two years old. It is amazing to think that just two short years ago our family added our first son. While he is definitely a boy, he is as sweet and laid-back as they come.

**Although lately he has been throwing mini-fits. (Truth be told, they are 95% cute and 5% naughty.) And when he launches into one all we have to do is tell him to go to his room. He instantly stops scream/yelling and does his cute little run right to his room. After a few moments, he reemerges and says, "All done." And that is that. If only that little plan would continue to work in the coming years.**

He takes after his sisters and has a great vocabulary. There is just something so endearing about hearing his little voice explain the way he sees the world. And there is nothing sweeter than hearing him call for his sisters. While Peachy is growing in favor, Cream is his favorite playmate for sure. He loves nothing more than being included in all they do.

He is my first child to go to any sort of babysitter on a regular basis. When I need the alone time to get work done, I take him to a friend's house one day a week. He gets to hang out with two other little boys there. It is cute to hear him talking about his friends.

He has a love for all things that go, which was fully encouraged through his Christmas and birthday gifts.

He is still our little squirt, living up to his nickname, Shortcake, weighing and measuring in at the 20th percentile.
We were able to celebrate his birthday with a houseful of family. It wasn't a super themed party, but what is lacked in decor was made for with love.
I can't imagine what our life would be like without our Shortcake. I am blessed to have him call me momma!

Things That Go

Like many little boys, our Mr. Shortcake has developed a fascination with all things that go! When we recently had a dumpster bag picked up from our driveway, it provided a good twenty minutes of free entertainment!

Fine Feathered Friends

One of the best features of our home is the large and established yard and outside area. We love watching the plant and animal life that is literally out our back door. Lately most of the wildlife has consisted of birds. We have blue jays, wrens, and many days we get to see the flash of scarlet that is the cardinal. The other day I looked out and saw over a dozen cardinals, both male and female in our crab apple tree. While my camera skills don't so the scene justice, here is a glimpse at some of our fine feathered friends.

Snow Day Fun

This past Tuesday we were blessed with a snow day. It really was good timing for my sake. A day at home without any running around was just what I needed.

I had stocked up on some Valentine's day crafty things from the Target dollar spot, so I gave them to the girls right away in the morning. Peachy wasted no time and got right to creating.

Since it hadn't started to snow yet, we made a quick grocery store run for some essentials like milk, peanut butter, and donuts! I let the kids keep their jamas on, which they thought was pretty cool.

We all enjoyed having Peachy home for the day. An extra lap to sit on or someone to read books is always appreciated.

It did eventually start to snow and while Shortcake slept I sent the girls out to play before the wind picked up.

And while it doesn't seem possible, having all three home all day and not having to go anywhere actually let me be more productive. I had a good sewing day and was also able to keep up on the housework. I think it was a needed break from routine for all of us!

Our Arizona Trip

Yay for Grandma Girl! I don't know how moms fly on their own!

Waaaay back in the end of October my mom and I took the kids to Arizona. We were able to visit my one sister and her husband and my other sister flew in from California!! We had a blast! It was so good to all be together. (It has been three years since I saw one sister as she has been living overseas.)

Waiting for the rental car. You would think we had been there for hours!

My mother met us at the airport that just happens to be in the middle of our two homes. We had a straight flight, which was awesome with kids. The flight went well and then we rented a van at the airport where we met up with my sister when she landed.

Yay for Aunties!!

We filled our time with trips to the zoo, science museum, and even drove up into the mountains. Since we flew out on Halloween we brought the kids costumes and attended a story time at the library my sister works at. (She even was the librarian running the story time!)

Helping us navigate at the zoo. He loved the monkeys!

Our return flight was smooth as well. We landed on time, but it was after 10 pm and we still had to drive home. All three kids fell asleep and slept the entire hour and a half home! The next day I was totally wiped out, but it was a Sunday, so we all just chilled at home.

Walking in the snow in Arizona!

One of the best parts of the trip was my sister announcing that they are expecting their first baby in May!!! I also got to share the news of our baby with my sisters.

My three gnomes all dressed up to go to Halloween story time.

Our Family Is Growing!

My highly photoshopped attempt at an announcement with the three kiddos.

As I mentioned in my last post, there were some pretty wonderful things that happened that when I wasn't blogging. The most extraordinary being, we are expecting baby #4 at the end of May. It is so, so exciting to think of a new little one joining our family!! Being that we have seen the babe on the ultrasound screen and I can now feel the movements, it is starting to feel more and more real. We told the kids by giving them a baby book and asking if they would like it if we had another. Peachy and Cream are pretty excited. Shortcake is living in sweet denial. :o) 

Our announcement in Facebook.

So far everything has been going well. (Which we are so thankful for.) I am so much more tired this time around. I think we can blame keeping up with the other three and my "advanced maternal age." Ha! We are at a new clinic and hospital because of our move, so I am learning the ropes there. I have decided to see the midwives at our clinic. I am enjoying the midwife experience so far, although I have only been to them two times now.

Shortcake looking at the baby book we used to tell the kids about their new sibling.

We really are amazed at God's goodness in allowing us to experience the joy of adding one more child to our family!

And just for fun, here are the other three's ultrasound pictures.

Peachy

Cream

Shortcake