First Day of School

Yesterday was a big day at the Thomas house.  Five of the seven kids started school!  Adria is going into her junior year,  Riley is entering 5th grade which is also middle school, Max into 3rd grade, Minnie into 2nd grade,  and Lincoln's first year of school-Kindergarten!

Everything seemed to go well and the kids had a great day!  I had a feeling it wouldn't really make a difference in the amount of free time I have...and I was right...Truman was even more of a pistol than normal and this time I had no older sibling home to come and tell me what he was getting in to ;)  ...that little Truman... ;)

Very Special Day

Seven years ago today I gave birth to my 4th child....a beautiful baby girl, Minnie Grace.  I was more excited than you can even guess at the prospect of having another girl.  Adria was almost 10 so I hadn't had a baby girl to spoil in quite some time.  She was the most perfect baby-mild mannered, nursed great, slept great, such a pleasant little creature.  Daddy figured out that she loved sitting in her boppy with the massage chair on.  She would sit there with a contented look on her face and watch her surroundings.

Seven years later she is still the happiest and easiest child I have had.  She is literally almost never any trouble.  She's rarely in a bad mood.  She rarely fights with her siblings.  The only time we ever have to get onto her is when she is short on her sleep. Boy, when Minnie is sleep deprived she turns into some kind of alien...definitely not my happy-go-lucky princess ;)  Thankfully, that's a rare occurrence and something we don't have to worry about  much.


She is such a special little girl. Max was diagnosed with autism when she was 1.5 and she had to go on the back burner while we went to every kind of therapy known to man. The focus was not on her, in the least, and you would have never known. After growing up with a brother with autism (that she is only 1 year apart in age ) she now picks other children in her class to befriend that have issues...you know, those kids that others think are "weird" or "strange". Her very best friend is a little autistic boy and I'm so proud that she has the insight at her young age to look inside a person and see what they have to offer instead of judging by outward appearance. I expect great things from her and whatever she does in her adult life I have no doubt that it will be AMAZING.

Happy Birthday, Minnie Grace.  You have blessed my life in more ways than you can ever imagine and I have no doubt you will continue doing so.  It's kind of bittersweet to see you grow up so fast but I do look forward to seeing what a wonderful young woman you will be :)

 

This is one of the earliest digital images I have of Minnie, Max, and Riley. 

First Day of Summer Vacation

Yesterday was the official first day of summer vacation for Riley, Max, and Minnie.  We didn't do too much except attempt to get ready for our vacation and long drive to Florida.  I had written a long post out yesterday that I somehow erased so for now I'm just posting pictures. 

Riley had asked me to take some pictures of him in his Link get-up.  I had to oblige him because #1 he never asks for me to take pictures and #2 I want to remember these ordinary moments that make up childhood.  It all goes by so quickly!

Excitement Brewing

Well, once again I've neglected my blog. Oops! What can I say? Things are just busy around here in a house with 7 kids.

Summer is officially here today but we still have two more days of school after this one. I'm ready! I'm ready to be able to sleep past 6 am and I'm ready to play with my kids all day long, every day.

We had a nice Father's Day weekend spending time with the awesome Thomas Dad! We didn't do too much but just hung out around the house. We played outside some and played with sidewalk chalk. Daisy seemed to enjoy it!

 She decided she's better taste the chalk..nutty child!!

We're leaving on vacation soon and I'm so excited!  We haven't taken an honest to goodness vacation since we lived in South Carolina and that was three states ago!  It's been a long while.  We'll be going to Florida and the only thing I'm not super excited about is the 22.5 hours in the car...and that's what mapquest says.  You know they aren't planning on someone driving with as many kids as we have ;)  Bathroom breaks are not a quick process and when you factor in that I'm still nursing Daisy...well, that takes some time.

Well, time to switch the laundry...the washer is going non-stop around here trying to get ready to pack.  Happy Summer!

A sneak peek for the "M" family :)

I had the most fun session on Monday evening. Let me tell you, the kids are sweeties!! I am fairly certain that Miss Sophie has an incredible future in acting. She's incredibly animated! I could have watched her expressions for hours.

Stay tuned because I will be adding more images soon!

Birthday Picture

No words, really.  Just a sweet girl before I gave her the real cake.

ETA:  For some reason some of my pictures and videos are not posting right.  I think there is something wrong with the sidebar so I apologize for that!

My Obsession

Okay, so most people that know me know that I LOVE dolls.  I just adore them.  About a year ago I discovered Waldorf dolls and ever since I have been hooked.  There is just something extra special about a handmade doll made with wonderful materials.  They are so much nicer than those crappy plastic dolls made in China.  It's something to actually feel good about giving your child.

I made a video to share with a friend of mine so she could see our dolls.  I decided I'd share it here, too.

One

My princess is one.  I just can't believe how fast this past year went by.  She is such a joy to me.  How in the world did I get so lucky to be her mother?  She is the most perfect baby girl in the world (and I'm not the least bit biased, ha!).

Time Flies

Wow, it's been a while since I've visited my blog. How did that happen? I was so sure I was going to keep current with it this time.

In just a few short days Daisy Faith will be turning one. I can't get over how fast the past year flew by. The fact that my last baby is almost an entire year old astounds me. Really, where was I during that year? I know I didn't spend enough time cherishing the special moments. I'm vowing, as of right now, to really work on taking time to enjoy life..and not always looking forward to the next thing; enjoying the here and now..that's important.

Because I realize we didn't document hardly any of Daisy's first year, I went ahead and ordered Sam a Flip video camera. I'm planning on him having it on pretty much 24/7 to capture all the crazy moments of our lives. Like just yesterday as I was carrying Daisy down the stairs, I slipped on my yoga pant leg, and fell down the entire flight of stairs. That would have been just lovely to have on video tape ;o)

Another thing I've been super lax on is taking pictures of our lives. Yeah, I'm a photographer...but I need to get past the fact that all pictures need to be perfect. I need to just snap away and not worry about creating that "perfect picture". Because of the quest for the perfect picture I just don't pick up the camera some days (totally shameful, I admit).

So, right now....today is Tuesday and I have no cake ordered, nothing planned for the baby, and no present. Her birthday is Saturday! I'd better get on it!!

And...just because I think she's dreamy....