We celebrated one month with Clara yesterday!
So far, she seems to be a mix between Nora and Simon — fairly fussy and restless during the day (Nora) but sleeps well at night (Simon). She even gave me a solid 7-hour stretch of sleep one night last week!!
She wants to be held ALLLLLLL the time, so my baby carrier is definitely coming in handy.
In my opinion, she still looks COMPLETELY different than all 3 of our other babies — mainly because she has a lot of hair, darker skin, and no dimples. That said, it looks like she will have blue eyes like the rest of them.
Clara enjoys eating, sleeping, and creating lots of laundry for me to wash! 🙂
Personally, I haven’t done a whole lot of anything this past month — well, besides laundry!
We’ve slowly been eating through my stash of freezer meals, I’ve written a few blog posts, ordered pictures, and gotten groceries a couple of times. Other than that, I’ve been at home, holding a baby most of my waking hours.
I’m certainly glad the newborn stage doesn’t last forever, but I suppose this isn’t the worst job in the world!
As for the rest of the family…
Dave had a short week of school last week for Teacher Convention and he surprised the kids with donuts for breakfast one of the mornings he was home (seriously, food is definitely our kids’ love language!)
He’s been such a huge help entertaining and playing with the older 3 kids… and waking up with them in the middle of the night! I wish teachers got a 6-week paternity leave from school (in addition to their 10 weeks off in the summer — ha!!) It’s so nice that he can regularly be home by 3:30 every afternoon because it means we can eat dinner early and get the kids to bed early.
Nora is still in love with school and riding the bus. She started reading basically overnight and is so excited to learn new words. It’s amazing how quickly she picked up reading (especially after I made very little progress trying to “help” her read over the summer).
She is eagerly anticipating Halloween and her upcoming SIXTH birthday. She wants to be a gumball machine for Halloween and have a Little Mermaid birthday party — we’ll see how I do with both of those!
She lost another tooth and has a few more wiggly ones — and, all-of-a-sudden, she seems SO TALL!
Nora’s current “hobbies” are playing with the neighbor girls, Perler Beads, writing a book about birds, collecting leaves, anything with Shopkins, and chewing gum.
Simon is still as silly and sweet as ever.
He loves kissing Clara, and always compliments me on her cute outfits. EVERY single day, he says, “Isn’t Clara just the cutest? Don’t you just love her SO much, mom?”
Simon is obsessed with Spiderman, Batman, and Superman right now. We found him a sweet Batman costume for Halloween for just a few bucks online — he is SOOOOOOO excited!
All of that sweetness aside, Simon has definitley given me a glimpse into the “Terrible Threes” — he’s such a stinker when he wants to be, and he’s super strong so he can actually hurt people if he’s not careful.
He had his first dentist appointment earlier this week — he did amazing. On the way home he said, “wasn’t it so good how I went to the dentist like a big boy?”
Simon loves singing, everything blue, pretending to do “homework”, stuffing his backpack full of random things, eating goodies, and coloring in the lines.
And last night at dinner, Simon ended his prayer with “A-lady” instead of “Amen” — he did it totally casually and looked at Dave and me like we were crazy for busting out laughing. That’s Simon for you!
James is one of the happiest kids I know, and a mama’s boy all the way. Although he loves “New Baby Cwara”, he regularly wants me to hold him, he’s always begging to sit on my lap, and whenever he doesn’t get his way, he cries and says, “I just need you mommy”.
James is a pro at copying everything his older siblings do, and he’s probably the most coordinated of our kids, so he can usually keep up with whatever they do.
As I’ve mentioned before, Simon and James play so well together 90% of the time. They wake up and immediately want to go outside to ride bikes or play in the sandbox — it’s so sweet for me to watch, and very convenient on the days when Nora is in school!
James loves breakfast foods (especially eggs), the color yellow, bubbles, singing, riding his bike, reading with mom, spiky hair, and drawing angry faces 🙂
We have been enjoying the warm sunny Fall weather and playing outside a lot. I’m so thankful for our long driveway and big yard so I can let my kids play outside without constant supervision.
The kids each picked a pumpkin from my parents’ garden — so they got the pumpkin patch experience without the need to drive to a crowded, touristy pumpkin patch and pay a ridiculous high price for pumpkins! Definitely my style!
I’ll be back to full-time blogging next week Wednesday with my Favorite Things for November!
Have a great weekend and a Happy Halloween — I’d love to know what costumes you’re making or buying this year!
JJ says
Oh my word, that is hilarious about shoving things in his backpack! My 3 year old daughter does that, and it boggles my mind. Also, in the pic of Clara(LOVE her name!!!) with her striped leggings, I think she looks a lot like Simon! Maybe she will be a blend of all of you!!! And random question: what kind of outdoor chairs do you use? Your kids’ pics are adorable, and you look fantastic!!! You don’t look like you just had a baby! I wish I had bounced back from my last like that!!!
Andrea says
Thanks 🙂
And to answer your question… we have LOTS of outdoor chairs.
We have a bunch of the plastic Adirondack chairs that stack really nicely and are very light-weight. We also have a few wooden rocking chairs and wicker furniture on our various porches. And we have a set of folding chairs that go with our patio table and umbrella. All of our chairs were purchased used — so I really don’t know brand names or store locations. Sorry!
Rhonda says
My kids picked the same costumes as last year. My 4 year old is a witch and my 7 year old has a Day of the Dead themed outfit (long skirt, white blouse) with sugar skull face paint and red lacy head piece/head band with hot-glued fake red marigolds attached. They went easy on me, and I’m fine with that!
Andrea says
yay for easy costumes!
Lynn says
Such a beautiful family! Thanks for sharing!
Michele says
Such a sweet family! I wasn’t a huge fan of the newborn stage with my own 2 kids, but I loved snuggling other folks newborns.
Enjoy your gorgeous children and much rest to all of you!
Tamara F-P says
Andrea, first of all, Congrats! The last time I checked in on you and your crew was just after James was born, so, imagine my surprise when I decided to check-in on you again (please don’t take it personally, I’ve been busy in school the last couple of years and hoping to start my MA in Jan.). I think I started following you when Nora was just 2 or 3, certainly before Simon was born. Anyway, I just wanted to congratulate you and Dave and the 3 kids on the arrival of Clara, who is so precious; just like your other kids were/are. Hope you all have a beautiful holiday season!
Andrea says
not taken personally at all! Thanks for checking in again though 🙂
Good luck starting your masters — how exciting!
Jenny C. says
Andrea, I love seeing your precious little people!!! Being a mommy is such HARD WORK, but you are so good at it : )
Jeanine says
Your family is beautiful, and I think Clara looks just like you! I found that all of my children started reading overnight seemingly without help (though I tried)! But don’t be surprised if your boys don’t read nearly as early as Nora. Also, don’t worry, because they will on their own timetable:).
Andrea says
thanks Jeanine — and yes, I hear boys are “late bloomers” in many areas of life, so I’ll just add reading to that list!
Jane says
Love the updates! We buy costumes the day after Halloween for $2-3! My boys like to wear them all year round. We have Optimus Prime, Bumble Bee, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Superman, Batman, Anikan Skywalker, Thomas the Tank Engine, Mario, Luigi, Ninjas, and a racecar driver.
JoAnn C. says
I laughed out loud when I read ” A-lady.” How sweet and funny at the same time. Thanks, Andrea for the Dekker updates. Happy weekend!
Andrea says
he’s such a funny kid!
Kimberley says
Love this post and hearing all about the kiddos! We bought our kids costumes again this year. I don’t have a lot of time or energy to make anything but we had fun going to Target and figuring out what they wanted. Plus I used a coupon that allowed us to get a $5 gift card if we spent $30 on costumes…I’ll take it.
My 7 year old son will be a ninja. He was one when he was 5 and he loved it so he wanted to be one again this year…
My 3 year old daughter will be Skye from Paw Patrol. She doesn’t watch the show much but the dress is pink and she does get excited whenever she sees anything to do with Skye or Rumble (her other favorite character).
Luba @ Healthy with Luba says
Andrea, wow, it’s hard to believe Clara is one month already. Awesome work for taking most of last month off except for laundry and eating.
What a huge blessing it is that God led you to blogging so that you can be at home and not miss your children’s early childhood days that will be gone so soon.
Miss Nora is going to be six? Wow, she is definitely tall and very grown up.
James and Simon are so adorable too.
Enjoy the rest of your maternity leave. We’ll all be here when you come back. 🙂
All the best!
Luba
Andrea says
Thanks Luba — the break/rest from blogging was definitely needed and appreciated!
Diana Edwards says
Simon really has matured…..they grow up so fast. I enjoy reading your blog.
Thanks for sharing
Tina says
I think Clara looks just like you Andrea. Though I know babies change a lot in the coming months. Your kids are beautiful.
Michelle says
Wow! It’s hard to believe it’s been a month already.
Clara is a little cutie! I think she resembles her mama.
Edie says
Man, that was a fast month!! I agree with Simon, Clara is just the cutest! As are her three big siblings! My 9 year old wanted to be something scary this year, so chose a grim reaper costume with eyes that glow red through his hood. My 7 year old will be an Indian maiden, and is very proud of the fringe boots I bought for her to wear with her costume and afterwards. The baby (18 months) loves Elmo, so I found her a red tutu and a red shirt with Elmo’s face on it. It stays way too warm here for one of the plush head to toe Elmo costumes!
Lorrie says
Oh my, I cannot believe Clara is one month old already!! Loved the update & photos. After reading your blog every day for so long, you all seem like relatives in a far-away state! 🙂
Amber Woods says
Andrea,
Clara is adorable. I think she looks like Simon’s baby pictures in the shots of her with her eyes open.
Hope you have a great weekend!
Andrea says
yes, both she and Simon have the squinty eyes — and Simon was a little cross-eyed as a baby (So is Clara) so they do resemble each other more!
Myka says
Beautiful pics, I can’t believe how much older Simon looks. All your children are beautiful!
Myka
http://www.supersimpleways.com
Andrea says
Simon is getting SO big!
Linda Brinks says
Loved the A-lady Another one for the memory jar!
Andrea says
I know — that boy is SOOOO stinkin’ funny!
Karen says
Me too! Don’t you wish you could hear the thought process?
Andrea says
I’ve often thought this!
Kristina R says
Love the update! Just when I think I’m finally ok with not having any more babies, you pull through with an adorable, squishy baby post & my mind starts spinning again!
My daughter (who is a few weeks younger than Nora) is going as an alien (costume purchased a Costco) & we made a UFO to go with it, complete with working lights! My son (who is between James & Simon’s ages) is going as “Brankenstein” driving a school bus. We bought a 2 piece suit from the consignment shop & made a school bus from a diaper box. Fun times!
You’ve inspired me to include pumpkins in our garden next year. I cringe every time I buy pumpkins knowing that I will watch them die a slow, moldy death on the front porch. I justify the cost in my mind as purchasing a family fun experience with the carving in mind. Ha!
Andrea says
wow — your costumes sound amazing! Good job mom!
Also, you know as well as I do that the squishy baby in the photos are cute from a distance, but a lot of work in real life 🙂
Kristina R says
Indeed. My husband keeps reminding me of that, as well.
As far as the costumes go – I’m an artistic, crafting possession by nature so I truly enjoy making them. I hope you enjoy the rest of your blogging break!