Someday They Will Meet

To my precious daughter:
I want to tell you about your name. Your beautiful, old fashioned name. Estella Erlene was your grandmothers name, my mother. She was.....perfect.
I wish she were here to see you. She would have loved you baby girl.
She died just before I found out I was having your big brother, Nikolas.
My heart broke that day. Time has patched it back together, but....it's still missing a piece.
Actually, it's a rather large piece, but there is One comfort.
Your grandma loved Jesus, and I pray that you will too.
Then, one day, hopefully well after I am gone from this world, you will meet us both in heaven and I will introduce you to your namesake. I'm sure she would love that you are named after her. In fact, I know she would have been flattered.
Cherish your name my sweet Estella, for it is a heritage passed down from your grandmother and your great great grandmother. Women who have loved the Lord, "with all their heart, with all their soul, with all their mind and with all their strength." Mk 12:30

I can't believe mom has been gone over six years now. Today she would have turned 71. That sounds old as I write it, but really isn't considering my mom's mom just turned 91 and is still doing quite well. I can't imagine what my life would be like now if my mom were still alive. We had really just begun to start doing things together as friends not too long before she passed away. I feel robbed of my friendship with her as an adult. Perhaps that is the hardest part of her death. That, and, of course, that she never saw my children. I know I'll see her again, which does bring me comfort, but.....I miss her now.
I'm so glad I had the many years of memories with her to think of. I often tell the kids about their grandma in heaven. It is a little hard for me to know that they aren't going to miss her. Why would they, they never knew her? Hmm, still hard. I think of Job, losing all his children and still saying, "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." Then, at the very end of all his suffering, he has even more children.
The Lord gave, the Lord took away, then the Lord gave to him again. In the same way, God gave me a wonderful mother, she was taken from me, but now, God has given me Sue, a wonderful grandma to my children, and also, a friend to me.

The Newest Skater on the Block

Nikolas has been practicing skateboarding recently and seems to be picking it up pretty quickly. He can skate down our driveway now and has just started to learn to do a trick. I think it is a kick flip, or maybe an ollie....I really have no idea what the difference between skating tricks are, but I did hear those words come out of the 9 year old neighbors mouth when he was teaching Nik. It is pretty humbling to have my 5 year old son starting to be better than me at something. This, I am sure, is just the beginning.

Trick or Treat!

Every year since Nikolas was born we have gone trick or treating with three other families. The first year we went only six of these children were born, now, there are thirteen!

The boys.

We couldn't have planned our boys any better than this. The oldest three boys are nearly the same age, the middle three boys are within 3 months of each other and the younger two boys are within a couple months, or so. They all love each other and I'm so thankful my boys have best buddies. We all have decided we really can't ever move away or stop wanting to get together because our kids friendships are too perfect. Little Estella doesn't have anyone her age, but she does have all the doting big kids, so I don't think she will feel left out.

The girls.
See what I mean about the doting big kids?

Onto trick or treating! Lukas was Optimus Prime, and since his outfit is a 2T it just accentuated his tiny little body, especially his buns! We all had a hard time not laughing. He's too cute, and THEN he talks in his tiny little muppet voice!

This was too funny; every time they went to a house they ended up lining up nearly tallest to shortest. Nikolas, by the way, was Luke Skywalker, (though his outfit is Anakin).

They had a great time, in spite of the cold, and brought in quite a haul of candy, which, of course, is the best part. :)

Estella's 9 Months!

Okay, I know, I'm almost a month behind, again! I did, however, take these pictures with her sticker just a few days after her 9 month birthday. So the idea of recording her size difference between each month is still in tact. Phew!

Estella's little monkey is getting smaller now. I can't believe we are approaching a year old! Crazy! She is now 16 whole pounds and is 26 inches tall. Somewhat on the small side, not that that is surprising considering her midget parents.Our baby girl is now holding onto things and standing with confidence. She is even starting to let go and try to stand up by herself for a moment. I wouldn't be surprised if she were to start walking before the end of the year, which would be really cute considering how tiny she is:) Her big brother, Nikolas, started walking at the end of his ninth month, so she is just trying to keep up!
I just love this face:) She has so many expressions and can go through them all in under a minute.

The Sweetest Baby Ever.

Everywhere we go people say, "Is she always this happy and content?" To which we say, "Usually!". She doesn't complain too much, even when her toes are frozen and her belly is empty. She does, however, complain quite loudly when an older brother takes something away from her.

Grandpa and Granddaughter
Watching Nik's soccer game on a chilly fall evening.

Bathtime: one of her favorite activites.

Kisses from Daddy: "Not the fuzzy face!"

The Great Pumpkin(s)

We have been fortunate this year to get to know a couple from church who have a farm with animals, gardens, orchards and so much more. Early this past spring the wife told me she was planting pumpkins for each of our children and that she would scratch their names in them as well. As you can see, those pumpkins turned out so fun!!!

I tried to get a picture with all three of the kids and their pumpkins, but to no avail. Lukas simply would not cooperate. He's usually the one who sees a camera and says, "cheese!".

Not today. Grrrr.

Etella, however, happily posed for me. Not that she could go anywhere as this was before she started crawling. Oh, and her pumpkin weighed almost 4 times what she weighed. Sure glad I don't have to lug that around!

Nikolas decided, after seeing Lukas raising such a stink, that he would be a stinker too and pretend to be put out with the picture taking. What, do I have a junior higher already?!

Then, just as magically, Nikolas jumped onto Luke's pumpkin and gave me the sweetest smile. Nik was trying to play some reverse psychology on Lukas, unfortunately, it didn't work. It's frame worthy though, too bad HE'S ON THE WRONG PUMPKIN! Grrrr, again.

Maybe I could photoshop it...

What a handsome little man I have:)

Estella is 8 Months Old!

Nuts! Now she is almost 9 months old and I'm just posting this. Next month I'll be more on top of things. I hope.




Our sweet baby girl is eight months old. I can't believe it. She has changed so much just in the past month. She is now 17 pounds with some healthy chunky rolls around her legs. People see them and have to squish them. I do about 5 times a day. Squish, squish.



She now has her first two teeth! They are the cutest little chompers, but be wary about your fingers getting too near. She'll bite them!



She started pulling herself up on things, like her crib, and can stand for long periods of time now. It looks like she also is about to start moving while holding on to something, which only means one thing. She'll be walking soon!




I had to throw this picture in. Her expression and double chin made Tone' and I laugh:)


And how could I leave out the sleeping baby picture? She is conked out on her bunny blanket from her Great Great Aunt Fae who lives in Oklahoma. Aunt Fae is the most amazing seamstress and upholsterer. (I might have made that last word up) Plus, she's super fun and I wish she lived here. You can live with me Aunt Fae!

Pretty little girl

We went to some friends little orchard and Estie found these beautiful red balls called "apples".
She had to test every one to see if they tasted good.

Hello 1970's girl!

This little outfit was mine when I was a baby. I know I've seen a picture of me in it somewhere, but, of course, I can't find it now.

Look at those little toesies!

Big brother Lukas helping his little sister try out walking.

Lukas loves Estie so much. A little too much actually. I am constantly telling him to get off her, stop squeezing her and MOVE BACK. The other day he wanted to pick her up without my knowing. I walked around the corner just in time to see him holding her a foot off the ground and then, let go. Smack! on the hard floor went her tiny little face:( Poor girl. It's a good thing babies don't remember their babyhood, or Lukey would need to watch his back.

Little White Riding Hood:)

Estie's Great Great Aunt Linda made her this beautiful little sweater. I am always amazed that people can make jackets. How do you get the sleeves so symmetrical??? Estella sure is blessed to have such talented Great Great Aunts who love her enough to handmake such wonderful things for her.

Crawling!!!

She started inching her way forward three weeks ago and now is all over the place. I am on hyper alert now for little objects in her path that she would love to stick in her mouth. The boys are not helping my cause what with their obsession of finding and saving "treasures and collections". It is still fun to have her crawling, though. Wherever I go in the house I have a little bug crawling after me. She isn't very fast, but she's determined. She puts her head down, sucks on her lip and starts after me. She usually doesn't make it very far before I'm back and swooping her up into my arms. Then she rewards me with a huge smile and excitement in her eyes.

Sweet Baby.

I love this tiny little person.

Road Trip Part II: Colorado

Upon leaving my cousins, (actually my moms cousin, thereby making Ronda and I first cousins once removed), we headed east to another cousins (actually Ronda's son thereby making him and I second cousins) home on a hundred plus acres of beautiful country.

Matthew took us on a 4 wheeler trip around his land. This particular 4 wheeler is supposed to fit two people. We had six. Granted, one of those was a tiny baby, two were small children and two more were small adults, but still, we thought it was rather funny. Alex and I sandwiched Estie inbetween us and put the boys on both sides and HELD ON!

They had the time of their lives.

To say the least.

Some of the hills we went on were so steep I decided to walk.

I know, even I get a little cautious at times.

Nikolas at the top enjoying the view.

How would you like to wake up to this everyday?

Yes, please!

Lukas, in true American form, collecting all the bullet shells from target practice.

It just happened that he was wearing patriotic colors:)

Then we were,

ON THE ROAD AGAIN....

It sure was nice to have another driver along,

and Alex had just obtained her drivers license only a couple

months before, but had already gone on a road trip before ours.

She only almost killed us once, but then again, so did I.

A little glimpse into how Lukas passed the time:

unraveling Fruit By the Foot and seeing how long it would last while wrapping it around various body parts.

showing us what he could do with a leftover snack bag....

He was quite entertaining at least.

Estella is 7 Months Old!

Okay, she is actually getting closer to 8 months old now, but I can't skip a month!
I've been gone too much this summer and have a backlog of pictures and blogging to do of our on the go summer. She sure is a well traveled baby already!

Those eyes!

There is just not much to say other than:

"She is adorable."

She also never stops smiling, except when she's hungry or tired.

Typical baby......and adult for that matter.

Estella has started sitting up this past month. She loves her new view, and I love that her hair has grown back so she doesn't have a little bald spot. You wouldn't believe how many people asked me if I shaved her head in the back!
Sometimes her head gets a little top heavy and then she just bends in half and does a little face plant on the floor. Babies never cease to amaze me with their limberness.

For every adorable smile she gives away, is an hilarious one.

Lipsucker

She was intently watching a calf nurse on a goat.

Wonder what was going through her little brain?

Estella is such a sweet and easy baby. She lights up when a person looks at her, especially mama:)

and she is content to just play by herself. I suppose the third baby gets used to waiting, but I'm also thinking her personality does play into it some as well.

She has started saying, "Mama" though I'm still not sure if she means me or if it is just an easy word to say. Hmmmm, I'll go with ME:)

She was sleeping through the night, but then two weeks on the road ruined that. Nuts, back to the drawing board. I'm confident she will pick it up again soon as she is already going down while still awake. She really is the perfect baby.