Friday afternoon art with Dadda. The girls are working on a art timeline of the Bible. Last week their painting was of Moses on Mt. Sinai.

Most of our meals are accompanied by at least one princess - sometimes 3.

Peter started smiling last week. I finally got some of his smiles on camera...

Our girls love to take care of Peter while I make meals. The other day Ella rocked him to sleep and put him down for a nap in our playroom. The girls decided to set him up with a line of books and Peter Rabbit. It's so precious to see how they love to care for him.

Ella loves to make toast. Peanut butter toast or toast with just butter. Sometimes before lunch she says to me "Mom, I'll make lunch today. Would you like peanut butter toast or toast with just butter?"

This morning we went to a snail party, hosted by a homeschooling family in our community. We had a great time learning facts about snails, reading books about snails, eating a snack, and doing a craft. Ella, of course, brought a card to the party saying "happy snail party."

This morning I wrote some of Juliette's reading words on the board and we counted how many words she can read. She did amazingly well. When I needed to get ready for the day, Ella asked if she could write the words for Juliette to read. This worked great and it was so fun to hear them learning together.

Our snail craft!

Ella continues to write several books everyday. Here she is with her books lined up, begging for somebody to ask her to read one of them. Her latest publication is called "Halloween with the Lafleurs" it is all about 4 little bunnies going trick-or-treating.

Take 17 - and we have a picture with everybody looking at the camera and you can almost read that Peter's adorable shirt says "little brother,"

Peter falling asleep on Juliette.

Earlier today I was in the kitchen while Juliette was holding Peter. Ella came into the kitchen and said "Mom, Juju's trying to feed Peter again. She has her shirt up and everything." I went to check-in and sure enough...

Stay

Last night I put Peter down in the bassinet and I was looking forward to enjoying some time all to myself. Spencer was out of the house and all was quiet. As soon as I sat down on the couch I heard Karis call for me. Disappointed that I was no longer getting my much needed time, I went to the girls' room. Karis, who is working on her molars, was lying in bed crying. I sat by her bed, rubbed her back, gave her orajel, and hoped she would go back to sleep. Then I realized how rare of a time it is that Karis and I are alone together (the big girls were fast asleep). So I crawled in her bed with her. Her face light up as we snuggled close. I told her to close her eyes while I rubbed her back. She lay there with her eyes scrunched closed and a huge toothy grin on her face. I realized that this time was precious. We lied there for awhile and when I thought she was asleep I motioned to get up. I heard her gruff little voice whisper, "stay". Then she opened her eyes and looked right into mine and repeated the word, "stay".

I stayed with her and this word has really been on my mind.

I thought about the word "stay" as I journaled this morning, and I lingered longer in the Word than I normally do. I also thought about this word throughout my day as I interacted with my littles. I know this time is precious and it is short, and I do not want to rush from one thing to another - I do want to stay. I want them to remember their mom who was present with them and who always had time for them.

Thank-you Jesus, for using our 2 year old to remind me of what is truly important.

Big Helpers

The three big sisters have been truly helpful this week. They are very good at holding Peter and can often even calm him down if he is crying. This has been very helpful for when I'm trying to get lunch on the table, etc. And, thanks to them, he has been read to a lot in his 5 weeks.

Getting into our Fall routine

This is Spencer's first week back at school, so our days have been getting into more of a routine. So far we are having a great week. We are doing lots of learning, playing, and snuggling.

Peter had his 1 month appointment and weighed in at 11 lbs 11 oz. At 1 month he outweighs all of his sisters, despite having the lowest birthweight. He is a full 2 pounds heavier than Ella was at 1 month, and 1 pound heavier than Juju and Karis were. Peter is in the 95th percentile for weight. Way to pack it on, Pete! - and thank-you for not being born in the 95th percentile for weight :)

Please take note of the cute overalls he is wearing in these pictures.

"ooh look at Petey, he is doing his tummy time" - Karis

Peter is great motivation in getting Ella to practice her reading. She will read to him for as long as he is willing to sit with her.

Happy Fall!

Last Friday we spent the day with the Martens' girls.  It was a beautiful fall day, so we spent lots of our time out in the yard. It was a fun day.