This morning has felt so nice. Its not quite realistic for “normal,” because Brady was home while I took Dekker to school, and that will obviously not always be the case. But he’s off to work locally today, and I’m here with the remaining kiddos. I’ve had a cup of coffee. Waverly is napping. The dishwasher is running, as is laundry, and the kids are playing surprisingly happily. Its SO nice. They’re snuggly today.

And also silly, of course!

I was soaking up the warm vibes from the kids, happily anticipating this new normal we had struck, when I realized this isn’t it! Laela will be in school by the end of the week, going half time, but still, she’ll be away. It’ll be just me, the little boys, and Wavy. Which will feel SO WEIRD!!! But also really nice, I think. Rowan will get his shot at being the “oldest” for the day. He and Solly will become better friends. And Wavy will continue to be the cherry on top, who will be pretty uncomplicated and will just watch the world rush around her.

Either way, I’m starting to feel like we’re settling in to school. I might kick myself in the butt for saying that over the coming weeks, though. I so desire for Laela to walk to school, and I think she and Dekker will go together, but for the first few weeks, I assume we’ll all go together. That means having everyone up, fed, and dressed WAY earlier than usual, and walking together regardless of the weather. I’ve been spoiled having Brady home this last week, too. I’ll be on my own 99% of the upcoming school mornings. I’m going to on top of it!! Yikes! Wish me luck on that, guys.

Until then, though, I’m going to enjoy my kids quiet playing, and the whirring of the few jobs accomplished. Bliss.

We don’t normally prefer to do lots of household chores on a Sunday. Especially not a Sunday that was our church’s Fall kick off Sunday!! However, with Solly fevering a bit over the last couple of days and Wavy sleeping virtually day in and day out (I assume recovering from her vaccines) we weren’t going to make it to church anyway.

Over the last week or so, I’ve been overwhelmed with our house getting a bit too messy and out of control. Its not actually super bad, but was growing more and more cluttered. Wavy sleeps in her cradle in our walk-in closet, so we’re quicker to leave clothes lying around rather than putting them where they belong, since Wavy still sleeps so much. So our room and en suite is a MESS. That, plus the boi water advisory last week set us back in doing dishes, and its just taking a while to catch up from that, so the kitchen is a mess. Aaaaand with Dekker being back in school, his leaves ALL of his little papers on the island, so that’s a mess too!! Gah!!! It was TIME to fix this place up!

So today has turned into a bit of a work day! Laundry is going, and there is a LOT to do! We have a load of Dekker and Rowan’s clothes, one for Solly and the girls, one for all of Wavy’s receiving blankets, one for Brady’s and my jeans and hoodies, one for our tshirts and lighter stuff, and we have four kids worth of bedding to wash, too. So like I said, there’s a lot. So thats currently whirring away. Brady cleaned off the island and is working to get all the kids important papers and stuff from over the summer filed away, and making a space for Waverly in there, too. I unpacked the dishwasher and did a lot that was legit only travel mugs, bottles, and ziploc containers. Does anyone else always leave tupperware and stuff like that for “the next load” and then it just lives on the counter for days and days? Thats what I do! But they’re all washed up now! I still hope to clean out the dishwasher and do one more load of dishes today to get the remaining pots off my counter, plus the dishes we’ve dirtied up today. Some days I wish we could just use disposable dishes and call it good.

My dryer just sang its little ditty, FINALLY, so I’m going to go switch it out!

Boom. Switched. Plenty more to go!

What do you guys think? One big laundry day every week, or a little bit of laundry every day?

I’m not even sure why I’m telling you guys this. But I’m gonna.

Sometime in the last week or so, the Bluetooth in our van quit working. It wouldn’t attach to my phone at all. Not to mention, the Sync system appeared to be glitching. The things it would normally say out loud when summoned were garbled and incomplete. I gave it some time to work itself out and tried a few small things, but I was quickly becoming annoyed with having no music on, the inability to answer phone calls, etc. I took some time after Wavy’s vaccine appointment to try and fight my way through the menus, but to no avail. I could not get it fixed! Grrrrr!

I asked Brady for help a couple of times but we’ve just been SO busy, and when we’re not, we forgot. Yesterday evening, we decided we HAD to figure it out because we were going to run errands the next day, and music is half the fun. But we forgot. Instead, we had a soak and a snack and got settled into bed. And then we remembered. And decided to make a date out of it.

So thats how we ended up in the garage,
in the van,
in our underwear,
sipping apricot brandy,
googling our van issue.

Sigh.

We searched and clicked through the menu over and over again. Brady finally found the right article that told us how to do a factory reset. We got it started, and chatted and sipped while we waited. And waited and waited and waited. And the stupid screen insisted it was resetting! But seriously, we waited forever. I did a bit more searching online, only to find out to my dismay that the vehicle had to be running, not in accessory mode like we had it. That involved opening the garage door so we didn’t die of carbon monoxide poisoning. We weighed our options.

Was it worth going back into the house to put pants on?

Nope.

Should we just open the door and risk it?

Double nope.

Sooooo Brady just reset the thing this morning while the kids ate breakfast, and it was good to go.

The moral of the story is that its hard to get dates when you have a bunch of kids, so take what you can get.

The secondary moral of the story is wear clothes in your garage, always. Because its just weird not to.

Separately, not together, of course.

I mentioned the other day that this week has been consistently full, but with good things! Today was more of that 🙂 It began with Brady being home for breakfast before leaving to finish some work he had started yesterday. I was able to walk Dekker to school again, which I’ve SO enjoyed! When I got back, Brady left to work and I did a few dishes before Cher came by for coffee. Its SO special having such a good friend here in town! Will be a sad day for us when she moves for school in the new year, but we’ll still see her, I think 😉 Plus, its a GREAT move for her, and thats the biggest thing. So we’ll soak up all we can of her over these next months! Thanks, girly, for always documenting my hilarious kids!

Cheeeeeeese!!

She ducked out before lunch, and I got the kids fed. Brady finished his work around that time and helped get the boys down for naps. Shortly after everyone was down, Laela’s kindergarten teacher came for a visit! She got acquainted with Laela, they read a story together, talked some details about school, etc. Laela showed off her backpack and some toys that she likes, and we chatted about any questions or concerns any of us had. It was super informal and relaxed and so so nice. Laela waved at the window like a crazy person when her teacher left. She commented “I like her.” It all bodes very well.

I left just a few minutes later to take Waverly to the clinic for her first set of vaccines. We hit up the weekly walk-in vaccine clinic, which also happens to be where our family doctor works, so its super familiar. It wasn’t too full when we showed up, so we didn’t have to wait too long. Wavy hung out patiently in her car seat.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times. She is SUCH a content little girl. She smiled and smiled and cooed at me while we waited. What a sweetheart.

She wasn’t too terribly fond of her vaccines. Cried a little with the first one, more with the second one. Took the oral one like a champ. The little bandaid thighs always get me!!

She is SO cute!! And she’s getting SO chunky!

We waited our 15 minutes and then headed home. We could’ve juuust made it to get Dekker but it was cutting it so close. Brady rather walked with the rest of the kids and they all went to pick Dekker up together. We all got home at relatively the same time.

Just about supper time over here! Is anyone else eating their body weight in corn on the cob out of the Hutterite colonies? We are!!!

Its officially September, so naturally, I’ve got my mind on Christmas! Haha! I’m embarrassed, and also I’m not at all embarrassed. I LOVE planning for Christmas!

We all know Christmas isn’t about gifts, so I like to get planning on those sooner than later, so when its actually the holiday season, I don’t have to put any thought into them and can focus on much more important things!

Usually, I have a savings plan set up through the year that leaves us with a good chunk of “Christmas money” on November 1st. However, that slipped pretty hard this year and we only have a few hundred set aside. Its much better than nothing, but its a good motivator to get myself organized in advance, leaving me time to be creative, and wait for sales.

This morning, in true Hailey fashion, I made an annoyingly detailed list of who we’re buying gifts for. I pulled names for a few different groups I volunteered to organize things for. I listed the kids teachers, our doctors, and a couple of friends. I wrote out the categories for each kid underneath their name so each gift is on its own line. (If you haven’t followed for long, we’ve done the four gift “method” the last few Christmases. Something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read.) I made a spot under each kid that specifies I want everyone to get new jammies, also. Its a LONG list but it excites me to see it! Its laid out clearly with gift ideas beside many of the names/categories. I feel at least somewhat prepared. Already! In September!!!

Something I really want to do this year is to send out a photo Christmas card. I am SO BAD for designing them each year, and even ordering them, but never handing/sending them out! This year, I have SO MANY people to thank and connect with. It has been such a long stretch of struggle, and a beautiful group of people have formed around us, and while sending them a picture of our family doesn’t really mean a whole lot, hopefully it feels a bit like we’re reaching out and that we appreciate their presence in our life! If you want to be on our list but I don’t have your address, message me!

Whether we like it or not, the cold is coming, and thinking ahead to Christmas helps me accept it all juuust a little bit more than I would otherwise 😉 Christmas, mukluks, and comfort food are what make winter great!

Dekker’s first day of school went smoothly, I’m pleased to report! He liked his teacher, was happy to have some of his friends back in class, and talked nonstop about the kids that were to new to him this year. Coincidently, he’s set up to sit beside kids that he’s never shared a class with, and thankfully he’s all for it!

All I know from his first day is that they had a welcome assembly. Thats it. This isn’t unheard of, though. It used to drive me CRAZY when he wouldn’t tell me whats going on at school, but its usually proven to be at a time when he’s a bit overwhelmed with ALL thats going on. Not even overwhelmed in a bad way, but just so so much that he can’t really sort out his thoughts. I’m positive it’ll come 🙂

Today, I walked him to school, just the two of us. He chattered away the entire time, excited to go back. He is totally capable of walking to school on his own, thats for sure! Likely, soon enough, he and Laela will walk together with no issue. But I’m enjoying the process of getting that ball rolling by walking with him myself, and soon with both of them, and likely the whole crew. Brady having a few days off couldn’t have fallen at a better time!

Once Dekker was dropped off, I walked home, had a cup of coffee with Brady, and headed out to get my hair redone. Its been about three months now and it was time for a refresh! I spent a morning and a bit of the afternoon at the salon, which is always SUCH a treat! Sometimes I wish I could get my hair redone more often, but its something I really look forward to, so its probably good that I only get there a few times a year. Was sure a great way to spend an afternoon, though!

The fun must go on, however! The rest of our day is nice and full, and tomorrow is much of the same busyness! And I mean that in a great way! I like when the days fill, but aren’t full full. Just nice full, with good things. There is so much to be thankful for!

Dekker turning seven felt just insane, but Dekker entering grade two is a whole other thing!! I know the two things often go hand in hand but, my goodness, he’s growing up. He’s no longer testing the waters of school. He is in it! Kindergarten was the kick off, grade one was the start of full time school, and now, he’s just an old pro! He knows the ropes. He knows the people. He knows his way around the building and the playground. He knows the expectations.

Still feels crazy, though.

I haven’t had a chance to mention it, but yes! My boy lost one of his top front teeth! Isn’t it hilarious?! I LOVE his new look! We were eating cinnamon buns the other morning when I noticed Dekker was bleeding out of his mouth a little. I asked if he had lost a tooth and he looked at me blankly. He had no idea the sucker was even loose!

Thanks for this one, Cher!

The one beside it is on its way out, too! Hopefully before picture day!!!! 😆

We walked Dekker to school as a family. Thankfully, Brady has some time off this week while we settle into our new school routine. We got there a little early, even, so we could find his classroom with lots of time for him to run back outside to play.

Dekker was greeted warmed by one of his teachers upon finding his classroom and dropping off his backpack. He’ll have two teachers this year, alternating days. He didn’t know her, but was polite and unafraid. What a strong, brave boy I have. SO proud!

It didn’t hurt my heart to drop him off. I am SO proud of him, and SO confident that he’s going to do well.

I love you, Dekker!!! I hope you’re having an AMAZING first day! See you soon!

I was making jot notes of what to include in todays post, and I had a brief moment of surprise over how little had changed. Todays photo shoot proved me wrong! Also, she is SO photogenic!

(To answer your question before you ask it, no, I still don’t know what color her hair is. But its amazing!)

Aaaaand my favorite one…..

💜

Look how much her hair has grown since she was new!!!!!

Yes, it was a challenge to get her to look at the camera for this one, lol!

Wavy is growing!

Look at that belly! She weighs roughly 12 lbs 6 oz (on a home scale) and is into her 3 month sleepers and shirts. Just the other day, she wore the shirt I had pegged for her “going home” outfit before we knew she was going to be so little!

She’s still suuuper little on the bottom, though. Our kids are always a size smaller for bottoms for at least their first two years of life.

Wavy has begun smiling at people on purpose, which I have SO anticipated!! Its still hard to get on camera, but its there!

We even get the very beginnings of giggles, but we have to work HARD for them! She coos and responds when we talk to her, and follows our voices really well. That is, when she’s awake. Her awake time is spent AWAKE, but she still sleeps most of the daytime, and surprisingly well at night. Just last night, she slept from around 9:30pm aaaaall the way until about 6:45am. It. Was. Awesome. Her usual remains to be only one wakeup per night. She loves her sleep.

A fun “milestone” that I don’t think we’ve actually genuinely reached, but makes me excited, is from the other day. Waverly held her bottle. Aaaaall on her own!

Now, I have ZERO expectation of her to continue holding her bottle from here on out. Nope nope nope. BUT this does tell me a couple of different things. One is that she knows when she’s hungry. Another is that her coordination is there, and its developing more with time. Lastly, the most exciting part, is that it suggests to me that she likes her bottle and is comfortable. NO REFLUX! Guys, I would be ecstatic if she didn’t have that struggle that ALL of her siblings had, to varying degrees. Dekker vomited a ton, but it never seemed to make him uncomfortable. But I mean waterfalls of milk. Always. Multiple times a day. Laela was our least barfy kid, though she was way barfier than Wavy has been so far. ALL of the boys had reflux, and at least Ro and Solly both hated their bottles at a very young age, and neither of them ever held their bottles themselves. 🤞 Knock on wood she remains a fan of her bottle until she doesn’t have to anymore!

This little girly fits in better and better.

I can’t imagine our family without her.

Thank you, Lord, for two whole months with Waverly!

For those of you who attend church on even a somewhat regular basis, you can maybe relate to us on this. It is just SO much harder to get there in summer! We had a crazy July, filled with baby having, party throwing, and lake loving. August was going to be more open and relaxed, but it quickly was filled with company having and birthday celebrating. August also took Brady back to work, so that was an adjustment, too.

Lots of summer has been amazing, and truthfully, some of it has been super challenging. I am very much looking forward to school starting, and routine to set in again. We all need it.

Part of that routine will hopefully include getting back to church more often. The last time we attended church was July 8th, when Wavy wasn’t quite one week old. Now, today, she is TWO MONTHS!! (I’ll do a post about that tomorrow 😊) We made it there just a couple of minutes before the service started, and got our usual bench.

Our kids did surprisingly well for not having sat through a service in a while. Dekker drew and wrote a bit, and Rowan tried to copy 😍

Waverly had some fresh, new arms to snuggle in, so she did great, too.

It also didn’t hurt to have the extra set of hands, lol! Thanks, Michelle!

As one would expect, there were many people there who hadn’t met Wavy yet and were eager to! Once the service had wrapped up, I was more than happy to pass her around a little and let some friends and church family get little whiff of her sweetness. She’s such a peach! I know we all feel differently about who can hold who and when, but I hope LOTS of people hold her and experience her and share in our gift for a long, long time still!

Its so great for kids to be valued and loved by others outside of their immediate home, and we’re so fortunate to have a loving, involved church family that regularly pours into ours.

I can’t remember the last time we went out and ran errands or bought groceries as a family! It probably hasn’t been that long, maybe it hasn’t actually been a long time, but it sure feels like a LONG time. I probably have some pretty wicked cabin fever from being so holed up and sick, also. I can’t say I felt great while we were out and about, but it got done, and I breathed some fresh air anyway.

We didn’t have a ton to get, so we hit Walmart for a couple of things, grabbed creamer out of Safeway, and then were faced with the decision we so often are faced with!

“Its 4:30. We still need Costco. Do we get supper super early, or eat it super later at home?”

Sigh.

Today we opted for an early supper just for the kids, and Brady and I would eat later after they went to bed. The kids had eaten pretty lightly throughout the day, so they were already hungry enough to eat, and Brady and I are adults and can hold it together even when we’re hungry, lol!

A quick drive to McDonalds, and we were headed to Costco.

I love Costco. Pretty much always. We got our staple foods, plus found a couple of sales that will make for yummy school lunches, and a couple boxes of diapers. What will life even feel like to NOT buy diapers one day?! Maybe I’ll have grandkids to diaper at that point 😲 I tease. Sort of. I noticed the gladiolas are out! I might have to go buy a bunch or two of those soon. They’re easily among my favorite flowers. All in all, though, the shop was good. No one even cried! Wavy did vomit on me, though. At least it was our last stop!

Because babies in carriers. #momlife, am I right? Oh, and that little spot on my neckline? Ya, thats a booger. Thanks, girl.

We had a smooth bedtime, and now that 4/5 kids are down, we can also let down. Soon. Still need to bathe the baby, wrap a gift, come up with supper, and run a bath for my super sore, coughing body. This cold will leave eventually, right?