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?

If you’ve been following along for the last few days, you know we’re experiencing a solid wash of sickness over our home. Yesterday in particular was just a super rough day around here, with lots of illness, bad attitudes, tempers flaring, etc etc  etc. It. Was. Horrendous. I worked HARD to be patient and loving and slow to anger but my gosh, by the end of the day, my voice was completely gone, thanks to my progressing cold, my body shaking cough, and yes, yelling. What a day.

I was so tired last night, but was awake until 3:00am ish due to just general discomfort. You know that special part of a cold when your throat is so sore and swollen that, if you move your head even just a little, it pinches your neck/throat? Yup. That was me last night. Plus I couldn’t find a way to lay down with my runny nose, either. Thank the Lord for sheer exhaustion that finally did the trick!

Jerilee came over for the evening. She was SUCH welcomed company! We could blow past some of the days frustration, watch some trashy tv, and eat the Treatzza Pizza she brought for us!! 🤤 YUM! It was a lovely evening, and SO needed after such a ridiculous day! SO great to have a bestie that isn’t afraid of our colds or our grouchy attitudes!

After a rough night, my voice is 100% gone. Like GONE gone. I can’t speak above a whisper. Because of this, I gave the kids a very quiet pep talk asking them to cooperate through breakfast without a bunch of yelling and arguing. They did a pretty great job! However, my voice was not improving, so I bit the bullet and clicked a movie on for them. They were super excited to watch our fam favorite, Storks, again! And I’m thrilled to rest my voice and sip the magical lemon drink that Cher brought me. Lol! She Cher-ed with me 😉 Along with that, she brought me cozy socks, a snack, some meds, some movies, and just some general company. Once again, I’m SO grateful for the friendship, the company, the conversation, the distraction for the kids, etc.

I have the loveliest friends 💜

I actually have surprisingly high hopes for today. Not high expectations, but hope. The morning has been good, with the kids being so happy to watch a movie. I’m getting the blog up early! I hope naps go well, and that the kids actually rest. I hope my voice improves a little bit. I hope to have a soak once Brady gets home, which I hope won’t be super late. I hope for a somewhat normal day, but I’m not holding my breath for it, either. Just rolling with the punches. The throat punches, specifically.

Its amazing what effect a couple of good friends can have on a person! When someone doesn’t have to help chooses to, its a pretty humbling thing, and does something for my soul. I’m so grateful for my people. They are a good reminder of what kind of person I want to be.

More and more people have been saying Wavy and Dekker look alike, and you’re not wrong! She has similarities with each kid, except Solly, lol! They do NOT look the same!! She and Laela have some similarities that I think mostly just centre around the fact that they’re both feminine. She and Rowan have the same lips for sure. Their eyes are similar too, but not quite the same. Noses are different, too.  But Dekker – YES!

That head shape! Maaaybe the eyes. Their chubby little bodies!!! Eek!

Also, just a fun flashback, behold one of my favorite pictures of baby Dekker! Thank you, Facebook memories!

Its funny, because baby Dekker very much took after his dad’s mom’s side of the family, yet dare I say, I think Wavy takes after me more than anyone else! Agreed?

Either way, behold, my firstborn and my fifth born 💕

They’re SUCH a good pair, regardless of who looks like who!! I love them so much, as well as all the babies in between, and those to come.

I sat down to blog today during nap time, and I struggled pretty hard knowing what to write about. One of my goals that I set around my thirtieth birthday was to amp up my blog, and I feel like I’ve tanked. Its not worse than it was, but I don’t feel like its much better. I was being so intentional about being better, but its been hard to maintain for a number of reasons. Lots of it has to do with LOTS of wonderful things happening and me not making extra time to really pour over the blog. The BEST reasons to let the blog slide, but its hard getting back into it.

The last few days have been a bit tough on me, and my mind is super distracted. Today, as I sat on my bed, trying to figure out what to write about, all I could think about was my own issues. Wavy sat next to me on the bed and flapped, giggled, cooed, and pooped up a storm, which helped me get out of my head a little bit, but did not help me blog.

When Cher messaged that she was done work for the day, we made a quick plan for her to come over for the afternoon. Which. Was. Perfect.

I happily closed up the laptop and anticipated a visit with a human being other than my own brain.

We visited the afternoon away, which helped my mental health immensely. Waverly slept on her for a good couple of hours, but she eventually made her way back to meeeee!!

She is SO munchy!! Even though she’s sick, she’s such a delight!!!

I’m so thankful for my people. My husband, my kids, my friends. I really never realized how many people we had until recently, and I’m constantly overwhelmed by them and how loving they are. Today was a day where I did less giving and more getting, and while that feels kind of bad, I know there are days where it goes the other way, so I’m trying to shake that little bit of guilt off. THANK YOU, people of my life, for being in it!!! You are NEEDED and APPRECIATED and LOVED by meeeee! 💜

Yup. We’re there. Wavy is officially sick. She just has a cold, but she is feeling it!! She didn’t sleep very well last night, though in her case, a “bad” night is waking up twice, which really isn’t bad at all. But she was struggling to drink her milk or to find any comfort or peace. She is so snorty and weepy, poor dear.

So as you can picture, its not been her best day. The morning was spent holding her dozy self, and having her positive lose her mind the moment I’d set her down. I know, I know, then hold her! Right? These months where all she wants is to be held are such precious months! Don’t wish them away! I assure you I’m not!

But sometimes one has to set their baby down to keep someone else alive. Wavy just doesn’t seem to believe me. But thats cool. We rolled with it. The kids, in turn, have been in ultra-helpful modes, helping their siblings get food, find toys, etc. Dekker even knows hot to use our baby Keurig thing and can make bottles for Wavy. He and Rowan even tag teamed and unpacked the dishwasher for me without being asked. I love that kind of thing.

But eventually, some things had to get done. I got Wavy goooood and asleep first.

I did some dishes and got the other kids lunch going. Her sleep didn’t last long, though. She woke up pretty quickly and began pooping like a crazy person. She was crying a bit but I figured I’d let her finish that business up, then change her and feed her and she’d be all cozy and settled. When I went to do that, however, she peed on EVERYTHING. I wasn’t particularly thrilled with her decision, but she was even less impressed.

Yup, it was a “new jammies” kind of pee situation.

I sat with her and fed her for a bit, and she settled just fine. It was time to tuck her siblings down for naps, however, and I hesitantly set her back down. (I feel the need to clarify that I NEVER leave her unassisted here on the recliner. Its only if its going to be really fast or if someone is with her. In this case, Dekker stood with her.)

When I came back to her, she was wide awake and gorgeous!!! My gosh, I’m just taken aback by her constantly!

She was so bright eyed and happy, cooing away and responding to my voice. Her smiles have been getting more and more intentional over the last week or so, and there is just nothing like seeing that look on her face, when she sees me, and her eyes light up and she gives me a big, delicious smile!! She is just SO sweet! Even considering how much pee she soaked into my living room rug.

Very shortly after these pictures were taken, she started a biiig cry that could not be satisfied. She wouldn’t drink more milk, her diaper was dry (obviously) and no amount of patting and bouncing would quiet her. Finally, I burrito wrapped her and lay her down in her bed. She fussed (not cried) for maybe five minutes before cashing right out. This girly knows what she needs.

Now that thats taken care of, the littles are napping, and the big is legoing, I am going to put my feet up and rest a bit. My cold is out in full swing, and its pretty ruthless.

Here I was, hoping to make a drive in to the city for the inaugural pumpkin spice latte of the season, but there’s just no way. Maybe another day. Today is a “kleenex stuffed in your nose all day” kind of day.