snow

On Saturday, October 29th  I thought I would wake up to snow, but no, it was not there. I only saw some rain.  The weather report was wrong. Ha! Well, the "ha" was on me because 2 hours later it began to snow, and snow AND snow. It snowed constantly for almost the whole day... once it started. I was waiting for it to die down before taking the kids out but it never did and it was beginning to get dark out. I made a deal with myself. If I could fit into my snow pants, I would take them. I actually fit into them, barely, so off I was, sweating in my snow gear while trying to get 4 kids in theirs. It was a work out and eventually we got out the door with only one kid in mismatched gloves.

When everyone was almost fitted, Ella mentioned she wanted to try out her snowboard. Yes, daddy bought her one, but that is another story. Her excitement got Ryan off his bum so everyone went out... in 6 or 8 inches of snow.... which comes up rather high on a 2 year old and made it very difficult for her to walk around, for kids to go sledding and for Ella to go down the "hill" on her board. We still had fun but after awhile the 2 youngest Southworths had some issues and break downs were happening so I went inside with them while everyone else stayed out.

 Audrey's first snow suit was a little too big... he, he ,he.

 Can you tell Leia is excited to play in the snow... joy is overloading this little girl.

 Awww, that's a better fit for Audrey.

Ryan patiently making sure Ella's gear is on right. He was one proud papa. In case you were wondering, her board has unicorns and a rainbow on it. Whoever designed it knew what four year old girls love.

Not the best video but at least I captured her first snowboarding experience. We officially have 2 kids counting down until the season begins... and one daddy.

I must admit it was really weird to see the first snow in October BEFORE "Halloween". Strange. Not to mention the wet snow broke many branches and a good amount of our friends were powerless for a few days. Luckily we never lost power, but the beautiful weeping willow behind out house list a good sized branch. Boy did it make a loud noise when it came down. That's when I realized I should tell the kids to stay away from the trees.

TRunk or Treat & Jack o Lanterns

Last Tuesday was our ward Trunk or Treat. The girls had a theme this year: Audrey was a bee, Leia a flower and Ella the butterfly.

Jonathan approached me saying he wanted to be Link from the Legend of Zelda. All I had to work from was a picture off a comic book. I wasn't sure if I would even get the outfit sewn on time but surprisingly I finished early. The enjoyable part for me was making the boots. It was fun to watch him transform into Link and once in the full outfit, I could tell he felt like Link... and off he went into the imaginary world Link is from... where ever that is.

However, I did warn him that most people would think he was Robin Hood.

The girls had a blast hanging out with their friends and getting candy. The cutest moment for me was when Leia's friend was trying to get her attention and said something like, "Come here ya little flower." It was adorable.

On Thursday we made Jack o Lanterns. The last couple of years it has been just me and the kids. For some reason the pumpkins don't last long once carved so we made them the night before "Halloween".

Leia's original pumpkin fell and then started to rot. This was her back up. I found the smallest spoon we had so she could try and scoop out the seeds. As I carved the face she just watched and then began to giggle once I was done. I put in some glow bracelets and wah la... her own Jack o Lantern. She brought it over to her candy bucket which she began calling the mommy Jack o Lantern and the small pumpkin became the baby. Soooo cute.

I kind of left Jonathan to himself since I was helping two little girls. He did good until when he needed to clean out the pumpkin. At that point I was carving Ella's pumpkin. He just stopped, starting commenting about how hard it was to clean all the seeds out and then began shooting the breeze with Ella. The twit was waiting for me to finish carving and once I was done asked me to finish hollowing out HIS pumpkin. Fortunately it only took me a few minutes BUT he did know to wait and ask instead if asking while I was in the middle of doing something else.

Leia with her pumpkin.

Ella wanted a Vampire Hello Kitty carved into her pumpkin. Luckily I found a template online which made it a lot easier. I also had Hello Kitty as a witch but that was carved the next day while the kids were eating dinner.

Jonathan with his masterpiece... the sword of Link.

Halloween... Allentown style...

Yes People, Halloween is done early in our township. We have already moved on to preparing for the next holiday. Target even has stuff on clearance. Crazy.

With that said, the kids went trick or treating on Friday. Right as we were walking out the door, our neighbors on both sides of us were out taking pictures so we were able to get a picture with all the kids... and me. Some one had to help Audrey get in there. I like how Leia is off to the side, just plopped down on the ground, like the little flower she is.

This year went much smoother than last year... thank goodness. I made sure all the kids ate a decent amount of food. I had to tell Ella if she did not eat more of her dinner she would be staying home with me. She made a good decision and ate more of her dinner. I told her Daddy was not going to deal with melt downs this year.

Since the weather was calling for snow late Friday night to early Saturday morning I made sure the kids were warm... parts of the girls' outfits were made out of fleece. Also, the three older kids had on a winter hat and a few layers of clothing under their costumes. They were all comfortable walking around and Ryan even said it was a perfect evening. No complaining, just enjoying a wonderful night of trick or treating.
Miracles still happen.

PS- I laughed when I heard snow would be coming. Really? Come on, this early? HA! Boy did it come but luckily after "Halloween".

Audrey @ 4 months

On October 13th Audrey turned 4 months old. Nothing much has changed except she now flashes Ella the whole face smile. Babies have the best smiles. Audrey also rolled from her stomach to back, but that has only happened a handful of times.

Length-25-1/2"
Weight 13bs. 13-1/2 oz.
Head Circ. 15-3/4"

Her check up was a few days later and I scheduled hers back to back with Jonathan's 9 year well check up. I also had the other 2 kids because they were getting the flu shot. Ryan was on call that day so I was alone with 4 kids knowing that the doctor's visit was going to be .... interesting... involving some screaming and crying .

Their doctor is awesome and made everything run a lot smoother than I anticipated. Like Jonathan was able to get part of his physical in another room so the girly girls did not have to see him in his gown. That the staff occupied Ella and Leia outside of the room while the other two got shots so they would not freak out. Then took Audrey out so I could hold Leia while she got her shot. Amazing people.

Ella still had a freak out moment when she saw Leia get her shot and then asked if she was getting one too. I said yes, she slowly crept towards the door while I quickly soothed Leia and set her down on the chair so I could quickly catch Ella right as she began her momentum to bolt out of the room. Luckily she did not get far but began screaming as an assistant and I held her arms down so she would be still enough to get the shot. Then the crying began but subsided by the time we went out to pay for the visit. I keep telling the kids it only really hurts for a few seconds and when they actually hear me say that through the cries and quiet down a moment to really judge how much pain they are in, usually the crying stops.

 Sigh. Just something else I will miss.  Not the crying, but the level of great medical care out here. 

The Great Pumpkin Patch 2011

I can't believe this is our last year out here in PA. As we go through this year at the back of my mind I keep thinking we won't be doing this next year. I get sad but at the same time excited for what the future holds.

With that said, we went to our usual pumpkin patch place... for the last time. Sniff. Sniff.

 A REAL pumpkin patch. Not the grocery store or a stand where they have been shipped in but a REAL farm... that is a tad commercialized. It's great to be supporting our local farms :)

Leia lost it on the tractor hay ride out to the patch but I used Mommy magic to calm her down. She also had a cold so she looks a little out of it in the pictures.

Ella picked out a pumpkin she could not carry. I was not about to carry it around since I already had Audrey to carry.  I told Ella she could only pick a pumpkin she could carry. Jonathan had pity on her and helped her out. He kept saying she would keep her pumpkin even if it meant Jonathan could not get one because he was hauling hers around. This pick was the team work it took to get hers home. Side note: every time I say team work I have the Wonder Pets song go through my head.

A fellow pumpkin picker saw me trying to take pics of the family and volunteered to take one of the whole family. Such nice folks out here. Notice how daddy now has Ella's pumpkin and Jonathan is straining a bit to carry his own.

Ride back to the main farm. I LOVE taking hay ride pictures... family looking out the wagon, hair blowing in the wind (it was extremely windy that day) and a beautiful PA sky. Sigh. I will miss these moments...

... then there was poor Audrey. Confined to her car seat. Her only view was of hay. Sorry girly. I completely understand why you looked so bored in this picture.

I took the girls to see the barn animals while Ryan took Jonathan through the haunted house. This was Jonathan's first year going through and surprisingly was not terribly frightened.

As for the barn, Leia was excited to see the cow. The cow nipped at Ella which made her think twice about petting it again. Especially since the cow was a bit drooley.

We moved on to visit the piggies. Ella wanted to run around with them and was disappointed when I told her they could not come out and she could not go in.

Also set up on the farm is a little hay maze for the kiddos. Leia was old enough to go in this year. She had a blast. She went through the maze at least three times. Ella enjoyed it as well. The expression on her face sums it up.

The last thing I took pictures of were the pony rides. Every little girl's dream, right? Ella spent the whole time leaning forward so she could pet the pony. This was Leia's first time and she did really well at sitting and just enjoying the ride.

I left for the car to feed Audrey while the kids went on some rides. Of course we could not leave without Ryan getting his fried Oreo fix. I have a feeling when we move and have some extra money, Ryan will be buying a deep fryer to make Oreo treats of his own... and then will experiment on frying other things.

#9

Today is Jonathan's b-day!!!! He has been waiting sooo long for it to come.... it seemed like a year :0).

Thursday night we stayed up late making cupcakes so he could bring them to school the next day. We stole daddy's Star Wars cupcake kit he received for his b-day. We went old school and even added a Rolo inside the cupcake and one on the outside... none of his classmates claimed to have eaten a Rolo before.
What a shame.

I think Yoda would say something like this, "Rolo tasted you have not? Try one you must."

Saturday was the big day. He requested pancakes with white chocolate chips inside. They were quite tasty. I then attempted to get all the kids out the door by taking them to Chuck E Cheese while daddy slept. Later in the day Jonathan and Ryan took off to meet up with two of his friends to play a friendly game of laser tag. All he wanted to do for his b-day is play with some friends so that is what he got.

Once home we ate pizza, he opened some presents, devoured the cake and then he played a couple of hours with one of his friends. It was a great day.

We love you Jonathan!!!!
You are an awesome big bother, incredibly smart, inventive, thoughtful and the best "only son" ever!!!!

Back to School

Time sure does fly by. Another year of school has begun, but this time around 2 of our kids are out the door! Jonathan started 4th grade this year! I cannot believe it. He was feeling really sad, not because school started but because Nana and Papa were leaving and they would not be there when he came home. ALL, and I mean all of us went out with him to wait for the bus. He had his own posse... that waiting ...and waiting ...out in the rain ... for a bus ....that was later than usual.

That's our boy!!! A depressed little guy ready to start his first day of 4th grade...

... then Nana did something crazy to make him smile. Thanks Nana!!!


A week later Ella started preschool. Towards the end of summer she began asking when she would go back to school. Don't worry little girl, it's coming.

Both kids' schools had a meet the teacher day and this is where Ella's picture came from. I didn't want to take a pic the first day of school for her because I did not want to linger and make a drawn out good bye. We said our good-byes and when she got distracted I left as quickly as I could. Still twenty pounds heavier than normal while carrying a baby and two year old... well, I wasn't super quick... but we were able to sneak out.

Ella had a great first day and well, Jonathan's was not so great, He was hit in the face... thankfully by accident. The kid apologized immensely. Needless to say, Jonathan's second day of school was better than the first.

Audrey's Blessing

Audrey was blessed back in the beginning of September. After her eventful beginning upon this earth, we decided to wait 12 weeks before bringing her to church. Her blessing took place the first Sunday in September. Ryan's dad and Lynnie were able to fly out here and be a part of it. Audrey is the only child of ours that was not blessed in the ward Ryan grew up in. Because of that fact, things this time around did not feel as rushed and I was able to take some before pictures of her, something I was not able to do with the other kids. I wish we had some after photos as well with everyone in them, but those did not happen. Oh,well.

The dress Audrey has on is the same one the other girls were dressed in on their blessing days. I love this dress and all the girls looked so cute in it. I grew up catholic and while looking for a dress, all the white ones I saw reminded me of a catholic baptism  and since I wasn't catholic anymore they didn't jive with me but when I saw this light pink dress with white crocheted details, I knew it was the one. Little did I know it would be used for three baby blessings.

No matter what is said during the blessing I always get a little teary eyed. (I also get nervous because I hope the baby is well behaved so the blessing can be heard.) I was able to hear the blessing and it was wonderful. I did become concerned because it mentioned she would have challenges but then after thinking about it, I came to the conclusion everyone on this earth goes through challenges. It's part of why we are here... we must experience bitter to know the sweet. I'm just her mamma and wish the best for her... praying that her life is a joyful one.

Audrey is normally pretty content but not so much during the blessing. She was super tired. I ended up taking her out later. We escaped to the mother's lounge. She did not want to be fed, but just be somewhere quiet and rest for a little bit.

Even though Loren was the only male family member there to stand in the circle for her blessing, I was amazed at the amount of priesthood members that walked up to be part of the circle. It made me once again realize there are some truly great people in our ward. We could not have made it through the first few weeks without the support, love and service they gave to our little family.

Actually, I don't think I can say little anymore since we a now a family of 6!!!