She Sucks Her Thumb!

I have never had a thumb-sucking baby before. It's something I didn't ever hope for in my children. You know, horror stories of bad teeth and orthodontist bills and memories of that poor girl who was teased for still indulging in the comfort in the fourth grade. But it turns out that it is sooooo very cute when this little chubster finds her thumb and starts to sucking. A plus for me is that because of this new found skill she sleeps for longer stretches at night. Yay! Bad teeth be damned, I love sleep.

We want a pitcher-not a belly itcher!

OK, so Townsend isn't really a belly-itcher, at least when it comes to baseball. He and his dad have been working and practicing and working some more on his pitching. The coach was so impressed with his form that he got to pitch the season opener. He did quite well, even striking a few guys out.

Baseball has never been my favorite sport to watch, but there's something about this particular cute boy in uniform that manages to hold my interest. I'm so proud of my Townsie. He rocks!

In the Buff(Orpington)

My dream of raising chickens has become a reality! Although not at the most ideal time, as we are moving in two weeks and right now the chickens reside on my back porch. My sweet friend Ida ordered 25 layers from the awesome McMurray hatchery and we split them. I ended up with 10 hens and 2 roosters. I'm not even positive what breed they are, but I think they are Buff Orpintons which is quite a lovely name, don't you think? Not sure what I'll do with the roosters, but I have become rather attached one rooster in particular. He has such an attitude and I love him. In case you didn't know chickens grow quite quickly. They are only seven weeks old and starting to get their combs and feather out nicely. They aren't so very cute at this stage in the game, I lovingly refer to them as my akward teenage chickens right now.

Ephraim and Marley seem to be most excited about them. We took them all outside today as it is sunny and beautiful. They were all so awesome scratching and pecking and eating bugs. Ephraim likes to show who's boss. He's quite adept and picking them up gently, although it did take a number of lessons to get the "gentle" part down.

Here's my rooster! Can't you just see the attitude oozing out of him?

9 Days-7 Books

Here's my almost ten year old guy. Townsend has many talents. Baseball, basketball, swimming, piano playing, giving beautiful prayers, reading, tormenting his siblings, and debating the pants off of anyone who dares try, just to name of few. But the one we're talking about today is reading. I've had to threaten to take away his books a number of times this week. It seems almost wrong as I catch myself saying it. I mean doesn't every mother want their son to spend his spare time reading? But really the kid is obsessed. I actually caught him hiding in a closet with his book so I couldn't pester him with requests to do his chores. Oh, how I love my Townsend!

New Skirt

I have been in the mood for sewing a lot lately. Ada's blessing dress took me a few weeks to get done. But I was able to get this made in just a couple of days. Have I ever mentioned how very much I love to sew? If I haven't I will say it now. I absoloutely love to sew. I wish I had way more time. There is so much more I want to learn about the fascinating world of clothing construction. I love fabric. All the amazing textures and colors and patterns. I am happy in room full of fabric. OK, I'll stop now. This skirt is I think only the second thing I have made for myself that actually turned out. It's a lot harder to get things to fit an adult properly. I've got little girls' dresses down pat though. Next up...I think Marley wants me to help her make ruffle skirt out of some pink eyelet we have laying around. She's becoming a rather talented little seamstress herself these days.

Don't Forget Your Hat And Boots!

We had a few nice sunny and fairly warm days a week or two ago, but for the most part it's still pretty wintery here in the Great Northwest. Luckily Ephraim has two posessions he doesn't ever like to be without. The first being the hood to his puffy red coat. He doesn't care too much about the coat itself, just the hood. The second, his rain boots.(In this photo he brought along his sisters' pink backpack for good measure.)

From time to time he may forget the nonessentials(like pants) but rest assured he will always remember to wear his hat and boots.

Month One

Ada made it successfully through her first month in the Judd family. She is such a sweet and happy baby. She loves to eat and has managed to gain a whopping 3 1/2 pounds in her first month! Her cheeks are just so smooshable. I love fat babies and she is certainly well on her way to being fat.