Christmas Prep.

 

I have gotten ridiculously behind on posting, partly because we had work done in our basement and then it flooded and fried our computer.  But we got a new computer out of the deal!  We’ve had a lot of fun this Christmas – sorry to post all of our pre-Christmas pics at once, but I have to get them up!

 

Making salt dough ornaments for our Christmas Tree and for presents!  First we made the dough, cut them out, and cooked them, but the painting was the girls’ favorite part!

 

 

 

 

 

It was always my family’s tradition to go cut down our Christmas Tree every year.  We took the girls this year and they loved it!

 

 

 

 

The girls all ran behind Brian yelling, “Look at Daddy, he’s so strong!”  It was adorable.

 

Hayride!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who wants to put the star on the tree when you could honk Daddy’s nose instead?

 

 

 

 

We do an advent study called Truth in the Tinsel that includes lots of crafts.  This is the night we made crowns for the coming King.

 

 

 

Rudolph sandwiches with Nana!

 

Waking up to the first snow of the year.  Unfortunately it cancelled Bella’s pajama day and holiday party at school!  But they were very excited.

 

 

And last, but not least, cookie making and decorating!

 

 

 

 

 

We had a lot of fun preparing for Christmas this year!!

Our Littlest.

We have lots of littles around here.  Lots of very cute littles. 

But I thought it was about time that I post about the very, very littlest of our Popp clan.

Ya know,

 

the one inside there???

 

We’ve actually known for some time whether our newest little one would leave Brian feeling a little less lonely in our family – I’ve just not posted.  Insert sheepish look (I guess some of what they say about those later siblings maaayyy be true.).

 

But, we are very excited that we will be having a little baby girl come January!

Which will leave us with no fewer than 5 girls ages 5 and under – making for a very giggly household, and a very interesting high school experience for Mom and Dad.  (interesting….or completely terrifying.)

 

We’re keeping PoppSecret#3’s name under wraps until we meet her face to face, as has become our tradition.

My pregnancy is going very well.  This little one already makes herself known through her crazy movement.  I think she must be brushing up on her kick boxing skills in there – because there are no gentle movements for this little lady.  Half the day I feel a little like I’m in a car on a bumpy road, halfway expecting that the next kick my actually knock me off my balance.  She’s feisty already.  She’ll have to be around here.

 

Bella absolutely loves feeling her move in my belly and feeling the little poky parts she juts out.  She gives my belly kisses and talks to the baby.

Sylvia isn’t quite as patient to wait for movements, but she talks to the baby a lot.  She calls her baby Loo-loo – which is entirely too cute for words.

At night when we say our prayers one of the girls always chooses to pray for baby loo-loo and it makes my heart explode every time.  She will be one loved little baby – even if the kisses and hugs don’t feel so loving.

 

I am 26 weeks this week – which is entirely too close to 40 if you ask me.  Pretty soon we’ll be welcoming little baby Loo-loo to this crazy family, and we will love her more than she’ll know what to do with.

We’re going the home birth route this time.  Which reminds me, have you seen Jim Gaffigan’s latest comedy routine on home birth?  I could only find a link to his appearance on Letterman, but seriously, if you do the ‘earthy birthy’ thing, it is hilarious. 

I am super looking forward to our home birth, though, and afterward will probably give you more details than you really want.  Because that’s what post-natal hormonal mothers do. 

 

We can’t wait to meet baby Loo-loo.  I am already in love with her.  It’s her that’s going to have the real adjustment getting used to this crazy bunch!

Apple Picking.

 

I always went apple picking growing up.  Then we’d come home and make apple pies and cinnamon rolls with the leftover pie crust.  I love it, and it seems like great kick off to fall – and one of my favorite parts of having a family is building our own traditions and memories.

After the drought this year, there weren’t tons of apples, but we went and picked our peck.

 

 

A belly pic, since I have been so painfully negligent at documenting this pregnancy.  25 weeks this week!

 

This is the part during apple picking where the girls were so ridiculously cute with this cat that I instantly became sure that our family was in need of another feline.

This is why it’s good that these are the kinds of decisions that we let sit for a while.

 

The girls looooved the chickens (although I didn’t walk away thinking we needed a chicken.)  Especially Tootaw.  She said the chickens were her favorite part of apple picking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So proud that she picked her own apple!

 

 

Sylvia: These apples are so heavy!  Let’s do teamwork!

 

 

 

In our family, no trip anywhere would be complete without doing some swinging.

 

My (very small) daredevil.

 

Our loot.  Which turned into a very tasty pie.

Horn Creek 2012

  We just got back from Horn Creek on Saturday and have been slowly adjusting back to normal non-vacation life.  We had such a great time at Horn Creek.  I wouldn’t describe it as relaxing, but it’s pretty doubtful we’ll be describing anything as relaxing in the next several years.  We met lots of new families, and since it was foster and adoptive week we (for once!) didn’t feel like the weird ones.  We didn’t even seem like we had a large family in this group – it was great!  We even got to meet a family who, prior to camp, we had only had contact through the blog!

  Tootaw did great the whole week, and I’m pretty convinced that she will be our easiest child.  She’s pretty quiet, and actually listens when I ask her to do something!  (Who knew children like that existed???)  It was a great bonding time for her with us and Bella absolutely loved having her there.

  One of my greatest concerns in having Tootaw move in has been Sylvia – because they are the same age and Sylvia will have to share Bella with someone who she is, by default, more attached to than to Sylvia. About halfway through the week Brian had a conversation with Sylvia about having Tootaw with us and gave her the opportunity to share if she didn’t like the dynamic of her being there.  Sylvia thought about it for a moment and then said, “Nope, I just like having another stister.”  That gave this Mama a little sigh of relief.  I love that girl and her big heart.

 

  We managed to come home with nothing short of one concussion, one broken arm, three cases of pink eye, one child with a fever, and one child with a bad rash all over her face.  Let’s hear it for vacation!

 

Naomi LOVED playing in the rocks and dirt.  She could have done that all day everyday and been happy.

 

 

 

Sylvia and Tootaw on the hanging log.  (They hang a log from the ceiling and you and a partner have to straddle it and try to knock each other off with pillows.) 

 

Bowling, which I’m pretty sure was Tootaw’s favorite part of the whole camp.  Although it was hard to tell.  Approximately 10 times per day she’d look up at me and say, “This is fun!”

 

 

 

Teeter tottering on half a log at the playground.

 

 

 

Catching pancakes for breakfast one morning!

 

 

 

Success!

 

Painting rocks to take home as souvenirs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swinging, which comprised about 3/4 of our week.

 

The swing that Sylvia fell off of and broke her arm.

 

Cousins.  Sylvia was saying, “It’s ok, Timmy will be safe because he is holding my hand.”

 

We drove into Colorado Springs one day and went to Garden of the Gods and Whit’s End.

 

 

 

 

 

Ice cream at Whit’s End.

 

 

 

Horseback riding at Western Night!  Sylvia and Tootaw both loved it – but after last year, we made sure that Bella stayed VERY far away from the horses!

 

 

 

Sisters at Western Night.

 

Square dancing.

 

The part of the week where everything starts to run together.  Sylvia fell off of the swing at the playground and got a concussion and broke her arm.  No. Fun.  I felt so bad for her, but she was so brave!  We took her straight to the clinic where they did x-rays and wrapped her up.

 

 

 

On a nature hike.

 

 

We had another fun year at Horn Creek.  For the returning families, it’s fun to watch everyone’s families grow and change.  We feel so blessed to get to have such a wonderful vacation tradition with our girls.