Ike Ewalt Turns (IS) ONE.

post by casey.

ike is ONE! 

can you believe it was 365+ days ago that we were waiting on Zika results and going in for multiple ultrasounds to check on his funky little kidney!? We're so happy Ike is here and we're so happy HE'S SO HAPPY:). 

besides being another wonderful pregnancy and a totally chill baby, this was one of my favorite postpartum experiences. Maybe being 35 helped me to feel more confident in what I wanted for Ike and for myself or maybe my friends being where they're at in life...but I knew what I needed and wanted to make recovery and my days better and those around me did the same!

ike is sleeping through the night. He's got 4 little hippo teeth (2 top and 2 bottom:). Ike is trying to stand up in the middle of the room - he's right on track to walk at about 16MO, just like his siblings:). He loves giving open mouth kisses and sometimes sneaking in some tongue;). He's eating non-stop - I think he was 22+lbs at his 1YR appointment:). Everyone loves Ike and Ike's cuddles:). Man, so lucky I've gotten 4 cuddlers!!!

i can't believe in a few days we'll be having our 2nd Christmas with Ike...as a family of 6! Since Theo (our 2nd), each baby has just felt like a given. I knew when I had Theo that I wanted AT.LEAST four kiddos and here we are, already. I know I've said it in the past...but them growing older isn't really the part I struggle with. I mean...it sucks and it's hard but it's happening and although, hard...it's such a gift. But the part that has me crying at night is the fact that I wanted this so bad...and here we are. And I didn't know that it would be as amazing as it is and I just wish it would have all taken it's time a little...maybe it's mostly hard to admit that when I don't know what the future holds...I'm in a fucking hurry to find out and then, wouldn't you know it, it all works out just as it should and then I'm kicking myself for not slowing my ass down;). 

Jacob and I just talked last night about how maybe none of it is supposed to make absolute sense until it's all over. BUT I do feel so at peace with where we're at right.this.second. Maybe it's a 4th kid thing or 'big' family thing or a lifeeee/age thing...but I do feel acutely aware that THESE.ARE.THE.DAYS. 

we're very happy and it's been a good year:).

Happy FIRST Birthday, IkeE. We're so lucky that we get to grow old with you!:)

+ if you've got 10MIN to spare - got a little carried away, I made a video of Ike's 1st Year:). Check that out below! +

birthday banner by PartyHappier

ike + coy's shared birthday:)

so apparently, a video of my family is one thing BUT put that shit in slo-mo and I will ball.like.a.babyyyyyy;).

Thank you for watching!!!

kids at various ages.

post by casey.

ike: 10 + 11 months and rockyp: 32, 33 + 34 months.

i think the last time I blogged about these boys, I put the wrong update? HERE I said I was posting Rocky at 32MO but really I didn't and SO here we are. 

HEY GUYYYYSSSSSSSS!!! Funny story...here it comes...wait for it...Remember that time I said I was gonna have all this time to blog?!. The end.;)

anyone else feel like summer flew?!?!? Didn't even break open that Target Dollar Section Lemonade Stand sign. Oops. 

PS. I've thrown all SUMMER BUCKET LISTS out the window in this house. I give anyone that makes one and then doesn't end the summer in a complete fucking panic, a virtual high-five. I've got goals and hopes and dreams for our summers but that damn list has brought more rush and force and slight annoyance than I'm willing to allow in my life!;). Buuuuuuuyyyyyeeeee.

so here we are, 1/2 way through October and...I feel great! We've hit a great stride! Those few weeks leading up to the start of the school year have me super rage-ey and hitting WAY below the belt in all those fights I'm allowing my 6YR old to manipulatively drag me into. But we're better now;).

we've been busy selling all.the.things and Jacob has come home and commented on how amazing it feels to walk in to the living room and find things missing;). The weight of all our 'things' was weighing us down far more than we realized! And honestly, I think we have FAR less than the average household but still...so so much. Minimizing has freed up space in the house AND in our heads and we're hanging onto that amazing feeling and continuing to downsize, downsize, downsize!!!

and less stuff means a lot less messes! The kids have only a few toys (still too many, in my opinion). Cleaning has been a breeze and so when I finish this blog post, the mess the kids make for me in the living room will be WAY less insane than it would have been a few weeks ago;).

okay, here are my old babies!:)

my precious baby boy is a week from his FIRST Birthday!!! I'm not even sad about it anymore. It's taken 4 kids to stop being so upset about the passing of the years. I mean...don't get me wrong, I'm still crying about it all.the.time. But today, right this minute...I'm okay.ish.

ike is pulling himself up next to things and looks to be following his older siblings in taking his time on the walking thing and I'm so down with that:). 

He's sleeping through the night. He's napping once a day. He's waving Bye. He's laughing and sometimes crying. And occasionally there's some head butting of the living room floor - soooo, it's clear he's mine;).

we stopped nursing a few weeks ago and that was both sad and natural. Like my last few babes, my body just slowed in producing and so we just gradually weaned and at times I wish we could just keep going and going and we could have had I tried to push it but 11+ months feels pretty great too. So there you have it:).

and then there's this...busy bee. Yeah...we'll stick to Busy Bee;). 

rockyp is trouble;). BUT I still find him SO freaking cute!!!! So after I get after him for coloring the tops of his feet in permanent marker while I make my bed, he comes and apologizes so cutely and of course I'm a sucker and believe him when he agrees to never do that again;).

it doesn't really seem like Rocky's been up to much?! He's less focused on learning to potty train and talking clearly and more concerned about taking a marker to my wall, shitting on my floor, spilling my coffee, dropping my computer, walking out in the rain with his socks on (and usually nothing else;), dropping a carton of eggs out of the fridge, tipping over my lamps, opening doors and not shutting them (and then me discovering this 30MIN later when I feel the cool breeze!!), calling 911, drinking straight out of my creamer, putting all my spoons under his pillow, knocking photos off the wall, ripping up Homer's homework, climbing ON the van, spraying me with the hose...while I'm reading a book...SHALL I GO ON!??!?!;).

jesus started creating Rockyp the minute he heard me, at 10years old, start saying to my parents: "I'm bored!". I see what you did there, Jesus;).

he gives me the biggest headache but honestly, I think he's created the softest part in my heart. I love this kid so damn much:).

me giving Rocky some 'direction' during our photo shoot - and in case you ever thought these were easy breezy;).

UP 16WKS in and 16MO out

DOWN 25WKS in and 25MO out (and clearly enthused about it;)

do we sell the house?

post by casey.

jacob and I have always thought this house would be our Forever Home. And it might still be. Maybe moving a couple times while I was growing up...a few times in my youth and a few times even before I remember...maybe that has enabled me to look at a house as just a safe place to 'call' home. I think I could call home any where I was with my family. Unfortunately, when I say Family...I mean that IF we were to ever more beyond the City limits, my mom and dad and Courts and her 10 kids and Pigg and Mal and her 4 kids/ETC. would have to move right along with us;).

i've looked into selling the house before. Our ultimate goal is to build a very small, energy efficient home on the land near his parents. Outside of town feels but very much the convenience and in town location. Ultimately, we can't afford to do that any time soon. Which is frustrating because I'd love to build a 1800sqft house and throw a few kids in shared rooms and have a tiny master with the space saved for a roomy closet and luxurious bathroom and walls of windows and solar panels on the roof...I haven't given it much thought at all;).

we shelved that idea a year or more ago when we realized it would take some pretty creative planning to make happen on our budget and that in the end...we'd be house poor. I wasn't willing to compromise travel. I'd rather stay where we're at, 'fixer-upper' + small mortgage and be able to travel, than to live in a finished home but not be able to DO anything.

Who are you...BIG house or LITTLE house?! Do you want all.the.space? Or like us, do you find that since moving UP and to a bigger home, you still find that you're ALL in the same place at the same time anyways?! 

when Jacob came home the other night and suggested that we look again at selling it all and starting over...we got to talking and realized that where we're at right now is...exactly where we should be:). We may not have cabinets in our kitchen. We may not have a floor in our bathroom. There may be wet spots on our ceilings where the old roof leaked. 

It's no where near 'done' but it really is perfect for us right now and we do, very much, love this house:). 

okay...babies and toddlers don't give me the luxury of being much more wordy on this blog posts and you KNOW I have so much more to say;). But what I will say is that we're staying put...for now. After a long talk, we kinda figured out that our impatience in being here and wanting to go somewhere else was less about the new place and more about starting over and starting fresh and being able to minimize and all the reasons we were listing for wanting to leave this house were things that we could change and do. Right now. And so we went to bed having stayed up way too late, talking about our plans and making lists - literally, my favorite nights with my husband:). 

over the last week I've sold more stuff and we've cleaned out rooms and started a bunch of projects and thrown things and hauled things out and downsized and organized and it feels so good!

had we had this conversation a year ago, I don't think much would have changed. For whatever reason, the other night, we were ready to take some action. Timing is always everything:). And so going forward, we are trying to motivate ourselves to do the things that we CAN do. Stop looking at what we 'want' 10 years from now or even tomorrow and concentrate on what we can do TODAY! And hell, there's A LOT that can be done today:).

now, here are some photos from earlier this summer when we went to Mead Wildlife Area and ran the trails and the misquotes had there way with us on the way through the woods and the kids got to pet some turtles and I got to run from a snake;).

i haven't forgotten the difficulty of the summer and adjusting to all the kids being home and the fighting and boredom and the missed naps and having to feed my kids - holy shit, that actually might be the worst..having to feed them all the times in a day;)...but even with all that, we really are having the best time and I think our summers together (and late night plan-making) and last minute adventures, will always be my favorite:).

ike: 7, 8 + 9 months and rockyp: 30, 31 + 32 months

post by casey.



it's been 3 MONTHS since I've updated you on the kiddos! And in Baby-Land...Ike-World...that's entirely too long! He's a completely different person! I'm a completely different person! J/K. Same ol' me but since having to fill out those 8 pages of doctor questionnaires on what my 9mo is up to...I've changed...and not in a good way;). I know I've said it before BUT I'LL SAY IT A-FUCKING-GAIN. Those things are out-of-control.

- nope, not pulling himself up onto the couch and trash-talking with me through the Bachelorette.

- nope, hasn't quite figured out how to pick-up a cheerio with only his thumb AND pinky finger and then shoving those into the small top of a baby-safe bottle and then handing that bottle to me and asking for it back in Spanish and then pulling himself up on the couch WITH the bottle and trash-talking with me through the Bachelorette.

*it's Bachelorette Season and I'm into it. Sorry, not sorry;).

long-story-short. We've got him in classes now because he sucks.;)

now, here are some photos of my baby boys:). From these photos, you wouldn't know that there's anything wrong with them;). But based on that paper-work, we're gonna have to 'keep an eye on them';). I kid. They're perfect! Well...Ike is perfect...#thankgawdforikee;). Rocky on the other hand...he's caught somewhere between me still finding him COMPLETELY ADORABLEEEEEEEEEE. Gah. And literally being the worst...like duct tape his shoes on, duct tape his ass in a cart, duct tape his ears open (listening problem - hello?! anyone in there? not gonna stop? nothing?! k, thanks). 

you guys, I'm not gonna lie....Summer Vacation is...harddddd-ishhhhh?! Even I'm confused as to how I feel about it. Really. Ask me today, I think I'd agree that it's the BEST! Loving this weather. Loving having the kids home. Loving our time and adventures together. Ask me 12 hours from now...I might be mentioning that Summer Vacation can GO STRAIGHT TO HELL!!!!;)

lots of caps. I apologize. I'm feeling things this morning;).

okay. PHOTOS OF THE KIDS!!!

so Ikeeeeeee, is basically perfection;). Love him. Love his soft body. Love his gummy smiles!!! No teeth yet. Still co-sleeping...which may be the longest we've had a baby in our bed but he's still doing great, so what the heck ever:). Sleeping is...?! Sometimes he has a great night...sometimes we don't sleep for days. With Summer Vacation, I've noticed that we're really not on ANY schedule. This fall, once the older 2 are in school, I hope to get him on a better napping schedule:). 

we're still nursing! Ike did have his first bites of food at about 9 months but we haven't really gone much further. Every now and again, IF we're having something easy with our meals (cottage cheese, scrambled eggs, yogurt, apple sauce), I'll give him a few bites. Or if we have those little pouches of baby food available, I'll help him with that a bit. But overall...I just love nursing him and we're in no hurry to have him fending for himself:).

ike is sitting by himself. He drags/crawls/moves all over the house! We're on constant watch for tiny bits of ANYTHING that he might find and put in his mouth. Since Theo had a 'choking incident' when she was about his age...I have some MAJOR stress about choking and so I'm always on the lookout for anything he might find.

he's just the best. Really:).

willb + ike

sitting up on his own but still a tad wobbly at times! Mom's always a hand away;).

rowdy + ike

and then there's RockyP!!! Like I said above...he's in this tiny little window of time where he does ALL the things wrong. Not listening. Getting into everything. Basically, follows behind me undoing my life. BUT his smile still melts me and even while wrecking anything he touches, somehow, I just can't be freaking mad at him! You seasoned moms out there know...this passes in the blink of an eye...so I'm trying to enjoy;).

it seems that overnight we can understand him! Even just a few weeks ago there was a lot of "huh?", "wtf???", "sure...I think?!" in response to his gibberish;). BUT now he's full of full sentences and stories and a LOT of it is making sense;).

he's a great cuddler! We've been blessed with THE.BEST.CUDDLERS! Good gracious!

rocky is still on his mattress on the floor, upstairs, with a baby-gate across his door. I did just find some metal frames to attach to the headboards I already have and so I'm excited to move some things around and set the kids up in rooms together again!
(currently they each have their own room but I think I'd like to put Theo and Homer back together and then Rocky and Ike will have their own rooms for a bit)

he pooped on the floor today. That's where we're at with potty training:).

i love this mischievous little shit so so much:).

rockyp + coy

why is your face like that.

for the love of GOD, just SMILE.

guys...they all look the fucking same.