Venturing Out

We ventured to Boulder on Saturday morning to meet our family at the farmer's market. We enjoyed the HOT sun and some ginger lemonade...and then walked to Pearl Street for more people watching and play.

While we were there, Emma found her thumb. We've never had a thumb sucker...but she seems to like it. She usually just swings her hand around with frustration, trying to find her mouth...and once in awhile, she gets it there. It's all quite cute.

Lucy Mae...my little sassy pants. Oh how I love her. It's been a definite time of transition as she adjusts to sharing mommy and daddy. She is also changing so much developmentally right now...speech, motor skills, etc...she keeps us on our toes :) She is SO excited about every little thing all day long. It's such a wonderful reminder to stand in awe of every day beauty and appreciate the little things.

Bella is back in Raccoon Clan this spring and loving every minute. This is from last week as she waited for her friends to pick her up.

Freshly picked eggs...a wonderful baby gift from my friend Michelle!

A lovely letter from Rachel paired with a big bowl of watermelon made for the perfect nursing session. Thank you friend! My mama heart needed it.

At one week old, Emma enjoyed her first adjustment from our chiropractor.

My little sweeties.

...and a smile. Nana and Papa left for home today...we miss them already!

Five Days

We're five days into our life as a family of five. Crazy. The days are all blending together...but we're blissed out and loving life. And while I don't have a birth story written or photos edited, I thought I would share some of my favorite captures from this last week.

This is the view I see for much of the day...the view from my nursing chair :)

...and when I'm in that chair nursing, I send texts to Matt like this one. He has been so amazing. So, so amazing. He is the best husband and daddy. And on his third time around...he's pretty much an expert at all things baby :)

I made my first yerba mate latte in 9 months and it was sooooooo good. Well, at least the first 1/3 of the cup was...and then I couldn't drink any more because the caffeine was a little too much for my caffeine-free body. Darn. I will just have to ease into it.

Seeing Bella and Lucy interact with Emma is quite possibly my favorite thing so far...they are incredibly sweet to her and their eyes just light up when they see her. I am SO excited to have three girls!

Babywearing a newborn = happiness.

Speaking of happiness...it's a way of life around here! :) My mama brought me this awesome sign when they arrived. I adore it.

Lots of time has been spent hanging out on the porch, pogo sticking, bike riding, rollerblading, and walking Odie the dog.

It's been such a blessing having my mom and dad here during this transition...they've been taking Lucy and Bella to the park and out and about every day. There have been endless hours of puzzle construction and make believe princess play. My daddy brings me sushi and watermelon. In fact, today when I ran out of watermelon, he brought me FOUR home within 30 minutes. He's awesome. And lastly...I feel so blessed that they have been able to be with us for the births of all three of the girls...such sweet memories.

My friend Jen brought the most fantastic meal to us yesterday. Not only was it packaged beautifully inside and out, it was sooooo delish. Homemade hummus (2 kinds) with all the fixins to stuff whole wheat pita bread, sweet potato and pineapple salad and nourishing lentil soup. She spoils me.

And now...I will end this post so we can do more of this. Life is speeding by...but we'll try our best to slow it down. Just for a bit :)

Sunshine, Dirt, & Community

We are slowly getting settled into our new little house in Longmont...and we are LOVING having so many options for community and fun. I captured the girls snuggled up together on our chair...watching YouTube videos on how to give a guinea pig a bath :) We are considering getting 2 guinea pigs and they are in full research mode. When I've polled my friends, I've heard everything from "Yes! They are great first pets!" to "Oooooh...don't do it!". Does anyone have any words of wisdom for us?

We've spent several blissful afternoons with our unschooling community...it's SO nice to be connecting again on a regular basis. It's done SO MUCH for my mama heart.

Spending time with other moms and dads who view life/parenting the same as you do is very empowering and refreshing.

Seeing this photo just makes me smile and takes me right back to the a-ha moment Lucy had this week. She realized that it was ok to get dirty and be dirty and not have to wash it all off immediately. She's normally does not like things on her hands. She doesn't like even a drop of water on her clothes. But when I explained that she could stay outside with her dirty hands and PLAY and HAVE FUN, it produced a new spark and excitement in her eyes. Revolutionary! She got very excited and ran out to make more mud and more mess...and didn't come in for another 30 minutes. Just the fact that she can play outside makes me incredibly happy. We were unable to do something that simple in Nederland because of the land/terrain we were on and the ice/snow.

Sisters feeding the mailbox a delicious little letter.

On Tuesday, it was  a balmy 70 degrees! We spent much of the morning and early afternoon playing at the park and soaking up every last bit of sunshine.

Lucy raced after Bella on her Plasma car...wanting to be just like her big sis.

Today we spent all afternoon at a a nearby bounce playhouse/gym...because the temp had dropped back to 37 and chilly! The girls played so hard for 4 straight hours and are sleeping VERY soundly as I type this in the quiet of the night :)

And lastly...a few things that are making me happy this week. A new painting from my friend Lisa...this photo just doesn't even do it justice. The colors in this original are so gorgeous. I can't wait to hang it in the perfect spot!

I've been loving the kombucha...which is funny because I haven't always been a fan. Trilogy and Gingerberry are my favorite right now...but their chia-filled fruity friends are a close second! Bella loves them too...which makes me happy. Although as with anything (even "good" things)...I try to keep our intake moderate and not go crazy with it. I will eventually need to start making my own because we go through it pretty quickly! If you've never tried it...give it a whirl! But don't give up if you don't like it on the first try. Experiment with different brands and flavors until you find one you like.

And lastly...this little gem of encouragement that my friend Alicia of the fabulous Milagro Girl sent out on her Insta.gram feed this week. It really resonated with me and I've gone back to read it many times for inspiration. I hope you feel the same way.

So many great reminders...but to sum it up, LIVE AN AMAZING & FULL LIFE!!

What is inspiring you to do that this week?