Welcome Baby Girl! You Are So Loved!

3:26am June 14, 2013 we welcomed our baby girl! I birthed her in a mere half hour from start to finish, and caught her in the bath/shower. I'm writing the full birth story as fast as I can and will share more pictures soon! We are really happy and overwhelmed with the joy over our new arrival. We call her 'baby girl' for now, we have not named this treasure yet but we love her so much. The little kids follow me around like love sick puppy dogs asking to hold her constantly.

Family backyard picnic with Aunt Sharon and Grandma Wanda the day after she was born

Memories of the Last Days of Pregnancy

40 weeks

6/7/13 

I was lying next to Penelope the other night when I looked over to see if she was asleep yet. What I saw by the glow of the night-light was her blue wide-eyes peeled open and a smile on her face as big as the moon. She had her hands at her chest with her fists clinched in excitement. Her legs wiggled when we made eye contact. I was surprised she was still awake and whispered, "Are you excited thinking about the new baby?" "Yes!" she squealed.

The three youngest kids always ask to see baby and rub the baby belly at night. Everett often places his head to my belly, kisses, laughs and pats. They've seen home birth videos online and pictures of their siblings being born. They understand how babies grow and how they are born and it makes the big belly more real to them I think. I map out where and how the baby is laying in there so they can visualize it. Layla likes to see the birth photos of her siblings but doesn't like seeing hers. I think that's interesting, and it matches her quirky personality. Everett loves watching birth videos, which is pretty common for this age group. He asks for more over and over. He loves seeing babies emerge and as they cry for their first breath. His face lights up like it does when he sees a fire truck –total magic. I know just how he feels (about the baby magic, the fire truck thing is cool but not all that magical to me personally haha).

6/9/13

As the weeks melted by from 36 to 38 to 39 weeks I started thinking we wouldn't do a belly cast. We did one with 3 kids (Penelope, Sebastian, Everett) and I assumed we'd do another but the weeks started slipping away and we didn't have any supplies yet. Finally I bought some supplies and wondered if they'd arrive before baby did! It's so fun to see the shape of the belly and have as a memory. I really do remember more about how they were in the womb and what the movements felt like when I see and hold my casts. It's also just a neat form of personal artwork. Ricky and I have always casted them alone after the kids were in bed as a quiet relaxing date night activity. I have always been pleased at the attention to detail my dear husband takes with the cast, he's artistic but many people don't know that about him. He gets really into smoothing it out and making sure the shape is true to my form. It's something worth writing about so I remember, because in between casts I've forgotten his intentness on the artwork. I love thinking about it now. At 39 weeks 4 days, after getting everyone else asleep for the night, we told the girls of the house they could get out of bed; we surprised them by including them in cutting plaster strips, helping their dad dip them in warm water and smooth them out on me. They thought it was really neat. Layla said she had a lot of fun and for years she thought that there was a place that you went to try on bellies and buy a cast that fit you, she didn't ever think about or understand plastering! I thought that was so interesting and cute. I love how kids think, how else was she supposed to know though?! They enjoyed helping and I was really glad we decided to let them be a part of it. We have a roll of plaster left that I told them we could make fake pull-on and-off broken arm casts for fun! They loved that idea.

A couple weeks ago Layla made a household family chart for baby's birth date. She made two charts, one for June 6-9th and one for the 10th-15th. They keep adding more dates on as their guesses don't pan out correctly. It's so cute and a real treasure to see the kids' names written with dates and times and watch as they cross them off themselves as the days tick on by. They are so involved and so excited.

In our experience babies come when you least expect it. Since I've felt like I was prepping for labor for 2-3 weeks now (a very helpful thing the body does to make natural labor and birth easier!) I half expected to have the baby sometime in the last seven days. However, I've only had one baby "early", Penelope two days early. At the time it seemed like she was really early though; the previous babies had each been born at 42 weeks. (two weeks past their due dates). Due dates are an obsession with people, really babies come when they are ready. Every day I wake up I'm glad I have another day to prepare, clean, rub my belly, take a picture, charge the camera battery. :)

6/10/13

Baby was quiet last night. “She” is usually kicking like a crazy thing! I had more of the same deep twinges and at 11pm and when Ricky fell asleep rubbing my belly I got up and cleaned the bathroom, mopped the bedroom floor and finished 2 loads of laundry. For good measure I set a clean stack of towels and receiving blankets on the bathroom counter. I felt I could sleep through the tightness and pre-labor (pre-labor is something your body can do for weeks) so I went to bed and slept like a baby --even though Everett crowded into bed three times. I woke up with Ricky's good morning kiss and of course he said, "No baby yet..." :) He agreed it's always when we least expect it. 

6/11/13

Today is 40 weeks.

Yesterday I had nice firm deep pressure and cervical pressure/twinges all day long. It reminded me of what dilation and labor is like (for me). It reminded me of the work, effort, and triumph. It reminded me that ‘oh crap I'm totally going to have this baby soon!' After a regular stressful day at home yesterday (nothing bad, just a regular day cleaning house with crazy kids.) around 2pm I hear:

"Mom! Everett's bringing a chicken inside..."

 This is exactly why I'd never go into labor during the day: too much excitement. Night-time is safer. (That's why most mammals labor at night) Everett laughed like an ornery little turd as he ran around the living room in circles after the chicken - then the chicken hopped on the couch. I put it outside, a bit flustered because I just mopped the darn floor and I’m in the middle of 20 other things. He cries to me, "Noooooo me play my chicken, my chicken!" I told him to play with his chicken outside then!!

I get back inside and Sebastian says "We had a chicken in the house once, then twice, now three. Three times we've had a chicken in our house now." Overall, in the span of the last 4 years in this house that might be a low estimate. I've brought in at least two before.  

Today I picked up the house, made the bed, switched laundry, made breakfast and had a list of simple things for the kids to do when they woke up all before 7:30am. We finished up simple chores and I told everyone to get ready to go to the park (homeschool play day). As we were leaving I painted the hallway wood floor I have been trying to paint forever! It’s a circle hallway in the middle of our two story house. The circle leads off to doorway that include a bathroom, master bedroom, the upstairs, kitchen dining room, and living room. I love it. It never occurred to me until now that I should call it a roundabout hallway! I love our old house! I’ve never seen anything like a “roundabout” hallway before. Anyway, ever since we ripped the carpet out in favor of the wood floors underneath I’ve wanted to paint the hall floor. It’s not an easy task because it’s smack in the middle of the house. It requires stranding yourself to one side or the other --not very do-able with kids. So today I decided to paint it halfway and then load up the kids in the car, paint the rest, and then leave the house for the park. It worked! Finally I did it, I got our floor painted… on my due date. 

On his way home from work I sent my darling husband to the dollar store for a couple things, poster board for the creative kids that are on an art making binge was one of them. He came home with candles too and said, “I thought you might want some soft light for the birth, these were the only unscented ones I could find.” What a love. He's so thoughtful. Every morning and night he asks how baby is and how I am. It' so neat after doing this so many times it's not just the same ol' thing but a different day. Everyday is new, every baby is special, every moment counts, every day is a gift. A few mornings ago the alarm went off at 6am and as usual he asked how baby was, I told him the baby didn't move all night and I don't like that. He rubbed and pushed gently on my belly until the baby moved. "There's the baby" he said. And these are the things I want to remember. The little personal moments in time that make my days bright, my blessings plentiful, and life so rich.

6/12/13

This morning I'm sipping on Third Trimester Tea and feeling happy as a clam my wood floor is painted. I should tend to some outdoor things today (which includes more painting!), and try to keep the kids out of the house as much as possible! I don't really care when the baby decides to come, I just really don't want the kids messing the house up and eating all the food! lol! I'm slightly OCD so I want everything in it's place and ready when I have the baby. I just heard from Aunt Sharon and her and Grandma are coming over! We love when they visit. Family and food ...the greatest gifts.

39 Weeks: Mama and Baby Update, Birth Preparation, Nesting

Mama Belly
I love the change between 36 and 38 weeks and then 38 to 40 weeks. I don't think I'd realize how cool and distinct the change is without having done this so many times! I love getting big! At 36 weeks (safe for a home birth by some people's standards but still pretty darn early) I think to myself 'baby would probably be fine at 36 weeks', then by 38 weeks I'm like 'okay NOW baby is fine.' Then by 39 weeks I'm like 'NOW THIS is what a baby-belly is supposed to look like.' Then by 40 weeks I'm like 'ohhh this is ripe, oh yes, I remember this now." :)

35 weeks -high belly

37 weeks -much lower belly now

 38 weeks -rounder in the center

 38 weeks with covered belly

39 weeks -sitting down I do look a bit bigger, but in just a week I really filled out more too, so it's not just because I'm sitting.

 39 weeks 3 days getting plumper

39 weeks 3 days the center is a bit bigger, rounder, very middle sticks out proudly. My belly peeks out of nearly everything I wear around the house.

Last week I asked Ricky if I was big enough yet and he said I ask that every time around 37-38 weeks and then he added that I was almost indeed ready. :) We didn't do a plaster belly cast yet, it's coming in the mail today. Every pregnancy I try on the other ones we made to see the shape and how it's different or the same. Some babies lay to the left, some to the right. It's cool; this one's feet are on the right, body to the left, head down and chin feels tucked.


Nesting Mama
The last two weeks I/we did our normal stuff plus painted the kitchen incl. cupboards, sewed/ hung curtains, cleaned half the basement, washed all baby stuff/got the cloth diapers ready, brought the changing table up from basement (rearranged bedroom), got birth and baby supplies ready, ran all the kids around to various parties/sleepovers Etc., hit up the playground parks 5 times for playing fun, got the teens to their youth group camp teen leader training 3 days in a row, cleaned the back porch, cleaned/de-cluttered the most important parts of garage, got our starter tomato plants in the ground finally, made a mini obstacle course for the kids, mowed/weed whacked around our property, painted picnic table with kids, got all the laundry caught up (because Charlotte and I are laundry ninjas with mad skills!).

Me with the painted kitchen cupboards, sewed cupboard curtains (I took out the old cheap 70's fake wood laminate doors everyone hates to have in their home down and opted for the very old-fashioned kitchen curtain concept! The doors were painted over the laminate but paint on laminate chips/peels after a while.)

Side note: We all LOVE our 1960's vintage kitchen table and chairs! It's so sturdy and wipes clean like a dream. We have 2 leaves for it we don't use. We have a large dinging room table too, but we are known to squeeze around this table for many meals too! We have stools we carry in and gather around when desired. I often try to feed the youngest kids in the kitchen for easy clean up.

This photo is an example of how the kids cram around at a table -comfortably. We are at a 4 person table with 7 chairs having donuts out as a family at a museum.

Below is the fabric that I used on the lower cupboard shelves, you can't see it at all in the pictures above. It's very country-cute and vibrant without being overwhelming. The yellow ties in our table and OLD counter tops. I picked colors I wouldn't tire of. The upper cupboard is a gray polka dot curtain that is super flattering in person.The roses below that look purplish are actually gray so it ties in our gray-white kitchen brick.

Pregnancy, Chiropractic, Nutrition, Vitamin D
This pregnancy has not been uncomfortable (most aren't too bad at all --but Everett's was rough). I think this is easier than Everett's because of all the chiropractic care I've had over the past three years, particularly the chiropractic care I had while actually pregnant with Everett. I had bad pinched nerves with him and sciatica. Getting my vit. D levels up is a huge help too. It's sad I suffered through so much pelvic/hip/joint pain with Everett (and after having him) until finally discovering my bones were softening and it was due to vit D deficiency. I had "adult rickets" which is, thank goodness, reversible. I felt so much better after discovering that; before it was corrected I felt 90 years old and I was in pain everywhere (but especially so in my hips and pelvis)! I also tested for low thyroid hormone (hypothyroid) which I now take "natural" thyroid hormone for. I've had it checked four times during this pregnancy. My care provider (who is not a MD but works along side one) actually has had an unassisted birth too! I had my iron tested a couple months ago and it was low so I'm on an iron supplement too.
Low Thyroid & Pregnancy
I had to dig a little for info on low thyroid and pregnancy, it's a seriously under diagnosed condition (so is postpartum thyroid issues!). If I would have known I would have been tested several pregnancies ago. If you found me by searching for this condition my advice is: have a practitioner that listens, seriously consider a practitioner that supports natural and conventional medicine, test vit. D levels, get thyroid panel drawn at least 3 times while pregnant and then again 2-3 weeks postpartum. If taking thyroid hormone consider having smaller pills so you can adjust your thyroid dosage if needed. I have 15mg pills so if I feel too much or too little thyroid I'm not stuck with a huge pill; I control my own dosage if needed and while waiting for more test results. In addition I learned not to worry; many, many healthy babies are born to thyroid problem mothers. It's not optimal to grow a baby while your thyroid is off, but don't let the internet freak you out either. I sprinkle kelp (for iodine) on my hand and eat a little every day or so; don't overdo it though. Iodine helps regulate thyroid function. Blueberries are supper good for regulating thyroid function. Reduce intake of foods that inhibit thyroid production like broccoli, spinach, peanuts... here's a list. I still eat those foods but I watch the amount and eat other foods instead.

Do-it-yourself mamas: you may consider doing a mail order thyroid test. I know very little about them though, and some say they are not that accurate. You need to research; I'm just putting the info out there that they exist.

Food Nesting
Today, not surprisingly, I woke up pregnant still. So I got to work! I had a double batch of chili in the crock pot by 7:30am. It's chock full of beans and pureed peppers and onions for lots of healthy eating. The precooking phase begins now. I'm going to try to get some freezer meals done this weekend. Taco bake, chicken and broccoli, chili, banana breakfast cake and muffins, pumpkin muffins and whatever else I can think of. Nothing sounds good to me. I hate cooking when I don't have a clue as to what to cook. I usually have a hard time if nothing sounds good; my inspiration usually comes from hunger!

Looks like I still have time to get some other food/supplies we still need to get to make life easier the first couple weeks with new baby:

paper plates

frozen waffles
pancake mix

syrup

a truck load of bulk yogurt

a truck load of cereal and milk

a truck load of baby carrots

frozen pizza

pretzels

copious bags of frozen fruit

FOOD

I need to work on my list. 'Food' is very nondescript. I wish there was something called "food" and it could be healthy, yummy and served for weeks at a time. lol.

MORE on Nesting:

Last week was super-duper nesting, cleaning, organizing week also. I was so exhausted when this week rolled around that I thought I was going to collapse or have a baby. I was also afraid nesting was over for me. I was thankfully wrong! Also, last week Ricky was away in New York on business. I had 'practice labor' for days that felt reallllly promising to produce a baby soon but no baby came. My body and baby are both getting ready and that is excellent, baby is low and head down and getting ready but that doesn't mean anything other than my uterus is smart and getting ready! (Layla and Sage were both born at 42 weeks; others were born pretty close to due date, Everett on his actual 40 week due date!)

Every two days the theme of my attitude changes: overwhelmed and exhausted (mostly due to the toddler), excited, nesting/productive, content. Last two days was nesting and content. Hopefully this weekend is content and productive too!

I have a long list of "to-do's" but overall things are ready. Every day I wake up without the baby in my arms is another day to get more done!
I want to paint part of the back porch, we all have more mowing to do (Charlotte and I love mowing!), later we drop off teens at a party...the house needs cleaned again so I hope to dust and scrub and mop this weekend. I hope!

On a normal week I'm usually an obsessed OCD/ADD busy, crazy, house-cleaner/re-organizer/crafter/decorator/yard worker, but it takes on a whole new meaning by this time of a pregnancy. lol.

Baby Supplies / Birth Supplies / Mama Supplies
I'm excited that the baby birth basket is ready to go: baby blanket, baby diapers, sterilized scissors, placenta bowl, pajamas and postpartum pads for mama, other fancy herbal pampering mama products (earth mama angel baby products, herbal tea, Etc.), paper towel roll, wet wipes, charged cell phone, charged camera. Now just add 1 quick, happy labor and a baby... :)

The baby's birthday party basket is ready for the kids to decorate the house with too: crepe paper, happy birthday table cloth, happy birthday balloons, birthday cups, napkins, brownie mix, and handmade welcome signs. The kids even have presents to wrap for the baby (newborn onesies, blankets).

Kid Presents!

I totally lost my mind and bought ALL of the kids a surprise present for after the baby is born. I just want them to have something special for being so good to me, helping me clean and paint (I'm not doing all this nesting completely alone! lol), and doing their chores/homework without complaining. They have been so great. Everett has been a total handful and we all really do a lot for each other and to help each other when things get crazy. The kids are all so loved, special, and wonderful and even if they all make me crazy sometimes, and even if they aren't all cute tiny babies anymore, they are ALL blessings in our life just like this new baby is. On another note the kids are SO EXCITED. Especially Penelope. The baby is talked about constantly! It's so sweet and really neat.

Blog Posts

I’ve been writing for well over a month, but not posting! Eventually there will be a bunch of backdated posts that I want to get posted!  I just don’t have the time to proof them, finish them, Etc.I draft and draft and draft but I just don't have a lot of time to finish. When I'm nursing a new baby I hope to find some down time. Blogging/writing is time consuming but I really love having the memories written!

Kids & Their Fun

I hear happy screaming outside...and more of it, and more of it again. It's loud and it's all four of the littlest kids. I wonder what's going on but I don't really want to know, because it at least sounds happy. They laugh, they squeal, they scream, and Sebastian is yelling, "YEAH WE NOT SCARED!" Then Penelope yells something similar, then the screaming starts again. I wonder if they have the hose out and they are drenching each other. Then a little while later I hear, "Let's tell mom Everett found an egg!" I greet them at the porch steps as they run to me.

Everett had found a guinea hen egg, no biggie. I didn't feel like wrestling it from him, he can have it as long as he keeps it outside. I ask and find out that the screaming is because they are running in and out of the goose and guinea pen and the geese are mad and angrily hissing at them. The geese are SUPER protective right now because they are sitting on a clutch of eggs (that are way past due for hatching, they are now presumed infertile and need to be taken away). The geese look down right frightening I'm telling you! Once in a while the geese will flail about and come towards us in a threatening way but they don't give chase, these aren't typically a breed that chase people.

The kids continue their game..."YEAH WE NOT SCARED!"

The whole thing is making me laugh. This is the stuff childhood is made of. 
 
Soon Everett intentionally broke his egg on a mini play slide and they squawked about it so I told them all to wash the slide with the hose. Of course they all got wet and made a water slide out of the situation. I'm so cranky from a series of prior events that I can hardly see then fun in this. It's cold water and not a hot enough day and I'll have to dry them off and clothe them all over again. I think it will be only a matter of minutes before Everett is crying from the cold water. I need to make dinner and mop the kitchen floor. Everett hurt me with the weed eater today.* Everett has been teething molars and crying for four days. I don't feel sleepy-tired but I'm so worn out. My debit card is missing. I wanted to clean the bathroom 2 days ago...

I feel rather Scrooge McDuck about the whole water-play thing. 

Bahh kids and their "fun"

  I'm shaking my head as if I don't understand kids at all ...but then I crack a half smile anyway. This is the stuff childhood is made of…and cranky grownups like me should let kids have their fun anyway. 

Later the kids file into the house sopping and muddy, with grass stuck to them asking for a hot bath. Even they were surprised at the mud and grass left behind in their bathwater.
~~~

So, it’s been a rough four days in toddler-land. Everett is teething molars and is a bear to handle. I think he also had a touch of a cold but I’m not sure. A couple kids had mild diarrhea and couple kids a mild cold over about a 3 days span, it was strange but thankfully all is good now. However, four days of screaming toddler fits left me totally wrung out. Kids that are angry when they don't feel good are SO hard! I wish he just wanted to lie around while I held him; instead he wants to burn the house down and throw oatmeal. Today we made cinnamon (biscuit) donuts and play dough. I tried to get motivated to get housework done but I really just wanted to be outside.

*The Weed Eater

 I love yard work/gardening/the outdoors. Every summer I say that if I had to get a job I’d want to do yards. I really truly enjoy it and I enjoy mowing! Last weekend was rainy and we didn’t get any of the weed eating done that Ricky had planned on so I decided I’d tackle the front myself.  I hate loading the weed eater string. It’s a total pain. The weed eater is a nice new electric one though, which is SO MUCH EASIER to run than the old gas one we had. I still haven’t mastered the string though. It’s always been extremely frustrating to me that I can’t load a weed eater.

 While I was trying to reload the string Everett came up to me and grabbed the weed eater. I told him to let go and to stop but of course he didn’t. I never thought in one hundred years he’d place his fingers over the safe-start button lock and the trigger at the same time and start the dang thing up. It’s not terribly hard to do, but it’s still a fluke he did it. Leave it up to a toddler to figure out something dangerous in literally 7 seconds time. I should have removed the battery before doing the string, lesson learned now. He started up the weed eater as it rested on my pregnant belly; all the parts I was trying to insert into the head flew out of my hand and the string whipped my shirt/belly. I threw the thing away from me in one swift motion. I hollered at Everett and told him how dangerous that was. I sat him down inside and he cried a little bit. Being "in trouble" is short lived when you are a toddler however, since you have severely selective emotional recall and very little concept of cause and effect. I lifted my shirt to see a red whipped belly and one small cut that was red and trying to bleed. I felt so sad and frustrated. I watched Everett toddle back outdoors by himself as my eyes welled up with tears. I wasn’t really hurt, but it still hurt. I didn’t like that it was my pregnant belly, I didn’t like that it could have hit my face, I didn't like that I should have been in a safer place away from a toddler in the first place (for him and I both). I think my feelings were hurt too! Also since I couldn’t get the string in right I was giving up and presumably because of being pregnant and extra sensitive I just wanted to sob. I've never seen the 1992 film 'A League of Their Own' but I thought about the famous line from it and replaced it with, "There is no crying in lawn maintenance!" I gathered myself up and showed Everett the mark on my belly and he kissed my belly and said “sorry mama.”  He’s a sweet little guy like that --usually! Ricky called me later and I told him what happened, he felt bad for me and was concerned. THAT made me feel better; a little genuine concern and sympathy for the emotional pregnant lady from the hubby = gold. :) Ricky came home and helped me finish up the yard and now it's pretty. The grass is green and things are looking good. Spring feel SO good.

Other Weekly Tidbits I want to save for memory sake:
Serious Sebastian
While talking about skydiving Sebastian (4.5) dead seriously told me and Charlotte that, "Parachuting is more dangerous if you don't have a parachute." We chuckled and told him he was right. He sensed we weren't taking him seriously enough and even more DEAD seriously and wide-eyed he followed up with, "It is. It really is. In real life, it is dangerous!"

We were dying. It was SO cute and funny.

Hammocks
Layla(8) told me this wonderful gem of a story. She was in the hammock out back relaxing when she said out loud to herself, "Ahhh this is the life!" Everett (2) within earshot toddled up and rudely kicked her out of the hammock. He climbed on in and said, "Ahhh life!"

You know you have a big family when...
Layla(8): How many people are in the bath right now?
Me: Three
Layla: Oh man. I wanted to get in.

Toddler Fun
I asked Everett (2) to 'show me my sweet boy.' He looks at me, hugs me with big arms, and smiles...then he wipes his nose on his shirt. I say playfully, "You have boogers do you!?" He says, "Mama booger boy!!" and points to me cheerfully. LOL. He's mama's booger boy now. Too funny. :)

Locked Out 
Sebastian, Penelope, Layla and I were waiting for Layla's bus outside and Everett (2) locked us out. He was laughing at the door! I had to walk into the muddy, wet goose and guinea pen with bare feet and throw rocks at Charlotte's window to wake her and tell her we were locked out. She laughed at us (I would have too!) I was also armed with a shovel because Mr. T the male guinea started trying to chase me around the pen lol. To much excitement for one morning. Coffee and breakfast now I guess. And I need to wash my feet.

Our Wild Boys
Everett takes two butter knives out of the dish washer and starts karate chopping high into the air and making a ruckus like a total insane maniac, then he chucks them down the basement stairs. I look at Sage and say, "Do you really hope this new baby is a girl too?" Sage totally laughs and says, "Yeah, we have enough boys right now." LOL! :) 

 

For the Love of Chickens...and Babies

We love chickens at our house (and babies, and baby-bellies)! As you can tell by the montage of photos below we just really like chickens a lot. They are: simple, peaceful, fun to watch as they peck around the ground for bugs and seeds, easy to care for, and in exchange for your hospitality they gift you with nutritious rich yummy eggs.

I decided since the kids wanted to paint today that I wanted to paint too. Being pregnant and feeling creative I felt inspired to paint my belly from my pregnancy with Everett, I had never painted my belly cast  of him. I had to think of something to commemorate him and perhaps something that would mean something to the both of us. Since he was a little tiny baby he's been going with me to feed the chickens. As he got older we'd go out and sit and watch the chickens for fun and to relax. We'd nurse on a bench by the chickens and when he started toddling around he enjoyed (and still does) chasing the chickens. Nowadays he even catches them without help. He also just loves eggs and the wonderful mystery and routine of gathering up something from our chickens that we cook up in the kitchen. As a younger baby he learned that dropping eggs was fun...because they made a wonderful messy SPLAT. That was frustrating for me but still really funny, and it was loads of fun for him. For a time we had to watch him very carefully because he LOVED splatting eggs on purpose! (He even chucked eggs into the living room once!)

So as I thought about what to paint I decided chickens...and baby chicks, and eggs would be the perfect and fun thing to paint. Both chickens and eggs are also a symbol of spring, fertility, and birth. And so the belly cast painting began. And it was lots of fun. When I showed Everett he squealed with delight and gave this hearty "Heheh!" laugh that he does. I think he likes it.  

Our chickens lay brown eggs and I wanted a childlike-drawing feel of the painting. It makes me chuckle looking at it.

 I aptly named my belly art work 'Don't Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch' because we keep having more babies. Haha :)

 I'm thinking I may be the only person with a chicken painted belly cast! Although I did find some ducks!

Everett in the background 1.5 years old climbing up the chicken house ramp...on my shoulder is Ruby the chicken

Everett bathing a hen that got caught up in a bad really cold storm and needed to be warmed up and mud rinsed off of her. She almost died but we saved her. Everett INSISTED on getting in the sink full of dishes to help clean the chicken!

At one year old Everett learned that eggs break and that cause and effect (and *splatting*)  is FUN, FUN, FUN. This photo is right after I caught him throwing eggs off the porch the winter before last. The dogs didn't seem to mind! We did though! Chickens lay less eggs in the winter and this was a good can FULL!

Feeding and watching

Egg collecting at the hen house

Visiting our friendly chicken named Ruby

A car we saw on the side of the road at a used car lot...I had to get out and get a picture!

Chicken egg sign I painted

Just taken last week: Everett shows off his egg cracking skills. He no longer throws eggs on the floor...he gets a bowl! He cracked all of these by himself (18 eggs) and didn't get one shell in his bowl! Crazy two year old!

Proudly very busy cracking eggs