Cousins

Our kids are blessed to live within a few blocks of their cousins. We meet at the park or the ice cream shop that their grandparents own often in the summer and at the ski hill in the winter. We go on family hikes together, celebrate lots of birthdays together, go to church together, hit the streets on bikes together....etc. I was the only-child, youngest cousin on both sides of my family and lived pretty far from all of them. Many of my cousins have grandchildren. I haven't seen some of them since I was 2 years old. I don't know what the future holds for my kids and their cousins, but for now...it is jolly good fun to be all in the same place. As of now, I have five nephews and my sister-in-law is due in Feb with a mystery child. Priya is hoping for a baby girl cousin...but we sure make some cute little boys around here...we shall see. (I do have to constantly remind Priya that she cannot marry Judah or Titus.)

Oh, and a bonus photo of Mr. Toes.

Hartman Halloween

The kids had a carnival tonight with their school. Silas is my not-so-scary scarecrow. Priya is a flower fairy. Levi, of course, is my little surfer dude. Elliot made a showing in his dino PJs, but not for the camera. Silas and Priya won second and third place for their age group. Frankly, Levi was robbed!!! Looked how cute he is; dude definitely deserved a ribbon! There was some stiff competition (one of the cutest girls in town dressed up as Yoda!!). After way too much sugar...Silas went off with Papa to watch the world series (try tracking down a TV in this town). And, Priya and Levi spun out of control until they crashed. Whew, we haven't even trick-or-treated yet.

Best Ever

This photo of Levi is one of my favorites, because...

1. The Sign.

2. The lip.

3. The cat is wearing pink panties.

Translation: "I would have brought my dog, but being a rule-keeper, I had to bring this dumb cat, which is, I know, wearing a dress, and yes, undies."

Super Pops is 95!!!

The children's great-grandfather came out with his wife from South Carolina to Colorado to celebrate his 95th birthday. The grandchildren were all really excited to have them here and, of course, they were excited about the balloons and the cake! The photos are not great, but I was able to capture Super Pops with Levi, Silas smiling at the cake, Super Pops with an old friend from Oklahoma who came to the celebration, and all 9 grandchildren on the couch.

Miss Priya

My big girl is such a helper. She loves babies, real, pretend, boy, girl....doesn't matter, she loves them. She just mastered riding her bike with no training wheels and can keep up with Silas on a 2 miles ride!!! Here are some recent photos of my sweet and sassy girl.

Another day in paradise

We've had several rather spectacular rainbows this summer. So, here's a few shots of rainbows and a few of my little pot of gold. Elliot is so sweet and predictable! Eat, play, sleep would pretty much sum up every day for him. He rides so well in the stroller and the bike trailer. We stay on the go trying to keep up with the other kids. I'll have to blog more on a day when Levi will actually nap....we're on the third day in a row with no napping 2 year old. Yikes!

A day in the life

Just for you readers who crave details...here is what a day for the Hartman family looks like, today was a little special, because it was the first day of school, but it was rather typical otherwise. 

5:30 I wake up, wake up Elliot. yes, he is sleeping all night (8:30-6:30), I have to wake him up to feed him if I am going to exercise. 

6:00 I go for a run with a buddy, end up on a trail above a canyon, through the aspens, and around town. Back right at 7am.

7-8:00 I shower. Christian showers. I braid hair, wipe faces, make breakfast, snap bike helmets and head towards school.

8:00 We ride to school. Christian rides the townie. Silas and Priya ride their own bikes. I ride the mountain bike with a bike seat for Levi and Elliot in the bike trailer. 

8-8:20 We get the kids settled in school, take photos, talk to other parents, kiss cheeks, etc.

8:30 I feed Elliot again and eat breakfast myself. 

Morning...rock Elliot to sleep, play jungle animals with Levi, change Elliot's pants, laundry, dishes, water plants, feed Elliot at 10:30 go get coffee, go to the bank, walk back to the school to get Priya by 11:50.

12:00 Make lunch for kids, Christian and his business partner, and myself.

1:30 Walk down to the Soda Fountain and get ice cream for the kids. Feed Elliot again.

2:00 Put Levi down to nap (he doesn't). Have "girl time" with Priya, which consists of painting fingernails (hers, not mine), reading a story, and making cowboy cookies. Fold, put away laundry. Weave a rug for a customer. Get dinner started....BBQ chicken, homemade french fries, broccoli, homemade bread, and....cookies.

4:00 Silas comes home, plays with the hose in the yard and tells me about school. 

5:23 BLOG

I expect we'll eat soon, read, wash, read, clean, listen to a parenting seminar, and go to bed....all starts again at 5:30 tomorrow. Hopefully, I will read this years from now and remember all the sweet moments...and not the wild, crazy times!!

8 weeks!!!

Elliot is now 8 weeks old. I just learned a possible reason he was born so late....God likes overlapping pregnancies in our family. Amy found out she's expecting number 3 the day Elliot was born. I remember finding out that I was pregnant with Priya the day Titus (Amy's oldest) was born. So, going back to the beginning....we had three boys in 10 months, then Priya nine months later, then a break, then three boys in 8 months, then another break, then two boys this spring and one mystery baby due in Feb. We're all cheering for another girl in the family, but we sure love all these little boys!!! 

Elliot is getting fat; his eyes look pretty blue at this point; he loves his siblings and is very patient with little momma Priya. 

Recent photos

So, our first of the month photos are beginning to be mid-month photos. 

I have lots to say, but not much time to blog. Today was an interesting day, I took a pointless 40 minute drive before 6:30 am; went for a run; heard of a friend's engagement; saw someone at the town park that I had met one time in West Virginia; made bread, kolachis, cinnamon rolls, and a quiche; watched it pour rain and hail; and um, blogged.

Silas and Priya now make their own beds and get dressed every morning. Silas rode his bike to the Post Office basically by himself today. (I was walking waaaay behind). When I got there, he told me that three people had spoken to him and asked about his baby brother and....he ANSWERED them all. For those of you who don't know him, this is a BIG step. We're getting ready for school to start next week. I am a little apprehensive, but the kids are nothing but excited. Next up....first day of school photos.

Elliot: the awkward teenage years

Acne and first dates...my they grow up fast!

Brownie Princess

more Elliot

Elliot is a great kiddo. Sleeps well, grows well, and makes cute piggy noises. We're continuing to adjust. Today, Elliot is one month old. To celebrate, He went on his first jog in the jogging stroller. Two kids on bikes, Levi and Elliot in the stroller, me panting like a St. Bernard. Silas and Priya will be at soccer camp this week and I'll be kicking it with the stroller.

Cheeks

Elliot is sleeping so much and working on the further development of his fat cheeks. 

I feel like a tourist attraction walking around town with Lake City's newest baby. I realize that not many people would take a 12 hour old baby down the street to the ice cream shop or a four day old to a bluegrass concert....so, maybe people from bigger towns are not used to meeting such young babies, but the constant stream of strangers who have a bunch of questions (personal) can be a bit overwhelming when a gal is just trying to walk to the post office! We're doing well as a family of six. There have been moments of difficulty, the other kids have been really tired and a bit spacey. Overall, we've had plenty of family time at the park and walking around town. This time of year is a little hectic for us...but I'm so thankful for a summer baby.

Welcome, son

Elliot Juniper Hartman was born last Saturday, June 25, at 2 am at our home here in Lake City. He weighed 9lbs and 6oz and was 23 inches long. His head measured 14 1/2 inches and he was 11 days past my due date. I had about three hours of "labor" which consisted of light contractions that were 30 seconds long and 6 or 7 minutes apart....and then about four difficult contractions during which he was born. After his head was born, but before the rest of him, he was spinning and twisting his head all around as if he was trying to swim out. He was born in a birthing tub and came out completely in the caul (meaning my water never broke he was born in the amniotic sac). According to Wikipedia, this is very rare, occurring in about 1 of 80,000 births, and is a sign of good fortune. We removed the sac so he could take his first breath.  We were surprised after a few minutes to discover that we had another son. I suppose I had convinced myself we were having a girl. All of our sons were born in the wee hours of a Saturday morning. Priya was born on a thursday afternoon. (I should have known). We had just settled on a girl's name during early labor, and hadn't been able to agree on a boy's name. After five days, we were able to finally name him Elliot, which is the French form of Elias or Elijah, which means "the Lord is my God." Juniper is in keeping with our first two children who have naturalistic middle names. He has thus far been an amazing little guy. He eats and sleeps well and looks quite a bit like his brothers did at this age. If I had to guess at this point, his scant dark hair will lighten and his eyes will go brown and he will look much like Levi. Thanks for all the well-wishes and prayers during those last few weeks! 

New kid on the block

The boys and Christian went across the alley to pick some rhubarb for a pie, when they spotted this two-day old fawn sleeping in the grass. The kids and I saw it on friday, the day it was born, but Christian hadn't seen it yet. I took one photo with my foot so you could see how tiny this little one really is. 

In other news, we spent the day yesterday at the park cheering for the San Juan Solstice  runners. This is a 50 mile endurance mountain race that starts and finishes in our town. Forest Swift, a local kid (17 year old), finished the race and the whole town was there to cheer him on. Way to go kid!! He just started running last year, did his first marathon in May and took on the fifty with lots of town support. Proud of my little town today. Baby deer in the backyard....kids who can run 50 Alpine miles. What a grand place to live. 

....and, Happy Father's Day to my Daddy and to my sweet husband.