The Nowlands: April 2016

Friday, April 29, 2016

Soccer, Swimming, and Gardening

So besides having a new baby, we've been up to a few other things! Eli started soccer about a month ago. Unfortunately, 3 out of his 4 practices have been canceled due to heavy rain and it looks like his second of four games is going to be canceled as well. Hmm do you think I'll get a refund? Probably not. I just feel bad for him, because he's been really excited about it and then it keeps getting canceled!

The week Eli started soccer, Connor and Anna also started swim lessons! Our neighborhood pool opens Memorial Day weekend, so I thought it would be good to brush up their skills before that. Anna is getting more comfortable in the water and Connor is back to being able to swim on his own! They've both made a lot of progress in the last 4 weeks and we have 2 more to go.

All ready to go!

We also started working on our garden! We made a couple garden boxes to go on the side of our house this year. We planted some leeks, peas, onions, and spinach and will plant more in a few weeks when the weather is warmer. I also planted lavender, oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, chives, and green onions in my pots on the back patio. Yum-o!

And our strawberries we planted last year are thriving!!! I'm so excited!

A red one! I can't wait.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Grace Marlene Nowland

Well it's high time I write about our newest arrival, sweet baby Grace. Grace finally made her debut into the world on Satuday, March 12, 2016 at 3:27am, 13 days past her "due date". She was 8 lb. 6.9 oz. and 21 inches long. Her delivery was fast and exciting and wonderful. I will give a much-too-detailed account of that in time. She has been a really good baby for us and is so so adored by her older brothers and sister. She is a great snuggler and we are loving having her in our family! I am also so happy to not be pregnant anymore!

Grace was born on my Mom's 60th birthday. This year is kind of exciting since my mom turned 60, and I (her 4th child) turn 30 and have my 4th child. So in honor of all that, we decided to give Grace my mom's name for her middle name. And so far anyway, she seems to look more like Connor/me/my Mom so it's very fitting.

My parents were at our house when Grace was born, so they brought the kids to meet her on my mom's birthday. It was so sweet to see them all together.

Then that evening, as Jeremy and I were eating dinner, we found out that my little sister's water broke! She wasn't due for 15 more days, so this was a big surprise! My mom was so stressed and worried about what to do, but I told her she better go help her, since it was her first. Heidi ended up having her baby the next day, so they are only 1 day apart! We came home from the hospital that afternoon, and then my parents left the next morning. Jeremy was able to take a few days off of work, and it was actually kind of special to just have our little family together at home.

We had wonderful people who brought us meals those days and then we were very grateful to have Jeremy's mom come that Thursday. She was so nice to change her flight several times to accommodate the craziness!
Jeremy's mom stayed for awhile and my parents came again to help (they felt bad they couldn't before) and then we had Jeremy's dad and my parents here last weekend for Grace's blessing. So we've had lots of helpers! I feel like we're back into the swing of things though and finding our "new normal". I have lots to catch up on from the last 6 weeks so I will try to get on it!