Life Happenings {7 Quick Takes}

--1--

John Paul has been sleeping on the top bunk for almost two years and had never fallen out until two days ago, when apparently he leaned too far out while trying to read his saints poster. The poster with the exact same images as the book.

Which we own. 

And which I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have fallen out of bed to get...

#smartestchild #hesfine

--2--

The other day we heard the telltale thumps from above in the morning that meant a child or two had gotten out of bed for the day. This is usually followed by them coming to get us in our room, because they DESPERATELY need to see Peter. So imagine our surprise when it was not John Paul, not Cecilia, but Mary Claire! 

(This is less endearing when it's 3 AM.  Hopefully THAT never happens again with Mary Claire...)

It took John Paul until he was 5 to start leaving his room on his own in the morning (glorious, I know!). It took Cecilia until she was 3.5. And Mary Claire? 2. At this rate Peter will be getting out of bed on his own when he's 6 months old, and the next child will be mobile before conception.

--3--

Did you read Micaela's Gold Star Baby post? I don't want to jinx anything, but we may or may not be experiencing a similar phenomenon with Peter.  It's glorious, but who knows if it'll last...  In any case, I'm enjoying his infancy more than with any other baby we've had!

--4--

And now I'm typing with Mary Claire on my lap.  "Can you tell a picture of Peter?  In da bouncy seat?  In da playroom?"

So here you go:

These sayings drive me a little nuts - "Daddy's All Star" seriously?  Kid couldn't catch a baseball if you threw it at his head...

Because everybody was playing happily in the playroom without me, which is why I started working on this post.  But two children have sought me out so far, sooooo it's going on hold.  You understand, I'm sure!

--5--

11 o'clock!  Everyone is dressed AND John Paul made snack for everyone (including prunes soooo that's gonna be fun with diapers later).  And Peter's happy on the play mat and the dishes are in the dishwasher and lunch doesn't have to be made yet and dinner ingredients are prepped and the house is relatively clean - this is crazy!

Okay, I promise his hair doesn't look this red in person, but the camera makes it look SUPER red.  It also hasn't been washed in 3+ weeks so that might be part of it too...

Also, this play mat?  Has survived 5 children so far (with slight issues that I fixed in the past few weeks because when your children constantly flip it over and drag it around the house, things are going to get torn).  And everybody has loved it!  And I'm not going to tell you just how much time I spent researching THE BEST PLAY MAT when John Paul was a baby...  But this was it, and it was totally worth buying (minus the music part, which we got rid of long ago because uuuuugh it was annoying even though John Paul adored it).

Flashback to when the twins were babies!  Ah!!!

--6--

We had fresh bread with dinner not once, not twice, but three times this week.

"But you have FIVE CHILDREN!!!" You say.

Ah yes, five children.  But also the absolute easiest recipe for nice crusty bread!

Here it is - if you've never made bread before, this will convince you that you CAN, indeed, bake your own bread!  I made the dough on Monday & stuck it in the fridge, ripped off a chunk a couple hours before dinner to let rise and bake on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and am still enjoying the last of the final loaf today.  Sprinkle it with a little kosher salt before you toss it in the oven, and consider getting a huge roll of parchment paper because it's the best and nothing will ever stick to it!

--7--

Did you see Mary's list of things she wishes she had for the first baby?  I totally agree with her choices!  One thing I *really* wish we had had when John Paul and Cecilia were babies is a fabric covered ottoman (like this one) - we finally had space for one when the twins were babies and it was AMAZING being able to let them cruise on it, because whenever they fell (which was frequent) and bonked their heads, they just bonked them on a cushion!

Oh my goodness the twins had so little hair...

So yeah, if you're planning on having multiple babies, ditch the coffee table and get an ottoman.

Also on my list?  The Nosefrida - WAY better than those bulb syringes they give you in the hospital!

Okay, it's time for me to go parent my children...  Go read more Quick Takes at Kelly's!