Winter so far from A to Z

Farm: We are still plugging along through winter, enjoying the fruits of our labor from last summer and all the yummy pork!

Pork Chops!



 All 4 babies have been loving the applesauce and eat it for snack almost everyday. I've cooked up a pork meal or two a week and of course we are eating lots and lots of eggs. We have some intense egg eaters (about 3) so we collect eggs 3 times a day or we only get one or two. But when we beat them to the eggs we bring in about a dozen eggs a day.

Chloe and Blain collecting the noon eggs. They are very diligent about going out every day to get the eggs after lunch - even when they have to fight through the scavenger egg eaters and the broody mamma wanna be's 

 Wild Turkeys in the yard! Its always fun to watch the wild turkeys peck around our yard. Blain gets excited hoping they will leave a feather or two, but no luck so far

 Chloe waist deep in snow in the front yard

Bella's belly is still getting bigger and her udder continues to get a little bigger too She hangs out by the gate most of the day where we throw them their hay, or lays in the stalls that I try to keep nice with fresh straw incase she calves sooner than anticipated. They both eat the straw so keeping it full is harder than I would like, but overall I feel pretty good about her calving in the next month or so! Yay for babies on our farm!

 Bella is gonna be a good mom. She doesn't "mother" Prince Ali anymore but I saw her licking the little kitten that used to sleep with the pigs and it rubs against her face when she does it. The kitten has since taken up shelter under the chicken feeder and the shed where we keep the lawn mower.

Counting down the days until we get fresh milk and I've been keeping busy looking up cheese recipes and tips on how to be ready for calving. It's gonna be busy but hopefully worth all the work to not buy dairy anymore - which is a big part of our monthly grocery bill. We drink a gallon a day and then there is all the cheese, sour cream, yogurt, etc. that I usually just don't buy because of the cost. But we are getting closer to our 50% mark of being food self sufficient! We no longer buy eggs or pork, hopefully we can add chicken and ground beef/turkey to that list sooner rather than later. And soon dairy will make it on the list too!!

 For the garden this year I'm gonna focus on things I can store well over the winter (winter squash, carrots, potatoes) and can for easy meals. I am putting raspberries in the ground even if we have to buy them because I love them and know they take a little bit to get established. I seem to remember this time last year the snow was already melting, but I'm feeling like spring is a long way off, especially after that groundhog saying we have 6 more weeks ;) 



family Time: The kiddos and Daddy got stomach bugs a week or so ago and Nate got the worst of it. Chloe, Blain and Avenlea made him a "feel better table" complete with peanut butter and frosting sandwhich! Nate is thinking he might actually have an ulcer and is going to get it checked out soon.

Love the note Chloe wrote for him :)

           Avenlea: Avenlea is in such a funny stage right now. She is talking so much (don't touch my carmel), loves to play hide and seek with her "yellow" blanket, dress up, and is still loving playtime with her pablos, bus and elmo. She is turning into a really good helper cleaning up her toys and clothes in the living room, and loves playing with Zeyta when I'm pulled in  twenty other directions and can't be in eye shot of that little one. She is still tiny, but will eat her bites when we ask her to which is a nice development, even if it takes bribes or threats at times.

Coming out from under her hiding spot







Beautiful Belle - I use a little alligator clip on the back of the dresses so they will stay on

Avenlea had her first dentist appointment this past week! She was a little unsure at first but let the hygienist and the dentist look at her teeth when she realized she would get a box of toys and treats if she showed them her pretty teeth:) My hands were a little full with both her and Zeyta at the office so no pictures of her in the chair but this is her with her Valentine's prize box and new tooth brush!

         

           Zeyta: My baby is 7 months old! It seems crazy that she is getting so big. She is sitting really well and loves to play with her crinkly and shaky toys. She also loves it when Blain plays with her, even though it seems like her limbs might get ripped off she is always smiling and laughing.

She is getting a little bit of separation anxiety and cries when I leave the room, but having her siblings around helps a lot. She also things she is done nursing during the day, which I am not ok with. She loves to eat her solids and has no patience for nursing, guess it's just too much work sitting there being fed, lol. But we are working at getting her back to her old good habits of nursing like a good baby and getting my milk supply back up. She loves oatmeal, applesauce and sweet potatoes! She will really eat whatever I give her and just eats and eats until it's gone.



 Zeyta is probably a little too content to sit all the time and has stopped rolling and isn't liking her tummy time as much. But when we put her on her tummy she does lift up pretty high on her arms. Overall probably won't be an early crawler, which is fine by me ;)



I really need to get the highchair out of the garage for  her - I feed her in the bumbo on the table and she grabs everything both in and out of reach, spilling plates, dumping out cereal bags, and knocking over milk jugs.

          Blainito: Love my boy! He is such a good helper and told me yesterday that he doesn't want a brother, he likes his sisters. Blain had his "unbirthday" at preschool so Daddy got to go in a tell the class about how Blain is "passionate about feathers, snacks and his blue blanket" He brought in his feather collection, treasure chest, and mini donuts on a string as some of his favorite things.

 Blain all ready for his "unbirthday" at preschool

Sailing on a ship with Avenlea, mommy and Pablo - Blain loves to have to characters fighting, racing, etc. and see which one will win. It's usually a good guy and a bad guy and he will ask, "mommy, which one do you think will win?" and it's always the good guy

Showing off his treasure!

          Chloe Rose: Chloe went on her very first daddy daughter date yesterday! She worked hard all month of January reading for 20 minutes everyday, even giving up her ipad some nights to read. Her school gave her a pizza coupon and Nate took her to go get it. They also went to the dollar store to pick out a treat (bubble gum) and shared a chocolate shake! Sounds like a fun date to me!



 Chloe all ready for her date with Daddy

Chloe and Daddy

Sillies

 Chloe also started a soccer class this month! She has gone for 2 weeks now and is really enjoying it. She has a good attitude, listens to the coach, and is learning to dribble, pass and keep going after the ball even is somebody kicks it away. Soccer star in the making!!