Still waiting

Well, we are still waiting on the buyer for this house! Prayerfully we will sell by the end of summer and be in our new home when it is time for the new school year.

It is a lovely muggy and partly cloudy Saturday, finding Chris out cutting the grass and Paige out playing in the flowers. (really, just weeding but among the flowers nonetheless!) The kids are just relaxing, it is about time to start packing Caitlyn for her Kansas City trip... we leave Monday to drop her off for two weeks. We are excited, she is a bit nervous too!

CRAZY BUSY

Sorry it has been so long since posting, but we have been so very busy around here. I almost need caffeine to keep up with myself. Last Saturday we had a fabulous birthday party for Matthan with plenty of little men taking over my backyard hunting for dinosaur bones... then we had some friends over for BBQ... then we cleaned up and prepped the house for cleanliness and possible showings on Sunday. (Finishing the shining of everything... all before we left for church that morning!) We spent Sunday afternoon going to a couple of open houses and then back for a 3p showing of our home. Whew. Monday & Tuesday the boys were both sick with runny noses and coughs. Wednesday morning brought two showings in the same day... one at 10:30 am (YIKES) and another at 5 pm. Talk about going crazy cleaning... that's me. Then last night we worked in the basement again, putting doorknobs on and cleaning up trimwork. Today it is relatively quiet around here... the boys are still sick (There is nothing more pitiful than a newborn coughing all night) Which brings me to sleep deprivation... I have not been able to catch more than 3 hours at a time, because poor little Westley keeps waking himself coughing. Matthan also was awakened by the thunder and lightning last night. 2:30-3 am seems to be some kind of regular awakening hour around here, sigh. I don't mean to complain, I don't mind the interruptions in sleep so much, just trying to make sense out of why this posting reads like one large run on sentence! I will post pictures sometime of the birthday bash... right now Westley and I are going to take a nap!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATTHAN!

Happy Birthday Matthan!

Helping Mommy Ice the Cake!Cleaning the Spatula

Putting the Sprinkles OnFinishing Touches

Great Job, Cake looks Perfect

Blowing out my candlesMatthan's First Bike

Surprise!Very Excited about New Bike

Daddy Showing me how to ride
Note the new matching Go Diego Helmet

Riding like a pro

Gluten Free Mulberry Cobbler

Actual Birthday Over, Celebration with Friends to come on Saturday. Today was a fun day for Matthan. He got his very first big boy bike today. With Matching helmet and knee pads... very cool. He also got a Diego movie and a rescue heroes figure. We baked a marble cake with swirl icing and a gluten free mulberry cobbler for Caitlyn. whew! By the way, the Mulberries are compliments of St. Peters Parks... we went out on Monday and picked them (for free) off some of the various mulberry trees growing in our local parks... Thanks yes, we did sing the song. However, it is actually a stinking very tall tree, not so much a bush. It was lovely weather for berry picking and quite a fruitful effort... pun intended. :)

Happy 4 months old to Westley today!

The Clausen Grandparents visit...

Here are the best photos of Mom and Dad Clausen's visit this past weekend...

Love it all!

On a side note the Dalton grandparents were in this weekend as well and we had a marvelous meal with them at Macaroni Grill, but Paige forgot the camera! Maybe someone will email me some pics to blog from that...

Mom's Magnolia Tree is Blooming

The Scent is Lovely... The Blooms are Beautiful!

The heady fragrance of the blossoms wafting across my garden and into my home.

Love you Mom,
miss you,
XOXO
Steel Magnolia

Oh the pictures I must share with the world...

Caitlyn on WACKY HAIR DAYOBVIOUSLY a MUSIC THEME

That's an "E" guitar string wired in there!

"Sister Golden Hair"

Candid Camera

Westley posing for the camera!Action Jackson
trying to escape the bumbo
or get the Pickle Relish

Matthan belly laughing at Chris's antics with Westley
but notice the chocolate cookie crumbs!
What a Fabulous Face!

Not much today... it was stellar weather. The only outside thing we did was water all the flowers and enjoy the evening on the deck. The kids played outside for a few minutes this afternoon. It was a mellow day. Westley has decided to avoid naps at all costs right now and is back to waking every 4 hours or so. Must be that 3 month growth spurt. The little sturgeon is going to have to cry it out tonight! Mommy needs some sleep. But she now has Dove Dark Chocolates again... THANK YOU WONDERFUL HUSBAND, I LOVE YOU TOO!
Chocolates get WAAAAY more points than flowers around here!

Another Milestone for Sir Westley

Well tonight we moved from cradle to crib. What a big boy he is getting to be. He has been able to roll from front to back for a week or two now. He seemed to be uncomfortable in the cradle at night... crying out and trying to roll over. So, tonight while Chris was playing drums at a gig I put the crib together (Thank you Tracie for loaning it to us! It matches the bedroom perfectly!) So after his last feeding I will move him into it to sleep the rest of the night. Sigh. They get big so fast. Seems like just yesterday he was born.

Welcome Gideon Clayton Dalton

Aunt Paige
so very happy to be holding the little prince!What a handsome little guy!

Pround Papa

Beautiful New Mommy and Baby!

Hiding behind his little hands

We're so glad you're finally here! You handsome little guy!
Love, Aunt Paige & Uncle Chris and cousins Caitlyn, Matthan & Westley.

Stats: 8 lbs 12.5 oz 21.5 inches born today at 7:41 AM

The latest at Hausen of Clausen

This is Mom's Magnolia Tree... about to bloom!
Caitlyn's last day of 7th grade

Matthan in the early morning light

Check out the "halo" Matthan gave to Westley!Just finished planting and mulching this bed

I spent all morning Thursday putting in
Purple Vinca and Yellow Marigolds (to keep away the bunnies)
and then I mulched it all!

We are certainly busy around here. Getting this house in order to sell is one tall order. We have been working and cleaning non-stop. When did we accumulate so much junk?! The basement room might be completed tonight, that's pretty exciting! The kids are playing in the new rec room now, we really just have to paint the doors and trim in order to be finished. Please keep praying for God's will in the sale of this house and the finding of the new home. So far it has been slow foot traffic, but I imagine it will pick up this weekend. For any who don't yet know, we have put our wonderful house on the market and are looking for a new place in South County, closer to Church, work and HOP (our entire lives seem to take place down south!) It is pretty slim pickins in the school district we want in our price range.

How long since we posted last...

Well it has been awhile since I posted. Sorry bout that.

Summer is in full swing around here... meaning: sleeping late (for us anyway) lots of outdoor play and plenty of picnicing in the parks. It also means cutting the grass, weeding and mulching the flowerbeds, watering things outdoors etc. With all the yardwork, we are quite busy in our spare time. Never mind the basement project! The kids are just getting bigger by the minute and getting in each others space quite regularly since they are not used to being home so much together. I will be glad when the almost finished rec room is completely free to be a playroom all the time.

We went over to friends house on Sunday after church and had a BBQ. It was fabulous. So nice to hang out with like minded people. Matthan had a great time playing with his friend Doug.

Things are in transition at church and HOP with new buildings and moving going on. That should keep us busy for the next two weeks!

We are all looking forward to next weekend when Grandma & Grandpa Clausen are coming in from Iowa for a visit!