Lincoln Blake Nuttall

i would like to introduce the newest member of our family - Lincoln Blake Nuttall.

my c-section was scheduled for tomorrow morning but lincoln decided to surprise us by coming very early saturday morning. ethan and i headed for the hospital at about 3:30 am. lincoln came at 5:32 am weighing 9 lbs. 7 oz. and being 20 inches long. we were able to come home this morning and we are all doing well.

the kids love their new little brother. maria has been especially attentive and helpful. sorry, we don't have a picture of libby with him - maybe another time. i'm tired so that's all the information for now.

CONTEST!

i have decided it would be really fun to have a contest!

can you guess the baby's weight? whoever has the closest guess to the baby's real birth weight will win a special prize!

only one guess per person, please, but each member of a same family may make a guess.

here is the only help i can give you:

maria was 8 lbs. 8 oz

hudson was 9 lbs. 15 oz

liberty was 8 lbs. and somewhere around 12 -14 oz. - i can't really remember.

some of my babies i could tell were bigger or smaller than others. this one i really don't know.

make your guess in the comments as soon as you can. the contest will go no longer then april 27 - my c-section date. of course, he could always come sooner . . .

happy guessing!

we looked out the window...

and what did we see? the kids were very excited this morning when they looked out of the window and saw popcorn popping on our apricot tree. they had to run outside and take a look. it is not in full bloom yet - it is so beautiful when it is. i LOVE our apricot blossoms.

yes, we are all so excited that spring is here. every day the kids remark on what else is beginning to grow.

baby animal days

yesterday we went to baby animal days at american west heritage center. the kids had a lot of fun.

libby enjoyed wandering around more than anything else, but she thinks she's allowed to go where ever she pleases so we had to confine her to the backpack most of the time.

maria and hudson trying to feed this horse.

holding bunnies. they also got to hold chicks. the lines to hold things were pretty long so we limited it to just a couple of things. they also enjoyed watching the sheep for a while.

a scary bear! there were some baby bears from bear world romping around a pen in the pavilion. the kids enjoyed that but hudson kept trying to get in. he didn't see why he couldn't just get in the pen and play with those bears.

hudson went on a pony ride. he loved it and felt pretty special. maria chose not to get on a pony. she didn't like the fact that they were tied to something. she wanted to ride a free pony down a trail, off into the sunset.

ready for school

all the kids are "ready for school".

libby loves to wear these glasses and her backpack. she loves to wear just about anything. each morning, after i get her dressed, she has to add something. usually she starts by bringing her shoes to me. then she finds a jacket. last she brings me her backpack. i'm amazed at how long she walks around wearing that backpack and those glasses. she'll wear them all morning!

allowances

i'm looking for some feedback, here. i have been pondering allowances for some time and i don't know what i want to do about it. i want the kids to have an allowance purely for the sake of being able to pay tithing on a regular basis. here's the dilemma: i don't like the idea of paying them to do their regular chores - i think that chores should just be a part of living in our home. however, i don't want them to get an allowance for no reason - i think they should earn it, just like you have to out in the working world. actually, i wouldn't give an allowance at all except for the reason stated above: i want them to be able to pay tithing on a regular basis, not just when they get birthday money.

so, i'm looking for ideas. what do you do (or have you done) in your family and why? if you do allowances, how is it set up? also, are there stipulations on how they spend or save their money? the last thing i want is for these kids to spend their money on trinkets or candy even though it IS their money.

i would appreciate your input. thanks!