Starting Over and Building up!

A few months ago we said goodbye to our barred rock chickens so that we could start over and make a better bigger chicken barn, with the hopes of making some more egg money.

This was the set up that we had, a fenced area for Nova on one side and the chickens on the other with a freezer and food storage in the open area and a larger storage room to the side. 

It's a bit hard to describe in words... how we took everything out that we had set up, plywooded the ceiling, added a wall and made the storage/service room accessible from the outside... so I drew out a before and after layout. 

Jared spent many hours rewiring the barn to suit the new layout . We didn't keep any of the old wiring when we plywooded the ceiling so he had a clean slate to work with.

Daddy's little helper! IF he wasn't making to much noise :)

Jared was able to install a barrel in the chicken coop so that we could have a water line for the chickens. The barrel is filled from a large tote that is the service room, so water supply is much easier to manage for the chickens. The garbage bags are full of sawdust.

Jared installed a vent and fan so we can get some better airflow in the barn.

A vent, a fan, a waterline, nesting boxes, a feeder and heat lamp all installed!

Hazel making sure the water line is working!

The long awaited day arrived, our day-old chicks arrived at the post office, 50 of them!

Most of them were happy to hang out under the heat lamp, but one was warm enough to explore. Hazel was pretty excited to see them especially when they were moving around. Hazel liked the idea of holding them, but changed her mind once she found out they had "pokey" feet. 

Can you hear Hazel saying "there's a chicky!" in this photo? 😅

Absolutely love these cute chicks!

Once Jared got home he was able to adjust things better for the chicks and install another heat lamp, as the weather was still a bit cooler than we where hoping it would be. It was so neat to see Jared quickly evaluate the chicks and change things that made the chicks so much happier so quickly, I'm really glad Jared knows chickens!

We even let Nova meet the chicks as she was going a bit bonkers trying to get into the barn and see them. She was really good with them! Even herding them if one went out of the group 😅

I absolutely LOVE watching the chicks! (we even set up a lawn chair so we can just sit and watch 😍) Though they don't do much they are endlessly entertaining to watch and listen to, they move from warmth to water to food, they chirp, peck at the food, and tap the water line. I tried to capture their movement and sound on video as heat lamp pictures just don't really cut it!

We are really looking forward to seeing if we can make chickens and eggs into a side business and how far it will go!

A Tuesday on a Monday

 We had our Tuesday on a Monday this week. Jared took this coming Saturday this off for some more firehall training and was working the Monday to make up for it. We also have our little chicks arriving any time on Tuesday so it worked out best to get a head start on all of my Tuesday chores on the Monday. 

Spring has definitely arrived, not the 15 degree weather we were having a month ago, but "normal" spring, mild but still around freezing at night and all sorts of different weather. Today we got to watch a bunch of hail clouds come and go throughout the day.

A couch nap :) how handy! I was trying to put Jade to sleep, but so many things needed two hands in a short amount of time so I put her down for a few minutes and she was soon sleeping.

 It's amazing what a good sleep can do! Jade slept from 11pm to 9am last night (which was quite the treat!) so I actually felt awake that morning and got bread and cookies baked, dishwasher unloaded and one load of laundry washed and put away before 12:30! 

That afternoon Hazel and I were reading though an activity/learning book that had a cheetah in it. Hazel got all excited that it was the same as another book, she hopped off the couch and got another book off of the shelf and flipped though the pages till she found the page with the pull out that had the other cheetah! It was is so neat to see her make connections from book to book.

With the next hail cloud that came through Hazel asked if she could touch the hail, so we opened the back door and brought some into the house to play with. (yes she is still her jammies, didn't feel like fighting that battle today, and she asked quite nicely if she could stay in them)

Hazel has quite intrigued by the hail and soon outside to play in it!  

The rest of the day was a bit more relaxed, we had lunch, I folded some more laundry, read some more books, Jared came home and then after dinner we all went outside and I watched Hazel play as Jared worked on a few more last minute things for the barn. This has been a regular routine for the last week or so with Jared spending so much time working on the barn, it has been quite enjoyable. 

Today was a very lovely day, things went smoothly, both kids were in good moods and some household chores got done! I'm making an effort to make note of or document the good days so that they are easier to remember on the tired days :) as I'm continuing to learn that staying on top of mental health is very important!

Jade, Two Months

 Finally had some time to try and get some smiles from Jade myself! Others have gotten smiles from her and she has smiled from time to time on her own, but it was fun to get one when I tried. I have found I don't really spend as much time interacting with Jade as I did with Hazel as I'm either dealing with one or the other or both kids at the same time. So when Jared took Hazel on a few little errands I got to spend to time alone with Jade and get some smiles. 

Jade is right around the 10ish pound mark, a little slow on the weight gain, but still gaining. She is learning that she has space to wiggle and loves to stretch after her naps! Overall she is a very content baby, and recently a very hungry baby that has started to cluster feed in the evenings and not sleep quite as well as she did at nights.

I tried to just have a simple mat out for Jade to play on, but I found this one with  the hanging toys provided a bit more of a "fence" and piece of mind. As it is a new toy Hazel has been very intrigued by it and it is rather rare to have any of the toys hanging on it... but hopefully the newness of wears off soon and Jade can have her toys back 😅

With Hazel being caught up on sleep she has been more interested in Jade the past few days. She actually asked to hold Jade in this picture and held her for a minute or two rather then a few seconds. If Jade is crying Hazel will go to comfort her with saying "Don't cry little baby, you don't need to cry" over and over again. Sometimes she will ask to give Jade a hug, which to Hazel means standing and holding Jade. I help Hazel hold Jade while she is standing and then Jade gets a quick few second hug before Hazel moves on to something else. 

I'm glad that I had a bit of time this evening to reflect on some highlights and smiles! With the lack of sleep over the past few nights I find I can get into a pretty negative head space in the evenings, and so far the only way I've found though it has been to keep busy and just keep on going no matter how tired I am. Hopefully with a few more weeks and months at home I can find a new rhythm at home with two that can take care of all of us and all our different needs. 

Hazel's Hair and ABC's

Settling in back at home after our whirlwind of a trip (that post will need to come later as it will take some time to put together!), Hazel enjoyed finding all of her favorite things back. This ABC book has been a recent favorite and she is really interested in learning the song, so far she has "a,b,c" and then rhythmic sounds after that 😅. Hazel started reading the ABC book to herself after I read it one afternoon and I was enjoying her variation of what each page said, I managed to catch a little bit of it on video and I can't get enough of it!!!

Aunty Albany did a cute braid in Hazel's hair when we were down for Aunty Genoa's wedding. I was inspired to attempt some braiding of my own. So one day after a bath I tried some braiding while Hazel played with the running water in the sink.

It's a bit hard to make out, but Hazel discovered that the little medicine cup works as a "drain plug" and it took some doing to get it unstuck!

Hazel requested another warm bath the next evening, so I tried another braid. I was rather proud of the results, but sadly it didn't stay in very long. It loosened as it dried and after Hazel slept on it only the back stay in and the front had all fallen out, which was too bad as the goal was to keep the hair out of her eyes.

It took a bit of doing to get Hazel to bed that evening, and once when Jared checked on Hazel it took him a few seconds to find her. Can you find Hazel?

Then I turned the light on to take a better picture, as she wasn't sleeping anyways 😛

The next day I gave up on the braids, and while Hazel played with the tap water I figured out how to get all of her hair into one ponytail. (when I try two ponytails they always end up lobsided)

Thinking s😊he might just end up being a ponytail girl like her Mama.

Jade, One Month!

  We reached the one month mark already! Feels longer and shorter then that all at the same time. Jade is a comfortable weight and is gaining right on track, weighing in at 9 lbs 7oz, she doesn't feel quite so newborn and fragile anymore which is nice. Breastfeeding is going much smoother than last time and I can already see some chub on her legs, much different than Hazel as she didn't gain super well for the first 6 weeks. We are out of the newborn clothes and into 0-3 clothes. Jade has been a lovely baby so far, maybe because I know what I'm doing this time, maybe just a character thing. One thing that we have noticed so far is that Jade is either content or she is NOT, which I hear may be contributed to the redhead traits. 

We have a nice system going with Jade sleeping in her crib during the day and in the bassinet in our room closet during the night. I'm hoping we can keep this up for a while as so far she is a lot quieter of a sleeper then Hazel was (or I'm less paranoid?), But Jade may outgrow the bassinet quicker then I want her too.

Night time feedings have been going well and she has done some four hour stretches already, though typically she does three hours. So far the hardest thing has been waking up fast enough as Jade doesn't give much warning, she is either sleeping or awake and crying quite loudly and my brain just doesn't quite wake up that fast! Though I have a feeling it will learn to. 😅

Hazel is starting to adjust and I'm learning how to teach Hazel about Jade. We took out the baby toys so that Hazel has some toys to give to Jade when she is sad. Hazel is learning how to help burp the baby and helps find outfits when we are changing Jade. Hazel has learned that when Jade cries she typically needs milk and is happy to help with the blankets if Jade got "to much milk". 

Looking forward to seeing these girls grow up together, though hopefully not to fast!

Jared was pretty excited when this outfit fit already, as he was looking forward to his little giraffe again if the baby was a little girl!

Colds, Baptism, and Family Time

Jade at one week! This is still one of my favorite pictures so far! Unfortunately it was also taken the afternoon before she got the same cold we all had....😔 Jade getting sick was pretty an avoidable as we were all sick the week before....but it was still pretty hard to see your very newborn baby with a cold... 

By Wednesday afternoon Jade was sounding pretty rough, she was quite congested, which is lousy for a newborn/ nursing baby... I had a nurse come by and visit that day, much to my surprise she suggested that we bring Jade into emerge as she had very labored breathing. I was overwhelmed with the suggestion, called Jared to come home with a snot sucker (which I think are gross, but was a better option then the hospital at the moment) and I didn't take my eyes off of Jade until Jared came home. Once Jared was home I was able to calm down a bit as I was quite weepy, the snot sucker helped quite a bit which also helped me relax about the situation. The next afternoon we had a doctor visit booked (another reason we didn't go to emerge the previous evening), and even though Jade's breathing was improved she was still concerned with how labored it was and sent me to the pediatric ward so that the on call doctor there could take a look at her. Hazel was at a friends house for the doctor visit already and it worked to extend her stay for a while. I was in a much better mental space that afternoon so going in for a extra check up wasn't such a overwhelming thought. As hard as it is seeing Jade hooked up to all the different monitors it was nice to be able to see her oxygen level looking good even with her uneven and labored breathing. The pediatrician was a very reasonable man, understanding that our whole family had been sick, and after looking her over he sent us home, but gave us the ability to come back anytime in the next 48 hours if anything got worse. I was quite happy with the compromise as staying at the hospital for continued monitoring had been a possible option when my doctor had sent me in, which didn't really sound like that much fun... 

Hazel and Jade's first time sharing a play space. It was nice and short and went well :)

We were very thankful that we were still able to have Jade's baptism on Sunday, she was much improved by Sunday and at this point was a little stuffy and had a lingering cough. It was a very special family day for us, with lots to be thankful for! On a sentimental note, Jade is wearing the same baptism gown that Jared wore that was made by his Mom, and Hazel is wearing a dress made by Oma.

The Flokstra family braved the snow with their camping trailer to come for a visit for the weekend. It was lovely to have them there for the baptism and Hazel was thrilled to have friends for the weekend! Unfortunately due to the weather our visit got cut short... but we had a lovely time while they were here. 

I can't complain about Jade much, she has been quite the great little sleeper!

Looks like we might have a strawberry blond or maybe even a red headed Jade!

The Flokstra's headed out, but Nana soon showed up! Nana brought lots of new books, which Hazel very much enjoyed! 

Having extra family around has been really good for Hazel so far, it allows her to still have something to do and watch me with baby Jade and get use to me feeding her all the time.

Nana even managed to find a book that made Daddy laugh! The Pout Pout Fish book was quite the hit, but didn't quite beat the two "Big Sister" books that she got that get read over and over again!

Hazel is slowly interacting with her little sister (which Hazel pronounces "little bister") Jade a bit more each day. 

Even caught Hazel singing to Jade during her floor time 😍 (Video below)

And Hazel was okay with sharing some Mommy snuggle time with Jade too.

Some last minute pictures before we had to say Goodbye to Nana.

My very "photogenic" girls... Jade is working on her silly faces already...

One more group pic and then Jared brought Nana to the airport and picked up Aunty Genoa, I believe Jared was at the airport for a total of 25 minutes! Pretty slick little airport nice and close to home!!!