Rachael Eliker's Blog, page 71

Hot Dog Henry

Hot Dog Henry (I love alliterating with Henry's name...)Henry was the longest baby we've had so far--a whooping twenty-two inches! When I look at him, it looks like he's about 95% torso.

Maybe that's why I love his little dachshund onesie so much... 

Creepy Crawlies

Pollinate those sunflowers!!!Ever since my first entomology job in college, I've been fascinated by insects. I still prefer animals with fur or feathers or scales, but bugs, as weird as they are, have been the topic of a lot of the girls' and my study lately. Playing with a newly transformed cicada.The girls already recognize a great majority of the insects we come across: June bugs (one of Claire's favorites), praying mantises, cicadas, crickets, hobo spiders, walking sticks, night crawlers,...

A Few Goals

Made it to 20,000 page views in a month!I've recently been reviewing my goals for the year to see how I'm doing. Some areas have petered to a halt, like running. I ran for the first several months of pregnancy but eventually, it wasn't worth the discomfort. But, now that Henry's here, I'm looking forward to running again, perhaps racing with one of the girls or Raven. Some goals, well, they've kind of happened on their own, like reaching 20,000 page views in a month.
Between Henry's birth, the...

Grace Reads: Headed for the Win

I sent a copy of Headed for the Win  and Road to the Regalia  to Grace Barnett for her to read and review. See what she has to say about the start of the series and then check them out. I'd love to hear what you have to say--I'd love a review from you on Amazon!
Grace Reads: Headed for the Win

Mother Hen

Mother Hen #1 Mother Hen #2 Mother Hen #3 Our broody australorp. We'll see in three weeks whether she can hatch chicks or not!Mother Hen #4
Soooo many mothers around here--there's never a shortage!

Aquaponics

I just knew I had to bring Jack to visit...When a neighbor mentioned a koi pond just down the road from us, I knew I had to take the girls for a visit. They, like me, love all things animal and if they get to interact with them, especially when it comes to feedings, they are all the more thrilled. We have already taken several trips as a family to feed the friendly koi and Jack, not an animal lover by nature, even enjoyed himself. But, what caught his attention the most was not the koi (even...

Keep Hoein' and Goin'

Hello, Henry!It's just a few hours shy of a week since Henry's birth and I'm always amazed how quickly I recover. I don't quite feel like running a marathon yet, but I can bend over, my feet aren't swollen anymore, I have a semblance of a waistline and I've adjusted to our new sleep schedule.
The stain makes the fence look fantastic!I am so appreciative of people who remind me to take it easy and offer to help watch kids or bring meals so that I can. But frankly, I don't like to sit still. The...

Henry in the Hammock

Maybe we need to hang one inside...While waiting for Evelyn's bus, Jack put Henry in his new hammock and guess what? He loved it.
Waiting for Kate to push him.Like father like son. I don't know why Kate always is assigned to rock everyone...And like sisters.
(But not me. I've had too many bad experiences with hammocks to every truly trust them again).

Baby Boy

The big sisters!I'd been hoping and praying that our baby boy would arrive after the cultural celebration and temple dedication. Not that I would be disappointed, but I was really hoping that I'd get to be a part of both. Luckily, I got my wish. I took it easy the week before, was able to go to both spectacular events and the following Monday, got back to work.
Just born!All of our kids have arrived later than their due date, so imagine my surprise when I rolled out of bed five days before my...

Indianapolis Temple Cultural Celebration

The cultural celebration committee. Yes, I type with my laptop resting atop my pregnant belly.Last night, we were able to attend the Indianapolis Temple Cultural Celebration put on by the youth in the temple district. It was an incredibly special occasion for me because I was able to help coauthor the script used for the performance (the Agriculture, Crossroads/Indy 500 and Anxiously Engaged B parts, to be exact). It took many hours of meetings with musicians, choreographers, fellow writers,...