What have the Ilardo's been up too?

     I have been wanting to share some of our family times with you all....we have been busy making memories and enjoying God's blessings.
Individual Accomplishments or Interests- 
     My husband, Michael has been blogging on his own website: www.ETVFC.org. He has a God given talent to write and strives to use it for HIS glory so others may come to Christ. 
Also, Mike has begun to enjoy "farming"....in year's past we have planted a garden in our backyard. Well, this year I was determined to get a NICE one going with as many veggies, herbs and watermelon as I could. Usually we have a friend come till the soil but they have moved out of the area SO we did it by hand! I started(being VERY pregnant) and Mike finished. He did a great job! The kids and I painted sticks colored coded for each plant as row markers....very messy FUN! Today the  garden is FULL of growth and I just love watching Mike and the boys going out to water and weed the garden.
     I kept busy with yardwork (mulching, hedge-trimming, planting flowers, painted the deck and backyard shed) and then inside the house re-painting my older boys bedroom, organizing closets and de-cluttering. Crocheting and hair bow making for the shop, haircutting, and regular mommy duties. Then came baby and after a few days right back at the busy wheel! I have a sewing project started for our VBS at church in August. 50 old fashioned prairie bonnets! Now..all this sounds like I'm super-mommy BUT trust me there were DAYS when all I could do was sit in my cozy chair and be in pain. On my good days is when I used every ounce of strength I had.
     Josiah (5 yrs.) graduated kindergarten!! Oh, it was such a tear jerker for me to watch him walk down the aisle in cap n' gown. My firstborn growing up way too fast! He reads to me now....spells words constantly and is such a helper with his younger siblings.
     Elijah (4 yrs.) is my "daddy-junior"..... he wants to be like Mike in every way.  His favorite thing to do is pass out chick tracts EVERYWHERE! We ate out @ Boston Market the other night and my boys fleeced the place with tracts! 
     Zechariah (3 yrs.) is hilarious these days! He just turned 3 and we had an awesome Dino-Mite birthday party to celebrate with friends and family.  He is self sufficient these days wanting to do everything his "ELF".....he cant say sssss's. Oh and did I mention that he is in LOVE with his new sister?!!! He asked me where her teeth went?!!! Crack me up!!!
     Obadiah (16 months) is currently cutting his 20th tooth and boy it's been a miserable time for him. Otherwise he his my sunshine boy....lotsa giggles and jumping around happily. He has new interests such as the kiddie pool, playground swings going down the slide on his tummy and vanilla ice cream cones with rainbow sprinkles!

     Lydia ( 11 days) is such a joy! She is our tiny princess. Not much of a peep comes out of her....such a content baby. She nurses every 2 to 3 hrs and just sleeps away until 3 am! That is her "awake" time. Can you tell I'm having fun dressing her up?!

Water Fun w/ cousins....

Obadiah getting ready to slide on his tummy!

 

Zechariah's 3rd Dinosaur B-day Party!

Dino Rock Candy...love the colors!

Bugle Dino Toe-Nails

I made a Dino nest and filled it with the take home  "Thank you" favors....I put egg shells around the nest for a nice touch.

Obadiah turned 1 in Feb...but due to my pregnancy we didn't have a party so we joined his with Zech's. I made this dino cake from scratch...homemade almond buttercream icing. My hubby loves it.

For activities I printed out dino coloring pages and borrowed some nifty dino books from the library. At the dollar tree I bought a bunch of dino hats. The kids LOVED them!

I made rainbow fruit kabobs (got the idea from Pintrest) they were a hit and very refreshing. We served the Carnivore food outside by the grill....burgers, hot dogs and sausage. Along with Macaroni Salad for the Herbivore selection.

Here is Zechariah at our Dino Dig Pit! We have farmers friends who brought us some bones...plus Mike bought cow femur bones from our local butcher. The kids were AMAZED!

I LOVE this guy! He was worth the 30 bucks I spent online to buy! Of course it made a nice backdrop for the kids to see when they came into my backyard...RRRRROAR!

Josiah dug this up!

Elijah giving that piñata a good WHACK!

Party FRIENDS!

 

Garden Time!

Josiah's last day of Kindergarten....we had an indoor picnic due to the massive rainstorm...it was still FUN! Josiah's teacher and classmates.

MY JOSIAH!!!!!!

Josiah (far right) with Kindergarten Buddies. They all did a GREAT JOB!

We took Josiah with some Family and friends out to Friendly's Ice Cream Restaurant after the Graduation.

Baby TIME! Mike took this photo....he cracks me up when I'm in labor. Usually sleeping til it's time to push. This time I told him he had to take pictures!

In the throngs of a DEEP contraction...debated on putting up this photo...well, I'm still modest- it's a memory!

Again, I look horrid...Oh, well...I FELT such RELIEF at this moment! No more pressure and PAIN and she was a she! AND....SHE was crying....what a BLESSED NOISE!

My little Lydia with her GIRL cousins (Jen's daughters) Abigail (4) Rachel (14mos) and Johanna (6wks)! These dresses were bought by mother in-law...so ADORABLE!

Yup, already polished her little toes! People gasp....when she starts being able to put her feet in her mouth I'll stop. LOL.

Zechariah LOVES LOVES LOVES his sister!

Daddy's little girl! They look alike...YIKES!

A bit blurry pic.....it's hard to get all 5 sitting still! First all Ilardo children photo.

1st bath!

Great Grandpa Gus with Obadiah and Lydia.

My sweet GIRL.

Ready to go to Wednesday evening church....

Aunt Jenn bought Lydia this outfit....my little dolly.

My favorite girl color combo...gray and pink. I love her carseat.

My PRINCESS! The story behind the tutu and crown: I had bought material to make her a fluffy pink tutu BUT never finished it due to her coming EARLY. The crown is made from lace that I used fabric stiffner on....also idea taken from pinterest. Well, my girlfriend Mrs.April Brough made Lydia this tutu....we love it!

I shoulda put her in a white onesie for modesty. Well, the rec. blanket worked. LOVE HER!