Nighttime Fun!

A big reason Andy and I put the kids down to bed so early is so we can have some husband-wife time minus the daddy-mommy roles. We treasure our evenings together and are not about to allow a snot nosed toddler get in the way of them. But Andy has started having staff meetings on Monday nights and that leaves me home alone with the kiddos. I still put the babies down on time, but I've been letting the big girls stay up (as long as they took a good nap earlier, and can play quietly - gotta keep those consequences in check.) They LOVE playing in the dark, under the moon and stars. And I love that I can give them such a neat treat. What fun!

The Bride

Peek a Boo E

Sister Love

The big girls are getting big too fast, but I'm really enjoying watching them grow and mature. I think they will grow to be the best of friends, with plenty of cat fights, of course. It's not uncommon for one of them to be in a funk at any moment. Right now it's J girl.

Playroom Conversations

A and I were in the playroom playing with Leggos this morning. I must say, he's getting pretty good at stacking them high. E watched while she gnawed away at her favorite toy - a favorite of all my babies - the squeaky frog. M joined us after a little while, and added some conversation to the mix of one worders, grunts, and squeaks.

M: Mom, you see that white box?
Me: Yes, M. I do.
M: It's empty, you know. But do you know why we play with it?
Me: No M, why?
M: 'Cause we like to. That's why.
Me: Okay

A little later...

Me: Hmm... I smell poo. Why does it smell like poo? A, did you
go poo poo.
A: No. (in his deep man voice grunt)
M: It must be E, if it's not A.
Me: You're right M. (as I check E) Nope, not E. Hmm...
M: Well, actually Mom, it was me. Oops, excuse me. I've got gas.

A little later...

Me: I smell poo again.
M: I said excuse me already, Mom!

And later after M built three towers, imitating the height of C, M, and J...

M: You see it's big, bigger, and um... (glances at me with a scowl on her face) really tall.
Me: What about big, bigger, biggest?
M: Yep, that's it. Big, bigger, biggest. I just forgot for a little while.

I'm afraid I'm losing tons of mental capacity with all this toddler talk!

Police Drama

Sometimes I think the girls must enjoy the back and forth bickering. Can this really be fun for them? Today M came to me complaining about C. I told her she needed to go talk to C about it, not me. I secretly followed her and overheard this:

M: C, I'm your little sister. Please don't ever hurt me again, or I
will hurt you back.
C: Like how, M? (honestly curious with a bit of fear)
M: Like I could bite you, or hit you, or pinch you, or do lots of
things to hurt you.
C: Oh yeah. Well then I'll just call the police!
J: Yeah C! Call the police right now!!
M: (crying) Oh, I'm going to go tell Mom again.
C: No, M. It's okay. I won't call the police. I'm sorry.

On second thought, maybe this is fun.

Trying

She's getting close to crawling. Go E!

Miss Blue Eyes

Can you believe these beautiful, bright blue eyes?

Dad and E

Andy and E loving on each other. Lots of love there.

Bench

Andy and I got this bench as a wedding gift. From closet to living room, we've used it for a variety of purposes in a variety of ways. But I don't think the carpenter/gift-giver ever imagined it to be used for this. It works great as a kiddy perch in the kitchen! My cuties.

Pretty

The big girls love dressing up. They spend much of their day in dress-up clothes, but this puts a whole new spin on things. C discovered she can use barrettes as earrings. Yes, she clips them onto her lobes. Of course, J followed suit, ignoring the pain - not even a flinch.

M wasn't interested in the new fad, and certainly didn't want her picture taken. Here's her "pretty face." Full of spunk, love it.

On the street

My big girls really are getting big. Check out C, M and J riding their bikes! We did the neighborhood jaunt complete with me trying to keep up with them, pushing A and E in the stroller. After finally making it back to our starting point, I was pooped. They were not. They continued to cruise "the loop" while A, E, and I watched from the comfort of the driveway. Go girls, go!J likes to collect treasures along the way.

Penguin Boy

We were doing our lazy Sunday evening thing when Penguin Boy got us laughing. A is really silly. He and M keep life light and fun around here.

Kicked out

I've just been kicked out of the playroom. Yes, those three adorable big girls that I endured and gave so much to make life possible for them. Yes, they said I was unwanted. J's words: "Get out Ma! We don't want you in here. We have to be loud with Dad, but you don't like it loud, so get out of here!" She's right. I don't like it loud, especially inside. And I don't like chaos. Thank goodness for a mom and dad so kids can enjoy all realms of life.

The big girls are growing up so fast. A couple more quotes from today that amazed me:

C: Hey Mom. I see you are busy folding towels, but I need some help
tying my tennis shoes. So I'll just sit here and wait patiently until you
are finished. Then you will be able to help me."

M: Mom, you know when I make bad choices, and then you make a
consequence for me? Well, sometimes those consequences make me really sad.
But I know it's my fault. I made the bad choice, and there's always a
consequence for the choices me make. So even though I'm sad, and it hurts,
I know you love me. So thank you Mom."

Whoa - my kids amaze me. If only it were like this ALL the time. In training, we're in training.

Frog Squeal

I love watching family videos! This was a fun morning.

Happy Birthday!

Happy 7 Month Birthday E! Time flies.

one meal, one mess

I don't even want to know how much of my day is spent cleaning up messes. I'm sure it's a rather depressing figure, but oh so worth it. And unlike a dog, this one will one day be able to clean up after himself.

15 lb 8 oz

YEAH! We've grown! I took E back to the doctor this afternoon for her weigh-in. She packed on close to 2 pounds in 3 weeks! The doctor wanted to see her grow 10 ounces. We showed him! Thank you Lord for healthy, growing babies.

E Sits Up!

She did it! E sat up on her own.After helping E drink her sippy of formula, I put her on the floor to play while I fixed her banana breakfast. I heard her cooing and giggling, but didn't expect to see her sitting when I returned. I didn't believe it, so I placed her on her tummy once again to watch. She scooted this way and that, then pushed up to sit on her bottom! Way to go E!

Handsome Hubby

What a hunk! I have such a handsome hubby. This was taken at Angie and Will's wedding at The Rip Van Winkle Gardens. It was a beautiful wedding, a perfect night.

Let's Sing!

One of the kids favorite things to do is sing with Daddy. They call this music class; sometimes it's singing school. I call it great memory making time!

E

I think we're growing. I hope we're growing! Only one week left to pack on the pounds before the weigh in. She may be small, but she sure is adorable.

All my Children

J C E M A

What a crew!

Healing Tongue

C's tongue is healing. The doctor says she may have a bump on her tongue where it was cut open, but that it should get less defined, the older she gets. And the bump is not harmful; it's just not aesthetically appealing. But no one should be checking out the prettiness of her tongue for quite some time.

Pre-Crawling

She's starting to get around! A never learned to crawl on his hands and knees; he would just drag himself with his arms - the army crawl. I think sliding on the hardwood floor encouraged that. So poor E lives naked. She stays in her diaper when she's playing on the floor, to stifle any attempts to slide around.

And you'll notice she's trying to say "mama." No, not really. Not even close. It's just me trying to take any of her "mmmm" sounds and claim "mama." The kids always say "dada" first. But it's okay. It's just much easier to make the "da" sound. "Ma" is a little more sophisticated.