It's a Bird, It's a Plane...

Nope, it's just Olivia crawling at the speed of lightning!

Watch out Barbie shoes, speaker wires and little crumbs everywhere....she's on the move!

Boy she caught on to that quick! She really just took off this week and now can cross the room in the turn of a head!

The Bubble & The Ant

Naomi was waiting patiently for her turn to speak at the dinner table the other night as each of her sisters took turns telling their "stories" of their day. She must have been mentally taking note of the most affective way to get the most attention from her audience as each of the girls spoke because when it came to her turn to talk, she told this story with her eyes wide and her arms outstretched dramatically, "There was this big bubble... and inside the bubble there was an ant. The bubble went up, up, up, up, up and into my mouth . Then the bubble popped! And the ant held onto my tongue and I said 'ANT GET OUT OF MY MOUTH!!' And he did ."

Olivia Waves Hello

I can't believe how fast Livi is learning! She's already crawling, playing with toys and interacting with her sisters. At just about 7 months old she's started to say "Kitty" and wave at us when we say Hi.

Olivia loves to eat. She knows that it's mealtime when she sits in the highchair and will protest and carry on if I don't have her food waiting for her. Livi just tried a blueberry muffin for the first time this week and she gobbled down every last crumb! Still no teeth but the bottom two are starting to dimple on the gum line. I'm sure it will be any day and it's about time because at the rate she's going she sure can use them now!

Tori's Concert

Autumn Concert: First 2 Songs

When I first came to this land...

Three is a Magic Number

El Gato

Molly Watching and More

Livi's latest favorite pastime is watching Molly. She loves to see her bound up and down the stairs, come inside or even just sit at the door and watch her meowing. It's just about the only thing that keeps her continually distracted from wanting Mommy to pick her up (as if I can blamer her nowadays) because...

Naomi's latest favorite pastime is pestering Olivia! She loves to hug her, hold her, move her hands, feed her and do just about any kind of experimenting with what she can and cannot do to poor Livi. This week has not gone so well with numerous time outs for picking Livi up (by the neck), feeding Olivia (a pumkin seed and an attempted peanut), and being too rough with her (sitting on her back). Once these small boundaries are set, I'm sure we'll all have more fun! Its amazing how quickly I can forget these trying stages.

Trick or Treat 2009!

Pumpkin Carving

Ken the Frog: AKA New "Little Friend"

Beholding the wonder of a new treasured pet;

Squishy and slimy and stretchy and wet.

Her cautious approach and affectionate fascination.

Exploring with curiosity her new revelation.

The chase and capture renewing her joy

She wonders what to call her new froggie-boy?

From the soft, firm cradle of her small gentle hand

Emerges the regret of release back into the sand.

Always in search of a new "little friend"

Leaving no rock unturned til the day end.

Searching piles of leaves, all soggy and wet,

Beholding the wonder of a new treasured pet.

Doesn't Everyone Love the Dentist?

Dentist Sydni and another happy customer.

The satisfied patient and her pearly whites.

Sydni was demonstrating her expert dental skills in this picture so she could use it for a school project. Yes, her monthly kindergarten school project. Seriously, when did kindergardeners start having projects? Whatever happened to cookies, stories, centers and nap mats?! They must have disappeared along with the half-day programs. Now the kids have daily homework, signing of agendas, reading logs, and monthly themed take-home projects. This month it was "Community Helpers" and for one week Sydni had to dress as her ideal profession and snap a picture to show the class. She also had to label required uniform, vehicles and instruments utilized for her desired profession. Ironically, she picked the most frightening grown-up profession to her (at least for this stage in her life): the dentist! Somehow I think she'd be great at it! She really has an eye for detail and loves to follow exact sequential instructions.

No teeth yet for our little kitten.

Meow!

Thank you to Grandmom and Grandad for the cute kitty suit! Olivia is so sweet in it!

5 Months is Fun!

Livi is really starting to enjoy time on the floor with her toys. She's just starting to crawl and actually play with the toys she stared at for so long! She's also gaining a sense of humor, from watching her silly sisters no doubt. I can't wait until she starts crawling and talking for real.

Candid Camera?

Kayli and Tori were so excited a few weeks ago when they took a trip to Target and bought new "Ipods" (which is everything mp3-player-ish to my 11 and 8 year olds) with their own money!

This one was WAY cooler than a real Ipod because it is actually in the shape of a Barbie girl! In this clip they are using their new toys to further their vocal abilities, little do they know that Daddy was secretly watching!

Softball Shenanigans and More

We had so much fun this Saturday with the girls. We finally made it out to the park with the softball field with real bleachers and bases and everything. We packed a picnic lunch and despite the multitude of flies again, it was still enjoyable and somewhat humorous. (Especially watching Tori go crazy swatting and waving her arms when even one little fly came close to her plate! She even decided to switch tables.) After lunch, Bryan pitched a soft, foam-like ball to the girls one at a time. The others would take turns being "catcher" and I sat with Livi and Naomi on the bleachers cheering. Bryan would say, "Aaand now, up to bat is Number..." and Kayli would say "16!".... "16....Kaaayli Hamilton!!" Tori was 14 and Sydni was 30....4! Tori was great at throwing the ball back and Kayli was great at hitting the ball far.

At one point, Sydni was on second and Kayli was reluctantly learning some tips from us about hitting the ball correctly. Sydni was doing great, waiting so patiently, for the first few of Kayli's tries and then she realized how long it was taking and careful not to remove her toe from second base, she leaned sideways to peer around Bryan (the pitcher), and as soon as Kayli and I were in her view and she hollered, "For crying out loud, aren't you finished yet?!" We all couldn't stop laughing which made her even more upset because she wanted to run!!

And what was Miss Naomi doing amidst the softball shenanigans? Well as usual, she wanted nothing to do with what is supposed to be done at the softball field. After running around like a maniac from random base to random base, she decided it was much more fun to climb the chain-link fence surrounding the field, or the trash cans (also chain-link type material), pick up trash to play with off the ground and when she got scolded for that too, she began piling handfuls of crushed rocks onto the bleachers to make "homes" and then tried to find "friends" to live in them.

Naomi looking for her "little friends"

Reminding her that this is not a good "little friend..."

Her favorite pastime, as of late, is playing with her "little friends" as she lovingly refers to any bugs (or worms or frogs) that dare cross paths with Naomi! She loves her little friends to death...literally! Just the other day she found a little frog who had the misfortune of hiding in her sandbox. He instantly became her playmate for the rest of the afternoon until I heard her say "my little friend is not feeling very good." The froggy had stopping writhing and wiggling to escape the firm but gentle grasp of the two-and-a-half year old budding entomologist. I suggested that he might miss his family and want to go home now. It took a long bit of persuasion but he finally was released under the porch and now she's just been sticking to collecting bugs, worms and such.

It took us almost 10 minutes just to walk into the school today for Naomi's first day of preschool at Ready to Learn. We just had to stop and check every leaf incase it really wasn't a leaf but a butterfly instead or if the grass clippings might really be spiders. Once we finally made it in, she had a great time learning with the other 2 year olds about colors today. I never really thought about how quickly this day came, that is the day Naomi actually started preschool for herself. We'd been going to this program for almost 2 years now with Sydni being the one in the program while Naomi played with the toys. So I guess it never really hit me that it was all about Naomi going to preschool now, until I started to write her name on the craft project of a rainbow she made in class today. Seeing that pink crayon label of "Naomi" on her page made me so sad to think how quickly the time has past and that she too is now in school. I know I'll blink and she will be starting Kindergarten and we will be there all over again with Olivia.

Naomi and "Kayla" from the Smithsonian Zoo

Naomi has gained some creative independence over the past few weeks that I've had her at home away from her sisters. They sure have taught her well! During a playdate with a neighbor last week Naomi was trying to make a sport out of jumping off the couch. When I told her, "Naomi, if I see you do that again you'll be in time out!" She responded with, "Okay Mommy, can you go upstairs to do a job, real quick?" I couldn't help but laugh at her cleverness but then I promptly informed her of the special powers that all mommies have and that even if I did go upstairs, I would still know that she had jumped off the couch! She was skeptical, to say the least.

Later that day we sat on the couch reading books and afterward she told me that she was going to give me a snack. Thinking that she was pretending, I went along with it when she told me, "Close your eyes and I'll give you something to eat." Luckily I saw her hand jammed into the couch cushions in time before she preceded to pull out crumbs and "snacks" from in between the cushions to feed her dear mother! At least I can say she has a great imagination!

What did you do at MPact tonight?

Loud Livi

Olivia has enjoyed her first tastes of cereal with applesauce this week.

She's also found her voice and loves to play peek a boo!

Tummy Time

Still at only 11lb 11oz at 4 months old, the little peanut is as active as ever! She will instantly roll over in her crib and assume her favorite sleeping position on her tummy with her middle two fingers jammed in her mouth.

Naomi's favorite place is right next to her sister on the floor.

She loves to hold her hand and lay there looking up at the ceiling or talking to her like this on their bellies.

Notice the progression of Naomi's boredom of Mommy's peek-a-boo game, trying to get Livi to smile....

but Livi still loves it!

Tuckered out from all the playtime!

School Time

Naomi, Kayli & Tori

The girls started school this past week, except for Sydni. As a kindergardener, Sydni had to do a staggered entry where she only went for one day last week to be tested and meet the teachers. So today, she began her true first day with her teacher Ms. Monroe who called on Sunday to welcome Sydni to the classroom, answer any of my questions, and to "bless   heart" for packing Sydni's lunch everyday instead of having her buy it! I don't think I'll ever understand the sweet-talkin' south folks 'round these parts, must be the Yankee in me! ;)

Sydni was so excited but a little nervous. She did so great!

Kayli was less than thrilled that her father was taking her picture boarding the bus to the middle-school. She even told me later how a boy seated behind her gave her heat about it saying, "Is that your Daddy?" Kayli meekly responded "Yeah," to which the boy scoffed, "Ahh, Daddy's little baby is going to school." And so we really have come to the point of middle school and a loss of innocence.

Resilient little Tori loved riding the bus and now "helping" Sydni ride the bus and going to their new elementary school, which she now knows the ropes. Bryan took her to the open house and Tori had to wear her nicer dress and shoes because she's "just so sick of wearing this babyish outfit, it's just so blah" even though she picked it out for school that very day all on her own! She really likes her new teacher, Ms. Campbell, even though she continually jokes that her name is really "Ms. Camel" and she insists that she has 2 humps on her back. She jokes all the time about it, at least she did until I said, "I'll ask her at the open house if camels really do spit and if so, maybe I should keep my distance from her!" Then Tori's face flushed white and her eyes bugged out and she said, "Oh no, please don't say that Mom, you wouldn't!" And then we had a good laugh!

Sweet Tori starting Kindergarten in 2006

MPact Move Up

The girls all celebrated their graduation from the MPact (Missionettes) program at the local church they have attended for the past year. They all moved up to the next levels and Naomi just started attending in the Rainbow's class. She was so excited to attend her first meeting that she had to wear Sydni's old Rainbows shirt (which fit her more like a dress). She ran to me, put her hand on her hip, her thumb up in the air and proclaimed "I'm stylin'!" and gave me a click with her tongue! 

Tori told me that in her new class, her carefree teacher was calling attendance and casually called out, "Hey Tori, are you really standing up behind that table or are you still sitting...cause it really looks like your still sitting down. Are you really that short?!" Tori was quite upset but realized how funny it was as she was relaying the story to me. We must have laughed for 5 minutes! She does not like being small (she's smaller than Sydni now) but I told her that the best gifts come in small packages. Her enormously beautiful and funny personality surpasses her small little frame and I keep encouraging her so that hopefully someday soon she'll also discover that truth!

Hair-Do or Hair-Don't

After wrestling back and forth with the thought for weeks, I finally decided that it was time. I had enough with Naomi's hair in her face, constantly covering her pretty blue eyes! I whisked her into the bathroom on afternoon in July and told her to close her eyes and sit still. With the first snip of the scissors her little eyes popped open and as she looked down at the dusting of blonde hair, she cupped her hand over her mouth and giggled. I must say that I do enjoy her no-bang look more, but for now this will have to do until she can keep a barrette in her hair! Besides, the bangs looks especially cute with pigtails.

Sydni and Naomi sporting her new do!

Naomi is such a sweet little princess.

 With her new hairdo, she reminds me of how Sydni looked at this age even more.

Sydni in August 2006 (age 2 and a half)