Sarah

Every time I turned around yesterday Sarah was striking a new pose for the camera. She was hilarious, and she definitely had the most fun of all of us.

Four Years Old

I truly can't believe that my three babies are 4 years old!?!?! We celebrated with a small group of friends and family over the weekend at a swimming/ water slide party. They had a blast! I'm just in shock..... how did they get so big?

certainty and swimming

As we were driving down the road this afternoon taking a meal to friends who have a new baby, the girls were all discussing the little fellas we would be visiting....

They were asking, "So Luke is the big brother now, right?" "Right", I said.

"Since Sam is the baby he can't swim, right?" "Yes, Sam is only 3 weeks old... he doesn't even hold his own head up yet, so I don't think he's ever been swimming," I answered.

"So since Luke is the BIG brother he can swim them??" I told them all I didn't know if he swam with or without swimmies and that seemed to suffice.

After a couple of minutes Sarah piped up from the back, "I swim like a mermaid..... I definitely, double know that!"

Back In May

I'm going to clean out my brain and my photo files right here on my neglected little blog over the next couple of days. Hopefully this will help me to get back to updating regularly because so much is happening and I don't want to miss this stuff! In no certain order:

Meet my Dad's dog Daisy Mae. She became his in May...

...on the same day that Ella graduated from preschool.

During the entire hour plus of graduation silly Sarah insisted on wearing her own personally devised clip on earrings. The hairbows attached to her earlobes looked terribly uncomfortable and she verified that they were in fact hurting her. Her words, "These things are killing my ears, but aren't they just the cutest?!?" Where do they learn this stuff??

Wordless Wednesday: Sunflower Pictures

Disclaimer: Ella was off on a lunch date with her Daddy when I took all these cute sunflower and roses pictures last week. We've now missed the sunflowers, but we'll find some other excuse for a photo shoot with her very soon!

Three at 3!

Happy, Happy, Happy 3rd Birthday to Maggie, Kate, and Sarah! I don't think it fully hit me until I wrote those words that I no longer have babies or even toddlers... they are completely little girls, and beautiful, smart, vibrant, spirited ones, at that! Maggie

Kate

Sarah


Sarah

Maggie

Kate

Happy birthday girls!

Love,

Mom, Dad, and Ella

Wordless Wednesday: Blue Cup Cakes

For more Wordless Wednesday visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

Grumblings of a Couch Potato

This evening after dinner I shooed Scott and the girls outside to run off a little energy before bedtime. I noticed that only 3 of the 4 girls went out initially. A few minutes later when I set about straightening up the house I noticed Sarah was sitting in the middle of the living room floor zoned into the television... Wow Wow Wubbzy or some equally intellectually stimulating Noggin show was on. Ugh!

I instructed her to march her little bootie outside to play with Daddy and all the other girls before she became a couch potato. She hopped up, turned off the tube, and went to put her shoes on without complaint.

However, as she was on her way out the door I distinctly heard her mumble to herself, "This had better be fun!"

Let the Clothing Battles Begin.....

Sarah and I butted heads all day long yesterday when it came to dressing. Both times we headed out the door she had a screaming, crying fit over what she was wearing.



She wanted to pick out her own outfit. I was fine with that, but she was being painfully indecisive and even when I narrowed things down for her that didn't seem to help.



While attempting to follow my Love and Logic techniques, I truly thought we were going to head out the door the second time with Sarah wearing nothing but undies and crocodile tears. (She didn't, by the way. Thankfully she had a last minute epiphany of sorts.)



After bath time last night the dressing drama was getting started yet again. I decided to try and make it a complete non-issue, but that only resulted in everyone else being dressed for bed and ready to read while Sarah was still "makin' a choice" 30 minutes later.



Finally Sarah looked at Kate and said that she wanted the jammies Kate was wearing. I said, "No way, Kate made her choice early on, and she's been wearing these for a while already." Sarah said, "... but mom, those are actually vehwee pecial to me." I busied myself trying not to crack up laughing.



At that point I think Kate felt sorry for me and decided to play along. She said, "Oh I'd rather wear the purple heart ones anyway Mehwee Beff (yeah, she's calling me by my first name lots these days)", and she said it with lots of syrupy fake-ness. Never the less Sarah was suckered in and immediately changed her tune. She decided the purple hearts would be just fine for the night! Score one for Kate and one for Mommy!! Thanks Kate!


As Sarah got dressed in the purple jammies, I would almost swear that Kate winked at me to go along with her million dollar knowing grin.

Impressed

Tonight I struggled a little bit when it came time to put the girls to bed. I was

singing to all of them and rocking them each in turn for quite a while. During my attempts to get them settled, at one point I was rocking Maggie while Kate and Sarah tossed and turned. Sarah suddenly got up out of her bed, walked over to Kate's and politely asked Kate if she could join her. Kate said, "Surely." Then Sarah, ever the little sponge piped up with, "Oh Katie, I'm so impressed that you would offer to share your bed with me"...... just exactly like that!

I almost laughed out loud to hear my words coming out of her little mouth so verbatim, but I recovered quickly enough to get her back in bed before it all broke loose again.

I'm ever so grateful that the kind, affirming words are the ones she's choosing to mimic... at least for now. I'm considering myself warned that Yes They Are Paying Attention to Everything that we say!!

The Look

I've been hearing a little bit of negativity and attitude out of the girls lately.... mostly bad weather induced, and nothing I can't handle. Things like, "you mean (insert mama or sisters' names here)" when the girls are upset with me or each other. "I so angwee.... I so mad." However, something extremely funny has come out of it.
Sarah has recently discovered a new look. She often gives it "just becuz", but so far she has also presented it whenever requested. All you've got to do is ask for the Sad Face (photo below) or the Mad Face (photo above).

Both are usually followed by this face.... which happens to be one of my "fabrits".

Wordless Wednesday- Favorites from the Beach