Squeek of the Week

Mommy to Mia - "Come here little Mia (taunting), I want to nibble your little neck..."
Mia - "No Mom." (slightly irritated)
Mommy - "But I like your neck and I like to nibble your nose and ears too!"
Mia - "NO Mom." (slightly irritated and giggly)
Mommy - "Well, I made that little neck so if I want to nibble and kiss it, I can!"
Mia - (very serious) "No Mom. God made me. So you can't nibble my parts."

I managed to collect my kisses anyway, but she did a good job at putting things back into perspective for me.

Vintage Bitties

Ali and Mia 2006

Ali, Mia and Eva 2009

Sisterly love

Cousins

Ali, Mia and James 2006

Cousins

Ali, Mia, James, Pierce and Eva 2009

The Littlest Mermaid

With the thermostat reading 100 for the fourth day in a row (or something like that) it came down to putting the baby in the pool or staying inside... By 6pm this evening we broke down and our concerns over sunscreen, chlorine and heat on the 3 month old were over-shadowed by the whining, begging and boredom of her sisters! So we took a brief break to soak and play in the pool with our littlest mermaid.

"Uh, Mom, are you sure horizontal stripes were the way to go? I think vertical strips would have been more flattering... could you have at least turned the towel?"

Sweet Nothings

Eva and I have been having very profound conversations lately. Well, profound for a three month old. She has a lot to say...

Is there anything sweeter than the newly found voice of a baby?

Squeek of the Week

Ali spent most of a recent car ride trying to explain to Mia about the shape of the state of Texas.

"Mee - uuhhh! (getting very frustrated now) Could you try to learn something at school instead of just playing all the time?!" Oh, how she makes her Mommy giggle!

Seperate incidence:

Mia walks into my bedroom for the third time after being put to bed...

"See my bear, Mommy?"
"Yes Mia, I see your bear. Go to bed."
"My Grandpa, he give me this bear."
(Actually Miss. Megan gave her the bear but I just nod my head.)
"My Grandpa, he give me this bear when I a be-U-tiful baby. My Grandpa, he love me."
"Yes he does. *sniff* Now go to bed, be-U-tiful girl." Oh, how she makes her Mommy's heart happy!

A Pea in a Pocket

Eva helped me cook dinner while in her pocket. She helped me eat dinner while in her pocket. And she helped me clean up the mess while in her pocket. Eva loves her pocket.

Another thing Eva loves is Grandmas

Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice

Cavity Bugs

"I like going to the dentist because it keeps your teeth clean and it's very good to keep your teeth clean because the cavity bugs could eat a hole in your tooth. They dental flossed my teeth and they brushed them and they put this thing in my mouth that felt funny and it felt like a sucker thing. It was fun at the dentist. Bye."

" (ten minutes later...)" Mia has stage fright as I'm asking her what she'd like to say about the dentist. So I'll fill in for her. Mia's first trip to the dentist was great. She sat still for xrays. She let the hygienist clean and polish her teeth. She barrowed sparkly sunglasses and watched cartoons during her exam. She was a very big girl. Unfortunately... a cavity bug was located between her two little tightly spaced front teeth. She is very mad at that cavity bug. We are currently looking for a pediatric dentist to sedate her and clean up his mess.

Ten Years?

It has been ten years since I graduated high school. Seems like it's been much longer. Ten years ago I was running around with my girlfriends looking for a party and had no clue I'd be half of this...

Or spend my evenings being entertained by these....

(Hang in there Daddy and Grandpas... I have a feeling it's going to get worse before it gets better.)

Perhaps it's because my high school reunion is this year or perhaps it's because I've just been a bit reflective about life... but I'm suddenly remembering friends I've lost touch with and feeling motivated to reconnect. (I discovered Facebook which makes all this a little too easy.) It can be scary to put yourself out there - you run the risk of embarassment when your "friend" responds to your inquiries with "Umm.. who did you say you were? and how did we know each other?" In any case, I've gone for it a couple times and had great satisfaction in catching up with friends from decades ago.

I'm so very happy to say that although the road hasn't always been easy (like not even paved. not even a gravel path. a couple times it's been like wagon ruts through over-grown grass!) I'm truly content. I'm healthy. I'm busy. I'm loved and I have lots of little people to love. What more could I ask for??

Squeek of the Week

We call Ali "Squeeker". Why? Don't remember. It's actually "Squeeker Bug" but sometimes we leave the "bug" part off. It's pretty funny... she answers to it automatically. And if I mess up and refer to Mia as "Squeeker" she will correct me: "Ali is Squeeker. I'm Meesh".

Anyway.. the girls say such funny things sometimes, I thought I'd start writing down some of it and post it as the "Squeek of the Week". Here's the first one -

Ali: When I grow up I want to be on Dancing With The Stars and I want to be a ballet teacher.
Mia: When I grow up I want to be a fireman and a teacher.
Mom: Mia, a fireman is a great thing to be. And Ali, you would be great on Dancing With The Stars. I would watch for sure!
Mia (to Ali): And when you get stuck up on the roof, I save you.
Ali: Well, girls in high heels don't get stuck on the roof that much.
Mia: Well, when James get stuck on the roof, I save he.

I had a good giggle over that. If you know their personalities well, you understand that James is much more likely to get stuck up on a roof at some point in his life.

My Graduate

Dear Natalie,

I watched you walk across the stage today and receive your Kindergarten diploma. I had tears in my eyes through the whole production. Maybe that's silly, but I saw my little baby turning into a first grader and realized that this is just the beginning. There will be many more accomplishments to celebrate and milestones to reach and I'm sure I'll be all teary through those as well. You are so mature for such a little girl. You are smart - so smart you graduated "with Kindergarten honors" for memorizing so many words. You are kind and loyal and honest. You are a fabulous big sister. You make me so proud!! I hope I can remember to be the kind of mom you deserve and guide you with love and patience as you continue to grow into a lovely young lady. Congratulations Squeeker! I wish I would have remembered to bring you flowers. You are so special. I love you.

Mom

A stage of Kindergarteners

Ali, Grace, Zoey, and Sophia

Daddy and Eva were in attendance

Mia asked about 50 times, "I wanna hat. Can I have a hat? Where you get that hat, Ali? I wanna hat. Can I have a hat?"

Ali and her teacher