One Hungry Monster

Today I handed Elise a "cutie" orange to play with while I was getting some things done. For a few minutes I was engrossed with my routine when suddenly I heard a very cute "smack," "smack," coming from behind me. Elise was chomping on the orange, peel and all! Where there are three teeth, there is a way to eat anything!

'Why doesn't this taste very good?"

The damage, she really didn't let that peel stop her!

9 months old

September is upon us, and what a great time we have been having. The weather took an unexpected twist and we are now enjoying temperatures in the 70s. We also had Kate home an extra day from school for labor day, which made Lily so happy. These two miss each other so much during the day, it is so sweet.

Elise also had her 9 month appointment on Tuesday, surprising us with an unexpected growth spurt. She weighs in at 19 lbs 10 oz ( 64th percentile) and stretches out to 29.25 inches (93th). In June she was only in the 75th percentile for height, showing an impressive gain from 6 to 9 months. It looks like all my girls will be tall...two more and we will have quite the basketball team!

Daddy and Elise taking a nap before church.

Making some beautiful music.

Lily hard at work on her preschool craft.

Trying to entertain Elise during preschool time

Elise's new favorite position. If I hold still for more than 5 seconds, she is on my leg, bouncing up and down and begging to be held, it is nice to be so loved!

The end of August!

August has been a fun and busy month: school, birthdays, milestones, lots of things going on! Hopefully September will be just as fun, but with much cooler temperatures.

Last Friday, Kate's school had a Family Fun night with inflatables, food, and a book fair. We had a great time.

Kate and Lily were very excited to get a balloon animal, they are so easy to please!

I also worked part of the night as a parent volunteer by supervising one of the inflatables. It proved to be a very interesting two hours. I called one boy a girl right to his face, which was mortifying, but the funny thing about it was his reaction, he acted like it had happened before, which made me feel better. Cut your hair kid!!!!! I also thought two girls were boys, which would have been even more disastrous if said out loud. Parents, make sure your children aren't gender neutral or look like the opposite sex when they go out! Geez...

Elise turns 9 months old tomorrow and is such a cutie pie! She races around and is into everything...I love this stage. When she grins you can see her two little bottom teeth sticking out, its priceless!

Playing

Elise is starting to get so big! She will now sit and play with toys that she finds, and it is so fun to watch her explore. She has so many more things to play with then Kate and Lily did, so this time around it is so different than the other two. Elise played with this doll forever, touching its face and "kissing" it.

She worked so hard to get into the box, and ended up not liking sitting on all the toys inside!

Lily is 4!

Monday our sweet Lily turned 4! She was very, very excited for her big day. On Sunday we had cake and presents at Grandma Eva's house.

Elise really was loving the cake and ice cream part

Monday was another fun day of celebration

Here are just a couple pictures of Elise growing up way too fast!

The end of an Era

The last five years I have really loved being a mother of babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. It has been the most joyous time of my life spending my days with my babies, but today marked the end of having all my kids at home with me. Kate went and started Kindergarten!! Many of you know of my struggle with sending her this year because she will be one of the youngest, but earlier this summer Drew and I finally decided to just bite the bullet and let her go. I did not want this to be the decision because I didn't feel ready to let my first-born grow up, not to mention I didn't want to grow up! Not following the school calendar is pretty awesome; trips whenever you want, no alarm clocks in the morning, laid back days, etc. However, over the last couple of months, I have grown more comfortable letting my little one go and following the beat of the school schedule. So, let the fun begin!!!

Above: First day of school breakfast!

Showing off her Tinkerbell backpack...Aren't we so cool?

So big and ready to learn!

We will miss you Kate! Especially Lily

Waiting for the bus

Getting on the bus! Yes, cars were lined up waiting as I snapped this shot, but thats a mother's prerogative!

Her locker!

At her desk and ready for Mommy to leave!

It is now 10:30, and I think Lily, Elise, and I are holding up great. I am excited for 2:45 to come to hear how the first day went. Can Kate really be this big?!!?

And she's 8 months...

My number 3 is now 8 months old. I cannot, I repeat, cannot believe how fast time has passed. We have had the best time the last few months with our three precious girls. What a blessing!

Elise loves to be in the midst of things, she can squeeze and push into any space if she thinks something is going on without her. Here Kate is guarding the laptop because Elise LOVES to smack at the buttons.

YUM, cake...Thanks Daddy, if you keep this up I might make "daddy" my first word

New trick

Playing with the books

We already have the "potty party" concept down in this house.

Kate and Lily are very tolerant of Elise crawling around in their play area, and Elise takes full advantage of it!

My little adventurer...coming down was defiantly not as much fun as getting up

Naked, covered in drool, and so happy. I just love having a baby around.