The jumpy thing

The girls have recently taken to moving all the couch cushions to the floor and jumping onto them from the chair. They call it "the jumpy thing," and they make it and jump on it at least once a day.

It's taken some time for Mead to build up her confidence, but now she flies through the air with delight. Laine already loved jumping, so they've had a blast playing together. And Cole often crawls around the cushions, trying to join in the fun but not get clobbered in the process!

Snuggly sisters

Here they are again, getting through the scary part of a movie together (this is not posed!)

And then they looked at me for a sweet shot.

Hot dog roast

We recently got some large skewers to use for roasting hot dogs and marshmallows, whether outside over the fire pit or inside with the fireplace.

So we inaugurated them as a family and enjoyed hot dogs and smores for dinner. Not the most nutritious meal ever, but it was yummy and fun!

Christmas chapel

Laine's Junior Kindergarten class participated in the Christmas chapel at school this week. They held up letters for a Christmas poem and led the congregation in "Go Tell It On the Mountain." In previous chapels Laine has been less than excited to participate, but this year she did great. I was very excited for her to be confident, albeit nervous, in her role during the chapel.

Here she is waiting for the poem to begin. In the foreground is a sixth grader whom Laine adores - they have become good buddies, and Laine loves hanging out with her older friend.

Laine is holding the letter Z. Note how high she has it up, right on cue. She did a great job!

Later in the chapel Laine's classmate, who is only 4 years old, played two beautiful songs on his violin for the whole congregation. He's one amazing little kid - who can also read really well and do multiplication!

Play time

One of Cole's favorite activities lately is playing with the plastic containers and the pots and pans. He empties out these cabinets at least once a day. It's easy to clean up, though, and I love the company in the kitchen, so I don't mind so much. Play on, Cole!

Reading with Nan

My mom came to visit a couple weeks ago to help out while Penny was traveling for a few days. It was a good visit, and the kids loved having her around.

They kept her busy reading tons of books, which is one of their favorite things to do. Even Cole sat at her feet and listened to the stories.

Homework

Laine took it upon herself the other day to do some "homework." She wrote out the whole alphabet and then wrote her numbers, 1-10, at the bottom.

It's really fun to see her starting to write and work on her penmanship. She'll be reading before we know it!

Laine gets stitches (again)

Tonight Laine made her second trip to the ER to get stitches. This time she sliced her hand open while playing with the metal measuring tape. Ouch!!

She did amazingly well during the whole process. She watched the doctor stitch her up and chatted with him the whole time. (She was a little loopy from the pain medication!) About half way through the evening she told me she wants to be a doctor when she grows up so she can help other people who come in needing stitches. Some personal motivation, I guess!

Mini me

We constantly get comments that Cole looks just like Penny.

And Mead is not far behind - she got the same comment all the time when she was a baby. There's still a strong resemblance.

They sure are cute! All of them!!

Tea time

The girls set up this whole tea party by themselves the other day. They've really gotten into playing make believe with my old Cabbage Patch dolls. So fun to see them getting good use again!

Eager

Cole is so ready to join his big sisters in whatever they're doing. Many times I find him looking with longing out our back door, hoping to join them in their outside fun. One day, buddy, one day!

And, yes, he did put that necklace on himself. That's the hazard of having two big sisters!

Cousins

While we were in Atlanta for my nana's funeral we got to see my brother and sister-in-law for the first time in several years. All the kids enjoyed meeting their cousins, and they promptly encouraged one another to run around, play, and laugh together.

Between our two families there are 5 kids ages 5 and under. It makes me look forward to more family gatherings as our kids get older.

Autumn leaves

The girls have loved playing in all the leaves lately...

Throwing them up and burying each other!

And here's a much delayed photo of Penny's birthday cake. We celebrated several weeks ago (on the 21st), but I never got around to mentioning it yet. I guess that's how adult birthdays go with so many little ones around!

Happy Halloween!

We traveled on Halloween this year, so we did our trick-or-treating a few days early in downtown Kirkwood. The kids had fun going store to store and wearing their costumes.

Laine was an autumn princess, Mead a monkey, and Cole a race car driver.

His "helmet" kept him warm on a chilly night!

Here are Penny's pumpkin carvings for this year. The one on the left is an original scary face with fire eyes, and the one on the right is Tinkerbell, a sweet pumpkin for the girls. Penny's carving skills continue to amaze me!

Happy Birthday Cole!

Cole turned one yesterday. It's hard to believe it was only a year ago that he joined our family - it seems so normal to have him here!

We gave him a blueberry muffin for his first birthday celebration - a tradition for our family.

At first he wasn't so sure what to do with it!

Once we broke off a bite for him, he figured it out. And then he dove right in!

Afterward he got to open a few gifts - look at that excited face!

I also took him for his one year check-up yesterday. He is doing well now that he has recovered from getting tubes put it. Here's his stats: 27 lbs. 7 oz. (95%), 31 inches long (85%), and 48 cm head (90%). He is a big boy! We love you, Cole!!

Nana

My sweet Nana went home to be with the Lord on Sunday, October 23, 2011. She was 89 years old and had touched so many lives with her gentleness and kind words. Nana and Granddad lived just a few streets away from me as I grew up, so they were both very special to me.

Nana spent countless hours picking me up from school, driving me to piano and ballet lessons, and caring for me in the afternoons. I could always count on her to share a stick of gum or a delicious meal whenever I asked. And she created the most comfortable home to rest in whenever I stayed home sick from school.

I took my girls to see Nana in October 2009, and that is the last time I saw her. Her faithful letters and cards allowed us to stay connected regularly though. I am so thankful for everything she meant to me. I sure will miss you, Nana, but look forward to seeing you again in glory.

Smiles

Here's a few recent ones...

Amazingly enough, this was taken shortly after Cole had tubes put it. You'd never know he just came home from the hospital.

Our girls love giving silly smiles!

Neighborhood fun

One of our neighbors also attends our church, and they have a trampoline and tree swing in their backyard. They've given us an open invitation to come play at their house any time we want, so we've been taking them up on it lately.

The girls love to jump and run around on the trampoline.



And Laine especially loves the tree swing going as high as she possibly can.

What a fun way to spend some time outside during these beautiful fall days!

Tubes

You'd never know it by the smiles on his face, but this little guy is having tubes put in on Friday.

After four rounds of unsuccessful antibiotics in the past two months, it's time to pull out the big guns. Hopefully it'll remedy all the fluid hanging out in his ears.

11 months

Cole is 11 months today - I can't believe it! Before I know it we'll be celebrating his first birthday!!

His newest trick is that he is now pulling up - on anything and everything. He so wants to join his sisters in the fun they're having, and he's often standing near them trying to figure out what's going on. He's such a blessing!

Swinging

My kids love to swing, especially when they all get to do it together!

So sleepy

I've heard of this happening before, but none of my kids has actually fallen asleep while eating... until now.

Sunday mornings in the church nursery are exhausting for the little ones!

All stacked up

Apple picking

I got to join Laine on her field trip yesterday to go apple picking. All the kids and teachers got to ride on the school bus, which was probably the highlight of the trip for most of the kids!

It was a hot day, but Laine had a good time picking apples, which I used to make an apple crisp last night. Yum!

And everyone had fun playing on the farm playground afterward too.

Who is that cute baby?

Guess who discovered himself in the mirror recently...

"Who's that?"

"He's so cute!"

"Let me give this guy a kiss."