Baby Doll Abducted!

Lady: My baby is missing, my baby is missing!
Me: Where could she be?
Lady: A man came and took her
Me: What did he look like?
Lady: He was a big man
Me: What color was his hair?
Lady: Brown
Me: What color were his eyes?
Lady: Red
Me: Red?
Lady: Yes, and he had a scary nose.

If you've seen a man fitting this description, please contact us so we can question him about the missing baby doll. Thank you for your cooperation in this serious matter.

Are they identical?

The twins just had a check up where their height and weight were measured... they are exactly the same height, exactly the same weight. The nurse said: wow, they really are identical. I said "Actually, they're fraternal." She told me that was amazing because most of the identical twins that come in do not have the same height or weight. So now, I'm wondering... should I have them tested to find out? Does it matter? I dont' think they're identical because they look so different to me... but what do I know? Take the poll... I'm curious to see what y'all think.

The Boys

When we first moved into our two family home, the girls were afraid of the running noises upstairs. I explained it was "the boys." Anytime the girls would hear noises, they would get scared and run to my lap yelling "the boys, the boys!" What a difference a year makes. This summer the girls are shouting and waving out the window "Oh boys, oh boys!" They love playing outside with their neighbor friends, still affectionately known as "the boys." I'm grateful for the boys because they keep an eagle eye on "the girls" and inform me when the girls step out of line. The care and concern for each other at this early age is so priceless. The leader of the pack
Mr. Smiles
Baby Doll: but in her heart, she'll always be one of the boys
Baby N--only 3 months older than our Baby G, but wow, what a difference three months makes!

Lazertag

It was naptime and there was a knock at my door. Patrick, our little neighbor boy, asked if the girls could come out and play Lazertag. I told him they were taking a nap and that we would come out to play when they woke up. About 5 minutes later there was another knock. It was Patrick again, and he said "Sometimes my mom wakes us up from our naps. You should go and wake the girls up from their nap so they can play Lazertag with us." I woke them up and normally that would result in yelling and gnashing of teeth, but when I told the girls "the boys" wanted them to come out and play... they were instantly cheery.
Lady was a good sport and put on her gear, even though she didn't know what she was supposed to do with it. She shot a few rounds and quickly got bored.
Lady (can we play something else now?)
Not to be outdone by her sister, Bell put on the garb but never figured out how to shoot. She obviously didn't take the Lazertag safety class...
She quickly took the gear off and decided she would rather be chased.

Grandma's Little Angels

Sisterly love...
Grandma P sent pink shirts in the mail that say "Grandma's Little Angels."

Lady: I'm not an angel, I'm Lady Jane.

Me: That's what the shirt says... Grandma's Little Angels.

Lady: (a few moments later, pretending to read each word) Grandma's Little Darlings.

This little girl is drooling up a storm. Both of her eye teeth are poking out a bit, with no other teeth even coming close to the surface. This girl is going to look like a vampire if the other teeth don't show up soon. Could be fun for Halloween, though.
Ah yes... one of these kids is doing her own thing. The princess did not want to participate in the Angel photo shoot. Her response: No, I not!

Daddy Daughter Date

Today was Daddy's day off and he spent it with the girls while I worked on a consulting project. The day started off with him pushing the girls in the stroller while he went for a jog, and ended with him taking them on their first official "date." During naptime, Daddy and I took a break to go to a movie (Get Smart), and Lady was quite upset that we were going on a "date" without her. The only way to console her was to promise a date with Daddy in the evening, which they did. The girls insisted on going to a movie too. Kung Fu Panda, to be exact. Daddy gave in and even got them popcorn and "red candy" (Twizzlers). The girls had a good time, but let me know on their return that there was too much fighting.

Side note: This is the difference between a Daddy and a Mommy, well this Mommy, anyway. Daddy gave them a choice on their date (do you want to see a movie or go on rides at Chuck E. Cheese?)-- Mommy would have chosen Chuck E. Cheese to get rid of the big bag of tokens from an earlier visit, and to avoid unnecessary violence in cartoons that are actually meant for adult humor. Daddy fed them movie treats-- Mommy would have fed them lunch with a protein, a carb and a veggie or fruit before the outing-- and would not have let the children know about the world of over-priced movie food that will clog your ateries or give you cavities. If she really wanted to splurge, she would have gone for McDonalds, plain hamburger, apples slices, white milk. And for all of those reasons and more, it's much more fun to go out on a date with Daddy than with Mommy!
Baby stayed home with Mommy and was happily entertained by the exersaucer that our good friend Kim loaned us. The girls never fell asleep while playing or eating... but our little Baby G often wears herself out while playing and falls alseep literally in the middle of things. There's nothing like a sleeping baby... except, maybe a sleeping mom.

Rice and carrots... yum!

I probably shouldn't admit that Baby actually had her first "solid" on her 5th month birthday when I shared some organic Acorn Squash and Mango soup with her. I know, I broke all the rules about starting off with rice and only trying one thing at a time with allergies, etc. It was only a taste and she was eyeing it so anxiously... Anyway, last week, I started out like a responsible mother does... with rice cereal. She loved it and boy was it messy. Here I try rice cereal and pureed carrots.
She is wondering what I am doing with the camera...
Can't get enough. She kept giggling as I would give her each spoonful.
Examining the messy arm. She kept grabbing the spoon, and sent cereal flying into the air. She also munched on her arm in between spoonfulls.
Day 3 of solids-- more carrots. I had forgotten how messy it is to feed babies in the beginning. She's getting better at not spitting half of the food back out. She looks so good in orange.

Heat Wave

It has been so hot and humid here that we do all that we can to keep cool-- and that includes visiting the spray parks around the area. This spray park is particularly fun because the bottom of it fills into a wading pool, as modeled by Bell.
Lady was annoyed at all the splashing (what can you expect from 50+kids?), so she spent some time drying off in the shade.
Baby splashed and kicked in the wading pool. She loved watching all of the kids play. Unfortunately, I was not able to hold baby and take pics at the same time... so the only pic I have of her is as she takes a quick cat nap in the stroller.
After frolicking in the water, we sat on a picnic bench and ate lunch while we watched the ducks float down the Charles. It was a fun day!

Tanglewood-- Opening Night

One of the great blessings of living/studying out here is playing with the Boston Symphony. Daddy played part in the off-stage brass during the opera, The Trojans, written by Berlioz, for Opening Night. We ate snacks on blankets with our good friends, the Welles, while Daddy played. The girls had so much fun dancing and running around. I got a work out trying to keep them from visiting several of the other concert goers on the lawn. People really go all out... hauling in tables, candles, chairs, coolers. It was exciting to be a part of a great musical tradition.
Lucky for us, the Welles were up for a spur of the moment decision to drive up to Tanglewood, attend the concert and spend the night at a Bed & Breakfast.
Here are the girls sleeping in their twin bed at the B&B. There was a fantastic pool, lots of grass to run around on, and a delicious breakfast in the morning. It was a great way to reunite as a family after our month long absence.

Thoughts on the baby

Lady: Baby's face looks like a bouncy ball-- a yellow bouncy ball

After her bath...
Me: Mmmm... baby smells so good.
Bell: She smells like a ball
Me: Really? I think she smells like a flower
Lady: No, she smells like a bouncy ball.

The things they say

While at my mom's house the following scenario played out:
Lady: I'm Bell
Bell: No you're not. You're Lady.
Lady: My name is Bell.
Bell: Stop using my name!
Me: (to Lady) You're Lady and You're Bell (to Bell)
Bell: No, I'm not. I'm Princess Analiese.
Me: Ok, Princess Analiese. Would you mind picking up Grandma's pillows that you threw off the couch?
Bell: I can't. I'm a princess and I don't pick up pillows.

Tonight's Bedtime Prayer
Bell: Heavenly Father, thank you for this day. Thank you for daddy, and mommy, and Lady, and Bell, and Baby G and the door, and the book, and Christ. Amen.

Family on the Fourth

We didn't catch any fireworks shows, but we had a great time playing as a family.
"What a grand thing, to be loved! What a grander thing still, to love!"

Victor Hugo

Baby is 5 months old

I took these pics at my Mom's house on baby's 5 month birthday. Oh, she is so cute, I just want to hug and kiss her forever.
I was able to snatch the princess tiara from Bell long enough to crown sweet baby.

I describe Baby as "perfect," and she really is. She has such an easy-going temperament, she really only cries when she is hungry or overly-tired, she loves watching her sisters and people in general. And selfishly enough, one of my favorite things about her is the way she lights up when she sees me. It's completely selfish, but I just love the little joy in her eyes and her infectious smile and laugh when she sees me first thing in the morning. It's hard to describe what it feels like to be loved like that. She really is my little gift from heaven. Happy 5 months little princess.

We're Baaack!

Look how content our Daddy is after our month long absence.

We returned home a week ago and frankly, there must have been a host of angels helping us make the trip. It went smoother than the trip out. A big thank you to Papa for helping us on the first leg of the trip and a big thank you to our friend Jessica, who picked us up from the airport, fed us, watered us, and even unpacked our luggage while the kiddies slept and I showered. Daddy had cleaned the house, removing evidence of his bachelor-style life (well, almost all the evidence) and had Asian food for dinner. We also came home to a fun package from my dear friend Janie... matching shirts and hair accessories for the girls (notice the Total Babe shirts and matching bows). Thank you Janie!
Lady was so excited to be home, she immediately requested "Sleeping Beauty" and had to go upstairs to see her "white bed."
Bell was a bit tired from jet lag and the time difference. She refused to take off her TSA sticker from the airport. This picture was taken two days after our arrival... notice the sticker on her hand. I finally had to rip it off and tell her it was yucky (because it was).
Here is our blessed little bald baby. Not enough hair for the bow clip, so we clipped it to the headband.