Eat Baby Eat

Some of Aliyah's new favorite words are eat (ott) and baby (baabee).  Turns out she's good at combining the two:

Spot On

Chick-fil-A recently hosted their annual Cow Appreciation Day.  Not one to miss out on a free meal, I ventured out with all three girls, dressed like a cow, dressed them each like cows, and met a friend for lunch.  She had her three girls and herself also in cow apparel.  Let me just say, the picture above was no small task.  It's difficult to be quick enough to get the kids dressed and in the restaurant before they remove their noses (Theia) and spots (Liyah).   True to their word, Chick-fil-A provided us with an adult meal and three kids meals.  The girls even mooed while I ordered to help prove their authenticity.

While we ate this cow visited our table.  Xandra LOVED him!

In fact, Xandra loved the cow so much that for the rest of our time in the restaurant she could be found running closely behind the cow, hugging him, high-fiving him, and generallly stalking him.  Chick-fil-A has never been so happy to see us leave! 

The only sad part of the day was that I couldn't convince Joe to dress up with us.  I guess once was enough for him.

*A big thanks to Lauren for remembering to bring her camera and sharing her pictures with me!

I Feel the Earth Move Under My Feet

Last Friday sometime in the early hours of the morning (I later learned it was at precisely 5:04AM) Joe and I both woke to our room shaking and the mirror above our dresser rattling against the wall. 

Joe asked what was going on and I, in my sleep-induced stupor, suggested the garbage truck.  He quickly through aside this suggestion as it was not garbage day.  His next thought was, "Maybe it's an earthquake."  Then he promptly rolled over and went back to sleep since the room had stopped shaking.  My response was, "No, it's not an earthquake.  Is it?"

For a long while after Joe easily went back to sleep I lay, wide-awake, waiting for something else (maybe aftershocks) to happen, wondering if there really had been an earthquake.  Eventually, I too, went back to sleep. 

When Joe got up awhile later and began getting ready for work, I asked him if he really thought there had been an earthquake.  He responded with, "What are you talking about?"  I reminded him of us both awaking to the room shaking and he could remember nothing of the sort.  So, he left me for the morning to ponder whether I had dreamed the shaking room event or whether it had actually happened. 

Around 10:30 that morning a friend popped by and while she was visiting she inquired, "What did you think of the earthquake this morning?"  I replied, "So there really was an earthquake?"  To which she said, "Yeah, it's plastered all over CNN, haven't you seen the news?"  I sheepishly replied that it had not occurred to me to check the news yet this morning.

Much to my surprise there had actually an earthquake:  last Friday at 5:04AM in this area of Maryland.  It registered a 3.6 on the Richter scale and confirmed that while I am crazy, I'm not THAT crazy! 

I can also no longer say that my husband would sleep through an earthquake.  Although maybe waking up, talking about it, falling immediately back asleep, and then forgetting that there ever was such an event, thereby making your wife think she's crazy, qualifies as sleeping through it. 

Regardless of whether it's fair to accuse my husband of sleeping through an earthquake, I can verify that all three of my children soundly slept through the Earth moving under their feet.

At the Car Wash

The kiddie pool at the front of the drive has gotten some good use this summer.  It's been so warm and sunny that if we fill the pool with water by 1PM, it's as hot as bath water by 4 or 5PM when the girls are ready to jump in after nap.  On the most recent trip into the pool, Xandra and Theia decided the car was in need of a good scrubbing.

So, while Aliyah played in the pool,

they got busy...

What else do you do with your empty car wash bucket?

Put it on your head, of course.  And if one sister does it...

The other will do it too!

Here's a little clip of the post-car wash fun:

I'm not actually sure that our girls have ever even seen Bob The Builder, but we did see a video of a friend singing that song last week on their blog.  Funny what sticks in their minds!

Round and Round

We've been having fun getting out and about this summer to enjoy free/cheap opportunities in the area.  Our friend, Naomi (who took all the pictures in this post) found this adventure for us.

Glen Echo Parkis not just an ordinary park.  In addition to a playground, picnic area, and ice cream shop, they have an old-fashioned, operating carousel on Thursdays.  The girls could hardly wait to get their turn to ride!

When we did finally get on, they were HA-PPY!

Well, except for Aliyah.  She was scared.  She clung to me for dear life the whole time. 

Note to self:  next time you decide to ride a carousel at 7 months pregnant, holding a 16 month old, maybe you should just stand instead of climbing way up high on a horse.  It's really tricky getting down!  We might still be up there, except my good friend Naomi came to my rescue and held her 8 month old, camera, and my 16 month old, while I gracefully (hahaha!) climbed down. 

In addition to carousel rides, we enjoyed a picnic lunch.  I think all but one of the girls prayed for our lunch.  It was a very blessed meal. 

From left to right:  Faith & Jillian (sisters), Xandra, Madeline (her mommy takes the good pictures), and Theia.  Not pictured:  Anna, Aliyah, and Oliver (they're too little to sit and fold their hands).

After lunch, we played some more at the park (I love that picture of Xandra!), enjoyed an ice cream treat, and headed home for a much-needed nap!

Thanks Naomi and Lauren for a fun morning and for the pictures to remember it by!

Garden Music

We spent an evening at the end of June at Brookside Gardens enjoying a picnic and some jazz music. 

The music was pleasant and the evening was relaxing.  Perfect temperatures, after a month of VERY hot temperatures and high humidity, and no bugs made the evening just right.

After eating, Xandra and Theia enjoyed running to the beat of the music in the open space.

The Wiberry

A few weeks ago the girls and I made our first trip to the library (or wiberry, as Xandra and Theia like to call it) to check out books.  We returned our books this last Friday and picked out a few new ones to take home with us. 

I had no idea wiberry books would be such a smashing success.  They spend much of their days begging for Joe and I to read the wiberry books to them and when we're not reading to them, they often read to one another.  At the top of our favorites list right now are:  Caps for Sale, Duck and Goose, The Seven Silly Eaters (I personally can relate to this one!), A Kitten Tale, and The Princess and The Pizza. 

Fun, free entertainment with endless possibilities.  I'm sold and so are my three readers!

Sweet 16

At 16 months, Aliyah is

...FINALLY walking!  What a relief it is!  Here's video proof:

Why is it that beginning walkers insist upon finding the most difficult thing to carry around as they work to master their new found skills?  I also cannot help but laugh out loud at the last thing on the video.  It's just so classic that she would bump her head on the wall.

...using a big girl spoon to eat her oats (but only when mommy feels like cleaning up the colossal mess she makes).

...climbing into and onto things (especially things that rock or things that have wheels, you know the especially safe stuff).

...blowing kisses, giving kisses, and still loves to cuddle.

...determined to be where the action is.  She loves to be up in a lap or on a hip.  Her most frequently used word is up, as she says it 15 times a day as a request to be up and a part of the action.

...saying lots of words.  To date she can say baby, bye bye, go, baby, Xandra, Theia, hi, thank you, all done, twelve (I know, random, but Joe does push ups with the girls every night and they count to 12.  Twelve is the fun number because he throws them in the air.  There is often a pause before twelve and she will say it in anticipation) and, of course, she can undoubtedly say no.  She cannot, however, say bandicoot, despite her father's tireless efforts.

...an eater.  She likes to eat, a lot!  She seems to have a bottomless pit for a stomach.  Last week she even stole an entire piece of pizza off my plate and ate it whole!

...always wanting to be a part of what her sisters are doing.  She follows after them and picks up every toy they discard and immediately tries to play with it in the same way she saw them using it a few minutes before. 

...learning to express her opinions via screaming, yelling, head banging and fit throwing.  It's delightful.

not quite quick enough to get out of harms way yet (see below).

...a fun, sweet girl to have around our house!