The Club

Joey's joined the club.  He puts his lego towers on my counters now,

 

 

 just like his sisters.

The Fifth

She's the fifth.

 

 

The fifth to use this Bumbo.

 

The fifth to drool on it,

 

to see the world from my countertops in it,

 

the fifth to enjoy it's comfort,

 

the fifth to lounge in it,

 

and the fifth to be promoted from its confines

 

when she figured out how to squirm her way out of it.

Insomnia

I guess if you can't sleep,

 

 

you might as well be productive with all that extra time.

Dolled Up

Theia's Beauty Shop.  Open for business.  All are welcome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even daddies.

Military Man

This guy must work for the military.

 

 

Everywhere we go, he mysteriously finds us.  Even when we move to Bismarck, North Dakota, and hide ourselves under a mountain of packing boxes, a few weeks later David appears with gifts in hand and reads countless books to our attention depraved children.  Then as suddenly as he appeared, he disappears...until next time.

Sneaky

We have the automatic light activated by motion in our pantry.  It's very handy.  When you walk in, it turns on.  When you walk out, it turns off...all on its own.  After having us running up his light bill for four months because we can never remember to turn off a light, my father-in-law is wishing he had these installed all over his house before we moved in). 

 

When we moved in I assumed it was for convenience's sake. You've got your hands full of food as you exit the pantry, no need to turn off the light, it just shuts off on its own a few seconds after you exit.  Perfect for a forgetful momma like me.

 

It has come to our attention that the light has an additional benefit:  uncovering thieves in our midst.

 

 

She wasn't actually trying to steal the chips.  Joe challenged her to put them away without triggering the light.  She got all the way in and stood up before it detected her.   

 

 

Pretty sneaky, I'd say.

Lil Ladybug

Tikvah at four months

 

 

on Beth's lap.

 

Painting the Town

One cup water, one cup cornstarch and a few drops of food coloring and they're painting the town, or at least my driveway, red,

 

 

and yellow

 

 

and blue

 

and green.

Every new house needs a new welcome mat.  Unfortunately, this one washed away with the first rain.



Beth is our wombat.  Since all our kids have an animal, she had to have one, too.

Self portrait by Xandra

Old Friends and New

Even though they'd just met,

 

 

it didn't take long for them to become fast friends

 

and for forgetton friendships to be renewed.

Without the Rest

Beth and Aliyah

 

 

taking a few pictures,

 

striking a few poses,

 

and having

 

a grand old time

 

without the rest of us.

Swinging

The kids and Beth took no time getting back to the important things:  playing.  First stop:  the playset out back.

 

New Arrival

 The day after the Grandmas and Emma left, we had a new arrival.  Not only was a beloved friend coming to help us get settled in our new place, and help us not miss Maryland so much, but her arrival took us on an adventure to the Bismarck Municipal Airport.  The kids and I gate checked to pick up our special arrival.

 

 

They had lunch

 

and waited at the windows,

 

impatiently.

 

 

And finally, their wait was rewarded.

 

Just for the record, I had to turn the camera off because I was crying.  After a long time away from Maryland, it was good to see a friendly face from what still felt like home.