Gaggle of Girls

Gaggle-an often noisy or disorderly group. Today we went to the neighborhood park, just me and a gaggle of girls. Noisy,
certainly. Disorderly, hardly. The lone occupants of the park, 3 familiar teenage boys, saw us coming and took off. This park is small with just one basketball court and a weathered play structure but it boasts a tire swing which is definitely the main attraction. We spent the better part of an hour there and the tire swing was in constant motion, slowing just enough to let little girls trade places and rotate. Sunshine was in abundance as were laughter and gleeful screaming. A perfect autumn
afternoon!

Lil Stair Stepper

Looky who figured out how to climb the stairs today!
She's been working at it for a few weeks now but her sweet little feet never left the floor.




The best she could do was stretch to that second step, not quite figuring out the bodily mechanics of bending and lifting her knees. But it sure clicked tonight, in more ways than one. After figuring out the stairs she also crawled on her hands and knees rather than her customary army crawl. Yea Baby!

Bunny Cake Take Two

We had a small birthday party this evening with family and a few friends for Little Sister. Once again she asked for a bunny cake but this time in blue. I was happy to oblige as I had a great example in my Mom's cake last weekend.

Baby's Got a Tooth!

I was shocked this morning when I had my fingers in Baby Miss's mouth (to retrieve the latest tidbit that she'd just picked up off the floor and shoved in there) and ran across the unmistakable sharp ridge of an emerging tooth. In a state of utter protest, I managed to briefly get her mouth open enough to sneak a peek and sure enough, there it was - a gleaming white speck peeking up through her pink gums. What a jewel - her lower, front, right tooth! Both the Girl and Little Sister were nearly 16 months before they got their first tooth and they didn't get theirs in typical fashion, they started with their upper front teeth. Already imagining how cute her formerly toothless grin will be once that little tooth starts moving up.

Best Ever!

This sweet lil baby gives kisses upon request now. It's the proverbial open-mouthed baby SWAK and it's the best ever!

Prelude

This weekend we visited Poppie and Grammy and had a little 'prelude' birthday celebration for Little Sister. When my Mom asked
her what kind of cake she wanted she quickly and enthusiastically responded with, "A bunny cake!" Later she got more
detailed and requested that it have chocolate chips in it and that it be purple. My Mom unearthed a picture of me with the same
bunny cake (mine was white) on my 4th birthday. Fun to see the parallels between what my Girls like and what I liked as a
kid. As for Baby Miss, she is gonna be fun to watch on her 1st birthday. She tried really hard to get some of that
frosting. Adore those smiling faces!

10 Months

I cannot believe that this lil peanut is already 10 months old - just two months shy of being one year! Slow down Baby, please! We continue to marvel at this joyous little being and all the new things she is discovering and the fine motor skills she is acquiring. Despite having experienced it twice before, watching her reach milestones is just as exciting as it was with the other Girls and every bit as special.
Today we marked her tenth month with yogurt. She seemed indifferent to it.

That makes two of us!

Seems like I'm not the only one who doesn't like folding laundry.

Rub a dub dub...

my three Girls in a tub!

Another Tri

This morning my triathletes were at it again. Braving cold waters, pedaling hard and running fast.
The rest of us (smart) family members took our jobs of cheerleaders and team photographer seriously.
This tri was a quarter mile swim, 9.2 mile bike and 1.6 mile run with the elite class doing the course twice.
Back in the lake for his second round.
The second loop proved to be too much for Baby Miss, she just couldn't stay awake (especially after the 5:00am wake-up call)!
J finished 5th in the Elite class with a time of 1:34:21.
The kids' tri consisted of a 25 yard swim, .65 mile bike and 240 yard run. This time, the Girl was joined by two
pals, Miss A and Miss P, a classmate from her kindergarten class.

As with her first triathalon, the Girl did awesome and had a blast. I think even more so considering that she got to race with friends.

Holiday Weekend Happenings

For the holiday weekend we spent time with J's family which included some time on our campus, the place where we met. A place we hold very dear to our hearts. So many great memories here. This is the building where I lived for two years, in fact, two of the windows behind us were the very same ones I used to look out of on a daily basis for an entire school year.
We came to visit J's cousin, Miss T who is in her freshman year. We love her and so do our Girls. The Girl has been calling T her 'sister' since before she actually had sisters of her own. T is a great girl and it was so fun to meet up with her and feel the exciting vibe of a college newbie, made even better by the fact that she is attending our Alma mater.
The rest of our time was spent at Grandma's (J's Mom) house and the majority of that time in the pool. Little Sister required
a bit of coaxing from Daddy but the Girl needed no invitations. She just jumped right in - again and again...
and again. Getting bolder with each jump.
Then there was this.
A mani/pedi session and careful application of all kinds of make-up.
Resulting in this hilarious picture. Loving the contrast between Little Sister's sweet, tight-lipped grin and the Girl's vibe - serious with a touch of ticked off ubermodel. And the lipstick application...classy, no?

First

Today was her first day of 1st grade. What can I say? The Girl was super-excited - not sure if it was because of school or the fact that she finally gets to wear her new school clothes. Oddly enough, this outfit is the only one without peace symbols emblazoned all over it. No kidding.
The event came and went without much fanfare, definitely not all the hype and anticipation that kindergarten brings. The little Girls and I dropped her off at school,
followed her to her class and watched as she found her cubby, hung up her backpack and made her way to her desk. Then she excitedly exclaimed, "Mom we get three recesses!" Followed by a hug for Little Sister, a kiss for Baby Miss and then we were back out the door and headed to the car.
For me, the realization sunk in early this morning, while the Girls were all still in bed and the house was quiet, that the Girl now spends as many waking hours with her teacher as she does with me during the weekdays. Made me a bit sad. And it is just the start...so begins her childhood academic career for the next 12 years. But any sadness is quickly replaced by joy at her excitement and knowing that she is growing her mind, expanding her horizons, making new friends and learning awesome things.

Shadow Dancing

The Girl loves to put on a good show.
Tonight while we swayed on the swing set she treated us to a dizzying spectacle of
whirls

and twirls.

Little Sister had no interest in being a back-up dancer but I am happy to report that she no longer harbors a pretty penny. Thankfully it (no longer so pretty) showed up early this afternoon and I only had to dig through two diapers. I have photographic evidence that I considered posting but came to the conclusion that it was entirely too gross. As for the penny itself, it remained in the diaper which was immediately relegated to the trash can, never to be circulated again.