birthday celebrations

From 05/29/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

"Baby!"...thrilled to get her very own baby doll

From 05/29/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/29/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/29/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/29/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

A stroller to match her big sister's (in green)...

From 05/29/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/29/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

She enjoyed this new big girl cup just as much as the baby and stroller, judging by how she toted it around all day and kept requesting "pink water."

From 05/29/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/29/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

Jack and Abigail helped prepare their sister's requested pizza dinner.

From 05/29/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

Yummy.

From 05/29/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/29/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/29/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

She kept looking at me with a big grin saying, "Happy birthday, Mommy!" Back and forth we'd go.

From 05/29/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/29/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/29/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

Devilishly good fruit flan... A+

From 05/29/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

One more gift before bedtime...

From 05/29/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

Learning a new story ("Wassat? Wassat? Mommy, wassat?")...

We had a wonderful day here at home, the girls playing sweetly with Iris' new baby (once A got over her initial jealousy, I was very proud of how maturely she acted, despite the fact that she reeeally wanted that doll instead of my old, paraplegic one... she has a birthday coming up in nine days... shhhhh), and Jack playing contentedly with my Think it Through tiles from when I was little. We didn't make it to a park for dinner like we were hoping (due to potential thunderstorms). I think the birthday girl thoroughly enjoyed the extra attention on her special day, though. Her siblings doted on her and were eager to wait on her for lunch and dinner. We were happy to celebrate two years of life of our not-for-long baby of the family. Happy birthday, sweet girl!

two

On a euphoric day two years ago, we became the proud parents of three... adding to our gaggle the sweetest little baby girl we could have dreamed up. She wooed us with her catching smiles from her earliest days and her all-around pleasant and easy-going disposition.

From the first day of Iris

From the first day of Iris

From Iris day 2

From smiles, strolls and shorter hair

From oh, christmas tree

From Iris' first birthday

From alpine lake with my family II

From 11/28/2011 (by Eye-Fi)

From miscellaniris

Today, her smiles are still contagious... she only has to flash one at us when we catch her at her regular brand of mischief, and nothing else seems to matter. And she's quite aware of that. She's busy to beat the band, loves to dance to Tchaicovsky in her 'rina costume, can now name just about every item in all the books we read (her inquisitive nature has her asking, "wassat?" or "wassat means?" for everything of which she's not sure, and she loves to sing and be sung to. We thank God every day for our sweet dollbear 'Russ! We're blessed to have her in our family... crazy and all!

Memorial weekend at the lake

We found ourselves with a free weekend when my parents were going to be at the lake, so we decided last minute to brave our non-air-conditioned van and surprise the kids by joining them there (we packed up the van with them still oblivious and told them we were going out to eat- they caught on after an hour and a half or so of being on the road, their little heads wet with sweat). Mike already had off Friday to take Jack and Abigail to the zoo in the morning for their last-day-of-school field-trip, so we got a head start on traffic and had some time to walk down and throw rocks into the lake before the kids retired and the adults took to the cards. Saturday and Sunday were ideal for swim-- at least for the kids. This was the first weekend the lake was open, and it was very cold still, but the hot sun was conducive for hopping in to cool off... I got a smarting burn on my right leg, and I wasn't even out in the sun for that long.

From 05/26/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/26/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/26/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/26/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/26/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/26/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/26/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

Jack got himself to the platform, with the use of only his innertube, all by himself-- quite a long haul.

From 05/26/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

Iris plopped her float between me and Mimi. She preferred the security promised by the land.

From 05/26/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/27/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/27/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/27/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/27/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/27/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

He was very taken with the caterpillars and kept trying to get them to crawl onto his hands.

From 05/27/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

We're so blessed to have the lake to retreat to-- it's such a peaceful and welcome break. And it was so nice to spend time with Mimi and Pop. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

From 05/26/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

perler beads!

From 05/24/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/24/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

Carefully, carefully ironing

From 05/24/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/24/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 05/24/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

I have fond memories of these little colorful beads from when I was little. The few dollars spent on a large container of them and some pegboards have already been well worth it. Jack has sat for hours and hours (probably around five total) working on that one large rainbow square alone. It was bumped a few times-- once when it was mostly complete-- and he decided to start over because it wasn't centered perfectly another time. I've been impressed with how patient he's been, very meticulously placing each bead on its peg in pattern. He finished it today, and we promptly ironed that sucker (and the heart design made by his friend, Mali, on Tuesday at Pizza Night) before it met another fate. Those darned cylinders are so easy to knock out of place. Yet they're so addictive. I've made two or three designs myself. If you're a relative, don't be surprised if you get some perler bead magnets or frames, coasters or keychains (hopefully from the kids, not me). Jack's other ideas for possible uses: a plate, a pet blanket (or pillow), a "rug" for a fish's tank, a placemat for a cat, a doormat for a bug, a frisbee, and, a credit card.

yarn along- snug

From 05/23/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

This (almost seamless) snug baby hoodie is another project I've had bookmarked for a while, and I finally get to knit for a baby again. I had the perfect bulky (and incredibly soft) burnt orange yarn- with a subtle shimmer- to use, and I'm thinking I'll have enough left over to knit up a pair of little longies to go with it. I love how it's coming together. I can't wait to slip it on a newborn (with rolled sleeves, it should fit from 0-6 months). Our three current kids' birthdays span the length of spring, and with the rate they grow at that age, I've never had a very little person in cooler months. I'm really appreciating the knitting that that means I get to do.

Mike and I started reading How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids will Talk (Faber and Mazlish) together. I like reading books like this with him, even if it just gets us revisiting our interactions with and observations of our little people (not that we need much spurring).