Visit from the Penninans

The Pennimans were in town for a week and we had plenty of time to play with them.  The kids are always sad when it is time to part ways and count down until the next visit!  We went to a splash pad one night and another day we went to The Children's Museum.  There is a lot to see there.  Edith finally had enough and would not stop screaming.  An employee suggested that she might be hungry.  Lots of people think they know how to stop Edith's crying.  Aunt Angela finally managed it by strolling around the food court with her.

Grumpy in a Bjorn, grumpy in a tree, grumpy on a piggy back eating Uncle T's hair.

Grandpa Ed took the oldest three out on the pond in his row boat.  The big girls spent the night with their cousins and had a great time!  Nora was so tired she fell asleep on the way back home at 5.

Rolling

While Daddy was out of town, Edith figured out how to roll from back to front.  She is really good at sitting and now has a way to move.  She loves working on moving but gets very frustrated at it.  She also sometimes rolls into trouble by bonking her head on the leg of the couch or getting wedge between a chair and an end table.  It does seem to improve her attitude to have some freedom.

Edith has now been sleeping in her carseat at night.  She normally takes a 2-3 hour nap in her carseat sometime in the afternoon (if we are lucky!)  She loves holding her blanket and has trouble falling asleep without it.  She was screaming the other night and I put the blanket over her.  She immediately stopped crying and just laid quietly on the floor for 10 minutes.  I needed a scream break!  The goal is to have her in bed by 9 pm but we frequently don't manage it.  She wakes up at 4 for a snack.  Sometimes she refuses to go back to sleep for an hour.  Then Daddy hangs out with her in the family room so I can get a little sleep.

When Edith is feeling grumpy, she usually will improve her attitude if we take her outside.  She loves putting her feet in the grass.  When she has trouble napping, I sometimes put her in her carseat and sit outside with her.  She will sit there quietly until her eyes get heavy and she goes to sleep.  It is pretty peaceful.

Daddy is on another trip!

Daddy had a trip to Pennsylvania for a trade show.  It was a two day trip but he extended it to visit our friends Dan and Jen who live in Maryland.  We haven't seen them since we lived in North Carolina so he said it was a lot of fun hanging out with them.

The girls and I didn't want to just sit around and wait for him to return.  Thursday we had tickets to the Kernels game.  Grandma Dee and Grandpa Ed were up for the day watching the girls while I was at work, and then they joined us at the Kernels game.  Edith started out happy for an inning but then was not happy!  I walked around the concourse with her in the Baby Bjorn for several innings and left the big girls with Grandma and Grandpa.  I could see them from where I was standing.  Nora was up and talking with Grandma the entire time.  The two of them even got on the big screen!  Edith and I left after awhile so we missed the fireworks.  The report is they were really good.  Nora said "pretty" at every firework.  She was so tired when she got home she started crying.  I layed with her to calm her down and she cried, "tomorrow is garbage day!"  I don't know if that is what had her so worried.

Peppy's at last

Several nights ago we were eating dinner when I heard the loud music of the ice cream truck.  The girls have never had ice cream from the truck because they never went down Forest Drive as it was too busy.  They didn't realize that it was the music of the ice cream truck for this reason until it was too late.  After it was back down the street, they stayed in the driveway for an hour waiting for its return.  Unfortunately, it did not come back.  They put a pile of coins by the front door just in case they heard the song again.  As luck would have it, the truck did come back!  They assumed the ice cream was in a cone, but still enjoyed it on a stick.  They were already in their pajamas for the night.

Palisades

Sunday the weather was sunny and mild so we drove out to Palisades.  Every time we visit the girls have a great time!  The girls found rocks, shells, and sticks and put them in a treasure pile.  We played in the sand on the river bank and made lakes, moats, and castles.  Nora put a stick for a flag on each castle.  Edith had a great time in the Baby Bjorn with Daddy.  I took her back to the van after ahile to get out of the sun and she wanted to drive!

We decided to head to Sutliff Bridge after Palisades.  We sat on a picnic table and ate fried food while looking at the river and people watching.  A teen riding a dirt bike was popping wheelies down the street.  The girls thought that was pretty cool.  Alena was scared to walk across the bridge so she rode on Daddy's back.

Edith was having such a great time on our trip that she didn't want to sleep at all.  We got home around two so Daddy could help move the Cahalan's into Grandma and Grandpa's house.  Edith fell asleep as soon as she started nursing and slept for hours!

Watching shows

I can't believe I am allowing it, but when I am busy I put the big girls in charge of Edith.  They couldn't resist turning a show on on the tablet and it looks like Edith was happy they did.  She wants to be with her sisters whenever she can.  Both of them like to help Edith stand up.  Nora and I were reading a book about snakes and there was a page that said a large snake could eat a child.  I asked her what she would do if a snake tried to eat Edith (OK, that seems like a strange question.) She said she would pick her up and run into the house.  It is good to have big sisters to look after you! 

 Nora was playing tug of war with Edith yesterday.  Edith was in her carseat in the family room holding her blanket.  Nora pulled on the other side of the blanket and Edith laughed.  They played that way for 10 minutes.  Everyone in the family is happy that the little one is interacting with us more and screaming less!  She even laid on the floor by herself for over 5 minutes without fussing.  That is very exciting news for us!

  This is the first day of summer vacation.  Daddy took the day off and took the big girls to Elmcrest to swim.  It is Lucie's birthday so the whole bunch was going.  Grandpa Steve is going to get his money's worth out of Elmcrest while he still can!

Summer is here!

Thursday was the last day of school for Alena.  For her last day she styled her hair in a "tri pony." There were three pony tails coming out in different directions on her head.  She said it was very popular with the kids in her class.  We went to Dairy Queen after school and saw a bunch of her classmates there. Edith was in the Bjorn and was squealing with happiness.  One of Alena's classmates came up to me and asked if it was Darth Edie.  That is the nickname given to her in an ongoing bedtime story by Daddy.  She kept trying to grab my hot fudge sundae, and when we got home I saw she had a fudge stain on her back.  She was wearing her blue one piece.  When she is wearing that outfit we call her the little mechanic because it reminds us of coveralls.  Such a cute little mechanic!

Alena has a great year and enjoyed being in Mrs. Stolba's first grade class.  She is getting much better at reading and is working hard in all of the subjects.  On her report card her teachers commented that she always does her best and is a good role model.  She made more friends this year.  Some of her favorites are Madelyn, Harper Pease, and Nathan (everyone likes Nathan, she said!)  She enjoyed walking home with Harper Decker two days a week this spring.  Nora, Daddy and I all came to Field Day to celebrate the last week of school.  There was a dj spinning tunes.  When the song "Seven Years Old" came on, all of the kids went crazy.  I am going crazy listening to that song!  The girls are always playing it on the tablet.

Daddy also took the girls golfing for the first time last week at the Squaw Creek putting green and driving range.  Alena thought it was fun so he immediately went to Play It Again Sports and bought her a used set of golf clubs.  

Nora and Daddy finally glued this big pot back together.  It blew over in a big storm several months ago and the shards had been laying in the gravel ever since.  It was in a lot of peices; fortunately, Nora is the puzzle master.

Edith turns 6 months

Edith turned 6 months old this weekend.  For the past week she has really improved her attitude.  She is more content to play with toys for a few minutes by herself.  She is really getting good at sitting, and has now tried peaches, sweet potatoes, green beans, and mango (green beans were rejected.)  Edith loves standing in the grass and swinging in her baby swing.  She really likes to be outside and it usually helps her mood when she is getting cranky!  Edith still likes to nap in her car seat.  She likes to cover up with her rainbow blanket.  She sometimes chews on the blanket and sometimes sticks all of her fingers through it.

At her 6 month appointment she weighed in at 15 pounds, 1 oz, and she was 26 inches tall.  She got 3 shots and a clean bill of health.

We went to 3 graduation parties this weekend: Cousin Makayla, Cousin Emily, and Daddy's boss's son all invited us to celebrate.  Edith is partied out!  Whenever she got grumpy, whoever was holding her at the time would return her and say, "I think she is hungry."  No, not hungry, just particular! 

Family photos

Nora's preschool graduation

Nora had her last day of preschool on Tuesday.  Monday the kids sang the Tom Pease song "When I grow up" then they received a certificate and a frisbee from Mrs. Bates and Mrs. Eberle.  Mom, Dad, Grandpa Steve, and Edith came to the big event.  Nora is happy to be done with preschool and daycare.  She had more and more mornings where she did not want to go to daycare, but she always enjoyed herself while she was there.  She is doing a great job with her letters and numbers.  She is supposed to work more with playing with friends.  Her best friend from preschool was Bernadetta.  We went over to Bernadetta's house Friday for a playdate.  Once they got going they had a lot of fun together.  Too bad she lives so far away; it might be the last time the girls get together.  I am sure she will make some new friends once she gets to Kindergarten. 

A visit from Cousin Otto

Aunt Julianne visited with Otto and Alice.  The big kids had a great time playing with each other.  The babies also seemed to have fun.  Otto is so easy going compared to Edith.  I put them on the same blanket together and Edith really enjoyed herself.  She had more fun than I have ever seen her have when no adult was holding her.  Some of her cousin seems to have worn off on her!

Daddy and Nora try out the baby carrier.  Surprisingly, Edith did not care for this carrier.  She still like the Baby Bjorn at least.

Rice cereal

We decided it was time for Edith to try rice cereal.  After the rest of us ate supper, Daddy fed her 5 spoonfuls.  She did a great job of swallowing it and seemed pretty pleased with herself.  That evening she became very mellow and snuggled with me.  This was very abnormal for her as she is usually pretty fussy in the evening.  It was so sweet to cuddle with the little girl, and Daddy got a nice picture of me with all of my girls.  We have found that she likes sleeping with a blanket.  She likes to grab it and rub her face in it before falling asleep.

Mother's Day

For Mother's Day the big girls wanted to make me breakfast in bed.  Daddy suggested they just make breakfast for me to eat at the table because I don't like crumbs in my bed!  They helped make pancakes, eggs, bacon and fruit.  Then I was showered with gifts.  They both made me pretty drawings at school and bought me a new suitcase and lawn globes. 

We went to visit Grandma Dee after breakfast.  Aunt Kristina made brunch for us to enjoy and then the women took a walk at Marr Park.  Grandpa was finishing up planting beans and Daddy, Alena, and Nora rode in the tractor with him.  The girls managed to find Grandpa's candy stash.

Alena caught a toad by the pond and named it Squeaky.  Grandma Dee helped her write out a poem about Squeaky, then she released him, but not before he received quite a few kisses!  

Edith gave the gift of diaper failure.  She managed to poop and pee on the carpet through her diaper on Grandma's carpet two times in one hour.  Don't tell Grandpa!

Bever Park farm

For the first year, we are finally able to pet the animals at Bever Park.  The girls and I walked through the woods after school.  Alena loved being able to pet all of the animals.  She even managed to pet a chicken after quietly pursuing them for 10 minutes.  Two of Nora's preschool classmates were there.  Nora knows more people in this city than I do!  Nora thought the piglets were pretty fun.  They were less intimidating than the bigger animals. Edith rode in the Baby Bjorn and we didn't hear a peep out of her the whole time.  I guess she really liked the animals, too.  Daddy was on the ball and made sure the girls observed Star Wars: May the Fourth.

Five months

Edith is now 5 months.  Actually, I didn't get the pictures until a few days later.  I was waiting for her to be in a good mood.  But I decided to just capture her the way she is.  Edith is still pretty fussy in the evening and you never know how she will act at Connie's.  I think it is just because she loves her mommy so much.  As long as I am holding her she is pretty content.  When she is in a good mood she likes to look and me and make gurgling sounds and smile.  We think she just wants to be able to do what everyone else is doing and is frustrated by her baby body!  Her nickname is "Little Round Head."  Everyone who meets her is impressed by the perfect ball shape of her melon.

The little laugher

Edith saw the funniest thing in her life last week--the neighbor's dog Oscar barking.  We were sitting in the grass and Oscar wanted to see Edith because apparently he loves babies.  He licked her toes and barked.  She starting laughing a big belly laugh.  It was very cute!  Every time he barked she would laugh.  When he stopped barking she would stop laughing.  Oscar barked at her today but the joke was over and she wasn't amused.  You never know what is going to make this kid happy from day to day.  One thing that has been pretty consistent in pleasing her is watching the big girls jump on the trampoline.  She sits in her bouncer seat in the basement and squeals at the girls.  Ben and I even got to play a little ping pong while that was going on.  The other thing that usually works is if I am constantly holding her and looking at her.

Nora's big day

Nora was feeling sad because Alena and Daddy were spending the night at Camp Wapsi.  We decided to find some fun things to do with Edith, Nora, and me.  We went to the Eco Fest in NewBo and did a couple of crafts and listened to music.  Then we went to Washington High School and Playtime Poppy's "Harold and the Purple Crayon."  Edith slept through the beginning of the play but woke up halfway through it.  She was squealing with excitement.  There were a lot of special effects and Nora and I both agreed it was really good.  We then went to Dairy Queen and got ice cream.  One of her preschool friends was there and we went across the street with him to play at the playground after eating. Nora had Edith sit on her lap and they went down the slide together many times. After supper she went for a scooter ride and then we watched Full House before bed.  She said it was the most fun day ever.