Love

And so it begins

Let the cupboard emptying commence!

8 months

My sweet baby Sarah is 8.5 months already!  I can't believe how fast it has gone.  She's been a little behind Teresa's learning curve... thank goodness... but is picking up quickly.  She army crawls all over the house, has learned to open cupboard doors, pulls herself up to kneeling, & goes through fits of babbling.  Most recently, she's lost interest in pureed baby foods.  She still doesn't have any teeth, but those gums are seriously impressive at mashing!  I've been introducing a lot of new foods.  Here she was enjoying her first avocados & she devoured them!  The next meal she wouldn't even touch them.  Silly baby.  We will try again!  She is also a little Houdini at escaping from her high chair, belt & all.  Though she hasn't done it yet, I fear she will hit the floor head first one of these days.  Not a lot of fear in this one!  Maybe that's because she has SO MANY attentive eyes?  You think that would be a bonus!

Page One

 Andrew has been reading up a storm, even more than usual, because of an awesome program called Page One at our school!  He's read all but 1 already on a list of 85 books.  So proud of him!  This weekend they had a Fun Day full of book-related games with some of the other surrounding schools. They will compete in sort of a quiz bowl against those other schools to answer questions about all 85 of those books in just a month.  I only have pictures from the set-up, but he had a fabulous time.  Such clever & devoted parents make this whole program come together.  Feeling blest!

3 wishes

"Do you know what I wish, Mom?  To be a Sister...

to be a mom... & to be a... zookeeper!"

On the move

 At 8.5 months Sarah is on the move & learning new tricks like crazy!

 She found one of the few drawers that isn't locked & can slide easily... "Did you need something, Mom?"

 When she stops army crawling for a second, she'll hang out on her belly like this.  If she gets excited, especially if Daddy walks in the room, she'll swim & grin & swim & grin until he picks her up.

 She's found her knees but doesn't know exactly what to do with them.

 She's our first baby with a whopper of a birthmark. 

 She sits like a pro!

 She's fascinated by the phone, especially when it lights up.

 Love you, Tuti Fruiti!

Las chicas

Had an awesome night out with the gals!  A couple of them I met during college, but most were friends from St. Anne's Moms group that I started going to when Andrew was a baby.  I feel like I "grew up" in my motherhood with these amazing women.  So thankful for their friendship, wisdom, & inspiration!

A surprise by my pillow

Now THAT'S tired!

Rebecca the Reader

Rebecca is getting better at reading everyday!  I can't believe how fast she has picked it up.  She was able to read at Mass recently & was SO excited... not one bit nervous.  There were some seriously big words, too!  She gets her hands on a Magic Treehouse book & devours it in half an hour.  We have a reader!

Glamorous

FIELD TRIP!!!!!

 Teresa's preschool class went on a field trip yesterday... to say she was giddy with excitement would be a complete understatement!  Her thrill was only slightly lessened when she realized we would be riding in our van & not a school bus.  :)

 Even more exciting when our twin friends get to ride along!  We were chatting on the way there about what ice cream was made out of... Teresa said, "Squirrel!" or so I thought.  Later I figured out that she said, "swirl" which makes a little more sense but not nearly as hilarious.  Either way, I think she learned a lot!

 We had a simple tour of the dairy store followed by fabulous cheese & ice cream... at 10:45 in the morning.  That's my kind of morning!

 Afterwards we did a quick look around the tractor museum.  This cab to "ride" in was the highlight.

"Red Grandpa would like this one!"

We had a fabulous time.  Thanks for organizing, Meg!

Happy St. Valentine's Day!

My favorite part was hearing Rebecca explain her valentine to her friends.  "See?  It say's I'm glad we're in the same SCHOOL! Like "school" of fish?  Hahahaha."

Timing

 Sure, NOW she wants a bottle.  But she still isn't really drinking out of it mostly just gnawing.  I've tried a few different kind of sippy cups, bottles, etc., but the only thing she actually wets her whistle with is a regular old cup.  Of course, she also wets most of herself at the same time.  Any ideas?

Extra candy?

 For Art Club this month we made candy mosaics.  Some of them turned out really cool!

 Doubtful that many made it home intact, though.  :)

Kindergarten Preview

 Our Faith & Family Committee helped with the Kindergarten Preview this year.  The 1st graders came in to sing a few songs before they escortef the new kids to their room.

 Rebecca grinned & sung her heart out.  So cute!

Industrious Little Flowers

Father Daughter Dance

 Rebecca was SO excited to have a date "just with Dad" to the Father Daughter Dance!

Though it sounds like the dancing was minimal (& no music for REAL dancing unfortunately), they had an absolute blast.  Snacks, crafts, lots of fun, & the smoke machine even set off the fire alarm... woohoo!  Lots of thrills.  ;)

Children's Museum

Two little kitties at play