Happy Halloween

If I had my way, Halloween would not exist.  But it does.  So, I try to be a good sport and dress my girls up.  We do not, however, do the trick-or -treating thing (yet).

Just before dinner time I informed the girls we were going to have a Halloween party.  Mariah immediately said she wanted to be Snow White (lucky for her Marian loaned us Elsa's Snow White dress), and Elaine said, "And I'll be the stepmother!!" (She later changed her mind and decided on a giraffe.)

We had mac & cheez and mango smoothies (orange) for dinner.  Then I gave the girls "healthy" suckers, and they hit the backyard in costume for a few minutes.  (My favorite is the giraffe's rump.)  I love that it's Halloween Eve, and the girls could play outside barefoot.

We started our party off with some fun Dora games on the computer, followed by a Little Einsteins treasure hunt.  The girls loved it.  We ate gingersnap cookies and drank warm apple cider.

When Sal woke up from her nap, I got her costumed up, and we took some cookies to our duplex neighbors.

We game home from the neighbors and finished off with some bubbles.  (If you haven't tried the Gymboree bubbles yet, you should.  No mess, long lasting.  Tiny.  Lots of fun.)

(Please excuse the off-the-shoulder Snow White)

The End.

Girls were in bed somewhere between 7:30 and 8.  One more Halloween down.

Friends

Elaine loves to go play with her friend, Evan.  Evan's mom takes Elaine once a week for a few hours (bless her).  She sent me this picture from one of their playdates.

Owen is another friend whose mom babysits for me.  I took this picture tonight when we were finally returning the favor.

Where are the Wild Things?

If any of you have been wondering . . . they're at my house.

Breakfast conversation this morning between Elaine and Mariah:

Elaine:  . . . and Max sailed off through night and day . . . .
Mariah:  and in and out of weeks, and through a year, to the place where the wild things are.  And they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws.
Elaine:  'til Max said, "Be Still!"

Elaine:  and Max cried, "Let the wild rumpus start!!"


Elaine:  Oh! Wild things are going to eat mine oatmeal!  Better hurry!


(I just went back in there, and Elaine said, "Mom, I got to the place where the wild things are!  They roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws!")

What Would Jesus Do?

Just a few moments ago, I got a phone call.  Mariah and Elaine, of course, both needed something immediately when I answered the phone.  The rule in our house is that if you need something while I'm on the phone, you can raise your hand.  I will acknowledge your hand, and then you get to wait until I'm off the phone.  It really works most of the time.  So, as a signal to both yelling girls, I raised my hand as I walked out of the room to find a quieter place.

The phone call was short, and as I got off, I heard this:

Mariah (to a still yelling Elaine): Does Jesus want us to be patient?

Elaine (stopped yelling and in a pouty voice): Yeah.

I smiled.  Both girls were supposed to be drinking their green drinks, which they love, but would not drink today.  Whatever.  So I asked, "Does Jesus want you to be obedient and finish your green drink?"  To which Elaine replied (yelling again), "No! Jesus wants us to be whiny!!"

Comparison

Here are my 3 girls at 5 months old:

Mariah

Elaine

Sarah

"Sisters are Smecial!"

I don't know what I would do without mine.  My sister, Marian, noticed my baby girl was painfully un-adorned in all photos.  She sent me these!! (plus 3 more - currently being worn by my 3 girls):

I tried to get some cute photos of Sally, sporting her new finery.  I sat her on the couch, but she kept lunging at the camera.  So we tried the floor; she would not stay still.  But here are some of my favs anyway (and the rest in a slide show):

And this is the look I get every time I put the pack on.  (Sal and I have a before-bed ritual of just a few minutes in the pack.  It helps her calm down and get all her burps out before going to bed.)

The End Result

Skills

I learned this morning that this is what Mariah has been doing during "nap" time.  (When she's not lecturing her children, holding primary, or giving a concert.)

Halloween Festivities

Sleeper

My Sally is learning to be a MUCH better sleeper.  Thanks to my mom for the initial training.

"Hi, Mom!"

My Brainiac 3-year-old

Mariah has one of the best memories I've ever encountered.  I decided to test it at lunch today.  She did the above puzzle this morning and then had cleaned it up.  The box was still sitting on the table.  I picked up the box and held it so Mariah couldn't see the picture; we had the following conversation:

Me:  Mariah, what color is Nancy's leotard?
Mariah:  Um . . . purple.  And kind of peachish.  (The skirt is peachish.)

Me:  What color are her shoes?
Mariah:  Pink.

Me:  What color is the doll on top of the bookshelf.
Mariah:  (Really enjoying this now . . . .)  Red!

Me:  What color are Nancy's slippers?
Mariah:  Yellow!

Me:  What animals are on the bookshelf?
Mariah:  An elephant, a pig, a rabbit, and a bear.  (Monkey?)

Me:  What color are Marabelle's shoes?
Mariah:  Red!

Me:  What color is the lady's dress in the picture on the wall?
Mariah:  Um . . . white and pink.
Me:  Actually, it's black.
Mariah:  But the picture is pink.  (And there's a big white ribbon on her hat.)

Me:  What color are the feathers on top of Nancy's bed?
Mariah:  Green!

I have done the puzzle twice by myself, and have done it with Mariah several times. I'm not sure I could have answered any of those questions.  She amazes me.

Five Months Ago

Five months ago tomorrow, little Sally was born.  Crazy how time keeps moving.  She had a doctor's appointment today.  Here are the stats:

Weight - 15 lbs 10 oz - 69th percentile
Height - 51st percentile
Head Circumference - 3rd percentile

So, she has a tiny noggin.  The doc's not worried because she's obviously not developmentally challenged.

A few things about Sarah:

• smiled - 6 weeks
• rolled front to back - 2 months (really since day 1, but very consistently at 2 months)
• laughed - she's subtle about this one - 3-4 months
• rolled back to front - 3 days shy of 5 months (2 days ago)
• scoots backwards
• slept from 7-7 last night - yay, baby!!
• very content baby - even when she was not sleeping well at all
• "talks" in a high, raspy voice
• wants to move move move
• has started lunging for things - books especially, and her sisters
• has very squishy thighs - I was in the mother's lounge at the stake center; a woman I do not know came in.  We talked for a moment, and then she asked, "Is she the one with the big thighs?"  Apparently, the word had gotten around.
• has very expressive eyebrows
• loves blowing rasberries
• does this thing with her lips - sucks in her bottom lip and then pushes it back out, making a little spitting noise - hard to explain, but funny and cute
• needs to see what's going on all around her - very alert and observant
• loves the pack - squeals when she sees me put it on
• recognizes the sign for "nurse" - gets very excited when I do it
• likes her momma best - She's been a momma's girl since birth.

Here's a very long (possibly boring) video of the Sal Bug:

Things I love

I love seeing my girls eat (drink) fabulous food!  And I love my girls!

Elaine's First Prayer

Laney said her first unassisted prayer this morning (imagine this in a hushed, very high voice):

Heavenly Father,
Thankful this day.
Thankful for these blueberries,
and nectar (agave nectar).
Thankful for mine oatmeal.
Thankful for Riah's oatmeal,
and Riah's blueberries,
and Riah's nectar.
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

"We have our first destructionary act . . ."

That's what Mike said as he handed me this book.  Sarah somehow got ahold of it.

This video was taken shortly before the incident.  (Notice the intact book resting just above her head.)

Oklahoma Fall

Fall time in Oklahoma means perfect outside weather!  It's been a lot less humid (like humidity in the 30-50% range, instead of 60-80% range) lately, with temps in the 70's and 80's.  I love it!