Just One Picture Today

I love this picture of Isaac!  He is gearing up to crawl (rather than just scoot, at which he is ridiculously proficient!) and I caught a shot of him on hands and knees when he and Isabella were hanging out with the girlies and I the other day.  He's such a cutie!

I showed the picture to Michael last night, and Michael said, "Isaac's a pretty cool guy."  I think that's a good way to feel about your future son-in-law!

Blueberry PIcking

The girlies and I went blueberry picking on Tuesday.  Originally, we were going to go with some friends, but the plans fell through.  By the time we found out our friends couldn't make it, I had already told the girls what we were doing, and they were SO EXCITED that I decided to go anyway, and make it a fun little Mommy-Girlie date.  It was really so much fun, and I was glad to have the opportunity to spend some one-on-two time with them before the baby gets here!  We picked about 3 pounds of blueberries, and have only a handful left in the fridge!  I was sure I would be freezing at least half of them, but turns out my kiddos (and Michael and I!) love blueberries!  And, they are so much better when you pick them yourself :)

Pictures of our adventure:

 

 

This last one is (obviously! :)) not from blueberry picking.  We went to the Great Lakes Science Center on Sunday (Michael blogged about it here).  I love this picture ~ the girls actually had a great time and were really excited, but you would never know it from their angry/disinterested expressions :P

Henna and Other Things

I had a long post all typed up, but then I decided it would be too boring and whiney for all my readers :)  So the long and short of it is:

Today kinda stunk

Girls were fighting and whiney

Michael brought Malley's

So, bad day turned good :)

Pictures:

I got henna on my belly, which I LOVE!  Maya kept saying, "Mommy, it's so beautiful!"

I kept trying to tell Charlotte to open her eyes really wide...so she closed them really tight :)

But, apparently she can open her eyes wide as long as her mouth is open wide, too :)

Baby J and other things

My sister (Mary) came for a visit a few days ago with her husband, Jason and their newly one-year-old.  I was super excited to get to hang out with my sister and Jason (we only see them a few times a year), and the girlies were thrilled to see their cousin.  AND, we found out that there will be a new cousin to play with, making his or her debut sometime in late January/early February!!!  Yay!  Congrats to Mare and Jason!  Baby J, watch out ~ maybe Maya can give you some pointers on having a baby sibling!

A rare moment of playing together with the same toy ~ Maya was "reading" to Charlotte <3

(this picture is actually from a few weeks ago :))

Isaac, Charlotte, Isabella, and a little Maya thrown in for fun

Isaac's surgery was today, and just like the last one, ended up being more complicated than expected.  But, he is doing amazingly well!  He actually nursed tonight (less than 12 hours after surgery, go Isaac!) and will hopefully get to go home tomorrow.  Sierra and Walter were pretty much amazing through the whole thing ~ all that I kept thinking is that they are so much stronger than I would be with what they have gone through!  Isaac is a little trooper, too, and I'm (once again) so thankful that they have become "family" to us <3

Also, and this is a complete aside (and also shows my nerdy biology background) ~ I realized today that when Isaac and Charlotte get married and have babies, they will have a 50% chance of having a blue-eyed child.  How's that for a random thought?

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Charlotte's birthday party was this past weekend, and once again I was amazed at just how much our kiddos are loved by our family and friends.  I love that they are close to their extended family and that they get SO EXCITED when we have visitors.  Charlotte didn't really get that it was her birthday party (she wouldn't even blow out her candles!) but had a blast playing with her friends, aunt, uncles, grandparents and great-grandparents.  We have had a bit of "birthday party detox" going on since Sunday, but it's totally worth it :)

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Isabella's birthday party was 2 weekends ago, and holy moly was it amazing!  Sierra did a fantastic job creating a fairy party, complete with a pinwheel entrance, wand painting station, enchanted forest, tulle and ribbon headpieces for all the kids, and tons of yummy food.  Jesse (Sierra's sister) painted the kids' faces (and arms, and legs...) which of course Maya loved :)  I can't believe how big our kids are getting ~ 4 is already turning out to be a pretty fun age for Isabella :)

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Finally, a little Maya tidbit for good measure :)  She has recently made the association that meat comes from animals.  I've been telling her this for a while now, but in the last few weeks it seems to have clicked for her (and doesn't seem to bother her at all).  There was a period in there, though, where she was pretty confused about the whole concept, and at every meal would ask me, "Mommy, what kind of animal does peanut butter (or bread, or carrots, or watermelon, etc.) come from?"

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Of course, pictures...

Our old neighbors cleaned out their toy room and I made Michael go over to their house and get TWO cozy coupes that they had put out at the curb!  Score!

"It's a Mickey card!!!!!"

Twirly skirt :)

New birthday helmet and skirt, and a card from Maya <3

Charlotte's very favorite new toy, a baby stroller (thanks Grandma!!!).  The whole time Michael was putting it together she kept trying to put her baby in, and saying "thank you Daddy!" over and over :)

Isabella's Party...

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Shakin her groove thang

3D sidewalk chalk
 

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Birthday trip to the zoo

super creepy fish at the zoo