roadtrip

We took a long weekend to visit family and had a fantastic time. We started with an epically long car ride but the girls did great. They slept for the first few hours and then we stopped and let them run at a McDonalds. We drove a few more hours and then stopped to run at a park. And then we drove a few more hours, pulled into the hotel and carried our sleeping girls to their beds.

We spent the morning playing with Daddy's brother and his little family, most particularly their beautiful little girl. Butterfly and Ladybug were crazy excited to see her. We played at the park together and hung out at their house playing with toys and watching movies.

In the afternoon, we went to Walnut Creek, loaded all four girls into kidpacks (or a sling--I love carrying my babies this way) and went for a hike. AngelBaby sat against my chest, alert and curious, taking it all in with big eyes. Little cousin rode on her mom's back with an occasional jabber, an adorable serenade of singing ABCs and reaching out to touch the railing or trees. Ladybug rode on Daddy's back, unusually quiet since she didn't get much of a nap but content to hold tight to her yellow blanket and look around suspiciously (that is, until we spotted some lizards and she wanted daddy to catch one for her). Butterfly loved our hike. She managed to convince her uncle to carry her in a kidpack and was fascinated as he named the different types of plants and trees that we saw. Then, being a good student, she insisted on pointing out and identifying each yucca or cactus as we passed. On this short trail, we got to pass right by ancient pueblo dwellings (or what is left of them, carefully preserved or rebuilt to be as accurate as possible). I've seen these from a distance before but have gotten to walk right up to them before, sometimes even in them! We explained to Butterfly that these were ancient homes and she studied it and then objected, "but there are no beds!"

We spent the evening downtown, getting to wander past a few shops on our way to get burgers at a "local's favorite". The best part was the rosemary fries. Then came the short walk home, a movie and ice cream and settling back into our hotel.

The girls loved the hotel. I was worried they might be too loud, rambunctious, destructive, etc. but they actually did great. Bedtimes were a little rough since we were all in one room but they slept great, loved the breakfast buffet (as well as the fresh baked cookies in the evening) and seemed enthralled by the fancy lobby and fireplace.

The next morning we headed out to the highly recommended Sunset Volcano. We saw the lava flow as we drove and that was pretty fascinating to see. We walked the short trail and the girls bounced around, more interested in playing in the dirt than understanding the area's significance. We didn't get very close to the volcano and since the crater is closed to hiking anyway, we found the trip to be a little anticlimactic but it was still a nice walk for the morning.

We hung out with family some more, now joined by grandma, grandpa and Daddy's sister. We played with toys and decorated Easter eggs before a quick lunch and naptime. Then Grandma announced Easter bunny mischief and each of the four little girls got to follow their own trail of clues to find Easter gifts (new swim gear! and other fun extras). After the flurry of gift opening, they went on an Easter egg hunt and celebrated by eating half the candy before we herded them to the park for some kite flying time. Butterfly loved it and did really well but Ladybug was content to play on the playground while AngelBaby chattered from her stroller. For dinner, we went out to a Japanese steakhouse. The food was fantastic and the chef did the usual fun tricks (Ladybug was delighted, Butterfly was terrified of the fire). We went for a quick dip in the pool (too cold for me and baby but the big girls loved it) before a movie and bedtime. Daddy said the girls loved the hot tub and were such good girls, charming the other visitors and enjoying the hot water.

On our last morning there, we took our time eating breakfast and got all of our stuff packed and loaded into the car. We returned to our brother and sister's house for a little more playtime and a terrific Easter meal. Bellies full and ready for naps, we got on the road and began the long drive north again.

But this time, we stopped after only a short time for a visit to the Grand Canyon! This marvelous wonder is something I had never seen before so I was so excited to experience it with our beautiful girls. We saw the short video in the visitor's center and then walked out to Mather's Point to stand in amazement at the beautiful vastness of the canyon. My mind echoed with the statement about how the first explorers deemed it an impossible obstacle in our exploration and such a useless wasteland. But later, someone would see it's potential and call it beautiful. And that's what we saw, the fascinating play of sunlight and shadows that danced across the ridges and valleys, highlighting the beautiful streaks of color and magnificent power in its creation. How incredible.

The wind was intense and the weather was making a feeble attempt to snow, so AngelBaby and I wandered hesitantly, trying to keep her sheltered and warm. But the big girls ran around in delight, climbing and jumping off the rocks. Eventually we wandered the book store and piled back into the car.

A few hours later we stopped at my grandmother's house and spent some time with her. We got in fairly late but she patiently waited for us and the girls were so happy to see their "grandma great". We took her to breakfast the next morning and had a wonderful time talking and reminiscing with her.

More driving, another stop at a McDonald's playplace and then more driving again before we finally drew close to our home again.

What a great trip, full of fun with family and sightseeing. The girls did fantastic, patiently watching movies or napping in the car, being charming and sweet to everyone they met and only slightly smothering their little cousin with their crazy energy.

quote of the day

After an hour and a half of trying to get the girls in bed I gave up and let them cuddle in my bed until daddy got home. He climbed in to cuddle them and immediately had a little girl glued to each side of him. I looked at the lack of space left for me and joked that maybe I should go sleep in the guest room. Ladybug brightened up to reply, "yeah mom! You go sleep in the guest room!"

I feel a little rejected. And yet I asked for it. I snuggled in anyway.

party!

We celebrated Butterfly's 4th birthday this weekend and what a blast. We invited her cousins and her two best friends to join us at a Jungle themed family fun center (much like Chuckie Cheese but less games, more rides). Grammy and Papa arrived early to stake out our party spot and get us set up. We let the kids go nuts on the rides for awhile and our little Butterfly just bounced around with crazy energy. She loved the airplanes that fly in a big circle, giggled like crazy on the roller coaster (especially going backwards) and her eyes were huge on her first bumper car ride. Ladybug went with Daddy to pick our special balloons for her sister and then joined in for her favorites--the swings and the carousel. We ordered pizza and snacked on the veggie trays Grandma brought. We passed the babies around and followed children who ran around in excitement and delight.

Butterfly shared the day with her little cousin celebrating her 2nd birthday so when it came time for cake and presents, each beautiful birthday girl sat with her own cake and pile of presents. Her Mickey-crazy cousin celebrated with a cupcake tower of adorable chocolate cupcakes in red wrappers with buttons (to look like Mickey's shorts) and chocolate circles on top (for Mickey's ears). Butterfly's cake was jungle themed with zebra print around the sides of the cake, accented with green frosting and little jungle animals on top. We sang and then after a brief dive into the cake (no hands, no fork) she helped me cut it with our special cake knife (our wedding cake knife, now used for birthdays and other special occasions). She got spoiled with presents and then dashed off for another round of rides before the pinata. Daddy began hooking the pinata onto the pulley system but it was so heavy with candy that the zip tie tore through the cardboard at the top. So a few minutes and two and a half engineers later, they found a way to rig the pinata and each of the kids got a turn at it. The littlest ones took a hit and then turned around with a big smile. The bigger cousins went after it with determination and full energy behind their swing. But it lasted through the whole group and then Butterfly got one last hit on it before it broke and the kids scrambled after the candy.

It was a great party and so much fun for our (big) little girl.

sugar free

Over the past few weeks I've become more dedicated to getting back in shape. Summer is coming and while I've never been a bikini kind of gal, I want to look good, feel good and start rock climbing again!

Now that AngelBaby is a little older and the weather is warming, I feel more comfortable taking her to the gym's day care without fear of her crying or getting sick. Which means now I can add more classes to my regimen, rather than only going to the pilates studio. I also met with a trainer to talk about nutrition and am working at that. I cut my overall calorie intake by a significant amount and am pleased to find that when I eat better foods, I feel full even though I'm eating less. (the kind of thing I've heard all along but couldn't convince my sweet tooth to get on board.) I'm eating a lot more fruits and vegetables (lots of salads and smoothies), reduced my starch carbs and quit eating junk food. I made it three weeks with no candy or desserts and I was surprised that I didn't miss it as much as I thought I would. (I gave in over the weekend for my daughter's birthday party.) I know people who do this regularly and always believed that I couldn't do it--I don't have the discipline and I simply like food too much. But I've enjoyed learning how to eat better and feel motivated. So one step at a time and onto a healthier lifestyle for me and my family.

bonk

We had a great playdate with some friends last week. We actually playdate with these friends almost every week, but this time we went to their house instead of them to ours. The girls loved exploring and playing with the new and different toys. But the winner of the day was the giant trampoline in the backyard. Butterfly raced out, climbed on and went to town. Her confidence and agility is bolstered by two years of gymnastics training so she was ready to play and show off. Ladybug, still too young for the gymnastics class was much more tentative. (ironic, I know. the cautious child was fearless and the fearless child was cautious.) She eventually warmed to the task though and enjoyed playing on the trampoline as long as no one bounced her. She got more confident and had a blast. Her favorite was laying flat on her back while her sister and friend jumped around her. I was nervous about an injury, since they tend to be reckless and full of energy and not used to the trampoline but they had a great time. They raced around to the slide and swing set, upstairs to the toy room and back to the trampoline. They played soccer, splashed in the puddles and raced back to the trampoline. We dragged them away for lunch and they raced back after. It was a great playdate.

The nervously anticipated trampoline injury never came. Instead, it was when they were ballerina dancing to music that Ladybug accidentally rammed her face into the back of a chair and cut herself on a high point in the carving. She cried, we cuddled and she eventually calmed down. The cut was small and hardly bleeding but was rather deep and only a quarter inch from her eye so I called Daddy for his opinion and reluctantly took her to the clinic just to be safe. The doc agreed it needed to be closed but decided to use surgical glue instead of stitches. (If it hadn't been so close to her eye, Daddy could of done it himself with superglue.) It closed nicely, should heal without too much of a scar and like all tragic moments around here, was made much better with ice cream. Doctor's orders after all.

the imp master

it's been previously admitted that my two year old is often times the most challenging for me as a parent. She's an imp. A mischievous little monster who lives to satisfy her insatiable curiosity or tease her older sister. It's not malicious, just impish.

Example 1: Ladybug will pick up my cell phone and pretend to call Mae. Mae is Butterfly's best friend. So Ladybug will pretend to be chatting with Mae, Butterfly will hear it and excitedly ask to talk to her too. Unsurprisingly, Ladybug says no and then becomes more animated in her phone conversation. Butterfly begins to beg and wail and this will build into an all out chase and tackle. Eventually, Butterfly will get the phone, realize that Ladybug was pretending and storm off in a huff while Ladybug lays on the floor giggling to herself.

Example 2: Butterfly will be playing with a toy of some sort. Ladybug wanders over and sits next to her to watch, her faithful companions Yellow and Panda in tow. She will wait and watch for the right moment and then stealthily steal one of Butterfly's toys and slip it under her blanket. By all appearances, she doesn't actually want to play with it, she just wants her sister to get upset when she realizes that its missing. Eventually Butterfly will either dissolve into tears and come to me for a cuddle or panickedly search the house for the missing toy. And now having achieved her goal of teasing her sister, Ladybug will abandon the toys altogether and go find something else to do.

Examples 3 through 7 billion could be things like when she says "hm, I wonder whats on top of the book case, lets climb and find out." or "I wonder if the crayons will work on the walls too." or "ooh mud! let's make snow angels in it." or "I wonder what chalk tastes like." or "hey, look! chocolate pudding finger paint!" or "I wonder if I can wash the new LCD tv with a baby wipe/the couch with hand soap/my sister with rice/etc." or "of course the cat needs to be fed seven times a day, double helpings." or "I bet a glue stick is just like mom's lipstick." and the list goes on... ...for the record, all of these were in the past two months.

So what part is hardest as a parent? protecting the baby, preventing serious injuries, keeping the house clean, endless piles of laundry, trying to limit damage to personal property, an obese cat, etc. This is especially difficult because even though she gets caught and punished, she usually shows no remorse and will simply try again.

The best parts? Watching her face with each new discovery. Hearing her chatter when she's excited to show me something. Laughing at her antics (and as my mom would say, grab the camera first). And realizing that she will eventually grow out of this and become less destructive so just enjoy her and all of her curious, impish energy while it last.

first food

AngelBaby is officially six months old (milestones post to come) and we celebrated tonight with her first food: rice cereal! (exciting, I know.) Since rice cereal has no substantial nutritional value, her weight gain is fine and she already sleeps well at night, we don't really need to give it to her beyond helping her learn how to eat. So I mixed it up and handed it off to Daddy. She grinned and cooed at him from her high chair and accepted the first spoonful willingly with a big smile (probably only in response to our excited animation). And then she seemed to pause, think about it and it was as if she said, "but what do I do with it?" Then the lump of cereal began to drool out of her mouth and Daddy patiently scooped it back in until she figured out how to swallow it. The next two bites were about the same. Then she went after the spoon, her curiosity requiring that she gets to touch and hold it but her lack of dexterity not allowing her to actually manipulate it properly. But that only lasted a minute as well and she seemed to decide she was no longer interested. She slowly accepted a few more tastes but her smile was gone and her face was solemn as if to say, "you're really going to make me eat that?" So we called that progress, dumped the rest of it into the sink and cuddled instead.

quote of the day

We don't actually have tv, we just watch movies and netflicks. Which means that I can choose a sitcom and watch episodes when I find the opportunity. Currently, Husband and I are watching the Office (we ignored it for awhile because it started as such a poor knock off from the much better British version, but later we somehow started watching it and found that the American one gets better after the first season. it's still just dumb humor and entertaining drama but perfect for half an hour of winding down at night). but on my own I've been watching Scrubs, recommended by my sister in law who is a nurse and has very similar taste in movies and comedy. It's fun. it reminds me a lot of Friends, which I also am admittedly addicted to. (In my defense, I'm not a tv addict. I couldn't be with three kids. But I watch at night after the girls go to bed or while I'm making myself run, etc.)

The intro to the show is very short (which I love) and goes like this: "I can't do this all on my own, No I know...I'm no Superman...(musical bridge)...I'm no Superman." Which doesn't really make sense. Regardless, the girls watch the show with me occasionally and have picked up on it singing the last line. So the music starts, they perk up and chime in "I no Superman!" Lately they get so excited, it's really done shouting and jumping up and down.

So now, even when I watch it by myself, I wait for the intro song and can't help but grin as I mentally shout to myself "I no Superman!"

museum playdate

this is the text message I send my out-of-town husband tonight:

"We had a great day. So fun, totally fantastic. And then came dinner with the abrupt decline into screaming spitting fighting tantrums. Including bloodshed."

and so it is.

But it really was a great day. Butterfly had school, I actually made it to my class at the gym on time, got some nice one-on-one with Ladybug and had an awesome playdate planned with grandma. I picked up Butterfly from school and had her eat in the car while we dropped off the carpool and picked up grandma. We planned to go to the zoo but the skies were gray and windy so we opted for the Natural History Museum instead.

What a blast! and, my kids are such geeks already. Auntie met us there and we took our time wandering through the fantastic displays. The museum was recently moved into a brand new location and it's pretty incredible. We started in the Native American area and the girls bounced around curiously. They finally settled down to watch a movie of dancers as they performed at a pow wow (gets me excited to take them to it this summer). Then we moved into Living Thing where they played with a giant jigsaw puzzle of a cell and we played "I Spy" at the environment displays (finding certain animals, birds, plants). We learned about seismometers as we jumped on a certain spot and watched the tracker bounce up and down as it recorded our movement. We played with erosion at the wind and water tables. And then we spotted....

the dinosaurs. After their brief demonstration of rawring and stomping dramatically, the girls raced through more displays until we got to the dinosaur exhibits. They were pretty fascinated and asked lots of questions. They were most shocked by the drawings of dinosaurs eating other dinosaurs ("being naughty...and gross" said Butterfly), had fun putting together a fossil puzzle and tried their hand at drawing on the chalkboards in the excavation room. They didn't actually draw the excavation. Rather, Butterfly wrote her name and a small stick figure dinosaur while Ladybug ran around erasing all of the boards as fast as she could (much to her sisters dismay). We found a hands on room to play in for awhile (puzzles, dino toys, flip books, etc) before reaching what must be the unofficial "kid room". Designed especially for kids (and painted with the best kid targeted scenery ever, awesome use of bright colors and simple lines), the prominent feature was a river, running along at their chest height where they could scoop out different (plastic) bugs and animals with a net and then identify them with magnifying glasses. They played and played until they were completely drenched (I had to take their shirts off and zipped their jackets on instead).

Our last stop was the gift shop, where we perused the fun toys, books, mementos and jewelry until Ladybug pulled a ten pound rock off the cashier's desk and dropped it on her foot. Fortunately, the only casualty was a pen that was smashed into pieces whereas her foot luckily remained intact.

Having had our fill of fun (and getting hungry) we continued our playdate at a nearby cafe. This is where the little angels turned on me. They became stubborn and belligerent, refusing to eat/sit still/speak respectfully/stop arguing. The climax was when Ladybug (who had finally begun to eat because I was coddling her and spoon feeding her) sprayed a mouthful of chewed pasta on me and the baby. I was not pleased. So she sat on time out while we tried to get Butterfly to eat and finally gave up. (But at least my dinner was tasty.:) ) I had hoped to run errands while in "the big city" but with the apparently over tired children in tow, we decided against it and headed for home. All three kids were asleep before we were even halfway there.

We dropped grandma off and pulled into the driveway just as Ladybug fish hooked the baby hard enough to split her lip and make her bleed (hooked a finger into the corner of her mouth and pulled). As I spent the next ten minutes trying to get the baby to stop crying, the other two started fighting again. Frustrated, I put them both in pjs and put them in bed so I could focus on the baby. She settled down quickly and I got her into bed but the other two children had transformed into wailing banshees and refused to stay in their rooms. After the third bedtime jailbreak, Ladybug took advantage of me being distracted and ate a full sized chocolate bar that I had stashed away as a future treat. After two more jailbreaks, I'm hoping she has finally gone to sleep.

Fingers crossed.

***they did stay in bed after that. But then I stayed up to midnight thinking about how I didn't handle the dinnertime tantrums very well and thinking what I should have done differently. Sometimes we need to stop and reset but I forget to do that when I'm in the thick of things and getting so frustrated. I need to work on this. and in general, we need to work on dinnertime. Lunchtime is usually pleasant. Simple, reasonably quick and leads comfortably into naptime. Why is dinnertime so different? I know I tend to be more flustered but it seems that the girls are consistently more cranky, belligerent and fussy at the dinnertime hour. Is it the time of day? the presence of daddy or other company? the larger, usually more complex meal? soon, AngelBaby will be joining us more than her usual sitting in the highchair with toys but will actually get to eat with us. Maybe I can find a way to make this help.

the lorax

we had a family date to the movies tonight to see the Lorax. Grandma and Auntie joined us and we had a great time. Butterfly has been to the movies a few times but still gets so excited. She eagerly got her bag of popcorn and sat between Grandma and her Auntie and watched the movie with perfect attentiveness. But tonight was kind of a first for Ladybug. She tagged along as a baby but wasn't old enough to actually enjoy a movie and usually spent the last half terrorizing the lobby. But tonight was a lot of fun for her. I went into the theater first to pick a spot and watched as she tentatively poked her head in through the curtain. She took in the huge screen and the colorful animation for a moment and then her face split into a smile. It was adorable. We settled into our seats, AngelBaby promptly fell asleep in her carseat and stayed there for the first half of the movie. When she woke up, it was with happy little coos. The she sat contently on my lap for the rest of the movie being a perfect, quiet little angel. Meanwhile, Ladybug insisted on standing in the space between my legs and Daddy's legs. There she could watch the movie, turn to talk to us and steal sips from Daddy's soda. (Daddy liked this because she was his gofer and would take her little paper bag over to grandma and her auntie for popcorn refills which she happily shared with Daddy.) She had to announce to us each time the "monster" came onto the screen and identified "daddy, that's you!" in the movie (the hero of course). But the very best part was when I leaned over to Daddy and whispered "I think this is the brainwashing crazy liberal propaganda part." Ladybug heard it and immediately repeated by shouting "CRAZY LIBERAL PROPAGANDA!"

awesome.

the 7 Habits

I finally finished reading the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It took me forever because I had to wait for the rare quiet moments when I could concentrate and because I did so much re-reading as I went. This is definitely a work-in-progress book, one that should be read regularly as we continue to improve ourselves and work on these habits.

I'm in love with this book. And I wish everyone I know would read it. It's easy to assume that the primary intention is for the workplace but I found it's so much more for that. For me, I read everything within the context of parenthood. And the author is really good about giving examples from the business world but also example about raising children, building a marriage, communicating with friends.

Things that really stood out to me:
1. Listening! too often, I am guilty of what the author describes as listening "with the intent to speak". Instead, listen with the intent to really understand. without preparing what you want to say next, without putting into the context of your own experiences, without judging. Just listen.
2. time management. the book describes Quadrant I, II, III and IV activities. It's the difference in frantically running around to whatever seems the most urgent, rather, we need to asses what is best in the long run and what activities are the most important.
3. be proactive about what is within my circle of influence. Focus on what I am "response-able" for. (choose to see things as my responsibility, rather than blaming on other people or factors and proactively taking charge of how I respond/take action.)
4. Building Emotional Bank Accounts. Investing time and emotion into relationships. realizing how when can deplete that bank account and lose that relationship (especially applied to marriage and parenting) build the love, trust and communication so that we might be better able to ...
5. seek for win/win solutions. not win/lose or lose/win (yes there is a difference).
6. emotionally detaching myself when I disagree with someone else's choices so that I may preserve the relationship. when it doesn't involve me, don't let it emotionally affect me.
7. maintaining the P/PC balance. production and production capabilities, the idea that we have to take care of the golden goose if we want to continue to get the golden eggs. Take care of ourselves, our minds, our bodies, our relationships, our talents.
8. think things through to determine what the end goals are. otherwise we may exhaust ourselves cutting down trees before we realize we are in the entirely wrong forest.

I love this book. Now to spend time thinking about it, working on it and read it again in a year.

In the meantime, my next book is Financial Peace Revisited. It's the textbook that goes along with the finances class we took a few months ago. I read parts of it then but I feel so strongly about financial independence that I've registered as a volunteer coordinator so that I can help offer this class to others. Husband wants to offer it to the employees at his company so I'd like to read the whole book again before we start. After that will probably be the Millionaire Next Door because it was recommended so many times during the class. Then I may have to get back into some history books. I'm such a nerd.

my squishy

I am so crazy about this beautiful little baby. She is so wonderful, so beautiful and so sweet in every way. This week, she will be six months old, which is probably my favorite stage. She's old enough to interact, to smile socially, babble, play peek a boo and even be ticklish. But she's still young enough that her needs are very simple (eat, sleep, be changed) and she still sleeps often. She doesn't need toys for stimulation but is content to watch her big sisters play and she loves to be talked to. I don't even mind the once a night feeding because she sleeps so well and is on a fairly predictable schedule. She's got such a great disposition, she's a happy baby and smiles so easily and so brightly. I've taken to calling her my squishy because I love to cuddle her. I love to playfully squeeze her tight and kiss her adorably full cheeks. She rewards me with huge grins and rambling babbles or squeals. She's even mastered a tongue click now which is surprisingly loud for someone so small. She doesn't sit on her own quite yet but she loves to lay on her back and play with her feet. In fact, trying to change her diaper is getting harder because she insists on grabbing her feet.

Butterfly was, to put it nicely, a difficult baby. Because of her stomach problems she cried often, spit up often and was fussy constantly. She got her first teeth at four months and as new parents, we were still learning so much. We were overprotective, easily overwhelmed and inexperienced. But like all new parents, we learned fast. We read a lot, asked a lot of questions, learned to trust our instincts, did the best we could and found a parenting style that worked for us. When Ladybug hit the six month mark, Butterfly was well into the toddler phase. I would learn about all the new challenges that toddlerhood would bring. Fortunately, Ladybug was a comparatively easy baby and we got to enjoy her baby stages. I got told over and over to "enjoy it while it lasts" and while we might try, time marches on. And especially when babies are born close together, I think it just gets hard to relish and remember the sweet perfection of those precious moments.

Now we've got a preschooler (sch a fun age! I love all the new experiences and getting to see her grow and communicate as a person), a toddler (fun but it's called terrible twos for a reason!) and the blissfully wonderful six month stage.

I love my beautiful girls. And I love love love, to cuddle and hug my adorable squishy.

Haircuts

I took the girls to a new haircut place called Cookie Cutters. They cater to kids and although it was a few dollars more than I could pay elsewhere, I thought it would be a fun experience.

It was such a blast. We entered the salon and immediately could tell that this was an awesome idea. It's brightly decorated and the girls raced over to the waiting area to play on the jungle gym and slide. They were cheerfully greeted by their stylists who took them to pick out their own movies (they each had their own screens at the cutting stations) and then let them choose their seat. Butterfly chose the pink old-fashioned car and Butterfly chose the red firetruck. They climbed in and played with the steering wheels and watched their movies while the stylists trimmed and shaped their hair. When finished, they each got a light dusting of fairy sparkles in their hair and Butterfly even got "princess hair", a fancy twist that crowned her head like a tiara. Then they each got to pick a sucker and received a balloon.

So much fun, will definitely go there again.

bowling

AngelBaby went bowling for the first time last night. Unfortunately, she slept through it. We arrived at the alley, I set the baby carrier on the bench while I helped the big girls get their special shoes on. And by the time I was done, AngelBaby was asleep. So we let her sleep while the big girls ran around like crazy people. We started the game with Daddy, Butterfly and Ladybug each listed as the players but the girls probably never knew it, they simply ran up to the lane each as eagerly as they could each time the pins were set again, regardless of who's turn it was. Daddy referred but mostly we just let them play. We were joined by some friends (who also have a little girl) and we had a great time together. Eventually AngelBaby woke up and sat on my lap, watching with big eyes as she took it all in. The best part was watching the girls cheer when the ball hit the pins. We used the kiddie ramp, plus the side bumpers. So the girls carried their heavy balls (they insisted on the pink balls of course) to the ramp, set it on top and pushed, which set the ball off onto its agonizingly slow journey down the lane. Sometimes they waited, frozen in place until the ball reached the end and knocked over a few pins. Butterfly would jump up and down with intense enthusiasm and shrill squealing. Ladybug would copy her and while it may have been a little overboard, it was definitely cute. Other times, they would push the ball down the ramp and wouldn't wait for it to hit the pins and reset. Instead, they would race back to the ball return to retrieve another ball, lug it over to the ramp and set it in motion as well. Fortunately, the lack of force made the ball roll so slowly that there was enough time for the first ball to hit, roll around and reset before the second ball had finished it's long walk down the lane.

All in all, a fun night.

swimming

AngelBaby had her first swimming experience yesterday. The girls have been begging to go to the pool so last night, we went. The big girls bounced and begged the whole way there and when we finally arrived, they were dressed in a flash and immediately in the water. AngelBaby and I followed more leisurely, taking time to watch her face and we joined Daddy in the 89 degree pool. Her eyes were big but her face mostly expressionless as I held her against me. But when I held her out so she was free to kick and wiggle, her face slowly brightened with a huge grin followed by more kicking and some added happy squeals.

We played for a long time, Butterfly pranced around on the jungle gym, Ladybug sat on daddy's back to play shark, they each did laps up and down the giant twister slide and Ladybug made an occasional optimistic break for the high dive. We played long past bedtime, until the pool closed and they kicked us out, soggy, wrinkly and exhausted.

We took our tired, happy fish home. another great swim date. :)

on.

My husband's cousin's daughter (she's one of the sweetest, most talented and brilliant kids her age I've ever met) came up with this company. It's the same business model as Tom's Shoes (who recently featured them as a sister company) where people can buy a shirt and Originally New will donate a new shirt to someone in need. Last month they took a batch to Chile. In May, they're going to Costa Rica. Through this gift, people who can't afford new clothes will a shirt and the dignity of new clothing.

Check them out at originallynew.com

fingers and toes

AngelBaby is almost six months old (!!!) and her new favorite discovery is her fingers and toes. About a month ago she began experimenting with her hands, staring at them as they opened and closed. She would glance up at me and a huge, excited grin would escape as if she was saying "wow! look what I found!" She progressed to grasping her binky, attached to her clothes with a leash. She would slowly manipulate her hands around the strap, as if she knew exactly what she wanted but it took so much concentration to slowly command her fingers to obey. But success would come and she would happily gnaw on the fabric, leaving an extraordinary soggy leash in her wake.

In the past week, she progressed even further. Her fingers wander and explore to the end of the leash until they find the binky and she manages to maneuver it into her mouth. Despite being upside down most of the time, she looks up at me and grins triumphantly. she chews and teeths and sucks, happily content with her beloved binky.

And finally, the newest discover is her toes. She loves to lay on her back (for her special "wiggle time"--mostly we call it that to teach the bigger girls to leave her alone and let her stretch without being picked up, sat on, squished, pulled and other forms of their less-than-gentle loving). On her back, she lifts her feet in the air and awkwardly reaches for them, sometimes getting just a brief grasp before they slip from her delicate hands. But she's getting better at it and now when I try to change her diaper, I unsnap her sleep and her feet eagerly escape into the air where her hands immediately grab onto those tiny toes and her face breaks into a huge, happy, proud of herself smile. Between her cute feet and her adorably chunky thighs, I have to fight the reluctance to just let her lay around naked with her bare legs and toes for me to tickle (she's become so ticklish!). Looking forward to summer and warm weather!

quote of the day

Once upon a time, Papa gave my little Butterfly a new nickname. I think it started because she was sitting on his shoulders and he teasingly munched on her legs saying "tastes just like chicken!" Later, he was chastised by another couple because she was running from him squealing, "no papa! I not chicken!" And this couple thought he was forcing her into going on a rollercoaster when she was scared. Nah, she just tastes good. So ever since, when Papa gets in the mood for chicken, she starts squealing. After that comes the running, chasing, tickling, growling and munching.

Shortly after, Ladybug got her nickname too. She's the shrimp but I couldn't tell you why. Possibly her tiny, shrimp like stature.

Their favorite is when Papa rolls them up tightly in a blanket and then devour his chicken burrito or shrimp burrito.

So yesterday, I was driving as we discussed what to eat for lunch. I growled that I was in the mood for chicken and the back seat began their customary squealing. I added maybe I would need a side of shrimp too and was answered with more squealing. And then Ladybug announced, "and the baby! You need French fry!"

Chicken, Shrimp and a French Fry. An excellent diet.