School Party!

The little girls and I got to visit Norah's classroom yesterday for her first at-school Christmas party. Penny jumped right in and did the crafts and activities along with the big kids! I had Darcy riding piggy back on me to keep my hands free, so no pictures of her, but I got a few of my big girls. 

They made reindeer headbands! Miss Gillis also very sweetly agreed to paint Penny's nose like the other reindeer... I mean kids. 

They also decorated sugar cookies. Needless to say, they were THRILLED with this activity!

After the party, they all say down for story time. Norah let Penny sit on her lap to listen to the story. So sweet!

Crafts From Grandma

This week we got a package from Grandma in California. She sends fun stuff for us from stores that we don't have out here in the boonies. Along with some new cold weather clothes for Norah (which will eventually be for Penny and Darcy too), she also sent some crafts!

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is how I managed to unload the dishwasher halfway AND feed Darcy in peace. 

Thanks Grandma!!

Nom Nom

Another six month milestone: solid foods!!!!

Darcy was totally ready for solids. At her first feeding, she ate all of her apples and didn't even drip down her chin! 

She also tried to watch the spoon all the way into her mouth, making for some really cute photos. :) 

Six Months!

I can't believe it's already been six months since our sweet Darcy made her (slightly early) entrance into the world! She's becoming such a sweet, smiley, and inquisitive girl. She wants to know how everything around her feels and works. She's so proud when she can make a toy jingle or rattle all by herself. Of course, just like her sisters before her, she's a BIG talker! Here are some photos of a few milestones from this past month. 

Taken first thing this morning. Last night was the first night she was big enough to for her 3-6 month pajamas. She's little, but she's growing!

Helping me with the laundry. The warm clothes kept her nice and toasty on a cold morning. Don't worry, she laid on her blanket on the floor while I was folding. :)

Picking Norah up from the bus stop. 

Modeling the cute sweater and hat Miss Lacey made for her. I love that dimple on her right cheek! I'm so glad it hasn't gone away. 

Snuggling with mommy on a day she just didn't want to nap. 

Taking a piggy back ride! She really loves traveling this way because she can see everything. 

And finally, hanging with her first boyfriend, T. He's not quite two months old, so he reminds me of how small Darcy really is. 

It's been an eventful last six months with lots of changes. We are so excited to keep getting to know the youngest member of our family. 

Little Sister, Middle Sister

With Norah at school, I've had the opportunity to hang with Penny and Darcy on their own. It's so fun to see Penny's little personality come out when she has my full attention. She's also become quite the helper/playmate for her baby sister. 

Just after these photos were taken, Darcy grabbed a fistful of Penny's hair and yanked. There are a few downsides to having a baby sister. 

Hangin' with the Greats

We are so fortunate to live near Mark's grandparents! I now have photos of all three girls at about this same age just like these I took of Darcy a couple of weeks ago. Love it!

Gotta Bounce

We got out the bouncer for Darcy a couple of weeks ago. Just as we did for both her sisters before her, we have to put a shoebox under her feet so she can reach. As you can tell by the blurry, excited photos, she was just fine with that as long as it means that she can bounce!

This was about thirty seconds into her first experience. She warmed up to bouncing pretty quickly!

So. Much. Fun!

And a few days later, bouncing hadn't lost any of its appeal (and I still couldn't get a clear picture).

First Day of School!

I know I'm a little behind, but I had to post Norah's first day of school picture. Our big girl had been loving her teacher and all her new friends. She's become very interested in writing and makes up her own stories (which she writes, with our spelling help) all the time. We can't wait to see how much she learns this year!

And although she's all grown up now (wink), she's still not too big to enjoy a good story with Grammy in "the relaxing chair". 

Five Months!

Guess who turned five months old yesterday...

This girl!!!

Stats: Probably 12ish pounds, 0-3 month clothing, size 1 diapers, dimples have not yet disappeared! Hooray Darcy! Also, it's looking to us like she might turn out to be a redhead. Double hooray!

** Here, Darcy is modeling her very first t-shirt (as in, non onesie) from great grandma and grandpa Henderson. 

Not Water Related

Despite my last couple of posts, our girls didn't spend their entire trip to California in the water. They also went to the park! Their favorite is a park they called Castle Boat Park. 

As you can clearly see, Castle Boat Park is comprised of a castle and a boat play structure. How convenient. That dot in the middle is Penny running at top speed toward the castle. 

At Castle Boat Park, Norah and Penny enjoyed such activities as:

Running. 

The balance beam. 

Going up and down the steps. 

Climbing the giant fake rock to be higher than mom. 

Running. 

Climbing the simulated rock wall into the tower. 

And teasing Daddy by pretending to jump off the castle. 

They also both loved the tiny drinking fountain for dogs. Which, I suppose, is somewhat water related. 

Plight of the Youngest

This is what happens by the time the hand-me-downs are making their way to the third girl. 

That's Darcy's adorable big toe. 

Fortunately for Darcy, after her big sister was done laughing...

She was willing to help her little sister out. 

I suspect that this will be the case for most of our sweet Darcy's life. 

Water Adventures

We met up with a few friends in CA for dinner. We decided to keep the girls occupied by meeting at their community pool. As usual, a good time was had by all. 

It was the perfect sized kid pool!

I got exactly one photo in which both girls smiled. 

The rest were some variation of this. 

Or this. 

Norah begged me to take a photo of her "starfish float", which she learned in swim lessons. 

Which prompted Penny to request a photo as well. 

We could barely get them out of the pool for dinner. There was serious wailing and gnashing of teeth when it was time to go. We are not getting a pool. That is all. 

Best. Birthday. Ever.

Our friend Tiffany has such varied taste in music that she has been known to declare a song, album, or artist, to be the "best ever currently". If Norah knew this phrase, I think she'd steal it in a second. 

Case in point: she asked this year to have her birthday at the beach. After our outing she quickly declared it to be the "best birthday ever". See the evidence below!

Sand castles were built. 

Daddy helped with the engineering. 

Building sand castles with Daddy was super interesting.

At one point, Penny saw a pigeon and excitedly yelled, "Flamingo!!" Don't mind her. She's from the mountains.

And, after some cajolling and with much trepidation, Mark managed to get the girls into the water with him. But only up to their knees. Still, by all accounts, it was the best birthday ever. (Currently)

No Naps Required

We took a trip a couple of weeks ago to California for Mark's brother's wedding. We left on the fourteen hour drive super early in the morning (3am) and told the girls that if they slept in the morning until we said it was time to wake up, one of their rewards would be that they didn't have to take naps. This is them not taking naps at about 2pm.

 

A Month of Milestones

So many things happened this month there's no way I could have kept up! Norah turned five, Uncle Matthew got married in California, the big sisters got to hold Darcy for the first time, and Norah started kindergarten, to name just a FEW major events. Here are a few photos to whet your appetite. There will be more soon!

Norah held Darcy for the first time. 

Darcy may have been uncomfortable with the arrangement. 

Penny held Darcy too, with a little help. 

This is exactly how they both felt about that situation. 

This is the only photo I managed to take at Matthew and Kim's wedding. Norah and Ryan danced all night together. Penny danced all night too, alternating between Matthew, Daddy, and Jarod the florist. 

More photos to come. I promise I'll post in less than a month!