4 months old

Carys turned 4 months old last week, but I was hardly on the computer to upload pics. She is cutting her first tooth (yes, already) and it has made our days and nights more interesting. That is one of the reasons I've had no time to blog. I'm in bed by 9:30, completely exhausted. What happened to my baby who sleeps 10 hours at night?

In spite of all the teething issues, every morning I walk into Carys' crib and she gives me the sweetest smile. At that moment I forget how little sleep I received the night before and, once again, fall in love with her. She has the best smiles for all of us.

Also, Carys has accomplished 2 cross-country trips before 4 months of age. In August, she flew to New Hampshire and in October she flew to Virginia. She's a seasoned traveler. (By contrast, I took my first airplane flight at the age of 18).

Carys has been introduced to the exersaucer, but doesn't like to stay in for long. Let's hope that changes.

Playing with her passy.

Making muffins

Last Saturday, the girls and I made muffins. Cambria chose to make chocolate chip muffins and Avery did blueberry.

Trip to VA

The younger girls and I flew from Seattle to VA for a 6 days trip with friends and my (Laurie) family. This was the first time my siblings met Carys, and many had not seen Avery in 8 months. I still can't believe that I flew alone across country with an almost 3 year old and a 4 month old, however, the girls were amazingly good. It truly was God answering my millions of prayers beforehand.

Aunt Katie with a scowling Avery. She was not happy about saying goodbye to Aunt Katie.

Hanging with Uncle Greg on the deck.

Carys is a card shark.

A happy card player with Aunt Becca.

Avery playing piano with Uncle Greg.

Uncle Andrew gives Carys a bottle.

Playing with Carys on the playgym.

Aunt Katie and Uncle Greg meet Carys.

Avery loves her little sister.

A wild girl in Grandma's arms.

Kristina drove down to see us in VA. Here we are posing with Avery, Carys and Anna.

Rolling from front to back

A conversation with Carys

Hang with this video...the best smiles and talking are at the end.

Puyallup Fair 2

Here are the girls riding an airplane ride at the Puyallup Fair on Saturday. I was proud of them because they raised their hands in the air as they went around the fast curves. Their Great Aunt Lynette would also be proud.

Puyallup Fair

Saturday we went to the Puyallup Fair. This was our second year visiting the fair with our friends Jesse, Rachel and their infant Axel. We had a great time eating bar-be-que and watching the girls ride the rides.

Avery said the following on Saturday night: "I made a new friend today." I asked who and she said, "Jesse."

Cambria coloring tiles at the Home Depot craft.

Eating bar-be-que

Of course, they had to ride the merry-go-round.

Playing school

Why is it that kids always want to play where we don't want them to play? For example, out of our entire house, why do the older girls have to play school in Carys' room?

Roller Skating

This morning we went to Tot Skate at the Auburn Skate Rink. It's a fun event and great way for the girls to learn to skate. I took the girls back in April, but now I'm unable to take them myself. I don't have enough arms to help each girl and push a stroller at the same time. I know that I'm supermom (yea, right) and all, but that's asking too much. Avery did much better this time and both girls (and Jeff) enjoyed the mini Slurpees included with the cost.

First day at kindergarten

Today was the first day of kindergarten for Cambria. We can't believe that 5 years flew by so quickly. It hit me yesterday during orientation that we can no longer pop into preschool to see how she's doing and we can no longer be 5-10 minutes late. :-) This is "real" school.

As you can see from the pictures, Cambria was very excited about her first day. There were many kids who looked shell-shocked as they walked in (including one of Cambria's close friends), but not Cambria. She was all smiles, even as she walked through the school door.

Reading

In the past 7 years we have had 3 pregnancies/months of sickness, 3 newborns, 2 moves, 3 homes in 3 states and 2 degrees/career changes. This picture embodies the kind of stability we are hoping for in the coming year. We want to get back to the basics of eating family dinners and reading books before bed....being more proactive, rather than reactive.

Carys in the swing

This video is especially for the grandparents, who love uneventful videos of their newborn grandchildren.