Random Moments of the Day

We are all together again and it is a good kind of crazy.  The energy at home seriously triples (at least) when Ellie is here. She and Aeryn have been having a blast together, in between each of their meltdowns. I can't believe I thought meltdowns would be less frequent as they got older...

I've decided that I need to get some daily life pictures so they can look back one day and say "remember when we lived in that little apartment with no closets and we had so much fun?" Or "man, I really didn't clean my room as a kid. My poor mom." I know that last one is a bit of a stretch, but a mother can dream.

Aeryn is getting to the point where she just has the "why?" expression every time I ask her to smile. In some ways I find it terribly funny. In others, I'm terrified. Ellie, on the other hand, will still pose and act ridiculous when the camera comes out.

As for Tate, I just think he doesn't know any differently. He hardly notices me and is definitely not motivated by my pleas to look my direction.

He has a blast outside on the little playgrounds that are near each building of our apartment complex. He can climb the stairs up to the top of the slide and I swear he'd go down by himself if I looked away for even a moment. It's really fun having the girls here to slide with him. He loves it.

I have no idea where Ellie picked up the squishy lips thing but she wants to do that every time I'm taking pictures. Then she wants to see the image and gets all excited about how she looks. It's like she's eight going on eighteen...

Gosh, I love this picture. Tate and his serious, concentrating face. He gets very focused on his surroundings and wants to take in every little thing. Today it was the water spigot and the grass, along with the cute girls playing just feet away from him.

It's such a blessing to have the sense of community that we do. So many remarkable people and so much fun to be had. I know Ellie loves to run around with some of our neighbors. It won't be long before Tate is chasing her as she does.

Aeryn is getting to where the little kids aren't quite as much fun as they once were. She still loves them dearly and will play with them, but the games don't hold her attention the way they once did. She still loves to "take care" of the smaller kids and she drinks up the fact that they really like her.

Little dude looks so big. He's 10 months old now and is a force to reckon with. He loves to flush the toilet, climb on the couch to look out the window, dig in the kitchen cupboards, watch his sisters sing "shout," go to daycare (his teacher is the best), and go running with daddy. His favorite foods are gerber yogurt melts, mashed potatoes, graham crackers, wheat toast, and ice cream - not that he has had more than a bite or two of ice cream. Seems we have a little carb addict on our hands.