Puppy Water

She finally made it to the Chief's water dish. Kate has been crawling for about a month now and is getting pretty fast. As soon as she figured out how to crawl, she crawled right for the dog water. I have taken to putting the water dish on the counter whenever Kate might be crawling in the kitchen. I forgot to do this on Sunday and Kate was quicker than I was. I figured I might as well document her first time playing in the dog water. (Don't worry, I washed her hands...)

She's Mobile!

Kate had two big developmental milestones this week: crawling and the pincer grasp. Those milestones are huge for a baby. She has been rolling around for a month. From there, she began to get up on her hands and knees and rock back and forth. Now she is to a full-fledged crawl. It is very fun to see her learn how to make her body work. Kate is our first to do what you would imagine as a true crawl. Up on both knees and well, crawling. Morgan kept one leg in a typical crawling position, and left one leg straight and just pushed off the ground with her foot. Rachael stuck to the army crawl. It is fun to see how they have all had their own way of doing things, and on their own time table.

In addition to getting around, Kate is now able to feed herself. I am amazed at how fast she got the pincer grasp down. A day or two of practice and she is pretty good. Lots of food may end up in her lap, but only because it slips out of her mouth, not out of the grasp. Go Kate. Way to develop girl. =)

Museum Fun

I love summer. I love it. The heat isn't the best thing ever, but my kids are home. I am one of those moms who can't seem to get enough of their kids. In the winter, I don't know who is more excited about snow days...the kids, or me. I just love having them around. So, summer time equals my kids home AND a more relaxed pace. Awesome. We can do what we want to , when we want to. In short, we can make our own schedule. So, we have a museum day, a library day, a zoo day, a chore day, a wii day, etc. There is a lot of fun to be had in the summer, and we are having it. =)

Kate is really loving having her sisters home. They are so good with her. This week we took Kate to a special part of the museum designed for crawlers. There is a little bar in front of a mirror so that babies can pull themselves up and look in the mirror. Kate LOVED this. It was a treat to watch. Morgan and Rachael had so much fun playing with her and watching her have fun. I had to document it with pictures. Enjoy.

Morgan helped Kate stand up here. She instantly smiled and thought this was great. Side note: I am in no way encouraging the standing up thing at home...The sooner she does this on her own, the sooner she is walking. Please don't think me a humbug. I fully support developmental milestones. It is just that once they are walking, it is significantly more work for the mom. Selfish, I know. The real issue here is that I am flying across the country in about a month, with three girls and no husband. I would really, really love for Kate to not be walking before the trip. Kate, you can walk as soon as we get home. =) In fact, you can start walking in AZ because Daddy will be flying home with us and I will have an extra pair of grown-up hands. Sorry all, I digress. Back to her Royal Cuteness...

So big and so proud of herself.

Here is a fun group shot. I love this one because you can see their reflections in the mirror. Two smiles for the price of one...

The Robe

This is Morgan's robe. It made me smile today and because it got moved to several different places today by Morgan, but not to her room where it actually goes. Not so funny right? No, it kinda was. Here is how the robe movements went down:

1.) Morgan got dressed downstairs instead of in her room where she usually does. She left her robe in the bathroom. Me: "Hey Morgan, could you put your robe away?" Morgan: "Sure Mom." She came in, got the robe, and I thought she went to put it away.

2.) I found it a little while later in the living room. Me: "Hey Morgan, didn't you say you would put this away earlier?" Morgan: "Oops. Sorry Mom. I'll put it away."

3.) A little while later I found it on the stairs. Me: "Morgan, your robe actually doesn't go on the stairs. Will you put it away." Morgan: "Sorry Mom."

4.) Several hours later, I found it folded up under my bed by my shoes. Me: "Morgan. Nice one, but this is totally NOT where your robe goes. Will you put this away please?" Morgan: Smiles. "Sorrrr-eeee. I will put it away Mom."

-I found this robe folded up on the table in the office after I put the girls to bed. I was about to get annoyed when I realized that this was kind of funny. I am sure that I did this as a kid. That is, had the best of intentions to put something away or do something and then got distracted. What am I talking about? I still do this sometimes...

As I thought about our day, I could see that while the placing of the robe on the stairs was a deliberate, "I will do it later" move, the others were simply a case of distraction. For example, I know that Rachael called her to play in the living room, to come and try on my shoes in my room, and to color in the office. Those thoughts in mind caused me to smile as I thought of my sweet 9 year-old's day, and prompted me to take a picture to remember the case of the moving robe.

*Side Note* I am a pile maker and a placer of things on the stairs to be taken up later. Can't really fault Morgan for putting something on the stairs to take up later when I do it myself... =)

Solid Food

So, Kate wanted nothing to do with solid food. Or, so I thought. It turns out she wanted nothing to do with baby food, not solid food. We tried off and on for about two months with the mashed up goo. I was a little worried there for a while. She was 7 months old and not eating 'solid' foods yet. Then it dawned on me, 'Maybe she just wants what we are eating...' So, I tried a super soft noodle and viola! She was happy to be eating. It has been pretty simple to feed her. I just make sure that there is something soft and gummable included in our menu, and she is delighted to be eating. Here are some pictures taken of Kate with baby food, and Kate with soft table food. Notice the difference in expressions. =) ***(The picture quality on the second picture is bad because I had the camera on the wrong setting. Sorry.)***

Baby food. I am pretty sure this was peas. Sorry Kate. (She loves regular peas, just not the baby mush version...)

Soft table food. Much better. Really, can you blame her though? Soft, flavorless goo versus regular food that has texture and flavor. Hmmmmmm. Which would you rather eat? (P.S. Do you love Morgan and Rachael doing somersaults in the background? )

Dance Recital

This year we have had the girls in ballet, per their request. We were introduced to the AVO School of Ballet by some friends, and have been really pleased with it. The instructors are knowledgeable and kind, and are patient with the young girls that they teach. This year, the recital theme was "Tales of Beatrix Potter". It was simply delightful. There were several different dances including mischievous kittens, playful bunnies, silly squirrels, and country and city mice. Morgan and Rachael's dance was the dance about the country mice and the city mice. It was absolutely adorable. Morgan was a city mouse along with two other girls. Rachael was a country mouse along with two other girls. (One of those girls was Jeana Simpson, a close family friend.) The dance showed the a group of city mice and a group of country mice picnicking in the same location. They met, decided to eat together, overcame their differences, and parted as friends. So fun.

City Mouse:

Country Mouse:

Baby Mouse:
You can't see it in this picture, but Kate is actually wearing a pink tutu that matches Morgan and Rachael. We have our friends at Target to thank for the little swim suit that looks like a ballerina costume. The mouse ears came from our dress-up box. Stay tuned for a picture that shows the whole costume...

Happy Birthday Dear Rachael

Rachael turned 7 today. Wow. Where did the time go? It was a pretty great day for her. For starters, she had a field trip to the zoo. For those of you that know Rachael well, you know that this is pretty much the coolest thing that could have happened to her first-grade self. She loves animals and says that she wants to be a zookeeper when she grows up. Months ago, she said that she would like to go to the zoo for her birthday. When she came home from school with her permission slip for this one, she said, "MOM. GUESS WHAT?!?!?! We have a field trip to the zoo and IT IS ON MAY 18th!" To sweeten the deal, Kate and I were able to go on the trip as well. We had a wonderful time. After school some good friends came over and stayed for pizza and cake and ice cream. (Thanks for joining us Jeana and Abby. Oh, you too Dave!) Here are some fun pics from the big day:

Rachael at the zoo on a crocodile statue outside the manatee exhibit. This guy also doubles as a fancy mister on really hot days.

Behold, the Bakugan cake. Rachael decided that she wanted Bakugans for her birthday this year. So fun. Along with that, she decided she wanted a Bakugan cake. In her mind, she pictured a cake with a giant Bakugan in the middle. Okay, that makes my job easy. Thanks Rachael for being easy to please.

Rachael modeling one of her favorite gifts; a tutu from Aunt Alyssa and Uncle Vincent. Thanks guys for such a fun gift!