Play Time

Tonight was Pen's final performance of her middle school's production of Seussical Jr. It was fun to watch (much better than I expected from a bunch of middle schoolers) and Pen had a blast. She loved performing and the camaraderie she developed with all of her cast mates. I'm so glad she got the opportunity. 


Okay, there will be no more narrative from me. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. And, yes, there are a lot of photos.

Okay, never mind. I will say this: I never knew Pen could shake her booty like that. I'm kinda proud. (I know you can't tell from the photo, but take my word for it. I never pegged her as possibly being good at the latin dances, but I just may be wrong.)

Aaaaand, BOW!

Great job, Pen! We love you!


(I admit that as I watched her tonight I kept thinking, "Can you imagine if she were only in 7th grade this year like she's supposed to be?" My heavens.)

Fourteen Months with Edith

Edith has been complaining for months that I won't let her do all the things the other kids are doing. We went on a hike and she complained when I wouldn't let her explore with the other kids. When we go to the bread store, she complains that I won't let her run down the sidewalk to the next store and back with Big. I kept explaining to Edith that being able to walk would greatly improve her chances of doing such things, and it seems that she finally listened. 


Yup, we've got a walker on our hands! She set herself to the task of learning to walk (offers of help were not frequently accepted or appreciated, thanks) and a few weeks ago became one of the upright. She's pretty darn happy about her new status and makes sure that every time we go to the bread store she gets to walkrun down to the next store and back. A dream realized, for sure.

Edith continues to add to her vocabulary. She says hundreds of words, I'd say. It's just a guess, really, since I've given up counting. There are just too many to keep track of. I think one of my favorite things Edith does is that when we drive somewhere, every car that passes in the other lane has her saying "Car." So it kind of becomes a chant as we travel, "Car. Car. Car....... Car. Car." And then there will be the random "Cluck." in there, too. I know you're thinking she's seen a chicken but, no, she just has a little trouble with the 'Tr' sound. 


She still loves cars and trucks. When her brothers are playing with them, she absolutely insists that they give her a vehicle, too, so she can play along. Yes, Edith is good at insisting. The cars that can be pulled back and then race away on their own are some of Edith's favorites, but she still needs to master the letting go of the car part. She'll get it.


Pen and Ginger taught Edith how to do the Chicken Dance this month. It's adorable to watch, and I love that Edith will do it in random places. Today she stood on the bench at church, started singing the song and went for it. I can't decide if it's cuter when she flaps her 'wings' or when she wiggles her butt. I call a tie.


Edith's eyes are super blue. This next photo isn't the best, but it's unedited and I think it illustrates my point. 

See? Edith's eyes are super blue. 


Edith loves, loves, loves being outside. Kind of like me, I guess. There is just so much to see and do. Waaay more interesting that being inside, that's for sure.

When a dog walked by while we were outside, Edith about fell over with excitement. She loves dogs, but has a lot of trouble making a barking noise for some reason. As the dog passed, Edith tried and tried to bark at it. She ended up looking like this:

It's quite obvious that she needs some work on her technique.


Edith seems to be developing a sense of wanting things to be in their right place. The other day when she kept tripping on a toy as she was walking through the family room, she bent down and picked it up. I expected her to just toss it to the side, but she actually went and put it away. Awesome. And when I handed her my lens cap to hold as I took her picture, she really wanted to put it back on the camera. 

After several attempts, she gave up and gnawed on it for a minute.

Then she used it as a telephone to call her Dad. "Heyoh!", she said. Way to use your imagination, Edith!

We just love seeing Edith develop new skills and are so excited to see how her personality is emerging. Happy 14 month, Edith! We love you!

Friday Favorites

1. I hired some guys to clean out my car. It was really bad. The promise of two Starburst candies each gets you a lot more than you'd think. I taped some surgical gloves on the boys and they were rarin' to go! The car looks much better.

2. Rophone and I got to spend a lot of time together on Monday and Tuesday of this week. It was fabulous.

3. Big got his hair cut! I was perfectly fine with him growing it out, but he got tired of waiting for it to get long enough to go into a ponytail. I admit, it's kind of nice to be able to see his eyes-- they are about the sparkliest I've ever seen and the blue has flecks of gold in it. And I like that his head isn't tilted sideways anymore. Big seems to be happy about that, too. I'd say his haircut is a resounding success all the way around. I already wrote a post about it. You can either scroll down or just click here if you're lazy. 

4. We have watched a lot of fun soccer this week. I'm glad to see the kids having such a blast, and the fact that they're getting good exercise, too, is just icing on the cake. Plus, I'm super happy about the weather we've been having this Spring-- usually we are sitting and watching one or two of the games in snow or unbearably frigid wind. This year has been nice and balmy for the most part so far (knock on wood).

5. I made some quinoa sloppy joes the other day for dinner. The recipe needs a little work, but Edith loves it. She snarfs it down. I need to remember that she loves strongly flavored things and stop giving her plain pasta and other boring stuff.

6. I have had a big salad the last two nights for dinner. My tummy is so happy.

7. Edith is 14 months old today! Guess that means I'll be writing another post in the next few days to celebrate.

8. With all of the political stuff that's been going on (for what seems like forever), I thought I'd just mention how happy I am that my husband isn't smarmy. Not in the least. Yup. So, so glad. I love you Rophone!

The New Kid

There's a new kid around here, and I can't find Big. Big looks like this:

A body with a bunch of hair on the top. I'd know him anywhere. 


The new kid looks like this:

I have absolutely no idea who he is, but he seems nice enough. And, like Big, he'll let you take his picture while he talks about work trucks. For a really, really long time. 

The new kid didn't even mind expounding on the stuff he'd already told me. Big's like that, too.

And then he noticed that his owie was bleeding. Hey, Big has one in the same spot! That's weird.

When he was looking down, the new kid realized that he was sharing his seat with a spider. Eeeek!

That made him forget all about work trucks and decide to play soccer. 

I wish I knew where Big was because he really loves to play soccer, too. If he were here, he and the new kid could play together. The two of them have so many similarities, I'm thinking they must be related. Maybe they're cousins.