So Long, Summer

Paige has been solidly wired for several days now. She was awake and dressed over two hours early this morning, waking up her sisters with, "Today is my big day!!" Jeff and I both confessed to each other that we kind of felt the same way. Why?

Today was Paige's first day of pre-school!

It took some of the parents a long time to say goodbye, and while we were waiting to pick kids up, several moms confessed to crying on the way home, but I was mostly excited (and maybe a little jealous). I love school!

That said, I'm a little sad that summer is over. And these babies are going to miss the extra time playing with Paige every day. It's been a fun summer, albeit a quiet one. We played dress up just about every day. Anna always has a hat, necklace, bracelet, or shoe (singular) on.

Paige built these epic chalk drawings that took her several days,

and wore baby clothes when all her clothes were dirty. Those are not capris. Those are size 18 month pants which she now refuses to give back. The shirt is also 18 months

The babies discovered the joy of cooking (notice the tiara headband necklace),

as well as the joy of Rocky the rocking horse.

We played princesses in our castle,

and wrestled.

And took a lot of baths.  Anna loves fajitas.

Yep, summer was a lot of fun. But I think fall will be good too.

Back to the Norm

I kept meaning to blog all about our recent adventures in Alaska and Utah right when we got home, but then we were jet-lagged, then sick, then I forgot, and when I finally remembered, I went looking for pictures and realized that we were having too much fun for too many pictures. Woops.

At any rate, here's the few that we took, along with several pilfered from family members! Brace yourself.

Alaska is so pretty, even at 2 am. Though I've decided that I appreciate it a lot more when it's not 2 am. Just a personal preference.

 

The landscape is mind-boggling. Glacial mountains to ocean mudflats in a few hours.

Fishing with Grandpa was a must. It was the one thing Paige talked about for weeks before we left. She enjoyed it until she realized that she couldn't bait the hook, or hold the pole, or dance in the boat. She wasn't too keen on eating her fish later either. We'll work on it.

Daddy had fun on his trip though! Salmon fishing is the best! Or so I'm told. I was napping during this trip. Napping is the best!

What a catch!

It was a bit gloomy on a couple of the days. Anna was less than thrilled, Paige borrowed Grandma's coat and still complained, but Boo managed to stay pretty chipper! That's my Emma!

Also, we saw a bear with a crooked nose.

On sunnier days we ran through fields of daisies and explored old mining towns.

This is one of the only pictures of us as a whole family. Take note, because it may not happen again.

As for the Utah portion of our trip, I think I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:

Babies everywhere! It was so much fun! The girls are pretty sad to be back in our boring home with just their boring parents for company. We're kind of sad to be back too. Oh well. Laundry is fun too, I guess.

Birthday Girls

It's been really rainy in Baltimore the last few weeks, and we've all been sick off and on. So, to raise our spirits, we thought we'd have a couple birthday parties!
First off, the littles:

Our crazy, wild Anna-mal. She's always into everything. Crawling, climbing, falling, wresting; she's fearless and ready for all of it.

Sweetie Emma-Boo. She's thoughtful, super cuddly, and remarkably patient.

Pants are optional, but dollies are a must.

 I love these two so much. I love the games of chase and wrestling that go on, and that they miss each other when one's missing. I love their chatter and messy faces. I love their constant smiles. Anna's silly antics and Emma's sweet cuddles. I love how proud of themselves they get when they do something clever. I still am taken aback that I have twins. Two babies. But I can't imagine being without either one. We'll definitely keep them.

As for this girl, she's an absolute loon and we love it!

She's super smart, and even though it is aggravating sometimes, I love that she has an opinion and knows how to express it. I love that she's always asking questions and finding connections. We've been talking about the water cycle a lot with the bad weather outside, and today she said, "Rain is when clouds go potty." We didn't quite know what to say. I love that she loves her sisters, and I love that she helps settle any tension in the house. I think we'll keep her too.

Happy Birthday, little girls! We love you.

Hello, Dolly!

Talk! Talk! Talk! Talk a lot, pick a little more.

Emma speaks softly, and likes to turn away from the camera, but she's working on some words too!

The Latest Fashion

These kids are growing like weeds. We realized this week that we are one month away from having a 4-year-old and two 1-year-olds. Really? When did that happen?

Hi Emma!

Paige is working really hard on learning to read and write. I'm super impressed. She can write our whole family, plus a couple more words then asks how to write 'Grandma', but then says it's too long. We write little messages to each other on the board every day.

With all the growing going around, their clothes seem to be disappearing every day. Last count, Paige only had no skirts, and the babies only had two dresses. So we did some quick sewing, just in time for Easter.

Boo's standing up all by herself! It's kind of a big deal.

Tea parties are pretty common around here, and Grandma Cooper sent us some fun hats, so we tried to have a tea party in all our fancy new duds. We got a couple blurry shots before it degenerated into a hat-wresting competition.

Fun Fact: Easter hats look like sombreros if your angle is too low

Farmer Anna and her trusty rhino

Paige was really frustrated that no one was doing things properly. Sometimes being the oldest is hard.

On Saturday we went to a local Easter egg hunt, and Sunday Paige wore her new dress from Grandma Tucker. Paige refuses to keep clips in her hair.

And just in case you still need more cute pictures of these crazy kids: