Aw Man!

I went out tonight and purchased Ella's birthday gifts--and boy are they great. I have the car fueled up and ready to go. I already have Lily's food packed ready for tomorrow. I have folded Jessie's whites and they're ready as well. Hannah's ready. Brien's ready. I'm ready. Unfortunately, Lily's NOT ready.

Yes, folks, we're supposed to be heading to Northern Virginia tomorrow for Ella's first birthday, and instead we will most likely be staying home. Lily is ill. She has come down with it rather suddenly. She has had a runny nose most of the week, but as her nose is frequently runny, I didn't think much of it. Well, B got her out of her carseat this evening and said, "Wow, Lily, you're hot!" Sure enough, she was roasty toasty and the thermometer confirmed it. Lily's temp was 102! We gave her a dose of Motrin and I nursed her and then put her to bed.

I don't want to miss Ella's first birthday because you only turn one once. I don't want to miss visiting with family, and Hannah sure has been looking forward to the visit. She was going to wear her polka dotted dress to match the cake. But, I don't want to drag Lily in the car if she is ill, nor do I wish to infect the other children who will be there.

We'll check on Lily tomorrow morning and see how she's doing and make our decision then.

Is It Just Me??

I often question whether I'm a bad parent and if so, where I went wrong. Hannah for the most part is a great kid, but unfortunately she, didn't come with an instruction manual. So, using what I have read, and what I know of child development and the need for consistancy and routines in kids' lives, we have done what we can to be the best parents we can be.

Sometimes I just don't think my best is good enough. For what I guess is the hundrenth time, Hannah found yet another pair of scissors and whacked at her hair. Again. Did I mention this is time number 100 (pardon the slight exaggeration)? Short of beating her, I'm at my wit's end!! This time she not only went in my bathroom and found a small pair of nail scissors with which to torture her hair, she ruined one of my favorite make-up brushes by giving it a hair cut. GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!! Her response to why in the world she would even THINK about doing such a thing was, "Because it's fun." Fun???? FUN????? Getting in trouble is fun????? AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

So, being a fairly smart cookie, (okay, I often miss the forrest for the trees, but I do try) I have determined that Hannah is in desperate need for attention, be it positive or negative. She craves it. Even though she won't really talk to me about it, I'm pretty sure she is horribly jealous of Lily. Which, is understandable as she had our undivided attention for over four years. Now, in comes this sweet and funny little creature that demands much of Mommy's and Daddy's time, leaving Hannah with much less than before. I reassure her I love her and that she will always be my first born baby. I tell her again and again I love her and will always love her, no matter what she does or what happens. But, she continually says things like, "If I do ______, maybe you will love me as much as Lily." Oh, my breaking heart!

I tell her I love them equal. I explain that the only reason Lily isn't getting fussed at right now or in trouble right now is because she is too little, and that I'm more than positive her time will come. All to no avail.

Brien and I have discussed it, and we realize Hannah needs not only alone time, but alone time that is verbalized as being alone time. In other words we ask something to the effect of, "Hannah how would you like to do _________ alone with me?" This way she not only has our undivided attention (although not together, one of us has to be with Lily), but she is aware of it. We have also discussed having Nana and Pop watch Lily and take Hannah to a movie or some other fun outing, just the three of us. We'll see how that works.
 

All Ducks in a Row

Jessie got home in one piece, Ella had her pictures taken, and all our lives are slowly heading back towards "normal". I don't care who the company is, kids are so excited when the company is around they pop themselves off routine. Lily was the worst napper (well, for her anyway) while Jessie and Ella were here. She just wanted to be a part of all the fun she was hearing. Hannah just wanted to be with her Aunt Jessie and cousin so she was out of sorts as well.

While having company is wonderful, it can also be exhausting (I'm sure Jessie knows what I mean, and will really be feeling it Saturday!). Being the company is no picnic either. You are at someone else's house and have no space of your own save the guest room (should you be lucky enough to have one). So, you feel like a heel because your "stuff" begins to take over their house, no matter how hard you try to keep from doing so. It is especially difficult if you have two kids in tow. I always feel dreadful every time I visit my mom. She lives alone (not even any pets) and has a meticulously clean home. The minute we walk through the door her home looks like it has exploded with our junk. Mom works so hard to keep the house clean and clutter-free and then we arrive. I'm so sorry, Mom!

In other news, Lily is becoming a real little chow hound. She now LOVES her cereal and sits there like a baby bird with her mouth open waiting the next spoon of food to be plopped in. I keep waiting for a "cheep cheep" to come out of her mouth =). She also enjoys Robert's Veggie Booty, fruit puffs, Zwiebak toast, and avacado. Acutally, she adores the avacado. I never would have thought to give it to her, but Jessie was slicing some up for Ella and suggested it. Boy am I glad she did! Lily seems happiest with foodstuffs she can feed herself. She is also creeping along like some kind of little speed demon and if there is anything on the carpet/floor you don't want her to have/she shouldn't have, she will find it!

The photo above is a self-portrait. The other afternoon while Hannah was supposed to be napping she was instead exploring the world of Mommy and Daddy's camera. She took 48 pictures of absolutely nothing in particular. The ceiling fan and the cat were particular faves. You know, you can put a kid in bed but you can't shut their eyes for them and make them sleep. While I was rather impressed with her artisticness, I was also more than a little peeved she had not napped, not stayed in her room, nor asked permission to use the camera. I know I should just relax, but really, that's a $400 piece of technology! ARGHHHH!

And, finally, Holly the Hell dog strikes again. I spent a good 10 minutes exploring my neighborhood today. Why you may ask? Well, let's just say Jessie was loading her car and Holly took an opportunity to bolt. I swear if I didn't like the little demon I would throw her out a window (okay, not really, you know what I mean). When Holly has escaped the confines of home she thinks it's some sort of keep away game and will run and run and run. So, I spent 10 minutes striding barefoot on HOT asphalt chasing the ding dang dog through the neighborhood. Meanwhile, Lily had been left inside with her little mouth gaping open for another shovel of cereal. Poor baby! No, I didn't wring the beast's neck and make a fur muff, but I have to say I was sorely tempted!

 

Tee Hee Hee

They were 85 years old, and had been married for sixty years. Though they were far from rich, they managed to get by because they watched their pennies. Though not young, they were both in very good health, largely due to the wife’s insistence
on healthy foods and exercise for the last two decades.

One day, their good health didn’t help when they went on a rare vacation and their plane unfortunately crashed, sending them off to Heaven. They reached the pearly gates, and St. Peter escorted them inside. He took them to a beautiful mansion, furnished in gold and fine silks, with a fully stocked kitchen and a waterfall in the master bath. A maid could be seen hanging their favorite clothes in the closet. They gasped in astonishment when he said, “Welcome to Heaven. This will be your home now.”

The old man asked Peter how much all this was going to cost. “Why, nothing,” Peter replied; “remember, this is your reward in Heaven.” The old man looked out the window and right there he saw a championship golf course, finer and more beautiful than any ever-built on Earth. “What are the greens fees?” grumbled the old man. ”This is heaven,” St. Peter replied. “You can play for free, every day, any time of day that you want.”

Next they went to the clubhouse and saw the lavish buffet lunch, with every imaginable cuisine laid out before them, from seafood to steaks to exotic desserts, and free flowing beverages. “Don’t even ask,” said St. Peter to the man. “This is Heaven; it is all free for you to enjoy.”

The old man looked around and glanced nervously at his wife. “Well, where are the low fat and low cholesterol foods, and the decaffeinated tea?” he asked. ”That’s the best part,” St. Peter replied. “You can eat and drink as much you like of whatever you like, and you will never get fat or sick. This is Heaven!”

The old man inquired, “No gym to work out at?”

“Not unless you want to,” was the answer.

”No testing my sugar or blood pressure or...”

”Never again. All you do here is enjoy yourself.”

The old man glared at his wife and said, “You and your dry bran muffins. We could have been here twenty years ago!

Jessie and Ella Stay On

Uh oh! Major flooding and storms in the D.C. area were expected to continue into this evening, so, I pretty much told Jessie she wasn't to leave my house and head for home until the weather was better (not that she was anxious to go when she heard the forecast). The last thing I wanted was for her and Ella to be on the road in torrential rain. Driving in rain is difficult enough without flooding and ponding on the highways. Not to mention, I64, I295 and I95 are absolutely crazy without the rain. Add impatient drivers wanting to zoom along at 90 mph in pounding, driving rain and you have a recipe for disaster.

So, (in spite of what Jessie might say) since I love and adore my sister and niece, I figured it would be best for them to stay another day. I know she is getting antsy to be at home in her own bed, with her own things, but I'm very happy to have them for another day.

While here, I realized Miss Ella-phant is speaking. Did her mommy? No-o-o-o-o. She kept saying, "Hiiiiiiiiiiii!" in a rising cadence. She always did it when she saw someone entering a room, or she had seen them for the first time at that moment. I guess Jessie just thought she was making squealing noises. I have to confess the same thing happened to me with Hannah. I completely missed she was saying, "Thank you" whenever we gave her things. She was only eight months old and my brother-in-law pointed it out. We mamas can be dense sometimes.

Oddly enough Jessie and I aren't at fisticuffs yet. We love each other and love to see each other, but we always revert to childhood within days and begin fighting. We haven't done so yet, and it's been a week! Maybe we're finally growing up. Nah....

The girls are still trying to recover from the road trip. The little ones now have colds--I'm so sorry Ella!--and Hannah is just happy to be home with her things.

Boy does Ella remind me of her Mama in this picture. I remember Jessie at that age and she looked like this =). Isn't it amazing how babies and children can be such an exceptional mix of characteristics and features from both parents? Ella most certainly looks Asian--especially next to my little darlings--but at the same time she reminds me so much of Jessie. Genetics are incredible.

Well, we finally have peace and quiet in the house, so I'm off to finish blogging and read my new JQ. 

Modern Technology

Does modern technology ever leave you feeling upside down? Today Jessie and I went scurrying to B&N to pick up a new novel by our most favorite novelist of all time, Julia Quinn (yes, we each had to get one since neither could wait for the other to finish it).

Also today, Julia Quinn was guest blogging on romancebytheblog, which I visit daily. So, I told Jessie about it, and she too went to the site. Well, here we are, sitting in the same room, within mere feet of each other, and instead of talking, we're posting comments back and forth! Are we nut-jobs, or what??

The same applies to our blogs. Instead of talking about our respective blogs, we're going to the sites and reading them. Yup, it's official, we're crazy! =)

Friday, Cleaning Day

So, Friday dawned bright and clear and then the storms arrived. (Lily's checking out the weather here.) We returned to Grammy's and Grandfather's house around 1:00 Friday afternoon. Jessie and I headed to Kroger's for cleaning supplies and grub. While in the store, the power went out and the storms blew in. It was lightning and rain city!!

Since GF is no gourmet, we decided it might be wise to supply him with some quick meals in the freezer. I cleaned the kitchen while making a huge batch of spaghetti sauce since GF loved it so much the day before. Mom spent a couple of hours cleaning the bathrooms, and Jessie banished all the dust and vacuumed. Hannah, the little angel, moved from room to room helping whomever needed assistance. She began in the bathrooms with Lissie, moved onto the kitchen with me, and finished up with Jessie using the Swiffer duster.

Lily spent her time being miserably unhappy, and then sleeping, while Ella rode around on Jessie's back in her Mei Tai carrier. (Aside: I would LOVE one of those. I had no idea how fabulous they were until I wore Lily for a while.)

I finished the kitchen as best I could and started in on dinner. We had pork chops and gravy, mashed potatoes, fresh broccoli and a fabulous salad of spring greens. Jessie dressed the salad with red wine vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper. It was very light and tasty.

We were all utterly exhausted from all our hard work (our 87 year old Grandfather isn't much of a housekeeper) and we had to get the babies home. We were heading back to Williamsburg the next day and needed to get back to Auntie Susan's place. I HATED to leave. I haven't seen the grandparents since Thanksgiving, and Grammy is not improving. In fact she just seems to be deteriorating before my eyes. I'm so afraid something terrible will happen before I can get back to visit again. And, visiting is so difficult since the drive is so very long.

It's so awful for me to see Grammy in this condition. She has always been so put together and careful with her appearance. Now, somehow, she just seems so very old and frail. I know that getting old and dying are all a part of life, but it is never easy to witness when it is one you love. I've been through this process with my grandmother, father and grandfather, and now, with my other grandmother. I'm hoping to get back again before the summer is out.

We headed back to Ole Virginny nine the next morning. The babies tried to sleep and met with some success. We made good time for the most part, and our first stop was for lunch.

Things began to get a little hairy the closer we got to home. Ella became very vocal about her unhappiness with her condition. A while back Jessie discovered the key to Ella's happiness in the car--track five on Enya's "Amarantine" album. Had I had a "repeat" button on the car's stereo I would have pushed it. As it was, I must have replayed the track 20 times. It is like magic. Every time Ella became fussy, I would play the track and she would just freeze and listen. Incredible!!

Really and truly, the girls were so easy to travel with, and Mom and Jessie and I managed to keep things low key and easy. To quote my mom, "We're traveling like women, not men!"  

Friday Additional Pictures

Here is Toby with three of her great-grandbabies.

Photo 2: Toby and Hannah 

Harriman on Thursday

Well, we made it. It was long, arduous and tiring, but we did it. It took us about 12 hours to get to Knoxville and about 9 1/2 hours to get home. Why the discrepency in times? We stopped for dinner on the way and didn't going home. We also didn't make as many potty stops as the girls were sleeping and we didn't want to disturb them. I'm very proud of Jessie, she managed to go for great stretches of time without needing to "rest". Having a teacher's bladder, well, I was fine.

A side note: If I eat at another Cracker Barrel any time in the next three years it will be too soon!! CB was the only place we stopped to dine as we knew they would have clean restrooms, and we could get out and stretch and feed the kiddos some decent food. I have always enjoyed their cooking as it is similar to my grandmother's (dad's side, not the one we visited), but really, how many times can you eat country cookin' in a four day sapn??

Hannah was a doll on the trip! I mean it. Not once did she complain, ask to stop, or ask "Are we there yet?" The return trip was a little harder for her. She was tired and did have a tiny meltdown once. She also woke up crying (still sleeping, really) and had to be consoled. But, to cry only twice in 22 hours is pretty good!

Lily slept when she could, and Ella was a trooper. She is such an energetic baby that I'm sure being confined to a carseat for hours on end was TORTURE for her.


We drove to Harriman to visit Grammy ("Toby" to the great-grands) and Grandfather Thursday. The purpose was to visit and to have Grammy and GF see Lily whom they had not seen before. Grammy is very ill and I have little hope her health will improve as she is 88 years old. So, this trip was truly a labor of love.

Grammy has been so ill she has been unable to attend to herself, let alone all the other duties she used to oversee, including cooking and cleaning. So, for the first time in all his 87 years, GF has had to cook and clean, and quite frankly, it's a struggle for him. Not that I have a difficult time seeing why. It must be terrible to have to learn to do something new after such a long time.


So, in an effort to save GF from KP yet again, we cooked spaghetti for lunch. (Doesn't Ella look like she really enjoyed it?) We had spaghetti, salad and Texas Toast. Yum yum!

Grammy tires very easily (low lung function=lack of oxygen, therefore difficulty completing minor tasks such as eating and chewing), so after lunch Jessie, Ella, Hannah and I set off to Rone County Park with GF (after he did the dishes!!). Lily stayed home to nap, so Lissie (my mom) stayed behind with her and Grammy. It was over 100 outside and very humid as well. I began to be concerned for Hannah as she turned a lovely shade of magenta!


She had a fantastic time playing on the equipment and chasing the ducks. =)

We returned to Grammy after only about 20 or 30 minutes because the weather was so unbearable. Hannah then proceeded to "dance" for Grammy for the next hour or so. I use the term "dance" loosely when referring to what Hannah does. It is more along the lines of interprative dance, but H calls it her "vallet". She was able to keep herself relatively well entertained.

The visit was particularly difficult for the babies, since their house was not baby proofed, nor did they have any baby toys lying about (wonder why...). Lily wound up with rug burn on her knees since their carpet is not plush and she "commando" crawls, dragging her body behind her as she pulls with her arms and pushes off with her feet. Ella was continually stymied in her efforts to electrocute herself by playing with the nightlights in the halls, which made her very grumpy. Overall, this was not a fun house for the tiny girls, but somehow they managed to stay relatively happy in spite of it all.

We made plans to return the next day after GF returned from his volunteer time at the Rone County Hospital.

Thursday, Part 2

Just a few additional photos from Thursday.

Photo 1: Grandfather and Ella checking each other out.

Photo 2: Hannah cheesing for the camera in the hot, hot sun (about 101 degrees!)

Photo 3: Jessie, Ella, Grandfather and Hannah at the Rone County Park

Photo 4: A "mutt" duck. It appears to be a cross between a white farm duck and a mallard.

 

Disconnected

Four days. Four days without the internet. How ever did I live before the internet?? I felt so out of touch. I had no idea what was going on in the world. I had no idea what my friends were up to. I had no clue what was happening on the blogs I check in on daily. It was awful! I know some people feel a sense of relief when they are away from technology for a while. Not so me. I'm so glad to be home with my computer and high-speed internet I could cry.

(This sounds suspiciously like an addiction...) 

Wish Us Luck

Bright and early tomorrow morning, six of us girls are heading down the road to Knoxville, TN. The "girls" include my brood, Jessie and Ella, and my mom. Now, Jessie and I get along great for the first few hours, and then, we revert to childhood and all Hell seems to break loose! We seem to deal best with each other in small doses. She will concur with this, I'm sure.

Knoxville is a minimum of eight hours away with "normal" driving--driving straight through with only rest area stops and drive thru food. I'm sure it will be much longer traveling with a four year old, 11 month old and six month old. I'll be honest, I'm not looking forward to the drive. I will be driving as I possess the largest vehicle. I'm sure everything will be just fine, but I can't help but worry. Traveling with children is never easy.

Hannah has always been a good little traveler and we have packed a goody bag with all her "fravorite" items. I also snuck in a couple of other fun little somethings for her. There are books, writing and drawing paper, colored pencils, an awesome looking highlighter activity book complete with a five petal highlighter "flower", her Leapster and much more. She will be fine.

Lily will sleep most of the way as she had her immunizations yesterday and is not feeling so hot. (Side note: Lily is inky dinky tiny. She is 14 pounds 2 ounces, 25 inches long and her head measured 16 1/4 inches. She is 25th percentile all around and is beautifully proportioned. She's just petite. Hannah was 17 pounds 1 ounce at the same age =). Isn't it amazing how different children from the same family can be? ) So, the trip shouldn't bee too bad on that front. I guess I'm tired anticipating the trip. But, the trip will be an adventure, and the journey will be worth it when we see Grammy and Grandfather. Grammy has been very ill and we are all going and taking the babies for a visit.

On a different note, Brien and I celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary yesterday. =) I continually find it amazing he has put up with me for so long ;o). We had a "loverly" (ah, Eliza Doolittle. I LOVE that movie!!) evening out and B's mom and dad kept the girls. Hannah helped me get ready for my date and made sure she was able to pronounce me "beautiful". Brien received the same treatment when he got home from work. Hannah was so desperate for us to be a good looking couple she was very sweet. She picked out my skirt and blouse ("You have to look like a date-lady, Mommy!") and shoes and then moved onto hair and make-up. She was a real tyrant in making sure I followed all dictates. =) She has good taste :oP.

The server asked us the "secret" to seven years of marriage. I was unaware seven years was an accomplishment! I was ready to tell her to ask me in another 20 years and I would let her know. I think one of the reasons B and I have been so successful in our relationship is because we genuinely like to be together. I don't just love him; I'm not just "in love" with him, I also want to be with him. I'm not sure all married couples are like that.

When I'm back on line (no internet in Knoxville. Boo hoo hoo!!) I'll post our "how we met story". For now, I have a long drive ahead of me tomorrow so I had better rest.

Confession

In recent weeks I have become fascinated with Angelina Jolie. For many years now I have felt she was over the top and too much. For this reason I find my interest strange. Is it the fact she just had a baby as did I? Many movie stars have recently had babies. Is it the fact that she seems to have finally matured? Maybe. I think the big reason I'm interested in her has to do with her charity/humanitarian work.

I recently saw an interview with Jolie and she said she donates a third of her salary to relief efforts. A third! I'm sure it must be nice to have the kind of money she does, but she doesn't hoarde it, and instead passes it on. Now, this doesn't necessarily make her a better person, but it is a commentary on who she is, and that person seems to be very generous and down to earth. I confess to having an interest in her interview with Anderson Cooper tonight on CNN, just to see what she has to say. I have gone from being reviled by her to being curious about her. She is only a year older than me but has such life experience. She has seen more on her visits to Africa than I would ever wish to see.

And, the thing is, I'm not interested in her life with Brad Pitt. That's her personal life and it's her buisness. I'm more interested in her humanitarian efforts. Maybe CNN will post pieces of the interview on the 'net for us to watch.

Happy Father's Day

In an effort to be just like Jessie, I'm posting a few of my favorite photos of B and the girls. I'm so lucky to have him in my life. Every time I see him with the girls I fall a little more in love =). Happy Father's Day, Brien!!

 

More Photos

 

Many Happenings

The lyrics of an old Roy Orbison song have been playing through my mind, "It's over, it's over, it's o-o-o-ver." Yes, folks, I survived yet another school year. Of course, it was much easier this year as I had three months off at home with Lily. I was blessed in the class I had this year. They were a wonderful bunch of kids and I adored them all, even my tough nuts. I will certainly miss them, and I have to say it just doesn't feel as if today was my last day with them.

I was so anxious about returning to work and leaving Lily behind. And yet, somehow, we've all come through unscathed. Lily is now at Melanie's with Hannah and I had a smooth transition back to work.

The closing of this school year will be very different for me as well. In previous years I've cleaned off counter tops and packed everything away in closets and cabinets. This year, I'll be packing it all in boxes in hopes of hearing from WJC with a job offer.

I felt like a fraud this afternoon telling the children good bye. So many of the first graders and kindergartners said, "Bye Mrs. Davis! See you in the Fall!" And of course I replied that I loved them and would see them then. I had a mother tell me she would have her baby ready for me in the second grade by working with her on her reading over the summer. Who knows where I'll be in September.

I have to admit I really had no inkling of how this Vertical Team of ours would take off. The kids LOVE knowing before school is even out who's class they are going to be in. There is no fear or trepidation over the summer. Parents really seem to love it as well. I know I'm going to leave behind many sad parents. This part of moving on really breaks my heart. On the other hand, however, I'm actually looking forward to a new adventure!


Also because it is the end of the school year, and because my husband knows how I am at the end of the year (they really don't make the days long enough to get it all done!!), and this being the sixth time the poor man has had to go through this, he took pity on me. You see, I have a fantastic honey. He is so amazingly wonderful and good to me. While I'm upstairs lounging on the bed blogging, he's downstairs cooking what smells like one incredible dinner (anything with bacon and onions cooked with the bacon in it has to be good). In fact he said something along the lines of, "Why don't you go upstairs and relax. I know you don't want to deal with cooking tonight." See, he's almost perfect (he has a few hidden flaws, but don't we all??).

Meanwhile, Lily seems to have forgotten she's a baby and is turning into some kind of "big girl". Not only is she now scarfing down the cereal (she prefers it mixed with a fruit and I really don't blame her), she is also mastering the pinscer grasp. I'm going to try to get a few pics of Lily eating a new food item the next time we give her one. Her faces are utterly priceless!

For some time now, Miss Lily has also been rockin' and rollin' all over the place. Within the past two weeks she has been getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth and moving backwards. This evening, as I was reading a blog, out of the corner of my eye I noticed Lily creeping. I was a smidge nonplussed as she is not even six months old yet, and quite frankly I'm not READY for her to be mobile!

But, in an effort to see if I was imagining things, or if she was indeedy crawling/creeping, we set up a stacking cups tower to lure her over. It worked for Hannah, and it worked for Lily. Within thirty seconds she had covered over three feet of ground and was knocking those cups over! She is busy and she is ready to move.

I'm not sure, but I think Hannah may be reluctant to spend the summer home with Lily and me. Maybe we will have to hit the road and visit Lissie and Aunt Jessie. We'll see.

I'm off to eat the yummy smelling dinner. =) Ciao!  

Family Reunion--of sorts

Brien's Grandma and her husband, Bill, came for a visit this weekend. They were staying with his parents, and they wanted us all to get together. When I say "us all" I mean our family of four and then his sister, Jen, her husband, Derek, and their four kids, Kelsey, Miles, Lydia and Jocelyn. The only two missing were B's brother, Josh, and his wife, Dana.

Lily had a grand time, as you can see =). She has become such a little ham. Any time she sees a camera flash she begins to grin and cheese it up. Hannah, well, she had a difficult time today. It must be hard to be four. Kelsey is nine, and into her own thing. Miles and Hannah are seven weeks apart in age. Lydie is two and Jocelyn (Ja Ja) is exactly three months older than Lily.


So, with this diversity of ages, Hannah and Miles sort of get lost in the shuffle. add to this the fact that Hannah was pretty knackered and all chaos broke loose. She didn't want to play with Miles. She didn't like Miles. She wasn't eating strawberry cake, did you hear me Miles?! Oh, it was awful. Usually H and Miles are as thick as thieves. Today was not so much fun.

I think it must have been especially tough since everyone wanted to be with the babies, and not with them. Hannah has been the center of our universe for so long I think the usurpation of her position has been a little difficult to handle.

Meanwhile, Miles wasn't exactly understanding of H's not wanting to play with him and pestered and pestered her. We finally had to put Miss Hannah down for a nap at about 1. She didn't get up until 4:30, when I woke her up! Obviously much of her trouble was caused by exhaustion.

We left around 5:00 or so and came home to get the girls fed and ready for bed.

Lily has decided she actually does like some baby foods. She conceded and ate some oatmeal mixed with breast milk and pears. She also likes to feed herself Cheerios, Gerber wagon wheels and Gerber fruit and veg puffs. I'm going to start her on Veggie Booty soon. I also introduced Lily to a sippy cup this weekend. I mixed a teeny tiny smidgey of juice with four ounces of water. She really isn't sure if she likes it, but is willing to put the rubber spout in her mouth and gnaw on it.

So, after a bath and final nursing, Lily is out like a light! Hannah next...

(Photo 1: Lily Photo 2: Brien's parents, grandma and step grandfather with their grand children/great grand children Photo 3: Add Brien and his sister to the mix)

A note: It is nearly impossible to get a good photo of everyone with so many people in the mix, as well as so many children. These were the best of the bunch.