Third Person

February brought one of our most fun weekends of the year, our annual Super Bowl get together. I had major anxiety leading into the weekend (never have I wanted a minivan more) but the road trip there was not awful and the kids didn't lose their minds until we were within an hour or so of our destination. I would love to say a good time was had by all, but poor hostess Anna had a horrible respiratory infection and both GG and I got a stomach-wrenching barf bug which made for a looooong trip home. We stopped at a Perkins for lunch, and I'm sure we were looking like the saddest bunch in there. Which is saying something since it was in bumble-youknowwhat-Wisconsin. But hey that wasn't until Monday...so a good 36 hours on the books.

oh my god i love this picture. poor genevieve is just completely wedged back there in the third row. luke is sporting the mardi gras mask he made at school that day

too much bourbon street

open gym for the tots so anna could enjoy an hour without 19 additional people in her house

oh foam, how this boy loves you

look at that pointe! dang.

booski is along for the ride

We mommies get a lot of sick pleasure out of forcing our kids together for photos at these little gatherings, and this time I also had some MSOE gear for the 9 Raider descendents. Coming to an alumni newsletter near you.

12...count em TWELVE kids in seven years. some having more fun than others (poor nolan is not loving life)

future raiders. if they all went to msoe we'd be looking at well over $1 million in tuition. gah!

we always do gift exchange for the kids. lukie got a nerf football and these glowing eye things, which were the hit of his liftime. sidenote: one of my favorite memories happened about a week later. i was upstairs with the girls and called luke to get ready for bed. i hear him and matt coming up the steps and find that they're both wearing their glowing eyes as the ascend. dudes playing football, does it get any cuter?

#maiosisters

driving home, too tired to deal with it

During all of these shenanigans Kiera hit the 8 month mark. She's spent the last month getting pretty darn good at that critical pincer grab. She's not crawling yet but if you need a miniscule piece of dirt picked up from somewhere you didn't know existed, she's your gal. She's starting to deliberately mimic sounds and actions. We've started to get some "so big" arms in the air and the cheeks on this one continue to just be killers, as well as the thighs a plenty. I hate that it's winter and I have to cover up all those squishy lovey bits. She still loves to nibble her own toes which is adorable but she's figured out to do it during diaper changing time and makes me fight her to put her legs down so I can fasten the new one on her round little rumpus.

We are going a bit stir crazy in the house and have been trying to get out a bit here and there. It's absolutely awesome that GG and Luke are big enough to play outside by themselves. It's a parenting game-changer and I love that we're here. I remember letting GG play outside by herself when she was 3, but just for short bursts and just in the summer. But having the two of them together makes for a much less nervous mama and a much happier bunch. They have been loving the snow and worked with Daddy to build their own fort, courtesy of the pile that is deposited at the end of our property from our crotchety neighbors across the street.

Little Sweetheart's Dance at school. Cute factor: 10. as i noted on facebook this pic is especially impressive given that about 8 seconds prior lukas came up and nailed matt right in the stones.

oh my god, i die

fort!!

mama, i need some fresh air too

need to put chains on the wheels but that's ok

daddy's working late = quick dinner at chocolate factory

shovel it in mama. check out that impressive hat hair

when it comes to fine motor skills, kiera is your woman

nursing shark and dino. obviously.

oh sweet mercy, the CHEEEEEEEEEEEKS

starting to work on this crinkle-nosed smile. methinks there's a playful little spirit in there

i am going to eat this child alive

cousin logan turns 1!

strip that boy down and give him some cake

saturday morning + pancakes = happy face

girl scout gg sold 150 boxes of cookies. she gets a prize and i get to sort 150 boxes of cookies.

i had to renew my drivers license and the public museum is right across the street from the dmv. done and done. PSA: when you take 3 kids to the dmv, your picture is guaranteed to look serial killer-level insane

kicking back after a little stroller nap. still amazes me...gg N.E.V.E.R. would have snoozed in the stroller. feels like a vacation

we are on the tail end (please god) of this running-away phase with luke. apparently this is the opposite. we're just going to throw ourselves down in the middle of the store.

cute moments. three happy sibs.

And, 8 months:

capturing the supermodel "far away" gaze

silly baby

she's just so happy and content

working on our wave

meanwhile a word about those delicious tiny toes

full on belly laugh

oh yes, the raspberries. kiera is a PRO and enjoys spraying us all down

every month i have a shot of her looking very busted with bear. "who, me?!?"

hey, he has feet too

banded little wrists and elbows

working on balance with big sis

this about sums it up

The New Year started with our lass hitting the 7 month mark. She is just the smiliest little thing since ever. The only thing that has woken her in the last week or two is the arrival of two little razor-sharp toofers, right on time. While adorable, I found this milestone incredibly depressing. The end of the gummy smiles...noooo!

At 7 months Kiera is a very strong sitter. Strong enough that I felt (semi) confident in putting her in the big tub. She did great, and enjoyed it even more with company.

she loves to scoop and splash

her own little "ta daaaaaaaaaaa"

play time in the tub - adorable!

we are trying desperately to savor these sweet sib moments

rub a dub dub, three goofusus in the tub

Like all solid Midwesterners we are trying to pass the winter by keeping ourselves busy, usually including food. Kiera is no lightweight when it comes to table foods and is doing beautifully no matter who's at the helm.

"mommy! i'm doing a gweat job feeding kee-wa. i need to learn dat. and i need to learn hopping on one foot."

two happy customers

when the local pond is frozen over, great neighbors invite us to come play.

gg with her ballet pal isabelle and her longtime admirer noah

oh, and this happened. i'm sure the poor woman who hit it was desperate for me to not answer the door, and even more unhappy to get the bumper of her lexus put back on. score for the '05 pilot!