Festive

We got our trees and most of the decorations set up during the Thanksgiving break. The kids were not very helpful. But the best part of the Christmas festivities was Teya. Her dancing, singing, and random fascination with the lights on the tree.

Out takes

So, Ronell took some adorable pics of the kids about a month ago and I finally got around to doing our card this week. There were too many cute ones, so I thought I'd post the ones we didn't use in the card.

Palmer: Loves loves loves Kindergarten and calls me Miss Glover (his teacher's name) at least once a day. Our little smarty pants in whizzing his way through school and has already completed the kindergarten and first grade reading program, as well as being awarded the "Math Master" award for the first quarter. He loves playing outside, even when it's cold (relatively so, I'm still thinking it's warm here, even when it's only 40 because there's no snow) and has decided to teach himself how to golf. We enrolled him in tennis lessons this year and he enjoys doing that, too...when he's not playing computer games on PBS Kids or reading. He's slowly paying more attention to Teya and has recently started trying to teach her to crawl, much to my dismay.

Portia: Our little diva. She asked for make-up for Christmas. She loves to smother take care of her baby sister and loves playing with any baby in sight, even the dolls. Her newest imaginative tool is her "Princess house". If she's ever told she can't have something or doesn't like how things are going, she says, "That's okay. I have four babies at my princess house so I'll just play with them." Or, "at my princess house I have a doggy and a horse." Fine with me, means I don't have to get one here, right? Portia started dance this year and LOVES it (understatement). She's got a great memory, too and can usually tell me what steps she's doing. She is our budding artist and loves to draw, color, cut out, glue and basically use up any supplies left out to create pictures and cards for everyone she knows. She's loving her preschool class and loves showing everyone what she's learning.

Teya: Our baby has gone mobile! She's doing the "commando" crawl at the moment, but it suits her fine, especially on our hardwood floors. She gets up on all fours but slides back to her tummy when she tries to crawl. She hasn't cut any teeth yet (which is crazy) but she certainly drools and bites enough to make up for it. She sleeps like a rock with 12-13 hours at night and three naps and is the easiest, calmest baby I've ever seen. She finally has started liking some baby food but she'd still rather eat the real thing. She loves kids and has the greatest laugh when any kid, but especially her siblings, play with her. We've started signing with her and she attempts "More" and "eat" but it usually results in her just sucking her thumb. Her new favorite things are Portia's dolls and grabbing cheerios.

Last of all, I had to share this picture. This is downtown Rogers and it's got these great classic Coca-cola murals. I love that our kids are totally in their own world. I probably would have sent this one out as our card if Teya was in. Next time. For now, I'm off to make rolls and ham for our get-together tonight. Happy Christmas Eve! May Santa treat you well and let you take a nap tomorrow. See you tomorrow for the morning chaos pics.

Five Months

I'm five months! Here are some things I'm up to these days:

* I LOVE playing with Palmer and Portia. 

*I light up when Daddy's around. He can get me to laugh faster than anyone else.

*I roll over both ways but am usually content hanging out on my back with my thumb in my mouth. 

*I like to drool...a lot. Mom thinks I should be getting teeth somewhat soon because my drool has exponentially increased in the last week. I now wear a bib most of the time and I like to chew on that, too. 

*I sit up for a few seconds and then lose it and end up folded in half. But when I'm sitting I know I'm a big girl.

*I am a very conflicting baby. I'm usually pretty easygoing, unless I have a poopy diaper or I need to eat, then I get intense. I also like to intensely study my toys...and people...and football on TV.

*I finally have chubby legs, though Mom says I'm not as chubby as the other two were. 

*I intently stare and smack my lips when others are eating and I think I might like food. But I don't love rice cereal or baby food. I think it's just too much effort to learn how to eat from a spoon and I just want to grab from whatever plate is nearby. I hate being left out at dinner time but I really don't like utensils. So I just eat my hands and hope someone gets the hint that I want food.

*I get very excited when someone puts me in my car seat because I can see Palmer and Portia get in the car and I know I'm guaranteed to have some play time with Portia. But if we're not in the car, I don't love my car seat. I mean, what's the point of a CAR seat outside the car. No one else has to stay strapped in to a seat where they can't see anything going on!

*I love being outside and staring at the trees next door. They're mesmerizing.

*I just like to relax and watch other people. I don't reward everyone with a smile, but I'm content to just be included. 

*I've recently found my voice and insist on yelling as loud as possible, preferably in a place that resonates, like the chapel or Walmart. Mom thinks I'm funny, well maybe not, but at least I think I'm funny. 

*Mom thinks I'm about 26 inches long (I prefer "tall" because I know I'm a big kid) and about 15 lbs.

Generally speaking, life is good, especially when I get to hang out in the toy room on the big kids' bean bag chairs. What more could I want?