Block Party

We had our annual block party on Friday.

With lots of visiting,...
swinging, and...
jumping.
The kids decorated bikes...
for the parade,
which, as always, turned into a race.
The rockets were a huge hit.
As was the fishing...
and bean bag toss.

We had frozen t-shirts,

and dads on little bikes.
Water balloons,
a sponge relay
and hopefully everyone had a great time.
Maisy,
Ella,
and Sadie loved watching the show.
But Jack wanted to be right on stage.
Jason put on a great show.
And the turn out was even bigger than last year.
I really don't know how everyone fit. I love to see the whole block turn out and enjoy each others company. These are the summer nights I've dreamed of.

Yummy

We are finally at the point where more food ends up in Maisy's mouth than on her shirt. 

We are so proud of our little lunch mouth
and her love of strawberry yogurt.

Sprinklers

There is nothing like that first day, 

when the answer to the question,
"Can I put on my swimsuit and run through the sprinklers?"

is, "Yes, you can."
and even though you shiver, 
the weather is warm enough for running through the water.

Add a little spice

Maisy loves to lick tortilla chips and then toss them on the floor, but Sunday, when Grandma and Grandpa were over for dinner, she decided to try some salsa.
At first she was quite unsure.

And she looked like she just might start to cry.

I don't know if it was the taste or the cheers, but she liked what she got and went back for more.

It was so funny to see how proud she was of herself.

I love this girl!

Click Click

There is something about kids in the tub that makes me want to take pictures. It isn't the greatest place because there is little natural light and the white walls do terrible things with the flash. But every once in a while I can't resist the fact that they are happy and stuck in one place, and out comes the camera.

Maisy likes the sound the camera makes when I take a picture. And once she gets that smile I can't help it, because first she does this:

Then, click and I get this:

She loves the camera and I love her, so here I am reveling in a giggly girl who will remain gloriously happy as long as I keep taking her picture, instead of washing her hair.

A Kiss to Build a Dream On

My days are full of kisses. We are an affectionate family and so, kisses are given. Goodbye kisses, goodnight kisses, kisses for boo boos and hurt feelings, playful kisses (butterfly), silly kisses (fancy girls), made-up kisses (ram), blown kisses, caught kisses, kisses on cheeks and lips and foreheads, my day is made of just one more kiss. But last night's kiss will be one I hold in my heart forever.

See, Maisy was in the hospital for so long and there was very little positive that dealt with her mouth. She struggled to breathe, she was intubated, it all was very negative. The idea of giving Mommy a kiss never occurred to her. I tried to get Maisy comfortable with kisses and she learned to like kisses on the cheek and that is it. So, we were all quite excited when Maisy began to blow kisses. "Can I have a kiss?" and she tucks her lower lip under her upper lip, puts her hand up to her mouth, and makes a kissing noise. We love it! Sometimes she confuses signing "thank you" for blowing kisses and Mommy's "can you say 'thank you'?" gets strangers a kiss.

Now, back to last night. I tucked her in, turned out the light and just before I walked out said, "Goodnight honey. I love you." and Maisy made her kissing noise. We don't always know how much Maisy understands. We know she desperately wants to do what others do, but requests and direction are often ignored. So when my four-year-old recognizes that "I love you." is a kissable statement and reacts on it, it gives me so much hope. That one little kiss holds so much happiness and hope for what will come.

I know this is a lot to read into the kiss of a child, but this is something I have waited a long time for. Love is something I try not to take for granted and love is more than a kiss, but that little testament means a lot. "Where there is great love, there are always miracles." Willa Cather

She's Here

Olive was born today at around 2:30 PM. I don't have all the details because sweet Olive has pneumonia. I got some pictures and then they whisked her away. Olive was on oxygen and she and Haley were both resting when I left this evening. Haley and Pete are so excited to have her here and are hopeful that she will be fine. I am taking the kids to see Aunt Haley tomorrow; Olive will have to stay in the nursery, but she should be home in a few days. Then we can start spoiling (after lots of hand washing) and I can get over this crazy baby hunger.

The new family.
The happy parents.

My baby sister had a baby.

*I found out that she weighs 6 lbs 13 oz and is 19.5 inches long.

I think I threw my own surprise party.

I had some friends over to wrap presents together on Tuesday and they surprised me with a birthday party. Complete with balloons, hats, presents, and a yummy chocolate dessert.
We wrapped presents, visited, and ate treats.

A fun, productive, up-too-late night. The kids were excited to see some presents under the tree.

And play with balloons the next morning.

I hope everyone had fun. Thanks for the surprise.

Shh, don't tell but, Happy Birthday to me.

Typically a December birthday gets lost in the shuffle, but my family has made sure that we always manage to go dinner. And while I have had my fair share of Happy Birthday/Merry Christmases, I got some great gifts as well. We went to dinner for my birthday and while it doesn't appear that way, we had a great time.

I think the expression on our faces is exhaustion, not unhappiness. This is a busy month and among this group we have two pregnancies, one move, two that work nights, and one working retail. A lot of tired adults and with all of the extra activities some tired kids as well.

Look at least Pete is smiling. Could it be the baby daughter just weeks from arriving and the new house just days from moving into?

I got phone calls, cards, and well wishes from near and far. And I didn't even tell anyone that it was my birthday. Thank you for a great birthday.