Introducing

...my friend Elizabeth and Christiana! A few days after she was born, we met Christiana in all her newborn sweetness.



Cheers!

Applause!!!

She was due two weeks before Piper but arrived four weeks after, and though she was bigger than Piper at the time I took these pictures, I bet Piper's on her tail now.

What a beauty.

Yes, He Has An MLS

John began a weekly outing with Millie to visit the library. The first week, she got her own library card. The second week, we all got to come, too!

Millie picked out two dozen books to bring home and disappeared among the stacks (hence, no snapshot).

Susannah played here after she read every book in the place.



Annika stacked her own stockpile and made faces at me from across the table.



And when it was time to leave, Susannah raced through slanting shadows to reach the van.

Perfect Peace

Is having a baby sleep on top of you while you look at recipes for fried spiders.

Two for Two

When Piper was two weeks old, we went to Nanticoke to pick up her clothes from barn storage.

Two pictures:

Joel as an excellent uncle on the trampoline at Andy and Wendy's (much like he is when off of trampolines)




And Millie on my parent's steps, eating watermelon that was sandwiched between brilliant pants and brilliant sky.

Pinecone Tree

We let the older two girls climb the sole climbing tree on the lawn with clear instructions about handholds and too high. I took this picture after I ran to the tree to rescue Susannah, who clearly did NOT want to be rescued. She'd climbed up to Annie's feet and was reaching for the sky when I looked up to see her.


What distracted me from noticing her embark on a first climb? Well, the garden weeds that had engaged me in battle, for starters. Oh, and this sleepy grin beside me, stretching out of a too-small preemie onesie.

Nearly Native

We went to Nanticoke another day, too, but I have this one picture I took before we left. Here are Millie and Susannah deep in a self-titled Rain Dance.


The dance was efficacious because it rained the whole day long, though I have nary a snapshot to show for it.

Volunteer Fireman

I've chosen to not use pacifiers with any of our girls, tho', in dire need of sleep, I once tried to get Susannah to take one. (She screwed up her face and spit it out repeatedly, to my dismay.)

As the fourth child, Piper is our guinea pig. Of late, she squirms and squawks in the evenings and at night. I call her our little dirigible because she struggles so regularly with gas at these times. So, instead of sucking on her fingers or her Papa's finger while her Mama catches some sleep, John asked if we had a pacifier in the house.

She sometimes likes it during these moments, and I like the sleep. Onward, ho!

Since I don't want to use the pacifier unless it's needed, which has ended up being once every day or two, and because Susannah's the most helpful of Little Mothers, I have to constantly stop her from plugging up Piper's mouth any hour of the day. Yesterday, with a tone of great concern, she came to me and repeated, "Piper...Fire truck. N'yah? [Yes?]" over and over and over. She then showed me this. The PaciFireTruck-- her solution to any trouble that Piper may have.


I immediately wanted to draw a comic of a baby sucking on a giant fire truck, but no one would have gotten the joke but me and Susannah.

Gimungonormous

John brought home six lovely roses from Aldi, and within two days, they were huge and still thriving. None of you can contend it, so there's nothing more to say.

The Moon's Blue

My girls very rarely display genuine smiles when they know the camera's out. Odd in itself is one of them suggesting I take her picture; odder yet is the jackpot of not one but TWO genuine smiles.

Annika: Mama! I know a GREAT place for you to take my picture!

This was it.


Then Millie ran over while Annie blew on her nail polish.
Look! Another real smile!


And that, readers, is the reason for this post.

Fashion Kneesta

I came downstairs one morning after sleeping in late to discover that Mildred's fashion sense had reached the next level. She had color-coordinated her entire outfit with the knee socks as cornerstone.

Sun and Dirt Enough to Share

The Pipsqueak and I hung laundry.



By the looks of her forehead, this one should be washed and hung out to dry.