8 months!

So, Miss Madeline turned 8 months old this weekend.  Her first year is flying by, and she is enjoying every minute of it.  In the last month, she has started crawling and is chasing her sisters everywhere.  She is also starting to pull up a little and babbling more and more (ma ma ma ma ma).  Her favorite things right now are her squeaky giraffe "Sophie", cheerios, and peas!  She loves sitting up at the dinner table with everyone and is quick to give a smile.  Happy 8 months, sweet girl!

The three musketeers!

Ms. Kathryn Says...

Ms. Kathryn was Clara's main teacher this year and was so loved by our sweet girl.  Our end of the year gift  for Ms. Kathryn was a book we wrote.  Ms. Kathryn is full of wise words for these sweet 3 year olds, and Clara repeated all of these funny sayings at home.  I made a book of the funny expressions, and Clara colored pictures for each page.  Here are a few excerpts...

"Mind your own beeswax"

"Don't be a nature girl, especially on stage at the Christmas show."
Good advice for little girls who like to lift their shirts while performing on stage. 

"Don't smoke your pipe; big girls don't suck their thumbs."

"Don't stay up for the late, late show, especially if you have
a party the next morning."

"Don't show your undies at school."

"If you don't have anything kind to say,
don't say anything."

This was such a fun project to work on, and watching Clara come up with the ideas for the pictures was priceless.  We hope you enjoy, Ms. Kathryn! 

Preschool

Clara recently finished her year of preschool.  We were so blessed to have Ms. Kathryn and Ms. Crystal as her teachers; they were a perfect team together and really loved Clara well this year.

Clara with Ms. Kathryn

Her "graduation" day was short and sweet.  They sang a few songs and showed off some of the skills they had learned over the year - Pledge of Allegiance, Days of the Week, etc.  Each child then received a certificate for completing the year.  

Ms. Crystal, Clara, and Ms. Beth (substitute teacher)

Proud Clara

After the ceremony was over, we headed to our car to go home for naps.  On the way out, Clara asked where we were going.  She said she had her certificate and was now ready to go to the 4 year old class  - right now!  Sweet girl didn't understand summer break, but she sure is ready for next year! 

Heard at our home today...

Funny things heard around our house today...

1 - What does it feel like to lick your eye? (Clara)
2 - I need some pwivacy (privacy) please. (Ainsley while sitting on the potty.)
3 - Mommy, who babysat me when you and Daddy got married? Was it Uncle Robbie? (Clara)
4 - Going potty is the best, Ainsley.  There are M&M's involved. (Clara)

Silly girls...

Six months of sweetness

Miss Madeline is now 6 months old!  So hard to believe that half a year has passed since she joined our family.  She is an absolutely precious baby girl, and every day we are enjoying her more and more.  Her personality has really blossomed over the past few weeks, and she is quick to give us a smile or laugh.  She started baby food in the last week and seems to love it so far  Some of her favorite activities are playing in the exer-saucer, rolling all over the floor, and jumping in her Johnny jump-up (or "Jolly" jump-up as Clara and Ainsley call it).  She is starting to reach for her toys and loves watching her sisters play and talk to her.  What a joy she is to our family!  

Hit it, Baboon!

Ainsley's new favorite book to read at bedtime is "Soon, Baboon, Soon".  It is a really fun book about a group of primates - monkeys, lemurs, gorillas, etc - getting ready for a percussion concert.  The baboon plays the triangle, and he has to wait for everyone else to take a turn before he plays his part.  Ainsley loves when it is his turn to "ting" and just laughs and laughs when he plays his part. 

However, I didn't realize how well she was understanding all of the fun lingo in the book until last night.  As I was putting her to bed, I asked if she wanted a song.  She said that she wanted "Jesus Loves Me" and then proceeded to tell me, "Hit it, baboon....hit it, baboon mommy!".  She then started cracking up!  So...funny girl now knows that is the way to get the music started..."Hit it, baboon!"  

The Roar of Love

Clara was in her first ballet this weekend.  She started taking pre-ballet from the Columbia County Ballet last fall.  Each Spring, they put on a ballet called The Roar of Love, based on the Chronicles of Narnia.  It was such a sweet day, and I love how the ballet school uses dance as a way to share the gospel with the dancers and also those who see Roar.  The youngest dancers perform as cherubs, and each subsequent year, they move up to a new role.  Here are a few pictures of our Clara at dress rehearsal.

Clara did a great job during her part of the ballet, although you could tell from her huge eyes that she was a bit starstruck by all of the beautiful costumes and the rather large audience.  After the ballet was over, Ed and I picked Clara up and gave her a bouquet of flowers.  When Clara and I saw The Nutcracker in November, she was very intrigued by the dancers who received flowers, saying they must be  "really special dancers".  Well, she absolutely loved receiving her flowers from us, and it was a really special moment.  

Her favorite thing about getting flowers?  "Thank you, Mommy, for putting a fake ladybug in my flowers!".  :)