Secret Agents & Reptiles

Austin ran a small fever for a day, so we took the next few days off. We pulled out their Kiwi & Koala crates and had a blast completing the activities. Amelia's was a "secret agent" crate in which she built a periscope, a briefcase, and learned various ways to write secret codes. 

Using her periscope to see the number of fingers Austin is holding up above the table.

Around the wall

Secret codes

They mostly consisted of "I love you", names and drawings.

Finger prints

Austin's reptile crate included knocking bugs over with his chameleon.

Making beaded snakes

Turtle box!

Austin is creating a plush snake with a scale pattern while Amelia is writing more secret codes. 

Colleen enjoys hanging out. :) 

The snake could smell with his tongue too!

This girl did not like food for the entirety of her 7th month. I'd offer daily, and she'd stick her tongue out and refuse.  Then on her 7th month birthday, she suddenly opened wide and acted like she had to make up for a month of not eating. Now she can't get enough baby food and accepts any tidbits I offer her. Poor 3rd child doesn't get the food-introduction regime that the other 2 got. So if she has any allergies, we'll find out quickly!

If Colleen gets her photo take at lunch, Amelia wants it too.

Austin's photo face

Our autumn weather has swung between cold days barely getting up to 50 degrees and days that spike in the low 70's. So we're still getting out on our bikes as often as possible after school and rest time.

Meera joins us whenever possible.

The kids have had a daily habit of pulling Patrick's badge before he leaves for work. It goes along with the morning goodbye kiss and hug. One morning, Patrick offered his hip to Colleen in jest; she immediately grabbed his badge and pulled. Oh how we laughed! So now she gets a morning turn, and she knows just what to do.

We took a morning walk with our friends Mandy & Jack at Duke Farms. We visited the orchid greenhouse for the first time, and it was gorgeous! The kids were so warm and humid inside that they stripped off their jackets. Colleen fell right asleep.

 She loves these little books while she's scooting around on her back!

Amelia is required to read 10-15 minutes each day for school. For the past week, instead of reading in the evenings, she's been reading to Austin in the mornings while I take a shower. It feels like a complete Mommy-win situation every morning.

Colleen - 7 Months

Please stop growing up Colleen!

She's scooting all over the floor, but gets ANGRY when her head touches the furniture or wall. She's passing things around from hand-to-hand and chewing on anything you hand her. She alternates between great sleeping nights and nights with wakings every hour (without any pattern or triggers). She has a predictable routine and is content to watch her siblings for much of the day. But her happy place is still being held or worn by Mommy, particularly in the late afternoon/evenings. She giggles anytime Amelia and Austin are laughing and thankfully does not get upset when she hears them or other kids cry. For now, she goes to childcare at CBS and other events easily; our baby sitters have enjoyed playing with her without issues. She's becoming more interactive each day and brings so much joy to our home!

In truth, our photo shoot consisted mostly of trying to distract her from grabbing her feet.

Amelia is so funny.

Finally got the sticker!

A friend of mine had purchased this cloth to take photos of her nephew; she offered it to me to take photos of Colleen. I think it would be super sweet with a newborn, but we had fun taking a few of Colleen and editing them.

November Projects

Amelia found this art project in a book and asked if she could make the placetags for our table. They turned out cute!

Austin made his own.

Colleen even had one!

Daddy grabbed a photo of his girls before church.

All our pumpkin hats were snug, but still so cute!

She's figured out how to pull books off the shelf and is so proud of herself! 

One morning we wrote out their school words in shaving cream on the table.

Amelia got home from school when Austin and Colleen had late naps. I asked her what she would like to do with her special Mommy-time. She immediately asked if we could cook something on the stove together. So we processed our remaining apples into apple pie filling and canned them. She was beaming!

Skyping with cousin Eli

She started rotating on her belly this afternoon.

Angry because it's hard!

Got it!

We took the kids on a walk at Duke Farms. We tried a different direction than before and came upon a big statue!

and then it surprised us by raining...

A little damp but still smiling.

Our sunshine on cloudy days

We took 'school' upstairs one afternoon.