Toothy Tooth Fest!

Maeve with her future husband? I'm just saying.


I love how kids cluster similar toys.





Miss fancy pants has a tooth coming in! She has a little nubby on her bottom gums, which was discovered by Jamie last night. I was sad that he found it and not me and sad that her gummy grin will soon be only a memory. She is growing up so much and next week she'll be six months old! Mercy.

Also--how cute is Maeve with Jonas in these photos? She only took one blow to the gut by the whale.

Missing Caroline

This is the only photo I have of the two of us and I love it (thanks to Jocelyn).

I took Caroline and her kids to the airport yesterday and saying goodbye was tremendously difficult and even a little bruising. Hard to let go of such a perfect friend and family. Jonas asked me to get Asher and Soren so they could go to Utah with him. I am going to miss hearing him pronounce my name, "Jeksika." I am going to miss Livia and her awesome love of horses and not princesses. Most of all I am going to miss the comforting proximity of having a best friend right outside my front door.

Cutie Cute Face on the Table

I am still astonished that my little baby girl is sitting up! I plopped her on the kitchen table and declared that never had our table looked more festive or adorable. Maeve grabs at toys expertly and will sit and play for ages. She is so full of cuteness and fun that I nearly explode from all the sweetness.

I just can't get enough of her. I hold her and look at her brothers and know that in what will soon seem like moments she'll be telling imaginative stories and jumping off her bed and developing funny food preferences.

Having twins was a miracle. Watching Asher and Soren grow up side by side has been one of the greatest joys in my life. They are so amazing and dynamic and for as different as they are--they love each other so much and play together so well. Now that they have a kid sister I get to see the glory of older/younger siblings interact. Maeve adores her brothers and saves her biggest smiles for them. She smiles and stares until they catch her eye then she lunges for them. Put her on their backs and she is in heaven grabbing their hair and burrowing into their clothing. The boys love her and think she is funny. Sometimes I think I am failing terribly at managing the various needs of kids of different ages--and then I see them together and thank God that even though I am fumbling through this mothering business my kids are thriving together and loving each other.

Easter Activity

Jonas loves his cars!


Jonas and Asher in the SAME outfit.


BEST MOM EVER Caroline reading to the kids.


Mason Man!


Asher Man!


Livia crouched in the hunt for eggs.








We only had three Easter baskets but being mister clever, Soren suggested that he use his construction hat for an Easter basket. Awesome.




I'm going to miss Livia's sweet face!

Caroline likes to joke that the reason we are such great friends is that we have 'the same style in children's clothing.' Hah! I laughed when Jonas came to our house on Easter with the EXACT same outfit as Asher--same pants, same Super man shirt. Awesome!

After lunch I led the kids on a little egg hunt in the front yard. I had Jamie close the blinds while I distributed the eggs in our tiny, tiny yard. I had it organized by color--each child had six eggs of their signature color to find (Livia: pink, Jonas: blue, Soren: green, Asher: orange). Five of the eggs had candy but ONE egg had a little piece of paper that they were to redeem for a special prize. Livia got two little horses that she promptly named Abbie and Viola (after her two best friends). I gave Jonas Chick Hick from Cars and he was SO SO SO SO excited. He yelled with delight then went around the rest of the afternoon announcing that he got Chick Hick! My favorite was when he went up to his kid brother Mason and declared, "I got Chick Hick!" Holy cuteness.

Easter 2011 was definitely one of the best holidays ever.

The Easter Table

Freesia. I love this flower for it's sweet perfume and color.




I used my new paper cut-outs for the Happy Easter signs.




The candy eggs!




I am pleased with the look of our Easter lunch setting. The planning for this lunch started over a week ago with the planting of wheat grass and blowing eggs. We had our friends the Brady's over for lunch and since they are leaving THIS week it was truly a grand finale of time together. I wanted our lunch to be beautiful and memorable and I am happy with the result.

The place settings were eggs that I had blown out and filled with candy. We started lunch by cracking our candy eggs and it was so fun! I think a tradition was born. For lunch we had crustless cauliflower quiche, roasted broccoli, salad (avocado, asparagus, red pepper, red onion, chick pea), ciabbata bread and pomegranate lime-aid! I reveled in the time with our friends and even the joyful chaos of feeding so many little kids! I love quiche! I don't like this quiche. More bread! Butter my bread! I loved it!

I was sad when the lunch came to end.

Easter Kids

This is the best I have of Maeve! She does look so cute playing in the grass.


Both of them distracted by nature.


So handsome.




Maeve's first Easter! I look like I am dressed for a funeral because of a wardrobe situation prior to church. I still can't fit into 99% of my clothes...thus the black.

Oh the folly of thinking one can get a photo of all three children looking in the same direction at the same time (Especially post-church at 6:30 pm)! I thought it would be cute to have Asher and Soren stand in front of this azalea bush and hold Maeve's hands so that she 'stood' between the two of them. Wishful, wishful thinking! I implored them to hold on to her tightly and not to let go! They held her hand for about one second and then both of them let go! She immediately dropped and rolled under the azalea bush. I was horrified and she was hardly alarmed. She didn't even cry. What a patience cutie cutes. Thankfully she didn't get hurt. I brushed her off and that was it!

I thought the kids looked smashing in their gingham. The boys especially struck me as looking so mature and more and more like little boys and not even toddlers. Sigh. This growing up business tortures me.

Easter 2011

Happy Easter. We had a beautiful day. Maeve's first Easter was the cutest! A&S look shockingly grown up to me.

More Coco Penny Cutes

My mom and dad have been asking for more photos of Maeve with a SMILE on her face. I'm happy to present some of the cutest photos of Maeve...EVER.













Maeve's headband, clip, and embellished onesie are all from Coco Penny. So cute, right?

Growls

Maeve makes me happy. I think she is hilarious. Last night I had the hardest time getting her to sleep. Each time I thought she was good for the night she'd wake up kicking, rolling, and growling. Most babies cry when they are upset or annoyed but this one growls! Even though I was absolutely exhausted I couldn't help but laugh as I held my growling baby babe. She was so ticked! I was so amused!

This morning I snuck into her room before I left for work and found that she was just waking up. I watched her roll to her side and rest against the crib. She kicked her feet against the crib slats and looked out the window. She flapped her arms a bit and just seemed so content with the morning. I love her so much. I quietly said her name and was greeted with the warmest, most gracious smile and eager kicks. Babies are my fave.

Saying Goodbye Sucks

Asher insisted on bringing his bird house and milk tanker to the arboretum. Loves him.


I'm glad no one fell in.


Happy to see the fish survived an icy winter!


Capital column cutes.




What a cutes!




Don't even get me started on how this photo make me cry.


Those faces!


Nothing says awesomesauce like eating cookies in one's super soggy clothes with friends.






My ambler.


Magnolia bliss.


Apart from being professionally cute, Livia is amazing with flower arrangements. There are not just dandelions but long pieces of grass and a stick or two in her bouquet...lovely!

Last July our good friends moved into the neighborhood--they moved so close that I could see their place from The Deuce and Maeve's rooms. Perfect! Not only did we love that their kids were super cute and Jonas was the exact same age (by a few days) as the boys but I could not have been happier about having such a wonderful friend SO close. Caroline is more than a wonderful friend--she is a best friend and those kinds of friends just don't come around frequently. She is an amazing mother, terrific cook, and an extremely thoughtful friend. She succored me through the difficult and dark days following Maeve's birth. She cheered me up when I had to go back to work and she has just always had the right words and the right recipes for a precious friendship.

Sadly, they are leaving and the dream is ending! Victims of this terrible economy, our friends are leaving for employment in Utah. I'm crushed by their departure. When Caroline told me that they were looking for work I collapsed a little on the inside and couldn't stop crying. It's hard saying goodbye. I hate it. I am comforted that they will be in Utah and that we'll see them there but nothing can replace living less than a minute away from each other. I'm not the only one mourning here (there are countless families who will miss them) but Jamie and the boys are losing too. I told Soren that Jonas was moving to Utah and he nearly cried and begged to move to Utah too. Ugh.

Now we are trying to cram in as much time with them as possible and make those last trips to favorite places. There is just not enough time or words to make this kind of goodbye. We went to the arboretum last week on a beautifully warm day and let our kids run wild and root around in the open space. I loved it. Sigh. Sniffle. Sigh.