SV also has a birthday...still January, but later

Oma, Opa and Uncle K sent a birthday package with new shoes!!

...and some hair things.

We realized that we didn't take many pictures at her party, but here are the important ones...

SV has allergies/reactivities to gluten, dairy, eggs, sugar, etc., so I made her a wonderful cobbler type dessert with a balsamic vinegar reduction from a recipe that my cousin made up. SV gobbled it right up, but the other kids weren't quite sure.

The best part about this picture is that SV was really laughing, as you can tell, and if you know SV, you know how infectious her laugh is.

Here's a bit about SV:
SV has many that she loves fiercely...including her sisters and parents. She enjoys any type of art project, especially with paints. Reading is important to her, both someone else reading to her and her reading to someone else. She LOVES preschool and thrives on that routine. Despite her diagnosis of allergies last year, she has been a trooper. She knows what she can and cannot have and deals with it all very diplomatically. We appreciate her cooperation, because it has been a much easier experience than it could have been. She loves to laugh...and it is INFECTIOUS. She laughs with her whole being. She has a great smile, which she shares often. She loves to help everyone and rushes when you need her. She is an amazing child!

Laundry fun...what?

Nothing like laundry baskets to keep the children occupied.

Surprisingly, for a while...

SV didn't want to fold clothes, this is what J did to her to get them off the floor. ;)

SD and first time curlers...mid/late January

As a young girl, I remember my mother putting my hair in curlers on Saturday night before Sunday church. I always enjoyed the compliments that I received from spending extra time on my hair.

SD received curlers for Christmas and kept asking to use them. Finally, on a Thursday night (because we usually have extra time before bedtime on a school night...not really), I gave in and we tried it.

The next morning was nothing special, just an ordinary school day. Her curls hung nicely down her back and she was overjoyed.

A nice cheesy grin...

Here she is almost set to go to school.

I checked in on her during lunch time and most of the curls had fallen, but for the morning, I thought they turned out nicely. After all these years of attempting to perfect my curly hair, you would think that I would have realized before that moment...IF you want your hair to stay how it is, use some time of holding product, i.e. mousse, gel, hairspray. So much effort for such a short time. Again, another learning experience from my children. We need to try this again, so I can redeem myself. :)

SD Looses Tooth #2...mid January

I don't know about the rest of you, but loose teeth drive me NUTS! SD has lost two teeth now, but both times I was tired of seeing her play with it after a couple of days (not to mention it was the ONLY topic of every conversation she started). She came up to me and asked if I would like to wiggle her tooth. I figured we could change the subject around the house if it came out, so I came up with a quick plan.

No worries...I just wiggled it a little harder than I had been, and happened to pull/push it out. She cried for a minute while I took her to the bathroom to wash out her mouth. After she calmed down, she was supposed to stop talking about her loose tooth, right? Now the subject for the next three days became how I pulled her tooth out and "it really hurt." Oh well, chalk it up as a learning experience that loose teeth are a HUGE deal and we should enjoy the novelty of the situation.

SC has another birthday...early January still

This is our big girl, SC, wearing a cute sweater from Uncle K.

I found the shirt on a clearance sale and she didn't really need anything.

Lots of balloons make entertainment easy for family and friends.

Even the younger kids appreciated them...including T.

SV being silly...as always!

Cousin E taking a break from the balloon festivities.

Thanks M for the big smiles!

Dad of the Birthday Girl!

Relaxing with Ro-Ro.

Some of the adults wore the hats, at least for a picture.

Where's R?

She decorated her cupcakes with her choice of sprinkles...thanks to Oma.

The anticipation of enjoying that frosting.

A few fun things about SC...
She is tall & skinny for her age, not something we have had before. She loves to laugh and smile. She doesn't talk much, but understands a ton. Her favorite toys are the baby dolls, which she has many of. She loves stars, including the glow-in-the-dark ones on her ceiling. Her favorite phrase is "I do it!" She loves pasta, cheese, fruit and sometimes veggies. She enjoys "shooting" Daddy's Nerf ball guns. Her loves and hugs are the best!

SV burrito...early January

This really isn't a normal occurrence and we found it funny.

She was barely peeking out.

J and SD decided to give her a "heavy" and no, SC wasn't being neglected. She got her milk shortly after the picture was taken.

LOVE those bright eyes of SV!
She loves the blanket made by our friend R so much that she still sleeps with it.

Yummy treats...still December

We made Oreo truffles and Fritz...J's hands were icky from rolling the truffles before dipping them...so we added the white melting discs and voila! OREO HANDS!

Oreo balls before coming truffles.

Finished Fritz.

R making the Oreo truffles pretty.

Blurry pic of the two masterminds behind attempting treats...they were so yummy, we should do this again, before we are tired, but when would that ever happen?? Not sure.

Snowplay...early December

The girls asked J to pull them around the backyard after a snowstorm.

Please notice SCs mitten really isn't on...she kept eating them off.

SV...most you can imagine her infectious laugh.

SD and SV were taking turns pulling each other. SV wasn't moving very fast, even though SD was working very hard.

SC really wasn't happy about the snowangel expectation we had, but J enjoyed himself.

Our Big News...from December

I have decided that I need to blog again...so here is my hap-hazard attempt to catch y'all up on the news. In December we sent these pictures to a token few family and friends, then posted them on our Facebook accounts. Here they are for the blogging world to see.

If you still don't quite understand, SC will be a big sister as of sometime in June...hopefully the latter part. Schools ends on the 11th of June and I think that my students would appreciate me being there until that day, as would the head-master. Come to think of it, I would appreciate that too, given that working as a teacher doesn't allow for much time to prepare at home. Here's to positive thoughts, baby-baking for girl #4 and prayers that J will get a GREAT job with FABULOUS benefits before it all happens. YEAH!