Piano

I think my grandparents would be tickled to see their great grandchildren enjoying their old piano.

Bath Time

Bike Ride

I love, love, love this picture of the younger kids. Unfortunately, the mesh on the trailer covers Benjamin's face, but I still love the picture. I never realized I would be one of those people who had children that looked alike, but I am really beginning to see the resemblance between Benjamin and Grace, not just the resemblance between Benjamin and Jonathan. (It's always easier for other people to see, I think.)

Ready to go! Jonathan really does love his brother and sister, even though they are old enough to drive him a little crazy.

Jeff took the kids for a ride, and I had a few moments of peace and quiet. I definitely want to ride along next time, though!

It Only Took 14 Months...

Each kid has his/her name in wooden letters. I finally bought and painted Benjamin's, and hung it in the boys' room.

Updating

When we first put the playroom together, I made a collage wall and filled it with favorite snapshots.

That was four years ago, and I had never updated since then.

Some of the photos will always stay the same, but we decided to change a few of them. I'm sure you can spot which ones:

I learned a lesson. When I upload my color photos onto Snapfish or Shutterfly or whatever, and then turn them sepia, they come out a nice tan color. But, when I use my own computer to turn them sepia and then upload them to a printing service, the results are a weird, greenish brownish color. Rats. Oh well, I do like the new pictures, and I'm not going to reorder them...at least, not for another four years when I decide to update again. :)

Today

These kids crack me up.

Today at breakfast...

Grace: S says ssss...ssss...snot!

Yes, friends, her day has been a very snotty one. Ugh. And yes, she's been really into the beginning sounds of words lately.

Jonathan: I can teach you chicken language. If you want me to.

And he proceeded to do just that. Chicken language only has two words, in case you were wondering!

Later this afternoon...

Grace: I'm going to kick off my boots.

Me: OK, go for it.

Grace: I went for it.

The Room Switcheroo

Back in October 2010, Grace moved into Jonathan's room, and we had it set up like this.

Last month, Benjamin moved into Jonathan's room, and Benjamin's nursery became Grace's room. We took the crib curtains and all Grace's other feminine things and moved them over into the nursery, and we made Jonathan's room into a room for two brothers. I didn't have to switch any furniture, which was great.

Wal-Mart sells flat sheets, so these two twin flat sheets became Benjamin's crib curtains without any sewing. Sewing would have been more fun, but I would have been kidding myself if I thought I had time for that right now. :)

We hung these things that we already had above Benjamin's crib.  I'll probably paint the white picture frame black...someday.

And we put these animals on the shelves that were there.

I hated to pull Jonathan and Grace apart because they were great roommates, but it was time to do it. I think Grace needs to be in a room alone to learn to be in a big-girl bed. And, the crib in her new room converts into a toddler bed, but this one in Jonathan's room doesn't.

Jonathan loves having Benjamin as a roommate. Sometimes I hear him reading to Benjamin in the mornings. Sometimes I hear Benjamin fussing, and Jonathan isn't sure what to do about it. Jonathan says he wishes Benjamin were as old as Grace so that they could have little chats!

Grace's room is turning out well, but I have a few more things I want to arrange before I post pictures.

The Daddy Daughter Dance

This year, Grace was old enough to go to the dance with her daddy. She was pretty excited, jumping and spinning in each of these pictures, waiting for Daddy to be ready to go.

She chose the dress to wear (out of her closet, anyway) and how she wanted her hair.

These are the pictures I took before the dance. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall! I hear it was a very special, memorable evening. Grace still talks about what they did at the dance, and I know it won't be long before she starts talking about next year's dance! Seeing Jeff and Gracie like this was just precious.

Jonathan felt pretty left out, so the boys and I went to the mall to have pretzels (a treat for Jonathan) and buy our yearly installment of Saltwater Sandals. My decision to keep them all is starting to pay off...the youngers will be wearing hand-me-downs this year!

Sweet Sleepers

I have a whole bunch of unblogged photos for February that I want to post, just for my own memory. I'll be working on it. Here's the first set.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Jeff's mom gave this book to Jonathan today. It belonged to Jeff when he was a little boy. What a great way to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday! And I'm pretty sure Jonathan read the treasury from cover to cover.