Will y'all be our Valentine?

H and I took the three to their day care's Valentine's Day party. It was neat for us to stand back and observe them. They seemed so much older to us: sitting at the table, interacting with others, being content without us right there.
Here is Lu getting her bag of treats from their teacher, Miss Debbie.
She loved the balloon.
Mama Bee and E reading a book from his bag of treats.
E, enjoying a cookie and punch.
Maze with her new bracelet and a sucker.
All three of the children were double-fisted eaters.



One of our favorite things to notice while at the party was how Lucia is so good at sharing. She tried to share just about all of her treats with the other kids, including her brother and sister. It was so sweet to watch her go up to others and offer them a bite.




We hope you had a Valentine's day filled with love.

Oh Atlanta

During our trip to Atlanta we were able to see lots of loved ones in a short amount of time. H and I loved living in Atlanta (okay, I loved every second of it, she liked it some of the time). We usually stay with our friends Summer and Rachael when we go back to visit. To get to their house it is quicker to go around the city, but H and I love to drive into Atlanta so we can see the skyline and then drive down Ponce through Decatur. We do it every time we visit.

Here is Lu playing with Wyatt and Parks' toys.
Parks, sharing his books.
Wyatt, just up from his nap.
Elliott in the boys' cool play tent, also Parks.
Elliott and Parks playing together. (Notice my child has not only taken off his shoes, but his socks too.)
Here the babes are in Auburn. We spent the night with our friend Michelle. She is showing the three her German Sheppard. They loved him. She also has flying squirrels they got to see.
We spent part of an afternoon with my Grandma. Here is Aunt Nancy with Lu and Grandma's poodle Misty.
Mazie at the big people's table. The children ate Sprayberry's BBQ for the first time this trip. I ordered them Brunswick stew. I thought they'd love it. They wouldn't touch it. The barbeque they loved.
Grandma can't slow Elliott down.
Grandma, Misty, and Lucia.
Mazie was in two new phases this trip. One was to wear her hat all day. They other was to take off her left shoe and sock while traveling. She has moved out of the hat phase, not the left shoe and sock phase.
Mama Bee and Maze reading Seth's books in Atlanta.
The three really enjoyed playing with all the new toys at Seth's house. Rachael keeps a few other children so they have a lot of neat toys. Lucia and Elliott in the house.
Lots of activity.
We drew with chalk for the first time. They also had a short slide the babes played on.
Lucia playing with Seth's cycle. Seth is currently obsessed with bicycles. He calls them cackles.
Elliott is checking for mail.
Mazie is riding that horsey to town.
Seth's Grandpa (Grumps) patiently sharing his quiche and muffins with our little beggar children.
We were so happy to see the lovely Amy too. She makes Lucia laugh.
Here is Mr. Setheroni. He shares his cool toys so well.
Wow. Mazie loves the cube.
So does Lu.
"We've got to get us one of these things."
Before we left Elliott decided it was really fun to play on Top of the train table. You can tell from the way he is cutting his eyes over at me that he knows this is not a good idea.
We enjoyed our time in Atlanta and can't wait to get back.

Sophia

Last week our dear friends' four-year-old lost her battle with brain cancer. Sophia was a very brave little girl who lived all of her days to the fullest despite her twenty month struggle. If you haven't read Sophia's CarePage, I recommend you do. Shirley (Sophia's Mom) writes about their journey with such grace and strength. (The link is in the left sidebar.) Your life will be richer having read their story.

At the beautiful memorial service each person received a flower bulb with several cards attached. One card was a "Random Acts of Kindness" card. Shirley and Wayne asked each of us to perform a random act of kindness in memory of Sophia and leave the card for the recipient.

We ask you to pray for Shirley and Wayne and Fiona and their family.

Changes, Part One

The kids have started school. They are going two full days a week. Yesterday was their first day. They had a good day and were happily playing when H and I picked them up. In fact, when we were leaving, Elliott was signing "more, more."
H and I came to this decision for several reasons. It is increasingly difficult for me to get anything done around the house with three little ones into everything. It is also very rare that I am away from them. Of course I love to be with them, but I have gotten to the point where a little time away will make my time with them more focused and engaged. Additionally, we felt the three would benefit from interacting with others their age. We believe sending them to "school" will help them become more independent.

Miss Debbie is their teacher. She is very sweet and nurturing. The babies loved her from the start. Lucia, Elliott, and Mazie will be acquiring new skills which is another reason we decided to take this plunge. They nap on cots. They eat at a table. They play with other children. They pick up their toys.

We feel happy about this new change, knowing it will be good for the mamas and the babies.

Rainy Days

The older the children get, the tougher rainy days are to get through. Also, our morning walks have been our biggest help in transitioning to one nap a day. So, with the rain yesterday, our morning was very long. I know my morning was very long, and I feel it was a long morning for the children as well. In an effort not to go insane, I pulled out the art supplies Grancy had given the babes last week--desperate times, desperate measures.
We colored with markers and then finger painted. The entire activity time might have eaten 30 minutes of our long morning (it was a very long morning, did I mention that?), but it helped us get to lunch time. I can't say they really enjoyed their first art time. They really didn't know what to do with their markers and paint, but we'll keep working on it. We did think their first pieces were beautiful.
We hope your day is filled with color and beauty.

What we've been up to

What have you been up to lately? We've missed you.

The babes are still working on their verbal skills. They are repeating a lot of words we say. We are working on throwing and chasing balls, and each other.

We are finishing up our third week of only taking one nap a day. The transition has gone pretty smoothly. The first two weeks we had Lucia sleep in a Pak-n-Play in our bedroom. Since she usually wakes up first, this kept her from waking the others. Over the past couple weeks her nap time has continued to get longer. I would say they average napping two and a half hours a day. That is pretty good. The days where they only nap an hour and a half are tough for me. But, most of those days were in the beginning. The naps have continued to lengthen and I feel good about where we are right now.

The children like to watch the talking Elmo doll they received for Christmas while they eat. When Elmo throws his head back to laugh, they throw their heads back to laugh too. Lucia calls him "Ah-bah."

Mazie has taken to wearing bracelets. When she first started wearing them a week or two ago, she would walk around with her hand up to keep the bracelet on.
Our friend T, eleven years old, killed an eight point a couple of weeks ago. He and his dad brought it by to show Elliott. Elliott was quite impressed and thinks T will be able to teach him a few things in a couple of years. (T and his two brothers are also excellent fishermen.)
My Mom visited this week and the chidren had fun playing with her. Thanks for coming to see us, Grancy. Here is Lu and Mazie reading books in diaper boxes and enjoying being together.
We hope you had a wonderful January. Like our friend Karen just said, "only eleven more months until Christmas."

Gifts

Everyday we are given little gifts if we are quiet enough or attentive enough to notice them. Most of the time these gifts are things we can't touch: an email from an old friend, your son resting his hand on your knee while you read him a story, a pretty sunset. But some times, the gifts are tangible. Last week when the babies and I were meandering in the wagon, this apothocary bottle caught my eye. It was covered in dirt and just laying there on the ground. It says "Bromo Seltzer Emerson Drug Co. Baltimore." Next to it was the piece of broken china. H thinks there was a house in this place (right across the pond from our house) at the turn of the last century. Maybe there will be more gifts to find in this old burried trash pile.
Here is hoping you enjoy your gift today.

Happy 90th, Nannie

Today, H's Nannie turned 90 years old. She is a very young ninety. The family went to eat fried catfish to celebrate on Sunday and then today the babies and I went by her home to wish her a wonderful year ahead. Nannie loves the babes so much and we are lucky to have her in our lives. She is a wonderful model of love and patience and gracefulness. Happy Birthday!

The first picture is of H and Nannie. The second is Elliott, Mazie, and Lucia with Nannie.

Our Moment

We watched the inauguration of President Obama with the babies this morning. They paid attention for different portions of the ceremony. I think Ms. Aretha Franklin might have been their favorite. When George Bush and Barack Obama got into the limousine at the White House to travel to the Capitol, Elliott said, "Bye-bye," and he and Mazie kept saying "bye-bye" and waving as the two slowly drove down the driveway and street. During President Obama's speech though, they became more enthralled with Elmo and his story of Cookie Monster.

CNN was doing a collection of photos of President Obama taking the Oath of Office--your own view of the scene. I think they meant those on the Mall in DC, but H and I thought the view of our babes watching their future get brighter was a beautiful shot. Today is a great day for our family and our country.