Frodo has arrived

Here's the newest member of our family.  He arrived last night.  The kids wore him out this morning so he is now having some quiet time in his crate.

Animal Pancakes

The other day I walked into the play room and saw these.  So I asked Peter, "What's this?"

"Animal Pancakes," he replied.  The coasters are often used as plates so I guess it makes sense. 

These are the ones I made.   

Fun Times

There has been alot of fun going on here the past month or so. I feel like I'm finally getting into the grove of having 3 kids!

The other day Peter wanted to play "nap time" in my bed...and he thought Miriam should join him.

Story time with Dad!

Hannah loves to wear matching outfits.

Today some friends loaned me some Halloween costumes for Peter. The kids had a blast trying them on.

Life with 3 Kids

The thing I enjoy the most about having 3 kids is seeing how they interact with one another. They are so considerate.   (Not that Hannah wasn't considerate to Peter after he first arrived, I think I was just  too overwhelmed with having a second kid to notice) If Miriam starts crying, Hannah always runs over to her with a toy, a blanket, or just to say, "Miriam, don't cry.  We love you."  Or if Peter falls or bumps his head or hurts himself in any other way, Hannah's always there to give him his blanket or his water (unless of course on the *rare* occasion that she is the one causing the injury...they she splits like a banana).  And the other day Peter found Hannah's favorite stuffed animal is his crib and he noticed it and said, "Hannah's, Hannah's" and he immediately wanted to run and give it to her.  It is so much fun to watch them grow individually and grow together.  That said, they do have their moments where they fight...what siblings don't.  But it's so worth it see the moments where they truly care for each other and giggle together, and do goofy things together. 

Peter loves to follow Hannah around and do whatever goofy thing she is doing...and Miriam loves to smile and laugh at them.  What a fun adventure life is with such joy and excitment running (and rolling) around the house. :-)

Appropriate Dinner Talk

A couple weeks ago Hannah and Peter thought it was really funny to say pee pee and poo poo at random times. So I told them that it was bathroom talk and those words could only be said in the bathroom.

Well tonight at dinner Peter was saying poo poo and here's how Hannah responded.
"Peter we only say that in the bathroom. At the table we say, "yum, food" or "more food please." OK Peter?"

My 4 Year Old

Last week I took Hannah in for her 4 year appointment. Here are her stats

Weight: 35lb (50%). Apparently she is the average weight of a 4 year old. (Side note: Peter weighs about 33lbs. I guess that means he is also the average weight of a 4 year old. :-D)

Height: 41.5 inches (90%). Apparently this puts her at the average height of a 5 year old. This is why eventhough she is "average" in weight she is so dang skinny. She is just the long & lean body type, I guess.

Anyhow, a couple weeks ago I had some birthday parties for her (yes, parties, plural). I had one party with her friends (and siblings) and one party with family (mainly adults). I decided that the kids wouldn't be very excited about hanging out and chatting and that the adults wouldn't get too many thrills from the treasure hunt and follow the leader. Both parties were tons of fun and it was great to celebrate the whole weekend.

Here's the crew that came to the kiddo party. Oliver, Owen, Peter, Hannah, and Sasha. Maya didn't make the picture (she's Sasha's 1 year old sister), and unfortunately Claire and Daphine were sick so they had to miss.

The balloons were definitely a highlight of the party. Actually, they are still afloat today, 3.5 weeks later. And they still provide minutes upon minutes of entertainment. It's amazing!

Hannah and Sasha running around the house. There is always lots of running when Hannah's around! :-D


More running.

Goodbye hugs.

This is party #2. Rebekka, Peter, Kiefer and Hannah playing on Hannah's bed. Can you find Hannah?

The rest of us sitting around the food. :-)

Opening presents

Yay for the Healthy Monster Triathlon book.

Kiefer stuck in the grocery cart.

Excitement about the cake.

Check out the yummy cake I made. It's 3 layers: 2 pink layers and one white/confetti layer, with jam inbetween the layers and chocolate frosting with pink letters. Yum!!

Caleb and Hannah playing with the new legos. I'm not sure who was more excited about this present. :-D

Easter outfits

This year our church was offering free family protraits on Easter Sunday, so we got the kids all decked out for the pictures (actually, truth be told, Caleb went out shopping on Saturday night and got our kids the cutest little outfits). Although they haven't emailed me our family pictures yet, here are some of the kids.

Opening Easter baskets in the morning. Don't worry, that's not what Peter wore for the pictures.

Peter looking so cute


Hannah dashing around Kim and Ben's house looking for easter eggs.

Even Miriam changed out of her fleese jammies and put on a nice dress.

Peter having fun with Uncle Ben.

Peter, the ham.

A rare moment of stillness.

And she's off again...

Papa and Peter.

Daddy and Hannah.