Our Trip North

So, I was looking through my archives and discovered (much to my chagrin) that this post was never published. Of course I am sure I had intended some eloquent words of the beauty of my Sister-in-Law and how proud we are of her graduation and hard work in Law School. Then there is the lovely setting of Aunt Kari's home, her donkeys, all those lovely great grandbabes of Moosie and Bobo... I probably would have said a trifle about Grandpa and his sprawling acreage where butterfly's and other insects enraptured the girls attention and Aunt Tiffy and her pup delighted them further.... but alas. Nothing was said and the photos merely sat in the "Drafts" idling away since the awakening of summer. My apologies, dear people. Now, go ahead and eat your heart out on infantile cuteness.

Camelia Dances to Dandru's Ballad

Friends, you will be missed. I am glad we have this moment saved, because it is precious!

Eleven Month Eliana

It is cliche, but I find it quite remarkable how quickly this beautiful little babe is growing up.  I am starting to miss the baby phase as Ellie rushes about the house chasing and practically chastising her elder sisters for their antics.  Two days ago her fourth tooth came in, nearly a full month after her last.  It seems as though she was teething the whole time, but miraculously this feels as though the best month sleep-wise we have experienced in a long long time.

I just went through another "round" of sleep training with her to teach her to put herself down to sleep rather than be dependent on my rocking her.  Retraining seems the way of things after the upsets of teething or illness or whatnot... Perhaps I am starting to figure this whole baby thing out?  Probably not!  

Ellie is starting to mimic sounds, dotes on her Daddy and even mimes calling him on the phone while he is off to work during the day.  She calls him "Da" and also likes to shake her head jokingly and say "No no no," especially when sneaking off to go climb the stairs.  When she hears us coming whilst doing something "naughty," the cute stinker makes a run for it.  She craves being carried about during the day and just started walking with my help or while pushing an object along the floor, such as our big blanket basket.  She is getting into everything and wants to be a part of everything.  She is "one of the girls" and we are continuously falling deeper in love with this precious and oh, so beautiful child.

Eliana's personality is starting to become more clear to us, and appears to be a mix between Gigi's vivacity and Camelia's snuggliness.  She is a joker, a darling little flirt, a joyful delight.  I am so excited to see her personality's contribution to our family.  God has truly fashioned a masterpiece in this lovely girl.

You can see her teeth coming in on top!

Lovely Hooligans

You can tell they are up to something!

Camelia's Nightly Vigil

At some point within the last couple months, Camelia got into the habit of climbing out of her bed at night and sleeping on the floor next to her door.  We could tell when she was in "position" by the calls, moans, and other odd sounds issuing out from underneath it.  It was apparent when she had at last fallen asleep once an infrequent thud would sound out against the door.  I assume her head, arm, foot, or other whatnot would hit it in her sleep.  Of course sleeping on the floor and ofttimes wailing for attention is not preferable and often results in an uneasy night of rest for her (and us), so we strongly encourage she stay in her bed.

Tonight our tactics changed as, exhausted after putting all three rambunctious munchkins to bed, we suddenly heard the familiar moan, this time of "Mommy where are you?"  Byron and I conspired together to make monster noises back at her under the hall side of the door.  A moment passed when Camelia burst into tears, now a few steps back from the door.  Byron changed his tactic and began clucking like a chicken this time.  You see, we don't want to traumatize our child into thinking there is a monster outside her door, the common misconception of the closet monster is bad enough. Byron and I were suppressing giggles at this point waiting in suspense to see what would happen next. 

The door creaked open several inches and a disapproving toddler glared out at us suspiciously, then closed the door once more in our faces.  We were found out and by this point practically rolling on the floor with unsupressed laughter after Camelia's countenance told us in no uncertain terms that this time we were the naughty ones.   We opened the door to give her some kisses and call a truce.  She told Daddy he was silly, and obligingly was tucked into bed.  This time for good.

Life Today

My little architect constructing a masterpiece for her sisters to destroy.

Our Betta Fish.  Formerly known as "Joey" after the girl's beloved Uncle, now renamed "Bobby" after another Uncle.  Byron and I will henceforth refer to said fish as "Joe-Bob."

Crafting some cute catapillers with some even cuter little girls.