4 Months Old!!!

I love 4 months. It is definitely one of my favorite ages. It seems like almost overnight, an infant becomes a baby! Eliza has been enjoying some new tricks lately. She discovered her exersaucer this week....

Huge smiles and the occasional laugh
Sitting on big sister's lap

Facing forward in the baby bjorn to keep an eye on the action

And her first time rolling over at her 4 month check-up today! She measured 25 3/4" and weighs 13 lb 13 oz, which put her in the 95% for height, 50% for weight. It looks like she might be tall like Clara.

Since the time that Clara was able to pull the cute little clip out of her hair, she decided she was NOT going to let me style her hair. So for the past 3 years, I have been waiting, and Clara has been wearing her crazy curls untamed. Finally, she is beginning to let me put things in her hair.....but, of course, she has her own ideas on how it should be styled.....

Two adorable pony tails from the front....

and a french braid down the back?!?!
Just one braid on the side....?!?!

Hannah looks armed and dangerous! She was waiting for our friend's sweet little dog, Maggie, to run by for an unsuspecting shower!

watching movies I'm going to miss this 2 year old smile:)

Getting a little better on her tummy...

I realized that it was a little too quiet....

More than once this week, I realized that the house was too quiet. Thursday was a beautiful, sunny day. Joe came home for lunch and started the sprinkler in the backyard to water some new grass seed he had planted. As he left to go back to work, I was in the kitchen doing some dishes. I glanced out the window into the backyard, and saw two fully-clothed little girls having the best time running through the sprinkler! I guess it only takes about 60* and sunshine to convince these Northwestern kiddos that it's summer!

Here they are with their wet curls:)

Friday afternoon, I was sitting on the couch giving Eliza her bottle, when once again, the house was a little bit too quiet... I opened the door to the bathroom, and found the girls with their bodies painted with my foundation make-up (left over from our wedding when my skin was much darker from a tan!) and ice skating around on the floor where they had poured out the rest of what wasn't decorating their bodies. I picked them both up and placed them in the bathtub, where they proceeded to decorate the tub with hand and foot prints while I washed the floor. We had a nice brown ring around the tub, along with the washing machine after washing the clean-up towels. I'm just waiting for the phone calls from our neighbors, as they have also decided this week that going potty in the backyard is fun and can be found squatting in the grass at any given time. Joe re-installed the bar on the sliding door tonight, so our little "puppies" will now have to relearn how to use the toilet! They are at such fun ages right now, but with all new challenges:)
Eliza trying out her Bumbo seat

Getting in on the action with her sisters.

Easter

Clara and Hannah loved helping make the bunny cake this year, although until we put the face and ears on the bunny, Hannah was convinced that we were actually making "a bus"!!

Dying Easter eggs....a few of the eggs were cracked in the process, both unintentionally and intentionally by a curious little girl who had to see what was inside the shell ;)

The girls followed a trail of chocolates from their bedroom door out to the playroom

Hannah only made it halfway there, and then decided that she needed to stop and taste a few!

Hunting for eggs...

And eating more chocolate!

Even Eliza got in on the fun

Later that evening, we shared a delicious dinner with good friends to celebrate Jesus being alive! Clara discovered ham, and ate 3 helpings.....and Hannah ate more sugar!

Helpin' out

Joe fixed part of our ramp just before the rain returned, and the girls helped out with the painting. They thought it was so funny to wear Daddy's big T-shirts over their coats!

Eliza sitting up on the couch. She is becoming much more aware of what is going on around her, and likes to be sitting up on our laps now so she doesn't miss anything!

I had one of those moments this week, where I looked at Hannah and realized how much she has grown up recently. She not only looks older all of a sudden, but she is acting so much older too. She loves to ask questions in the form, "Mommy, are we going to the park today, or not?" Almost every question is an "or not" these days! She has started wanting to wear all of Clara's clothes, so we have had our first clothing fights.....I'm sure there are many more to come, but I had no idea they would start so young!!!

Sunshine.....finally!

We had our first sunny, warm day of Spring today, and enjoyed every minute of it! After church this morning, several families walked across the street to the park and the kids had a great time running and climbing off some energy together. We came home and played outside some more, enjoying the backyard with our friends Karen and Samantha. Clara was wanting to run through the sprinkler, but it wasn't that warm:) They rode their trikes around the cul-de-sac for a while, and then we headed to another park to spend the late afternoon playing with some more friends. They finished off the evening with a bath and fell quickly asleep in bed!

Eliza enjoying the sun on the deck

Eating blueberries with Sammy

Warm enough for nightgowns!

3 months

I absolutely LOVE waking up to Eliza's smiles! She is also starting to laugh now, and has laughed for me when I was bouncing her around and for Joe when he was playing a game with moving her arms around. She continues to be such a peaceful, happy little girl.....adding such a calmness amidst the usual chaos around here!!

Now that she has found her hands, she is beginning to hold onto toys. She also loves to grab her blanket and chew on the edge.