New duds

So we were enjoying a rainy Wednesday afternoon when the mailman rang our bell. We had a package and he didn't want to leave it out in the rain. (Thoughtful, huh? That's another nice thing about living in a small town.)

Anyway, the package was from my Aunt Gail who spent a couple of weeks in Africa last month. She wanted to bring my kids back some souvenirs and knows that they love to play dress up, so she had some clothes outfits made for them. These are authentic African outfits made in Senegal. Aren't the kids the cutest?

Camille was a little reluctant to put on her outfit at first because of the bold colors. Typically she gravitates toward pink and purple so this was quite a shock to her! But once Caleb informed her that she needed to put it on or he and Chloe wouldn't play with her she obliged!

Chloe really liked hers...they seem really comfortable.

And Caleb is trying to figure out the best way into talking Mommy into letting him wear his to school...

Weekend in pictures

Here's a fun picture of the kids before bed the other night. Chloe looks thrilled to be sandwiched between her brother and sister.


And here Caleb and Camille are busy practicing yoga. We have a yoga for kids DVD that they decided this weekend would be fun to do. I think they are pointing in the direction of the winds (or some yoga mystical something or other).





Don't you just love this grin?

Quick update

It has been quite a week. Last Monday Caleb woke up with a fever, which unleashed a week of nasty sickness in our house. I'm grateful that it was not worse than it was, but we had two lethargic, fevered children. Caleb missed two days of school and passed whatever he had to his sister. Camille was sad, sick and whiny. Then Rob came down with whatever they had. Fortunately Chloe and I stayed relatively well, although colds are now starting to set in.

In the middle of it all was Valentine's Day. Rob and I actually got a night out. His mother came in to babysit our sick children while we went to dinner. It was an easy night for her as Caleb had put himself to bed at 3:30 that afternoon (a major sign that he wasn't himself!) and slept until 9:00 when he woke to eat and return to bed, and the girls were both in bed before 7:00. Anyway, we had a lovely dinner out where I ordered the wrong thing on the menu. (It does not matter where we go; I will inevitably order the one bad - or not very good - thing on the menu. There are just two many choices and without seeing the food I am very likely to make the wrong decision. I've decided from here on out to let Rob order for me. He always seems to order the good thing on the menu.) Then we made a trip to the store where Rob bought me a beautiful pair of gold hoop earrings with diamond studs in them. I've wanted a pair like them for a while and he surprised me with them. He did very well this year: flowers, dinner, jewelry. He even got me a card. (He thought he was incredibly funny picking out a Cheetah Girls musical card for me since we all know I'm really a thirteen year old girl stuck inside this almost thirty year old body!) Isn't he the sweetest?

Other highlights: I spent much of last week working on a baby sweater that I am crocheting for Chloe. I have one sleeve and the hood left to finish and then I'll be done. It's turning out really well. I don't usually make anything bigger than a scarf (I forget until I've started a project how long it always takes) so I am pleased to see that it is going quickly and actually looks like it may be a sweater when I sew it all together.

The girls and I took a walk to the library for story time this morning. I put Chloe in our new baby carrier and Camille and I walked. It's probably 7/10 of a mile each way and she made it without complaining, stopping or fooling around. I was very impressed. It was nice to have good weather so we could do that.

Anyway, since I didn't take many pictures last week (I thought I'd spare my sick children) here's one of me and Chloe and our new baby carrier. Isn't it pretty?



And here's the man of the hour...who not only was a terrific valentine but was a huge help with the sick children this week...

Overheard at our house

These are actual comments, I swear!

Today Camille and I were both in the bathroom using the toilet. She went first and then when it was my turn she informed me that my bottom was too big for the potty. She smiled, smoothed my hair and said, "Your head is just perfect but your bottom is too big." Funny. I never thought it was that big!

This morning Caleb came in to my room before school and informed me that I "bought him the wrong underpants." I did a quick think...last I checked Ninja Turtles and X-Men were okay. "Boys are supposed to wear long underpants." Again, I thought and realized that he was probably talking about boxer shorts. So I asked him, "Who told you that boys were supposed to wear long underpants?" His answer? Alyssa - a girl from school. Apparently they were reading some book and there was a page that said something about peanut butter on your underwear and Alyssa took the time to educate him about underwear. Apparently girls were short underwear and boys wear long underwear. So then he asks, "Mom...can we please give my underpants to a kid who doesn't have any and then you can buy me some of the long underpants?" Thinking quickly I told him that we could do that if he would finally agree to wear pants with buttons and explained that long underpants would probably fit better under button pants. (Remember he's been anti-button since he was two.) He thought about it for a minute and replied, "Never mind. My underpants are fine."

And not to be outdone, Chloe has become a little funny person as well. I have learned I cannot sit down to nurse her unless she is absolutely ready to eat. Otherwise she'll fool. Just yesterday I sat down to nurse her, she took two sips of milk and looked up at me with this bright, giant toothy grin. I giggled, she giggled (the funniest part!) and she took another sip of milk before stopping to flash me the grin. Again we both chuckled and for the next two minutes all she wanted to do was grin and laugh. I'll have to catch a video of her cute little baby laugh. It's the best!

Our Own Little Baby Cupid

So after Chloe had her shower this morning, I plunked her down on the bed and realized that she would make the most darling little baby Cupid. She has the rolls. She has the diapers. Thanks to Caleb, she has her bow and arrow. All she needs are her wings.

Fun in the Sun

We had another beautiful day today - sunny and warm.

Here's Chloe, happy to be on the move.

And so excited when she finally coaxed Mom into sharing her sunglasses.

And a silly picture of Caleb and Camille. I won't tell how often I see these faces!

Fun times!

Every time I blink I swear my kids get bigger. Caleb is nearly as tall as I am. Camille no longer needs the step stool to reach the bathroom sink. And Chloe...let's just say she doesn't think she's a baby any more! She is getting way too big for her own good. She cut another tooth this week and (*gasp*) she's mobile! She started crawling sometime last week, and now no electrical cord in this house is safe! When Caleb learned to crawl, he made a beeline for a stack of Daddy's paperwork. When Camille learned to crawl, she was after Caleb's toys. Chloe goes after two things: power cords and tiny bits of stuff on the carpet that no one else can see. And it all goes straight into her mouth!
Here she is showing off the top teeth (the other front top tooth cut through yesterday, but you can't see it in this photo)

And I've yet to get a good shot of her crawling. Maybe tomorrow will be the day I take that video...

And someday I'll manage to get a cute one of the three together. Camille is at this stage where she won't give me a real smile when she sees the camera (I know...like mother like daughter). I believe here she's doing her princess smile...no teeth, eyes batting coyly, looking slightly over her shoulder. Who taught her this?


And my girls having fun together...

It was nice today...almost 70 degrees here, so we spent the afternoon outside. Here are Caleb and Camille playing on the see saw. It spins around so Caleb entertained his sister by spinning her around and around and around. It's no wonder no one got sick!




Chloe kept busy eating leaves.

The Dancing Princess

Several days last week Camille insisted on wearing dress up clothes instead of real clothes. This was her favorite outfit one day - her new Barbie dress over her big tutu with her crown and jewelry. She had a hard time standing still to have her picture taken...she wanted to keep dancing. And wouldn't you if you had such an ensemble?

The princess socks were her ballet shoes. She is really excited to take ballet someday. We told her that she could probably start ballet class when she's in first grade, but she thinks she's ready now!