These girls would paint all day if I let them. I'm ashamed to admit I usually try to persuade them to do a different craft, one with much less clean-up and potential for a mess, but I'm trying to say "yes" more often, so here we are.
Thank goodness for cardboard and washable paint!
Lily is really starting to pay attention to details and instead of slapping as much paint on her piece as possible, she carefully chooses her colors and where to put them. I'm excited to see her artistic ability grow.
Lexi--so proud of her creation!
Date night! We don't get this nearly as often as we should, so this was a special night. We went to Parallel 38 and treated ourselves to a host of unique dishes. It's always a great night when we spend it together. Valerie came along for the ride and was an angel.
Squid tentacle anyone?
Cole isn't usually interested in the littler kids, other than to tell them to stop messing with his things, so when he decided on his own to pick up and snuggle Valerie, I had to document it. This boy really is the sweetest kid. He has a tender heart and wants so badly to be good. I love him!
One day when we went to the park, we found this cute little kitty that belongs to a neighbor close by. The kids loved petting him. Cole's biggest dream right now is to have a cat all his own.
Apparently the kitty enjoyed the attention and followed us all the way home. He stayed on our porch crying to let us in until I called another friend who was able to return him to his house. Silly cat.
Valerie is just a gem. She is the happiest, most content baby we've ever had, with Lexi being a close second. She is just a joy to be around. Her facial expressions are the best. Here's a quick sampling of the many faces of Valerie Lynn:
We think she looks the most like Cole!
Uncle Nate came for a mid-summer visit for a few days. The girls both thought he was pretty awesome. Uncle Nate is really good with kids and was super patient with the girls' demands for attention. We are lucky to have such a great family!
Poor Diesel trying to soak in as much Nate time as possible. This dog misses his buddy when he goes back to Colorado.
Lily NEVER lets me do her hair--most days I have to literally sit on her to even comb it, so I was shocked one day when she let me do this:
Obviously Mom needs some practice, but it was really really cute for the four hours it was in. And of course the next day it was business as usual. Lily run around looking like a disheveled raggamuffin, despite all my best efforts.
Lily has taken a page out of Cole's book and now steals my phone at every opportunity to take pictures. Occasionally she'll capture a few gems:
I'm almost never in any pictures, so even though this photo isn't my favorite of me, I'm grateful for the moment that's captured there--snuggling my sweet baby while spending time with Lily and Lexi before the boys come home from school. Yes, we were watching a movie, but we were together.
This, this is my happy place. I love feeling her tiny head against mine.
This picture may seem random, but I love how it shows Valerie's size. My hand can hold her entire body. I love her tiny, chubby toes and her little elbow dimple. I'm going to miss this sweet stage so much.
Most mornings you'll find at least one kiddo that found their way into our bed sometime during the night. Lately it's been Lexi who's struggling to not only fall asleep, but stay asleep. Most nights she's up until at least 10 and wakes up a couple times, occasionally crying inconsolably for an hour or so before falling back asleep. I wish we could figure out why. We've started giving her melatonin and while it does help her fall asleep, it's not perfect at keeping her asleep. I'm certain this is just a "stage", but with getting up multiple times at night to feed Valerie, I'm ready for this stage to be over.
You'd never guess her nights are miserable. Lexi usually wakes up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with a smile on her face. I love it when she's happy and my sweet little laid-back-just-happy-to-be-with-you Lexi shines through. We don't see that Lexi as often anymore, but I'm hopeful once the new baby transition is complete, she'll be back to her usual self.
Until then, we're holding on tight to these sweet moments!
