Four

Four years ago today we entered Allegheny General Hospital with empty arms and left two days later with our 7 pounds, 10 ounces of joy. She has changed our lives in ways we could never have imagined and we learn from her every day. This was a big year for her--she started preschool, became a big sister again, and grew in so many ways. She is as spunky as ever which we know will serve her well in life even if it tries our patience in some ways. She is quite honestly the best sister I know and Brinnly and Carrigan adore her for it. We laugh that she loves "anything with a screen" (namely annoying PBS shows) but loves books and bike rides and beach trips with almost as much enthusiasm.
We love you, Amalia and are blessed beyond word with how much you add to our family.

The Three Switch

We only have Amalia as a three year old for a few more hours. Just over a year ago I had lunch with my dear friend Tonya. Her Max had just turned three, Mali was about to. She mentioned that she wasn't exactly thrilled with that age. Ever since his birthday, Max had not been as sweet or agreeable. His first reaction to most things was "NO!". I tried to sympathize, but I kept thinking "well, age two so far isn't THAT terrible...maybe it's because he's a boy...Mali won't have that problem, I'm sure."
Nope. When June 26, 2009 rolled around, the "three switch" turned on here too. I found out later that most parents agree that three is a tougher age than two.
I love our kids at any age, but I must admit I'm hopeful that the "four switch" will turn on tomorrow and we'll have a little more sweetness with the regular serving of sassiness. We saw Max the other day and he was as charming as could be, so we'll take that as a sign.

(And Tonya, sorry for doubting you on that one!)

Eleven Months Old

The camera had her attention for a few seconds until she sensed she might be missing some trouble that her sisters were creating.

Chompers

We noticed Carrigan's first tooth break through her gums yesterday (6-16-10). She was overly crabby at breakfast that morning and was completely wiped out by her morning nap. When she woke up gigging I had a feeling I knew why and her sisters' fingers confirmed it. Brinnly went 14 months without teeth so we were setting ourselves up for a much longer wait. Carrigan seems quite proud of herself now and loves everyone making a fuss about her. But that's hardly a recent development

Climbing, Cuddling, and Crazy Hair

Yay for Carrigan!

She often has a captive audience around, cheering her on has she creeps, crawls, and pulls herself to standing. So we shouldn't have been surprised the other day when she clapped her hands and yelled out "YAY!". We thought we had heard that attempt the day before, but this time she nailed it. She was prompted by our favorite 5:30-ish-Daddy's-almost-home guilty pleasure: Family Feud. What every stay-at-home mom hopes for: a daughter's first word is in response to a TV show. But we're so proud of her and love hearing it over and over. "Yay" and "yeah" for our girl!