Five on Friday

1)  As you can seen from the previous pictures, we had a fantastic visit with the Kurth family while they were in town for a family wedding.  We can't believe we both lived here for only four months before they moved back to Texas many years ago.  Now at least we have vacations as an excuse for our Kurth-fix.

2) They were gracious enough to watch our kids while Jonathan and I did the Great Race on Sunday morning.  Baby D. and I didn't set any records, but at least we finished the 5K at a decent pace.  Jonathan, however, set a personal best of 44:50 for the 10K.  Not bad!

3) That gave him energy for this past week at work.  He's been busy closing deals on projects in Kalamazoo, South Bend, and at Grand Valley.  How ironic that we had to move back to Pittsburgh for him to work on development near our hometown.

4) Have I mentioned Carrigan's recent quirk?  That girl is terrified of feathers!.  Even pillows and dress-up boas can give her the willies. Today we read a book about a baby penguin losing it's feathers. "YUCKY!", she kept saying.

5) Two trimesters down, one to go for Baby D.  It's getting exciting!

The Wards. The Kurths. Pittsburgh again!

Daddy, Mommy, & Baby D ready for Pittsburgh's Great Race

27 Weeks

School Picture Day

Our morning involving many smiles, background decisions, outfit changes, and a fair bit of drama. Much like most mornings around here. Also featured is Mali's bus which picks her up every morning at 7:15 am. The driver always greets her with "Hi, Miley!" and refers to her school as Holy Redeemer. It's actually Redeemer Lutheran, but as Jonathan points out, Jesus IS holy, so we're not going to argue. Mali (and the other kindergarten through ninth graders) are the first ones in Redeemer's new building on a different campus. Brinnly is in 4-year-old preschool in the original Oakmont campus. It's her teacher's first year of teaching ever. We figure Brinn's a pretty good way to break in a newbie.

The Cupcake Party

Happy Fourth Birthday Brinnly!

We don't play favorites in our family (who does?) but if we were to poll the girls on who their favorite sister is, both Amalia and Carrigan would say "BRINNLY"!    She's feisty enough to challenge her older sister but sweet and kind in a way all her own to the current youngest.  I can only imagine what she'll be like with Baby "D".

As is true for typical middle children, life can be tough at times for our Brinn.  But this past year she has really matured and learned to handle transitions very well.  Sometimes she can even wake up from a nap without tears!  I never would have imagined that a year ago.

Her current loves are her baby dolls (accurately named "New Baby", "Baby Heart", and "Sweetie Baby"), Junie B. Jones books, Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, dancing, tutus, and bike riding.  Although she's rarely without tights and dress shoes, she's also quick to run, swing, and climb.  She still talks a mile a minute and her good friends Hata and Hoshish are still occasionally around.

She's now in preschool two mornings a week and is excited to break in a brand new teacher.  We can occasionally get her to eat a few blueberries or half a banana but fruit will always be an arch-enemy of hers. She would much rather have a cookie.  Or ice cream. Or doughnuts.  Or at least some sugary cereal.

Brinnly Ruth Ward, we love you so much.  We're suckers for those eyelashes as much as the many strangers that comment on them.  Thanks for being the creme in the Ward sister oreo cookie.  And for cuddling all of us in your special way.

Summer 2011 Round-Up

1 housewarming ice-cream social hosted
3 sets of weekend houseguests (Wissings, Billgers, & Posts)
2 visits from Grandma Sandy (grandmas are in a different category than other guests)
1 Florida vacation
1 camping vacation
3 visits to Michigan
1 princess birthday party hosted
1 Minnie Mouse party hosted
1 cupcake party hosted
1 much-used family membership to the Blackridge Swim Club pool
2 Blackridge neighborhood potlucks at said pool
3 swimming girls (Mali without water wings!)
5 happy members of the Ward family, now ready for school, football, and fall goodies.