May 31

Hmm. Somehow I didn't get my big camera out all day again today.  Right before dinnertime, we decided to go out to eat, and on our way to the restaurant we called my parents and asked if they wanted to join us. And since the restaurant was near the park where Chris and I were married, and since the kids love to go there, and since it was a lovely night, and since we had lots of time, we had a spontaneous park detour. 

So there we were, in a lovely park, during the golden hour of perfect sunlight, and I didn't have my camera. 

It was painful.

But I was able to enjoy the moment, and I have some of Chris' cell phone pictures to share.

Earlier today, our neighbor Nora texted me that she had purchased a Slip 'n Slide at a garage sale, and they were testing it out. Caleb and Daisy threw on their swimsuits and headed up to Landon's house.

Daisy was hesitant,

but Caleb dove right in!

Ha!

Then there's a big gap in pictures of our day, until the park after dinner.

Daisy is hugging the tree I had planted in honor of our 10th wedding anniversary. It's neat to see how much bigger it - and our family! - has grown in the past two years. I was surprised that I got a little bit sentimental about it! Mostly, though, I was thankful that the tree hadn't died or been knocked over by a storm. That would have been unsettling.

My snuggly girl in the golden hour sunlight.

Us in front of our tree. With my mom's finger over the corner of the lens. Love you, Mom.

Daisy made herself comfortable on the rocks,

And Caleb was bolder than I've ever seen him!

Finally! A picture that captures my halo!

(Also, Lily's chubby baby legs kill me! And it was so humid today that her hair started to curl. I love it!)

Under the gazebo where Chris and I were married. I have no idea what I'm doing with either of my hands, and I'm pretty sure Mom will hate this picture of her, but I love how Lily is down and ready to explore, and how Daisy is delighted to be sitting between her grandparents. And mostly, I love the way Dad is smiling in the sunshine.

Lily loves Grandpa!

Daisy loves Grandma's phone.

And Caleb has a new love of climbing trees! He was a bit nervous and hesitant at first, but he figured things out pretty quickly.

Look at my big boy up in a tree! He eventually got up high enough that his feet were above my head. Pretty impressive, I say!

May 30

Poor Lily isn't feeling well. She started crying right about the time I got home from Book Club last night (how did she know?) and I held her from 11:30 until nearly 2 am. Then Chris went into her, and held her until he had to get up for work at 5:30. Thankfully, when he got up and put her in her crib, she slept for three more hours on her own. I must admit: buying a recliner for the baby's room was one of our better choices.

Lily woke up just in time for us to join Jen and Caleb, Hannah, and Andrew at the pool. The kids had so much fun, and I was delighted to see how much progress Caleb has made in his swimming skills. He is nearly an independent swimmer now, and confident enough to go underwater and jump, splash, and float. I was so proud of him!

We came home for lunch and naps, and sweet Lily settled in for a nearly four-hour nap. Even Caleb and Daisy napped! While they slept, a storm rolled in. Gradually, each child woke, and we all ended up on the front porch, playing and listening to the rain.

Caleb and Daisy played with Legos, and Lily ate chalk.

I confess: I hate Legos. With a passion. I love the abstract idea of Legos. They're so creative and open-ended and educational! But the reality? Nope. They are messy. They are everywhere. Even when you think you have them all put away, there's always one more. They are colorful and begging to be popped into little mouths. Pieces always break off finished projects, and then Caleb expects me to fix it. And of course, they are horrible on bare feet. I want to throw them all away. I firmly believe that Legos have no place in a home with small children.

Apparently, though, I'm the only one who feels that way. Everyone else in my family loves them.

Exhibit A: Caleb playing nicely with his Legos. 

Can you see the look on Lily's face? She's clearly intrigued. "Oooohhh! What is that?"

"Yoink!"

Caleb, absorbed in his play, almost doesn't notice. Almost.

"HEY! Give that back!"

Caleb wins.

Lily is nonplussed. She goes back to plotting her Lego acquisition.

(And look! Just above her knee! A lone, yellow Lego. THEY. ARE. EVERYWHERE!)

Daisy distracted her sister with some love (and with her peanut butter/cracker sandwich).

These girls.

Lily's wonky face, Daisy's crazy hair... They are a great duo!

Love them.

And Caleb loves his Legos.

Meanwhile, Lily was still plotting.

May 29

Chris took my car in for maintenance today, so the kids and I weren't able to go anywhere. Somehow, though, I didn't manage to take any pictures. This may have been because Lily still has a cold, and she wanted to be held/worn all day.

Things I did manage to do:

bake muffins

take a shower

sew two linen wraps

take the kids on a walk around the block to watch some roadwork

wash four loads of laundry

hang the diapers out in the sun

make dinner

So. I give you two cell phone pictures today:

My sewing machine. It has had personality problems for maybe two years now, and three days ago it finally got to the point where I was ready to send it out to be repaired. The problem is that most repairs cost upwards of $65, and this machine cost maybe $150, ten years ago. Worth it? I'm not sure. So last night I took my sewing machine apart, tinkered for about an hour, and finally fixed it! Hooray! 

A friend and I split a 5-yard-long piece of linen fabric to make wraps for each of our babies. Once my machine was finally functional, the sewing was quick and easy. As I sewed, Lily sat at my feet, waiting patiently.

As soon as I was finished, I tossed Lily up in a new carry (I think this was Jordan's Back Carry with a knotless finish?) to test things out. The linen is very different from cotton, and pretty stiff, but I think it will be a great, lightweight wrap for summer. And Lily clearly loves it!

May 28

Aside from a quick trip to Trader Joe's, today was another do-nothing day, and it was lovely.

In the morning, Caleb and Daisy crossed the street, rang the neighbors' doorbell, and asked if Caleb and Hannah wanted to come over and play. I sat on the porch and laughed at what big kids they are turning into!

Caleb and Hannah did want to come over and play, and all four children played happily in the sandbox and little pool for several hours. It was lovely, and was good for my soul.

When it was pool time, Caleb took Caleb by the hand, and Daisy took Hannah by the hand, and they all tiptoed back to the bedrooms (Lily was napping, and though tiptoeing isn't really necessary, it really is when it's 3 and 4 year olds!). Caleb and Daisy each picked out a bathing suit to share with their friend, and it was so sweet. 

Daisy chose polka dots for herself and for Hannah. She was so excited to match her friend! 

This picture warms my heart because it's concrete proof of answered prayers. We tried - unsuccessfully - to sell our old house for over a year. During that year of trying and failing, I prayed often for the home God was preparing for us. Specifically, I prayed for neighbors and friends and community. These friends, with children the same age as ours, who value the same things we do, are absolutely an answer to my prayers.

I love this child.

Lily napped for three hours this morning, so she missed all of the playtime. Then Caleb and Daisy napped for three hours, so they missed Lily's playtime.

Lily practiced her standing on the front porch, waved at dump truck and cement mixers, and posed for cell phone photos on my big bed.

See that shiny upper lip? Runny nose. Poor baby.

Caleb and Daisy woke up just in time for Lily to go down for another nap, and then we got to play with Caleb and Hannah some more! Sadly, afternoon playtime means I don't get dinner started in time, so dinner was an hour late. Chris, who had just gotten home from work, used that extra hour to take the big kids to the pool. What a great idea!

While they swam, Lily woke up from her nap, so I popped her on my back and we washed dishes together.

 

I know. I look crazed. Taking selfies with my big camera is hard, but I wanted to get a shot of the new carry we tried out (Double Hammock, Double Rings) and of how happy Lily was in it.

Here's a cell phone shot of the same moment.  Love it!

May 27

This is our week. 

Caleb starts "Practice Kindergarten" next week, and that goes until the end of June, when we will travel to Iowa, and then it's July and time for Independence Day and Caleb's birthday and Lily's birthday and Chris' birthday and then Chris leaves us for two weeks of banking school, during which time Caleb will start kindergarten and Daisy will start preschool and...

this is our week to do nothing.

So that's what we did. Today we went to Costco. Caleb and Daisy rode in the cart and Lily rode on my back in the wrap and we were in and out in a flash. And that's it.

I tried to hem some new wraps, but my sewing machine hates me. Lily sat at my feet, wrapped herself up in the new linen, and silently begged me with her big brown eyes, "Mommy? Can I go up now?"

Seriously. The girl wanted to be wrapped in that fabric so badly. It was adorable.

After the big kids napped, they wanted to go to the neighborhood pool. Sadly, we didn't have time to go before my mom came over (Chris and I went on a date!), so we compromised by getting out the little plastic pool. I had to add three pots of hot water to make it an appropriate temperature, but it was totally worth it.

Pop quiz:

Lily is so happy because:

A. she's in the water

B. she's totally naked

C. she's with Caleb

D. all of the above

(Can you tell I used to be a teacher?)

I love the joy and delight on Caleb's face. This was right before he squirted my camera with his Max Liquidator. After that, all of his joy disappeared because I confiscated that thing before he even knew what had happened.

All three kiddos in one place!

Those curls!

Those big brown eyes!

I know I'm biased, but come on. These kids are just too cute!

And then I asked Lily to splash. 

She knew exactly what to do!

May 26

Since Chris got all of the flooring installed yesterday, he was able to spend Memorial Day relaxing and playing with the kids. 

 First, he took Daisy on a long-awaited date. Back in January, Chris took Caleb on a special Daddy/Caleb date to the Magic House, and he promised Daisy that he would take her on a Daddy/Daisy date soon. Daisy chose bowling. But then life got in the way, and Daisy's date didn't happen. Last Thursday, I dropped Daisy off in childcare at a meeting I was attending. The babysitter said, "Come in, Daisy! You can bowl with us!" Daisy looked up at her, pouted, and said, "Daddy took Caleb to the Magic House. I chose bowling."

Of course, when I relayed this to Chris he felt terrible. Happily, the next day a coupon for bowling popped up in my email inbox (I knew I subscribed to those emails for a reason!), so Chris took Daisy today. They bowled, stopped to watch a waterfall, went to one restaurant for some fruit and another for lunch and a milkshake, and had a generally splendid time.

Chris texted me a few pictures:

I know it's dark, but can you see the grin on her face? And the ball about to hit the pins? The combination of ramp and bumpers meant that Daisy was a very successful bowler.

Oh. My. Goodness. I just love this photo. I can tell how she is relishing her special time with Daddy. 

One of the reasons we put off this date was that Chris and I both thought Daisy didn't know what she was talking about. We thought she would hate bowling, and it would be terrible and a waste of money.

This picture shows me just how wrong we were, and I am going to try my best to have more faith in her in the future. This girl knows what she wants, and I  love it.

(Side note: the outfit Daisy is wearing was a birthday gift from my Aunt Deb. Every time she wears it, Daisy says, "The skirt has shorts built in! That's in-saint!"

I love it.)

After naps (or not - I'm not really sure what happened) for the big kids and a trip to the fabric store (and a surprise downpour that drenched us!) for Lily and me, we all went to the neighborhood pool. We didn't join the pool last year, but we are so excited to use the heck out of it this year. After the rain, it was pretty cool out, but the kids didn't mind at all. At one point, Caleb was blue and covered in goosebumps, but he didn't complain once.

Lily and I hung out in the shallow splashing area. She was so happy! Can you see the ripples around her little hand as she splashed in the water?

Also, I apologize for the man in the background. I'm pretty sure he wasn't doing anything inappropriate.)

Happy girl! She had water to play in and big kids to watch. Who could ask for more?

Then we headed home to grill our dinner. While Chris manned the grill and gave Lily an occasional push in the swing, the big kids ran and played.

When I checked on Caleb and Daisy and saw this, my heart melted. 

They were riding around on the tricycle together, both wearing crowns I had picked up in the dollar section at the fabric store today. They weren't just sitting there, either. Working together, they scooted that thing all over the yard!

I love that King Caleb has his sword and Queen Daisy is still in her swimsuit.

It appears that Caleb is the brains of the operation, directing Daisy where to go, and Daisy is the brawn.

Kind of like this photo from Easter:

The dynamic of their relationship makes my heart happy. I love these kids.

Meanwhile, Chris held Lily so I could photograph Caleb and Daisy's adorableness. They looked so cute I tried to take their picture, but Lily was distracted by a noise in the sky.

Chris pointed out that it was an airplane.

And Lily waved hi to the airplane! I love that Lily is reaching an age where she has thoughts and plans, and can express and achieve them, to a certain extent. It's like a window into her personality has suddenly opened up, and we can know and understand her more each day. 

I love this girl!

At dinner, we realized that Caleb was feeling sad that Chris took Daisy on a date, but not him. Since we had nothing else planned for the night, and since Caleb ate his dinner quickly and cheerfully, Chris decided to take Caleb out on a date, too.

Guess where they went?

Bowling.

Funny children.