October 10

I love Saturdays. That is all.

Oh, wait. You came here for pictures. How about this one of Lily, still in her jammies, sporting a messy topknot thanks to Daddy, riding a toy broom and yelling, "Giddyup, horsie!"?

I know. It's ridiculously cute.

Also, the socks she's wearing are part of the set she gave Chris for Father's Day. Every time she wears them, she asks, "Match Daddy? Matching?" 

And on the days that he wears his socks, too? The girl is in heaven.

People, this is how I get to start my mornings.

Also, on Saturday mornings Chris lets me sleep in. When I get up on those days, the big kids greet me like I'm a rockstar. Today they ambushed me with hugs, shouting, "We love you, Mommy! You're the best Mommy ever!"

I'm not even kidding.

And Chris didn't even tell them to do it.

It does my heart good.

First, it annoys me that my children are constantly undoing that flap of fabric right over Daisy's head. It velcros in place, but every time I fix it, someone undoes it. I have yet to determine the culprit(s). But I'm willing to overlook that, because in this picture Daisy is singing to Eli and entertaining him while he bounces. Sometimes, she is very sweet.

Caleb had soccer this morning, but it was right during nap time. I have yet to watch the kid play, and I feel awful about it. I think I'll be able to see him next week, though.

Today was team picture day, and Chris sent me this photo:

(I'm too lazy to crop this image, but trust me when I say that all of the dead space makes me twitchy.)

Caleb is in the first row, all the way on the left, and Chris, who helps coach the team, is on the top right.

We live really close to a high school, and their homecoming parade always runs through the neighborhood next to ours. The parade was at 11:00 today, and I thought for sure we would miss it due to nap time. But Eli chose to take a crummy, 45-minute nap, which meant we were able to go after all. Chris and Caleb were still at soccer practice, but I loaded up the little ones and we headed off.

It was perfect parade weather; I used my wrap as a blanket to keep Eli's calves warm, but it probably wasn't necessary. We found a perfect spot, and we waited.

The girls practiced their candy-catching while we waited. They wanted to be ready with those bags!

Oh my goodness. This little baby is the cutest thing ever. Also, can you see why I was worried about his calves getting cold? I should have brought the Baby Legs!

He is totally excited about his first parade!

 As the parade approached, we could hear the marching band and the siren of the police car leading the parade. I was afraid it might be a bit much for Eli, so I wrapped him up on my back.

There it is - the police car, leading the band!

Daisy looks unimpressed, but the band was actually a highlight of the parade. Perhaps she was disappointed because they were too busy marching and playing to throw any candy? 

Once the noisy parts passed, I put Eli back on the ground. The rest of the parade participants had lots of candy, and Daisy and Lily were so excited!

Lily said, "Hi girls!" or "Hi boys!" and waved to each group. She said thank you every time someone threw candy to her, and she was generally adorable.

Daisy was too focused on scooping up allthecandy to be adorable.

And Eli? Well, he's always adorable.

Chris and Caleb arrived just after the last groups walked past, but luckily we had enough candy to give Caleb his own bag full. As we walked home, I asked the girls what their favorite parts were. Daisy liked the candy. Of course.

Lily, though, said, "Marching band! Funny hats!" and giggled. That girl.

And then it was time for lunch and naps and grocery shopping and car washing...By dinner time, we were all pooped.

Especially this guy, who fell asleep on my back while I made dinner. He didn't mind the clanking pans or the screeching oven door (don't get me started about that) or the noisy podcast I was listening to; he snoozed away in our new wrap. Something tells me this thing is full of sleepy dust. I'm so glad to have it!