Cuatro

Four!  Can you believe this little darling is four months old already?  Four months of joy for us.  I tell everyone she is our family's new toy cause we all love playing with her.  

She is quite a little laugher and there is just nothing in life that compares to making a baby laugh. 

   

She has really discovered her hands this month and almost always has them in her mouth or folded snuggly and tight together. 

She loves to be face-to-face with people and tries so hard to talk with you.  Her favorite thing is to lay down on her diaper changing pad while she kicks like a soccer star and squeals at you.

Almost every day, she hangs out in the sink while I get ready.  It's kind her happy place.  And don't worry, Grandma Rose, the hot water is turned down below 120 degrees, so we won't be burning ourselves during this activity.

 

We haven't started solid foods just yet (minus the occasional sneaks from Dad and that one Sunday dinner when Mom was feeling crazy and let everyone sneak her a lick of potatoes off their fingers), but she is quite interested in whatever goes in our mouths.  Won't be long.

 

She is quite adored.  The kids still fight over whose turn it is to hold her and it has been so rewarding to watch all of my children develop a relationship with her.  It's good for my heart.  

 

Sure love you, little Moll-serati.

 

Heavenly Birth Order

I read an article about sibling birth order last week.  It was really nothing new - oldest over-achievers, second-born free spirits (which label, being a second-born, I prefer over "wild child"), on down to youngest children who tend to be a little lazy (my apologies to any youngest children reading this - don't shoot the messenger).  I thought about it related to my own siblings, questioned how on earth it might play out in a family like my mom's with 10 - 10!- siblings, and then reflected on my own kids for a bit.

 

While I have no real doubts that birth order can influence personalities, these reflections made me wonder if maybe researchers are a little short-sided.  I pictured my own kids waiting in heaven for their chance to join our family on earth.  If you know us even a little, you will have no trouble picturing an  intense  Cole lobbying hard to be the oldest.  And I'm glad he won.  Heaven help the unsuspecting soul foolish enough to mess with Cole's little brother or sisters - every family needs a loyalist like Cole.  Annie, the peacemaker that gives her seat to her brothers every time there is an argument, would probably acquiesce her claim with a quick shake of her head and say, "That's fine.  I'll go next."  Happy-go-lucky Ben was probably too busy working and playing and just being busy to bother with the discussion and was fine with whatever arrangement was made.

  

And sweet Molly?  Smiley, happy, giggly, snuggly, bright-eyed little Molly?  If forced to choose just one adjective to label her with, I'd pick "content."  She cries when she is hungry or tired, but otherwise she seems perfectly content with life, even when three older and more vocal siblings steal attention that should rightly be hers.  I'm pretty sure she was content to wait in Heaven while her siblings joined our family here on earth.  Let's just call "lazy" "content," shall we?  Cause while she might be content with life, I don't think that means she won't do great things.  

This little family synopsis is far from definitive.  Their personalities certainly have more depth than this portrays.  Cole's intensity sometimes hides his incredibly tender heart and Annie's peacemaker status at times gives way to a stubbornness that catches us off-guard.  I have no doubt that they'll continue to surprise me at times. I suppose what I'm trying to say here is that maybe there is a little more to birth order personality traits than just what we see play out on earth.  Maybe we developed these traits long, long ago and a very wise Heavenly Father places us in our families where we fit best.  It's hard to say, but I myself am content to see how their little traits come together to make our family dynamic what it is.

Tres

Another month, another birthday (a few days late).  These milestones sure come fast the first year.  Miss Molly's accomplishments this month include laughing, squealing, and holding on to things.  She is starting to hold on to me when I carry her and loves to be held so she can stand up.  I love little milestones like that - hugging back, reaching arms out, eating toes.  They are a lot funner than "first eats solids" or "sleeping through the night."  Not that a baby in our house has ever reached that milestone, so I suppose maybe that is a fun one.

 

She definitely belongs in our family.  It's such a familiar feeling to hold her.   Whether that's cause she reminds me of my other babies or because she's part of our eternal family is hard to say - probably a little of both.   But I do know this - we just can't get enough of her.

 

11:00 at the Griffiths

 

Out for three hours, dreaming big.

 

He calls the orange pillow a carrot; he's been down for two hours.

She made everyone a little card before she turned off her light and drifted off about 9:30.

 

And this one?  He's still bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.  He's got miles to go before he sleeps.  Every.Single.Night.

The Cat Story

Here's a fun little story from my childhood.  It's probably Floyd's favorite and today is his birthday so instead of a tribute to him, here's something to make him laugh (when he reads it in a month or so).  

 

When I was about 3-years-old, my parents brought home two baby kittens.  My sister and I promptly gave them the names Kelli and Katie, which probably not coincidentally, were our own names.  That's what happens when you let 3- and 4-year-olds choose the names. We loved those cats!  

    I'm on the right.  And I really love my knee socks.

It wasn't until a few weeks later that the names became a problem.   My mom took us to watch my dad's baseball game.  As we pulled out of the driveway, she hit a cat.  The cat was injured, but alive, so she quickly drove to the baseball field a few blocks away.   

When we got to the game, she hurried to the fence and called to my dad who was the first baseman.  He was likely unimpressed that she was interrupting the game, but his emotions changed when she said, "I just ran over Kelli."  In a panic, he said, "Is she okay?"  (note - my dad is not really known for being calm in emergency situations while my mom, the nurse, is totally professional).  My mom replied, "Oh, I don't know, she's home on the driveway kind of flopping around.  I think I broke her leg."   

My dad was terrified and stricken and as he tried to process this information, my mom continued with, "Do you think I should just back over her again?"  It was this startling statement that made him  realize it was Kelli the cat, not Kelli his daughter who was injured.   

We learned our lesson and named our next cat Goblin.  

Cookie Comparison

What Halloween Sugar Cookies look like on Pinterest:

What Halloween sugar cookies look like at our house:

 

 Almost a match, right? 

I hope our cookies don't hurt anyone's feelings.

And yes, I'll save you one.  But it won't have any candy corns cause a charming little 3-year-old sneaked them all off this morning.  Sorry.

Snowbasin

It was Astronomy Night at Snowbasin last weekend, so we took a little gondola ride to the top of the mountain for a little hiking and viewing.  Photography conditions were far from ideal, but it was still a picture-perfect nigh.  The moon was just-past full, the kids were well-behaved, and there was a nice hint of fall in the air.  

 Annie was a little scared of the Gondola - Ben wanted to ride it all night long.

I love it at the top of the lift.  The peeks are so close and the sky is right out of your reach.  It really feels like you are in God's temple.  Mountains are incredible.  

We hiked down the trail, had some dessert, and peeked at the sky through the telescope.  But I'm afraid my children's favorite part might be the fancy bathrooms.  Go figure.