Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

On Monday, Daphne started rolling from tummy to back.  It is pretty funny to watch because she hikes her leg up and rocks and rocks until she rolls over.  She did it for the first time Monday and -unlike Norah and Lucy - she did it multiple times in row.  Almost anytime she is on her tummy, she flips herself over.  

Daphne is also scooting headfirst when she is lying on her back.  I will lay her down in the middle of the room and she will end up facing a different direction and in a totally different spot.

Because of the teething (teeth have not broken through yet) she is biting on her tongue.  It is pretty cute because she is constantly sticking her tongue out and biting down.

Eating cereal is going great!  I was giving it to her in the morning, but she really would barely eat 5 bites and would spit it out as if she was finished.  Yesterday, I gave it to her in the early evening (during her fussy time), she ate it all and fussed between bites as if she wanted more!!  I think I will stick with this time of day - she didn't make a mess at all.  

Something I Never Thought I Would Say

Girls, wands are NOT swords.  Do not hit each other with your wands.

Grumpy

Daphne has been incredibly grumpy this week.  At the beginning of the week, I assumed it was a result of having shots on Monday.  By last night I knew that was not the case.   Of course, I'm hoping this is not some crazy crying/fussing phase we are going through.  She is really pretty happy most of the day, but 4:00 p.m. hits and WATCH OUT!  She cries if she is held, she cries if she is put down, she cries in the bouncy seat, she cries in the car seat - you get the picture.

So I met my sister for dinner last night - I had Daphne with me.  She fussed/cried the whole time!!  Seriously.  My sister asked if maybe she is getting teeth.  I'm thinking to myself, "There is no way this 4 month old is getting teeth already."  We take a peek, and sure enough, there are 2 little bumps with a little white barely showing on her bottom gums.

Norah's first 2 teeth came in when she was about 5 1/2 months.  Lucy was closer to 7 months.  4 months - that seems incredibly early.  Maybe they won't actually poke through for a little while - wait a minute, what am I thinking?  The sooner the better, right?  Then maybe Daphne will get over this fussiness!!

Daphne's First Haircut

The results of the poll:

14 people said we should cut Daphne's hair off at the neck

10 said to leave it alone

11 siad to cut it a little bit

We decided to cut it a little bit.  Kevin actually didn't want me to cut it at all at first, but the girls and I convinced him otherwise.  We probably ended up cutting about an inch off.  I just did it myself - no way am I paying for a haircut for a 4 month old girl!!

4 Months

4 Month Stats:

24 inches - 50%

11 lbs, 15 oz - 25%

She is laughing more - mostly at her sisters.  She wants to sit up and be a part of what is going on.  She is so over lying under toys that hang, although she will still lie under her mobile when it is moving and playing music .  

She is eating every 4 hours during the day and is sleeping from about 7:30 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. straight!!  It is so great waking up in the morning snd not feeling exhausted.

Daphne loves being outside - which is great because she will be spending a lot of time outside over the next few months!!

Daphne coos and squeals ALL THE TIME.  

I was hoping that I would never have pictures of Daphne like these to post, but here they are.  We are now 3 for 3.

God Works in Mysterious Ways

The hardest thing right now about homeschooling is that we don't know anyone Norah's age who homeschools.  Norah often asks when she is going to GO to school - like her friends.  She seems to enjoy the schooling that we do together, but I think she feels like the odd one out because she doesn't have any friends who are homeschooled.  

Today at Norah's soccer game, I casually got into a conversation with one of the other moms.  She mentioned that she is homeschooling her daughter next year and when I mentioned I am too, she pointed out 2 of the other girls on Norah's team who are also going to homeschool next year!  I started talking to one of the other moms who said they are in the same situation as us - they don't know many other people who homeschool.  

The other great thing is - not only do they homeschool, but they also go to our church!  We are going to plan a playdate soon!  

I am so thankful because I have been praying to meet other homeschool families with kids Norah's age!!  

Eating Cereal

Since Daphne is going to be 4 months tomorrow - we decided to give her some cereal!  

At first she seemed puzzled by the different texture.  

She wasn't swallowing.  She just held the cereal in her mouth and then drooled it out. 

 After several spoonfuls, she figured out that she needed to swallow.  

She was more interested in chewing on her bib than anything!!

Trip to Morton

The girls and I spent a few days this week in Morton.  We went to help my mom with a garage sale - but it rained most of the time.  Tuesday evening was nice, but it poured all Wednesday morning.  We had a few garage salers who braved the rain.  Norah and Contessa LOVED playing in the rain - Lucy was not a big fan!!

We went to the park one day and to a Music Together class with Contessa another day.  Norah and Lucy had a great time playing with Contessa!!

Teach Them to Your Children

These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.  Deut. 6:6-9

We had Daphne dedicated at church today.  Standing as a family in front of the church Kevin and I promised to teach her about Christ.  We want all 3 girls to know God's love for them.  We want them to know the sacrifice He made so that we could spend eternity in heaven.  Norah has already asked God for forgiveness and asked Jesus to come into her heart.  Our desire is that Lucy and Daphne would do the same and that we could nurture their relationships with Jesus every day.  

We are so thankful for 2 sets of grandparents who desire the same for the girls.  They were all at the dedication today, along with my sister and her boys and Kevin's brother and our nephew, Jackson.

After church we headed back to our house for brunch and Lucy's birthday party.  Other than a burnt egg casserole, we had a great day!!

You Won't Believe It!!

Do you remember this?

We finally bought a new table!!  Yea!  We love eating outside.  Kevin bought it last Sunday and we sat out there with the Morrison's on Sunday evening and then with our small group on Monday.  

This morning we looked outside and it looked like this.  

It didn't even storm last night nor was it windy!!  Thankfully, Kevin took the frame back to Lowe's (with pictures of the broken glass) and they refunded our money.  

Happy Birthday, Kevin

Happy 33rd birthday, Kevin!  The girls and I are so thankful for you!  You are a great husband and dad!  God knew exactly what he was doing when he brought you into my life!  We love you!!!

3 Year Check-Up

Lucy had her 3 year check today.  She is doing great!  She weighs 27 pounds (10%) and is 36 inches tall (25%).  The doctor said if she stays in the 25% she will end up about 5' 2".  (I'm sort of wondering what that means for Norah since she is never out of the 5%.)  

Lucy acted incredibly shy at the doctor's office - which is funny becaue she NEVER stops talking!  She talked nonstop from home to the doctor's - about 20 minutes!  

She seems to have some allergies - so we are going to try some zyrtec to see if that helps. 

I also asked the doctor if she has a cure for "selective listening."  Unfortunately, she doesn't!

A Few Funnies!

Today, Lucy said to me, "Why you wear those shorts today?"  

I said, "I'm going to exercise in a little bit."  

Lucy's response, "I don't like you in shorts.  Maybe you should wear longer pants and not those shorts."

Thanks, Lucy!

Norah was talking to our babysitter, Gaby.  Norah said, "Do you know who I think is cute?"  

Gaby said, "Who?"

Norah said, "Kev."

(Gaby calls us Mr. & Mrs. Swinigan) She said, "Who?"

Norah said, "My daddy!"

Pretty cute, huh?

Daphne's turn!  Lucy was praying tonight, "Thank you God for Daphne's laugh, thank you for Daphne's little feet, help Norah's hurt foot."

Norah starts crying because "my foot doesn't hurt."  Daphne starts CRACKING up!  She laughed and laughed.  She laughed so hard - causing Norah to laugh instead of cry!!  It was as if Daphne totally new Lucy was trying to be funny!  So far Daphne is Lucy's biggest fan!!

Triathlon

Kevin and I decided to participate in a triathlon.  Neither of us have ever done this before - Kevin has run a number of half-marathons and a full marathon.  I have run a half marathon, multiple 10k's and 5k's.  We both would like a new challenge so we opted for a sprint triathlon!  It isn't until the end of August, so we have plenty of time to train.  

I started exercising the beginning of March - mostly a run/walk combo.  I also went to see my trainer and started strength training about the same time.  I have never been much of a cyclist - I really have only biked more than a couple of miles a handful of times.  We have a 4 mile loop around our neighborhood that I told Kevin I was going to do once or twice.  Kevin suggested I start with completing the loop once and then see how I feel.  I also want to try to run at least a mile after each time I bike - so I can get used to the feeling of going from biking to running.  

So I started out on my 4-mile loop feeling pretty good.  About 1 1/2 miles in I start going uphill - a big hill - I can hardly pedal.  Seriously, I thought I might have to get off my bike and walk it 2 1/2 miles home!!  I considered turning around, but figured since I was almost halfway I should just keep going.  I'm going up and down a number of hills - each time I go up, I am regretting my decision to bike ride and each time I go down a hill, I think "Okay, maybe this isn't so bad.  I can totally do this."  I get close to home and my calves and my behind are killing me!  

Now remember I thought I might try to do the loop twice - yeah right, not gonna happen this time.  Oh, right, I also thought I might run a mile.  Ha!  I put my bike in the garage and start to jog down the driveway.  My legs totally feel like jello!  I proceed to run a couple of minutes - I seriously don't think I can go any farther but now I have to get home.  Thankfully, I only ran about 3 minutes away from the house so I run 3 minutes back (it wasn't even close to a mile). 

When I walk in the door, I said to Kevin, "What have I done?"  I can't believe I paid $90 to do a triathlon.  I just might die in the process!!  (Go ahead and call me dramatic).

So Busy!!

Why is it that EVERY weekend flies by?  

Although the weather was supposed to be rainy - it ended up being beautiful!!  We had dinner Friday night with our friends, the Harper's.  They are friends of ours from church.  Their girls are the exact same ages as Norah and Lucy.  We have all been so busy that we haven't seen each other much outside of church.  

Norah had soccer on Saturday morning and Sunday evening.  She is doing a great job!  She really seems to enjoy it.  At first I wasn't convinced that she would make it through the season.  She likes practice and now seems to enjoy the games as well.  At first, she backed away from the ball and could care less about actually touching the ball with her foot.  Now, she runs right into a group of girls and tries to kick the ball away.  She is great at dribbling and doesn't hesitate as much when someone comes at her.  

We had dinner at a park with the Greene's and Diehl's on Saturday evening.   We had great weather and a great time catching up on each other's lives!!  Pictures to come!

Sunday after soccer, the Morrison's came over for dinner!  We haven't seen them in about 3 weeks - crazy since they live so close!  Again, we had great weather, so we ate outside!!  Heather brought a yummy salad - spinach, red onion, strawberries and a poppy seed dressing (Heather, can I get that recipe?)  It was delicious!  

The girls were at MDO today while Daphne and I walked with a friend and her new baby.  It was strange walking with just one child!  

Tonight our small group Bible study is coming over for dinner and Bible study!  Whew!  I think we have 2 calm days the next couple of days!  Thanks goodness!

Poll

Check out the picture and poll on the side of my blog!!  What do you think??

Happy 3rd Birthday, Lucy

Lucy is 3 today!  This is even harder to believe than Norah turning 5!  She seems so grown up all of the sudden.  Lucy has suddenly become Norah's shadow!  She copies everything Norah says and does.  If Norah takes the meat off her pizza, Lucy takes the meat off her pizza.  If Lucy sits down to lunch before Norah, she will yell, "Norah, do you like oranges?"  If Norah says no, Lucy turns to me and says, "I not like oranges."  This happens all day long!

Lucy is a very happy little girl.  She is always smiling and laughing.  If she gets upset about something, it doesn't last more than 2 minutes.  She giggles and giggles during meals and since her laugh is contagious, we all often end up cracking up!  

Lucy LOVES attention - positive or negative!  She likes to push our buttons and get in trouble.  Whether she is in timeout, picking up something she threw or dumped, or sitting in her room, she is laughing through it all.  

Lucy talks all the time!  Those who know me know that she must get this honestly!  Last week we had dinner with some friends.  We had driven separately because Kevin met us there after work.  Lucy rode home with Kevin, and Norah and Daphne rode home with me.  Kevin said that Lucy talked the entire 25 minutes home!  He said she didn't even take a breath!  Some of her favorite things to say are "actually (sounds more like ack-shlee)," "This take a yong, yong (long,

 long) time," "Neh (as in 'Do you want to go outside?' 'Neh')" "That's just weird!"

Lucy's favorite things to play are baby dolls, dress-up, Barbies, Polly Pocket and Littlest Pet Shop.  She likes to dress and redress the dolls and herself.

Some of her favorite books are The Monster at the End of the Book, Princess Gigi, Fancy Nancy, Goodnight Moon and Little Lu.  We often read the same books over and over to the point that Lucy has then memorized.  

We are so thankful that God gave us this sweet child so full of joy.  We are excited to watch Lucy grow over the next year.