Helping Hands

I can't say enough about how Savannah has let Evelyn set up camp in her heart.  She adores her.  All the girls do.  Really, who doesn't?!  There is something special building between Savannah and Evelyn though.  Evelyn lights up when Savannah comes in the room and Savannah does the same.  They spend hours gazing into each others eyes and mimicking funny faces.  They are completely comfortable with each other. 

As a busy mom, I know the temptation is there to ask Savannah to do too much.  I am very conscious of this.  I make sure not to put the responsibility of my baby on my nine year old.  What is amazing, is that Savannah, has just taken it on.  She holds and holds and holds her baby sister.  She sees when I need both hands and is the first to offer help.  Savannah can't wait to get her hands on her after the long school day.  Often times, Savannah is the first face Evelyn sees when lifted out of her crib.  Just recently, Savannah asked to get her up.  I lost track of time and turned around to find my baby's diaper changed and dressed for the day.  I was shocked.  Savannah just did it.  I didn't teach her and to be honest, I am glad I wasn't in the room.  It probably would have been painful to watch but Evelyn never made a peep.  Since this day, Savannah has changed plenty of diapers and dressed her many times.  Savannah loves picking out the clothes.  It was priceless watching her find the perfect outfits for the changing weather.  Evelyn is in good hands!

Just a couple days ago, I was out with the twins and Alex was home working with Evelyn and Savannah.  Evelyn ended away during one of Alex's calls.  Without being asked, Savannah offered to take care of her.  For a full thirty minutes, Savannah entertained her and eventually got her down for a nap.  This girls knows what she is doing!  She is on the road to making extra money.  If she offers the help, we are happy to offer money.

I am so proud of Savannah and love watching Evelyn love her more each day. 

I need to point out that Adeline and Lila also shower The Big E with loves.  Lila has fed her bottles as well.  Sadly, Evelyn is getting so big that they aren't strong enough to carry her.  If this baby would stop growing!!

First Family Picture

For some reason, we didn't get a family picture in the hospital.  Nor did we get one when my parents visited.  Since we had all dressed up for Savannah and Lila's piano recital, I had us sit on the deck and use a tripod for a quick family pic.  What a nice little gift from Evenly (two months old).  An unsolicited smile!!

Another Race

Savannah and Lila are starting to become serious runners.  More so Savannah but because Lila wants to be her bigger sister (I mean this in every aspect you can think of) Lila is right on her heels.  At the end of May, the girls ran a quarter mile qualifying run in order to get a chance to run in a high school invitational.  Both girls qualified and were back the next week to run with the big kids.  This invitational had an open mile too so Daddy took the bait.  Off we went for another night at the races.

Savannah and Lila had worked hard over the last week to improve their quarter mile times.  They both did!  Savannah beat a girl that had originally beat her by quite a bit the week before.  Lila was the youngest runner and got a lot of cheers when coming down the track.

Daddy ran his mile too.  Let's just say he was put in the slow heat with a bunch of teens.  Yes, there is a difference between 14 and 40.  God bless him for going through with it when he knew what he was up against.  There he stood a foot taller, with clunky shoes (all the other runners had track shoes), a couple extra decades.  He came in with a great time.  It escapes me at the moment but I am pretty sure it was in the 5 minute range.

It was a great night for us.  Miss E hung like the best of them and my girls got to experience running in a real track meet. 

Look Who Started Smiling at Seven Weeks

All of us were waiting for Evelyn to smile.  Her eyes had been smiling at us for a few weeks.  We could just feel her happiness when she looked at us in a certain way.  At seven weeks she finally showered us in smiles.  She is just so stinking cute.  She brings us more happiness than we could have imagined.  Not one, but all five of us stop dead in our tracks to soak up this girl and her happy little smiles.  I always say, when a baby smiles for the first time, it is like they are saying, "I love you," for the first time.  I know this is true for the my girls.  They fell deeper in love with her during this week because Evelyn's smiles validated her love for them.

Fireside with my Family

In between the chaos, there is beauty.  This was one of those nights.  Summer was showing her face for the first time this year and the kids didn't have school in the morning.  Evelyn was willing to hang with the big kids and not fuss.  Something, that she struggled doing during her first couple months. 

I sat by the fire and breathed it all in.  My four girls!  I really have four, absolutely, amazing, girls.  Sometimes I still feel like I am playing house but on this night, I felt all the beauty that motherhood has to offer.  Life is good. 

Savannah's Learning Fair

In the middle of adjusting to a newborn, Savannah had a learning fair project due.  It is much like a science fair project but the topic can be almost anything.  Savannah chose the Titanic.  She did the research, created her topics and wrote down what she wanted to include.  We typed it up for her and she assembled her board.  There was a little help with the title. 

Parents are able to go into school and watch the presentation.  Evelyn was a real stinker so Alex had to step out with her.  And just in case you were wondering how thick the walls are in Savannah's school. . . well, not so thick.  Savannah had to talk over the crying baby in the hallway.  Oh well, that's the way it goes sometimes.  Luckily, my big girl gets it!  She did great and I am really proud of her for stepping it up when things at home were pretty hectic. 

African Market

It's hard to believe but the school year has drawn to a close.  The twins loved Kindergarten this year.  T. Michelle was kind, loving and so supportive of my girls and our family.  The twins made good friends, solid academic progress and grew emotionally as well.  They are such big girls.  Their days were LONG!  Out the door by 7:45 a.m. and not home before 3:30 p.m.  Each day included an almost an hour of drive time and sometimes more.  There was OT, PT, and Speech to squeeze in before school, during school and after their long day.  It just depended where we could fit it in that week.  For the most part, the twins grabbed their backpacks and hopped in the car happily
.  What a blessing.  This year certainly wasn't the year we had planned for and I am happy to say the twins rose to the occasion.

One of the most exciting events in Kindergarten is the African Market.  This falls at the end of the year.  The kids work all spring to put the Market together.  There is an incredible amount of knowledge gained and crafts made.  The students sing many songs, put on an African dance and pair up to teach the parents and other students about their learning.  Lila was in charge of African games and Adeline, round houses.  I was very pleased how Lila stood strong and worked to converse the adults.  Speaking isn't easy for her.  The words aren't always available and her articulations makes her hard to understand.  She knows this.  Adeline, on the other hand, loves to talk.  She went on and on about round houses.  Miss Belle is quite a character.

Here they are performing and in the dances and their stations. 

Crafts. . .

 

 At home with their robes, beaded necklaces and woven goods. I didn't get pictures of all their pottery.

The Big E really enjoyed herself that morning.  

Mother's Day 2013

I am working hard to back track over the past two months.

Mother's Day is a day worth mentioning.  It was an amazing day for our family.  Everyone in our family ran a race with the exception of the Big E.  The day started with the Mother's Day 5k that I had worked hard to train for.  I started running four weeks after I had Evelyn which was very hard but quickly got easier.  Savannah and I had planned to run this race together but plans changed when she had her own race to run that night.  She wanted to save her legs.  Instead, my family lined the streets and watched me and some other mommy friends run.  My girls hopped out and ran with me as I crossed the finish line which was very sweet.  I really couldn't have been a happier mommy.  Surrounded by these four beautiful girls and back on my running game!

I was pleased to run 9:20 mile pace six weeks after giving birth.  Unfortunately, I later paid the price when a pain in my heal wouldn't go away.  I have been in a boot for a stress fracture ever since.  That's a different story though.

Soon after my race, we were on our way to the last run of the girls' running series.  I know I mentioned that Savannah won the trophy and that Lila showed much promise this season.  I will also re-post some pics from before so when I look back, I remember everything we did this day.  Alex ran to the girls' delight.  He did quite well and came in third overall. Savannah decided to run it too since it will be the course she runs next year.  She did great, especially after just running her half mile. Check out the picture below where she is leaving some of the adults behind. 

We ended the day with a dinner out with good friends.  It was just the perfect day.  Good exercise,  good time with my family, and a dinner with friends. 

I feel very lucky to be a mommy to these four amazing girls.