P.S.

The tadpoles died. You can thank me for not including a photo:).

Goin' huntin'

Thanks to Tiffany B. we found out there were loads of tadpoles at a local park. So, we headed over there, plastic cups in hand and went on a hunt.


Rich declared a race to see who could catch the first tadpole.


Ryan, of course, caught the first one. Rich had to learn the young master's technique before he could catch his first one. I actually beat everyone by asking a little girl with a fishing net to catch a bunch for me (I did this just in case the boys failed. How's that for believing in them?:)


Ryan's first catch of the evening.


Rich's first catch. Mmmmm tadpole in freaky blue water. His favorite.


Courtesy photo of Macie just to prove she was there. She was bored out of her mind, poor thing.

In the end Rich caught 3, Ryan caught 2 and I acquired 6. We'll see how long they survive in this household. I'm sure they'll be the subject of a blog post or two in the future.


On to my newest tadpole. I love this new little photo subject. She doesn't move. It's great.


Ryan liked adding this little prop.


Ryan's got an eye for this kind of thing.


And then this one. Kind of like an Olan Mills portrait, huh?


Rich picked out the prop for this one. Is this foreshadowing what she will become? In this family, probably so.

Shenanigans

Don't be fooled into thinking that just because you have a girl you won't have to deal with. . .

Gymnastics on counter tops (toy ones AND real ones)






Scaling of furniture (6 ft. tall)




Olympic events on recliners and bookshelves








Parties in the bathroom sink




Disclaimers
1. I actually do supervise my daughter but she's very sneaky and quick.
2. Playing on her toy kitchen was actually safe compared to her previous activity--climbing onto the wall behind the kitchen (the kitchen has since been moved).
3. The toy shelves were very difficult to pull Macie down from when I was 9 months pregnant. So, I figured I might as well make it a Kodak moment. Notice in the first photo her reaction to us telling her to get down.
4. We were trying to block Macie from scaling the bookshelves by putting the recliner in front of them. She outsmarted us by pushing it away just a little, scaling the bookshelves and then diving onto the chair.
5. We have to have the step stool there so Ryan can wash his hands.
6. There are many, many other shenanigans that have not been photographed.

Take a deep breath . . . and life moves right along

Things are going pretty well around here. We are tired for sure but luckily it won't last forever. Right? Right? Juliet is still a pretty mellow little girl. She lost her perfect status when she decided to stay awake most of the night before Rich went back to work. We'll still keep her though:).


Here she is all wrapped up. Her blankie is like 10 times too big. She kind of looks like a big, flowery burrito.


She not very alert yet which works well when you have 2 other kids.




Ryan loves to hold her. Macie likes to pet her head like she's a kitty and "give" her toys by placing them on her face. We've gotta keep an eye on this girl:).


On to another subject. . .Ryan and Macie love taking baths together. We love how well they can play together. At times. Ryan learned how to make "beards". Here's his.


Here's the one he made for Macie. Yes, he put it on her eyes.


She preferred to make her own beard. I've never seen a cuter beard before.

Our new arrival. . .

Our new baby girl, Juliet May, arrived May 26th. Labor and delivery were both wonderful except for the fact that it lasted longer than the other kids' combined--about 11 hours. However, I got my epidural which is pretty much the only thing I cared about other than having a healthy baby. Juliet weighed in at a petite 6 lb. 14 oz. and 19 inches long. So far she's very mellow. No sign of reflux like the other kids and she's just a sweet, pleasant baby. Ryan's super sweet to Juliet. He loves to kiss her and talk about how cute she is. Macie has handled things well. She's so interested in the new baby that she doesn't even notice that she's not getting as much attention. Rich is so helpful. He's pretty much done everything around the house and for the kids and for me. He's ready to go back to work:). He'll be home with us for one more week, thank goodness. I'm feeling pretty good, just tired. But I'll still take this kind of tired over 9-month-pregnant tired.