as they say, lol

okay.  testing something here.  but in the meantime, i'll tell you a funny story and show you a funny picture. 

Life is not all berries for Libby and Xander, who occasionally "bother" one another, as we say.  They have started to disagree, and from time to time I hear "is not, is too, is not, is too" and the like.  I remember those days.  Sometimes we would shorten that to "snot, stew, snot, stew" just to keep it interesting. 

Anyway, one particular morning, rollin' in my swagger wagon (oh how i love that video), i hear it.  "No it's not, yes it is, not it's not, yes it is, no it's not..."  I decided to lay low.  Let them sort it out.  Ya know.  Welllllllllll, sort it out they did, when Xander rollllllllllllllllllllllled his eyes super dramatically (somehow I caught that in the rear view, don't judge) and said, "Wibb, I fink I'm really getting tired of this."

Naturally, I ducked out of view and snickered to myself.  A moment later Libby busted out laughing.  I love that she gets a kick out of him, too.  :)  

Now for the picture.  What fun is a blog post without a picture?  Not much.  So here it is, via my mom.  My kids on a ride at a kids' amusement park that they frequented while spending their week with grammy and grandad.  It makes me laugh because I think they couldn't look more ho hum about the ride.  ha!  And notice Xander's shiner.  That was about 2 weeks post incident.  The incident being Xander coming face to face with a croquet mallet.  boo. 

the girls

can i hold her?  can i hold her?  can i hold her?

libbs loves herself a phoebe, and phoebe loves herself a libby.  libbs has a knack for entertaining princess P, and she is rewarded with phoebe's unmatched squeals and wiggles and huge large smiles.  they're precious.  :)

she's up!

no, i did not capture the first pull up to standing.  busier than i used to be, i was thrilled to have the camera nearby when Phoebe stood up this particular morning.  since then, she's become a professional stander-upper, and even took her first cruising steps last thursday!  oh me!

slugger

This summer, we are embarking upon a new adventure:  competitive sports.  Toeing the line between providing opportunities for our kids and avoiding the madness that accompanies opportunities, we waited and waited and then finally decided to enroll Libby in T-ball.

But wait!  5-year olds don't play T-ball!  Whatever were we thinking?  5-year olds, so diverse in their skill-set, play coach pitch baseball.  So, we enrolled Libby in coach pitch baseball.

She practices once a week and has games on Saturday mornings  (and so it begins.  *sigh*)  Since this was her first baseball experience, we were relieved to find that her coach is excellent.  He has done a great job of teaching skills to the kids, as well as basics. (Coach:  THIS-IS-FIRST-BASE!  Kids:  THIS-IS-FIRST-BASE! running.  stop.  Coach:  THIS-IS-SECOND-BASE!!  Kids:  THIS-IS-SECOND-BASE!!  ...)  While some of the little ones are advanced sluggers and can throw the ball hard enough to snap coach's glove (yes, those kids are boys) they are all having fun practicing their hitting, fielding, running, and daydreaming.  

Libby and Elyse represent the girls, and they do a fine job.  Libby has hit the ball every time at bat, and has scored every time, too!  

Confession:  each kid gets 3 swings at coach's pitch.  if they miss 3 times, they get to use the tee.  (out of 6 at bats, Libby has only used the T once!)  the opposing team fields the ball, but heavens!, they never throw the batter out.  The batter proceeds around the bases as their teammates are at bat, and the last batter of the inning hits an in-field home run.  

So, pictured is Libby hitting, Libby scoring, and Xander having fun.  He already LOVEs baseball, and I think it a worthy sport for him.  He cannot wait until he gets to play.  Next year, he thinks.  ugh.  we'll see.  

here, Libby tries to hit the ball down the first base line.

xander watches libby, fake smiles, and models his big bruise.  he collided with a croquet mallet.

xander is super.  he takes after his daddy.

run on through, libby!

.s.i.s.t.e.r.s.

my girls have an amazing privilege. they share a room. :) now, sharing a room has it's ups and downs. they have very little privacy, the closet is a bit crowded (and phoebe doesn't even have shoes yet...), and one has to deal with the other's messes. so far, none of these have proven to be problematic.

on the upside, the girls LOVE meeting one another in their little beds at sleepytime. each night, when i take phoebe to bed, she looks over to libby's bed to see if she's in it yet. libby usually isn't, but she soon comes in to kiss her sister goodnight, then she winds the music-box on her cinderella jewelry box to lull phoebe mirabelle to sleep. phoebe LOVES this little ritual and libby is so thrilled to have discovered phoebe's love for that music box. in the morning, when libby wakes up, she immediately checks on phoebe who is generally already awake and quietly sitting in her bed, waiting for the rest of us to catch up. libby delights in opening the blinds, winding up her cinderella jewelry box, and giving phoebe toys to play with before she heads out to find mom & dad.

i love the way (all) the kids love one another. it is so encouraging and endearing. well, this day, the girls were loving one another well, despite the time. :) i had put phoebe in her bed for her afternoon nap, and not much later i instructed libby to sneak into her bed for a little nap as well. she typically doesn't nap, but she had had a late night and a busy day and i thought she was tired enough she would appreciate one. she did sneak, but phoebe was wise to her ways. a little while later i heard phoebe making noises, and it surprised me that she wasn't already asleep. i continued to hear her squealing, so i decided to peek in and see what she needed.

what i saw was utter delight on her sweet little face as she peered across the room to libby's bed. libby was there, tucked in under her blanket, peering out at phoebe. they had been peeking at one another, and phoebe was simply giddy with excitement over the game. libby was all smiles, and though they were *supposed* to be sleeping, i couldn't help but smile, and grab the camera. :) libby carried on, and i got to be a part of their special *sisters moment.*

after all, who here hasn't skipped some sleep to giggle with her sister? those are some of my favorite childhood memories!

8 months

and as beautiful as the day she was born!

june 19

we waited, and we waited, and we counted down the days, and we woke up with excitement and eagerly arrived at the theater to be among the first to see.....

and while the smiles are less than genuine here, be assured that we all loved it!

.z.o.o.

one fine day at the zoo and i do not have many pictures to show for it. i do have one of a crew about to ride the skyfari. it was fantastic.

and i have one of a bright-eyed-brown-eyed girl.

the only one of those in this household!

good taste

one day, quite by accident, the boyz were wearing the same outfit. however, only one of them wore his bib at dinnertime. . .

PreSchool GrADuATe

libby lou successfully completed coursework and met the requirements to be considered a graduate .pre.school. a prodigy, she knows her alphabet, her numbers, and the words to a bazillion songs and poems. :)

look how grown up! my sweet baby. i love you elisabeth adeliade!

one minute you're just chillen...

mom? what is that thing?

i guess i don't mind it... sounds kinda funny...

oh xand.

Happy Mother's Day!

On the way home from the Springs, we stayed at mom & dad's and celebrated mother's day. Brian snapped a picture of grammy with her kiddos before we left. Sometime later, we misplaced Xander's hat. his faaaaaaaaaaaaaavorite hat. :(

...more of life in the springs

...a few more pictures telling a mini-story about our visit with wilson & mary and their girlies...

libby on the nose of a plane at the air force academy

just a day before mother's day, abby and libby planned a special mommy tea party for mary and me. they set up a table and chairs in abby's room, snuck (they were veerrrrrry sneaky) up some bread and water, a little tea set, and were pleased to give us the cards they had crafted in their spare time. it seems like there was some decorating done as well, i think there were paper decorations hanging from the light fixture. but i don't have them photographed. :) anyway, two blessed mommas are we!

phoebe sits, eagerly awaiting her FIRST tea party! how magnificent!!

abby in her hand-made crown

sophie in her finest gown

xander, who later asked, "aren't we going to a party?" i had to tell him, "babe, this IS the party!"

not EXACTLY what he had in mind. :)

libby in her hand-made crown, AND finest jewels

the decor libby made for the tea party

as mary and i prepped scones, chocolate strawberries, and tea, sophie entertained

abby with one of her paper flowers - the girls made a bouquet of flowers that we displayed in a vase on the table. they are both so crafty and had a great time with one another. party prep is right up their alley.

working working working

we hardly saw the girls the morning we had our mommy-daughter (and son) tea party. they were b.u.s.y. crafting and decorating and dressing for the party. so very sweet, they are.

xander did very little to prep for the tea party. :) he did stir the scone dough, and he did play with the only *boy toy* the brissetts have. nevermind that it's pink. he did the best he could in a world of girls!

phoebe pie showing her newish teeth. :)

Sweet Reunion

We had an opportunity to visit dear friends in Colorado Springs, hmmmm last month? It seems like ages ago! Almost immediately after leaving them we missed the Brissetts. Such sweet friendship grounded in Christ, I so enjoyed my late night conversations with Mary, and the days with our 5 kiddos and one on the way (Mary is due in just 4 weeks!), who were just Abby and Libby when we enjoyed Charlottesville together.

Here are some pictures of our trip to the Colorado Springs Zoo. When we wanted to see another animal, we hiked straight up! :) (omaha zoo girls, we have no business complaining about the hills back by the cat complex, or up to the elephants, or from the koi fish around to the giraffes, etc. etc. etc.) Also, we got to feed the giraffes. My kids were nervous, and it's no surprise really. I think there is wisdom in being hesitant to hand feed a creature whose head is the size of the better half of your whole person. Giraffes are big. Trust me. And their tongues are very very long, and they're blackish purple. It's ... different. Xander repeatedly told me, "no thanks" when I encouraged him to feed one, but Libby was convinced at the last moment. She didn't regret it, and though Xander watched from 5 feet back, strangely he is the one who most frequently mentions the giraffes in Colorado Springs. Back home, he now wants to feed the giraffes (not likely unless your name is Debbie I), and seems to have a general fascination with them whenever we go to Henry Doorly.

I'm tired and won't be posting any more tonight, but when I get back to it, I'll have fun pictures from our tea party with the Brissetts. you'll love them.

Kindergarten Round-Up

Oh it seems so long ago, and it was. . .

My baaaaaaaaaby went to kindergarten round-up in May. She was so excited and cheerfully teased daddy on the way to school. They talked on the phone and he told her he hoped she would have a really fun time. "Oh daddy, I'm SURE I will have a fun time. I mean, when was the last time I came home from school and said, 'Boy, that was not a fun day at school.'"

When we arrived she became a little hesitant to head down the hall without me, but she did so with brave face. I let her go with brave face as well. Xander's cheerful disposition and chatty nature kept me happily busy through the hours that she was gone, delighting in crafts and play and reading and snacks. Soon enough, Phoebe, Xander, and I picked her up and took her for a special treat - a lunch date with daddy in honor of her big day.

I took pictures of her in front of the school - in her little skirt with the harsh Nebraska wind whipping her hair, but my camera didn't have the memory card in. boo. Thankfully, I discovered it's absence before lunch, and was able to take this picture of her with daddy. Oh aren't they my sweets!