Family time, continued...

I'll try this again, and see if it's happier with a whole new clean slate.

You're never too old to play in the playroom.

Showing off his moves.  Now, if only he'd learn some chords...

After her nephew (my grandson) showed her how to ride this scooter, his aunt (my daughter) was able to figure out how to have all kinds of fun.  Do you see how confusing this gets? 

Everyone kept sticking this hat on her head, and she'd yank it off.  I said, "Wait, I can get her to wear it!"  I stuck a camera in her face, and said, "Mommy wants to take your picture!"  This is what I got.



My status-conscious teenager informed me that our couch screams, "We're poor!  We're poor!"  If I had a new couch, though, would I let my grandson do this?



Or this?

Family time

I hate to keep offering up excuses for not blogging, but with working full time, and having family at our house for several days, there isn't much time for hanging out on the computer.  Maybe you'd like to see some pictures of our time with our family, though.  Our two married daughters came to visit, and brought their spouses, and one brought her child.  For one family, it was the first time meeting their new brothers and sisters, brother-in law and sisters-in-law, and uncle and aunts.  Whew!  I was calling everyone by the wrong name, and getting all the relationships wrong.  "Go see Uncle E.  Oh wait, he's your brother-in-law, not your uncle!"  That's what happens when it's all multi-generational, I guess.  Very confusing, but very fun.  There was plenty of love and attention to go around, and no laps or arms were empty for very long.  In the end, they ended up hanging around longer, as if they just didn't want to leave.  Perhaps it was the long drive ahead, or perhaps it was a reluctance to leave the bosom of their loving family.  I know which way I'm leaning...

No lie-- upon meeting her, our rowdy oldest snatched up Big Girl and began twirling her.  Big Girl was completely unfazed, as if this were a usual occurrence!

With her husband, our oldest making the acquaintance of the youngers.  Everyone immediately took a liking to each other.

Upon realizing that they all had something in common, my husband grabbed his two sons-in-law, and demanded that I take their picture.  I call this one:  "Facial Hair."

These two sisters always have such a tender reunion.

The rough-housing started immediately.

My computer is freezing up for some reason, so I'll have to finish this out later.  Bye!

Siblings

Okay, third post in one day, so go check out the last two.

This one is about the joys of siblings.

If you have a big brother, he can push you around in a bucket.

Or, he can put the bucket over your head.

"Here, you rest on me..."

"Then, I'll rest on you..."

If you have a box, it can be a spaceship...

And, if you have a big brother, he can make it fly!

The princessas, getting ready to go outside to play.

The first time riding a sled can be scary.

Very scary...

And no fun at all.

And it might be best to hurry back inside.

If you're a noodle, you might fall over backwards.

But then, you might discover that it gets more fun, the more you do it.

And other people might decide they wish they could have another turn, too.

What do skateboarders do in the winter?

Here's one option.

Turnabout is only fair.

I heard her say, "Push, push!  Faster!"

Making progress

So, since I'm doing several posts today, you'll have to go back and look at the last one.  This one is about our progress with eating.  Thank God, we are seeing progress with our little man.  He did go hungry some meals, since he didn't like what was served, and actually, he still chooses to go without sometimes, but more and more, he's deciding to eat.  He does have his favorites:  instant oatmeal, yogurt, mashed potatoes and applesauce.  Do you see a theme here?  He is starting to eat some solids, though, so we're very happy about that.  It depends on his mood (and how hungry he is, I think.)

He is now using a spoon to feed himself, and he's drinking pretty well, now, so we're not too worried about him becoming terribly dehydrated.  The girls only seem to know how to use a spoon, and have no idea how to manipulate a fork, so they're working on learning that skill.  In fact, if we put anything large in their bowl, they will attempt to eat it with a spoon.  It was especially entertaining to watch them try to pick up tortilla chips with the spoon.  We're okay with having a category of foods called, "finger foods."

Look who's feeding himself!

 Every year, we grow a big garden, and every year, we get something that grows really well.  This year it was beets.  We thought, "Great!  These kids are so used to eating beets, we'll eat beets all winter!"  At least one person thought that beets really weren't that popular in America, and wasn't too happy to find them in her bowl.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"How comforting, to find that they serve beets here!"

"Drink boxes are a nice treat."

"Yes, a lovely treat."

"Uh-unh!  No way!  Not gonna happen!"

"I shall treat you all to my displeasure..."



"My agony shall be yours..."

 After eating the goaty-tasting pizza in the Ukraine, I was craving my homemade pizza.  We had a pizza night, and everyone made their own.  I'm going to hazard a guess, and say that these kids have never eaten pizza.

A chef in the making

Tell me that doesn't make your mouth water!

"I'm game to try anything, Mom!"

"Hmmm.... not bad."

"Even these green peppers are pretty good!"

"What the heck...?"

"Oh, I don't think so!"

"I tried it, but I'm not impressed..."

 The end of this story is that we didn't even try to run pizza past the little man.  Little Girl tried one bite, and that was enough for her.  The two of them ate pureed baby food for dinner, and were very happy with that.  Hmmm... go figure.

Two people starting to enjoy tooth-brushing.  For the one not pictured, it's still World War III.

Pretty babies

Well, as you might guess, it's a lot of work having three new little kids, especially for Dad, who's mostly taking care of them.  I'm working full time, and when I'm not at work, I'd rather be playing with my new little munchkins than sitting on some dumb ol' computer.  This is why posts are so few and far between.  I'll post two today, I think.  Anyway, lots of pictures to follow, because there's lots to take pictures of...

Our version of skin-to-skin bonding

Such a pretty baby

The big kids were calling this look "gangsta."

Pensive...

Again--such a pretty baby

This was her first day of trying out her skill.

Miss Photogenic

Three with such natural beauty...I can't believe they're all mine!