The Best Sound In the World

Tonight Eliza laughed out loud for the first time, and it was just beautiful.

She was sitting on my lap, and Cat and I may or may not have been making tooting sounds. But whatever we were doing, Eliza thought it was funny enough to give us several good belly laughs! And to make it even better, Ben had just gotten home and was eating his dinner when she did it, so he got to witness it as well. Then about an hour later, Cat made Eliza laugh all by herself by burying her nose in Eliza's belly. I love it!

Never a Dull Moment

Once in a while, something happens on my watch that is embarrassing enough that I never want to admit it to another person. But those events are usually just too funny not to share. One of those things happened yesterday while I was putting laundry in the washing machine. Let's just say that Jack's creative juices were flowing and he had to get something down on paper. Or... scalp.



I would say this ranks up there with the time Ben was taking care of Cat and she managed to pour a 5-pound bag of grits on the floor in the living room for the purpose of making a sand castle. Luckily, Ben became aware of the situation seconds before she poured water onto the "sand."

Sunday Play

It all started innocently enough. A couple of years ago I put together a scripture dress-up box. It was my attempt at finding a simple and appropriate activity to keep the children entertained on Sundays, as well as something that would encourage us to act out scripture stories during FHEs. So, a couple of weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon, the kids needed something to do and I pulled out the dress-up box, complete with a few tunics and robes, some faux fur, toy weapons (sword, knife, bow and arrow, tomahawk), crowns, wraps, etc. One of Cat's favorite scripture stories is that of Queen Esther, so of course she donned her Biblical queen attire and she and Ben acted out the story together while I narrated from the Old Testament Reader.

Then... things got a little more interesting. The weapons came out and Cat (as Esther) started acting out the part of the story where the king tells the Jews that they can kill anyone who tries to kill them. Then Jack got a sword and started trying to kill things too. And before I knew it, I was trying to direct the children to "kill" something that wouldn't be harmed in any way by a foam sword or a plastic tomahawk. And what was the first thing that caught my eye? A Cabbage Patch doll. Imagine me saying something to the effect of, "here kids, kill this baby instead!" Maybe not my most shining moment as a mother. But they had a great time, and there was a little bit of a lesson in the scriptures somewhere in the mix.

4 months old!

Eliza is now 4 months old, and she's just so fun. She's still a very easy baby: quick to smile, and happy to sit and watch while the big kids provide her with entertainment. She still doesn't have a real schedule, but has started to have more of a nap routine: usually one long nap in the middle of the day, and sometimes another one before or after. This month, Eliza got earrings (sorry, no good picture of that), started cooing a lot more, and has begun to have an interest in some toys. She also developed some serious cradle cap, but we'll get that taken care of--no worries. Because, in Cat's words, "Eliza is the cutest baby in the world!"

Back in Business!

Our new card reader arrived in the mail today! Yeah! It was so fun to look through the pictures we've taken over the last month. I have lots to share, but first I had to dedicate a post to Cat and her budding photography skills. If Cat keeps the camera attached to herself (via the strap), I usually let her snap a few pictures when she asks. (I have been known in the past to use this as a way to buy myself a few minutes of getting something done right before or right after I take pictures...) But I cracked up when I saw the pictures she took one day in June. Here are a few of my favorites.


I like that she posed some puppy dogs; included the messy laundry/sewing room; documented me copying a Bon Jovi smirk for my sister's bday note; captured the enormous oak tree in our back yard and an art session; photographed an impromptu pretend dining table made from the piano bench, a receiving blanket, and an old placemant; and apparently caught Eliza by surprise at some point. And of course, the classic picture-of-myself-taking-a-picture shot. (No, I didn't tell her to do that. She came up with it on her own.) Love it.