Looking back on November

Now that December is over half done, I will post a few 'November' pictures in my usual timely manner:
We were the lucky recipients of the 'Two Jess's' for a weekend:
They were brave enough to come despite our basement remodel (which was their bedroom!)
Rhya helped by washing the stairs (they were good and WET!)

A little pixie! She knew how to win our hearts with her happy little countenance:

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I captured the girls' FIRST bite of the Thanksgiving meal. They were quite absorbed.

A Thanksgiving Birthday! We kid him that Thanksgiving was created after him since he was also born on Thanksgiving day.

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We hopped in the van and met Terry and Sarah at a WI Dells waterpark the eve of T-day.

The cousins had all weekend to get better acquainted. We had so much fun at the waterpark. Here is Brielle and Gabriel having a little 'pre water park' water fun:

We spent the rest of the wknd at Terry and Sarah's new place in the country. 

Nate and Terry engulfed themselves in basement projects while Sarah and I played with the kids and...um played with the kids! Oh yes, we ate like kings and queens (fried fish and chips, chicken, pie, french toast). Two pregnant ladies equals two hungry ladies. :-)

Remembering Grandma

We recently came across the birthday card that Gma Jane gave Rhya for her third birthday. The card brought her to life again. I love how she wrote her thoughts down as they came, perfectly suited for a little girl's way of thinking:

We recently read about Lazarus for our bible study. Rhya was totally amazed that he was risen from the dead. I think it confused her, though.
She asked, "Grandpa is so lonely! Can God make another Gma Jane for him?" She totally thought that God could just re-create the exact Gma that Gpa misses so much.

Role Playing

A day in our life lately consists of LOTS of doll play. 

It's hard work to keep up with FIVE frequent diaper changes, potty breaks, naptimes, book sessions, and feedings. Rhya's five babies are very well taken care of, though. She told me that two of her babies are daycare kids, so at least she only has them during the day. :-)

 

She takes her mommy role very seriously and has even asked me to babysit while she puts away the kitchen dishes. I sat in the bathroom on the stool and held the armful of babies while I heard her attempting to climb the cupboard and put a glass on the shelf!

I attribute the onset of the baby play to the arrival of a certain special little niece: 

She's sat in the rocking chair with Rayna for close to an hour on a few different occasions. She's not afraid of crying either. At one point last week Kristina and I were each busy with our tired one year olds, so Rhya filled in the gap and calmly attempted to soothe Rayna in the rocking chair. All three of us were on different rocking chairs, rocking away!  

sidenote: ***She has her limit, though! The other day Rayna started to get squirmy and Rhya decided to be done. She called out, "Rayna's getting wacko on me! I just can't have this right now."

HA!!! Where does she hear these things? :-)

                                       Oh how we love our little sugar plums:

Sometimes I look at my girls and think, "Wow, this is the REAL thing! I am not just 'playing dolls'. They are real, live, human beings, growing incredibly fast."

Chuckle Worthy

It's common knowledge that Rhya looks like me and Brielle looks like Nate. It's not even debatable anymore. Judging by this picture, do our personalities match too? 

HA! This just makes me snort with hilariousness. Nate, I mean, Brielle is cool as a cucumber, slightly amused, but can't show it too much. I will let you decide the similarities between me and my eldest.

"Ah come on, Mom, can't you leave so I can get the raisins?" 

Actually, she stood there longingly for the longest time, because she'd just seen her cousin dig out the raisins. She wanted more, but knew better. She just couldn't drag herself away from having a stare-down with temptation. Painful but so cute!

Mom- such an embarrassment

I never knew kids got so self conscious at such a young age!!

The other day I said, "Rhya, you're really cute!)
Rhya said, "I have big feet, see?!?"
She was totally dodging my efforts! Ha!

Rhya and I were recently snuggling in a chair.
I said, "We're snuggling!"
Rhya replied, "No we're not, we're just chilling!"

New Trampoline

She Stole My Heart

There's nothing quite like the attending the birth of a baby that whisks your heart away.

My sister, Kristina, generously asked if I would like to attend the birth of their second baby.

 

Would I ever!!! She thought I was doing her a favor, but she actually did me a huge favor. 

It was SO SPECIAL to witness new life seconds after exiting the womb. 

There were so many priceless moments:

 - Very first breath of fresh air after floating up the warm water and landing on Mama's chest

-  Opening her eyes, lifting her head, and peering into Mommy and Daddy's eyes

- Instinctively bobbing her head and insisting on her very first dinner

- Settling in for a long snooze, snuggled in the warmth of blankets and comforting arms  

Details:

Monday, 11/4 at 1:43 am 

Rayna Brynn 

8 pounds 1 ounce

Lots of dark hair

Doesn't Grady looked pleased to be a big brother?

Our whole family went down to meet the new addition and Grady was hamming it up while Rayna obliviously slept.

 The girls were intrigued by her feet. They had to take their own socks off to compare!

Congrats, Mike, Kristina, Grady, and Rayna! You are a beautiful family.