January's End

My sweet little reader! Jasmine loves to sit and page through books. I can't wait until she can really read - I know she's going to get absorbed on a regular basis.


I was unpacking the next size up for Stella - when Addie decided to convince me that the 12 month clothes still fit her. Amazingly she could get the jacket zipped - but notice the 3/4 sleeves! Mina and Stella acted as a cheering squad.


I've had multiple graphic design projects this month - which has kept me busy and also kept me from blogging. Here's a moment where the girls decided they were going to get my attention one way or another!


Stella has become more and more fun each day. She is full of smiles, giggles, and curiosity. Notice the last picture in the sequence where she is showing her sassy side!


Here is the whole crew. I had them all dressed up to leave the house for some outing and seized the opportunity to take some group pictures. It was a challenge as always to get them all looking the same direction - but some fun results nonetheless!


I've rearranged the house yet again! It was bound to happen since it has been months since I've moved furniture from room to room. I love having things in a new place - a mental/visual refresh for me.

Merry Christmas from Craigslist

Well - actually Merry Christmas from my sweet husband who gave me $$$ for Christmas so I could find just the right piece of furniture for our home office. I wanted something that I could sit on with all three girls and read books. I looked at chair and a halfs, sleeper sofas, normal sofas, etc. I've been so conditioned by craigslist prices that retail prices were a bit shocking!

However, I wanted something unique and cozy that I almost bit the bullet and bought my furniture new - until this purple gem came up on CL. I offered $150 less than it was listed for...they countered with $75 less...I said I would accept if they delivered (it was a 75 minute drive away one way). They agreed and delivered this afternoon!

Items we have purchased on CL thus far - living room couch & loveseat, Stella's crib, the girls armoire, our Honda Pilot, kitchen chairs, kitchen table, misc. baby items, and this list doesn't include the items I bought and then later resold! Thank you Alex and CL - love the couch and the deal!

New Year's Eve

We had a quiet evening with our friends the Hudsons on New Year's Eve. The girls made special NYE hats - but Sylvie decided the stickers looked better in her hair than on her hat! Stella wasn't too crazy about her hat either and wondered more about how it tasted. I'd have to guess that the girls favorite part of the evening was jumping on our bed before they were all tucked in (in separate rooms) so the adults could sit and relax together! You'd never know it from these pictures, but Addie woke up and vomited 5 times that same evening. It was was an event-filled night - and probably the latest Alex and I have stayed up in a LONG time!


Addie and Mina got their final Christmas present from Nana and Papa once we returned home. The first thing they wanted to know once they saw the wagon was, "Where is my drink?!" The wagon has built in cup holders which I guess naturally make one wonder where their beverage is! I'm looking forward to some warmer weather so we can try it outside.


Addie has been looking forward to snow for several months. I don't think she remembers it from last year, but we've read about it in books and seen it on TV. When she woke up to snow the other morning she wanted to go straight outside (before breakfast) and make a snowman! She only last a few minutes...the books & TV don't mention that snow is COLD!

Christmas Trip Part 2 - Austin, TX

We left Dallas for Austin so that we could spend some time with my brother, Andrew, and sister-in-law Sarah, and their newborn twins (Jack & Finn) and nephew, Sawyer. Above, Alex and I are one set of godparents for Jack and Finn's baptism - they didn't make a peep - such mellow little boys! Back in the pews, all grandparents were on duty entertaining the three toddlers and Stella. There were no major meltdowns during the service. Only Addie had ants in her pants and went back and forth from pew to pew - but I'll take that to screaming or flailing in the aisle any day!


Here's the latest supermom - my sister-in-law, Sarah was very calm and collected while we were there. You'd never know that she was caring for two newborns and an almost 2 year old. Andrew and she definitely make a good team. There was one dicey moment when Andrew got sick and was throwing up, Sarah ran out to get "sick supplies" for Andrew, my dad was feeding the three toddlers dinner (pictured below), my mom was giving Jack a bottle, Alex was giving Finn a bottle, and I was nursing Stella. It was an all hands on deck moment!!!


The girls LOVED playing with the cousin, Sawyer. Seeing them have so much fun together definitely made us all wish the miles between us were fewer. I look forward to seeing all the nonsense they'll get up to together in the years to come!

Christmas Trip Part 1 - Dallas, TX

Here is a picture of us all strapped into the car together on our trip to Texas for Christmas. All three girls deserve a GOLD STAR for travel - esp. Stella! They all surpassed my expectations. There was very little whining, fighting, screaming, etc. We would stop every three hours so I could nurse Stella - but otherwise we were on the road. We would stop at a McDonald's with an indoor playplace each time which helped run off some of the excess toddler energy! When I took the above photo of Stella I was craning back from the front passenger's seat and just after I snapped this I dropped the camera on top of Stella...I think you can see the impending doom in her eyes!


The girls really got the hang of opening presents this year - it was so fun to sit back and watch to see what toys peak their interest first. Stella enjoyed the wrapping paper the most...as do most babies!


Above we are all modeling/opening our Christmas presents from Africa. Ang (Alex's mom) was able to send them with his aunt who came to Dallas as well for Christmas. I now realize I took no photos of our Dallas family - the whole reason we were there! We spent Christmas with Claudia (Alex's cousin), Jason, & baby Zara - as well as Auntie Gilly (Alex's aunt). It was so nice to be with family and fun to be some place different. We loved meeting baby Zara - although she mostly slept! : )

First Haircuts

A few weeks ago, all three girls had their first haircuts. Addie and Mina had never had their haircut prior (I trimmed Addie's bangs once at home). Mina has TONS of hair - but we're still waiting for Addie's hair to grow in! Stella has already grown more hair than Addie... : ) We decided to go ahead and have Stella's hair cut as well...since she had a baby mullet and all! The girls thought it was pretty fun, especially when they realized there was a sucker at the end of it. Addie's "after" picture was blurry so just look at the following post for her new do - I call her Pixie now.