A brand new Braun!

 What on earth?  I can't get these pics to rotate the right way but anyway...out of respect for tradition, here is Mama right before delivery.  Doesn't 9 months pregnant looks SO GLAM?  Seriously people, let this be a lesson to you next time you see a cute baby and think ...aw, it wasn't SO hideous when I was pregnant. :) 

 Here's our little family of 4 before we became a family of 5!

 And 15 hours after we got the party started, my little beauty made her appearance.  She has got a mind of her own but that shouldn't surprise us.  A beautiful 8 lbs even and 21 inches long.  Do you LOVE those cheeks because WE ADORE THEM!

 Daddy looks great after 15 hours of labor, doesn't he? 

 I was just as giddy as I could possibly be.  I got a brand newgorgeous perfect baby out of the deal.  I couldn't be happier.

 Here's Nana who also weathered labor well.  Check the clock behind her, folks.  It says 1:10...that's a.m.!  Do you look that great at 1 am?  Because I sure don't!

 It was the best when the girls came.  We were so happy to see them in the morning and, despite our nerves, they were in love with the baby from the minute they saw her.  (p.s. daddy did their hair AND dressed them and they don't even look like orphans!)

 We are all vying for title of her biggest fan but Elizabeth is sure making a pretty good push.  She can not get enough of her.  She just stares and sings and smiles and talks.  She tells the baby that she'll be right back any time she has to leave the room.  She tells her where she's going and when she's coming back and gives her at least a dozen kisses.  Too cute!

 Natalie loves to bring her her paci and always drops her stuffed animals into the baby's bassinet when I'm not looking so the baby doesn't feel sad or get lonely. 

 I am so in love with the way they stare at her and are so curious and loving.  It's adorable.  They just took to her she had been in our family since they could remember and it was so sweet!

Oh, and Elizabeth still spends most of her days like this.  Little miss Scarlett is so lucky to have two big sisters that adore her.  And we are about the happiest parents in the world to have 3 beautiful little girls.  What can we say?  Some folks have all the luck!

Ballet Beauties

Look at this face! Can you stand her? I swear I did not pose her. My shy Elizabeth did this all on her own!





Anyway, here she is learning to plie.

And working on balance.


And look at these three little ballet princess cousins all in a row. If there's anything more endearing than your little girl's first ballet class, it's watching her share it with her tiny cousins.

Halloween

Here's a recap of our halloween activities.

First, the Trunk or Treat. Elizabeth was Abby Cadabby (from Sesame Street.)

It was cold that night so Natalie was a flamingo. (And she would NOT let me take a decent picture of her!)


The girls got WAY too much candy.

On Halloween, Elizabeth and I carved her pumpkin from the pumpkin patch and made her first Jack-O-Lantern. She picked the face out all by herself from a bunch of samples on the internet.


We went trick or treating at the outlet mall by our house that afternoon with Elizabeth's 3 quasi brothers. She liked being Abby so much she wanted to do it again.


That day was unseasonably warm so Natalie was Tinkerbell.

And she was still not interested in letting me take a decent picture of her.

Here's Elizabeth and her entourage. Do you love the mario and luigi costumes because I did.

Elizabeth did not want to take her nap on Halloween so I didn't make her...and this is what she looked like on the way home from the outlets. It was only 5:30 pm.

She woke up in time for dinner and decided she wanted to trick or treat at the neighbor's house and like 5 others. It worked out great. That was plenty for Natalie's attention span. Evidently she was over being told what a cute Tinkerbell she was.

Hope yours was great too!

What a lucky summer evening...

So there we were, chillin at the park watching Adam's rec league softball game when cutest ever Nikki Morris turns around with a camera in hand. The next thing I knew I see Elizabeth and Natalie smiling from ear to ear while actually LOOKING AT THE CAMERA! What? Who knew that was actually possible! Anyone who knows me knows that I am INCAPABLE of getting my children to look at the camera which is clear evidence to me that Nikki has some kind of super power. She claims to be a novice, but I think you'll agree with me that these pictures don't look like the work of a rookie.








The softball games are such fun. The team is made up of a bunch of guys Adam really likes. And the wives are girls I just love to be around so it's a good chance for us to visit while we watch Dad show off his mad baseball skillz. Fingers crossed for another season of baseball!

Natalie had been running a pretty high random fever. I was taking her temp and Elizabeth was watching. I was trying to keep her from bugging Natalie or from catching whatever Natalie had.

E:"Mom, what are you doing?"
Mom: "I'm taking Natalie's temperature to see if she's sick."
E:"Mom, is Natalie sick?"
Mom:"She's got a fever. I'm not sure if she's sick though so please don't touch her."

Enter Dad.

E: "Dad, don't touch Natalie. She's got a beaver."

After baths we were putting lotion on Elizabeth. She saw a freckle on her ankle and in a super whiny, I'm just about to cry voice she starts to panic.

E: MOM! I've got an owie!
M: Silly, that's not an owie. It's a freckle. Freckles don't hurt!

In a super happy, perky voice and while pointing at her freckle:

E. MOM! Look at my pickle!

Last night we were reading scriptures and talking about the wicked king Noah. We were talking about how he had all his wicked priests replace all the righteous ones. Elizabeth in her super emphatic way puts both hands out, palms up,and shouts "oh no! That's horbidle" then when Adam was able to hold a straight face, we told her how they were going to kill abinadi. Elizabeth strikes the same pose as before. This time she says "dad, that's diculous!" a la la la!

During prayers this morning, we were helping Elizabeth. I told her to say "help me not to hit." Elizabeth said "help me to spit." ah, what a difference a letter makes. :)

And Natalie got a top tooth today! Who told that squishy little angel she could get bigger?

A day in the life...

The scene:
Elizabeth is in the back yard playing with her little friend Camden. I'm sitting in the frame of the back door watching the kids. Elizabeth runs inside past me and quickly turns around and heads back outside.

E: "Eckoos me, mom. I need to run an errand."
M: "Oh, sorry. Am I in your way? Here, I'll scoot over."
E: "Thanks, Mom. I have to run an errand, ok Mom?"
Pause
E: "OK Mom?"
M: It dawns on me that she's waiting until I say ok. "OK honey. Have a good trip."
E: running toward her little play house. "I'll be right back, Mom."

E opens the door to her play house and shouts "Erin? Erin!"

Oh...THAT kind of errand. (We know an adorable little girl named Erin)

LATER THAT DAY, driving in the car home.

E: MOM! I need a drink!
M: Say "please," honey.
E: (Completely sincerely and in the most earnest tone): Please honey.

Careful what you say. They're listening!