Be With Me Playseum

Earlier this month, we checked out the Be With Me Playseum in DC with some friends. The kids had an absolute ball, and after 3+ hours, I was dragging them out of there! It's not a huge place, but there is just so much for them to do.  We didn't even make it to every room.  It's all hands on play and so super fun -- it made me want to be a kid again! (Once again, excuse the low-quality pictures...but I very rarely bring along my good camera when I am taking all three kids out by myself!) 

Sandbox play for Tessa

Where's the water?

Calder tries out his kayaking skills

Tessa was in absolute heaven when she found a basket 'o shoes!

This was sooo cute and probably my favorite room.  It was a room made out like a Domino's pizzeria!  They loved serving the pizzas, but I think they loved playing on the cash registers even more. 

Pizza man in training!

One man band.

We splurged on one of the 'extras' and let the kids make their own ice cream sundaes.  How cute are they in their aprons and chef hats!?

Happy girl!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

Mommy and Me

Dave took Calder to a birthday party a few weeks ago, so I had some rare one-on-one time with Tessa. We spent the morning playing at a park. (Technically, Alyse was with us too, but she snoozed in her car seat most of the time.) Tessa is such a different girl when big brother isn't around. I feel like I learn so much about her during those times and wish I had more opportunities like this!

She loved cleaning all of the mulch off of this little table.  She likes to help clean at home too -- here's hoping she never outgrows that! :)

Maryland Science Center

Several weeks ago we decided to check out the Maryland Science Center with some friends. It was fantastic! The children's room alone was worth it -- the kids could have spent hours in there. We all had a great time and we can't wait to go back. I don't have too many pictures because I only brought along my uber-crappy point and shoot, and most of the pictures did not turn out.

Digging for dinosaur bones

Tessa does some digging too!

Calder tries out the bed of nails

Making handprints

Home

We're home after a great week in the Outer Banks!  Lots to catch up on, including the birthday celebration of a certain little boy who just turned FIVE!!!

Thank you, Carrie!  With three little ones, I thought we'd never ever get a good family photo again, but you did it! :)

Eyes

There was a little girl,
Who had a little curl,
Right in the middle of her forehead.

Whatever

My friend Carrie suggested it...so I figured, why not?  I'm entering this pic of my sweet Alyse in a photo challenge. :)

6 Months

Sweet baby Alyse is 6 months old!   At 6 months, she loves to roll from back to belly, giggles a lot (especially at Calder and Tessa), chews on anything and everything (even your face if you're not careful!) and is just a joy to be with.  She's 14 lbs 13 oz (28th percentile) and 24.75 inches (18th percentile).  She's definitely starting to catch up...although she may never catch up with big brother and sister who were always much higher on the growth curves. 

She found her feet! But only when she's sitting up in the bumbo seat.

She has officially ventured into the world of baby food.  So far...she's not much of a fan (just like her sister) although she's still trying to figure out what to do with her tongue.  We've tried rice cereal, avocado, squash, bananas and peaches.  She wasn't too crazy about any of them...except peaches.  This girl really loves her some peaches (again, just like her sister)!  I stepped away from the table for a moment while I was feeding her and she burst into tears!  But all crying stopped when I came back and shoveled the next bite into her mouth. :)  Calder and Tessa get a real kick out of seeing her eat, but in general they think her food looks "distusting". 

What is this?

Movin' to the country, gonna eat me a lot of peaches

Hmm....maybe she's just holding out for the real stuff!

We've hit a bit of a hurdle in the sleep department.  She started rolling from her back to belly, so we had to stop swaddling her.  NOT GOOD!  She rolls and scoots herself all over the crib and gets stuck in compromising positions, waking herself up in the process.  Then she screams for help because she has forgotten how to roll from her belly to her back!  Ever since we said goodbye to the swaddle, the nights just have not been the same.  (Part of me thinks it might be karma for telling someone a while ago that the sleep deprivation wasn't bothering me the 3rd time around.  So, I'm eating my words.  It's bothering me.)  We did make a bit of progress this week however, when we realized we were keeping her up too late and she was extremely overtired.  She goes to bed between 6:30 and 7 now and at least that part is going a little more smoothly now!

Help! Help!

No teeth yet, but she is a drooling machine!

She loves to chew on the crinkle taggie toy that I made for her!

She loves to grab her toys and try to get them in her mouth.  She has started to notice Lucky and loves to watch him when she's perched upright in the exersaucer.

She loves her big brother and big sister.  They make her laugh with their funny antics.  And big brother and big sister love her oh so much.  We all do!