Almost 5 Months!

Lyra is babbling non-stop now. This weekend, she hit two noticeable developmental milestones. She is all of a sudden very "grabby." Nothing in my hands or on my person is safe from her. No more cool dangly earrings for me. Even typing this here is something of a challenge. The other thing is she now seems to remember me when I'm not around. I'm so flattered! But that means the "easy" days will soon be over....

Eva is a Rubberband

Eva has a career at the Cirque du Soleil if she wants one. She is ridiculously flexible and her gymnastics and ballet teachers are impressed. I think I will start calling her Gumby. 

KC, Our Fearless Hunter

I bought a feather duster (who would have thought it??) and KC thought it was a toy for him!

It was early in the morning and Bill and I were having a quiet breakfast before all the kids woke up. It didn't turn out to be quiet. KC started tearing around downstairs meowling and yowling but we couldn't figure out why he was so worked up. He went up the stairs like a herd of elephants. That was really what it sounded like!

Here he is on the way back down, with his quarry. That featherduster never stood a chance!

River Farm

Eva and her friend, Kate, are watching a magic show. They made their little flower wreaths at the picnic. So cute!

Lyra had fun too because there was a lot to look at. She is a great conversation piece; I met all kinds of people who came up to introduce themselves to her. Eva made sure Lyra dressed appropriately for a garden party. The sunflower headband came from her cousin, Sydney. Eva calls it "Lyra's crown." "Mommy! I crowned Lyra so she can go to the picnic!" Eva cracks me up.

River Farm has the most beautiful gardens and there is lots of green space to run and play. We went to the family picnic this year and it was a blast! Will and Eva learned all about bees, they dug for worms, and ran around in the woods. 

My Auntie and Me

Last month, Louise came to visit and meet her new niece. This month, it was Edie's turn. Fun was had by all! 

Three Phelpslings

I've been trying Lyra's whole life (4 1/2 months now) to take a picture of all three children where everyone looks at least acceptable. This far exceeded my expectations!

Bob the Cat

Look what is prowling around in Cherie's neighborhood! That is just scary and I am worried for all the pets and children there. But I guess poor Bob has nowhere else to go.

Smile!

Lyra just makes me laugh with her chubby gummy grin. This is how she greets people she knows. If she doesn't know you, you can still get a smile, you just have to tell her how cute she is. 

Who is This?

We have pictures of Will and Eva that look just like this. Mom and Dad probably have pictures of me like this too.

This is Lyra and she is just four months old. Lyra truly is a little peanut, just shy of 12 pounds which sort of explains why the two of us are still up quite a bit at night. But she is a happy smiley baby.

Lyra is grabbing toys now, pretending to talk, and definitely developing her own opinions. I get a big smile after every diaper change and a big hissy fit if we have too much time either in the house or in the car.

KC is a Baby

Hmmm, don't I have a previous post somewhere with this title? I think the thing KC likes most about having a new baby is all of the new places he has to curl up for a cat nap. 

Eva is a Monkey!

Bill and I passed our love for tree climbing to Will and Eva. We expect Lyra will love it too when she is older. Twice we have planned to evict this scrappy pine tree from our garden. But when it comes down to it, I can't bring myself to do it. Will and Eva have so much fun in the tree looking over all the backyards and fences and making friends with the neighbors around the corner.

At the first DeRonja house, there was a beautiful crabapple tree in the front yard. I loved climbing in the top of that tree to read my books, surrounded by the pink blossoms and sweet scent. I didn't even care about all the bees. I made Dad promise never to cut it down. He didn't. We eventually moved to a new neighborhood and the people who bought our old house cut it down.

Eva asked me, "What did you do when you didn't have your tree to climb anymore?" I thought about it and, unfortunately, the answer was "I cried." So, the scrappy old pine is here to stay.

Happy Birthday Will!

Will is EIGHT! I can't believe it! He wanted a gingerbread for his birthday cake, just as he's had for his family birthday celebration ever since his first birthday.