Four and a half.

My girl, you are four and a half today. Of course I only remembered this last night before bed and wrote it down so as not to miss it. You had no idea but were delighted about this "new" age when I told you. You have been doing four and a half year old stuff all day, like cleaning off the table after lunch (and you didn't even use the whole bottle!), and making me stand you in the closet where we "measure" you kids, to see if you are now taller. Well, by golly, you are! It isn't a real scientific measurement, of course, but it's also not impossible that you've grown in a, um, month, dear.

At four and a half, you

go through paper at an alarming rate

go through tape almost as fast

love to create

use your art box every single day

love books (today we read Emily and The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish)

write your letters so sweetly

still choose blue as your favorite color

watch movies every Saturday and Sunday morning (this weekend: Pocohontas and Because of Winn-Dixie)

wear mostly 5T

love to snuggle or rock with me

eat pizza every Friday night

love Muffin Tin Monday

have gorgeous curls

have an ouchie on the bottom of your foot

go to bed by eight

wake up by eight

usually sleep later than Fisher

sleep with 5+ friends at night (currently: Baby Cow, Bear, Lily Kafina, Dog, Azzie, Laila)

love to dance (especially to: "Shake Sonora" or "Move it")

love music (especially the Shrek soundtrack, the Mary Poppins soundtrack, Elizabeth Mitchell, and all the songs on your "Happy Travels" CD)

make stuff daily

consider Carter and Canton your best friends

are so incredibly, immensely LOVED.

Busy around here.

Seems like it's been busy, which is evidenced by the ghost town of a blog around here. I thought the best thing to do was to actually download the photos on my camera, and see what we've been up to.

Daddy made a paper dress for Alla's new stuffed love, a blue monkey that she named Lily, which, of course, is short for Lily Kafina (pronounced kaFINEuh). Of course.Someone turned 19 months. My favorite 19-month thing he does: tight squeeze hugs. He wraps his arms around our necks and then squeezes, saying squeeahz. Love it.Alla, you loved your hair on this evening, kept brushing it in front of your shoulders, after taking your braided piggies outand looking in the mirror. You had just gotten home from seeing Monsters v. Aliens with Daddy at his work. We looked at you in your wide-leg jeans and mary janes and thought your looked so big. Just baths, nothing special, just everyday.Everyday fun.Something special: Nana + Pappi came to visit! They're flying back home as we speak, and we miss them already. But, good thing, we'll be seeing them in a month for Turkey Day!

Thursday ramblings.

I feel like we're in a new phase now, with fall upon us. It isn't like last fall where we had a baby-baby in the house, that big lump of baby boy I carted around on my hip all day long and who stayed in one spot. Nope, I basically chase this toddler boy around all day, in a futile attempt to be one step ahead.

And then there's the weather. Three weeks ago we were boarding a plane for Colorado, and we'd been wearing shorts. Since our return to the North, we've been in layers, and spent last weekend doing the big winter clothes switch-out. Flip-flops out, boots and scarves in.

The weather is keeping us indoors more. Lots more. If it does happen to be a day that will "warm up," it's not going to do that til the afternoon, so our non-preschool mornings are often spent in jammies and going from one inside activity to the next. The fresh air is precious and we appreciate the outside time, because we know pretty soon we'll be in the dark and cold time of year. And how is it that kids get so excited about snow, no matter that it was only three weeks ago we were in shorts? There is no protest, no whining about needing more days of sunshine and late sunsets and bike riding. There's just, at seven a.m., ohmygoodnessitsnowed, lemmegetmybootsandgooutside!!

This week was our last Farmer's Market til June. We got carrots, sweeties, mini pumpkins three-for-a-dollar, and a strange but lovely bunch of flowers.

I'm starting in on Christmas card-making.

In a fit of fall-organizing madness, I cleaned off the biggest spanse of our kitchen counter, and have now declared it a clutter-free zone. Nothing but cooking allowed there.

Sometimes Fisher, all on his own, will just blurt out, I wuv you. Heart be still.

I finished two great, great reads: Too Many Cooks and Still Alice. I'm onto the last in the Twilight series. The next two on my to-read list are Benny and Shrimp, and The Slippery Year. I might then want to read September, October, and eventually November Real Simples.

No school for us today or tomorrow.

We have yet to pick apples or gather pumpkins. But the weather looks near 50 degrees this weekend!

Fisher has decided to add an a to most ee-sounding words. Teeth is now teeahth, please is now pleahs, keys are now keeahs.

When he says plug it in and brings me a plug, I think it's so cute that I almost want to let him.

He's working on his sixteenth tooth.

Alla has a major paper habit. Like, I'm thinking that if everyone could just get her a ream of [recycled] paper for Christmas, that would be great.

She brings me gifts, gift bags that she's filled with tons of artwork, which is to say that she's drawn one heart on each of thirteen papers, folded them up, taped them shut, and then presents it to me. Daily. How to cherish, and yet teach the value of quality over quantity?

All in all, I think we're starting to embrace fall. It would be slightly easier if we had warmer temperatures and could be outside to view the color.

First haircut.

I have searched through my personal archives for appropriate before pictures. No shortage there. Ron's wavered between Crazy Clown and Jack Nicholson look-a-like.

Fisher didn't think too highly of the whole haircut idea, just as I thought. I consoled him with, I'm sorry, buddy, this was all Daddy's idea.

It was over pretty quickly, I mean the kid hasn't exactly had his sister's luck in the hair department. He was amused with my wallet for a little while. Ah, the forbidden. Hopefully I can find my debit card and driver's license tomorrow.

Ok, ok, so Daddy might have been right. Maybe he did need a little trim.

He does look pretty cute.

No he looks older comments, or I'll ban you from the blog.

Finally!

I'm going to check "Reunion post" off my list, even though I know Ron's camera holds all the shots from the football game the daddies took their little girls to. We had such a great trip to Colorado, so enjoyed seeing our friends all in one place.

Jamie and Fisher seemed to have this bond, she would ask him, Did you say Stinky Jamie? And he would laugh, just like this.

At the zoo. Fisher did like the birds, but was also eyeing that puddle of water. Hello, Trouble.

Something about this, about the first of all our kiddos to be born, now pushing my littlest. She also read me a book we got her for her second birthday. Ah, time.

The giraffes at this zoo are right there. Amazing. I could have watched them all day.

I think this is where Mazie and Jamie were happiest.

I loved all the little moments. Seeing the kids all swinging, laughing together, pretending together. Eating, chatting. The way it would be if we all lived in a commune:)

Jacob has these amazing blue eyes. Or, should I say, Jay-bup does.

Lots of time for laying around with each other.

Thanks again, Stahrs, for a nice long weekend. It was just what we all needed, and will need again soon:)

Friday!

I've been away awhile, huh? Well, we were gone five days to Colorado Springs where many of our bestest friends all converged on the Air Force Academy for their ten-year reunion. Yay Class of '99:)

We've also been back for almost five days and I am just getting through the pictures. I am glad I cannot say I've been buried under a pile of laundry, although that would be a much better post-travel excuse. Truth is, I'm buried under a pile of library books that all have due dates creeping up on me, and are all books I want to read! And not renewable! I realize I'm a dork.

So I'll let you bounce around other people's blogs - Megan, Katie, Samantha, Erin, even Amy, who took the long way home will probably have all her pictures up before I do!

Meanwhile, I'll leave you with this one of my boys, that I at least took on vacation at the Stahrs'!