Awana

We've been learning our verses and absolutely love going to Cubbies. 

Lia had been yelling "While we were still sinners Christ died for us" through grocery stores and every chance she gets. Future evangelist on our hands. 

This girl will be a pro when she gets her turn. 

3 Girls

Apparently Gwendolyn's going gangsta on us. 

9 Months

Gwendolyn continues to keep us on our toes. One day she will be happy, babbling, and easy(ish)-going, but the next day she'll fight us for everything--won't sleep, doesn't want to be set down, or screams bloody murder I'm the car. She is still in the 98th percentile in height and head circumference, and 88th for weight. At the doctor's visit we have her a flu shot with a bottle ready and the girls cleared from the room, knowing her screams could clear it. The little stinker made one short protest and then acted as if nothing happened. This is pretty well par for the course with her. She'll act like you're abusing her if you set her down at the wrong moment, but doesn't mind 2 big sisters "combing" her hair. She's full of spunk and brings joy to all with her infectious smile. 

Cookies

As it slowly begins to cool down outside (as in 90 instead of 100) we have started baking more inside. This girl has become an expert batter beater licker. Note the way she curls her tongue around the beater. 

Exploring

Just another day with Adriana. 

Looks like somebody got tired. 

Grammy's 90th Birthday

We took a fast and full trip to Oregon over Labor Day weekend to celebrate Grammy's 90th birthday. 

We took a quick trip to the beach on Friday. The weather was amazing. 

The water was lovely. 

All the fresh air wore us out. 

This little girl was delighted to get a lollipop just like she sees in her books. 

Mama, Daddy, and Papa went to a football game, but we all woke up the next morning and drove to Grammy's. Auntie Betty had some fun snacks for us. 

We made giant bubbles...

...watched the chickens...

...looked cute...

...tried to stay warm...

...took lots of pictures...

...and sang to Grammy. 

We got to jump inside a huge inflatable ball--though it may be more fun in a year or two. 

We were just a little tired after a long day of celebrating with no nap. 

Somebody liked a Burgerville shake--though this may have been the cause for an epic blow out involving a puddle of poo on the new PDX carpet (just keep that in mind when this carpet is being auctioned off in 50 years). 

When we arrived back at DFW at 1:30, Miss Sunshine here was ready for another adventure. 

Lia

Lia is constantly keeping us on our toes. She is always up to something and often on the verge of trouble. You just never know when she's going to try a new trick and might decide to climb something or balance on something she shouldn't. She's also the sweetest child ever with genuine apologies and will give her beloved Duck to her baby sister in the mornings to keep her from crying. When Z may be having a mean streak, Lia will come to us with tears in her eyes and say, "Zadie say I'm not her best friend." She is passionate and does nothing half-hearted. Lately, she has developed a new talent of crossing one eye while keeping the other looking straight ahead. 

She also has distinctive look of self-assurance that accompanies phrases like, "yeah, I know," or "yeah, I'm pretty great."

While at a Vietnamese restaurant the other night, we ordered Pho which comes with a small plate of veggies for garnish--sprouts, cilantro, jalapeño, etc. The small plate of garnishes were delivered to the table before anything else, and I guess while we were talking Lia just helped herself to a fresh bite of "spicy cucumber." The next thing we know she's trying to wipe off her tongue, has tears coming down her face, and saying "hot!" With plenty of water, rice, and chicken she finally got the burn off and told us that she did not like the spicy cucumbers.