Not actually just discovered it, but just bothered to open it up and play around with it for the first time. As if I didn't have enough ways to waste time on the computer. It's not like there's anything I could be doing around the house, like unpacking the boxes still sitting in our basement. Instead I did this:
I was going to put them in the usual birth order (Eve, Julia, Lily) but then suddenly I had a flashback to when my mom first met them in the NICU. I took her around to them in birth order, then any time she went into the NICU after that she made sure to go say hi to them in a different order so no one always got to be first. These tiny little babies didn't even know how to eat yet, and she's making sure she's treating them fairly. If I have managed to become a considerate human being who thinks about the feelings of others it is thanks to my mom. (And if not, don't blame her - she tried.)
Spring 2006:
Summer 2009:
I think I should start taking this picture every year. Can you imagine how totally willing to cooperate they'll be when they're about 14?
3 months? 3 MONTHS?!?!?! Wow, that is really bad.
So anyway, guess what we did right after my last post, which apparently was 3 months ago? We sold our house. This was my first house-selling experience, and now I can quite confidently say this is something I do not recommend that anyone do, EVER, times a million if you have small children.
Our area of the country has not been as hard-hit by the real estate meltdown, and we managed to sell our house in 2 months (we put it on the market in March). But during that time we had anywhere from 2 to 7 showings a week, and it was quite a job keeping the place presentable amid the constant presence of hurricane Evejulialily. But we managed. And then we moved, which is an experience I recommend even LESS if you have small humans in your house. But we managed that too. My Aunt Margie requested some pictures, and I hate to let her down, so here you go:
What sold us on this house is the open floorplan. This picture is taken from the corner of the living room (rug in the foreground is part of the living room area). Kitchen is through the door on the right, and you can see the breakfast nook through there. To the left is the family room. Just to the left of the bench you see on the left side of the picture is the door to the playroom.
Family room.
Playroom:
Can I tell you how much I love that all the toys have a home? And that the home for toys has doors on it? Truly a sanity-saver.
Some random shots...
Super-daddy:
My posse:
Fun at gymnastics:
Finally, on a sad note, my dear, sweet, beloved grandfather passed away on Friday. He would have been 92 in a couple weeks. I am so very thankful he got to meet and spend time with the girls.
Grampa's beard was a source of great fascination for Eve.
This was taken around the girls' 1st birthday. Julia was going through a serious, very intense stage of stranger anxiety. Grampa was very gentle and respectful of her and gave her all the space she needed until she finally warmed up to him.
Please note the 89-year-old man CRAWLING AROUND ON THE FLOOR with the babies. They were chasing each other. It reminded me right away of some of my earliest memories of grampa, playing a game we called "Oh, no!" I was probably around 4 when this game was invented. Grampa would sit on a couch or in an armchair pretending not to notice I was around. I would sneak up and grab the arm cover (do they make those anymore? The piece of fabric that sits on top of the arms of furniture to protect it). Then I would run away, giggling wildly. He would loudly exclaim "Oh, no!" and chase after me, capture me, get the cover back, very carefully replace the cover, and sit down in a huff. Repeat approximately 1 million times. Then I would go to bed. Then Grampa would have an asthma attack. Then Grammy would scold him and tell him to lay off the shenanigans. Then we'd do it all over the next night.
I miss him.
