Eight

 We have two children, but eight car seats.  This fall there will be four cars in three different families transporting the girls.  It's just easier than moving car seats every day in the winter.  Especially a Radian.  Those suckers are HEAVY. And the Evenflo Triumphs.  We love them due to their easy adjustment straps, but they are SO. WIDE.

 

 

I had budgeted $300 for enough car seats for everyone and managed to score the (FOUR!) extra we needed for $95.  The first to expire will be December 2015, so I won't have to worry about restraining devices for a while.  Which nice, as it's not fun. 

Cousins

 

 

 

Raspberries

Ready??

aaaaand

pppbbbbbthbbbp

and squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeal!

Summer Playdates

This has been the summer-of-playdates.  We have one almost every day.  Usually with this sibling duo.

I love toting around a full van.

 



Occasionally we shake things up a bit and other friends play too.

Jeremy always will call and ask how the "daycare" is going that day and who all I have at the house at that moment.
I've been told a few times that I should open a daycare. 
And every summer I ponder it.*


 

*make lists of pros and cons, create spreadsheets of costs and financial viability, consider every angle from having more kids, the size of vehicles, if I'd only take part-time, full-time, teacher's kids, etc...


Cousins

I gotta work on Charlotte sitting like a lady with her skirt on...

They always have to inspect each other. 
11 months and 9 months

 

These two beauties has a "Princess for a Day"

Both are so amazingly gorgeous for completely different reasons. 
Their beauty just takes my breath away.

 

Paper Dolls

We've been reading the Little House on the Prairie books.  She's just fascinated by their family. I'd constantly find her reading one of the picture books she got for Christmas and just assumed she was looking at the pictures.  Then one night she closed it and squealed, "Mom!  I memorized it!  Listen!"  and she sang "Pop Goes the Weasel" without skipping a beat.  She even throws in a finger-snap when she says, "POP!"
One of the things Laura and her sisters play with is paper dolls.  One day Sam came running to show me the clothes she'd made for her doll:

 

Then I showed her how I used to play with paper dolls by getting magazines and advertisements, cutting out the people and creating "families",finding them beds, clothing, accessories, etc.  She's been going at it all day.

Note the vacuum and the swimming pool.

I told her to go put the paperdolls in her room.

She said, "But Mommy, there isn't any room!  There's paper EVERYwhere."

 

Le sigh.

Bottoms Up

It cracks me up and I'm still running for the camera every day.

 

 

She's checking to make sure I didn't miss a single crumb/onion skin/speck of dirt on the floor.

 

Remember grass being Sam's kryptonite? 
Yeah, Charlotte doesn't even notice.
 Especially when my coffee cup is just sitting there, alone and unattended...