More Kiddos

As promised, I refrained from posting until we could get a certain Bay to locomote in new ways.  And while she has her ways, we would scarcely claim her as a self-sufficient bipedalian.  Nevertheless, meet the new Bay, new and improved, featuring two strong legs and the smallest feet mankind has ever seen.

She actually started walking in good Old Bay (®) fashion, at a new place, in the lumpy grass on the side of a hill in a windstorm.  Sophia attempts the most dangerous activities and fears the rather mundane ones.

Exhibit A: Daredevil

Her walking began Easter weekend at the Kauffman family reunion in Belleville, just in time for her father to witness before his week in New Hampshire!  Many other adventures were had that weekend for Elia, including a hike up to the Waggoner's Gap Hawk Watch in Carlisle (where we narrowly survived the presence of several bugs).

At the peak (note our resourceful firstborn's homemade bug blinders)

Easter in Carlisle spelled fun for all--a date for Mommy and Daddy, a baby shower, man time in Harrisburg, and for the girls: fun tractor rides, extra-Cozy Coop rides, plastic goose wrangling, and our best go at photoshoots with both girls.



Now of course we've seen much more growth throughout January, February and March as well.  Sophia got to experience the wonderful fuzzy bear snowsuit, designed basically for infants.  She's catching up with that percentile growth though!  We went for our first sledding experience on one of Ohio's hills, a 12 foot elevation drop...perfect for novices like these girls.  And Elia enjoys even playing in the backyard, anytime, any day, until there are bugs.  Fortunately, none in the snow!

Need for Speed: Snowbound

Child labor, hauling sticks in a sled

Our cold inside days led us to be adventurous with the girls.  Some good friends who moved gave us their bounce house, which we found out has nearly the same dimensions as Room #6 upstairs...

Best parents ever

I also consider any type of baking that involves a 3 year old to be an adventure

Speaking of 3 year old, Nugget turned 3!  And she will tell you.  In fact she'll tell anything to anyone, because the only thing she likes more than double dipping in brownie batter is talking.  Yesterday afternoon I spent a good ten minutes playing with So in the yard and watching Elia shoot the breeze with a landscaper across the fence in our neighbor's yard.  He probably didn't plan to take so long cleaning up yard waste, but Elia didn't plan on letting an opportunity walk away!

Nowadays she wants to know how to spell everything--we'll spend 10 minutes at a time on a car ride with "How you sfell...?" And she spends ample time reading along with audio books.  Earlier this week she spread out all her alphabet puzzle letters and told herself emphatically what sound each letter makes.  She can find names and words in books we frequent and spell her name and Sophia's at the speed of light.

H-A-P-P-Y  B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y

Sophia is not quite as interested in books, aside from the ones that have buttons on the right that play songs and sounds (she'll read those 10 times in a row with you), but more interested in ladders and slides.  And pretending slides are ladders.  That's her wheelhouse--climbing everything.



And being a goofball.  My favorite So picture of the year:

We all found out recently that a third joy is due in November, and has in the meantime taken up residence in Mommy's belly!  As Bay as So still seems, the new baby is only the size of a piece of some fruit and will be here before we know it.  Elia remembers to pray for the new baby all the time and sometimes when So squawks, we know she really means "I love your baby bump Mom!"

We're looking forward to an approaching trip to Greensburg to see our niece-bump, as sister Erin grows ever bigger and prepares to welcome the girls' first cousin into the world!  Thus we shall see many more kiddos to come.