The view from where I sit...

...is pretty darn good. And cute.

What are we up to these days?

Sis has re-discovered her baby doll (having spent a long spell under the couch) and is treating her to breakfast;

Jamesie is dominating his letter (and loving play-dough), having told me the name and sound of each of these-- with his favorite right in front of him;

And Sean embarked on a very long journey....

(He read the first chapter but has opted for Boxcar Children since then).

The littlest

Looking back on the last few posts I realize I haven't updated with many pictures of the baby lately.  She has changed so much in the last few months-- her hair is long enough for a teeny ponytail or itty bitty pigtails, and full of curls in the back. She signs a lot and is trying new words all the time.  Her favorite thing in the world is picking out her shoes in the morning, which she definitely has an opinion about.  If presented with an unworthy pair she will shake her head and push them away until she finds a pair she likes. Today for the first time she picked out her outfit, going to her closet and pointing until I got down a certain pink frilly (summer) dress.  She loves stuffed animals and babies, pretends to rock and kiss her teddy bears, but still prefers to turn anything into an airplane, just like her big brothers.  The boys adore her and spoil her. She is such a sweet breath of prettiness and softness and girliness in our home!

Reunited

It's a big weekend here in Charleston-- our first ever babysitter/nanny, Valerie, is getting married.  I feel like I'm in a time warp-- she was JUST over here watching baby Sean and finishing up college, and now I'm getting three kids ready to go to her wedding...when did that happen?  Sean has a very special role in her wedding, with a *very* special friend---here's a preview, with more wedding pictures tomorrow or later in the week:

Sean had this weird Bachelor-type smile he would do for pictures, I guess to go with his fluorescent tank top, which he picked out specifically for Greta's visit. 

There's our real Seannie! (And photo-bomber baby sister in the background!). 

Nope, back to Bachelor-Seannie. 

After this followed a long discussion about how each one was really good at doing silly faces.  

Then, I overheard the following, more serious, conversation: 

Sean: Greta, do you know who you want to marry yet? 

Greta: Um, no. 

Sean: Maybe me? 

Greta: Um, OK. 

Sean: Because I know that I definitely want to marry you. 

Greta: OK, I want to marry you too!  

Does that count as a betrothal?  Later, Sean informed her "Greta, I am going to be a farmer when I grow up," you know, just so she knows what she's getting into.  

Domestic happiness.  

When Cody came home Sean told him that Greta's hair looked just like Ramona Quimby's (he just finished all the Ramona books), but like, not her face.  

There are even two little brothers!  When the Reetz clan arrived, Sean ran inside and shouted "Xavi looks like Jamesie!"

Creative happiness.  Together. 

Throughout our visit yesterday Sean would occasionally walk by and just cuddle Greta.  It was like he just couldn't get enough of the fact that she was really truly in his own house again.  During the rehearsal I saw him reach over and just rub her back or shoulder several times, just so naturally and grown-up!

Babies! Last week I overheard Sean tell Annalisa, "Sissy, when Greta comes, there will be a baby for you." 

Serious practice time.  These two are going to nail their roles today. 

5 years after it all began-- Sweet Valerie taking time to just listen and love on our "babies," even in the midst of her own rehearsal dinner.  She is perfect for the vocation she is about to enter into, and we are so happy and excited for her, and feel blessed to have had her in our lives this long.  

Halloween Rundown

We re-got cable about a month ago and ever since we've been watching a lot of Nat-Geo-Wild.  I love it because it's real, not as obnoxious as Mickey Mouse, and the kids are actually learning a lot.  I get sucked in to a good number of the shows too.  I've learned that Disney Nature spares a lot of the more realistic details while giving just as much educational value, but given we only have NatGeoWild on our cable subscription, the kids are getting an education in the facts of the food chain.  Even the baby watches it and has seen her fair share of zebras being eaten by lions.  She knows the sign for lion and roars all the time.

So, when it came time for picking costumes, we weren't surprised when Sean talked everyone into being "African Cats from NatGeoWild."  We found a super cute Zebra outfit for Sis, but once the boys started talking about "prey" we decided she also had to be a big cat.  The week of Halloween we took a field trip to the Zoo in Columbia to see the Big Cats up close and learn a little more about our costumes.

A Cheetah and a Lion

And a Tiger!

Tigers like milk.  

Lions like lollipops.

Cheetahs like to win cheap plastic toys at Halloween Festivals. 

Sean and I painted every single one of those spots on his costume.  It took about five hours to do the whole thing.  We've had a lot of time to talk about cheetahs over the last few weeks.  

A lion says ROAR!  (see background).

Sean actually went to a homeschoolers class at the Zoo for about an hour, so Jamesie had ample time to sit and consider the lion.  He loved it.  It was monday morning so the zoo was pretty empty, he had no siblings or parents moving him along, and he just watched that lion for about 30 minutes.  

Despite Annalisa's love for lions lately (she finds them in every book and roars all day long), when I first showed her a real lion she absolutely freaked out.  I guess all that NatGeoWild has taught her something about a lion's appetite for small mammals.  In the grand scheme of life, I guess this is a pretty appropriate reaction when faced with a lion (especially if you don't know how to run yet).  After this, I put her down and she insisted on sitting back in the stroller for the rest of our time by the lion. 

Bruddahs with an elephant. 

And a lion. 

Jamesie made friends with the giraffe.  He named him Giraff-y and spent about 25 minutes with him. 

Petting Giraffy.  

Goodbye Zoo.  Luckily, as we walked past the lion on our way out she had her two brothers to escort and protect her.  

Halloween night!  Yea!  Candy!

Our African Cats with a NatGeoWild Crew woman---- I think they spotted a vulnerable zebra in the next yard over. 

Trick or Treating in action.  So cute. 

By the time we got down to Mr. Peter's and Ms. Mary's (our turn around point) the kids were exhausted and asking to go home.  It was also about 80 degrees, and big cats get tired out in the heat with nothing but sugar to eat.  

And for good measure, we also celebrated All Saints Day today: 

We had 2 St. Damien of Molokais and 1 St. Clare.  Sean has been learning about a different Saint each week, and he wanted Sis to be St. Clare because she has short hair and St. Francis cut off all of St. Clare's hair.  St. Clare also wore no shoes, so we kept it genuine at the party we went to today.