So blessed

Rodney was in china this week, and we had a lot of girl time. During the week a good friend invited us over for dinner, and we got to see my dad on Tuesday night. Between friends,family,and our normal weekly activities the week flew by, so I decided to make the drive up to see my parents for the weekend. It was the first time that I traveled by myself with my girls and it was the first time I've ventured on a road trip with a potty trained two-year-old by myself. We survived! We actually did more than survive, thanks to my gracious parents, Especially since my youngest decided to cut some teeth and wake up a whole bunch at night. Even though I am more tired than I would like to be, I am reminded of how blessed I am. And I am amazed again how the Lord graciously provides and meets all of my needs.

A girls best friend

Spunk!

simple joy

The simple joy and delight of blowing out a candle over and over again.

Thanks Aunt Helen and Uncle Dan! May my own heart be overjoyed as quickly with the many blessings the Lord gives me every day.

Sunny Day Inside Pictures

I wish my blog title read : "Sunny Day Outside Pictures," for I am tired of winter. We are all tired of winter. But we're making the best of it, and I have three girls who bring their warmth and energy into the darkness and chill of my home during these cold months. Their cheery dispositions DO help the long days pass much faster.

And on a "thankful" note, my middle was very sick yesterday. She actually took two long naps AND went to sleep at her regular time. This is a true mark of illness, since she boycotts her afternoon nap everyday and we compromise on "quiet" time in her room. She also threw up in the middle of the day (all over Rodney - yuck!), and I feared that the stomach flu had come to wreck havoc in my home. She was complaining of her tummy hurting, but I actually think her body was fighting something else off. She only threw up once, and that's enough for all of us.

Getting to the "thankful" portion of this long thought. I am so thankful my husband was home yesterday to help with a very sick, tired, and grumpy little girl. He was such a blessing and comfort yesterday!  I'm thankful that Hannah seems to be more herself today. I'm thankful that Spring is on the horizon. And hopefully, all sickness is behind us for now.

T is 9 months

 Tabitha is 9 months old. She is standing, rocking on all fours (not quite crawling), eating lots of solid foods and some finger foods, drinking from a cup, clapping, waving and developing quite the little personality. I even had a friend tell me that she thinks Tabitha is going to be the most extroverted of my bunch! Ha! We shall see; she has quite the competition with her eldest sister:) Tabitha loves to interact with people and has developed quite a loud voice. Sometimes, she and Hannah like to yell back and forth at each other, making quite entertaining dinner time conversation.

At her 9 month appointment she weighed 21.67 pounds and was 28.5 inches tall. She is quite the chunk. I didn't need the doctor to tell me that she was a big girl; my arms have known it for a while.

Tabitha is sleeping better at night. For a while (a couple of weeks), she was even sleeping through the night. But teething tends to interrupt her sleep, so she's usually up once (around 4am), which isn't terrible considering she's in bed asleep between 6:30 and 7:00pm. She usually goes back to sleep until 7:30 or 8:00am. I'm not sure if this is because she's ready to get up or because her older sisters are noisy. It's probably a combination of the two.

For the record (since I go back to the blog when I get around to making her baby album), she has 5 teeth! This amazes me, since me other two didn't get their first teeth until 10 and 11 months.

Introducing solid foods hasn't been completely easy. Of my three, she is the only one to struggle with constipation. So she gets to eat lots of prunes and I encourage her to drink diluted juice, which she seems to like. Poor thing! She HATES bananas, and prefers all things savory to sweet. For example, she'd rather eat peas or green beans than pears and peaches.

Tabitha is our littlest blessing, and we are so thankful for her! I can hardly believe that she's 9 months!