where has the time gone?

Where has the time gone?

I can hardly believe that my oldest is standing so tall and grown-up these days.

I had a treasured moment this afternoon where I just sat and watched all three of my girls happily play. I sat amazed by the miracle of their lives, the blessing of their company, the contagious joy of their smiles and laughter and the wonder and excitement of childhood. It was a thankful moment at the end of a busy week.

I am thankful for Abigail's near incessant joy. She laughs all of the time, but not quite as much as she talks. Yes, she talks all of the time. She sings all of the time, often making up her own songs.  

I took this picture on our first day in Hawaii, which is exciting news for those of you excited to hear about our trip. I'm hoping to sit down and post soon about our Spring vacation.

Happy Memorial Day!

We had a very quiet and productive Memorial Day weekend. We had lots of around the house catch up to do, so three very productive days was a blessing. We completed almost our entire to-do list, spending a good portion of the time together and in the garden. Our garden is almost completely "in", with only a couple of seedlings left to plant (which are currently growing in the basement). I harvested my first rhubarb from the planting we put in our first year here. We also have our first lettuce of the season ready to be harvested. In typical fashion, Rodney's garden is even bigger than the last, which is a bit overwhelming. Thankfully, the girls are old enough now that I can help too. Tabitha has a taste for grass, rocks, sticks and dirt, so she does need a watchful eye, which can sometimes be a bit tricky and often comical. Having three little ones regularly provides needed comic relief, since having three also has its sanctifying challenges as well....

my best attempt at three smiling girls :)

 ....and one last picture of real life. This was actually the first picture I took. Tabitha was not in the mood to sit next to her sisters because she wanted to sit in my lap and resisted being put back in the grass.. Daddy had to come over and assist the photographer.

T is 11 months

We are only weeks away from her first birthday, so I wanted to make sure I put some recent pictures of her up, as the next couple of weeks will be very full. When we get back from vacation, I will start making her baby album. I have a deadline in October!

Tabitha has changed a lot this month. She is now crawling everywhere and pulling herself up in her crib. Before long she will be cruising and pulling herself up on everything. Not sure if I'm ready for that!

She's also eating lots of table food. Yesterday at lunch she ate avocados and for dinner sweet potatoes - both very messy foods! She likes squishing the food between her fingers and smearing the food all over her tray. Like the rest of the Harms family, she also loves waffles and pancakes. Thankfully, she eats almost everything. In fact, I think she eats as much or more than her sisters.

I started weaning her at 11 months and she drinks very well out of a cup, thankfully! She has a taste for apple juice, tolerates formula and drinks water happily. Thankfully, I think we will transition her to whole milk in the next couple of weeks.

Tabitha is quite the blend of her sisters. She is very social and smiles readily. She is not entirely fearless, like Miss H, but she is not worried by loud sounds. For example, she thinks the vacuum cleaner is great fun and crawls after me, trying to get as close to the machine as possible!

Tabitha still takes two naps during the day and sleeps through the night. We are very thankful that she has become a good sleeper!

This little girl brings us much joy, and we are so thankful for her!