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!

My bouncy pigtail girls

cabin fever

 We all have some degree of cabin fever these days. Last week, my minivan stayed parked in the garage all week. It's just too cold to take my babies out when the morning temperatures are below zero, not to mention the wind chill.

All in all, our days have had high moments and lows. Last week, Rodney spent three days in Houston for work. The days seem even longer when it's cold and my best friend isn't on his way home in the evening to give me a hug and the much needed pep talk.

Thankfully, the Lord was gracious. I had mommy-fail moments - raising my voice with my children, inconsistency with discipline- but He is a God full of grace and we had lots of smiling and a couple of dance parties too. Several days we just sat on the couch to read through the girls Storybook Bible. Sometimes the cold forces me to slow down and enjoy my children. Being cooped up inside is far better with three little ones :)

Grandparents are their grandkids

Abigail is 5

 Grandma made Abigail a homemade angel food cake (my favorite too). Abigail got to help make the frosting and decorate her own cake.

 Yummy frosting!

The beautiful cake is now ready for candles and eating! 

 I don't think I'll ever get used to you growing up so fast! You are quickly becoming a young lady, who is quick to help, considerate of your sisters, and very sensitive. You both laugh and cry easily, which makes life always instersting!

It's present time!

 Having  a sister moment.

Enthralled by her new music box.

She loves puzzles, she really does. She has this one in "Europe" and thought it was a duplicate. Silly girl.

...And I'm realizing now that I probably should have split this into multiple posts. Apologies. I really like taking pictures :)

loving Grandpa