the dinner table is now complete

Hadley is ready for Opening Day.

(Hope springs eternal)

yes indeed: 3 little mouths, 3 high chairs, 3 bibs, 3 wipe downs.

Hadley is just a little pleased with herself.

Nothing is more special than when Mia is silly.

Our Future Athlete

No pressure now but we think Hadley is going to be our athlete in the family. She has been doing this inch worm thing since she was 4 months. She also can already get up on her elbows and knees and rock back and forth. But yesterday I am marking as her official army crawl day.

Yep! Unbelievable. Not quite yet 6 months old and crawling. But hey, you would crawl too if your sisters climbed on you all the time to tickle you and moved your toys constantly.

Dan's Dreaded Day is Here.

What dare you ask? Three bibs.

Yep it is officially here. Three high chairs and three bibs.

Until now Hadley has been eating cereal in her bouncy seat with a cloth bib that I (Elise) throw in the wash. But today Hadley moved up to her high chair and therefore a bib that has to be washed out in the sink. Washing bibs is a dreaded activity by both Dan and myself. Dan tried to make a deal with me the other day that would exempt him from ever having to wash out a bib again. But I did not take the deal. Do I look like I was born yesterday.

So girls, someday I hope you know how much your parents love you. The fact that we washed 9 bibs a day should be a testament to it.

Hadley's New Car Seat

So today Hadley moved into her new car seat. Brianna got so excited when I put her into the van this morning and she saw Hadley's new car seat installed. It is amazing how observant kids are.

The girls also had a blast when it was delivered a few days ago. Mia and Brianna took turns sitting in it. This is a pic of Hadley's turn:

The Little Mommy

So while Mia likes to pretend to be a baby, Brianna is a born mother. Her baby rarely leaves her side. A large majority of her play activities include her baby. When she is upset her cry is "Baby Ahgi". Ahgi is the girls word for their blankie.

It is so amazing how much the girls observe and learn. Yesterday I pulled out the baby sling that someone from Heartland was kind enough to make us as a baby present for Bri. I pulled it out yesterday to see what Hadley and I thought of wearing her on my hip.

Well later that day there is Brianna wearing it and wanting help putting her baby in it. After I took a picture of her, she proceeded to direct me to take more. And she does it all by gesturing and with her own words. The funny thing about that is that if you knew Brianna, you would understand exactly what I am describing.

In the following pictures she is demonstrating the different ways to carry your baby in a sling:

Pretending to be a Baby

So Mia's all time favorite past time is to pretend to be a baby. Her favorite baby activity is to be burped by Mommy. Mia has a specific fake cry that she uses that signals that Baby Mia is in the house. I just recently learned to put this favorite activity to good use. Big girl Mia likes to brush her teeth all by herself but does not like Mommy to brush them. However baby Mia loves it when Mommy brushes her teeth.

Here are some pics of sister Brianna getting into the game. The first picture Bri is the baby and Mia was the mommy. Mia was rocking and "shhhhing" the baby. Priceless

The second picture is Bri's new favorite past time. Climbing into the bouncy seat all by herself. If this bouncy seat survives this round it will be the last well constructed item that has been manufactured within the last decade.

Coming Up for Air

The Deeble household has been under the weather for over almost 3 weeks now. Hence the lack of posts in a while.

Three sicks kids and a sick mommy does not make for a good time.

Three girls, three ear infections. Mia, Hadley and Mommy all have had ear infections. Brianna was the first to get sick but somehow escaped the ear infection. Thankfully Daddy escaped it all. And even more thanks to antibiotics the two achy, crabby girls and achy, very, crabby mommy are all starting to feel better.

Every Family Should Have "Sick Traditions"

When the girls are sick, they wake up early. Take yesterday morning, for example. I (dan) was up just after 5AM, eager to log my first "sunroom morning" of the spring. The coffee had been brewed, my journal, books, and Bible were stacked on the table, and the moon still commanded the night's sky. Then, suddenly, Mia's cry cut through the silence and I was back on my feet, my devotion re-routed upstairs, cribside.

Bri was also awake but not yet demanding my servititude so I whisked Mia down the stairs and into the kitchen. I've learned that, for my eldest daughter, the best assumptive cure in moments like this is FOOD. And - when they are sick - I invoke the tradition of feeding them while they are sitting on top of the kitchen counter in their pj's. No bibs. No straps. It's high on danger, but high on cute. They munch on cereal, chew on grapes, and - if the mood allows - I'll even fry up some bacon. (Turkey bacon, that is. Which really shouldn't be allowed to be called "bacon" in the first place. The FDA should really make them call it "Turkey Strips" b/c it's not real bacon whatsoever. I'm sure we'll learn in 5 years that it causes some form of disease and that we were all better off for eating the real stuff. Perhaps they should be proactive and ban it all together and then my wife wouldn't be able to buy it except for on the black market. But we all know that's something she'd never do b/c she's such a rule follower. But I digress). And my girls know it's a big deal. They get that it's a special thing; something only dad would allow...and they praise me for it.

It Was A Good Day...

We've Become 'That' Family...

Mo and Poppa

Mo, Mo, Mo, Mo!

Today Mia, Brianna and Hadley woke up to find that the mailman had delivered these while they slept.

"Did Mo send Mia a birthday present", I asked myself when I opened the box. Two in fact! And a present for Bri and another for Hadley. Hadley is showing all the presents in the below picture.

Mo, Mia loves the memory cards and more than anything loves putting them into the box. And every girl has to have their own pair of bunny and giraffe slippers. They are way too cute. Hadley thinks all of the gifts are hers as does Brianna of course. Hadley has yet to play with the giraffe toy you got her because Mia is so enthralled with it. So I guess it all works out to be fair in the end.

And Finally, Mo, you have to stop spoiling the Deebles. What did we ever do to deserve this? All I remember is that it all started over the love of Yorkie Poos and then progressed somehow into spoiling us rotten.

Mo and Poppa, your generosity no longer even registers on the scale. We have been showered more by you in the last 3+ years than most people get in a lifetime. We can't thank you enough!

p.s. Dan here. I agree with everything that my wife just wrote, except for the "you have to stop" part.

p.p.s Elise here. Yes you can stop whenever you want and let's face it who is the boss of this family.

Happy Birthday Mia!

Yesterday was Mia's second birthday. Daddy came home a little early and we had a small Deeble Family 5 birthday party. Mommy decorated the dining room while the girls napped. Or I should say while Hadley and Mia napped and Bri talked and protested for an hour and half.

The girls woke up to Daddy coming home and a festive house. It was so fun to see how delighted they were by the balloons and cake. It is amazing how just the simple things fascinate them. How sad that we lose that so quickly.

I think all that Mia really neeeded for her Birthday was a helium balloon. As is Mia's style she started off unsure of the balloon and then slowly became delighted with it. Brianna of course was delighted at first sight. Hadley as always was the little angel baby. So fun!

Daddy got Mia a little band set. Nana and Poppy got the girls bikes for their birthdays. Yeah Brianna scored and got hers early.

And Butde and Papa surprised us last weekend by deciding to jump in the car and drive from Winter Park to take Mia to Build a Bear. Unfortunately Mia was not quite sure of Build a Bear. So we are going to have to take her back with Bri and pick out her bear. Brianna will love it and therefore make Mia more comfortable with the whole thing. So needless to say Mia had a wonderful second birthday.

Peek A Boo

So we have been quiet here because I have been trying to load some videos for over a week and I keep getting error messages. So I am going to have to investigate further to find out where the problem lies.

These pictures are freeze frames from a video that we have of Brianna and Mia playing Peek-A-Boo with Hadley. Bri started the game and then Mia joined in when I got the camera out. It was one of the most priceless moments yet.

Hadley just thinks the girls are hilarious. In this clip she is laughing hysterically at the girls (primarly Bri).

Brianna is fascinated by Hadley and tries to do everything that she sees me do. One of my challenges is that the rougher Bri gets with her, the more she laughs. Which causes Bri to get all the crazier. It's a viscious cycle of unending escalation.

I realized today that in most of our videos the girls are just in diapers and this one is particularly bad because their onsies aren't even snapped. Well, part of the problem is I strip their pants off for every meal - otherwise they trash their pants.

And then today was a potty training day. So they never really had pants on. I am on day three and Brianna and I are about ready to give up. :( It is soooo much work taking her to the bathroom and washing her hands all the time. I think being potty trained is overrated. Bri does too.

Mia isn't showing even the slightest bit of interest, thank goodness. I don't think I could handle doing two at the same time. However if I have to resort to candy incentives I have a feeling that Mia might perk up to the idea.

Hadley 5 Months Old Today

Our Happy Hadley Who at 5 Months. Wow is time flying.


Hadley's Big Sis couldn't resist getting in the picture.

Trying to get a picture of Nana's 5 Girls under 2

Nana wanted to get a picture of her 5 newest grandchildren. 5 girls under the age of 2. Suffice it to say, it was mayhem.

A Week at Nana and Poppy's House

So the Deeble clan went and spent a week with Nana and Poppy. Dan wanted to take a 4 day, 3 night study leave and so the clan headed to Columbia to spend a week with Nana and Poppy while Daddy was away.

Let me tell you it was an adventure as always. Packing up three kids, two dogs (one of them sick) and two adults is not a job for the faint of heart. As always it takes me way longer than I ever imagine it will. But after getting up at 7am and working madly all morning long we finally got out the door around 3pm. Yep, you read that right. It took that long to get all the laundry done and folded, put into suitcases and then packed into the car. All the while taking care of three munchkins and two dogs.

Then just to make the trip a little more complicated Keiffer decided to get sick. So I not only had to take care of three kids away from home but also carry one of my dogs everywhere. Poor Kieffer had to spend one night in the vet. But honestly for the first time in her life I think she liked it there better than at Nana's house. After lots of drugs and three doctor visists she is now feeling better. Yes, we live at doctor offices.

But all that aside as always it is a great time. The girls are spoiled rotten by grandparents and aunts and just plain love being there. I am spoiled rotten by now having to make any dinner for myself and get some help cleaning high chairs and bibs. And I enjoy the company during the long days. We are all a little lonely when we get back home.

Here are a few pics from being at Nana and Poppy's.

"Dan" and "Ryan" Growing Up:

Bri Finally Has Enough Hair for pigtails:

Mia's First Tricycle Ride:

Brianna's First Big Wheel Ride: