The Webb Home

happy valentine's day!

2012-02-15T11:16:00.002-05:00

Meg and Katie had their much-anticipated Valentine's Day parties at preschool yesterday - as far as I could tell, the highlight was they were going to decorate and eat a cookie - and the car actually smelled sweet when they got in it! Hmm... someone must have still had frosting on their face...

They were so excited with their treasures - Meg got a helium heart-shaped balloon (couldn't get it in the picture but it is tied to her backpack) and Katie got a pencil. She carried that pencil around all day and would have slept with it if I had let her.

what meg does

2012-02-12T20:05:00.003-05:00

Meg apparently has an irresistable urge to adorn almost everything in her path, with whatever she can find. Every time I think I've seen it all, I will turn the corner and find a new funny surprise. And then I have to take a picture of it.

Meg took Katie's clothes and dressed the rocking horse. The pants are on the head with the "ponytail" being held together by Claire's old teething ring. A doll's baby blanket is the "cape" on the back.

I asked Meg what was going on with this goose. She said it did a crime and it needed to go to jail. I think this is her version of handcuffs...with ponytail holders. Poor goose.

when a 2-year-old & 4-year-old tell each other knock-knock jokes

2012-02-01T08:29:00.002-05:00

...this is what it sounds like:

Katie: Knock knock.
Meg: Who's there?
Katie: Banana.
Meg: Banana who?
Katie: Banana Katie!
(followed by fits of laughter)

Meg: Knock knock.
Katie: Who's there?
Meg: Radish.
Katie: Radish who?
Meg: Radish...radish carrot head!!
(followed by hysterical laughing. Note: They don't even know what a radish is.)

K: Knock knock.
M: Who's there?
K: Orange.
M: Orange who?
K: Cheese!
(followed by big belly laughs. I think they think this is the funniest one ever.)

january in our house

2012-01-23T09:43:00.004-05:00

I thought I'd give a little update on the girls for the relatives who requested it. :) There's not a lot of exciting news to report, but that's probably a good thing.

Meg is almost 4 1/2 and is growing like a weed. (The picture below is her attempt to show how big she is.) She officially looks like a little girl to me instead of a toddler. Her arms and legs and feet and hands seem like they grew long overnight. I think Meg's favorite thing to do is talk. From the minute she wakes up to the time she goes to bed, she talks. Allllll day she is telling jokes (knock-knock jokes, which she hasn't gotten the hang of yet), singing songs, asking questions, telling stories, and sometimes just talking just to hear herself talk. Most of the time it's fun and entertaining, but sometimes I have to tell her, "I'm turning off my ears now." For the most part she's pretty happy and funny and loves to be silly.

Katie is 2 1/2 and is a sweetheart. Her favorite thing to do is ask us to read her a book. She has a lot to say but has trouble getting it out, which is a constant source of entertainment for us. She comes out with stuff all the time that makes us smile. She asked Mark the other day, "is your heart full?" Katie follows her own grammar rules (example: if it's past tense, just stick the word "did" in front of the verb. "I did eat my lunch." "I did push Claire down on the ground.") Thankfully, the tantrum phase seem to be waning and we are left with just simple bouts of frustrated screaming here and there. I am fine with that. I see improvement.

Claire is finally walking more than crawling and seems like she is in constant motion all day. She entertains herself by wandering around from room to room, finding one thing to look at and then getting distracted by the next thing. I have to be constantly aware of where she is, though, because she often gets herself in tricky situations.

Claire loves to climb, get into things (literally), and put things that are not food into her mouth, which keeps me on my toes.

I bet you just looked at what's in my refrigerator! :)

fancy nancies

2012-01-08T16:26:00.003-05:00

With our girls, dress-up is by far their favorite pasttime. They will use almost anything to adorn themselves, each other, dolls, and inanimate objects.

I let Meg play with a sticker book during her quiet time and I found her asleep with stickers on her earlobes like they were her earrings. Next to her was a pillow elaborately swaddled with a blanket that looked like a dress. After she got up she found another target for her sticker earrings...

...and did you notice her stuffed dolphin "Dolphie" is wearing a dress??

Someone else (who finally REALLY started walking this week!!) likes to dress up, too. With Meg and Katie as her stylists, I never know what Claire is going to toddle into the room looking like.

christmas recap

2012-01-04T15:32:00.002-05:00

We had a great Christmas! My standards were low, since last year we were very sick with the stomach bug, so when Claire had a cold this year it felt like no big deal.

We got two Christmases this year - one in Atlanta and then my parents came the next week and we had a mini-2nd Christmas with them. The more the merrier! It was fun watching the girls examine and shake and squeeze the presents.

Katie sort of "got it" this year.

Meg really "got it" this year and asked about Christmas almost every day this month. She was so happy to get the scooter she wanted! (with marker on her chin...)

Claire was happy playing with the wrapping paper and watching other people open their presents!

holiday season recap

2011-12-16T15:12:00.002-05:00

We are only halfway through December but we've been busy! A couple of weekends ago we got our Christmas tree. Katie was sick that day and so was I, and as you can see she was pretty grouchy. (I was too, so thankfully I am not in the picture).

Last weekend Katie, Meg and I made Christmas cookies. They had so much fun! They were totally silent and engrossed in this for a long time.

It's been a long time since I've cut out cookies with cutters so I forgot the important step of making sure the dough is cold so it will keep its shape! These looked bad -verging on gross- but thankfully these weren't really meant for giving away.

Yesterday Meg and Katie's preschool had their Christmas program. I spent most of my time getting it on video so I just have a few lousy pictures. I thought it was funny how everyone in this picture is doing a different hand motion. The girls were precious and we loved watching them.

Yesterday Mark's office had a children's Christmas party and Santa came to visit! Meg told Santa she wanted princess shoes, a princess dress and a princess crown.

Katie told Santa she wanted a lollipop.

first steps

2011-11-08T09:47:00.002-05:00

Claire took her first steps last night! Mark and I were tag-teaming the girls' bath/bedtime and I was helping Meg in the bath when I heard Mark in the next room sounding excited and saying, "One step! Two steps!" - and finally it dawned on me what was happening and I ran in to see her take her third step.

She walked back and forth between us 3 or 4 times, taking about 5 tiny, tentative steps each time.

We were all so excited for Claire and I think she was pretty proud of herself!

happy halloween!

2011-11-02T11:11:00.000-04:00

visitors

2011-11-01T09:54:00.002-04:00

We got to spend the past few days with Mark's mom Nancy and our 8-year-old niece Leah. We were especially excited that Leah was coming since we have very few chances to hang out with her by herself. This is what I learned about Leah this weekend: she loves purple, soccer, Michael Jackson (especially "I Want You Back" and can sing it spot-on), Uno, Gymboree, pretty much any food out there (I was seriously impressed with this), and kills any opponent in balloon volleyball. She is fearless, sweet, funny, and mature. I love that my girls have her as a cousin to look up to. (Christie, can we keep her next time?)

fall festivals

2011-10-20T15:53:00.002-04:00

We got to got to two fall festivals this past week and they were both really fun!
The first was on Saturday and it was just a few minutes from our house. Meg surprised us by not only willingly bouncing in the bounce houses but also actually having a lot of fun. There was even an obstacle course bounce house with much bigger kids in it and she loved it (she would never have done this in the past so we loved watching her being "brave").

Katie was a little skittish about the bounce house but had no problem with the pony ride.

Last night was our church's fall festival, and the girls were very excited to get to dress up! (side note: this is the bumblebee costume's FOURTH straight year being worn by a Webb girl - phew! Is that a record?? If Claire will fit into it again next year, I'll be so happy).

Meg and Katie watching the pony ride (I think these were the same ponies from Saturday!):

Katie was so funny and excited to be wearing her costume. She was running up to anyone she knew and yelling, "I'm a butterfly (buddo-fwi)"!! And then she would do a little dance with her tongue sticking out.

tuesday/thursday mornings

2011-10-13T12:05:00.002-04:00

I love my Tuesday and Thursday mornings with Claire. The big girls are in preschool then and Claire and the house just seems really peaceful and quiet.

Claire is a good mixture of energetic and relaxed - she is a little of both. I am so grateful for the times we get to hang out, just the two of us!

claire's first year

2011-09-23T10:26:00.003-04:00

These pictures not only remind me of how much she's grown in one year, but it also reflects the adventures in breastfeeding we went through this year...the jaundice at one month (she is so yellow!), the happy and healthy 2 and 3 months (breastfeeding was pretty good for a little while), the skinny and sickly 4 and 5 months (I wasn't making enough milk and at 5 months she weighed less than her weight at 2 months), and the gradual addition of formula and real food at 6 months (then looking more well-fed and happier with each passing month).

It never fails to amaze me how fast a baby can grow and develop in just one year!

one

2011-09-21T18:55:00.002-04:00

Our beautiful Claire turned one today. She is a delight and we couldn't imagine our lives without her. I can't wait to watch her grow up.

Claire took her first bite of birthday cake tonight and loved it so much, she laughed out loud! Pure joy.

exactly a year ago

2011-09-20T09:57:00.002-04:00

We looked like this...the day before Claire was born.

Katie was still a baby too! Crazy. (I think my lower back is still angry with me for carrying Katie while pregnant with Claire.) We were SO excited to meet baby Claire!

yard work

2011-09-19T10:20:00.002-04:00

Katie and Meg were "helping" Mark as he cut down a big dead bush in the yard.

Claire watched from her stroller. And she has a bunch of new teeth to show off! She is so cute - she bites her cheerios in half now, I think just because she can.

all-natural hair product

2011-09-09T09:36:00.003-04:00

Almost every morning, Claire eats banana for breakfast. When she eats, she likes to squish it in her fists to make a nice banana paste.

Then she runs her fingers through her hair.

Her hair parts naturally in the middle, and she reminded me of some animal with horns...then finally I think I got it! I believe her hairstyle is "the water buffalo".

katie's first day

2011-09-06T21:00:00.002-04:00

Katie's first day of preschool was today! Having a big-girl backpack was very very exciting.

She took the entire experience in stride and had no problem being dropped off at school. She was really cool and nonchalant about the whole thing...traits she obviously does not get from her mother.

She was so engrossed with looking at all the things in the classroom that I think she hardly noticed when I kissed her goodbye. Every day last year when we dropped Meg off at preschool Katie cried because she wanted to stay too, so I'm so happy to see her finally get to be in preschool like her big sister.

11 months

2011-09-01T14:59:00.002-04:00

When Claire turned 11 months (almost 2 weeks ago...I'm a little late), she was a mess. She was teething and I think had a cold, too. She was miserable but still managed to be her smiley self most of the time. This gummy smile won't last much longer!

Poor thing. When Claire is tired or needs to self-soothe, she immediately puts her thumb in her mouth and twirls her hair with her other hand. It's easy to tell when she's ready for bed:

meg's first day

2011-08-29T21:34:00.002-04:00

Meg's first day of pre-k 4 was last week and she loved it, just as we knew she would.

Less than a minute after walking into her new classroom and before I could even say goodbye, she made herself at home with the train tracks, lost in her own world and totally happy:

four

2011-08-16T22:37:00.002-04:00

Our sweet Meg turned four yesterday. She only had a few requests: Chik-fil-a for dinner, time to play on the playground there, and party hats. Done, done, and done.

unexplained behavior (park edition)

2011-08-12T15:59:00.004-04:00

Ever since Katie was a baby, she has closed her eyes when she is on the swings and sometimes sucks her thumb. I don't know if it is a deep relaxation thing or a feel-the-movement sensory thing. Maybe someday she can explain it to me.

the learning curve

2011-08-09T20:30:00.003-04:00

All the girls in our house are learning something and are on that spot on the learning curve where all they seem to do is repeat, repeat, and repeat. And then repeat.

Meg is learning how to whistle. So far she can whistle just one low note, but it is loud and clear (as in, I can hear it across the house). This is what she looks like almost all day:

Katie is learning to use the toilet. This is not my favorite area of toddler parenting, but we are in the thick of it and she is getting the hang of half of it. I won't go into those details. This is what she looks like almost all day (pantless):

(She was helping me husk corn! Meg and Katie are turning into awesome helpers. I love it!)

Claire is learning what is food and what isn't. I spend a lot of time fishing things out of her mouth. This is what she looks like almost all day (she especially loves this fake carrot):

the great pear experiment

2011-08-05T08:01:00.003-04:00

I knew almost nothing about pears until about a month ago, when I picked a bagful of hard little pears from a tree in my parents' yard in South Carolina. They didn't even feel ripe, so I googled about what to do with them on the ride home.

Did you know you are supposed to pick pears when they don't feel ripe yet? I didn't. After you pick them, you store them in the refrigerator for 1-4 months (!) and then let them ripen on the counter.

I've had these pears taking up an entire drawer in my fridge since July 4, so I was really excited to try making pear butter. I did it yesterday in the crockpot and I think it went pretty well! I don't have a food mill so I had to peel about 25 of those little suckers, but that was the hardest part. It sat in the crockpot all day and then I just blended it up and then boiled it down until it was thick. Pretty easy and I'm excited to try this again next year.

hannah

2011-08-04T09:05:00.002-04:00

We have been a little heartsick around here...our babysitter-turned-almost-family-member Hannah has left us to teach at a Christian school in Lebanon. She has been watching the girls since Claire was 2 weeks old and Katie could barely walk and has an amazing rapport with little girls. She was just excellent and we will miss her!

For some reason I never took a picture of them all together, but thankfully Hannah attempted to take one with her phone...not an easy job:

10 months

2011-07-27T15:13:00.002-04:00

See the scrape on her forehead? I predict a few more of those in her future because this girl is on the move and into everything!

See the green and white potty chair in the background? We are potty training Katie and Claire terrorizes poor Katie when she's sitting on it by gleefully pushing the lid back and forth up against Katie's back. I think Claire knows what she's doing.

She can pull herself up to standing now!

She likes to try to play the piano. When I hear a gentle little "tink, tink, tink" instead of banging (Meg and Katie), I know who's playing. So sweet.

Her favorite new game is playing "sooo big!" but she also is into pointing, so it often comes out looking like some sort of victory stance.

gymnastics night

2011-07-22T08:50:00.002-04:00

Every Thursday night this summer Meg and Katie have gymnastics. It's really exciting for them because Mark meets us there after work and goes into the class with them. Leotards are optional but these girls never miss a chance to dress up.

swim lessons

2011-07-13T09:17:00.000-04:00

Meg had swim lessons a few weeks ago. She started out not wanting to even put her face in the water and it was great to watch her confidence around the water grow.

Meg and her sweet friend Adriana were so cute together. Adriana gave Meg her extra goggles and Meg "needs" them every time she is in the water now.

father's day

2011-07-12T09:08:00.002-04:00

Better late than never(?)...here are some pictures from our Father's Day ice cream trip.

Claire didn't get any ice cream but seemed perfectly happy staring at Mark the whole time.

Meg got to talk on the phone to her Pop Pop AT the ice cream store. I don't think her day could get any better than that.

july 4th at the lake

2011-07-06T14:30:00.000-04:00

9 months

2011-06-23T14:48:00.004-04:00

Claire loves splashing in our little baby pool and in the bathtub. The bigger the splash, the better. It is so fun to watch her get this happy!

She has learned to crawl this past month and is now exploring all over the place! Meg and Katie like to pretend they are babies too and crawl around with her. Time to work a little harder on cleaning my floors...

this is a guilty look

2011-06-10T15:57:00.001-04:00

She found a ballpoint pen.

2 out of 3 ain't bad

2011-06-09T15:26:00.002-04:00

The girls have taken turns being sick since summer began. It is just a cold but it involves a loooot of crying and grumpiness. Can you tell who has it right now? (Hint...she is not in one of the smiling pictures below.) We've been sort of stuck inside, waiting for everyone to get well.

Claire is still not crawling, but is starting to roll around to get where she needs to go...

jacksonville zoo

2011-06-01T14:04:00.002-04:00

We spent Memorial Day weekend with our siblings and cousins in Jacksonville and had a great time swimming, BBQ-ing, and going to the zoo!

We went to the zoo on Sunday morning right when it opened and it was like we had the whole place to ourselves. We could almost reach out and touch those giraffes. They were beautiful.

Katie had a face-off with some slightly aggressive exotic birds and I don't know who won.

My favorite part of the whole weekend was getting to spend time with my 4 nieces and my 2 new (to me!) nephews, Will and Isaac. Eight of the 9 kids eating breakfast:

Claire went swimming for the first time and the swimsuit I packed for her turned out to be WAY too small!! (It looks like Meg should be asking Claire, "how many months pregnant are you?")

last day of school

2011-05-29T21:33:00.000-04:00

Meg's last day of preschool was Thursday and I was really sad to see it end. I can see now how parents get emotional about every tiny little milestone their children reach. Here's a picture of Meg on the last day of school (I'm not ashamed to admit I bribed her with a cookie to make her smile normally):

And here's a picture of Meg on her first day of school in September! I didn't have to bribe her to smile back then.

The preschool had the cutest cowboy-themed program and I could tell Meg was totally happy and comfortable singing there with all her teachers and little friends. She is in the front middle with the white bandana. Her "best friend" Walker is next to her in the blue bandana.

They are singing, "They'll Be Coming Round the Mountain". It was so cute!!

razzle dazzle

2011-05-28T21:13:00.000-04:00

Katie turned two this week! She talks and acts like a two-year-old, but she still looks like a baby to me. I hope she stays looking this way a little while longer...she does not have a single sharp angle on her body.

Every day she says something that makes me laugh. This week she has started saying, at randoms times throughout the day, "razzle dazzle!" What on earth?!? I have never said "razzle dazzle" in my life and Mark certainly doesn't say it. I don't know where this came from but I like it.

The cake adoration and awe is written all over her face. It is soo exciting to be two and have a special cake just for you!

katie + claire

2011-05-27T08:00:00.000-04:00

Three mornings a week, Meg has been in preschool, which lately has turned into sweet quiet mornings with Katie and Claire. The whole morning is mostly taken up with naps and feeding them. But I love my time I get to have alone with them and now that Claire is older, Katie has really taken an interest in her too. Katie loves trying to feed Claire a bottle, even when it is empty:

Claire holds her own bottle, so I usually give her a full one and then turn away for a few minutes. Sometimes Katie will then sneak up and take the bottle and "paint" dots all over herself:

Katie still calls Claire "cluh bluh" (for Claire Bear, which is a cheesy nickname but is starting to stick).

8 months

2011-05-26T11:09:00.003-04:00

This time I was really caught off guard. Claire is 8 months old? It seems like she just turned 7 months old yesterday. Can you see her 2 new teeth? Can you see the blue barrette that is my feeble attempt to tame that hair?

Claire's baptism was this past Sunday and this is the best picture we could come up with:

She spends a lot of time on the floor surrounded by toys. I found her trying to catch a sunbeam with her hands:

She is in the Cheerio stage of babyhood. I love this stage! It is messy with dropped Cheerios crunching under our feet but it takes a lot of time and concentration for her to get one in her mouth (=quiet and happy baby).

just in time for summer

2011-05-18T11:41:00.000-04:00

I was extremely pleased to get an ice cream maker for Mother's Day, and I was determined to figure out how to use it right away, unlike some other presents I have received in the past, such as the ipod and the sushi making kit.

I started with the easiest-looking recipe I could find, which was raspberry sorbet (just raspberries, water, sugar, and salt). It was actually really good and really easy! This is only the beginning...I can't wait to try some different flavors. If anyone has any good suggestions or recipes, let me know!

sc trip

2011-05-17T07:42:00.002-04:00

Last week I took the girls up to South Carolina to visit my parents, where they were in little girl heaven. Mark's mom also came to visit one day, which made it even better. I love this picture because it encapsulates the stage that each girl is in: Claire just wants to pull Meg's hair sooo badly and is sooo happy about the thought of it; Meg is in a bizarre dress-up outfit that I will call "princess scientist"; and Katie just needs to be restrained. I love that both of their grandmothers are laughing. They are the best grandmothers - they are so patient and loving with the girls.

The weather was perfect and we went strawberry picking. Katie left with only eight strawberries in her basket.

There were llamas and sheep at the farm, which was just as exciting as the strawberries. Meg and Katie are really affectionate with each other - I often find them just standing there hugging! I am loving this sweet sisterhood they are forming together.

Why did they both decide to stand this way??

horse rides

2011-05-09T07:31:00.003-04:00

Amazingly, we got to be near horses one more time this month - the girls got to go to a birthday party with horses to ride!

Katie had never been on a horse before, but she said she wanted to try it. She stood on a little stool, waiting for her turn. I was fully prepared for a meltdown at this point...

But she braved it out and had a great time!

horses & mulberries

2011-05-05T20:34:00.002-04:00

A few days ago our friend let us visit her horse at some stables near our house, which was so fun for the girls! We got to see the horses very close up and even feed them carrots! Katie was really brave (at first):

The carrot snack for the horse turned into the carrot snack for the girls...

The horses were beautiful and it was a gorgeous day.

There was a mulberry tree on the property that was loaded with berries. Meg and Katie had never picked berries before (much less eaten mulberries), but they knew exactly what to do!
Most of the berries went straight into their mouths instead of into their bucket.

Thanks to Rawan - the girls loved it! (Can you tell they are in love with her?) :)

leave them alone for a few minutes...

2011-05-03T15:13:00.000-04:00

...and we find a scene like this:

Meg was "reading" the comics to Katie on the kitchen floor in their tutus and fairy wings while Mark and I were getting dressed for church. My favorite is Meg's choice of headgear...the blanket tucked under the headband I believe is her idea of what a person in the Bible would wear.

23 months

2011-05-02T14:41:00.003-04:00

What Katie is up to: adorning herself. Anything that can possibly be put on her body will be put on. Yesterday I had to help her take off eight tutu skirts! (Why do we even have eight tutu skirts?)

Last month I wrote that she never got out of her new big girl bed and that I was so happy about it. I am now eating my words. Not only does she get out of bed, but I have found her rummaging around in one of the worst possible places...under the bathroom cabinet (thankfully she didn't get into any cleaning supplies)! Notice the child lock dangling from the cabinet knob...

Katie is also into squeezing herself into Claire's bumbo and eating Claire's baby food.

And finally, the mullet is gone! Katie got her first haircut last weekend and was totally calm the entire time.

happy easter!

2011-04-24T16:25:00.002-04:00

It was our first Easter spent as just the five of us. We had a little pre-church Easter egg hunt in the living room with Meg and Katie this morning...so sweet!

I got to make three little dresses this week and put my own spin on the pillowcase pattern by having them tie in the back.

7 months

2011-04-21T15:11:00.002-04:00

She sits up! Sometimes.

Sometimes not.

I love watching Claire with her sisters - they love her and she loves them. I have no idea what Katie is doing with that bucket on her face, but Claire and Meg thought it was funny.

easter egg hunt

2011-04-18T12:35:00.002-04:00

We took the girls to an Easter egg hunt last weekend. It was Katie's first, and she knew exactly what to do. And when it was over, she put all her eggs back out on the grass!

Meg also got to ride a pony, and she loved it!

tea party

2011-04-15T14:05:00.002-04:00

My mom has been here this week and the girls are loving it! They got to make muffins with their grandma and they were sooo excited.

My mom brought a tea set and hats and scarves for a tea party. They got to eat the muffins they made and had lemonade in their teacups.

They were so happy - their little toes were wiggling under the table!

meg april update

2011-04-06T07:57:00.000-04:00

I knew this day would come...Meg is not really taking naps any more. She has a "quiet time" in a room by herself with books and stuffed animals and lately she is staying awake the entire time. I am constantly looking for new things she can do during quiet time so I can cling on to MY quiet time a little longer!

She wanted to bring markers and a coloring book with her to bed and I could tell she was trying to come up with something persuasive and nonchalant: "Coloring calms kids down, you know?"

It didn't work but I appreciated her effort.

22 months

2011-04-05T07:43:00.000-04:00

Katie is springing forth with new words every day. I love when she is persistent about saying a word even when I don't understand her. She will repeat it over and over until it finally dawns on me what she is trying to say.

"strawbuary" (sounds like "February")= strawberry
"walnut" = Wal-Mart
"good norning" = "good morning"
"tuntine" = "sunshine" (really this is asking me to sing "You are My Sunshine")

Her mullet can now be squeezed into two little pigtails.

Katie is in a big bed! She made the transition without a hitch...we put a little dresser on the open side of the bed and even though she can get in and out she stays in there until we get her. Perfect!!

6 months

2011-04-04T07:35:00.002-04:00

Claire is one content little baby. She is learning how to take regular naps and is sleeping through the night(8 p.m. to 8 a.m.) more often than not. She is also eating baby food and I am happy to see that so far she hasn't met a food she doesn't like!

who needs toys?

2011-03-26T22:13:00.000-04:00

I always forget how easy it is to set the girls on the back porch with water and a few cups and spoons...they will play in total silence for almost an hour.

meg march update

2011-03-25T22:04:00.000-04:00

This month Meg and Mark went to a dad-daughter "sock hop" sponsored by our church. Meg was SO excited for this - she talked about it for the entire week before their "date"...what she would wear, what they would eat, etc. I love that they got to do this together - I could tell she felt sooo special.

(That thing she is doing with her feet is NOT posed!)

katie march update

2011-03-24T21:39:00.002-04:00

Katie is hilarious. She makes me laugh out loud every day. This is perfect because she also requires a lot of attention for correction. That is a euphamism for mischeivous behavior, like scratching her sister in the car when I'm driving and can't do anything about it.

All day, every day, she sings the same song at the top of her voice. Therefore, it is in my head too, in the exact same way that she sings it. Do you remember this song from Sunday School?:
"The B-i-b-l-e
yes, that's the book for me
It stands alone on the word of God,
the B-i-b-l-e."

Katie sings it the exact same way, every time:
"The B-i-b-o-e
Yes, that's a book a me,
It sands a wo wo wo wo God,
the B-i-b- that's ME!!"

Meg and Katie walked out of their room one morning with tutus on their heads:

She's also incredibly sweet with her sisters and for the most part plays with them really well. She will walk up to them and randomly give them a kiss on the head.

a little gross...a little fascinating

2011-03-16T14:35:00.002-04:00

Can you identify this?

It is the tag on a blanket! It has been rubbed, rolled, and loved into an entirely new shape. Most tags on blankets in our house look like this. The baby blankets in our house have been in constant use since Meg was born, and the tag is by far the most important feature. Both Meg and Katie like to rub the tag between their fingers- I think it is soothing to them. Time will tell whether Claire shares their strange habit.

5 months

2011-03-15T08:16:00.002-04:00

A virus got our computer and we have been without one for eleven days!! It felt like forever but I am grateful we didn't lose anything important.

Claire is really almost 6 months old but I thought I'd share some pictures from a few weeks ago. Her favorite toy is her toes...

I love her body and especially her thighs...we call them her Sister Schuberts because they remind us of those white, fluffy Sister Schubert's dinner rolls you eat only at Thanksgiving and Christmas! She is at such a squishy, cuddly, soft stage of babyhood.

awake...asleep!

2011-03-03T07:56:00.002-05:00

Meg and Katie like to make up games that are understandable only to them but entertaining for me. I love that they can slip into their own little world for a few minutes and totally enjoy each other's company.

One of their favorite games is the "awake/asleep" game...from what I can tell, it entails one girl (usually Meg) shouting out orders of "awake!" or "asleep!" and the other girl dramatically pretending to pass out asleep or jerk violently awake. Then it is followed by a lot of belly laughs.

I made cookies for Valentine's Day and they were so sweet watching them bake...

3 1/2

2011-02-21T18:16:00.002-05:00

Meg is officially 3 1/2!

I let her learn how to use a mouse to play "computer games" this month (on Starfall- great website for this age!). She picked it up pretty quickly...I'm hoping I can get these girls tech-savvy early so they can teach me how to use my computer as I get older.

homemade pizza attempt #3: getting closer

2011-02-12T08:49:00.000-05:00

I started to see a glimmer of hope last time I made pizza...I believe I have a good whole wheat dough recipe and maybe a good sauce recipe. This time, though, I used half of the dough for a thinner crust and it tasted more like pizza instead of a slice of bread. But it was still too soft and mushy.

Once I figure out how to make the dough a little more crusty (put it directly on the oven rack?) and the right proportion of sauce to crust and cheese, I will be headed towards achieving my goal of good pizza.

(A side goal is to take a picture of pizza that doesn't look oily and gross...)

20 months

2011-02-11T08:16:00.002-05:00

At 20 months, Katie is sailing into the Terrific Twos at a good clip.

See that tear glistening under her eye? That is a permanent feature on her face these days, as she vacillates from screaming/crying to laughing/singing in under 1 minute flat.

This expression is one I see many times a day. It means, "I don't know if I am allowed to sit on this diaper box but I am going to just go ahead and do it. If I maintain eye contact with Mom the entire time, I can watch her expression to see what her reaction will be."

She has started doing what we call "the roll call": when sitting at the table she will name everybody in the room really fast, "Mommy, Daddy, Megan, Katie, baby!" "Baby" is what she calls Claire.

Her current favorite toy is a fridge magnet that plays the ABC song. She sings along and dances by swaying her hips hula-style. It is so cute!!

zen and the art of mobile making

2011-02-10T08:06:00.002-05:00

Making this mobile tested my patience. I walked away from it many times (I actually started this when Katie was a baby!). Why so hard?? It took a lot of trial and error and personal pep talks to make the hoops level and balanced. Once I got those right, it was fast and easy to tie on the butterflies.

4 months

2011-02-09T10:25:00.002-05:00

I have not put a picture up in a long time! Another sickness has slooooowly made its feverish, coughing, sniffly, cranky way through our family. Katie is the last one and we are just in the final nose-wiping stage with her. As in wiping-the-nose-every-3-minute stage.

Claire is 4 months now! She can hold her head up very sturdily and prefers sitting up and being held upright to any reclining position. If she is getting bored she will be very vocal and let us know! As long as she has people to look at and to talk to her, she is one content little baby.

There is some crazy hair hiding under this hat!!

homemade pizza attempt #2: fail

2011-01-19T10:11:00.002-05:00

I really appreciate all of your thoughts and advice on the pizza making! I took them all into consideration and did a little (very little) reading about it.

I didn't get a thermometer, but figured out the right temperature anyway: if you can't hold your hand under the water, it's too hot! Keep making it cooler until you can stand holding your hand under the running water, and it's probably "warm" for dough-making purposes.

My pizza this week ultimately failed, but I did have a few successes: got the right temp for the water, got the dough to rise, then rise again (so cool!). Used an actual recipe for pizza sauce (instead of just dumping a can of tomato sauce on it), and used a different recipe for the dough.

The failures: the crust had the same texture as bread. It wasn't chewy like pizza crust should be. The pizza sauce still was "off"...I need a good recipe!!

My pizza eaters were not as forgiving as last time. One took a TINY mouse bite and then decided she'd rather go hungry for the night than eat any more.

stuck indoors

2011-01-14T17:21:00.000-05:00

The cold weather lately ("cold" for Florida people) has had us stuck indoors trying to avoid cabin fever.

Katie got into our hat/scarf/glove basket and this is how I found her:

Just in case it wasn't interesting enough, our headless toddler started running full speed through the house!

And that is how we spent our afternoon.

homemade pizza attempt #1: fail

2011-01-13T10:35:00.000-05:00

You pick your battles. Some things are not worth the fight.

Because it's all about priorities, I've decided pizza is worth fighting for. I've wanted to learn and eventually master making it from scratch for a long time and I'm excited to begin learning. I'm going to keep trying until I get it right. Or until we all get sick of pizza.

Round One was a pretty bad failure. It was my first try making anything with yeast, and I have no idea what I'm doing. When making pizza dough, it matters what temperature water you use so it interacts with the yeast the right way. But, how do you know when water is 130 degrees??? Do people just KNOW this stuff by feel?

I also learned the hard way that pizza sauce is NOT just tomato sauce from a can with a few spices thrown on top.

Thankfully Mark and the girls are forgiving pizza eaters and ate it up anyway.

(This is what pizza crust looks like when it has the density of a muffin:)

gem

2011-01-12T12:04:00.000-05:00

When given the right activities, Meg can get in a happy zone where she is easygoing and really fun to be around. One of the most surefire ways to make her happy is to surround her with grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. She LOVES hanging around with them!!

Making cookies with grandma is pure joy.

Meg's current passion is coloring and "writing". She is trying so hard to write words like "mom", "dad", and "Meg". It usually comes out looking like "GEM" with a lot of extra flair on the "e":

She is also my little helper. I ask her to "babysit" Claire while I go off for a minute to brush my teeth or take out the trash, and she will sweetly be singing or reading a book to Claire when I come back.

19 months

2011-01-11T11:47:00.000-05:00

Katie is hilarious. She is continuously trying out new words, most of which we don't understand. We are learning her language, though: "goop" is "grape", "puck" is "cup", "kaa" is "Claire". She is into saying "yep" and "nope" for yes and no.

Whenever one of her sisters is crying, Katie does the funniest impersonation of them, putting her fists up to her eyes and saying, "wah, wah!" Not so funny for the crying sister.

Learning to use a spoon and fork. Somehow using a fork makes her happy to eat vegetables. Whatever works!

3 months

2011-01-10T11:27:00.002-05:00

This year, I'm going to try to post an update of each girl each month. I'll start with my sweet Claire...

She is 3 1/2 months old already! She smiles, she laughs, she coos...she is a delight. Adding to my delight, she has started sleeping through the night.

Claire loves to hang out with her right arm raised straight up - it is so funny! Her hair is dark and crazy, her eye color can't be determined (dark blue? olive green??) and her skin is porcelain, true to Webb girl form. Not ideal for living in Florida, but we'll deal with it. I see many cute sunhats in our future!

your christmas was better than ours.

2010-12-28T07:43:00.002-05:00

We got the stomach flu. On Christmas Eve...through the night...into Christmas morning.

We were in Jacksonville, so early on Christmas morning we had to pack up the car, including our still-wrapped presents, and drive on the empty interstate back home. I have always wondered what the people in cars stopped on the side of the interstate are doing, but now I know about the dreaded kid-throw-up-in-the-back-seat moment. Gross! And cleaning it up is so much worse when you are in the throes of it yourself. On the side of I-10. On Christmas morning.

On the bright side, I got to meet my two new nephews!! They were adopted from Moldova 3 weeks ago. They are beautiful, curious, energetic, and perfect. I am so excited to watch these boys grow up with my girls and it was so surreal to see these little guys toddling and crawling around.

Isaac and Katie (one of the very few pictures I took):

we are so excited for christmas!

2010-12-23T13:57:00.003-05:00

Sometimes Meg gets mixed up when she gets excited and says, "I am so exciting!"

Meg wore a dress to church last Sunday that was my mom's when she was a little girl!! I won't say how old it is...but I think that is so cool that she saved it.

christmas program

2010-12-17T13:38:00.003-05:00

Meg's preschool had their Christmas program yesterday morning. So cute! Meg was a sheep. It was so fun to see her up there singing and doing all the hand motions because I know she loves it so much.

Meg's little sisters were there to watch, too. At first they were great but by the end I think they were ready to go home.

1:30 p.m. is wonderful.

2010-12-15T16:20:00.002-05:00

Because every girl is napping by then, and I can make the best choice of all: to be super-productive or to take a nap myself. Today with its gray skies and chill in the air, I chose the latter. After a cup of hot chocolate.

Katie is 18 months old already! She still sleeps in a crib but can you tell she loves pretending to be a big girl in her sister's bed? Not yet, Katie!

better late than never

2010-12-14T09:53:00.000-05:00

I feel like we got a late start getting into the holiday spirit this year, but last weekend we more than made up for our tardiness. I took the girls to Target (for some reason Target trips are more fun than Wal-Mart) to pick out some stockings, we picked out and decorated our tree and the house, drove through the Living Nativity (I believe the highlights were the real live donkeys and sheep), and to Oven Park to see the Christmas lights. I love having 5 of us this year!

less than a minute

2010-12-13T09:43:00.002-05:00

That's how long it took for us to decide on our Christmas tree. I think we set a new record. The nice boy scout who was helping us just held one up, and while Mark was wrangling 2 of the 3 girls he said, "looks good to me" and I said "looks good to me" and it was a done deal.

Easiest sale in the history of Christmas tree selling.

chocolate chip pumpkin cake

2010-12-11T14:11:00.000-05:00

It is not like me to stray from a recipe. I must be feeling a little rebellious lately, because I have been taking liberties with quite a few dishes. Whoo-eeee...going crazy!!

I made this chocolate chip pumpkin cake with a vanilla glaze by taking bits of a few good recipes and putting it all together. It turned out really moist and is a delicious holiday spin on a normal cake. This freezes well if you add the glaze after thawing.

Recipe:
1 c. vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 can pumpkin puree
1 t. vanilla extract
2 1/2 c. white sugar
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. nutmeg
1 t. pumpkin pie spice
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. salt
1 bag chocolate chips

1. Preheat 350. Grease 2 8 x 8 pans. (Note: I should have lined the bottom of the pans with wax paper...then maybe they won't crack when coming out).
2. Cream oil, eggs, pumpkin, vanilla.
3. Whisk/sift all the rest of the dry ingredients (sugar through salt). Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture until just combined. Add chocolate chips.
4. Bake 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes, then remove from pan and add glaze.

Glaze recipe:
1 1/2 c. confectioners' sugar
2 1/2 T. milk
1/8 t. salt
1/4 t. vanilla
1 T. melted butter

Whisk together until combined. If too thick, keep adding milk until desired consistency.

their hangout spot

2010-12-10T13:57:00.000-05:00

There is an almost-empty kitchen cabinet that the girls love to play in/fight over. I send them an incredibly mixed message about whether or not they can play in it. On the days they play happily and quietly with it, I encourage them to stay there. On the days they pinch each others' fingers in the door or blockade a sister and make her scream, I declare "it's not a toy!" and send them elsewhere.

Bad parenting, I know...I know.

rosemary roasted vegetables with quinoa, feta and walnuts

2010-12-09T09:44:00.002-05:00

Something about the cold weather makes me want to cook. Maybe it's the warmth in the kitchen. I made a great new recipe last night and I think it's going in the official Webb Dinner rotation. I used a recipe from a magazine and added my own spin on it to make it even healthier.

rosemary roasted vegetables with quinoa, feta and walnuts
1 lb. butternut squash, cut into 1-in. cubes
1/8 t. black pepper
8 oz. button mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, cut into thin wedges
1 T. fresh rosemary, or 1 t. dried
1 T. olive oil
2 c. chicken broth
1 c. quinoa
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 c. chopped walnuts, toasted
1.4 c. crumbled feta cheese

1. Preheat 450. Coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray. Put squash in one, sprinkle with pepper, cover with foil, and bake 10 minutes. Uncover.
2. Put mushrooms and onions in other baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle rosemary and garlic on both baking sheets, mix around, then bake uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring once or twice.
3. Meanwhile, cook quinoa: bring broth to a boil, add quinoa, reduce to simmer, cook 15 mins.
4. Add vegetables to cooked quinoa. Add toasted walnuts. Top with feta.

thanksgiving

2010-12-03T19:06:00.003-05:00

Our family came to our house this year so we didn't have to travel with all our baby stuff. And for that we were thankful!! We had a great time with all of the cousins, siblings and parents...all 18 of us.

I love watching all the cousins play together - every one of them is so sweet, fun and funny.

Claire hadn't met most of her extended family yet, and she was more than happy to be passed around from lap to lap.

I will remember this Thanksgiving for all the music: piano playing, violin, guitar, and the "chorus"; and for the cutest front-yard football ever (if football could be cute, this would be it).

banana bread

2010-11-13T20:05:00.002-05:00

I've always felt guilty about constantly turning down Meg's requests to help me cook in the kitchen. Since I really want her to learn to enjoy food and cooking, I need to develop the patience to slow down and let her participate. Today was our first try together and we made banana bread. She was so happy that I am encouraged to do this again.

I also roasted some brussels sprouts (without Meg's help) - one of our all-time favorites. I cannot believe so many people dislike them!! They are so delicious, I could eat them every day.

7 weeks

2010-11-09T14:21:00.002-05:00

When does a baby's personality begin to reveal itself- is 7 weeks too early? Because I think I like where Claire is heading. She smiles so easily - sometimes I will glance over at her and she will just be sitting there staring at me with a big smile on her face!

When I see her smile, I can't help myself...I am reduced to babbling, cooing, and making crazy faces to get her to smile some more.

hard but good

2010-11-05T12:57:00.002-04:00

The best way to describe life with a preschooler, a toddler and a newborn is hard but good. It is equally difficult and wonderful. Seemingly small tasks - like getting dressed to go outside - take forever. But then, like this morning, they can quietly play for half an hour in the driveway. They were perfectly happy playing with the mulch, stones and dirt.

And when Claire decides to sleep in the stroller during the driveway playtime, it's even better.

butterfly & bumblebee

2010-10-31T21:47:00.002-04:00

Meg was soooo excited for Halloween this year! Katie didn't know what was going on but she was a good sport and got excited, too.

This is the look Katie has on her face whenever she doesn't know if she should be touching something:

fall festival

2010-10-27T20:57:00.002-04:00

Last week Meg's preschool had its Fall Festival (Meg called it the "fall customer"). The girls loved looking at all the animals and Meg got to go on a hayride and pony ride. I had all three girls so we only lasted an hour since Katie had to stay in the stroller and Claire had to eat! Katie doesn't look happy here but I believe she actually had a good time.

Meg got her face painted with a butterfly. I could tell she felt so beautiful afterwards.

Claire hung in there like a champ, until she got hungry and we had to go...

i needed a good laugh today

2010-10-26T20:02:00.001-04:00

And I got it.

I walked into the girls' playroom to see this staring back at me:

pumpkin patch

2010-10-24T12:25:00.002-04:00

We went on our first outing as a family of five last weekend to pick out our Halloween pumpkin. We lasted about 30 minutes before we decided to head home again, but at least it was a good trial run. Since my hands were tied with holding Claire and the camera, I had to let some things go, like Meg's crazy hair or Katie's shoes being on the wrong feet (and I was the one who dressed her!). But it was a gorgeous day and I'm glad we went.

weekend away

2010-10-12T09:59:00.002-04:00

Mark took Meg and Katie to visit their cousins in Jacksonville while I sat around at home and nursed Claire. It was a win-win for us - he got a full night's sleep without newborn interruptions and I could nap freely without interruptions from the older girls.

The girls love hanging out with their cousins!

she saws logs

2010-10-11T15:16:00.002-04:00

It's hard to imagine something this tiny could snore so loudly. I really didn't know it was possible with babies.

But we love her anyway. A lot.

Claire's smiles are only reflexes, but they melt my heart anyway.

our grandmas

2010-10-08T14:16:00.002-04:00

We miss our grandmas already! My mom and mother-in-law were here at different times the last couple of weeks and were so wonderful to have with us. They are such good grandmothers to my girls - I love seeing them form strong relationships with each other. I loved getting to hang out with them so much, too.

Meg has a "quiet time" every afternoon, when she has to be in her room while Katie naps. Usually she ends up taking a nap, too, but sometimes she surprises me with what she does to entertain herself. The other day I laughed out loud when she came out wearing her jeans backwards! What would make her want to do that?? It could not have been easy to put on her jeans this way!

fresh air

2010-10-05T06:36:00.003-04:00

Yesterday one grandma left and I had my first real day alone with all 3 girls before the next grandma came to help us (we are fed/dressed/clean ONLY because of our wonderful grandmas!).

The weather was crisp and gorgeous and I ventured out on my first walk with the girls. This was Claire's first official outing that did not involve a doctor's office or lab!

In other news, I am totally turning into that mother who calls her children by the wrong name.

freedom

2010-10-02T08:39:00.002-04:00

Our around-the-clock feeding of Claire must have worked, because Claire's blood tests came back well enough for her to be taken off the phototherapy machine. Ahhh!! Feels so good to have her untethered from that thing and to be able to carry her places more than 3 feet away.

This is pretty much what she does all day. Two previous babies' experience tells me this will not last, so I am going to enjoy this while I can.

1 week

2010-09-29T06:18:00.002-04:00

Claire is over 1 week old already, and I'm pretty sure I've never had a week fly by as fast as this past one. Claire's jaundice was (and still is) more on the serious side so I had pump out milk and bottlefeed it so we could measure how much she was eating. We also had to keep track of how often she ate (every 2 hours), every dirty diaper, weight, and bilirubin levels. The nerd in me secretly likes this part:

Feeding Claire every 2 hours has broken my days into 2-hour increments: one hour is spent pumping, bottlefeeding, washing bottles and pump parts, and changing diapers. The other hour is spent driving Claire to the lab to have her blood tested, driving Claire to the doctor's office, eating, sleeping, or paying attention to the other girls. Oddly enough, this isn't driving me crazy. Yet. I find myself savoring what is probably my last newborn experience.

In other news, Katie is 16 months old! She is definitely in an adjustment phase with having Claire around (read: whines a lot), but otherwise is the sweetest and most hilarious thing to have around. This is one of my favorite ages. And she is walking!!

claire's birthday party

2010-09-26T06:46:00.002-04:00

When we brought Claire home from the hospital, the girls hadn't met their new sister yet. They had been busy preparing a birthday party for her! Meg helped her grandma make a birthday cake (the "2" is because she was 2 days old).

Always good to have a reason to throw a little birthday celebration! Don't know why Katie is wearing nothing but a diaper and a hat...

Poor Claire has some serious jaundice and has been hooked up to a phototherapy machine. We have her camping out in the living room where she can get fed, changed, and sleep while staying on the machine. She looks like a sad little glo-worm! We're hoping it will not be too long before she can be free again.

claire

2010-09-24T06:54:00.003-04:00

Welcome, Claire Josephine! Born Sept. 21 at 4:30 p.m., 7 lbs., 10 oz., 20.5 in. long.

10 days

2010-09-11T08:43:00.002-04:00

Dear Claire,
You are due in 10 days, but you are welcome to come earlier. We are ready for you.

The carseat's in the car.
Your onesies and blankets are washed.
Your nursery is ready (although still partially occupied by one big sister).

The hospital bag is packed.
The swing and baby seat are back out of storage.
One sister knows you are coming and one sister still thinks she's a baby, but let us worry about that. We'll take Katie out of your swing for you.

Just come on out.
Seriously, we are ready.

Love,
Your Family

back to school

2010-09-09T10:12:00.002-04:00

Meg's first day of 3-year-old preschool was Tuesday - she loved it! I am not surprised, since she sometimes seems a little bored at home. I'm pretty sure she was most excited about having a new water bottle to take to school.

kale chips

2010-08-25T09:13:00.002-04:00

I've made kale chips twice in the past 2 weeks. They aren't very nice to look at but they are so good!!

The first time I made them, Meg and I had this conversation:
Meg: (looks at plate) I don't like that.
Me: You don't even know what it is.
Meg: (walking away...) What is it?
Me: kale chips
Meg: chips??? (makes a u-turn and immediately grabs one to taste).

Meg and Katie both like them. Here's the recipe:

1 bunch kale, woody stems removed and torn into chip-sized pieces
1 T. oil
1 t. kosher/sea salt (resist the urge to put more on!)

Coat kale with oil in a bowl, then lay pieces flat on a baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes at 350. Be sure not to burn them - they should be crispy but not brown.

fall dresses

2010-08-23T17:26:00.002-04:00

4 weeks until Baby Webb #3 is due!

drumroll please...

2010-08-20T15:24:00.002-04:00

Katie can stand all by herself! And yesterday she took a step!

Do you think she'll be walking in 4.5 weeks???

three

2010-08-19T15:09:00.002-04:00

My sweet Meg turned three on Sunday, and she got to have some cousins over to share her cake. It's so much more fun watching a 3-year-old turn three than, say, turning 33 yourself.

Meg knows the cake is coming...people are singing...the anticipation...

...it is such a big deal to have a cake earmarked all for you!

I thought I'd share what Meg does in her spare time. She lines things up. Anything - shoes, pillows, letter magnets, crayons, blocks.

In this case, she lined up books with a few other objects carefully arranged around them. She called it her "city" and when I asked which city she said, "Louisville".

we're back!

2010-08-11T17:04:00.003-04:00

Mark and I loaded up the car and the girls for a massive road trip at the end of July. Here are the numbers:

13 days
7 states
49 relatives
37 hours in the car
2 childrens' books on CD, which we listened to...
7 times
5 nursery rhyme CDs, which we listented to...
20 times (at least)
0 good naps in the car
15 pb&j sandwiches, made from the cooler and eaten at rest stops and gas stations.

In summary, it was totally, completely worth the effort. Being able to connect with family is always worth it, in my opinion. I only wish we could do it more. I love my extended family and I love Mark's, too.