Of Mars, and the Twelve Dancing Princesses

Hi, um, we are doing science and still alive.
So many interesting and fun things have happened, but I just haven't got around to putting them up on the internet. I wanted to post about all the adventures that I haven't yet, but the backlog is so great, I'm just going to try to post every week or so, with what's going on now.

Josh got a telescope to look at Mars with the kids. Josh takes them out, one by one, to go out to look at Mars with Daddy.
Isaiah has really warmed to this.

 The girls love the Barbie movie "12 Dancing Princesses", its a surprisingly good movie, with sibling love and teamwork, a very sweet future-brother-in-law (very nice to little sisters), and a talking Indian parrot who is very funny, with a soundtrack with a lot of Felix Mendelssohn in it and even 30 second's of the sisters singing Byrd's heavenly sacred choral music (best part).


Anyways, the girls really love the film. They will hum the theme, while twirling about in their sundry dress up dresses with their hands over their heads, attempting a ballet stance.

Jenny takes her role of older sister seriously

Sarah, at 18 months, dragged a dress up dress to Josh, and when he put it on her, started off-key humming and trying to twirl around with her little arms over her head (her arms are short enough they were stuck around her head). She almost immediately fell over, tangled in her dress up dress, but it just about killed me with the cuteness factor.


Speaking of the 12 dancing princesses, we are well on our way, as baby #6 IS A GIRL!!!



Our daughters, in addition to loving dress up dresses, make frequent use of the football pads I picked up at the thrift store. Keziah explained to me "I am a girl who fights BETTER THAN THE MANS. And they don't know I'm a girl because I cover up my skirt with my shield. And I fight better than all the mans"
(she was wearing a skirt that time. Here she is wearing her armor at another time, doing heroic deeds in the name of Gondor and America, evidently)

I tried to subtley influence the kids into agreeing to a Lord of the Rings theme for Halloween this year, by drawing pictures of them in various outfits. Here they are, poring over the pictures of themselves.

They loved the pictures, but it appears that Disney Princesses and the Roman Army have won their hearts for Halloween this year. Maybe my grand LOTR theme will happen next year.

These pictures are from July, but my awesome little sisters got to visit. Here are some pictures of them.

My baby sisters, all growed up. Sniff, sniff. So proud.

The kids loved hanging out with their aunts, and wanted to do everything that they did. Here, it was working out with a new app on Mali's phone.
I love how Mariam is carefully copying her.

The girls were also very excited about Mali's ability to take selfies of them, and then decorate them with the virtual "stickers."

While the girls were taking selfies, Isaiah hung out on the couch. He loves being near everyone, although selfies weren't enough to motivate him to join the crowd. Snapchat that turns your face into a dog with a huge tongue might have.

Mariam's natural default is laughter. Even when she's frustrated at something “Mom, its NOT WERKING”, and I come over and show her she was trying to put the wrong foot into the shoe, or screw it on backwards, or something, she will burst into a musical chuckle at her mistake “Oh, hahahaha...”. She laughs so much, at herself, at life, at everything. She's a little ray of sunshine, a sliver of the joy of heaven.

When my sisters were here, I finally got out my sewing machine and sewed the first thing this year, this Eowyn-inspired dress for my awesome Rohan little sister.

I will post a longer write up on her dress (which was a dream come true for me to get to sew) HERE. (link will activate when I actually write it)

Isaiah burst out with “I am so excited that soon I will be A MAN!”

He also asks me on a regular basis when his voice is going to change. With his head reaching my armpit, I wonder where the time went.

Sarah Grace has got a loud, stubborn, dramatic disposition. If I am handing out treats, she will yell with a size-defying volume until she is properly included. At 13 months, she started toddling over at toothbrushing time months ago to get her 8 teeth ceremoniously brushed, beaming all the while. Then at water-time right after prayer, she will throw down her bottle she was drinking a minute before, and toddle over, yelling, until she gets a sip out of the cup like the big kids. It's a status symbol.

When she started walking in earnest around 13 ½ months, she started making this smile, bursting with pride at her accomplishments in life. She toddled around throwing away stuffed animals, and throwing toys in the recycle bin, relishing her new-found autonomy.

At 15 months, she had mastered climbing onto the kitchen table, and trying to go over the back of the couch. Thankfully she had a lot of siblings who were good at grabbing onto a limb when Mommy was out of reach....

She started before she was a year old, and continues at 18 months, to pat me on the back for about a minute after I take her out of the crib every morning. There's something about a tiny little hand patting me on the back that just about melts my soul.
She has also started to give spontaneous kisses.

She also enjoys slapping people in the face. We're still working on that....

Sarah beaming at me as she climbs the table...again