Some days are just like that. . .

Say "Cheese". . .

I just want one good picture.



Just one picture of my children for posterity's sake.

I've tried. Really I have.

I've dressed them in coordinating outfits, gotten their hair cut just so, driven to the perfect location, bribed them, waited for perfect lighting, and tried to capture that perfect photo for the memory books.

It never works.

Instead, I have about 97,000 of these:



Hanging out in our house on a Sunday afternoon, Tons of Fun has no pants, Miles is sportin' the convict hair-do, and I forgot to take off my glasses when Jake wants to snap our picture.



Something strange has happened to Tate, the haircut has gone to Miles's head, and Baby Salamander is very worried.



It only gets worse from here, as Tons of Fun practices his ever-effective fish hook move.



Yeah, this is right before we threw in the towel. All I have left of my oldest is an arm and immediately after this, Calvin rammed me in the nose with that sippy-cup.

Oh well, I guess this is what motherhood really looks like.

Too big for her britches

Penny's too big.

She's too big for her onesies, she's too big for her jammies, and she's too big for her bassinet.

I can't get rid of it.

Every time I have to fold up a too-small article of clothing and place it in a bag for goodwill, I get a little misty.

A lot misty.

Ok, I cry.

She's my last baby. As I put that pair of jammies away, I know I'll never have another newborn to wear it. In my mind she's walking and going to kindergarten and getting baptized and driving and dating and leaving for college.

And that's just when I put away jammies!

I can't get rid of that bassinet. I just can't. All my sweet-peas have snuggled inside it back when they really were sweet.

I may just have to keep it forever.

"A real girl. . ."

Penelope was given a name and a blessing last week in church.



Jake says this makes her a real girl like Pinnochio.



We have no family nearby, of our three closest friends who helped with Calvin's baby blessing, one was in China and one didn't get called. But Penny was a doll. No crying or whining, she was quiet as a church mouse.



However, I didn't hear a thing that was said until the very end.



Not that the people sitting around me were noisy, it's just that I was wrestling with someone



and a church mouse he 'aint!

Sisters

Nobody has a better protector than Penelope. Lucy is fierce in her defense of this little girl. She simply adores her.



Well, now they share a room, so let's hope this adoration continues when Penny's old enough to mess with Lucy's stuff.

Bert and Ernie

Everybody needs a friend!

Ten Second Rule!

And other boring home movies that only a grandmother would love:

Making it up as we go along. . .

Jake and I like traditions. Even if they're brand new, we love to add activities to our list of "things we do."

We started a new tradition last Saturday. We grabbed the kids and swimsuits at 7 in the morning,



Stopped at our favorite bagel shop,and had a picnic breakfast at the beach.



We ate,



we played,





and some of us chased the little birdies, bombarding them with bits of bagel.



For a while there, it was only us, the beach cleaner dude, and some old lady who kept declaring it "lovely" that we had so many children.



I would have to agree.





It was lovely.









Towards the end, Jake and Calvin started comparing beach bodies.





I'd say it's a tie.

So, if you're in the area and up in the wee hours of a Saturday morning, grab a bagel and join us!

Not quite. . .

While helping me make pancake batter this morning, Lucy was asked to get out the baking soda, to which she replied,

"BACON SODA?!?! Oh goody! I love bacon! I didn't know they made Bacon Soda!"