Keepin' Cool

The girls each have a camp chair, and today we bought one for Malcolm since they were on clearance. I was thinking it would be for next year, but he seems to enjoy it now! He was helping grandpa in the garden....
....but he got a little too close to the dirt!
(this is the first day that he'll actually NEED a bath)
The girls are trying their best to stay cool - this was a couple of days ago in the worst of the heat, it has now cooled off a bit, so at least they don't wake up from their naps dripping with sweat.
 

Happy Faces

Here are three hot but happy kids ( it's been above 30 degrees here for the past couple of days, so that explains the lack of clothing in these pictures. The girls figured if Malcolm was napping in just his diaper, they should nap in just their underwear, too!)
This picture of Mac and Sabrina was an early morning shot, so still bearable to wear clothes.
Malcolm evidently didn't feel like smiling for the camera, but we know he was happy to be cuddling with his sisters! 

Backyard Fun

Grandpa found a way to attach Malcolm's swing to the swing set, so now all the kids can swing together. Or, on the other end of the swing set, they can all hang together, as we rigged up the jolly jumper between the monkey bars and the platform swing. The girls love that he's able to participate, in however limited a fashion, in the stuff they're doing.
He really got into party mode!
These are all of Olivia's birthday cards. A couple of homemade ones, and some store-bought ones. We were amazed at the coincidence when two of her friends gave her the same card at her party, but when she received the third identical card from Oma and Opa, Olivia wondered if that was the only card that was made specifically for 4-year-olds! What are the chances of getting three identical cards!?
 

party time

Olivia had some friends over last Saturday to celebrate her birthday. They had lunch.... ...played some games...
...and ate cake.
The party had a turtle theme, so here is Sabrina playing pin the tail on the turtle.

 

She's Four!

Olivia turned 4 last week, and true to our family's form, we had numerous celebrations! First there was the party on family night, where she got her first Barbie from Auntie Becky and Uncle Greg, and a strawberry shortcake doll from Grandpa and Grandma. The dolphin ice cream cake is from that night. Then on the morning of her actual birthday, G & G took her out to the backyard where she found her big present from them - a swing set. She was pretty psyched, as was Sabrina! That night she got some Polly Pocket paraphenalia from us and Sabrina, and a new dress from Malcolm.
Here is Olivia enjoying her e-card from auntie Kim. Thanks Auntie Kim, that was fun!
 

Jumpin'

Malcolm got his first round of Jolly Jumper-ing this weekend. We wanted to try it sooner, but couldn't seem to locate the part that clamps onto the doorframe. Stuff gets put in strange places when you move apparently. The part that Malcolm gets strapped into was at Greg and Becky's from when Noah used it, but the other part was on the shelf in Mom and Dad's coat closet....of course. Why didn't we look there first? He quite enjoyed the freedom!
After that workout, we figured he was ready for his first meal of a hot dog and french fries. Actually, this is Sabrina's supper; she went to the bathroom, and I snuck Mac into her chair to surprise her. He's not sure what to think, but I think he would have eaten it if he could only reach!
 

Berry Pickers

Our very generous berry suppliers, the Froese's, allowed us to pick in their field again this year, so on Wednesday morning we headed out to fill our buckets. Here you can see Sabrina hard at work, Grandma explaining the difference between ripe and not ripe to Noah and Olivia (Noah didn't care - he ate whatever berries he could reach, whether they were ripe or not, and whether they had the stem still attached or not!) Then there is Aiden, whose mom Rosie picked with us, and Malcolm, hanging out (literally, in the Snugli) with Grandma, which slowed her picking considerably, but she didn't mind! The boys soon got bored with berries and began digging in the dirt - notice the picker (Sabrina) peeking through the bushes at them!
The girls stuck with the picking amazingly well - Olivia nearly filled an entire bucket by herself.
Time for a potty break - can't go anywhere where there's not a bathroom unless we bring our own! Sabrina has been SO easy to train. Once she started to use her potty, I put panties on her, and she hasn't had an accident yet. I thought it would be a challenge to train her with a new baby needing my attention .... was I ever wrong.
Anyways, thanks Kerry and Anita - the berries are great!
 

The girls can't wait for Malcolm to be big enough to play with them. This week they found a way to include him in their games - they can pack him in a "suitcase" and take him along on their imaginary travels. That's one of their current favorite games - they each have a suitcase, and they love to pull a bunch of stuff out of their closets and go somewhere (usually to Indonesia to see Tehya, or to Dora's house....one real place that we will, unfortunately, probably never see, and one imaginary place). Our little lifeguard, chillin' by the pool.
An early morning shot with our favorite animal, Daisy.
The lifeguard braves the water - it was pretty cool water, but he didn't complain at all. He got in waist-deep, and loved it.