twinkle toes

greta has been asking to take dance class for a while now. so a few weeks ago she started class at dance express in ft. thomas. we had to get all the gear....tap shoes, ballet shoes, leotard, etc etc. and she loves it! i was nervous for her for the first class, as we all know how greta is with things that are new and not our typical routine. but she did great! the parents got to stay in the room for the first class, so i think helped.
it's so cute to watch the class. to get them all to face forward, the teacher will say, "look and see how pretty you look!" and all the girls turn towards mirror and smile shyly at themselves. maybe i shouldn't like that part, but i do. and there's lots of turn taking and listening and all those skills that are just as important as the dancing.....

can you spot greta in the photos?
otto was enthralled when he got to go watch. something tells me we might have a little billy elliott someday soon.

love to love to love ya

otto takes gymnastics

the latest session of gymnastics started, and this time otto was able to sign up. oh man, was he excited!! the first day, he walked into the gym, turned around to us and threw his arms up in the air and said, "YES!!" it was awesome. he is loving it....it's funny to watch him and think back to greta starting gymnastics when she was two, and now she is almost four. not to compare, but they are truly such different children. otto does well following directions, but he also will just go and do whatever he wants (if it's time to jump on the trampoline and he wants to stay on the slide, he tries to just stay on the slide). little stinker.
greta started gymnastics again too and is doing well also. we had a few tears that first day, but she was so excited too. we are realizing that those initial tears are just her way of reacting to a change in routine. she is much like her mama in that she likes the familiar and the known, and needs a bit to adjust when something changes.
anyway, we love cincinnati gymnastics!! can't wait to sign selma up!

selma happenings

so our selma girl turned 6 months old. can you believe it? where has the time gone.

our girl can sit up now all on her own.
























and she started eating solids. she's been practically diving out of our arms to try to grab at our food and drinks, so we thought she'd be pretty into eating. turns out, she'd rather just suck her thumb. surprise surprise. she's had rice cereal, green beans, and carrots.











and her bottom two front teeth are poking through. she is not a big fan of this. she has been extra crabby lately, even waking up in the night a few times. and she's constantly sticking her tongue in and out of her mouth, feeling those new teeth in her mouth. it's pretty funny.

oh selma. i go back and forth between thinking you are an easy, laidback baby to thinking you are so difficult that i might lose my mind. and i mean that in the nicest possible way. you love to be held. by your mama. all the time. and you really dislike evenings. hate them, some may say. you cry a lot from 5pm until we get your jammies on, and then you are all smiles because you know that eating and sleeping are soon to follow. but you are also very flexible with going with the flow, taking greta to and from school, running errands and all the things that 3rd babies have to do because that's just the way it goes. you love being able to watch greta and otto play. and they love talking to you and making you laugh. otto likes to touch your face and greta has perfected the art of talking baby talk to you. you like when we blow raspberries on your neck and face. you are very amused by peekaboo and you have started hiding your face behind your hands and then moving them away as if you're playing along.
your naps are hit or miss but you're an awesome nighttime sleeper. like your sister, you love laying on the changing mat in the bathroom. sometimes in the evenings when you're fussy we will stand there with you for a bit because it makes you happy. you like your baths now (finally) although you are still very puzzled when you splash yourself in the face with water. you love when we sing songs to you and cuddle you close. and your birthmark on your forehead has been the same shape and size for a few months now. i'm so curious as to what will happen with it. will it fade? i like to kiss it and rub my fingers over it. it's like this perfectly unique part of your face that makes you even more beautiful. we love you selma girl.

sliding back home

we're back from vacation in michigan. we had a blast and will post more pics from our trip soon!

totter otterville

went to totter otterville this week with holly, owen, and caroline. the kids had a great time! otto spent about half his time in the ball pit, just pretending he was a baseball player and throwing ball after ball. greta enjoyed the dance area, where she was able to put on a tutu and follow along to a ballet instructor video. now that i think about it, it's funny that i paid for them to come and do these things....this is what they do at home!
here are the kids in the dressup area. i particularly like otto's purse.

camping

we had been talking of camping for a while. not that we are wilderness folks, but we definitely did a ton more camping before we had kids. and needless to say, our two person tent wasn't going to cut it anymore. so the kids got joe a 6 person tent for father's day....he upgraded to an 8 person tent and off we went.
we decided to do a trial run at a place closer to home before venturing out somewhere. we headed up to hueston woods for our first (of many, hopefully) camping trips. it was so much fun. we hiked, we swam and played at the lake, we roasted hot dogs and made smores. the kids were dirty and sweaty and loving every minute of it. well, mostly. selma, it turns out, does not really prefer sleeping in a tent. she had a hard time, which made for a pretty sleepless night for joe and me. but greta and otto slept like champs. will we do it again? definitely. will we wait til selma's a bit older? possibly.
all in all, it was a great time. every time we take on a new adventure, i realize how flexible and resilient our kids are. and how fun. they threw rocks in the creek, stepped around goose poop at the beach, cooked their own hot dogs, and got dirt under every finger and toenail. it was nice to step away from regular life for a bit and just enjoy each other.