12.8.13: Loving Santa

Oh what a difference a year makes.  Last year, Fiona, Stella and Daphne were relatively scared of Santa.  In fact every year at least one of them was crying or upset in the Santa picture - therefore forcing Brant and I into the photo.  We this year we have finally turned a corner, all the girls went running to give Santa a hug and willingly sat on his lap.  We had smiling faces during the picture and a even good conversation about our wish list to Santa.

12.2.13: Mama's family

With everyone together, we decided to get some professional photos of my entire family.

(Uncle) Rob, (Auntie) Kelly, (Cousin) Cooper, Penny (Nene), Kari, Brant, Daphne, Stella, Fiona 

Nene and her grand kids 

 The Robertsons with three squirming little ones. 

 The Kochmans (Kelly, Rob, Cooper and baby-to-be)

Our amazing little girls - so much energy - so much love.

12.1.13: Uncle Rob's Birthday Party

There are few things the girls love more than celebrating birthdays.  I would like to say it is because of their appreciation for the birthday party honoree, but in fact I think it is because they get cupcakes.  Regardless, we were able to celebrate Uncle Rob's birthday - complete with party hats, singing, presents and of course cupcakes.

 

Daphne, Stella and Fiona desperately trying to wait to eat their cupcake until Uncle Rob starts.

11.29.13: Thanksgiving fun

We had a wonderful thanksgiving with my entire family coming down for a visit.  Nene, Auntie Kelly (~7mo pregnant), Uncle Rob and Cousin Cooper. Here are some of our favorite pictures from the festivities.

Teaching Cooper about winter in Arizona - very similar to summer in Seattle.  Cooper's mom wasn't so sure about giving Cooper (~18mo) a metal shovel with lots of kids around. Auntie Kari said, "Go for it".  Notice a very pregnant Auntie Kelly coloring with the girls...impressive, I'm not sure I would have been able to get back up.

 Stella's self portrait.

Science Time:  Auntie Kelly made some (baking soda) eggs and supplied the girls with their own squeeze bottle of vinegar.  Fiona, Stella and Daphne weren't totally sure what to expect, but when dinosaurs appeared in the dissolving eggs, they were more than excited.

 9 people going to the zoo together, not too bad.  4 kids staying near each other, more of a challenge.

Stella decided to climb onto this block all by herself and stood very proudly until I interrupted.

 

Bringing a toddler to the zoo means bringing a stroller. Of course Cooper didn't want to ride in the stroller, so the girls took turns pushing it into walls, signs and of course people (sigh).

 

Fiona testing out her camouflage. 

11.11.13: Big Girl Beds

Long overdue for big girl beds (from our convertible toddler beds) we decided it was time to make a big move to get twin beds.  We went to Ikea where the girls (Stella, Fiona and Daphne) were trying to convince us they could all just share one bed.  We decided to get three twin beds instead, knowing that our children would never sleep if sharing one giant bed.

Daphne testing out her new bed.  She likes to sleep against the wall.

Fiona sleeping in her new bed.  She likes to get all twisted up in the covers.

Stella very comfy in her new bed.  Often we find her sideways - perhaps unsure what to do with all the new space these beds provide.

While Brant was assembling the beds, the girls and I came up with a plan to divide out our shared clothes into three dressers.  Stella is the keeper of all pants and skirts.  Fiona is the keeper of all shirts.  Daphne is the keeper of undies, socks and pjs.  They seem pretty happy with this breakdown and enjoy having their very own space.

So long cribs/toddler beds.  You have held three, two and then just one Robertson girl.  You have moved three states and survived four and a half years.  We have jumped, puked, peed, pooped, chewed, cried, snuggled and laughed on you.  You have shown your wear and tear but survived and kept us safe.  We couldn't ask for anything more.

11.10.13: Playing at Nene's

Realizing that we had no specific plans for the holiday and an overdue need to get big girls beds from Ikea, we decided to adventure to Nene's on very short notice.  Perhaps too short of notice for Nene  :)

Daphne showing how long her legs are now that she can easily walk between the pillars.

 

 Stella showing her excellent climbing skills (even climbing onto the bridge from the outside).

 Fiona found a perch and was keeping an eye on everyone.

Stella, Fiona and Daphne trying to golf on cement - turns out there is a reason golfers prefer grass.

11.2.13: Fall Festival

Today was the Fall Festival at preschool.  The girls had warned us that there would be pony rides, but we didn't believe them. How could there be pony rides at an urban preschool?  Well we were proven wrong.  Turns out this pony walked around the neighborhood.  Daphne, Stella and Fiona were very brave going on the pony ride all by themselves.  We would have gone - but there wasn't any more room and I'm pretty sure the pony couldn't handle all of the Robertson family.

10.31.13: Halloween

We had so much fun trick-or-treating in our neighborhood that we forgot to take pictures. Since it was a school day, the girls were pretty tired and only went trick-or-treating for ~1 hour.  Of course they still had energy to play with their candy when we got home. 

10.30.13: Field Trip

Today the girls had their first preschool field trip to a pumpkin patch/farm.  It was fantastic.  Both Brant and I were able to go and enjoy the maze, petting zoo, tire swings, and semi-authentic pumpkin patch.  Daphne/front, Fiona/middle, Stella/back had a blast when they all got to go on the tire swings together.

 

10.26.13: Cement

Today was the parent workday at school, but this time it was more exciting than just painting, cleaning and raking.  This time a new bike path was getting poured and the parents were allowed to write in the cement.  Fiona, Daphne and Stella will always have a special place at their preschool now, even after they graduate.

10.25.13: Howl-o-ween

For the third year in  row, we took the girls trick-or-treating at the zoo.  This year ended our trend of coordinating outfits (2009 - stoplights, 2010 - quarks, 2011 - cupcakes, 2012 - crayons) and the girls selected their costumes all by themselves.  Not only did they decide what they wanted to be, but they also decided exactly what their costume would consist of and the fabric. 

Daphne decided to be a paleontologist, complete with Dinosaur Train decals on her vest and shirt with black pants.  When asking Daphne if she'd like a matching skirt (because mama can't make pants) to her vest, she responded, " Mama - paleontologists don't wear skirts!"

Fiona wanted to be a pirate, but "a friendly pirate, not mean".  This pirate had a black/white skirt w/ black skirt.  The skeleton face on her shirt is actually smiling to keep with the theme.  The night before the first Halloween festivities, Brant convinced her she wanted a bandanna so she picked out a "happy polka dot" pattern.

Stella decided she would be a ladybug.  Her ladybug would be all red with black polka dots and "must have pink sparkly wings". Stella was most excited about the antenna on her head - primarily because they sparkle.  Turns out the wings were not too fun to wear, but thankfully it was pretty clear she was dressed up like a ladybug.

Fiona at the zoo near the pirate area - she fit right in.

 

Daphne was so excited to make this 'discovery' while at the zoo - a bear head!

Stella was excited to see all of the red sparkling lights - I think she was pretending they were little ladybugs just like her.

I continued with the tradition of DIY Halloween costumes and ended up spending less that $30 for all three - success!

10.11.13: Daddy and Daughters Day

On the final day of Fall Break, Brant took the girls (Fiona/blue, Stella/pink, Daphne/purple)
to the zoo and then apparently ice cream.  Not too bad for a Daddy and Daughters Day.

11.9.13: Fall Break, Nene Style

We were very lucky to have Nene able to come and watch the girls for three days during the fall break.  The girls (Stella/light blue, Fiona/dark blue, Daphne/super hero) were so excited for Nene's 'Bag o' Projects'.  This time it involved a puppet show, fairy wings and SO much glitter.  They also adventured around town and helped Nene use the GPS (their favorite car entertainment).

 

10.7.13: X-rays

The girls were on Fall Break, so Nene was in town helping to watch the girls for a few days.  The girls (Daphne/top, Fiona/middle, Stella/bottom) were so excited to go to the dentist with Nene and Daddy.  They even got their first X-rays taken and got to see their adult teeth.  I wish I could be this excited about going to the dentist.

10.5.13: Dance recital

Today was the girls' first tap/ballet dance recital.  They had so much fun and we had a great time watching.  They decided to dress up for the recital and wear their 'fancy' tutus (Daphne/green, Stella/pink, Fiona/blue)

 

9.29.13: Getting Air

We went to a birthday party at a trampoline park today.  I made Brant sign the waiver because I couldn't handle reading the terrible things that happen from trampolines.  Once I made it over that hurdle - we all had a great time.  90 minutes of jumping + pizza + cake = some very happy girls (Stella/pink pants, Fiona/black pants, Daphne purple/pants). 90 minutes with no injuries = one very happy mama.

On the way home a discussion in the car began about how everyone was unique and special.  Daphne was talking about how she was special because she was the tallest.  Fiona said she was special because she was the oldest.  Then Stella piped up, talking about how she was special because she was in my belly the longest.  She then started talking about how much fun she had in my belly all alone and how she stretched and danced and spun around.  I was laughing so hard - who knew those three minutes would be so memorable for her  :)

9.21.13: Feeding fish

While at an astronomy party, we discovered a fish pond.  Robin was so very patient with all of the kids and made sure everyone had ample opportunity to play with and feed the fish.  Fiona/blue, Stella/pink, Daphne/blue really enjoyed their time at the party.  They even convinced a giant dog to go swimming in a fountain who then decided to shake and cover all of the kids in water - which they loved.  Yes, it is still that hot - getting sprayed with water (even dirty dog water) is refreshing.