Wordless Wednes...er...Friday

Happy Mother's Day!

We'd like to wish a very happy day to the special mommies in our lives.

To remind them (and us) of those early days of mothering, and the days that shaped us, here are some classic photos of our moms and us as little ones.  

Daniel, David, and their mom (1978; Danny is about 8 months old and David is 2 1/2)

Kristen, Jeff, and our mom (not sure of date...1982-ish?) 

Happy Mother's Day!  We love you!

Pollies

Ally got three gift cards for her birthday. She spent two of the three on Polly Pockets and various accessories. It's her current fave.

Believe it or not, two-year-old Natalie has also fallen in love with the pint-size girls, calling them "Pockey Babies." In fact, our girls spent at least an hour with them just today.  (A whole, peaceful 60 minutes...aaaaaah.)

And, not to be outdone, our third child has also become particularly fond of the little ones, although he "plays" with them a bit differently.

Now that I think about it, I have a similar shot of Natalie at about the same age doing something similar:

 (09/08)

She's Six...plus one day

(Note:  I wrote this post last night, on her birthday, but our internet was having an emotional breakdown and wouldn't cooperate until I was ready for sweet sleep.)

At 12:09 PM today, our Allyson officially turned 6-years-old. 

6 years ago tonight, I was snuggling our newborn in a Mankato, MN hospital, amazed that a child that big (9 lbs, 13 ounces) was within my body just a few hours prior.  David was thrilled that our firstborn was female (he really wanted a girl!), but overwhelmed by the previous 24 hours with the c-section, hospital stay, and parenthood in general.  I was on pain meds.  (Need I say more?)

I honestly don’t remember much about my first 24 hours as a mom.  One thing that I do remember, however, is the nurse giggling at me in the middle of the night when she brought my screaming infant to me to nurse.  You see, when she opened the door of my hospital room, I was already sitting up in bed, ready to console my little girl.  The nurse was laughing because she couldn’t believe that I knew it was my child filling the hallway with that ear-piercing newborn scream.  I had known my Ally-girl for less than a day, but I knew that shriek belonged to me. 

We were telling Ally about her distinctive cry last night.  She grinned, knowing that we were wrapped around her finger from those first moments. 

Today we hosted a “Hello Kitty” birthday party.  It was such a sweet group of girls.  They donned the customary Hello Kitty bow on their heads and made bracelets, searched for mice (the fake kind), and compared their best meows.  While my little ones slept, my sweet friend Meranda and I managed the group of giggling girlies.  Here are few shots of the kitties.

Later, after David came home from work, Ally opened her gifts from us and her grandparents.  The highlight was her scooter, which everyone tried.  (Even me, but you won’t see a picture of it!) 

Then, since she had already eaten cake at her party, we went out for birthday ice cream at DQ.  (Really, any excuse to go out for ice cream is a good one.)

So, she’s 6.  That’s just crazy. 

And she still has a powerful cry.

New Feature: Ally's Lens

IMG_4833, originally uploaded by AllyMFox.

Ally captured this photo a few weeks ago, and I couldn't resist adding it.

We recently gave Ally our old digital camera and we have been greatly enjoying seeing the photos that she captures! If you look in the right pane of our site, you will see Ally's very own photo feed from Flickr.

We will be uploading her latest photos every few weeks. You may want to go over to Flickr and subscribe to her RSS feed so you can see life through "Ally's Lens"!

When a Trio Isn't Happening

It's just a bit tricky getting our three to be still long enough for a picture. So, when three doesn't work, I just try two...twice.

Just a glimpse...

Our camera has been a large pain in the tooshie, so we haven't taken many pictures lately. However, here are a few that will update you on the growth of the little ones. (After all, it's been 15 whole days since you've seen a picture of one of the Fox children.)

Natalie-isms...

In case you haven't been paying attention, I'll tell you that our Natalie is a goof-ball. Truly. She can be a MASSIVE handful and can throw a mean tantrum, but when she's happy, she lights up the house. We haven't told many stories lately, we've been overwhelmed with a kindergartner and a newborn. But here a just a few of Natalie's antics as of late:

*We've been trying to teach Natalie to fold her hands and bow in prayer at meals and bedtime. She's learning...slowly. The other day she finally started following our lead a bit and now she claps wildly when we've said "Amen."

*She was playing a bit in her big sister's room recently and when I told her it was time to leave, she quietly turned her back to me and waved bye-bye to Ally's dolls.

*When her baby brother is sleeping, we often put a finger to our lips and tell her, "Ssshhhh." So now she copies us, smashes her nose with her pointer finger and says, "SSSSSSS."

*In many stores, a bell rings (ding-dong) when a customer enters. Whenever we are in such a store, Natalie screams, "Uh-Oh!" EVERY TIME the bell rings.

*She now says "Hi" to EVERYONE, except for she has no need for the "h," so it sounds like "I." The other day we were enjoying a quick lunch at a fine dining establishment (Target cafe), and there were a few flies that were frequenting our table. Quite annoying. Each time one landed on or near her, Natalie would yell, "I!"

*We have recently learned something new about Natalie. She likes toothpaste! Apparently it's a great snack!

Four weeks ago...

Four weeks ago we met a sweet little man with FABULOUS hair. See?


Seriously, this hair is amazing. Since most of you haven't had the pleasure of running your fingers through it, let me just tell you, it is silky soft loveliness. And why did it take me nearly 4 weeks to comb it up like this?

Here is the little man snoozing. I love his eyes and his hair and his birthmark and so many things, but his sleepy face is so sweet, isn't it?

Another Milestone...

Sometimes we still see Ally as a sweet toddler or a sassy little preschooler. And then there are moments that we are forced to recognize her status as a real-live girl. So, on that note, here's another milestone...

Do you notice anything missing? Look CLOSELY...

How about now?

Yep...she's for real, folks. She has lost her first baby tooth. And let me tell ya, it was dramatic. We were eating dinner somewhat peacefully, when suddenly Allyson let out an ear-piercing scream. She screamed like we have never heard her...over and over again...massive crocodile tears. We had tried to prepare her for this event when the tooth became loose a few weeks back. Unfortunately, our preparation did not adequately prepare her. She LOST IT. (And I'm not referring to the tooth.)

She wouldn't look at the tooth. She wouldn't look in the mirror. She wouldn't let us take a picture. Every time we brought it up or she was reminded of the event, she screamed and cried anew. Allyson does not handle new and/or unexpected events well. She is a creature of habit and anything out of the routine is not accepted with delight.

However, after about an hour, she was found in front of a mirror, giggling. She just needed a bit of time to accept the whole thing.

This shot was taken this morning, after she found the Tooth Fairy's gift.

Three Weeks Old Already!

Here is our sweet boy, three-week-old Christopher, following in his binky-loving sister's ways.Today was my first day on my own as a mom-of-three. I must say I wasn't confident that the day would be a great success. In my head I was writing a snarky little post about the traumas and tantrums, poopy diapers and nursing. But get this...it was a rather smooth day. Who would've thought? Don't get me wrong, I did change 8 poopy diapers (none of which belonged to Natalie) and manuevered through at least three tantrums (all of which were Natalie's), but overall the day was rather uneventful. I even tackled a small grocery list at a nearby grocery store. (Note to self for future reference: Christopher does not appreciate the grocery store.)

Let me take this opportunity to thank the two precious souls who accompanied us on our journey into the family of 5. My mom stayed with our girls while I was in the hospital and an additional week after I came home. I truly cannot imagine surviving those first few days home without her jumping up to get a snack for the girls or planning the next meal. She forced me to nap and played with the girls so that I could spoil Christopher. Priceless! After she left for home, David's mom, Sheila, came for 6 days. She was also fabulous at meeting the girls' needs and making wonderful meals...even homemade Italian Wedding Soup. I will treasure every mouthful!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! We are so grateful for our amazing moms!

How to Enjoy a Cupcake-in-a-Cone

When I was little, cupcakes made in ice cream cones were a fun delicacy. Last week when my mom was here, she and Ally made these little treasures. We're convinced they're even more tasty if you eat them like Natalie does.
In case you're wondering, they are quite easy to make using a boxed cake mix. Fill the cone about 2/3 full with cake batter and bake according to package directions for cupcakes. Add frosting and, of course, sprinkles.

Totally Terrific Two-Week Old

We thought one or two of you might like to see our handsome 2-week-old. Seriously folks, he's stinkin' cute. (In my humble opinion...)

A Natalie-Powered Vehicle

Is it just me, or does this seem a little, um, backwards?

The eyes have it!

We were invited to dinner last week by a local youth pastor and his wife. I have spent some time with her and David has spent some time with him, but we hadn't spent any time all together.

We entered their home and their girls found our girls and made fast friends. Stephanie, the wife, took one look at Natalie and said, "There's a lot going on behind those eyes!"

That's exactly what we've been trying to tell y'all!

Easter Garb

Happy Easter all! Just a quick post to show you my little Easter bunnies. There's just nothing like sweet little Easter dresses.
Yes, that is another bruise on Natalie's forehead. This time it was the stairs.

One of Nat's new favorite activities...chairs. Climbing up, slipping off, climbing up, slipping off. (No bruises to report...yet.)

A photographer, I am not.

Sorry we've been absent from the blog-world. We have things to share, but haven't had the time to elaborate.

So, for tonight, just a quick note and a great picture. (And a couple not-so-great pictures)

This morning I put my girls in matching dresses for church. We don't have very many matching outfits because the girls are too far apart in sizes to find affordable twin get-up. They wore their dresses all day, so I tried more than once to grab a great shot of our girls. On the first try, we plopped Natalie in Ally's lap, but she was unimpressed with that arrangement and promptly threw her head back into her sister's cheek. So, here's the picture that resulted from that maneuver.
As you can see, Natalie was promptly abandoned.

The second photo op was an impromptu snack time, designed to force the children to sit...for more than a split second. Here's the best shot from that go-around.
Apparently snacking and smiling don't go hand-in-hand.

The last try of the day provided the best shots, in the worst lighting. We built a fort with a sheet, two chairs, and the baby gate. Sometimes we'll do anything to provide 10 minutes of entertainment. As it turns out, I also got a couple of fun shots of our girls.A non-traditional pose, yes, but pretty cute, right? (Next time, I'll try to remove the pacifier before the photo session.)

An Allyson Flashback

As Natalie's personality is coming out more, we find ourselves often trying to remember what Allyson was like when she was one-year-old. There are many similarities that we see, but our girls our also very different.

As you can see by these pictures, which were taken in June and July 2005, they definitely look a lot alike.

These are some of my favorite photos of Allyson. This image to my left is the picture of Ally that I see in my mind when I think about when she was younger.

It is hard to imagine that this little girl in these pictures is going to be five-years-old in a few weeks! Kristen and I are starting to feel old, and we are starting to understand the people who have told us that time will go too fast when your kids are young.

Natalie's unique favorites...

Just in case you were wondering, Natalie still loves the dishwasher. See?

She also loves the vacuum. We have pictures, but we'll save them for another day.

For the original post, "Natalie's Love of the Dishwasher," click here.

Million Dollar Smiles