Good News

So I guess maybe in a small way the US Army does care about its service members. Steve found out this week that his R&R leave was extended from 14 to 18 days. I know 4 days doesn't sound like a lot, but when you're comparing it to 15 months apart, those extra 4 days are HUGE! So, we were happy to hear about that.

Sarah reached her 3-month-old mark on Tuesday. I can't believe she's already that old. She has changed so much. She's such a happy baby- smiles and coos and calls out all the time. It's so funny to watch her interact with her sisters. She loves to get their attention and have them talk to her. Katie was never really that way, so this is a lot of fun for all of us. And of course the girls love it. They climbed in her bed the other night and watched the mobile with her. Very cute. Sarah's reaching the end of her 0-3 clothes now. I always thought the sizing was way off- Ellie and Katie were out of 0-3 clothes by at least 2 months. But I guess when you have an average size baby- it actually does work! Go figure ;) Another thing about Sarah is that she has become just as antsy as her little sisters were about being in the car seat. If we're traveling in the car, she is happy as a clam. As soon as we stop, she wants out. I see all these babies at church sitting in that car seat for the whole block just smiling and playing with toys. My kids? Ha! Sarah lasted almost 3 months of being willing to sit for a little while. I guess an active child isn't a terrible thing. There are just some days (Sundays) where it would be really convenient to have her sleep while I'm chasing Katie around! [2 more months until nursery... just 2 more months].

Katie is a crazy climber. If there is something to be climbed, she just can't resist. This includes changing tables, cribs, chairs, tables, window sills, people, jungle gyms... anything and everything. It's absolute insanity. And it's getting worse as she gets older. It's all Steve's fault. And he'll admit it, too. He was always climbing on something.

Ellie is a smart little cookie. She has taken entire rights to the word "why" and uses it nonstop. Especially when she's not being invited to the conversation. She doesn't miss a thing. We have to be careful what we say around her because she remembers everything. When she's exhausted all my answers, I default to, "because that's the way Heavenly Father planned it". Can't argue with that one!

I've been having a lot of fun shopping this week (taking advantage of nap times to escape). All the summer clothes are on clearance, so this is the time I get to go out and pick out clothes for Ellie for next year. I love shopping for the girls! And of course I add to my own wardrobe when possible. I had only 1 church skirt that fit me since having the baby, so I stocked up on church apparel, which was exciting. I actually normally do not enjoy shopping for myself; it's too frustrating. But I had some really good success this week and that felt really great.

I was also able to take an afternoon off and go to lunch and see "Harry Potter" with a new girl in the ward. What a nice break! Sometimes it feels really good to just get away. It was very thoughtful of my parents to let me do that.

This weekend was supposed to be my 10-year high school reunion (yikes!). I was looking forward to seeing a few of my good friends, but unfortunately it was canceled. They couldn't find enough people that were interested in order to afford the venue. Bummer, huh? And the few people I wanted to see decided not to come into town after all. Gives you an idea of how close my senior class was...

I've been terrible about taking pictures the last couple weeks. There are only a few new ones.