Just to Get it Done. . .

I am going to jam a ton of stuff into one post. Forgive me.

On Mother's Day (yes, that's how far behind I am--only moreso!) Casey and the girls agreed to take me to dinner at my favorite restaurant: Macaroni Grill. It was a long wait (45 min) but it was worth it. The great thing about that place is that a squawk from a baby or a protest (even quite loud) from an on-the-verge-of-a-fit toddler just blends into the overall din of the restaurant. Therefore, it was more relaxing than a fast food joint, believe it or not.

Haley loved sharing my meal with me. Noodles are so fun!

Ruby and Claire enjoyed a visit from their cousin, Savannah, last month. Savannah and her mommy brought the newest cousin for us to see for the first time.

Elijah (yes, a boy, despite the pink boppy--it's Haley's, not his!) slept most of the time. Here, he is 11 days old. He was born (at home--whoohoo, Tiff!) on May 2, and weighed 8 lbs. This boy was "late" by a few weeks. I teased Tiffany that she must have taken my mom too seriously when Mom gave her a hard time about all the April b-days our family already had and must have held off from birthing so as not to add to the already over-full month. (I still think Deb had an early baby last year just so he wouldn't have an April b-day! :)

Mom was in town for the week to help Si and Tiff.

The gist of the conversation that surrounded this picture (that made us chuckle to ourselves):

Me: "Claire, stay on Nana's lap another minute. I want to get a picture."

Claire: "Mmm, no thanks, Mom."

Elijah in his mommy's arms. He was very quiet that day. The update from his uncles is that, at one month, he was very alert and had a strong set of lungs.

A special thing about Elijah: though the fourth born grandson on my parents side of the family, he is the first grandson to carry on the Schultz name. Odd, considering my parents are going on ten grandchildren as of this moment. The reason? Only one of their four boys is married so far. (Ahem, single ladies--JK! You know I'm not that way!)

Haley found Elijah very exciting.

The next day, the girls and I met Nana and Savannah at the zoo. (No, we did not relinquish the children to the zoo, as this photo indicates. Our first stop was the play area so I could feed Haley. Normally, I make it a point to not have activities going on every day (I consider even grocery shopping an "activity") but I've realized that I need to sieze the moment when it comes to having help around. Since Mom was in town, and Savannah needed an outing, to the zoo we went!

The girls watch the seals and sea lions being fed. I know what you're thinking: this pic sure would be better if it had a seal or sea lion in it. I was a little lazy about pictures. Just being at the zoo was enough effort!

Haley enjoyed the small bit of time she spent in the wagon (the rest was mostly in the sling or in my arms--such a clingy baby!).

One of the orangatans was by the window this time. Something we haven't encountered before. The girls were very curious, and so was he!

Ruby and the ape exchange quiet glances.

It was hard getting all four in one picture.

On our way out, we stopped to say goodbye to the stinky flamingos. (To this day, the girls describe any picture of the pink birds as "those stinky birds.")

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Our girls had the special privilege that day to see both grandmas in one day. This has only happened twice before. They have yet to see them at the same time, though. This was as close as we got: the zoo with my mom in the morning, and the airport to pick up Sandy in the afternoon.

Sandy cleaned their little slide and put it in a different place in the yard. What, for the last 6 or more months has remained an unloved, untouched, unclimbed-upon large piece of plastic, those simple changes made a desirable and exciting toy once again. The girls (all of them) played on it for quite a while.

Haley finds herself at the bottom of the pile.

But . . .

Don't worry . . .

This should assure you . . .

She's not exactly helpless.

Somehow, it is very exciting to go down the slide upside down with Haley sitting atop. They couldn't get enough.

Getting dark . . . mosquitos out. Time for bed, short ones (yes, you too, Lita :)!

This is just a random picture from that week. As we finished getting dinner together one evening, I put Haley's dinner in the food chopper and was touched with the beauty of it. Salmon with onions, spinach and pasta salad. Yum!

Chillin' by the pool.

I wasn't joking the other week when I referred to the infantesimile pool. But it's great for kids this size (especially when only one of them likes to get more than her feet wet).

Every time I give the girls a bath, I think about how I have zero bath pics of Haley. But the camera is always downstairs and they are already in the water when I remember. With Sandy here, I could run and get it. They all love bath time, but I'll give you one guess as to who is just crazy about water.

Haley's a good sport.

Soon, I hope to post an explanation to this picture, regarding an evening ritual our girls love. I want to include a video, though, and don't have the time to fight with Blogger for an hour just to find that it froze. I'll need a big chunk of time and a bigger chunk of patience!

I think I may know where Haley gets her cute shoulder-shrugging smile.

She's way into doing things like this. Keeps her occupied. I like it.

The last day that Sandy was here (I knew I'd run out of steam if I tried to do it alone--carpe diem, right?), we helped the girls make beaded spider webs and spiders; a craft from April's Family Fun magazine.

It took quite awhile. Though the project was not meant for such a young age, the spider webs turned out well.

Claire loved sorting her beads and putting them in categories.

Ruby was a little more on task.

The girls help 'Lita get ready to fly back to Oregon.

She's such a sport.

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Ruby had her last lesson in May. I wanted to post a video showcasing the last performance they did (Ruby was not involved in the final event, like last time). Video will have to wait. . .