Lily is laying under her IKEA toy. She's grown so much lately that she can firmly hold the hanging toys in her hands. Her legs kick and tense themselves as she engages. Nursing with Lily is such a funny experience. She stops often to turn her head and examine the world. She's just as likely to stop, just so she can look up at me and make eye contact, smiling as her eyes follow me. She's talking a ton right now, gabbing enthusiastically. She's wearing 6-9 month clothes and we're trying to navigate the changing seasons. She speaks in long phrases and sentences, with expressive grunts and enthusiasm. She has an easy smile each time I come home from work. I have to work for smiles a bit harder when she's sleep deprived. She does love her Daddy but she seems at ease with me, despite my long hours at work. She has never had a tense bath that I can think of. She remains a marvel when it comes to bed time and turning to her side and sucking her finger. She loves to grab her toes now. Sometimes, Luke will prop her up and she sits forward, reaching. She's toppled forward a couple times, but she always seems moving forward, quickly. Luke worries a bit that she will be the type to skip crawling altogether. We discuss how Quinn has his father's temperament and might well be cool with B's, even when capable of A's, but that Lily will be driven and intense, like her mother. Who knows how much of this is authentic evaluation of our children and how much we're projecting. Either way, we love them as they are.

"That was so close"
"Good job guys"
"I have an idea!"

Quinny is standing on the blue nursing pillow and working on his balance, alternately saying, "Whoa, Whooa, Whoa!!" He's wearing the tops to his buzz light year pajamas and playing with this Star Wars Legos. We recently returned from a trip to Le Sueur where Father and Son raided the cubby hole and brought back with them a fleet of new SW toys, including tapes and books. Fortunately, Luke was able to find the recordings on line as the tapes were in sad shape. Quinn enjoys listening to the stories and turning the pages when he hears the beep beep of R2D2.

This morning Lily, Quinn and I were snuggling in the big bed and Quinn asked us all to hug one another. And then, with his head tucked against his little sister, Quinn reported that "we have the best family ever!"