Mariah is still loving school! She recently studied the symphony so in addition to a learning excursion to a symphony performance, they played lots of instruments, built some of their own, and had a parade at school. Here she is (with about 30 other kids behind or before) parading through Mike's office. The horn that she is blowing is made out of garden hose and a funnel! She got to bring it home so it gets played at home....I just wonder what the neighbors think:)
Allison celebrated her birthday this past week and is now 4! I sill marvel at the fact that I am a mother of 3 girls and that they keep getting older all the time:) She is just waiting and waiting for the day when she can go to school, too! But in the meantime she enjoys puzzles and her dresses that get big when she spins.
Rachel is now over 19 months and still doesn't speak in a language that we understand:) (but she does have many things to say and really means whatever it is that she says). About the only thing we consisently understand from her is when she repeatedly yells "Ma!.....ma!......ma!...." until I rescue her from wherever she has gotten up on (chairs, benches, etc.).
This past week, I was able to get out of the apartment without the kids for a while! A friend of ours will be watching the younger two girls for a few hours, two days a week, so that I can go sit at school and work on my thesis. It's amazing how much I can get done when I work more than one hour a day!
On one of Mariah's vacation days from school, she and Allison constructed a runway of all the couch cushions, almost every blanket and pillow in the apartment, plus all the dress up clothes and stuffed animals. They played Olympics and ran up and down and up and down and generally had a good time (and got very roasty, as evidenced by their swimming suits:)
Allison and Rachel recently discovered that playing with dried beans is rather fun - dumping and pouring and spilling and picking up, etc. They started out at the counter, but since so many of the beans ended up on the floor, they just start there now:) It must have been fun because at one point Allison remarked "Mommy, it's fun to play with beans! Playing with beans is funner than toys. Beans are funner than scooters!"
Allison, Rachel, and I. Rachel loves the camera -- if ever she hears the sound of it turning on, she'll come running and want to look at the picture on the back....thus, it is difficult to take a picture of her in the moment:)
Allison turned 4 and we celebrated with chocolate (gluten free) cupcakes and real strawberry frosting -- per her request.
Mariah went to two parties in one day -- a birthday party and a superbowl party -- and she was exhausted! She was so tired she crawled in bed as soon as she took off her boots, said that she just needed to get warm, but fell asleep in about two minutes....all she took off, was her mitten so that she could suck her thumb :)
Allison was in bed when I took the picture of Mariah sleeping, so insisted on a picture of herself, too....she really likes her silly face in the picture.
Fresh from the bath....playing a game of uno.....getting crabby at Rachel for trying to play, too. 
