April Part 1: 6 Month Old, Play Dates, and Hijinks-a-Plenty

Our month of April helped us out a lot as Miss P went through and successfully completed sleep training (Hallelujah!!).  Everyone was finally sleeping better in the household and all was well.  My sister visited, Penelope turned 6 months old, and things started to get a little bit easier.

Getting some snuggling in with our 5 month old.

Kristen and Miss P all snuggled up while the boys were
riding up and down the driveway.

Ohhhhh this little girl.

Can't get enough of her squishy little face...

...and those cheeks...

She looks like a chubby little flower.  :-)

The Franses ladies :-)

William looooves to dig in the dirt and has no problem
getting dirty...ever.  Lol!

Such a happy little baby.

This afternoon the boys had nothing but love for one another.
I definitely had to capture this moment.

Nothing but hugs and love here.  :-)

Our happy little girl enjoyed some freedom in her walker
and was drooling up a storm.

She still hadn't gotten any teeth at this point and we enjoyed
her gummy grin for a bit longer.

William painting an art project in Moyen Jardin.

Time to make some lady bugs!  Our little artist hard at work.

Kristen captured this darling snuggle moment with Penelope
and Joseph.

So sweet.  :-)

Alex, Penelope, and Joseph holding hands - how darling!!

Flying baby!!

On April 2, Joseph's med school classmate Anoop (second from the left)
 had a birthday celebration.  We were overjoyed to attend and had a blast
hanging out with friends.

LOL!  We joked around that Joseph and our friend Gaurav
dressed very similarly...let's just say this was the most tame
out of all of the pictures that evening.  :-p

Well hello there, little darling!

Still not enough hair to put a clip in, but a headband will do.
Love that little bald head!

Little sleeping Buddha

Penelope, the sleeping angel

Kristen took a selfie in the back back of our car with our two goofballs.

Alex being a sweet older brother and holding his sister.
I love how she was looking at him.

These two really love each other.

Hey there, happy chubby baby!

She smiles with every ounce of her being.

Little Miss P helped me do some laundry that day.

Her clothes looked pretty tasty, I suppose.

Whoops!  You caught me!

Tee hee hee!  :-)

Penelope bouncing in her jumparoo on April 4.

William was hard at work making a beautiful necklace
one afternoon.

Before my sister left, we enjoyed breakfast at one of the
local diners (our favorite) with Miss P while the boys were at school.

Being silly with Miss P on April 4.

Our dapper little man after he got his hair cut.

Dapper man #2 showing off his slick new 'do.

Oscar's lab work wasn't looking so great,
so the doctors suggested he do an overnight
at the animal hospital.  The thoughtful technician
took a picture of our little guy to let us know that he
was okay.

Time for a play date!  William enjoyed a play date
with one of his favorite buddies at Lego Land
while Alex was at school.

He was so thrilled to be running around with his buddy.

I wore Penelope in the baby carrier during the entire play date and this
is how she handled it all.

William, the Lego astronaut.

The boys were so sweet building on the Lego wall together.

Time to watch a 4D movie!

Our darling William was completely tuckered out
and took a little cat nap before we picked up Alex.

That same evening, we enjoyed a delightful dinner with
Joseph's family's friends - Christos, Maria, .
The last time I saw this family
was at our wedding in 2005 when their two children
were much younger and were running around during our ceremony.
It was so nice to see them as their eldest son was touring
prospective colleges.  How time does fly!

This little girl looooves to jump around in her jumparoo.

She loved to grab at the parrot and the lizard.

Penelope bouncing around on April 7.

Penelope giving her lovely, spitty kisses.

Woo hoo!  Penelope mastered the tripod sitting position
and began successfully sitting up by herself at 5 months!

Penelope playing with her tummy time mirror.

She was quite pleased with herself.  Another milestone
checked off the list!  :-)

The kiddos playing around on April 7.

Miss P on her tummy time mat on April 7.

My friend and former co-worker Joyce (second from the left)
was having a birthday party and I was so pleased to attend.
These are some of the amazing women who mentored me
and helped me to become the best teacher that I could be.
I was so blessed to have been surrounded by such inspirational
and passionate women.
From left to right:  Stephanie, Joyce, Joy, Betty, and Andrea (Joyce's partner).

The former 4th grade team plus one of the most fabulous ELL teachers
I've ever met!  Thanks for a fun night of reminiscing ladies!

Gotta start the morning off right with a shower and a cup
of coffee, then I'm ready to conquer the world.
Love this snuggle time, drinking coffee and watching the
morning news with my number one girl.

Time for an art show!  Alex's school had an art show on April 8, which was then followed by a spring music show.  Alex was so proud of all of his hard work and was excited to share it with me, William, and Penelope.

Alex's 3D art work.

The artist with his masterpiece.

Alex's dinosaur painting.

Our proud little artist.

Time to perform!  Lol!!  This is Alex walking into the gymnasium
with his classmates.  This guy always has a quirky little flair about him.
Love it.

Our little man playing the xylophone.

Time for the show!

William was a trooper and sat so well during the show.

Penelope enjoyed some tummy time on April 8 after the show.

Miss P playing with Abby Cadabby

Time to play around.

Our lovable little goofballs.

We started a new tradition of "Family Movie Night"
where one of the boys picks a movie, we eat dinner,
and enjoy some popcorn after their bath halfway through
the movie.  Penelope only makes it through half of the movie,
then the boys finish up the rest.  It's a great way to snuggle up
together and watch a movie.
This particular evening, we decided to surprise the boys
with the new Star Wars movie that had just come out.
They were beyond thrilled to eat homemade pizza (dairy free, of course)
and watch their favorite characters on television.

William wanted to help bathe Penelope that evening.
She loved it!

Our little fish ready to splash around during swimming
class at BU.

Joseph was busy working, so the kiddos and I met up with our friends Ai-ris and Ian and their daughters Yoshimi and Koharu at a local park for a play date.

William pushing Koharu on a swing.

William giving Yoshimi a good bye hug - we're a family of huggers.

The boys and Yoshimi at the park.

William saying farewell to Koharu through the fence while
her father Ian gave William a good head rub good bye.

Craziness always.  Love it.

Right before "day day" time, the kids always have a book
read to them.  In order to settle Penelope down, William
decided to hold hands with her to calm her.  She's
so lucky to have such loving brothers.

Love our little monkeys.

Joseph and Penelope having some quality Daddy/Daughter
time playing the piano together.

I love that he's done with with all of our babies.  :-)

Our cheeky little princess at bath time.

She was the happiest little girl as she sat in a high chair
at a restaurant for the first time.

Penelope, William, and I enjoyed a nice lunch at P.F. Chang's
together while Alex was at school one day and Joseph was at work.  I couldn't
believe how big William looked at this moment.  It's amazing
how quickly these little darlings grow up. 

Penelope modeling a tiara headband that Kristen and Pete sent her.

Our little Padawan.  :-)

She was so proud of herself and her ability to sit up independently.

Love this little girl.

Hahahahaha!  I found one of the boys' old pacifiers
and couldn't resist having Penelope use it just this once.
Hilarious!

On April 13, our darling Penelope turned 6 months old!
She could sit up by herself, was drooling like crazy but
still no teeth, loved to laugh at her brothers' antics,
and adored roasted sweet potatoes.

Penelope drinking a bottle while we were at the park one day.

Penelope on April 13.

Penelope's 6 month stats:
Height:  26 inches (56th percentile)
Weight:  16 lbs 2 oz (51st percentile)
Head circumference:  17 inches (78th percentile)

Another month filled with lots of great memories and milestones.  Until next time...

Love and kisses,
Nikki