Star Wars at Disney

By far, the highlight of our Disney trip was all the Star Wars stuff. Hollywood Studios had added a ton of stuff to coincide with the 7th movie--it was very cool and our kids all had a blast.



Most of all this little angel.



The boys did Jedi Training and took it very seriously. I'm not sure why Braden is crouching while Finley is jumping when they were given the same instructions...



They both got to battle the Seventh Sister who I think is a character from Star Wars Rebels... but I have no idea. They were very brave and surprisingly, the only kids dressed up in Star Wars costumes.



Braden reached out to grab one of the ladies hands during the show when it was getting a little intense and it was so cute.



At the end of their training they all had to use the force to send Kylo Ren back into the temple. They loved it! Braden kept telling the story of how they defeated Kylo Ren for quite a while after.



I spent a ton of time getting together costumes for them--so I wanted to make sure we got a few good pictures of their outfits! As you can see, they were the happiest Luke and Han ever to wander Tatooine.



Merritt was Baby Rey and was SUCH A HIT, obviously. Who could resist that girl? Keaton is the cutest Ewok and Braden kind of kills me with his little grin. Finley Skywalker does not mess around with the force.



I really wanted one picture of all of them and we kind of got it. They mostly just wanted to pretend to "force" each other and run around.



I found these great Stormtrooper shirts at Old Navy for them--I sewed the sides in on Merritt's so that she could be part of the crew.



We got to meet Kylo Ren and Chewbacca--Sol was really REALLY impressed with Chewbecca.  Merritt liked to pull his fur. He made his Chewie noises at the boys when they tried to touch his controls and it was funny. Do you see Sol and I have super cool Star Wars shirts too? Target for the win!



We watched the new Star Wars fireworks show, traded with a Jawa and chatted with some of the First Order Stormtroopers. We had a great time!

Merritt || Six Month

Halfway to one!



Look at this doll. Gah. She was diagnosed with her third ear infection at her 6 month check up--that combined with one tooth that has poked through and three more on the way, has led to some disrupted sleeping. She's getting back on track and starting to sleep for about 5 hours again--but often it's closer to 3. It's just a phase (I repeat to myself). She's a fussy nurser lately--distracted by everything. She has to be tired and hungry in order to eat--making our days a bit of a balancing act! We're trying to figure out what schedule works best for her--knowing full well that as soon as I figure it out, she'll be in a different phase. I'm trying to figure out how to keep her awake in the car--without fail she decides to nap at school pick up and then doesn't get a full nap in. Sorry fourth baby.



She's starting to get more hair, but is still pretty bald. She loves to suck her thumb. Sometimes I just hold her and let her suck her thumb until she dozes off and then trick her into eating when she's asleep. Heh heh heh.



Such a content little lady--she'll sit in the exersaucer for quite awhile if she can see the boys. And they really are sweet with her. They love her an awful lot.



No scooting yet, but she's a fairly aggressive roller. I pull her out from under furniture quite a bit when she gets stuck! Whoops. So yes, I have a slight obsession with printing fabric and making headbands and blankets and leggings. It's for sure getting out of control.



And the most important stuff--she's 16 pounds 4.5 ounces, 26.5 in, and her head is 43.25 cm. About 50-75th percentile for everything.  Hashtag I'm too lazy to look it up.

Fashion Shoot

Any time Merritt is wearing a cute outfit (which basically every day because baby girl equals doll), Sol says to me, "You are taking pictures of all these outfits RIGHT?" And I try, really I do. So here's one. I bought a five pack of gold and black onesies from Carter's with little flutter sleeves and should probably go buy them in every size because they are the cutest. Ugh, I just went and checked. Sold out.



Anyways. She can't really sit up on her own yet, but we're pretending. She was able to balance on the soft bed for about as long as it took to snap a quick picture. I love that shot on the right--when I'm holding her and someone talks to her, she generally smiles at them and then buries her face in my chest--and that's the laying down version of it. Precious.



I'm doing my best to keep a bow on her in hopes that she'll be ok with wearing one when she figures out how to pull it off. We'll see, but I'm currently giving it my best shot. Also because bows are just too fun to make. I really need to stop.

St. Patricks Day

I was feeling particularly festive this St. Patrick's Day, and pulled out the decorations from a few years ago to have a little celebration with some friends.



Keaton and his tiny leprechaun hat may have stolen the show.



I bought little green mustaches for them to wear and no one did it correctly. Not that hard guys!



We basically just put spinach in everything--spinach pancakes, blended up with some eggs for eggs in the whole... blended up with milk and honey for a tasty green beverage... probably the most veggies my kids have ever had in one setting. Maybe we should celebrate green holidays more often!

Merritt, in true fourth child form, fell asleep on the hard wood floor in her green and gold duds while I was cleaning up. She is a gem.

Merritt and Elliot

My sister used her final days of maternity leave to sneak down to Beaumont and let the little girl cousins roll around together! Elliot is a doll and it was so fun to get to see her again!!



We spent most of the time making bows and forcing them to wear matching outfits. I mean, why not.



I love that little series of pictures--I think they are plotting something already!



I can't wait for all the fun they'll have growing up together. I'm so so glad that Mer will have a girl cousin since she'll spend most of her time with the rowdy boys!