what taking a family photo involves...

...a lot of outtakes!

And there, finally:

in her papa's arms

a house full of girls!

the kidlets

Lately I've been calling our kiddos "the kidlets."  Not sure why, but it's stuck.  Here we are lately...  

We were shopping at Menard's and the girls were hugging in the cart.  Priceless.

When we play outside, we put this little one in her stroller and she usually will happily sit there for quite sometime.  She's such a content little girl!

Matt took the girls to a park the other day.  Abbie loves to swing (especially like how she is in the picture above).  She jumps on with her stomach and flies away.

Here are the girls sitting with Matt at his work computer in our basement.  I love Miriam's face in this one!

peas in a pod

These two sure have become two peas in a pod lately.  It makes me so happy to hear Abbie shout, "Mi-am, Mi-am!" all day and to watch Miriam go give Abbie a hug when she falls down.  I love watching them grow up together and can't wait for their baby sister to join in on their playtimes, too.

life...

...is busy!  Who would've thought having 3 kids under age 4 would be a bit challenging at times?!?!?  We're managing, though!  I'm so thankful for a husband who has flexible hours and can work at home along with grandparents and aunts and uncles who love to come help when we need.  With that being said, here are a few snapshots of life as of late:

Ella has been enjoying spending some time outside with her big sisters.  She still isn't quite sure what to do about the sun, though.  It sure is bright!

After Ella was born, we finished a bedroom in the basement so that Miriam and Abbie could share a room down there and the room upstairs could be Ella's.  We have found that sometimes it helps to have the girls nap in different spots...so that was Miriam on the couch one afternoon.  She is going on five at the end of this summer and still loves her naps!  I know when she starts Kindergarten she won't have one anymore, but we'll hang on until then (often at her request!).

This babe loves to smile!

And...here was a {slightly unsuccessful} nap in which Miriam thought she'd crawl in bed with Abbie.  Abbie was so tired out she fell asleep while Miriam was still happily awake.  Miriam's tried it a few times at night, too, but it usually results in Abbie waking up grumpily and moving them back to their own beds.  

Nice warm weather has brought lots of fun times to play outside at parks!

How I do love my girls (and my hubby)!

I couldn't resist...

I know I've been posting a ton of pictures of Ella's smiles lately, but I couldn't resist a few more that Matt got tonight.  She's such a beauty!

more smiles all around

summer fun!

It seems that all anyone can talk about in the midwest lately is this wonderful unseasonable weather we've been having lately!  It's still hard to believe that it's technically winter when we've been wearing shorts and t-shirts outside!  Miriam and Abbie have loved being able to go outside.  We've even been able to set up the sandbox this week!  Miss Abigail loves to dig in the dirt, so we figured a sandbox might help her stay out of the actual dirt.  It's working...sort of.  Ella's joined us outside a few times, too.  Who knew I'd be able to take her out so soon?  Here's a few pictures of what we've been up to lately:

beautiful smiles

This little babe has been gracing us with her beautiful smile for a few weeks now.  Makes my heart melt every time I see it!

our babes

She's here!

We are so excited to welcome Elisabeth (Ella) Rebecca to our family!  She joined us at 4:07am on Saturday, January 21st.  We left for the hospital at about 3:15am and she made her entrance quickly.  More on that later, but here are a few pictures in the mean time: