Teamwork ~ Revisited

And perhaps my personal favorite is the shot of the group stretch!

Teamwork ~ Encore

In what is hands down their best collaborative feat to date, I stumbled upon this mountain of harmonious handiwork in Marci's room this summer. (Yes, I'm a wee bit behind on blogging!)

To say they were proud of the result of their combined efforts is to greatly underestimate their sheer delight.

Putting on a few finishing touches while Mommy's busy playing with her camera.

A masterpiece! And most definitely an original!

Teamwork

The best thing about kids getting older? Watching them learn to entertain themselves. Oh, the ingenuity of the young!

Working hard or hardly working? It's a tough call!

Cookie cutters and play-doh toys are interchangeable. Who knew??!!

Is there anything better than a lazy Saturday-morning couch fort??!!

Three-Year Stats

Here are Marci's three-year stats:

Height: 37 inches (47%)

Weight: 34.5 lbs. (81%)

She grew 2 1/2 inches and gained 4 1/2 pounds this past year. Way to grow, Marci!

Happy Birthday, Marci!

Seeing is believing, and yet it's still hard to believe that Marci is three years old! We debated about having a birthday party for her this year, but she was so excited about celebrating her birthday that we couldn't let her down. She picked out her invitations (princess, of course!) and carried the extra ones around in her purse for weeks while persistently asking about the arrival of her big day.

The past year has had its ups and downs with potty-training and little-girl dramatics at the top of the list! Marci has a willfulness that gives me nearly equal bouts of pride and frustration. While I deeply admire her persistence, her tenacity can be a bit challenging to parent at times, but I think Daddy and I are starting to get the hang of it. After a battle of wills that seemed to endure for eternity while we were in its midst, Marci is now fully potty-trained. It was truly a family project, and Osten was ever-ready to offer demonstrations and encouragement.

We are so proud of Marci. Even at three, she is kind, confident, inquisitive, persistent, sassy, brave, determined, funny and intelligent. Her laughter is one of my most favorite sounds in the whole world especially when she is being tickled under her neck. She likes to sing and read books in her bed. She loves the color pink, Annie, Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang, Mary Poppins, purses, kitty cats and princesses. Aurora is her favorite. She will try just about anything especially if it's something her older brother can already do. She loves to swing and is working really hard to learn how to pump her legs. (By the way, is there anything cuter than a child learning to pump their legs on a swing? I never realized how much coordination was required!) In the past year, her vocabulary has exploded so much that it's hard to remember a time when she wasn't able to have full conversations with us. It's been especially fun to watch the bond between her and Osten strengthen this year. I love to listen to their conversations when we're in the car or other times when we're at home and they forget that I'm in the room. Marci is such a blessing to our family, and even when we have difficult days, I never forget how lucky we are to be her parents. Happy 3rd Birthday, Marci. We can't wait to see all of the surprises, adventures and achievements the next year has in store for you! We love you . . . so, so, so, so, SUPER much!

Sister Side-Kick

Osten appears to be not the only one who is enjoying soccer these days.

Marci keeps herself pretty entertained on the sidelines!

Pilates, anyone?

And here she is thowing the ball back into play . . . to herself. Go Marci, go!

Hat Trick

Osten had his third soccer game last weekend.

He plays in a very laid-back league. There are minimal rules, and the zig-zag in a big pack bouncing in and out of bounds all the way down the field. It is unbelievably cute to watch.

He has been telling us since the spring that he wanted to play soccer, and he seems to be really enjoying it.

Here he is after one of his goals. He scored three . . . a hat trick!