Playmates

Want to know who this cute boy is smiling at?

His sweet big sister and buddy Tess!  Declan loves Tess so much and she is unbelievably wonderful with him.  She plays with him so well and is very patient.  The other day, he had a doctor's appointment and she brought me one of his favorite toys and told me to bring it with me for him in case he got upset.

Tess loves to "babysit" him while I am in the shower or in another room.  Let's just hope that word doesn't get out that I am letting our three and a half year old babysit the 6 month old.

As for Claire and Declan's relationship ... that will be a separate post, but I think Declan is finally learning to defend himself from the tight squeezes of Claire!

Precious

At least once a day, I wish I had a camera or a video recorder in my mind so I could capture and never forget little moments that happen - conversations overheard between Tess and Claire at the end of the day as they lay in their beds or Chris kissing one of the kids.  Today, I had that thought when I saw a big sister take the time to help her little sister as we were rushing out the door to school.   This time, I looked to my left and saw the camera on the counter, so I was able to capture this precious moment.

6 months

Everyone keeps asking me who Declan looks like and I don't know.  There are expressions he makes that remind me of Baby Tess and Baby Claire.  You decide:

Declan:

Tess:

Claire:

Pretty Ballerinas

First Day of School 2012

Last week, Tess and I were running errands just the two of us and I told her how much I would miss her when she went back to school.  Very maturely, she told me not to be sad because she would always come back home and we would still have lots of time to play ... 

so very wise.

Not only did Tess help me through the transition, she also helped Claire.  Last night at bedtime, we chatted about the first day of school for Claire.  Tess reassured Claire that she would help her and that if she got scared, she would hold her hand.  Tess did not let her little sister down -- she was there for Claire today and Claire did great.  Claire loved school and cried when it was time to leave!

  First day of 3 year old preschool for Tess (3 years and 6 months) and 2 year old preschool for Claire (who will be 2 tomorrow).  Declan (5 months) is looking forward to some quiet time for two hours on Tuesday and Thursday mornings!

Peeking through the preschool window before going in:

A very proud Claire Bear after a successful first day of school: